Octopus Lips

I'm Not Obsessed

That morning when I wake up something is missing, but I ignore it. I'm supposed to be over him. There's a fog that's settled around the city today, and I can relate to that. I don't understand why it's so hard to forget someone, I definitely didn't love Gordon anymore, so what was left? What more did I have pour out? More importantly, when will this finally be over?

"Gwen?"

Rosie's toasty brown eyes are wide with concern. Her afro is up a sweet pink bandana today and I can't help but notices she smells like fresh pastries. It was a wonderful side effect brought on by the work she did in her mom's bakery in her free time. I raised an eyebrow at her while taking books out of my locker.

"Are you... okay?" She asked, concerned.

I grinned sarcastically at her. "I'm great!"

"Gwen." She scolded.

I groaned. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Still down?"

"I don't... I still feel... stuck." I sighed, pressing my forehead against the cool metal of the locker.

She frowned sympathetically at me and patted my arm. "Oof. Would it make you feel better if I told you Gordon was late today?"

I looked up at her. "Okay that makes me feel a little better."

"So, what're you thinking?"

I paused and bit my lip. Oh, I had an idea, but I had the feeling Rosie wasn't going to like it.

"Gwen? You've got a look on your face. I'm concerned." Rosie raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to talk to Johnny." I half-explained. "I'm going to see if he can give me the name of any of the other girls."

"Oh no." Rosie chided me. "No, no, no, this is the opposite of progress."

"Hear me out, what if I tell them what's going on and we band together to take him down." I said, relishing in my plans.

"You don't think you've done enough?" She asked, shrinking slightly.

I stopped in my tracks as her words shook around inside me like a room full of bouncy balls. Did I think this was overboard? Not yet. Did I fully intend on going through with this with or without Rosie's approval? Yes. I would let it come back and bite me later. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, as the wise teenager says.

"I'll see you later!" I waved at her with a smile.

"Gwen no!" She yelled across the hall.

Gwen yes. I found Johnny on the bleachers, for once with Chase nowhere in sight, he was talking to mostly the other football boys, Gordon excluded thankfully, who part like the red sea when I come walking up, social power radiating off me like an open microwave.

"Johnny Laurens." I preface. "I need to talk to you."

His eyes widened in surprise, but he waved his hands to signal his squad off. "Be right back boys, gotta chat with miss sunshine here."

I pulled him to the side by the jersey and let go when we were out of earshot. "Are you still talking to Gordon?"

"When he shows up to practice, which is actually very rare." Johnny rolled his eyes. "He's close to getting kicked off the team."

"Wonderful, do you think you get the contact info for the other girls he's seeing?" I asked.

He frowned... "You're really going overboard with this, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not, answer the question." I sighed, folding my arms and tapping my foot impatiently.

Johnny nodded slowly and tapped his chin. "Maybe, are you any good at math?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

He glanced over at his friends, the leaned in closer to me. "I uh... I've been struggling a bit. It's you do some of the homework for me I'll get you those contacts."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I will tutor you if that's what you're asking."

He groaned. "Come on, Degray."

"Okay fine, I will very efficiently help you with your homework in a way that is still not cheating."

"Deal." He winked at me.

Oh Boy. "I'll come over this weekend if that's okay with you."

"Yep! I'll text you times."

I left that meeting feeling immensely satisfied.

Dance class that day was fun.

"How would you get over someone, Micah?" I asked.

"Well, with one of my old crushes I just accepted that she didn't like me, and I found someone new."

"She? I thought you were gay?" I squinted at him.

He laughed. "Nah, bi. I like girls and guys. Well, I like one guy."

"Oh." I blinked. "I didn't realize that was a thing."

He went through the steps of the song we were working on and finished it in front of me with a pair of finger guns. "You learn something new every day. You should hang out with us sometimes, a lot of kids at my school are LGBTQ and plus."

"There's...there's a plus?"

He grinned at me, mostly amused. "You should definitely hang out sometime. Actually... do you know Johnny Laurens? I think he goes to your school."

"Uh, yeah. I'm friend with his girlfriend, which kind of almost makes us friends." I shrugged.

His face lit up. "I'm friends with his little brother! You know Arthur?"

I stopped in my tracks, which prompted our dance teacher to call my name which I barely heard. "Johnny has a little brother?"

Micah blinked at me, confused. "Does... does he not talk about him or something?"

"I've been friends with him for over two years and I've never heard anything. His brother goes to a different high school?"

"I... I guess?" He put his hands up in defense. "That's weird. Well... Arthur's the same as me, he's bi-"

"Johnny Lauren's little brother is LGBT?" My jaw dropped.

"Y-yes?" He was just as confused as I was for completely different reasons. "He's been dating another boy at our school for like, a few months now."

"What!"

"Gwen, focus. You two can gossip later." The teacher urged.

"Johnny's like... he's mean. He's cruel." I whispered under my breath. "He's not nice to anyone, much less gay people."

Micah's mouth formed a small 'o'. "Gwen, you can't tell him about Arthur, I don't think he's told his family yet."

"Okay." I nodded. "Don't worry I know it's big deal, you can trust me."

Micah sighed. "Oh good, you scared me there for a moment."

"Yeah, here let's work on the next set, I need something to take my mind off all of my drama."

"Of course. I'll be here if you want to talk about anything though. Relationship advice? Mental health? Questioning your sexuality? I'm your man." He pointed to his chest and puffed it out.

I laughed, then went back to practicing our set.