Comfy Closets - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

It felt like my heart just stopped for a second as the question left her lips.
I had no answer to give without giving myself away.
None of the girls knew of my attraction to the feminine sex. None. And I wasn't planning on telling them now.
Gia and Ashton were the only ones who knew, and those two were so close to me I could practically call them my brother and sister. Funny how it's my real family who still doesn't know...
Nevermind that. What could I say to these two? Oh, he's not my type. No that's weak, and they'd probably figure it out right away. As close as I was to these girls, I just wasn't ready to tell them about this. Their reactions could turn out bad. I didn't want to take that risk.
I've heard the stories, the things people whispered about to each other of the people in the Lgbt community - how they were ostracized, shunned, looked down on because of this one small fact. I didn't know if I could handle that.
But despite not being able to tell them, they meant a lot to me, and I wouldn't lose them over this.
It felt like we had been standing there for forever, but it'd only been seconds as they looked to me for my answer. My jaw clenched as my eyes darted between them, hands fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I opened my mouth to give them whatever stupid excuse popped up and hoped to the bullshit gods that it'd be enough.
But as if the deities had been listening, they saved me when Lindsey spoke up first. "Cam, girl back down. She might just have some other boy already in her sights," she said reasonably,  winking hintingly my way. "And Conner isn't the perfect guy. He can be a douche sometimes when he's around the guys."
I felt my shoulders lose it's tense form as I breathed out slowly. That was so close. Too close. I nodded in agreement to her statement while Camilla raised a brow but didn't push the subject any further.
"Too bad most of the guys here are like that," the Latina grumbled sadly.
We reached the centre of the field and I happily separated from the two to avoid any talks about relationships.
When Coach called the end of practice, my teammates' forms slouched in relief as we sludged back to the changing rooms.
I packed up my gear and called out goodbyes to the girls before hastily heading out to my car, the conversation I had with Cam and Lindsey chose to keep replaying in my head. Analysing every sentence, word and twitch of a facial expression.
I should've felt glad about the outcome, but something still bothered me for some reason and I couldn't figure out why. I rubbed at my temple as the onset of a headache crept steadily forward.
As I started up my car, the radio that I forgot to turn off started blasting a song, the familiar indie rock tune blasting through the speakers. It's effects somehow overshadowed my headache-inducing thoughts, allowing the foot-tapping beat to wash over instead.
"I wonder what you'll wear tonight! The shiny black dress with the slit at the thigh? Is it such fantasy that I should think, someone like you could love a creep like me?" I sang along under my breath as I took a left turn at an intersection.
Hitting my digits along the steering wheel as if I was a drummer pro, my head bobbed like a maniac to the rhythm.
As I was in the middle of my dramatic concert for nobody but my windshield, I caught a glimpse of the street that stationed the coffee shop I worked at part-time. I made a quick decision and made a turn, thinking of treating myself to something before I headed home. Who knows, it might just help wipe out the last vestiges of this headache.
I parked my car and jammed to the rest of the song; can't possibly stop whilst in the middle of this masterpiece. That'd just be disrespectful.
Locking up my car, I headed into the familiar quaint coffee shop that I'd been working at since the middle of junior year. It was a pretty aesthetic job, I'd have to say, and paid decently too.
I stepped into the cosy shop, instantly bombarded by the usual coffee bean and buttery pastry smell. It's become a comforting scent - the tranquil and relaxing space a hot spot for some of the teens of my school.
"Hey Jemma, I just stopped by for a cup," I said to my boss as I walked up to the counter.
She gave me a brief nod of welcome as she worked on a customer's order. "Hi Aly. You want your usual?"
"You know my favourite. Thanks, Jem."
The seats and couches that spreaded across the room was one of the more attractive aspects of the place. Mismatching chairs and sofas occupied the space, and varying heights of tables stood to offer the comfort a customer preferred. That deliberate choice of design was what made this place very unusual, but unique. And a tad hipster.
Deciding to wait on the seats of one of my favourite soft cushioned chairs, I turned around. And was hit on the front by a cup of very hot coffee.
I hadn't noticed the person was standing just behind me, heading to the door just to my left. My sudden turn, unfortunately, was not anticipated by the person before anything could be done.
"Oh sh*t, that is hot! Mother f-trucker!" I exclaimed as hot coffee spilt all over my kit and arms.
"OH MY GOD! I'M SO SORRY! Ahh-, umm-, I-I'll go get napkins. CAN SOMEONE PASS ME NAPKINS PLEASE?!?"
I was busy looking down at myself, my arms rapidly turning into a shade of tomato red at a scary pace. I hadn't even looked at the woman. But she was clearly panicking quite a bit, a little too frazzled right now to kick into action.
"Damn, that freaking stings. And my kit..." I mumbled with dissatisfaction as I observed the damage done, the once light blue shirt now a brownish sludge colour.
I finally looked up at the girl when she started wiping down my arms and the coffee-stained kit with a bunch of napkins that someone must have handed to her. Her frantic wiping was not helping much with the stains and my dignity, but at least she was helping. The young woman had her phone in the other hand, and that's when I figured out the cause of this accident.
As I analysed her, I paused for a second at her face. Did I know her? She didn't strike me as a person I've met before but something about her face seemed very... familiar...
The blonde-haired woman suddenly stopped her motions, surprising me as she started looking around the coffee shop. Like she was searching for someone. Her eyes lit up in relief when she apparently found said someone and frantically signalled the person to come over. "LELE! Come over here! I need your help!"
Yes, Lele, come help us. Let's bring more attention to my embarrassment. I felt annoyance start to creep in as I darted my eyes around the room. I must've looked like a fool to Jemma and my colleagues.
I turned to the person she was looking at, in the direction of the restroom, and suddenly, I was plunged into a surreal moment of déjà vu.
'Lele' turned to look in our direction, an understandably surprised and concerned look on her face. My mind, for some reason, was not making the connection that the person was actually here in the present. No way. This can't be happening.
Once the girl got over her shock and appraised the situation, she quickly rushed over to help. It was only when she had arrived and was standing a few metres away that I snapped out of that quick stroll down memory lane of one embarrassing recount.
Now, with Leah Bennett standing right in front of me, I felt more embarrassed than annoyed with the current situation.
Why am I always embarrassing myself? I thought as she too started to help wipe the coffee-stain off my light blue jersey as much as she could. Meanwhile, I just stood there like an idiot as the two girls wiped my shirt until they were satisfied. I seemed to have had lost the ability to move my hands, out of the sheer shock that had paralysed me.
Leah didn't seem to have recognised me yet, but that was probably because she didn't actually know me in school. At all.
We have never talked - if you didn't count the moment that happened a few hours ago - so I wasn't expecting her to recognise me now. But our year group wasn't too big, so there was always a chance. Adding onto the fact that we shared a class together.
When they were done, Leah finally looked up to meet my eyes, and I saw a flash of recognition cross her face. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as her hand went to cover it, the realization hitting her.
"Wait! I know you! You go to my school! Alex, right?"
Oh, my poor ego just took a hit.