Comfy Closets - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

I was completely in awe of Olivia. As was Olivia herself.
A stunned silence blanketed the room for a few moments as we all watched her leave. It was not until a couple of seconds later that I kicked into action and jogged after the girl.
I caught up to her at the edge of the field, seeing her standing there with her arms loosely propped on her waist as her head tilted up to the sky.
Stopping by her side, I looked at her with probably the same look of awe still there. I just couldn’t believe that the girl just did that.
The brunette puffed out a breath of air. “Holy crap, what did I just do…”
As I watched her stand there with utter awe for herself, I couldn’t stop the laugh from bursting between my lips. “Dude, you just came out like a fucking boss! That was so damn cool!”
Liv glanced at me in disbelief. But soon after, a laugh erupted from her too. “Yeah, that was pretty badass, huh? And did you see the look on their faces?!” That just made us laugh even harder.
When we calmed down, she palmed her forehead as air whistled out of her mouth. “But seriously, I can’t believe that just happened. Those two started yelling and before I knew it, I was screaming at their faces.”
“I loved how you just didn’t care about what they would think. You just did it.”
“Well, I wasn’t exactly thinking at all…”
I paused. “Do you regret it?”
She was quick to reply. “No, no. Not at all. I just wasn’t expecting that that was how I’d come out to the team.”
“Yeah, like a freaking queen.”
She shoved me lightly in the side as I teased her. “Stooop! I just wanted to kick them back into place. The rest of it just came out.”
“Ha! I see what you did there.”
“Oh my gosh, Aly! You’re so annoying!”
I giggled even more as she tried to shove me away, but I could see the humour in her eyes. I’ve missed this banter with her. It’s been a long time since we’ve been around each other like this. Probably since the beginning of last semester.
We stopped when we noticed the other girls heading towards us from the changing rooms, deciding to settle down for our warm-up stretches instead.
From our position near the edge of the group, I could see Kacey and April glaring our way from the other side, but since Liv didn’t pay it any mind, I chose not to too.
“For real though, Liv, it was amazing to see,” I said, lowering my voice. She smiled softly in return. “Although I was just wondering, what about your boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend?” her brows furrowed in confusion as she reached out to touch her toes. “Oh, you mean the guy from before? That didn’t last long. He was kind of a jerk too, to be honest.”
“So… gay?”
“No, bi. More towards girls though.”
I smirked as I changed stretches. “You know, I suspected.” Her eyes whipped to me with suspicion.
“Really now? How?”
I gave her a knowing look. “I think you know how.”
With that, I stood back up on my feet just as Coach approached to start practice. Olivia followed my lead and faced away from me, but I could still see the hint of pink staining her cheeks.
Our practice commenced as we dove straight into the exercises. As it got closer and closer to game day, Coach Anderson pushed us increasingly harder to our limits. She was like a drill sergeant, barking out orders and criticizing the tiniest mistakes. It was tough alright, and although all of us knew that that'll eventually help us, muttered complaints still passed around after every pause given.
During the scrimmage, I noticed that the two homophobes on the team were purposefully ignoring Liv and my calls for the ball, instead trying to loft it to anyone else. Given that the brunette and I both play midfield, it was not an easy task and it often resulted in the ball being taken by the opposing team. I was starting to become frustrated with their immaturity, having expected they would at least try to put their beliefs aside and play the game right, but I expected too much.
With a glance at Coach, I could tell that I wasn’t the only one who had noticed, her disapproval clear as day. We only had one more short practice tomorrow before the game, so we honestly couldn’t afford any mistakes in these scrimmages, let alone the petty moves made by these two.
After the long session, Ackerman called the two girls over for a private talk and Liv snorted a laugh at the sight. “Serves them right.” I hummed in agreement.
We left the premises soon after and I waved happily at the girls in farewell, giving Olivia a quick hug just to thank her for today and got into Logan with a huge smile on my face. It wasn’t such a bad day after all.
The drive home was peaceful and serene as soft indie-folk music played in the background. I parked the car in the driveway and got out with a skip to my step, letting myself into the house with an eagerness for food.
But the smile quickly fell from my face as I realised that someone was already occupying the kitchen. The sizzling sound from a hot pan drifted through the house, accompanied by a tantalising aroma that beckoned me closer. I slowly made my way around the corner of the living room and spotted my mother standing by the stove with a metal spatula in hand. Addison sat on a tall island stool with swinging legs, colouring something on a piece of paper laid out before her.
Hesitantly, I cleared my throat and Mom’s head jerked up to see me, her lips turning down at the sight of me.
