"What?" Arizona said looking up at me. Her eyes searched for any sign of me having told a lie.

"I'm gay." I repeated. It was so nice to say it out-loud, so nice to get it off my chest, to have someone to talk to. "I haven't told anyone, you're the only person who knows."

"Wow." Suddenly she burst into laughter and I joined in. We sat there laughing for a good five minutes, whenever either on of us tried to say something we just ended up laughing even more. "I guess you don't think I am 'wrong' then."

"Nope, I would be a little bit of a hypocrite if I said I did." I smiled warmly at her and she returned the smile.

"I'm sorry for not saying anything earlier. I'm not ashamed, it's just..." She trailed off.

"You couldn't face going through the same treatment you received last time."

"Exactly. I wanted people to get to know me before I told them, I wanted them to know that I was still the same person, except, I like girls." She winked at me, making me laugh. "Plus, I like living here, I love that I am really getting to know my dad."

"How long have you known?" I asked her, I have never had the chance to talk to someone else who was gay, it was nice to know that I was not alone, it was nice to have support, to be able to have a conversation with someone who understands what it is I am going through.

Arizona rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, "Since I was about 14. I told my mum then but she told me I was just confused, that puberty and hormones were messing with my mind. I believed her, I mean it made sense. Then I met Annabelle just under two years ago, and that confirmed what I already knew. That I was gay."

"Annabelle, was that the girl you kissed?"

"Yeah. I am not the most sociable person, I prefer to be on my own. But she was new and wouldn't leave me alone. We started hanging out." Arizona continued to rub the back of her neck, "She was the closest thing I had to a best friend, she encouraged me to be more sociable and I followed her advice. But then one day I saw her flirting with one of the boys in our Maths class, and jealousy took over. I went home and put two and two together. The jealousy and how attractive I found her. The next week, when we were at hers, I told her I was gay and that I liked her. She asked me if I had ever kissed a girl. I told her I hadn't, and she told me to kiss her. So I did. The next day everyone had heard the rumour that I was gay and that I had made a move on Annabelle."

"I'm sorry to hear that, it cant have been awful for you." I told her, she just shrugged it off as if it meant nothing. I can't imagine how I would feel if Courtney did that to me, I would be heartbroken, would I be able to shrug it off like that?

"Don't be. She can't really have been my friend." Arizona looked at me then, I mean really looked at me. "It's so weird, I feel like I can tell you anything, but I have only known you a few days." She shook her head in disbelief.

"I feel the same. It's crazy. I've told you stuff that I haven't even told Courtney." I laughed and too, shook my head in disbelief.

"You like her, don't you?" Arizona asked, and though she was still smiling, I could see it wasn't real, it hadn't reached her eyes like it usually did, making them sparkle. Should I tell her the truth? I had already told her my biggest secret, what was the point in lying now.

I sighed, I had said it out-loud plenty of times, but never when someone was close enough to hear. "I love her. I really love her." It's amazing, that feeling of getting something off your chest. It makes you feel a lot better, ready to take on the next obstacle and a little light-headed.

"I thought so. I mean the way you defend her, the way you looked at that guy she was flirting with today at break. I mean if looks could kill." She laughed, but it wasn't her usual airy laugh, that had the ability to make me want to join in, this laugh sounded like it had been forced.

"I love her so much it hurts." You know when you have been holding in the truth for so long, than when you finally start to tell it you cant stop yourself, and everything comes out. Yep, that was happening to me right now.

"Have you told her?" I looked at Arizona like she had just grown a second head. Was she mad?

"Of course not. If she knew," I shook my head vigorously at the thought of Courtney knowing that I was in love with her, "She would hate me, and I would lose everything."

"Lose everything?" She questioned, looking at me, confusion written all over her face.

"Yes, everything. People would stop respecting me, Courtney would no longer talk to me, my friends were no longer talking to me. I would no longer be..."

"Popular." Arizona finished for me when I trailed off. Popular, was that how I was going to finish that sentence? Did that really matter to me? All this time I had believed that my 'status' meant nothing to me, but did it? Is that what I was really afraid of losing? She smiled sadly at me.

"That's not what I was going to say." I said, sounding uncertain.

"You have to promise Arizona that you wont tell anyone." She looked at me, sadness filled her beautiful blue eyes.

"I promise. Mickie..." She opened her mouth to add something, but stopped at the sound of my phone going off. It was Courtney's ringtone.

"I'm sorry give me two minutes." Arizona nodded to me as I picked up my phone.

"Hey." I answered the phone.

"Hey Mickie." Courtney's angelic voice greeted me. I was glad she couldn't see me, I was blushing like mad, knowing that I had just been declaring my love of her. "Are you still with your little friend?" I didn't have to see her to know that she was smirking.

"Yeah." I couldn't say too much, Arizona was sitting across from me.

"She's there isn't she." Courtney laughed.

"Oh yeah." I said, trying to sound like I was agreeing with the person on the phone, as not to make it obvious to Arizona that I was talking about her.

"Does she know it's me on the phone."

"No, I don't think so." I smiled apologetically at Arizona, I cant imagine how awkward this must be for her, she gave me a small smile and mouthed 'Don't worry about it.'

