Dye | Tyrus/Ambi

Part 20: You Are Funny

Andi's POV

I take a moment to phrase how I'm going to say this to my parents before touching the doorknob. Mom, Dad, I'm pan, and Amber's not my friend. She's my girlfriend. It sounds so simple in my head. That's why I'm so surprised that when I open the door to reveal my parents sitting together on the couch with books, I suddenly become incapable of getting my voice to work. 

"Hey, Andi," Mom says. "Doing okay?"

I nod, my mouth still too dry to communicate. I guess it's true that whether or not you know someone will accept you, telling someone that they were wrong about you is difficult, especially when it's your parents. They probably have this whole idea of how my life is going to go, and I'm about to challenge that. 

"You sure?" Dad asks. "You seem a little stressed."

Why are they doing this? Bex must have told Bowie about what Amber said to her, and there's no way that my mom just brushed it off. As annoying as it can be sometimes, she loves to get into other people's business, and mine is no exception, so I find it hard to believe that she's not gnawing on Amber's words, waiting for the right moment to bring them up. 

"So your friend, Amber, showed up at Cloud 10 today," my mom says.

"Yeah, um, about that . . ." I begin.

I walk around to sit down in the seat across the room from my parents. 

My words come out as stuttering starts of unfinished sentences. "She's—um—I'm—uh."

Bex helps me out, leading my thought in by saying, "She's . . .?"

"My girlfriend," I finish for her. 

My hands feel prickly with nerves, so I bend them backward, playing with my own fingers to try to take my focus away from my throbbing pulse. My parents share a glance, not even trying to look surprised.

"She's your girlfriend," my dad repeats. 

I nod. 

"And you're . . .?" Bex starts. 

"Pan," I answer. "Pansexual. Yeah."

Bex smiles as she gets up off the couch and makes her way over to join me on the armrest of my cushioned seat. Bowie does the same, taking the other side, and they close me in from all angles as they hug me. 

"Your girlfriend has no filter," Mom says as she releases me. "She really cares about you, and she was not trying to hide the extent of her feelings at all."

"That's one of the things I like about her," I confess, smiling to myself. 

"Yeah, I don't mind it," Mom responds. 

"Does that mean you'll let me see her?" I ask hopefully. 

Bex sighs, looking down at me to explain, "I told you I didn't want you to be friends with her because I thought she'd cause you to make some of the stupid choices that I did in high school. But after talking to her, I think she has your best interests in mind."

"That doesn't mean we trust everything she does, though," Dad adds on. "We're trusting that you'll keep her in line."

"Yes, of course," I respond. "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything like start any fires—any more fires." I quickly shake off that thought, saying instead, "You can trust me."

It wasn't a big fire, and I wasn't there for it. Amber mentioned once that she accidentally lit a learning guide on fire when she and Iris tried to light birthday candles on a cake in the Learning commons for Caleb's birthday. I don't even think she got in trouble for it, because she managed to put out the fire before the teacher came by. I doubt she ever returned that learning guide to the library.