Time for some truths... on Labyrinth Gardens

Gia Donovan

January 08, 2017 9:56 PM

Time for some truths... by Gia Donovan

Gia was pacing around the Labyrinth lost in her own thoughts. She felt like she was going to have another breakdown and it had nothing to do with her friends and everything to do with herself and her family. There were so many secrets that she was keeping about herself from her friends, or more importantly, her best friend, and it was just making her feel ill inside. Normally, she could just push it all down and deal with it but with the CATS exams coming up causing her even more pressure, she needed to just let one of the things out. Just tell someone something, anything, that would help lighten the burden that she had on herself.

Obviously she could not divulge the biggest secret of them all because it was her brother’s secret. Yes the secret basically determined everything about her life since she was four years old, but it was still his and she would support his decision to keep it a secret for as long as he needed it to be so. She hoped that one day he would feel confident enough to tell their friends that he had this whatever one would call it (she hated to say curse or infliction the way her brother did but he was also not the beast that he felt that he was so she didn’t like to call him a werewolf) but she wasn’t sure he would ever really say the words himself. He hated that part of him. He hated how it happened. He hated how he was immediately discarded because of it. He hated all that it was and Gia understood that, but she had more faith in people.

Or she thought she did.

But here she was wandering around trying to get her life in order so that she could stop feeling so lost and guilty all the time. It was ridiculous. Phoebe was right, this was who she was and people would either accept it and be okay with it or deny her and that would be the end of that. Gia was loathed to think that her friends would be shallow in such ways, but with Laila being religious and Peizhi being a bit of an unknown to Gia, she did not know how they would react to her.

But there was Sammy. Sammy who was like her. Sammy was bound to understand and be accepting. If she knew, if Gia finally let it out that she was different and didn’t have to hide that part of herself to her best friend, maybe she’d feel a little bit better. At least for a little while.

Walking back to the Pecari Commons, she happened across the very person that she wanted to talk to. “Sammy!” Gia called out and gave her a smile. She indicated for Sammy to come to her with a nod of her head. “Hey, I, er, I had something that I wanted to tell you. Do you mind walking with me?” She asked her friend.

6 Gia Donovan Time for some truths... 308 Gia Donovan 1 5

Sammy Meeks

January 12, 2017 4:44 PM

The ellipses makes that seem ominous, but I'm in anyway. by Sammy Meeks

For obvious reasons, Sammy only knew where the entrance to one Common Room was located, but even without knowing the others, she was confident that Pecari’s was the coolest. She adored the Gardens and was very happy to have the door to her home be hidden there. It made going out for a stroll super convenient, and every morning, she was greeted by a menagerie of plants, all smiling - metaphorically, of course - and happy to see her.

And speaking of, just a few strides after emerging from behind the knight-guarded opening, she stumbled upon someone who was very happy to see her. Sammy smiled back at her best friend. “Hey, Gia!” she called in greeting.

Sammy jogged over closer and followed at her side as her body language indicated wanting her to. Gia wanted to tell her something? The other Pecari seemed a bit hesitant over it, which made Sammy a little bit nervous, but she did her best to seem secure and comforting. “Yeah, we can walk,” she answered. “And you can tell me anything you like.” Sammy meant that with all of her heart, and it showed in her tone. She was there for Gia, always. “So what’s up?”

12 Sammy Meeks The ellipses makes that seem ominous, but I'm in anyway. 310 Sammy Meeks 0 5

Gia

January 16, 2017 3:47 PM

Well, depending on your feelings, the truth can be ominous. by Gia

Gia nodded as Sammy agreed to walk with her and supported her with being open to whatever it was that Gia needed to tell her. Gia tried to feel better about telling her now but the nerves were only making her stomach feel queasy and she was shaking a little bit out of fear. The only person who knew what she was like was her brother. Jax had too many secrets of his own to really make any sort of judgement against his sister for having feelings for both genders, but they were very close and they had always maintained an open and honest relationship. As long as she was happy, she knew her brother would be happy for her. And, ultimately, she knew that to be true of her mother too, but she was not quite ready to cross that bridge just yet.

She struggled for a moment to try to work out exactly what it was that she wanted to tell Sammy. She hadn’t given that much thought. She only forced herself to at least admit that she needed to tell Sammy at all. This was far more complicated than she really thought it should be and since it was Sammy, who had already opened up to her about her own attractions; this really shouldn’t be difficult at all. But Gia found herself freezing up over it and she didn’t understand way. She could say it in her head just fine but the idea of saying it out-loud was causing her conflict.

She found a bench and took a seat on it, patting the spot beside her for her friend to take. Gia was quiet for a moment, still working out what she had to say. “There is something that I have recently discovered over the last year about myself that I have not been open about.” Gia started, not looking at Sammy but rather, looking at her hands that were fidgeting in her lap. “I do not like having secrets with you and this one I should have said to you sooner.” She admitted, still feeling her stomach doing back flops.