“Hey, Mom. Addy.”
The woman didn’t say anything, just simply looked back down to concentrate on the cooking food. I felt my heart start to ache with every beat at her easy dismissal. My little sister turned around in her chair and grinned widely, unashamedly showing her missing incisor for all to see.
“Aly! Where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you since yesterday before yesterday!”
I let a small, amused smile slip through. Her moments of adorableness always prompted a smile out of me.
“I’ve been around, to school and back, then in my room.” I glanced at my mother for her reaction, but she was stony-faced, hiding all emotion from view. I’ve never seen her expression so blank before.
Getting the feeling that she wanted me out of there, I waved a hand Addison’s way and turned on my heel slowly to step out, forgetting the food and heading to the solitude of my room instead. Every step felt like I was walking on broken glass, bare-footed. Mom’s clear lack of acknowledgement hurt me in a place I only realise could hurt two days ago. But I refused to admit that it had done any damage at all. And so, I chose to take the blow and suffer in silence on my own.
At dinner, the room was tense. The very air we breathed felt heavy and suffocating as it closed our throats and took away our appetites. Even Addison sensed the atmosphere and kept quiet, resorting to pushing the food around on her plate.
Dad cleared his throat and tried to start a conversation. “So, Alyssa, you think you’re ready for the game on Friday? Getting nervous?”
I gulped heavily in an effort to find my voice. “Uhm- I’m a little nervous, yeah. But mostly excited. Are you going to make it to see me play?”
“Of course, sweetheart. It’s the last game of the season. Can’t miss that.”
The edges of my lips curved up in relief, glad to know he’d get to be there. My gaze then drifted over to Mom as she continued to eat her meal silently. I remembered her saying once that she wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now, I wasn’t so sure she’d follow through with her promise.
As if she hadn’t heard a word of our conversation, she turned to her younger daughter. “Come on, Addison. Eat up. Stop playing with the food.” My little sister complied with reluctance, eating a little spoonful only. I just stared at Mom sadly.
Dad noticed my attention on his wife and looked at me with sympathy. I thought he’d talked to her yesterday and calmed her down, maybe even showing her my side of it too. But it seems that it hasn’t helped much.
Despite finding the food no longer appetizing, I shoved mouthfuls down my throat to finish it and promptly gathered my silverware to put in the dishwasher. I needed to get out of there. I couldn’t stand my mother’s stiff aura and the uncomfortable awkwardness of the room any longer.
I bounded up the steps and fell on my bed with a sigh, trying to push down all the dark and nasty feelings from sight. Loneliness, rejection, exclusion – they were all sticky, uncomfortable emotions that were stubbornly trying to cling onto me. These things lingered at the edges of my consciousness, ready to strike the moment I let a gap of weakness show.
My arm came up to cover my eyes, hoping with all my will that the dark hole depression would shrink and fade away. Now was not the best time to have that here.
A click resounded around the room, drawing my attention to the door and the man standing just outside of it.
Dad invited himself in to sit at my desk chair, facing me with deep lines creased across his forehead.
I sat up slowly, studying him for a while. I chose to be the first one to speak.
“I thought you talked to Mom?”
A sigh escaped his mouth. “I did. But you know your mother – she’s a stubborn woman. Her expectations have long since been established and it’s hard for her to shift them.” He said this next part with a solemnness. “Honey, it’ll take time. Her change of opinion won’t likely happen overnight.
I felt my shoulders slump, now knowing for sure that she wasn’t going to watch me play. I didn’t know why her presence there meant so much to me. But she was my mom. She’s always been there to support me at games. And now, to know she wouldn’t be there to see me at the biggest game I’ll have thus far – it was disappointing.
“Right. Okay,” I mumbled quietly.
He seemed lost on what to say in reply, so I saved him the effort. “Should… should I talk to Mom again? Will it help?”
The man rubbed his hands down his face, exhaustion pulling down at his features. “I don’t know, honey. It might, but I suggest, for now, give her some space. I can bring it up from time to time. But you… just ease into it. Don’t let her blow up like last time. She just doesn’t understand right now.”
I bit my lip to stop its quivering, looking away from Dad to block him from seeing the tear that escaped.
___________________
“So, your dad said to just leave it?”
“Sort of,” I muttered, pursing my lips as I walked beside the dirty blonde. “He said it would do more harm than good at the moment, but I don’t know. I want to explain this to her, make her understand. I feel like the longer I leave it, the more convinced she’ll be that she’s right.”
