Bette sighed. "Tina, she loves you. She just wants what’s best for you. Marriage and kids is great."

"I know, it’s just…" Tina looked into Bette’s brown eyes. They were like little swimming pools. She could easily drown in them. "Let’s go downstairs," she said abruptly, walking out, leaving Bette to stare at an empty room.

"So I’ll stop by tomorrow," Bette said, putting on her boots. She stood up and was face-to-face with Tina.

"I’d love that," Tina replied. She opened the door and cold air swept into the foyer, causing Tina to shiver.

"You know, you shouldn’t wear halter tops in September," Bette advised. She stepped onto the porch and turned around.

Both girls were left in an odd position. They didn’t know how to say goodbye to each other. Bette knew Tina was straight and didn’t want to send off the wrong message by getting to close and vice versa. Tina took initiative and hugged Bette.

Bette, whose arms had to hold onto the school supplies, was trapped. She wanted to hug back.

"You can hug back tomorrow," Tina said, letting go and stepping into the house. Her hand was on the doorknob, ready to close it.

Bette furrowed her eyebrows. ‘How did she know I was thinking…

"Good night Bette," Tina said in a sing-song voice. She closed the door and leaned against it, biting her lip and swaying.

 Bette lay in bed that night. She stayed up longer than usual because Tina’s tutoring session took up her homework time. Then, she helped one of her sisters with her English homework. Her hands were tucked behind her head as she looked at the ceiling. She learned a lot about Tina today. Each time she thinked hard, she would tap the eraser part of her pencil on the paper. Her favorite color was red, favorite food was pasta, and she loved Taylor Swift. She hated her mom for whatever reason behind it and wasn’t too happy about her relationship with Henry. She didn’t know why but each time she thought about Tina, her heart would beat faster and her cheeks would grow hot. Tina was beautiful, she couldn’t deny that but she knew that liking her and acting on it would ruin Tina’s reputation. She didn’t want that. So she was stuck in denialville.

She shifted on he bed, still not tired from today. She turned her head to Tina’s window, wondering if she asleep.

Across the street, Tina was debating on telling Bette exactly why she was against her mother or not. Maybe Bette could help her.  She probably was experienced in her situation but she wasn’t so sure. Tina groaned. If she told Bette, it would change everything. All she could think about was Bette. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, her laugh, her warm inviting hug. Tina looked out her window. Because she only had a mattress, she had to sit up to look out of it. If she wasn’t mistaken, Bette was looking at her. Tina shook her head, she couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or shut. It was too dark. Maybe Bette was sleeping and her head ended up facing her way.

Coincidently, both of them fell asleep facing each other, only seprated by walls and the road below.