Later that day, when the sky began to darken, Heather and I made our way out into her garden with a blanket and some snacks, so we could watch the stars together.

"We really are a couple of old romantics, huh?" I asked her, as I felt a smile of amusement work its way onto my face.

"It would seem that way," Heather replied, as an affectionate glimmer appeared in her eyes.

Heather gestured to the blanket and the two of us sat down onto it and then cuddled up closer to each other.

"I know that things are going to be okay," I said.

"Yeah?" Heather asked me.

"Yeah. Well," I said, as I took her hand in mine, "I have never had any doubts about the two of us being okay but...I have a feeling that Drew is going to come around eventually, too. He just has to. I mean...I trust him, despite everything. I think he's just overloaded on testosterone right now and it's-"

"Turning him into a giant dick?" Heather offered.

"Right," I said, as I released a soft laugh.

It was hard not to try to find humour in the situation when it made the two of us feel so bad. We just wanted to distract our minds from everything that had passed with Drew.

"I really am sorry that you had to leave the band though, Heather," I said.

"Hey, there will be other bands. Besides, I know I'm not the only musically gifted one. Yasmin told me about your time in the music studio," Heather said, as she caught onto my curious expression.

"I'm not that good," I said.

"Yes you are. You're talented, creative, wise, kind and amazing. You are amazing!" she said with emphasis on the last word.

I met her gaze and could only smile at her kind words. I had never been the best when it came to accepting compliments but I really was appreciative of her.

"I'm always going to be there for you, Heather, because you mean so much to me," I told her, with a kind smile. After I had caught onto her expression, I felt the need to ask her if everything was alright.

Heather's eyes went a little glossy and she quickly wiped the tears away.

"Yeah! I'm fine. It's just...I never thought that this would be possible," she said, as the two of us looked up at the stars. "I had never thought that my dad would ever be okay with me being gay. I guess I'm just really, really happy and perhaps a little overwhelmed, too. However, you make me really happy, Zoe. That's something I want to hold onto," she said.

I met her gaze then and the two of us both smiled at each other.

"Me too," I said.

"Can you just promise me something?" Heather asked me.

"Of course," I said.

"If we go and talk to Drew, we do it together, alright?" she asked.

"Definitely," I said.

Heather smiled in contentment and then lied down on the blanket and stared up at the sparkling stars on the navy canvas above us.

I laid down next to her and Heather rested her head on my shoulder.

"I mean...I've already come out to my dad, coming out to Drew should be a piece of cake," Heather said.

"Maybe," I said.

"Maybe," Heather replied, "I mean...all this time I've felt so alone but it's not as though I'm actually alone, you know? I'm not the only lesbian in North America and I certainly know I'm not even the only lesbian at school. I just get so anxious about what other people are going to think of me."

"I get that," I said.

Heather exhaled then, as she seemed to think on what she wanted to say next.

"I just feel like...I've worked so hard to get that popularity and that social status and I don't want anything to harm it," Heather said, "That probably sounds like I don't like who I am, or something. Trust me, I love who I am."

"Do you?" I asked her.

Heather sat up then and I could see in the moonlight that her eyebrows had crinkled together again.

"Why? Don't you think that I do?" she asked me.

"If you truly, wholly love yourself then...why should anyone else's opinion matter, Heather?" I asked. "I mean...you're this charismatic, kind and creative spirit and people adore that part of you. Do you really think that they're going to start hating on you because your'e gay?" I asked.

After observing Heather's expression, the answer to that was clear.

"Hey, relax. You have me. They don't matter. If they don't like it, then that says so much more about them than it does about you, Heather," I said, in some attempt to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. "I care about you and I really, really, like you Heather. As long as we have each other, I know we're going to be alright."

"I can't compete with Drew though. He's your best friend, Zoe," Heather said.

"No. You're my best friend. Drew and I are...well, we're going to work something out in time. I hope, anyway. For now, though, I'm just so glad that I have you," I said.

Heather nodded her head, as a smile of reassurance became present on her face.

"I'm glad that I have you too. Maybe the two of us should escape somewhere, so it can be the two of us. We could go somewhere else...I don't know. We could go travelling," Heather said.

"We could do that but as much as I would love to go exploring with you, I'm going to have to say no on this occasion because we still have school to finish," I reminded her.

Heather exhaled.

"You're right. It's getting kind of cold. Should we take ourselves back inside?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go," I agreed.

The two of us walked back inside and found that Heather's dad had gone to sleep, as had Evie, so the two of us made our way to Heather's room and instantly fell asleep in the warmth of her bed.