To celebrate Stella and Mo's coming-outs, we sat in Mo's room to talk about it.
As she chucked pillows at my head, while I was pretending not to notice, Stella said, "Mo and I want to know why you guys gave us the stuff - you know, the rings and the shirts?"
"It was a nice gesture, Stell, we don't need to know their exact motivations." Mo shoved her new girlfriend playfully. Stella laughed and punched Mo in the arm, collapsing into giggles.
"You don't know your own strength, Yamada!" Mo laughed, rubbing her arm where Stella had punched it.
"Or are you just weak?" Stella smiled innocently.
"Well, Charlie set all this up," said Olivia. "And Stella is pretty strong. Mo's not weak, but Stella's got the upper hand in, well, punching your arm, Momo." Realising the ridiculousness of what she'd just said, Olivia laughed.
Stella whooped, and Mo pretended to be disappointed, but she smiled wider than ever. "Let Livvy continue, Stella."
"Actually, this was my turn anyway," I said.
"Okay! How did you find out about the LGBTQ+ community?" I asked. "You actually helped me figure out my bi identity, so I thank you."
"Well, I saw something online about 'proud members of the LGBTQ+ community', so I searched that up and found out about it. I'm a cishet ally - I'm a guy, I'm always going to like girls, but I support you queer people."
"Thank you! You don't know how much this means to us," Mo replied, and Stella, speechless, could only smile and clap.
"Well, you're our friends, so why wouldn't we support you?" asked Olivia.
"Livvy?" Stella gasped. "Are you an ally, too?"
Olivia smiled. "Yup."
"Olivia!!!!" Stella squealed. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!"
"We're all allies! That's why we set the stuff up for you guys!" replied Wen. "I mean, obviously, Charlie was the one who actually came up with the idea."
"Wait, but how did you know that we were ...into each other?" Mo asked. I took the pause to mean that she was still trying to process the fact that she was into girls and dating one. I mean, I would have been shocked, too, if I realised I was into boys.
"He saw the way you guys blushed at each other during that band practice!" said Olivia.
"We didn't blush."
"Yes, you did, Mo!"
"You did, and I noticed. I also noticed that you always wanted to be with each other but kinda kept your distances," I said.
"I was kind of scared, I guess," Stella admitted. "I know, I know. The great Stella Yamada shouldn't be scared of things, huh?"
"It's okay, Stella. The strongest people have the darkest fears. I was pretty scared too, to be honest. I was all, 'Girls shouldn't be liking girls, idiot!' I guess I thought I'd be seen as... wrong. And I was wrong, not about the girls-liking-girls thing, but about being afraid to express my feelings. We're all perfect this way. And we're nice to each other."
I noticed that Scott wasn't contributing to the discussion, and I wondered if he still felt uncomfortable around Mo because they weren't dating anymore. Little did I know, I got my answer right then:
Scott finally spoke. "That's right, Mo. And also kinda deep. I support you, and everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. But I haven't been a nice person. I shouldn't have cheated on you." Turning away, he added, softly, "And I shouldn't have mentioned it here, not with everyone around."
"Hey, it's okay," I said. "This is a safe space for all of us."
Mo nodded. "And it's obviously not good to cheat on anyone, but you've learned from that."
"Yes, I have."
"Good. And on the topic of relationships: Are you still into me, Charlie?"
"Honestly, yes," I admitted. "But Stella is your love now, and I respect that. I can't say it doesn't still hurt, but you're happy, Mo."
"I'm sorry that it hurts, Charlie, but I'm glad you're happy for me."
"Apology accepted. I just want you to be happy in life, Mo. Stella's a fine person, and I'm happy for you two."
"That's what we all want for each other, right? Happiness. This means a lot to me, Charlie. Thanks."
"And yes, I'm such a fine person." Stella swished her hair and smiled like a model as we all laughed, including her.
"Anytime," I replied.
"Speaking of time, as Mo knows, I won't have much left when it comes to being in the band," said Scott. "I'm moving across the country because of my parents' jobs."
"Aw, we'll miss you!" I replied.
The others echoed their agreement, and Mo held her hand out to him. "I'll miss you. Thank you for being my first boyfriend."
"I'll miss you, too, for being my first girlfriend. I'll miss you all for being my first best friends."
"Thank you! That means a lot. Actually, I have an idea on how we can end this era of our band on a nice note..." said Mo.
YOU ARE READING
Lemonade Mouth - Ingredient Change
Fiksi PenggemarMO BANJAREE is confused. She has the school's hottest guy, Scott Pickett, as her boyfriend, but she isn't happy dating him. Maybe she's not into Scott anymore, but is she into someone else? Surely, she can't be in love with Charlie Delgado. She re...
