Morphine

Chapter Forty Two

Marceline Anne closed her locker and spun the dial before readjusting her bags on her shoulder and her coat on her arm.

A throat clearing stopped her from walking off.

She sighed deeply. "Byrd."

"So you do remember me...?"

Marceline Anne turned to face her associate slowly. "What?"

"Really?" Byrd glared at her. "You haven't spoken to us in months and now you're hanging around some preppy kid?"

Marceline Anne just stared at her.

"So no explanation?"

"Why would I explain myself to you?"

"Wow." Byrd said with her whole mouth. "I heard it was one of those guys that we hit up at the beginning of the year. Does he know about us?"

"Us?"

"You and me." Byrd spelled out bitterly.

"There is no you and me."

Byrd reacted like she'd been slapped.

Marceline Anne realized Byrd was hurt. "Where is this coming from?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Byrd was on the verge of tears. "I had never been with a girl before you!"

"You act like I twisted your arm!" Marceline Anne was offended.

"I am not!" Tears slid down Byrd's face. "I was into boys before I met you and now you're all I think about but you treat me like I'm just body parts for you to play with!"

"What day and time did we sit down and DTR?" Marceline Anne didn't like her description of their time together. "We were hanging out and you kissed me. I went with it and we just started hooking up whenever.

Do not stand there and pretend that I took advantage of you just because I have a man!"

"So what? He's your boyfriend?"

"Who he is, is not the point. The point is that the Animals are not my friends. They're three idiots I tolerate and a girl I thought was cool. I owe you no explanations.

Don't blame me because you thought I was supposed to be over the moon just because I put my mouth on you. We were nothing."

Byrd's face crumpled and her head dropped as she sobbed.

People passing in the halls stopped to watch her cry, never having seen deep emotions from either girl before.

Fuck...! Marceline Anne swore internally. She wasn't trying to hurt Byrd and she didn't want her humiliated but she'd never been deep in it with anyone before. At least until Malcolm...

Just thinking about him calmed her but made her feel an emotion she knew nothing about. She remembered their fight from that morning and their vow that very afternoon to be more understanding.

She licked her lips as she tried to view things from Byrd's point of view. Marceline Anne had known about her sexuality from practically the beginning of her existence. She'd never not known.

But that didn't mean other people did. That didn't mean Byrd did.

If she really was Byrd's first sexual experience with a female then it made sense that she'd be a little attached. Marceline Anne knew that firsts meant a lot to other people. Hers had meant nothing. Male or female.

She chewed on her bottom lip before going to Byrd and patting her back awkwardly.

Byrd pushed her away. "I love you and you don't even care."