Gaydar

Food Chain

"Mason! Glorious news!" Gabby sings, prancing toward me with elegance.

My eyes glance over to her, and I'm a little shocked from what I see. Gabby is sporting a red cheerleader blouse and skirt, a scarlet bow that places her golden blonde locks in a ponytail, and cherry red lipstick. Gabby isn't on the cheerleading team, since she has no interest in sports. She also never wears her hair in a ponytail, so today she looks very different and I'm a little worried.

"Hey Gabby, uh...is everything alright?" I ask.

She giggles and spins in a circle. "We have a double date today!"

"Oh, yes I know. I'm excited about it too, but what's with the cheerleader uniform?" I question.

She looks down at it for a second as if she forgot why. "Oh right! I joined the cheerleader team to support Caspian in basketball or whatever!" she smiles.

"You mean football?" I correct her.

"Yes, the one where they pass the ball with their feet!" she says confidently.

In another country, she would be right, so I'll give it to her.

"I'm glad you made the team, was it hard to try out?"

She shrugs. "I don't know, I just forced them to let me join."

I chuckle. "I should've known."

Gabby checks her phone and starts texting with a smile. "He's so funny," she giggles.

I try peeking over her shoulder. "Is that Caspian?"

She nods and puts her phone away. "I have to tell you about my date with him the other day!"

I perk up. "Spill!"

"He took me to the movies first and it was so romantic, he held my hand!" she smiles.

I blush and look to the side. "Oh? He did, that's interesting."

I know that I shouldn't be jealous, especially since this is good for both Caspian and Gabby. Also, Caspian found me Noah, who I might start dating soon. Still, my crush on Caspian hasn't disappeared. Hopefully it will wither away the more time I spend with Noah.

"The whole time he was very gracious and sweet. He followed my minimal touching rule as well," she smiles.

"So you didn't kiss I assume," I say a little too enthusiastically. I shouldn't make it too obvious that I'm happy about that.

"Of course not. I'm not a desperate barbarian," she mutters.

I laugh nervously. "No you're not."

I think back to how Noah and I kissed right when he told me he was gay. Then, I kissed him after we had our date. According to Gabby's standards, I'm an extremely desperate barbarian.

"After the movies, we went out to eat at a fancy restaurant, where he even pulled my seat out for me. The whole experience was quite charming and rich! Caspian is as good as you said Mason, I'm glad you pushed me to date him. You're a good friend!" she smiles.

"We are best friends after all."

"About that," she whispers. "I'm thinking of abolishing the GEMs. I think the two of us are closer and Emily is kind of a third wheel. I don't think she should roll around in our success."

I laugh nervously. "Are you sure? Wouldn't that hurt her feelings?"

"She has Scarlett," Gabby shrugs. I'm surprised Gabby actually said her name. "Emily would be better off not being a third wheel, don't you agree?"