Colour | Irby

Part 7

Iris' POV

"Okay," Amber says as we step into her room. "Spill."

She tosses her apron and cap onto the floor, then goes to plops down on her bed. I follow her over and sit down across from her.

"So I kind of have a thing for Libby," I say.

"Libby? How did that happen? When did that happen?"

I take a breath, then begin to explain, "Well, you know how we met two weeks ago."

"Yes."

"So we just kinda started hanging out, and I guess at some point I started to like her as a bit more than a friend."

"Okay, so . . . you're bi?"

"I don't know," I say. "I don't like other girls that way, but I definitely like her. I guess I'm just not straight. Queer maybe?"

"Don't worry too much about labelling yourself," Amber says. "Just like whoever the hell you want."

I laugh and fall back to lie down on the bed. Amber does the same so that our heads are both pointing in different directions.

"It's just so weird," I say. "It's like I've been seeing everything in black and white, and I'm only now finally seeing things in colour."

"Yeah, that's how I feel with Andi. She just makes everything brighter, even when it seems like the world hates me. She reminds me of how lucky I am to have a girl like her."

I smile, thinking about the purity of that statement.

"I don't know how I got this lucky," I say. "Like, what did I do to deserve this?"

"Oh, come on," Amber says. "You're amazing, and clearly Libby agrees."

"Thanks," I respond. "Hey, Austin's not mad about me leaving our date, right?"

"He was mostly just really confused," Amber replies, "but you gave him, like, ten extra dollars than the bill costed, so he's fine with it."

"That's good."

"Why did you agree to that blind date if you liked Libby?"

I sigh. "Honestly, I was just really scared. Everything was happening so fast. She came out to me on Wednesday, and I ran like the devil was on my tail, which I know was a pretty crappy thing to do. Then I tried to pretend like she didn't matter to me, but she did. She does. So when she ran out of The Spoon today, I went after her to apologize, and I ended up telling her I like her, and then she kissed me, and—"

"I'm sorry, what?" Amber exclaims, bolting upright. "How could you not start with that? You kissed?"

I sit up, nodding. "It was amazing."

"Aww," she responds. "Hey, Andi and I are going to Adrenaline City on Sunday. How about you and Libby come with us?"

"Sure. I'll ask her."

"This is great," Amber says, "that we both have girlfriends, and we can go on double dates and stuff."

"No more third-wheeling for me," I say.

Amber laughs. "Yeah, that's a positive."

_______________________________________

Libby's POV

"So what do you guys want to do next?" Andi asks us.

Adrenaline City is bursting with life as we step out of the carousel ride zone, back onto the main pathway. People zip by us in groups, all of which are smiling, with the exception of the odd child having a temper tantrum. Iris' hand is linked with mine as we walk, creating a permanent grin on my face.