Katie had to finally admit to herself that she wanted Dana. Ever since they first met, Katie couldn't get Dana out of her head, and that drove her crazy. Katie could have sworn that there were little moments they shared when no one else was around. Katie could feel a tension between the two of them that drove her wild. Katie couldn't handle the dreams that carried ideas into her waking life. Katie told herself that she had to kiss Dana; she had to know. She had to know for sure that it wasn't just in her head. But Katie didn't think it through. She kissed Dana, and at that moment in time everything was perfect and right. But she knew that couldn't last. She believed that's not how life works. Not in Katie's world.

Katie realized almost immediately that kissing Dana was the worst thing she could have done. She was completely content silently fawning over Dana in the background while the rest of the world saw her with Jesse. Now, even if her and Dana's relationship didn't go anywhere, Dana still knew that Katie liked girls. Seventeen years of lying to herself and the rest of the world, and all of that was about to be flushed down the toilet because of one stupid little kiss. Maybe it'll blow over. Katie constantly told herself. Maybe I was just delusional and curious. Katie refused to completely admit to herself that she was not straight. She refused to allow her urge to kiss Dana to be sufficient evidence that she liked girls. Katie didn't know what to do with herself. She had managed to lock herself in her room and ignore her phone for the remainder of the weekend, but knew she couldn't escape school.

Contrary to Katie's biggest fear, Dana hadn't said anything to anyone about their little moment in the rain. She understood what Katie must've been going through, and she was okay with all of it. Dana was surprised by the kiss. She wasn't surprised that Katie liked girls, that much was obvious to her, but Katie actually making a move shocked Dana in the best way possible. And Dana could only imagine what must have been going through Katie's head after the kiss. So Dana didn't say a word. Besides, it wasn't like her to kiss and tell anyway.

Katie had impressively managed to avoid Dana for the first few days of school, despite them having multiple classes together, lockers right next to each other, and the same group of friends. Dana had seen Katie in class and around their friends but she always managed to disappear as soon as Dana got too close. Dana wasn't entirely hurt by the ordeal, but it did cross her mind that she must've done something wrong to scare Katie away.

It was fourth period Wednesday when Dana finally caught Katie looking at her from across the room. Of course, as soon as Katie saw Dana turn around, she looked away. Dana was okay with being avoided. She understood, and decided that if Katie wanted to avoid her, then she'd let Katie avoid her. Even when their science teacher announced that everyone in the class had to pair up, Katie managed to find an underclassman and snag them before the options for partners dwindled down. Dana was the last person standing, and Katie felt guilty, but Dana didn't take it too personally.

Dana was looking forward to other things to take her mind off of Katie. That afternoon, Dana was finally going to make it to a photo club meeting. She had been in contact with Zach since the first week of school, and had joined the photography group chat that the club had, but somehow Dana hadn't met everyone in the club yet. She was surprised with how small the school was that she couldn't manage to put a face to a lot of the names. Katie continued to avoid Dana throughout the school day, but Dana seemed to be counting down the minutes until the club meeting. Although she wasn't always enthusiastic or involved at her old school, Dana saw Ridgeway as an opportunity to start fresh and try new things. Besides, in her mind she had a choice to either be bored or to make friends by doing a hobby she loved. She figured the latter was the better option.

Dana sat beside Zach during the club meeting and kept mostly to herself. She occasionally would chuckle at Zach's eagerness to participate and contribute outrageous ideas. Zach enjoyed having Dana around to support his scheme proposals and act as his personal hype person. Halfway through the meeting, the president of the club suggested that everyone take a fifteen-minute break. Zach's head perked up at the suggestion and bolted out of the room, leaving Dana in his dust.

Dana pulled out her phone, not in the mood for awkward introductions, and pulled open a game to play. She would have preferred to message someone, but her messages were empty and she didn't want to reach out to any of her friends to start a new conversation. Dana played on her phone and managed to tune out most of the conversation around her. Out of the corner of her eye, Dana noticed someone step in front of her. She raised her gaze to see a round-faced girl smiling at her. The girl's brown locks fell just below her shoulders with a gentle curl.

"Hi," the girl smiled, "I'm Marissa." She gently reached a small hand out to shake Dana's. Dana apologized for being rude, but Marissa brushed off Dana's behavior and asked, "Can I show you something? I know you're new and thought you might appreciate it."

Dana thought for a moment before agreeing. "Sure." She stood up and realized the height difference between her and Marissa. Dana didn't tower over her, but Marissa was almost half a foot shorter. "I'm Dana." She finally introduced herself.

"I know." Marissa said pulling a strand of her brunette curls hair behind her ear. "My brother doesn't like you very much."

"Brother?" Dana asked. Marissa didn't really look like anyone she thought she knew.

"Jesse."

Dana nodded her head, making the connection. "Yeah, he's not really my biggest fan." Dana innocently shrugged. "Are you sure you want to associate yourself with me? I mean you're not committing social suicide or anything?"

