I just looked at my dad. Thoughts of the look in Alice's beautiful blue eyes as she looked at me were forgotten about.

"Wh....... What?"

My dad scratched the back of his neck. He looked at me.

"Yeah, she was 19. That was 4 years ago."

I couldn't believe it. That explained Mitch's possessive behaviour.

"Just be careful, Bella. OK?"

I nodded, looking at my dad. I couldn't believe his cousin had done something like that. It gave me an even bigger reason to stay away from Mitch.

"I will, dad."

"Good, well it's getting late. You need to get some rest."

My dad walked out. So, you tell me that and walk out, really? I jut lay there, thinking. I really needed to stay away from Mitch, who knew what he would be capable of, if someone really pissed him off? I shuddered at the thought.

Class was awkward to say the least. I tried to avoid watching her, but when I did I noticed that she was watching me. I saw the look in her eyes, and knew we needed to talk about this. I avoided going up for help, and tried to figure out the problems using the notes she gave us, with varying degrees of success. She wasn't as happy as she usually was, but the others didn't seem to notice.

"So, have you seen Mitch?"

Angela and I were at my house. It's been 4 days since I kissed her.

I shook my head, putting my books away. I hadn't seen him around much at all.

"Not much, if I do he just glares at me. Angela, I spoke to my dad........ About Chase."

Angela didn't say anything, and I continued.

"He said that he .............. He said that Chase raped a 19 year old girl, 4 years ago."

Angela just looked at me, shocked.

"Wh........ What? How could"

"I don't know Angela. That's why I've been staying away from Mitch, I don't know what he would do if he was really pissed off."

Angela moved closer to me, sitting next to me.

"Well, I'm here for you. Don't forget that."

I gave her a hug, knowing Angela was here for me made me feel a little better. I didn't want to mention the fact that I thought I was gay. I needed to talk to Alice, I knew she felt something for me. She kissed me. Sure, she pulled away, but I know she felt something. I understand she was risking her job, but so did she, and she still kissed me. I'd thought about this a lot. I didn't care about me, it was her I was worried about.

Angela left a little while later, and I thought about what was going to happen if and when we did talk about all this.

It's Friday, 5 days since that day in her class. I walked in, and sat down. She was already there, and looked up as I walked in. She looked away, and someone asked her something. She answered them and started the class.

By the end of the class, I was about 5 seconds away from hitting my head off my desk. Repeatedly. I closed my book and stood up. Everyone was in a rush to leave, and I was one of two people left in the class. Kevin left and it was just Alice and I. My dad had left for the weekend, he told me he was going to be spending one weekend a month fishing with his friend Billy, from now on. Meaning he would be gone all weekend.

I decided this had gone on long enough, and walked up to her desk. She was reading something, and didn't look up when I approached her.

"Can I speak to you, please?"

She looked up, as I spoke. She couldn't exactly ignore me.

"I'm a little busy, Bella. I have a lot of tests to grade."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I wasn't going to wait. This needed to be done.

"Can they wait? This is important."

She looked away.

"Bella, I"

"Why did you kiss me back?"

That made her look at me, she looked around. The door was closed, so no one would hear us. There were books on the desks, so if anyone did come in, she could say I needed some extra help.

"Don't try and say you didn't. I know you did."

"Bella, this can't happen. I'm your teacher. If someone found out, you would"

"I don't care about me Alice, it's you I'm worried about."

She shook her head, and ran her hand through her hair. I sat in the chair, next to her desk.

"I never thought that I would be thinking about this. A relationship with one of my students."

She was smiling. She looked away, not saying anything for a few minutes. She spoke a few minutes later, turning to look at me again.

"I noticed you watching me, you know."

I blushed, burying my face in my hands. I heard her laugh, and raised my head.

"I wasn't the only one."

I smiled at her, noticing that made her blush.

"We need to be careful, Bella. No one can find out about this."

This, I already knew. I didn't want her to lose her job over this, it was obvious that she really loved to teach and I didn't want her to lose that because of me.

"I know. Like I said, it's you I'm worried about."

She seemed a little nervous, and I noticed how close we were sitting. I moved away a little, and she shook her head, flustered. She's cute when she's flustered.

"Sorry, I have this thing about people sitting close to me. Its"

"It's OK, don't worry about it."

I'd noticed this, when guys went up. But, if that's how she felt, then I'd respect that. I could tell she was nervous, by the way she was acting.

"I'm sure your parents are wondering where you are."

