Afraid • l.h

Chapter 27 • "Say something."

Tilly's POV

I sat motionless for what felt like half an hour but was actually only 20 seconds. What do I say? I have to say something.

"Tilly please say something." he pleads.

"I'm trying to. Am I the first to know?" I ask.

"Yeah. I didn't have the guts to tell anyone else but you yet."

"Well I'm happy for you Jack and I'm also happy I was the first to know."

"Are we still going to be friends? Like as close as we are now?" he asks.

"Of course. The fact that you're gay doesn't change my opinion on you."

"Thank you Tilly. I was honestly so scared to tell anyone and I wondered how people would maybe react."

"If people change their opinion on you because of you being gay they're not true friends." I tell him.

"You're honestly so nice Tilly. It's so great to have you back in my life. Do you want to grab a coffee?"

"I would love to but I promised Calum and Luke that I would go to his house straight after I came to yours."

"Okay. Can you promise me something?"

"Yes of course. Anything."

"Please tell no one about this not even Luke."

Not even Luke?

"I can't lie to him." I say. "He will know I'm lying." I begin to panic slightly.

"Tilly please just for a little while until I make my YouTube video about it."

"Yeah su- wait hold up. You're a youtuber?! Since when?" I ask surprised.

"A couple of years back. I totally forgot I hadn't told you. Yeah so long story short I um just decided one day that I would try it out and ended up sticking with it." he says.

"Oh my god that's great!"

"You should probably go. I wouldn't want to keep you from Luke." he says.

"I would stay a little longer but I also need to quickly go home."

"It's alright. Thanks for being so nice about the whole situation." he says as we walk down the stairs.

"You're welcome." I hug him goodbye.

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye." I say as I walk out the door and hurry along to my house. By the time I get in it is twenty past four and I still have to change. I quickly do everything I need to do, leave my mum a note. I went to my usual morning bus stop to get the bus to Calum's. The bus that came along was a fast bus and only took me 15 minutes to get to the bus stop near the school. Calum's house wasn't far from here I was told.

I used the instructions Calum gave me but I ended up at the gate of a field. I couldn't remember what way I came from and I was beginning to get fed up. The next thing I knew the weather thought it would be a good idea to pour down with rain as if the heavens just opened. I was getting soaked and all the ink from the instructions Calum wrote down had run and it became unreadable. I pulled my phone out and scrolled down my contacts for Luke's number.

"Hello." I said.

"Heyyy, where are you?"

"Umm. I'm not sure it's heavily raining and I can't find Calum's house."

"Oh my god. You mean you're out in that rain."

"Describe to me where you are."

"Next to a gate near a-"