Under the Lights

I’m the one who should be nervous. I have to pass the best friend test. Which means you need to save me some of whatever alcohol Josh Chester has poured down your throat in preparation.

I laugh as I type back, Do you have a camera on me or something?

Yes, she responds immediately. And your legs look great in that dress.

Nice try — jeans.

I tried. Willing to bet your legs still look great.

A cloud of butterflies takes flight in my stomach, and I think, Ally will love you. She has to. Because I’m pretty sure I do.

All I actually write back is, Cute.

This time her response takes a minute, and I crane my neck to look for my best friend’s familiar auburn waves to no avail. Then my phone buzzes again.

I am, aren’t I?

The text is accompanied by a picture of Bri perched on her bed, wearing a little Nirvana T-shirt and even littler shorts, her black-framed glasses, and a pair of headphones. She’s not wearing any makeup, and she’s childishly sticking out her tongue, and she looks so beautiful I have to curl my toes in my sneakers to keep myself from running to the limo and demanding it take me straight to her.

God, yes, you really are.

“Van?” I look up, and there’s Ally, looking ten shades paler and somehow five years more sophisticated than when she left. I slip my phone in my back pocket, drop the sign, and accept a hug that nearly tackles me to the ground while both of us crack up. “What are you doing here? I thought my parents were getting me.”

“I asked if I could,” I say, readjusting my cap and drawing her away from the crowd. “I needed to talk to you about something, and I really couldn’t wait.”

“Is everything okay?”

“That…is a really, really good question.” I can’t help breaking into a laugh, which makes her cock her head like I might be crazy. “Yes, it’s more than okay. I’m hoping it’ll stay that way.”

“You’re kind of freaking me out. Whatever it is, just say it.”

I still haven’t said the actual words aloud to another person; I think I’ve been waiting for Ally to be the first to hear them. But now that the time has come, I can’t even get them out. Instead, a single word emerges from my lips. “Ukelele.”

The bag she’d been carrying hits the floor. “Vanessa Hyun-Jung Park,” she whispers fiercely, yanking me even closer. “You had sex? With Zander?”

I shake my head.

“Please, please do not tell me you had sex with Josh Chester.”

And just like that, any fear I have of telling Ally about Bri lifts from my shoulders. Because after that, there’s really nowhere to go but up. “I did not, nor will I ever, have sex with Josh Chester,” I assure her.

“Then—”

“Bri, Ally.” My eyes dart around to make sure no one’s listening, but no one cares about two teenage girls standing in the corner of crazed LAX the night before Thanksgiving. “I had sex with Bri. I’m with Bri. That’s what I had to tell you.” I swallow hard. “So… yeah. I’m gay. In case you didn’t catch that.”

For a moment, there is dead silence. Just…nothing. And my stomach drops into my toes as I wonder what the hell is going through her mind right now. What—

Ally flings her arms around my neck and squeezes so tightly I can barely breathe. “I have about a bajillion questions for you, but I thought a hug seemed like the right place to start. Is that okay?”

“It’s the okay-est thing in the world,” I assure her, squeezing my eyes to blink away the tears gathering there. I feel so light right now, I could actually float out to the curb.

“How about you? Are you okay? God, no wonder you sounded so freaked out on the phone. This must have been so terrifying and confusing and…I don’t even know what.”

“It was all that, and still is,” I admit. “Trust me when I say I didn’t see it coming either. But it just feels right, finally.”

“I wish you could see the smile on your face right now. Is that what I looked like when I started dating Liam? You’re gonna blind half of LAX.” She squeezes my hand. “Seriously, I’m so happy to see you this happy, Vanny.”

“I’d be happier if you never called me Vanny again.”

“I know, but that’s unlikely, so you should just keep enjoying this whole relationship thing.”

“Remind me why you’re my best friend again?”

“Because I’m always the one to order the fries so the calories don’t count for you. Duh.”

“Oh, right.” My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I realize we’ve been lingering in the airport for a while now. “We should get going — Liam and Josh are waiting for us in the limo, and I wouldn’t tell Liam anything until I told you.”

“Josh knows?”

“Josh…may have seen us kissing,” I confide, heat rushing to my cheeks.