128.)

Becky wasn't happy when I saw her, but I swear she was even less happy when she saw me. She was talking to a police officer in the small living room, but the moment Blossom was in view she turned away from him and came over to us.

"I gave him a list of stuff already... I just don't want to deal with this."

"It's cool boo," said Blossom. "You go up to your room and take a chill pill," a term which may or may not have been literal, "and I'll take over from here."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna interrupt your," Becky waved her hand exaggeratedly at Amy and Blossom, "whatever this is."

"Becks. Babe. It's fine, I'm here, you go upstairs, I'll handle it."

Blossom smiled apologetically at both Amy and the police officer, and showed Becky toward the staircase.

I didn't really do anything. Blossom talked to the officer for a while, gave him some information about her and the house, and then he left. Blossom made a few calls. Someone to fix the glass panel on the door that had been broken open. Some of the other sorority girls who had stuff missing. And when all was said and done, it was mid-afternoon and I had scrolled through every possible subreddit I could find entertaining. I had also texted with Lin a lot about the Blossom Situation.

"Well, I guess that's all we can do," Blossom sighed, sitting next to Amy on the couch.

"You handled that a lot better than I would have," I admitted.

"I do okay in a crisis; my Dad told me that when stuff is tough, you gotta just go through to the other side. And you don't wanna be an obstacle to that process."

One of Blossom's friends from high school was an army brat and used to always crow about how you just gotta "embrace the suck" and get over it because sometimes things were hard. But, especially at that time in her life, sucking hard meant something very different to Blossom.

"I'm sorry I took away our Saturday."

"Oh no, it's okay. I'm just glad everything is alright." I faked a smile. I was honestly okay with missing out on today, but it didn't make it any less bittersweet.

"How's Becky?" I asked, before she could call me out on my martyrdom.

"Eh, she'll be okay..." Blossom looked at the stairs and crossed her arms.

"Is she mad about New Years?" I asked. "You kissing me?"

"I doubt it," Blossom said haphazardly. "I kiss a ton of people."

That probably should have made me angry or jealous. It didn't, not really. It felt like a fact, like something Lin would say.

"Right, but you only get one New Year's kiss," I argued. "I would have been upset if you spent it on someone else."

"I still wanted to kiss you anyway and she's gotta be okay with that. I think it's just because I've been so secretive and stuff and she's built up all these ideas in her head of who you must be. Honestly, she needs less college time and more Academy Time. It would do her good~"

Although she chose such ambiguous terms, and there was nobody else around to hear her anyway, Blossom was proud of herself for making the comment here in her home.

"Right but..." I paused. Blossom seemed a little annoyed at Becky and I didn't really understand it, I guess because Blossom's relationship with Becky wasn't the same as her relationship with me. Truth be told, I didn't see her interact with a lot of other people. Maybe this was ordinary after all.

Either way, I finished my thought.

"Right but, she likes you. Even if it isn't fair, it makes sense that she's upset."

"We fool around," Blossom corrected. "It's not like you and me."

"But she wants it to be, doesn't she?"

Blossom just stared at me. Wait...

"Wait, you didn't know that? I mean, I only met her once, but she kind of... I dunno. She bought you a three hundred dollar dress for Christmas."

"She just does that," Blossom argued.

"Really? To who else?"

Blossom paused to think about that. Had she gotten anyone else a gift for Christmas? But...

"But we're best friends," Blossom said, a little less sure of herself.

"Hey, I could be wrong," I shrugged. "I don't know her like you do. But that was the vibe I got."

"Becky has never been afraid to speak her mind about anything, cupcake. Why would this be different? Why wouldn't she just tell me if this was the case?"

But Blossom's tones weren't questioning Amy; they were questions put out into the void where the only set of ears they were meant for were her own. She was questioning herself. Questioning this whole thing. Ugh.

"I don't... it doesn't make sense?"

"I could be wrong," I offered again, but Blossom didn't seem dissuaded by that. I felt a little guilty, like I'd spilled Becky's secret. I honestly thought Blossom knew already!

"Well..." Blossom looked at the stairs again and sulked. She was debating whether or not to go talk to Becky, but that seemed like too much emotional energy. Instead, she turned to Amy. "Beach house?"

"We won't arrive until late," I sighed. "It's not worth the gas."

