Caught in The Dance

Chapter 3: Are we really just friends?

A week later, Juliette woke up, surprised to find Reya still in the room. For the past week, they had barely seen each other, and Juliette sensed that Reya was avoiding her—or at least avoiding being alone with her. Reya would spend time with their group, but whenever it was just the two of them in the room, Juliette would always find her missing.

Juliette decided to break the silence. "Good morning. How did you sleep?" she asked.

"Morning. I slept well, and you?" Reya replied, speaking directly to Juliette for the first time in days. "I slept fine, but... can I ask? Are we okay?" Juliette ventured, her tone a bit hesitant.

Reya paused, then finally responded. "Yeah, we're good. Why wouldn't we be?"

Juliette sighed, visibly frustrated. "Seriously dude? We haven't spoken in a week, and every time I try, you dodge me like the plague. We're roommates, Reya, but it's like we barely see each other." Reya shrugged. "Well, when you put it that way... yeah, I guess I am avoiding you. And honestly, I don't feel like talking about it."

Juliette could not believe how apathetic Reya was about this situation, she thought they were friends. Juliete broke the silence by saying, "Why, can't we have a mature conversation about this?" of which Reya threw her hand up in defeat, since this conversation was making her uncomfortable, "Urgh seriously Jules do we seriously have to keep having this conversation, I really don't feel like talking about it!" Juliette replied a little hurt by how avoidant Reya was being, "I understand but I thought were friends," Reya looked at her annoyed and then replied, "Friends? Seriously we have only known each other for a few weeks and what kind of friends do what we have done together." Juliette could have nothing to say, she did not know Reya was this bothered by their kiss or that it was the cause of the strain in their friendship, she then moved closer to Reya, looked into her eyes with sincerity and finally said, "Rey, I did not realize you felt like this to be honest you're so cool and confident, I thought it was just a casual thing or maybe your way of ease my nerves of being inexperienced when it comes to dating." Reya then replied with annoyance by saying, "This is why I did not want to talk about this, you may think I'm the one trying to avoid things but its you who is truly avoiding things and I can't really keep talking about this until you realize it yourself," Juliette looked at her confused, "What exactly am I avoiding?"

Juliette couldn't believe how indifferent Reya seemed. She thought they were friends. Breaking the silence, she asked, "Why can't we have a mature conversation about this?" Reya threw up her hands, clearly uncomfortable. "Seriously, Jules? Do we have to keep talking about this? I really don't want to," she sighed. Juliette, feeling a bit hurt by Reya's evasiveness, responded, "I understand, but I thought we were friends."

Reya looked at her, irritated. "Friends? We've only known each other for a few weeks. What kind of friends do what we've done together?" Juliette was stunned, she hadn't realized their kiss had caused so much tension. She moved closer, looking Reya in the eyes. "Rey, I didn't know you felt this way. You always seem so cool and confident; I thought it was just something casual, maybe even to ease my nerves about being inexperienced."

Reya let out an exasperated sigh. "This is exactly why I didn't want to have this conversation. You think I'm the one avoiding things, but really, it's you. And I can't keep talking about this until you see it for yourself."

Juliette looked at Reya, utterly bewildered. "What exactly am I avoiding?"

Reya sighed, frustration evident. "Oh, Jules, I can't keep having this conversation. You can't really be this clueless. We clearly have feelings for each other, and you're just not ready to face them."

Juliette's eyes widened, shocked. The idea that someone like Reya could have feelings for her was hard to process. Her own feelings toward another woman were new and confusing. Growing up in a Christian household, she had always been taught that such feelings were forbidden, leaving her unsure of how to respond. She hadn't imagined their kiss would lead to this, and after a long silence, she finally said, "I honestly never thought you felt the same way. You're so beautiful and confident, and I'm just...awkward. These feelings are new, and I really don't want to lose you as a friend. You mean so much to me."