"Now repeat after me." I must have frowned because Arizona asked me if I was okay. What was Courtney playing at? I nodded at Arizona, letting her know that I was alright. "I understand mum, it's fine."

I did as Courtney asked, and repeated her words, "I understand mum, it's fine."

"Good now say. Okay mum, I'll be right home. Yep see you soon."

"Okay mum, I'll be right home." Again I repeated what Courtney had said. "Yep see you soon."

"Great now hang up and tell her, that you have to go home, your mum needs you." Courtney hung up, and I followed suit. Turning to Arizona once I had done so.

"I'm sorry Arizona, but I have to go. My mum needs me, she said it's urgent." I stood up and grabbed my back from the corner of her room where I had dropped it when we had first arrived.

"It's fine I understand." Arizona stood up and joined me at her bedroom door. We walked down her stairs and to her front door in silence. When we got to the front door she pulled me into a hug. "Don't let her use you." She whispered in my ear.

I pulled back, 'don't let her use you', what did she mean by that? Was she talking about Courtney? No, she cant have been, she can't possibly have known that was her on the phone. I did respond to her, I didn't know what to say back.

"Well, thank-you for this afternoon Mickie. It was nice to have someone to talk to. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She opened the front door for me.

"Yeah it was nice to talk to you too." I didn't know what else to say, so I said a quick goodbye and left.

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Arizona's P.O.V

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Damn it Arizona, can you ever keep your mouth shut. I shut the front door and leaned back against it, lightly hitting the back of my head against it. It was so obvious that it was Courtney calling, I mean, her gorgeous green eyes lit up, and she was blushing like a fool. Did she really think I would believe that her and Courtney were not talking, people like Courtney would never just 'stop talking' to her. But why did I have to try and warn her?

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." I repeated with each hit I took to the back of my head.

"Each time you do that you lose ten thousand brain cells." My dad said, watching me from the doorway between the hall and the kitchen. His elbow was leaning against the doorframe and he was resting his head on his fist, he was watching me intently.

"That's never been proven dad, it's just a rumour." I rolled my eyes, while he grinned.

"You would know Miss Brainiac, I'm sure you're too smart too be my daughter." He laughed at his own joke, it was one of the qualities I liked most about him, his ability to make someone laugh even in the worst of situations. "Im guessing you told her then." He said softly.

"Yep."

"How did she take it? I heard no screaming, that's a good sign." He gave me a small smile and walked towards me. It's hard to explain our relationship, until I got kicked out I had never met him, well I had not been old enough to remember him, we spoke on the phone every week, but that's as far as it went. He came and picked me up from the train station, and as soon as we meet, we clicked. We have so much in common, we have the same temperaments, I guess I got my more dominant genes from him.

He pulled me into a hug and I snuggled up to him. It felt like I had done this hundreds of times instead of half-a-dozen. It felt natural. "Wanna talk about it?" He whispered.

I sighed, moving away from him. "I was right. She's gay too."

"Okay. So, what's the problem."

"It's Annabelle all over again." I had told my dad everything, the whole story, the truth. The story my mum didn't want to hear. He understood, and was unbelievably accepting, he told him he didn't care if I liked little green men, as long as I was happy, he was happy. He also listened to my side of the story and believed I was telling the truth.

"Who Mickie?" He looked at me confused. I didn't blame him, I had told him all about Annabelle, and Mickie was nothing like her.

"No. Mickie is me, her 'friend' is Annabelle." I explained.

"Oh. Well if you told her the truth then maybe she can relate to you." He looked at me and seeing my expression frowned, "You didn't tell her the truth did you?"

"Not the whole truth." I admitted, looking down at my feet, pretending to be interested in the pattern on the carpet.

"Arizona-" He started, disappointment evident in his voice. The one thing he hated was lying, that was he's only rule. Do not lie, to him, to anyone.

"I wanted to tell her dad. I did. But what do I say." He opened his mouth to respond but I continued, "Hey Mickie. My best friend took advantage of the fact I was gay and in love with her, she strung me along for two years, then when I was at my most vulnerable and she was at the top, brought me to the ground, humiliated me. I think Courtney might be doing the same to you. Yeah I bet that would go down great." I said sarcastically.

"You didn't have to say it like that. You should have told her the truth about Annabelle though."

"I don't see why. I was stupid and Naive. Everything's changed now, I'm not that same person." It was true. After Annabelle outed me, I changed, I was no longer weak and vulnerable. I no longer needed anyone's help, I learnt to stand on my own two feet. But that change came at a price, I soon turned into someone I despised. Someone my mum couldn't even look at.

It was his turn to sigh, "Okay fine I understand that but did you at least tell her why your mum kicked you out?" I saw the sadness in his eyes, he felt bad for me. I know when I told him the reason my mum kicked me out, and then told him what really happened, he punched the kitchen wall and when I left him, I heard him whisper that he wished he had been there to stand up for me, to protect me.

"Yes." I rubbed the back of my neck. I had become a great liar in the year after Annabelle had outed me, but I had one tell-tell sign. Rubbing the back of my neck.