Leah and I were walking beside each other on our way to Chemistry class, and I occasionally got the odd stare or two, but it’s died down. Honestly, most of the looks were not negative like I assumed they were yesterday. A lot were curious and neutral, but there was the occasional scowl. In a way, I liked the fact that it was dismissed easily. It made it feel like the notion of being ‘gay’ was becoming normalized.
After Leah had asked me how I was doing, I immediately went on a rant on the events that transpired last night.
“Well, I can see your point, but I can see his too…” she trailed off in her sentence, her attention seemingly drawn elsewhere.
I looked to her curiously then turned to see where she was staring so intently at. A certain girl on her phone standing a few paces ahead caught my eye. Before I could question my girlfriend about it, she sped up her pace and drew ahead, heading in the blonde’s direction.
“Wait-” I rushed after her, clueless on Leah’s intent.
My girl stopped right in front of Sara and whispered lowly, so quietly I barely caught it. “I need to talk to you.”
The blonde quirked a brow just as I arrived at Leah’s side. “Really now?”
“Yes,” my girlfriend said harshly. Sara lifted her palms up mockingly in surrender.
“Alright, alright.”
With that, the student council president dragged the blonde to the nearest empty room as I followed suit. There were still a couple of minutes left before classes would begin, so we had time to talk about whatever it was Leah had in mind.
I closed the door behind us and walked to my girlfriend who had her arms crossed and a glare in her eyes as she stared at Sara. The girl herself, on the other hand, stood casually as she lazily glanced at the two of us.
“So, what is it?” the blonde drawled.
Leah took an intimidating step forward. “I know you were the one who outed Lyssa to everyone.”
At that, my eyes widened considerably. I stared at Sara in bewilderment.
“You were the one?”
The blonde rolled her eyes but didn’t answer, looking the other way.
“When you first said it was Charles who told everyone, I was sceptical,” Leah started, not breaking her stare from her former friend. “I just couldn’t think of a motive that’d make him wanna tell everyone. Then I thought maybe it was just an accident, but that didn’t seem right either. Why would he out you and not me too? We were the ones kissing each other when he saw it. It just didn’t make sense.”
She took another slow step closer, tension filling the room with every second she drew near. Sara started to squirm uncomfortably at the closing distance. “Then I talked to Gia yesterday and she said that she’d already had a chat with her boyfriend about it, who confirmed that he didn’t say anything. He was actually happy for us.” Leah chuckled, but there was not a hint of humour in it.
“Which brings me to you. You were the only one who I could think of that could possibly have an ill-intent. My only question is, why out Lys and not me too?”
She said her last few words in a whisper, only inches away from Sara. The girl herself now looked into Leah’s hazel orbs, gulping nervously before composing herself. “Fine. Yes, it was me. But I needed to do it. I had to show you how bad it would be if you ever wanted to tell people you were a gay. You’ll just suffer. You’ll lose friends, your reputation. It’ll all go to shit!”
The blonde seemed convinced by her words, adamant in believing that what she did was right. She was blind to the horrible faults of her actions and it pissed me off to see the self-righteous look on her face.
“By outing Lyssa, you did all those things to her,” my girlfriend said darkly. I’ve never really heard her talk like that before. Sara, however, had no reaction. “But you don’t get it, do you? I don’t want to be friends with people who won’t accept this about me. They aren’t worth my time. All they’ll do is hate and judge me for something that’s just a part of me. And as for you,” she muttered ominously, “if you can’t get rid of your ignorance about this and accept the fact that I’m just attracted to both genders, then I don’t think its best if we stay friends.”
Sara’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. Her eyes flickered between the two of us frantically as if unable to comprehend what was happening right now. “B-but I did this for you! I don’t want you to turn out to be a pariah. I care about you!”
“If you actually cared, you would be thinking about my happiness and not shoving me further into the closet.” On that note, my girlfriend spun around on the spot and grabbed my hand, leading us out of there just as the first students entered the room. We left the blonde standing there, and after sending a last look of contempt over my shoulder, I turned around and didn’t look back.
With my hand clasped tightly in Leah’s grip, she rushed us to class, and we made it a few seconds after the bell rang. Sending a sheepish look Mrs Parry’s way, we got into our seats and sat down with a huff.
As we got out our books and tuned into the teacher’s words, I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Leah, a little worried for her. What happened back there was intense, and it couldn’t have been easy for her to say all that to her ex-best friend.
I waited until the woman up front was preoccupied with the whiteboard before whispering to Leah. “Hey, you alright?”
