Defy: A Story About True Love Overcoming All (Lesbian Story)

Chapter 2

     PHOTO IS ARISS
     Lyric stood in line, the buzz of the cafeteria filling her ears and wrapping her in a temporary blanket of false safety. As she stepped up to the counter and grabbed her tray, a bright pop of color in the otherwise drab room caught the corner of her eye, and she half turned towards it. Ariss Timberland was standing in line next to her, staring right into her eyes.   
     She a bit taller than Lyric, probably about 5'7", with sun kissed skin and reddish brown hair that draped over her shoulders in loose waves at the moment. The ends of her hair were dyed bright red, creating an ombré effect, and her face was a kind of
heart-stopping beautiful. Lyric was terrified of her. She quickly glanced back down and paid for her meal, trying to be casual as she sought out her usual table.
     Lyric was not exactly popular, but she was one of those people that everybody knew. In the small town of Seamer, population around 1500, there were only around 200 student at Seamer High, which meant everybody knew everyone and everything about them. At least, that's what most people liked to believe. Only Lyric and her brother knew about the horrors of their home. Everyone has secrets, but no one likes to think too hard about the ugly ones.
     She sat down and smiled, laughing at some joke she only heard half of. But during lunch, all she could think about were Ariss' forest green eyes, staring into her own, and wondering why of all the people in school, she had chosen her to single out.
     ~<ART CLASS, LAST PERIOD>~
     Lyric slipped into art class, saying hi to a couple of girls who waved at her, and sat down at her table. The bell rang and Ms. Cane called for the classes attention. Once everyone had taken their seats and stopped talking, she cleared her throat and said, "Okay guys, so your midterms went really well! I'm very proud of everyone in here and I hope you all enjoyed your break! However," the class groaned when she said this, and Ms. Cane paused before saying again, "HOWEVER, you've all been back to school for over a month, so it's time for your first partner project of the semester!"
     This was met with mixed responses. A few people smiled and looked at their friends, while others looked like she had just given them a death sentence. And then there were the ones like Lyric, who didn't really seem to care either way. Ariss Timberland, clad in her signature black leather jacket, tight shirt, skinny jeans, and converse, was one of them. Ms. Cane cleared her throat and started again, "I can see mixed feelings, but that's to be expected. Now to those who have already started planning your project, I'm telling you to stop, because unlike last semesters project, I will be assigning your partners."
     The energy in the room seemed to deflate when the students heard this, but Ms. Cane ignored it, beginning to call off partners. "...and Sue, John and Derek, Ariss and Lyric, Tia and Lauren..." The world went still, and Lyric whipped her head up when she heard her name. What did she say?! Her partner was ARISS?! Panic swelled in her chest as she turned slowly towards Ariss, and she was sure everyone could hear her heartbeat as she met her eyes. Lyric gulped and blinked, not knowing what to do.
     Ariss, probably seeing the utter terror and confusion in Lyric's eyes, got up and sat down next to her new partner. "Hey," she said, her voice calm, but a tad annoyed. Lyric just sat there, staring stupidly back. SAY something dammit! Come on Lyric, she can't be THAT bad!
Clearing her throat, Lyric lifted her hand in a small wave, and said quietly, "H-Hi, um, I guess we're partners now?" Ariss seemed to relax, then opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Ms. Cane said, "Okay guys, now that you all have your partners I'm gonna explain what the project will be. You and you partner will select a quote about love, I know that seems really cliche but honestly guys I'm giving you such a BROAD platform here, so you should be thanking me, and you are going to create an image or sculpture using any medium you like to reflect that quote. Any questions? No? Good! Alrighty, you can use your phones to look up your quotes, but NOTHING ELSE. If I see you messing around its mine untill the end of the period. Go wild, kids."
A hum filled the room as partners started talking about what angle they wanted to take, what mediums they would use, ect. Lyric turned to Ariss, already searching on her phone, and cleared her throat. Ariss glanced up, then asked, "What?" It wasn't said in a mean way but Lyric still flinched a little. Ariss Timberland was the infamous rebel of Seamer, and everyone knew it. She turned down every guy who dared to ask her out, never went to or held parties, hardly talked to anyone, and had been seen multiple times graffitiing around town. Lyric had never gone to see, but she heard that Ariss' graffiti wasn't in the punk style most people did. It was supposed to be beautiful.
Lyric stammered,"I uh, just thought maybe we should talk about what sort of theme, or sub-theme I guess, we wanted to go with." Ariss looked thoughtful for a second for replying,"How about we both just find a few quotes we like and then decide from there?" Lyric nodded and pulled out her own phone and began to search.
     After about ten minutes they finally decided on a quote. "I pray you, do not fall in love with me, For I am falser than vows made in wine" - William Shakespeare.
     "I'm surprised you picked that one." Said Ariss. Lyric looked up, confused. "Why?" Ariss looked at her for a second before saying, "Because I kind of took you for the sappy 'Someday I'll find true love and everything will be perfect!' kind of girl." Lyric set her jaw, her gaze turning hard. "I'm not some naïve little girl." She stated. "I know that's not how the world works."
     Ariss gave her a curious, sort of confused look, but didn't push it any further. The rest of the class was spent discussing what exactly they would be doing with their picture, and when the bell rang Lyric looked back at Ariss one last time. She was staring at her, and Lyric felt her cheeks warm as a blush crept onto her face. She furrowed her brown and hurried out of the room.
She met with Sam to walk back home, and all the way she couldn't stop thinking about how Ariss had been staring at her.