"Did you?" He raised his eyebrows at me, not believing me.

"Fine I didn't tell her the truth. I made up some story, I thought she might prefer to hear."

"You should really tell her." I know he was only trying to help me, but he was really starting to annoy me.

"Just leave it dad, I don't have to tell her the truth, it's in the past."

"It wasn't your fault Ari. None of it was your fault. Not Annabelle. Not Sa-"

"I said leave it dad." I interrupted, yelling at him. I didn't want to talk about it, not now, not ever. I ran up the stairs and fell onto my bed. My iPod was still on there, I put my headphones on and blocked out the world.

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Mickie's P.O.V

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The whole drive home I spent thinking about those five words Arizona had whispered in my ear, 'don't let her use you.' What did that even me? Was she talking about Courtney? Did she know that it was Courtney I was on the phone to? No she can't have.

This time I saw Courtney's car as I pulled into my driveway. I couldn't miss it, especially since Courtney was standing next to it, a sexy smirk on her face. I parked up and walked towards her.

"Hey Court, you wanna tell me what all that on the phone was about." I joined her leaning on her car, she smiled at me, a smile so beautiful my legs went weak, I had to hold onto the car to keep me standing.

"I just wanted to get my best friend away from that bitch. Is that a crime?" She batted her eyelashes innocently at me. "Did you learn anything about her?"

Did I learn anything about her? I learnt hell of a lot about her. She is gay. I still couldn't quite get my head around that fact. I knew that this bit of information would be perfect for Courtney. But could I do that to Arizona? After she had been so kind, she understands me and she trusts me.

"Come on let's go inside. It's cold out here." I changed the subject and quickly walked towards my front door. Neither of my parents car's were outside, they must have gone out. Sure enough, when I opened my front door, there was a note on the cabinet in the hallway.

'Princess,

Gone out for dinner with a couple of friends, be home about 11.

Dad xoxox'

I smiled, my dad didn't usually go out, it was nice that he was going out for a change and even better that it wasn't for a work thing.

I took of my shoes and headed upstairs to my room, closely followed by Courtney, who shut the front door and also took off her shoes.

When we were in my bedroom, Courtney turned to me expectantly, waiting for an answer to her previous question. "So, what did you do today?" I said, trying to change the subject. But Courtney was having none of it.

"Don't change the subject Mickie." She rolled her eyes at my lame attempt, "You obviously know something, tell me."

I couldn't tell her. I couldn't. It wouldn't be fair to Arizona. She didn't deserve to go through all that again. I swallowed nervously but didn't say anything.

"Come on Mickie, tell me. I thought we were best friends." She pouted at me.

"S-she trusts me Court." I stuttered. No matter how much I loved Courtney, I couldn't sell Arizona out. Part of it was for a selfish reason, if I told Courtney that Arizona was gay then she might tell everyone that I too am gay.

"So? We're best friends, that counts for more." I wouldn't tell her.

"Mickie." She whispered, I had been so busy fighting my battle within that I hadn't noticed Courtney moving closer and closer to me. She was now only a foot away. "Tell me what you found out Mickie." It didn't sound demanding or like she was forcing me to tell her, she whispered so softly in her angelic voice.

"I don't know anything." I lied, I wasn't the best liar, but I hoped it would be enough to get Courtney to back off.

"You're lying to me Mickie." She was only centimetres away from me now. She leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Tell me Mickie."

"I-I can't." My objections were getting weaker and weaker, and Courtney knew it.

"Please Mickie. For me." She was begging me, and as much as I hated myself for it I was close to caving, to telling her everything I knew. She could see how close I was to cracking. She moved forward, intending to close the gap between us, but I countered it taking a step back. With every step she took towards me, I took a step back. Until I couldn't go any further, my back was against the wall and Courtney was right in front of me.

My only option was to move to the side, but Courtney must have thought the same thing as she placed her hands either side of my head. I swallowed nervously, I was cornered. Courtney was smirking at me, she had me right where she wanted me.

"Can you tell me now Mickie?" I tried my best to not look her in the eyes, if I did, I would be doomed, but I didn't know where else to look. I decided it would be best if I turned my head to the side.

"I wont." I told her, trying to make her believe me.

"No?" She used her hand to turn my face so I was facing her. "Maybe I can persuade you." I had no time to react or stop her, not that I wanted to, as her lips connected with mine. They were so soft and gentle, just how I had imagined they would be. They seemed to move in perfect sync with mine, like they were meant to be together. I moaned involuntarily, which only encouraged Courtney.

She pulled back from me, smiling, and in that smile I could see my Courtney. It took all my will power not to pull her head back towards me. She bit her lip and waited to see my reaction.

It had been everything a first kiss should be. Perfect. I finally understood what characters in books meant when they said they felt fireworks, because that is the most accurate description of what I felt when Courtney kissed me. I felt like my insides were exploding, my heart was thumping faster than ever and I was all hot and flustered.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Mickie." She leant in and gave me a quick, soft kiss on the lips, before turning to leave.

"Wait." I called to her. Grabbing her by the wrist...