"I pay for the gas," Blossom argued. But another two hours of driving wasn't very exciting to her either.

"We could get dinner? If you're okay being seen in public with me."

Blossom gave me a look and I put up my hands in my defense.

"It was a joke! It's just... we've never done anything like that around here. And I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

What if someone saw us? That would be suspicious. "Why is Blossom Brixley hanging out with that weird girl? Did she lose a bet?" And the rumor would go around campus until finally someone mentioned offhandedly: "Amanda Pearson? Yeah, I saw her at a store in the city. She was buying adult diapers!" "Do you think that's why Blossom hangs out with her? Do you think Blossom's a diaper girl too?"

Nah, that wasn't realistic at all. If anything, they would assume Blossom was doing charity work or something, taking care of an incontinent girl. The real world wasn't as fun as I wanted it to be.

Blossom knew that she didn't have to be defensive around Amy, and that she was only feeling a little wound up because of the Becky stuff, not to mention all this stuff and nonsense with the police and the break-in. So Blossom did her best to chill.

"There's an amazing Thai place not too far from here? Wanna get dinner there? My treat?"

It was always her treat. I had money for the first time, and I could probably argue so I could pay for my half, but there was something else in her offer, something hidden. It was the first time we were doing this in our hometown. It was the first time anyone from school could see us, other than at the New Year's party. I knew it didn't mean anything in reality, but it was symbolic for Blossom.

It was also the first dinner we'd have together since the start of our relationship. So was it a date?

"Alright, let's go."

The restaurant was downtown. I felt a little nervous on the car ride there. I knew there wasn't anything to be nervous about, but it felt like an undefined variable. I wasn't dressed as nicely as I wanted to be. I didn't have any makeup on. What if she tried to kiss me in public? I pulled at my fingers and stared out the window at the familiar scenery. This was kind of weird.

"I can see you fidgeting anxiously, cupcake. What's up? Nervous about dinner?"

Blossom wasn't even looking directly at Amy; she was focused on finding a place to put the car and was doing her absolute best to not have to walk too far - because it was still winter, and still cold, and Blossom Brixley still didn't dress for the weather.

"Ah, you know. Unsure about everything in my life. Stressed about ruining things. The usual." I said it candidly, but I was still looking out the window. I wasn't good at this stuff.

"You think it's a date?" Blossom asked, reading Amy's mind. Or rather, guessing the obvious.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Is it?"

"We're two girls who are into each other and are going to get dinner together, and we'll probably go back to my place afterwards and maybe even kiss, but definitely cuddle. So… probably, by anyone's definition of a date? This is a date. I would call it a date. What about you?"

"I guess?" The thought of cuddling and kissing afterward sure made it seem like that. Actually, it made things feel a whole lot bigger. I squeezed tighter on my fingers as Blossom found a parking spot. Then she put the car in park and reached over to take one of my hands in hers. I still didn't look at her.

"Amanda. I want to be going on dates with you. I'm totally into you, and that's okay. Nothing is going to get bad because of this; only good can come of it. So... trust me, alright? And if you're a good little girl, I'll even order your food for you. Maybe I'll even tell them that my little girl is too smol for chopsticks? Maybe she needs a fork?"

Blossom winked and grinned, hoping she'd played a good card here.

"That would be extremely embarrassing," I said flatly, but her teasing brought a bit of color to my cheeks. I looked up at her from around the frames of my glasses and sighed.

"I know this isn't a big deal," I admitted. "But I don't think my brain cares about what I know."

"I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you tonight. Not over dinner. Not at the sorority house. Not while I'm around. I'm built different, remember? Brixley Tough. I'll kick anyone's butts if I gotta, and I don't know if you know this, but I'm pretty strong. Have you seen these thighs? Muscular like a wombat."

And yes, Blossom knew that there wasn't actually anyone to protect Amy from but Amy herself, but it felt important to make the promise anyway.

I knew Blossom was trying to make me feel better, but she wasn't. I also knew it wasn't her responsibility to fix all my insecurities. So I steeled myself and got out of the car after her, walking through the slushy parking lot and into the warm restaurant.

It was quiet, especially for a late Saturday afternoon. Four of the tables were occupied, and Blossom sat us at one of the ones by the window. Anyone could look in and see us together. I wondered if Blossom had noticed.