I shook my head.

"It's just my dad. My mom lives in Florida. My dad is working anyway."

She nodded, and we agreed to meet up on Saturday. My dad wouldn't be there, so I wouldn't have to worry about his getting suspicious. I agreed and pulled on my hoodie, as I stood next to her desk. I'd gotten into the habit of grabbing it before my last class.

"You really like them, don't you?"

I looked down, realising which hoodie I'd picked that morning. I have a lot, and I normally just grab one in the morning. I was wearing my 'still into you' hoodie. I blushed, but nodded.

"Yeah, I do."

Alice put the book she was holding in a drawer, and looked up at me.

"I love that song, but my favourite song is 'the only exception.'"

"That's my favourite one to."

Well, we have the same taste in music. I smiled and picked up my bag, placing it on the side of her desk.

"Remind me why we need so many books?"

That made her laugh, and she stood up.

"Trust me, you've seen nothing yet. It gets worse in college. One of my books would be about 4 of your chemistry book."

My jaw hit the floor and she shook her head. I closed my mouth and left. I'd been hoping to get another kiss, but when she got nervous it didn't feel right to ask.

I sat in my room, debating what to tell Angela. I actually wanted to tell her that I'm gay. I knew I could never tell her about Alice. I had just decided that I would tell her, when she texted me.

'Hey, can I come over?'

It was around 5:30. and I said yes. She arrived about 15 minutes later.

"Hey, are you OK?"

She shrugged, sitting on my bed.

"Yeah. I just wanted to spend some time with my best friend."

I raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"Fine, fine. wanted to make sure you were OK, with your dad being gone."

I moved closer to her, putting my arm around her.

"Thanks Angela."

She stood up, taking off her hoodie.

"So, whats going on?"

I took a deep breath.

"Actually, there's something I need to talk to you about."

She sat down, looking concerned.

"Did Mitch do something?"

I shook my head, I wasn't surprised that she thought that it had something to do with him.

"No, he has nothing to do with him. I need to tell you something."

She was obviously relieved.

"That's good. You know you can tell me anything, Bella. I'm your best friend, nothing will change that."

I took a deep breath.

"I'm........... I'm gay."

Angela didn't seem bothered by this, at all.

"Bella, that doesn't bother me. You're still the same person. So, who is the lucky girl?"

I'd expected this.

"There is no lucky girl, Angela. I just kissed a girl."

She didn't seem pleased, but accepted it.

"Well....... OK. But, I wanna know when you do get a girlfriend."

She made me promise to keep her informed, and asked me if my dad knew.

"Not yet. I'm going to tell him soon though."

"I'm sure he'll be OK with it."

Angela left a little while later, and I felt better that she was OK with it.

I got ready on Saturday, I was up early as we were meeting at 11. She wanted to meet at the park near my house, which was pretty quiet on a Saturday until about 2:30. I got ready and grabbed my jacket, it was pretty cold out. I locked the door, and walked to the park.

I saw her sitting at a picnic table, and walked over to her. She stood up, when she saw me.

"Hey."

I sat next down, as I spoke.

"Hey."

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Alice looked at me, and I took that as a yes.

"When did you realise you liked me?"

She blushed, and I nudged her.

"The first day you walked into my class. What about you?"

It was my turn to blush.

"The first day I saw you."

It started to rain, and she looked at me.

"Come on."

We walked over to some tables that were covered to avoid getting soaked.

"Hey, who is that girl who walked you to class?"

That made me smile.

"That's Angela. She's my best friend. She's great."

She nodded.

"What about the other guy, who walked you to class, Mitch?"

Oh great How do I explain this?

"He's ......... My ex."

She looked surprised.

"So, you're bi?"

I shook my head, but she continued.

"I don't mind, Bella."

Again, I shook my head. Her reaction made me think there was more to this than whether I'm bi or gay. And I wanted to figure it out, no matter how long it took.

"I'm not. I'm gay. I just didn't realise until the day I saw you. Are you gay or"

"I'm pansexual, Bella."

"Pansexual?"

She shrugged, and looked away.

"For me, it's not about if it's a man or a woman. It's about the emotional connection between us."

I nodded, I'd never heard of that. But, if that's how she felt, I believed her.

"OK."

We sat talking for a little while longer, and she gave me her number, but I had to get home. I left saying I would see her in class, and she surprised me by kissing me on the check, (but not before looking around) before leaving. I walked home, thinking about everything that had happened. I planned on telling my dad the following day.