I saw her jaw tighten. “No, I’m pissed. She outed you and didn’t even regret it! I can’t believe her. And she even had the balls to tell me she did it for my sake!” Her words came out louder towards the end, causing some of the students around us to stare curiously. She lowered her voice. “I just don’t know how someone I used to be so close to, someone I trusted, could do this.”
I frowned, empathising with her. I knew how it feels to have someone you care about misunderstand you so badly to the point it hurts.
There was nothing I could say that would help, so instead, I lifted my hand to rub the small of her back in comfort.
Feeling someone’s stare on the back of my head, I glanced back to see Ashton looking between us confusingly. I shook my head slightly and turned back to the front.
For most of the lesson, Leah looked to be in deep thought as she chewed on her lip and stared blankly ahead. I was starting to get concerned, but that was until she turned to me and grasped my forearm, staring at me with he determined hazel eyes.
“Let’s just be a couple.”
I laughed slightly. “We already are a couple.”
“No, I mean just be a couple. Let’s not care about what others think. I want to be out with you – be your girlfriend, for real.”
For a second, I was shocked into silence. “Wait, seriously? You would wanna do that?”
A grin started to form on her face. “Yeah. I wanna be your girlfriend and not care if someone sees us holding hands or kissing. I’d get to kiss those lips anytime I want. And besides, I’ve always not cared much if anyone found out, so let’s just do it.”
The spontaneity of it all had me dumbfounded but even so, I couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across my lips. “Alright, yeah, let’s do it.”
Her beautiful eyes lighted up at my words, shining so brightly it made my heart warm. She leaned over and kissed my cheek, not caring about who may be looking or what they may think.
I knew this was prompted because of what Sara said only an hour ago but I wasn’t going to oppose it, as I knew this was what Leah has always wanted.
We finished up the worksheet and handed them in before the bell. As I packed up my things, Leah stood up and held out a hand for me to take, a smirk gracing her lips.
I gladly took it and let her lead us out, staying close to her side as we entered the crowded hallway. Soon, I could feel the stares again, but this time, it was aimed at both of us as we walked down the corridor together. I couldn’t help the blush that heated my cheeks, but Leah walked beside me with confidence in her stride, ignoring the people around us.
My girlfriend leaned closer and whispered. “Have I mentioned you look so fucking hot in that shirt? I want to take you right now.”
My face grew even hotter at her bold words, watching as she glanced up and down my outfit with those sultry eyes. I had on a black long-sleeve button-up with its cuffs folded up and the hem tucked into my jean shorts in front. I felt her gaze linger at my cleavage, where the top buttons had been unbuttoned, teasing her and keeping her wanting more.
By now, we arrived at her locker and she promptly leaned me against the metal. I whispered lowly in return with a playful smile. “Later.”
She raised a brow and leaned in to kiss my lips. “I’m holding you to that.”
I heard gasps and whispers erupt from the people around us. I took a quick peek around Leah and saw the dropped mouths and widened eyes of the people staring. A comment or two was said loud enough for us to hear.
“Oh my god, did you see them kiss?!”
“Never would’ve guessed Leah Bennett swung that way. Damn it, what a waste.”
I rolled my eyes and drew my attention back to the gorgeous girl in front of me. Her hand came up to brush a stray lock aside. “Ignore them. It’s just you and me. And you’re all mine.”
With that, she closed the space between us and pressed her soft plump lips against mine. I responded eagerly and returned it with a passion, everything else fading away from me. I draped my arms around her neck and pulled her closer, savouring the taste of her as she deepened the kiss.
It was, however, short-lived as none other than my fiery best friend spoke up to interrupt us. “Wowee! It’s gettin’ hot in here, someone get me a glass of cold water.”
We separated our lips and glared at the redhead. “Let me kiss my girlfriend in peace,” Leah said gruffly.
Gia chuckled as she stopped by us. “Sorry, no can do. Now I gotta watch you guys kiss everywhere, and it’s gonna be so sickening. I gotta stop it whenever I can.”
I groaned softly, knowing that she’d actually do it just to annoy us. Zach approached us from behind Gia, glancing between my girlfriend and I in perplexity. “Wait, so you guys are out out? Like a public couple?” When the two of us happily nodded, he grinned widely. “Ayyy, that’s so good. I’m so happy for you guys.” He came over to hug us tightly, and we couldn’t help but laugh.
Gia exclaimed suddenly. “Wait! Now we can actually go on a quadruple date! It’s going to be so fun!”
She and Zach started talking excitedly as they brainstormed ideas for us, and I stood by my girlfriend with an arm around her waist, smiling fondly at the beauty.