The waiter came over and took our drink orders. Blossom got some cucumber lemonade. I got Thai tea. Then I sat there awkwardly, rubbing my fingers together under the table. Conversation wasn't flowing like it usually was.

"How have people been reacting to your current writing; I know you had that situation with that one jerk online, but how has it been otherwise?"

Step 1 to get Amy out of her head: talk to her about things that weren't in the real world around her.

Maybe.

Blossom didn't know; she was just trying things honestly.

"Uh... they're cool. They left comments on other Academy stories. I think A:I just didn't vibe with them."

But that brought me to another point.

"Honestly, I'm not getting a lot of feedback online," I said, a little halfheartedly. "I know it's because I'm posting a lot less frequently. It's easy to fall out of a story that doesn't get consistent updates."

"I guess not everyone has the privilege I have to know you in person and get early access, huh?" Blossom sipped her tea and smiled. "Do you think the site is just not a good one? DD? I haven't seen anything good on there - apart from your stuff - in what feels like forever. Maybe you should get a Patreon? A lot of writers seem to be doing that in the community."

"I think I'd get overwhelmed," I said, taking a sip of my tea. "Like, people would expect a chapter every week or something. Or even if they didn't, I'd feel guilty if I didn't post one every week."

I already felt guilty, and I didn't even have anyone clamoring for more! Well, other than Blossom I guess.

"Actually, I think you reading my stuff and giving me your thoughts helps a lot. I'm not so wrapped up in internet comments because I know at least someone is reading it." Not to say that I wouldn't appreciate more comments...

Blossom let a bright and proud grin spread across her pretty face. Mia Moore was being helped by her feedback, and that meant the world to her.

"You're nothing like I expected, Amy. You're so much better~"

I rolled my eyes. I had a lot of dismissive comments for that, but I elected to keep them to myself. After all, she chose to be my friend. She chose to be whatever we were.

"Anyway..." I hesitated. I didn't know what else to talk about, so I kept going with the current topic. "I think I can wrap everything else up in one chapter. I hope it turns out okay..."

"I'm so excited, you have no idea. And then I'm even more excited with where you're going to go next. What's the next Academy? What are their methods? Will you knowing me and us getting to play influence your writing decisions? I know I'm being such a fangirl here, but speculating over your stuff takes me back to my Awkward Blossom on Tumblr Superwholock days."

I didn't understand how she could get so excited about stuff like that. I couldn't get that excited about anything, even when people talked about my own writing. I envied her a little, and I felt a smile on my lips.

"What?" Blossom asked, looking a little confused.

"Nothing. You're just... really weird sometimes."

"The opposite of weird is boring, and I know which side of that spectrum I'd wanna be on." She winked and gave a gracious smile to the wait staff when their food arrived, before picking back up on the topic.

"Do I make you nervous?"

"Not as much with the table between us," I admitted. The surprise kisses were still something that made me tense up. "But ordinarily, not that much. Not anymore, anyway."

Blossom didn't order for me, but I did get a fork. Thai places usually gave forks anyway so I didn't have to ask.

"I'm glad to hear that. A lot of my life is social rules and graces. Don't do this with that person. Make sure to always attend invites from this person. Send thank you letters from the sorority for donations. Blah blah blah. And then I have my spheres on top of that; like you know that Becky has never seen me work out? But I go to the gym every week. I have gym friends, and I don't let that sphere touch either, because List A of people who've seen me sweat and List B of people who think that I'm this paragon of delicate femininity? They can't touch. I guess what I'm saying is... you don't make me nervous. And that's...nice."

I nodded, knowing almost exactly how she felt. How she felt, but opposite. I guess the reason I was so scared of screwing things up with Blossom was that I really didn't want to.

"You make me nervous a lot," I said. "And I think usually I'm the only one that makes me nervous. So... that's nice too."

"It's nice that I do make you nervous?" Blossom grinned a lopsided smile. "Who's the weird one now, cupcake?"

Dinner was nice, because as far as dates went, it was pretty uneventful. Blossom talked with Amy, and the two of them ate, and the world didn't end. Nobody came by to ask questions, nobody took scandalous photos; there weren't even any slightly homophobic stares from old people outside the window. It was a lovely kind of routine, the kind you could anchor yourself to.