My Art Freak

Chapter Twenty

(y/n)'s POV

It was a month into my relationship with Janis and so far everything was perfect. I know that only one month isn't much to go off of, but we were too deliriously happy to care. We knew the honeymoon stage would go away and our love would still be there.

The friend group had grown suspicious of us lately. They'd probably picked up on our crushes on one another, but had anyone figured out that Janis and I were dating? Had Damien told them? Had they caught on? We had no clue.

We had decided against telling them right away, instead we wanted to settle into the new relationship for a little while before our friends would make any sort of big deal out of this.

Today was the day, though, that Janis and I would announce that we were dating to our friends.

She squeezed my hand reassuringly as she walked me from my previous class to lunch. I squeezed back before retracting my hand from hers.

We entered the lunch room, shoulders tense and the air feeling thick as it entered our lungs.

Slowly, painfully slowly, we walked to our table, so far completely ignored by all our friends.

Except for two.

Damien watched us with an encouraging smile that made my worries fade a bit. Not much, but enough to return the gesture, albeit far more uneasily.

Cady, on the other hand, gave me a look that made nausea rise in my belly. I couldn't describe it, there were no words I could conjure up to explain what her expression showed. All I could say is it wasn't good, not good at all.

Why was I so nervous to tell my friends? They weren't homophobic, they shipped us, they cared about both Janis and I.

Maybe it was just the knowledge that this would change things. Nothing would be the same in our friend group, changes are always made when two friends get together.

What if we broke up? What if it ended terribly and our group was divided in two, picking sides on our wretched fight and effectively splitting our harmonious friendship at the seams?

Or what if it went fantastic, and people were jealous of us, and we lost friends that way?

What if we became "that" couple, who people hated because they were always together?

We sat down in the uncomfortable plastic seats of the cafeteria, looking around. People had clearly caught onto our discomfort, and everyone was here. Now or never.

I gave Janis the nod and she grabbed my hand once again, squeezing reassuringly as she stood up.

"So. Guys. We.. uhh... I have an announcement." Janis drew everyone's attention. I held my breath, taking in everyone's expressions. Their gazes flickered from Janis, to me, and back to her, making my stomach feel as if it was full of lead.

"(y/n) and I... are dating. We have been for a month now." She announced, pulling me up by the hand. She wrapped her arm around my waist as my eyes went wide, scanning everyone in panic.

Damien was the first to cheer, followed by Gretchen, and soon everyone else joined in. We received several congratulations, and both of us got the "you break her heart, I break your face" chat from various people. Even Regina was vocal about her approval, saying "Took you long enough."

She loved us in her own special way.

The only person who was silent was Cady. She looked unreadable, making my stomach churn. She walked over, giving us both a quick hug, but her face still seemed a tad bit disappointed. What was wrong with her?

"Congrats. I'm sure you'll be very happy together." She spoke breathily and I could hear the bitterness in her voice. What was causing her to act like this?

Sensing my unease, Janis grabbed my hand that was closest to her with her free hand. I turned to her, smiling as we sat back down. The conversation became relatively normal, but something was eating at me.

And that something was that Cady hadn't spoken since her halfhearted congratulations.

I sent Janis a look of concern, which she answered with a confused face. I pulled out my phone, typing a text to her under the table.

"is something up with Cady?"

I gestured to my phone, causing her to whip her own out to read the text and respond.

"think so"

"do you think we could help?? i'm worried, she hasn't been talking :("

"i don't think it's your business to help with, (y/n). you should probably leave it be, i'll ask her what's up later."

"....... alright, but let me know if something's seriously wrong, okay?"

"i promise, i'm sure it's nothing."

But if it was weighing down on Cady this much, how could it be nothing?

(809 words)