“Wait, why is everybody staring-” Riley said as she walked by with Ashton, cutting herself off when her eyes passed over Leah and I. “Holy crap! What’s going on? Are you guys out now?” We confirmed it for her with a simple ‘yes’.
“I guessed as much. Your flirting was way too obvious in class, even for me,” Ash remarked, earning a roll of the eyes from me.
I enjoyed the feeling of Leah in my arms as we soon made our way to class, me walking her to hers so I could stay with her a little longer. On our way there, I spotted Sara glowering at us from further away, and despite its intensity, I brushed it aside like nothing and continued on happily. Her opinion of us was of no concern to us anymore.
As we arrived at her classroom door, I leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss, loving the way her soft lips so easily melded with mine. When we pulled apart, she gave me a soft look. “I have a meeting after school. I’ll meet up with you after your practice? On the field?”
I hummed in agreement and gave her another peck, just because I could. “Okay.”
Releasing her reluctantly, I watched as she entered her classroom, shooting me a final glance over her shoulder before disappearing from sight. Sighing in content, I headed to my own class with a heart filled with joy as it practically skipped at every thought that came to mind of the beautiful girl that I got to call my girlfriend.
___________________
Practice was the same as yesterday, in the way that Kacey and April were giving it their best effort in avoiding any passes to Olivia and me.
I growled with frustration as April passed the ball to our other midfielder on the other side of the field for the third time, only to be intercepted again by the opposing team.
I shared an annoyed look with Liv and glared at the defender. She glared back with the same ferocity.
As captain, I knew I couldn’t let this continue any longer, but I didn’t know how to handle this without it ending in a screaming match.
Thankfully, my thoughts were interrupted by our coach as she shouted for everyone to stop.
“Reagan! Kepner! Come here!” the woman said angrily, her stance wide and intimidating. The two girls scurried over, and Coach made them stand by her side. “These two are the exact examples of what not to do in tomorrow’s game. I’ve been watching them, and they have been avoiding passing to our open players in the middle, opting to make stupid passes to the ones who were heavily marked. Now, I don’t know what reasoning they’re using to make those calls, but it’s not what we need for this team!”
Coach scowled at the two and they shrank away from its intensity. “So, because of this, I’ve decided that they’ll be taken out of the starting eleven. Anyone else who makes stupid mistakes like these will suffer the same consequences. Now get back to the game!”
I watched the two girls jog back with their heads down, embarrassment colouring their cheeks from the humiliation Coach put them through. Deep frowns marred their faces too from being knocked down a peg.
I noticed that the other girls were not surprised by the change, having noticed the lack of cooperation from the two since yesterday. We all knew the reason behind that.
The practice soon came to an end and my heart started to palpitate with excitement at the thought of seeing Leah. I spotted her sitting on the benches at the edge of the field and quickly jogged over to meet her.
The dirty blonde stood up from her seat and smiled as I drew near. I slowed down, and the first thing I did was pull her to me and plant a kiss right on her lips, a smile of my own tugging at my mouth as she returned it keenly.
A few catcalls and whistles could be heard behind me, and when we separated, I turned to them and playfully rolled my eyes.
Lindsey neared us with a bottle in hand, a teasing grin stretching from ear to ear. “Oh wow. The class president? You just went for the top, didn’t you Aly?”
I groaned at her teasing as Leah giggled by my side and replied. “Yeah, she did go for the top, and in more ways than one.”
It took me a second to get it, but once I did, I groaned even louder. The other girls in earshot were laughing at my expense. “Babe! Why you gotta do me like that?”
My girlfriend smirked and leaned in to whisper so only I could hear. “Oh hon, I can do you however I want to.”
I felt my ears grow rather hot, closing my eyes for a second as a shiver passed through my body. Leah noticed it and her smirk became even smugger.
“Aww! You guys look so damn cute! How come none of us even suspected you two?” Camilla voiced out.
“We were just good at keeping it on the down-low,” I said. However, I caught the look Hayley and Liv were giving me and corrected myself. “Well, not as good as we thought.”
“I’m surprised no one else caught you two, you horny dogs,” Liv muttered under her breath. I jokingly sent her a glare at that.
The girls soon dispersed to head to the locker room, leaving Leah and I to ourselves. “I need to go take a shower. I’m sweaty as hell, it’s disgusting. Do you mind waiting for a bit more?”
My girlfriend smiled reassuringly. “No, it’s fine. Just be quick. We’re heading to mines after.”
I quirked a brow. “Oh, really? To do what, may I ask?”
Leah closed the gap until her lips were brushing mine. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
I smirked and pulled away, letting go of her hand reluctantly as I started my way to the showers. “Wait for me.”