"Well for starters, this isn't Mean Girls and besides, I know Jesse. Anyone he dislikes probably just gives him a run for his money, and to be honest it's nice to meet someone who doesn't worship the ground he walks on." Marissa smiled at Dana and Dana couldn't help but return the grin. "So," Marissa attempted to get back to their previous conversation, "you mind following me for that mystery?"

"Only if you're planning to murder me under the bleachers." Dana joked.

"Oh please, the bleachers are too visible. I'll just hide your body in the pit underneath the drama stage." Marissa quipped in return.

"As long as you're not sloppy about it I guess I can't complain." Dana followed alongside Marissa as she led them down a couple hallways through the school building.

As they rounded a corner, Dana spotted Katie and Ashley walking down the hall in the opposite direction. Katie noticed Dana walking with Marissa and huddled closer to Ashley for comfort as she felt her heart began to beat faster. Katie's eyes followed Dana as she walked past, and Dana couldn't help but look back.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ashley pulled Katie out of her thoughts.

Katie snapped her attention back to Ashley and forced a smile on her face, nodding. "Couldn't be better." She lied. Ashley could tell that Katie was lying, but she knew when not to pry. Ashley let Katie brush her feelings under the rug and led the way to their cheer practice.

Katie had spotted Dana's car still in the parking lot when her practice ended and waited by it until Dana's photo club meeting had ended. Dana saw Katie uncomfortably pacing by her car and felt a small smile pull at the corners of her lips. Katie saw Dana walking as she got close and stopped pacing. "Can we go somewhere?" Katie found herself blurting out quickly.

"Sure," Dana agreed, slightly confused by Katie's request. "Where?"

Katie let out a breath before answering, "Anywhere." Dana knew right away that by 'anywhere' Katie meant the place she had taken her last week. She opened the passenger side door of her car to tell Katie to get in, and then made her way to the driver's side.

Dana and Katie leaned against the front of Dana's car, staring at the world below them. "Hey Dana," Katie finally broke the silence and looked at the girl standing next to her.

"Yes?" Dana looked back at her.

"Can I ask you something? Like besides me asking you if I could ask you something." Dana chuckled at Katie's rambling and nodded her head. "When did you realize it? You know, that you liked girls."

Dana's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and then she crossed her arms and struggled to answer Katie. "Well, I realized it a long time ago." Dana answered honestly. Katie looked at Dana with saddened eyes like that wasn't the answer she was searching for. Dana sighed and slid onto the hood of her car. She looked at the town below them, avoiding Katie's eyes. "I remember being really young and hearing stories of princes saving the day, rescuing a princess, and living happily ever after. I remember all the other girls my age wanted a prince. And although sometimes I did too, most of the time I would have rather been the prince and be the one to end up with the princess. As I got older, I refused to admit that I liked girls. I thought I had to like boys, and well I wasn't really lying because I did like boys. Then came a time when I finally had to admit to myself I was different from my friends. I didn't realize that not everyone felt the way that I did. I just assumed every girl had a jealously complex for their middle school best friend."

Katie was now sitting next to Dana on the hood of the car, but Dana was still staring at the town. "What happened?" Katie asked, studying Dana's face.

"I was thirteen. My dad had coworkers over for a party and some people brought their kids. One guy brought his daughter who was a year older than me." Dana paused and looked at Katie. "Her name was Katie."

"Shut up, it was not." Katie playfully hit Dana in disbelief.

"No seriously, it was." Dana laughed at Katie's reaction. "She was tall with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She was just...wow." Dana smiled, thinking back. "That whole night we hung out together until she had to go. My dad ended up playing soccer with Katie's dad so I went to every single game, praying she'd show up. And when she did, we would just talk. About anything and everything. When she was there, I got butterflies and when she wasn't, my heart sank to my stomach. When I looked at her, I just...smiled. I had never felt that way about a guy before so I didn't realize that's what a crush should have felt like. But when my friends talked about their boyfriends and crushes and asked me about who I had a crush on, she always came to mind. I just couldn't stop thinking about her. I had to admit I liked girls."

Katie found herself smiling at Dana's story. "Did you ever date her?" She asked out of curiosity.

"No." Dana shook her head and glanced at the ground before looking back up. "I dated other girls, but only when my dad wasn't around. He still doesn't know."

"That's hard. I thought you were so proud and not afraid of others' opinions."

"I'm afraid of my dad." Dana admitted, hanging her head. "I know he doesn't understand. He once told me that there's a difference between accepting and supporting someone. I know if he found out, he'd accept me, but I'm terrified he'll never support me."

"Is that why you moved here with your mom?"

"Partially," Dana shrugged and looked back at the town below them. "Partially because of Ed. Partially because my mom wanted to move away from my dad. Mostly because we all needed a fresh start."

"Can I ask you a weird question?"

Dana looked at Katie and half smiled. "Shoot."

"Can we just lay here?" Dana's smile disappeared with Katie's question. "Like just lay here on your hood looking up at the sky?"

Dana nodded, "Sure, Katie." Dana laid back on her hood and Katie rested her head on Dana's chest, causing Dana to wrap her arm around Katie.

"I'm sorry for kissing you." Katie softly apologized.

"Don't be." Dana's gaze with the sky didn't break as she reassured Katie. "I kissed you back."