𝑯𝒆𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒉 | ᴹᴰᴳᶜ

TRACK TWENTY-THREE: Girls Like Girls

The next morning, I was wandering the halls looking for AJ. I passed a few kids, and they gestured to me while whispering things to one and other. When I turned the corner, I bumped into AJ.

"Sorry," I said. "I've been looking for you. I think I know who wrote me that note that day. I got another yesterday and I realized the person kept saying, "we," and told me they were closer than I thought. That's when it hit me. It's-"

"Dominate." He responded. "I know. I found out this morning. Apparently, some of them came to see what I was up to and listened in on our conversation. I had no idea and neither did your friend, Evan, so don't get mad at him for those posters too." "Posters?" I questioned. "What posters?" "You didn't see them?"

I pushed passed AJ and headed towards the main area. "Delilah, wait!" He called out as he tried to stop me. I walked faster as I walked through the lounge and pushed open the door. When I stepped outside, I was met with posters that had my photo on it.

"Delilah "the Disgrace" Parker-Portman is in love with Maya Kasper," some read. "Going to Hell," another poster read. Others read hurtful words and nicknames. I covered my mouth as I began to get choked up. I saw two member's of Dominate off in the distance, laughing.

I felt my breathing get heavy and ran off to hide. I locked myself in the locker room and sunk down to the ground. I brought my knees to my chest and cried. I haven't even realized I dug my nails across the skin of my arm.

"You really are a disgrace." I muttered. "A disgusting, weird, disgrace." I grabbed at my hair and pulled it. Not hard enough to rip it out, but harsh enough to feel the pain. I let go and ran my hands down my legs before digging my nails into my skin on the way back up. They left red marks that began to welt and sting.

"Lilah?" Jace called out from the otherside of the locked door. "Let me in, Lilah." I slowly reached up and turned the lock, allowing him inside. As he entered, he took in my rough appearance with sympathy in his eyes.

He pushed the door closed and sat next to me. "Come here." He said softly, pulling me into his arms. I hated that I clung onto him so tight and cried so hard into his shoulder. He rubbed my back and just held me. "My dad's handling it, Lilah. It's gonna be alright." He said.

"Am I gonna go to hell?" I couldn't help but ask aloud. "What?" He questioned. "Am I going to go to hell because I like Maya?" I repeated. "No," he said. "Don't listen to them. They're just trying to get a reaction out of you." "Well, they succeeded." I pulled away and he wiped my tears.

"Is Maya mad at me?" I asked. "No," he said, shaking his head. "No, Maya's not mad. She's looking for you too. She said if I found you to send you back to your dorm." He slowly stood up and pulled me up with him. "Let's get you back there."

We left the locker room and I kept my head down with my hood up as we walked to my dorm. We took the long way in order to above everyone on campus. I could hear yelling coming from down a hallway. Jace tried to pull me away, but I headed towards the sound.

"It was just a joke." I heard a player from Dominate say in a low tone followed by an annoyed huff from Cole.

"A joke?" Cole questioned. "A joke? Jokes are supposed to make people laugh! Not make them feel like hell. Did either of you three see Delilah laughing? I know I sure didn't." He added. "That was disrespectful, immature, and severely cruel. Do you see these words? Do you know what these terms are meant for? Not for "fun" or for "jokes." They exist to hurt people and tear them down for being different!" He yelled.

"When someone tells you something like that, you don't go around, and make fun of them for it. You support them because they had the courage to tell you." "Well, she didn't exactly... tell us." "What do you mean she didn't tell you?"

"AJ was working out one night and we went to go join him. That's when we heard Delilah's voice and decided to listen to what they were saying." The other kid explained. "She told him she liked girls, he said he was gonna keep it a secret, so we thought-" "No, there was clearly no thinking involved between either of you." Cole said.

"Look, Coach, we're sor-" "Don't apologize to me." He replied. "You didn't hurt my feelings. You didn't call me those names. All of you are going to find and apologize to Delilah then pack your things because I will not allow such kids to stay at my camp." "But, Coach-" "Don't." He said firmly. "Everyone's replaceable. Especially you three."

Jace pulled me away and we finally made it back to the dorm. I went in alone and found Maya pacing around the room. When she saw me, she wasn't mad, or upset, or seemed weirded out. She smiled at me and walked over, giving me a hug.

"There you are." She said before she pulled away. Her expression changed from one of joy to sympathy. "I'm sorry this happened to you." "Cole is making them come and apologize to me. Then they're leaving like Sean and Corey." I told her. "That's good." She replied as she rubbed the sides of my arms.

I bit the inside of my cheeks and pinched the skin of left hand. "Hey, hey, it's alright." She reassured. "Maya, if I do something stupid right now, you can push me away, hit me, cuss at me all you want. I'll understand." "What do you mean?"

I grabbed the sides of her face and kissed her. She made a sound of surprise before I felt her kiss back. Her hands fell onto my forearms where the scratches were. I pulled away and let my hands fall back down to my sides.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. "I forgive you." She responded. "I might not like you the same way, but you're still my friend, Delilah. That won't ever change." "You're not mad or weirded out?" I questioned. "Never when it comes to you, Delilah." She responded.

A smile slowly fell across my face. "Do you wanna skip with me today?" I asked. "I'd love to." She answered. "We'll just be in here all day. Probably mostly in silence." I told her. "That's alright. We don't have to talk if you don't want to."

We laid on her bed, quietly for the rest of the day. I had my hands rested on my stomach looking up at the top bunk where I slept. I'd steal quick side eye glances of her, hoping she didn't notice, but I did hope she knew how beautifully gorgeous she was. I also hoped she would never tell anyone about the kiss and take it to her grave like me.