IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND

Untitled

I met those familiar pair of emerald eyes and I shuddered.

Mex?? What are you doing here. "You're not supposed to be here," Melissa whispered.

Mex looked up, blew the smoke away from Melissa. "Neither are you. So we both have a problem."

"I'm Melissa. Block A."

"I know. I see you around."

Melissa frowned. "You know me?"

"Yeah. You're the girl who always yells at anyone she sees" Mex said. "I'm Mex."

Melissa crossed her arms. "And you're the girl who is always smoking in places you shouldn't smoke."

Mex put the cigarette out immediately against the desk, stamped it. "Sorry. Habit. My head was full."

She tossed it in the bin. The room smelled faintly, and she waved the air away.

"Better?"

"Small better," Melissa said, but she sat down on the chair opposite. She didn't leave.

"Why you wandering at night?" Mex asked, voice low, tough but not rude.

"I couldn't sleep. Why are you hiding in a dark room?"

"Same reason. I can't sleep when I think too much. Dark room helps me think."

Silence. The generator outside was humming.

"You always this tough?" Melissa asked.

"You always this soft?" Mex shot back, but she smiled a little. "I'm not tough. People just think I am because of how I dress. I'm masc, I'm lesbian, I smoke when I'm stressed — people put all of that together and think I'm a player or a bad girl."

"Are you?"

"No. I'm just... me. I like girls, I like dressing like this. But I'm not going to force anything on anybody."

Melissa played with her bracelet. "Can I be honest? I was scared to talk to you before."

"I know," Mex said. "Most fem girls are."

"Not because you're lesbian. Because you look like you will insult me."

Mex laughed for real this time. "I won't. I actually... I think you're pretty and feisty. I've thought it since I saw u."

Melissa looked down, smiling small. "You just say anything, huh?"

"I say what I think. That's why I sit alone. Most people can't handle direct."

"I can," Melissa said quietly.

"When did you know you liked girls " Melissa asked.

"Early, Like junior year in highschool. I liked a senior girl who played basketball. I didn't not about masc or lesbian then. I just knew that I wanted to be close to her and I wanted her.

Mex looked at her for a long second. "You shouldn't be here though. If the guard catches you with me in a dark room at night, he will tell a story."

"I don't care what story they tell," Melissa said. "I was wandering, and I found you. That's the story."

Mex stood up from the desk, grabbed her lighter and put it in her pocket.

"Come on. Let me walk you back before they lock the main gate. We can continue this conversation tomorrow, when there's light — if you still want to talk to me when everyone is watching."

Melissa stood too. "I will still want to."

"Good," Mex said, opening the door for her. "Because I want to talk to you tomorrow "

Mex held the door open for Melissa. "After you, nagging girl." She said with a smirk

"It's Melissa," she whispered, but she was smiling.

"I know. I like annoying you."

They walked side by side. The hostel compound was quiet. Everyone was supposed to be inside.

"Hold the wall, there's water here," Mex said, pointing. She didn't touch Melissa, she just used her voice to guide her. Tough, but careful.

"You come this way a lot at night?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah. When I can't sleep I just walk. Or sit. It helps."

"You don't get scared? A masc girl alone in the dark?"

Mex scoffed small. "I'm used to the dark. Dark doesn't scare me. People do."

Melissa looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"People talk. You know how this school is. They see me dressed like this, they already decide who I am. Lesbian, smoker, player. They don't ask."

They reached the small gate that divides Block A and Block C. The gateman was sleeping.

Melissa stopped. "This is my turn."

"I know," Mex said. She put her hands in her pockets. "I will not come further. If they see me follow you to your block they tell a story by tomorrow."

Melissa didn't move immediately. "You really think about that?"

"Yeah. I don't care what they say about me, but I care what they say about you."

That made Melissa quiet for a second.

"Thank you for escorting me," she said.

"It's nothing. Small walk."

"No, it's something. Most people would have just said 'bye' in that room."

Mex nodded. "Good night, Melissa."

"Good night, Mex."

Melissa turned to go, then turned back. "Tomorrow? Same dark room?"

Mex smiled — that small, tough smile. "If you wander again, I will be there."

"Then I will wander again," Melissa said, and ran small to her hostel before the light caught her.

Mex stood there until she saw Melissa's hostel door close, then she turned and walked back to her hostel.