“I was dating someone over the summer.” Gia suddenly said and looked up at Sammy. “Her name is Phoebe.” There, she said it. She admitted that she had been dating a girl. “We’re just friends now, but it was a wonderful summer. I meant to tell you about her, but…” Gia trailed off for a moment before continuing. “I was confused because I also like men and I did not know how to handle that part of myself. Or know how others would accept it. But I didn’t want to keep that hidden from you because you are my best friend.”

6 Gia Well, depending on your feelings, the truth can be ominous. 308 Gia 0 5

Sammy

January 17, 2017 2:58 AM

Zero part of this is ominous! Weee!! by Sammy

She seemed really nervous about saying whatever it was she wanted to say, and that made Sammy actually super buckle down into Serious Mode™. Gia wasn’t usually particularly hesitant, so this had to be big. But Sammy sat beside her on the bench and let her think about it for a minute. No rush, no pressure.

“There is something that I have recently discovered over the last year about myself that I have not been open about.” Okay, good. There she was, getting started, hopefully the knots in her stomach Sammy knew had to be there beginning to unwind. She listened carefully, slowly, listening to every word Gia had to offer. “I do not like having secrets from you and this one I should have said to you sooner.” This was it. Sammy held her breath.

“I was dating someone over the summer.”

Oh?

“Her name is Phoebe.”

OH!!!

Sammy didn’t interrupt, knowing how important this conversation was to Gia, how many times she had probably rehearsed this speech in her head. Coming out was a huge deal a lot of the time, especially when you didn’t grow up around any of the LGBTQ+ alphabet soup to look to and recognize how normal it really was. A lot of kids were alienated. They didn’t have the benefits Sammy had from her two moms. Nobody gave a crap in her house what were in the pants of your lover, but for whatever gross reason, other people in other places did.

When Gia was done, Sammy screamed. But, like, a good scream. A high pitch, happy scream. “Gia! I’m so proud of you! This is great!” Sammy leaped to her feet and pulled Gia up with her, wrapping her up in a great big hug while she jumped up and down. But she stopped jumping suddenly, realizing how overwhelming that might be for her little baby bisexual friend. (Or pansexual. Or omnisexual. Whatever, labels were up to Gia, but she was some form of plurisexual and that was the point.)

“This is great,” she repeated, her tone more serious. She held her hands on both of Gia’s shoulders. “Coming out and figuring it out can be super hard and super scary. I mean I’ve known I was queer as pineapple” - not the word that Sammy used, but an appropriate stand-in - “since, like, the day I was born, but this can be a really scary and really hard conclusion to come to. So I mean it. I am really, really happy for you and proud of you.”

12 Sammy Zero part of this is ominous! Weee!! 310 Sammy 0 5

Gia

January 17, 2017 7:50 PM

That's good to hear! by Gia

Gia was not sure what she expected to happen after she admitted to Sammy that she was both interested in girls and guys, but she did not expect the high pitched squealing sound that emitted from her best friend. Gia stared opened mouth at her for a moment but was suddenly forced up from the bench and hugged tightly by a hopping Sammy Meeks.

It was all quite a lot to take in for Gia and not what she would have thought to occur. She wanted Sammy to quiet down in case someone wandered onto their path and was curious to know what it was exactly that Sammy was celebrating. Gia may have felt compelled to tell her best friend her secret, but she was not at all prepared to tell anyone else. She wanted to hush her friend, but she felt that was rude and really, her friend was only excited on her behalf. But this way of life came easier to Sammy than it did to Gia and she just didn’t know how to handle that sort of attention.

Her brows knotted together at Sammy’s use of words. She was shocked by the vulgar language, not used to it as much as most American children tended to be (at least, in Gia’s neighborhood) and despite hearing it often enough when she was wandering the neighborhood, she still found it rather shocking to hear.

She focused on what her friend was telling her but she did not understand how Sammy knew all along that she was going to like girls. Gia knew that she always found girls to be attractive just as she always thought guys were attractive, but she did not know she liked girls until she had met Phoebe. Her crush on Diana could have written off as her simply finding the other female to be intimidating with her beauty. But Phoebe changed her perception entirely. It had all been rather overwhelming for her at the time.

“Thank you?” Gia replied looking somewhat confused by her response. She wasn’t sure why Sammy was proud of her, perhaps because she told her? She guessed that was something to be proud of since she had kept it to herself for so long… “Jax is the only one who knows, so please do not say anything. I’m sure you wouldn’t, but… I’m not quite ready for others to know. My life is complicated enough and I think this would only make it more so if people knew.”

OOC: I’m assuming ‘pineapple’ was a dirty swear word, so hopefully that was correct to assume and Gia’s reaction isn’t incorrect.

6 Gia That's good to hear! 308 Gia 0 5

Sammy

January 19, 2017 1:14 AM

Everything about this is good! by Sammy

Gia asked her not to say anything, and Sammy nodded seriously. Just because she herself was open with her sexuality didn’t mean everybody else who struggled with it would be, and she would never dream out outing somebody before they were ready to come out completely. “No worries there,” she reassured. “But just so you know, if you’re worried about what people will think, Laila at least knows that I’m bi and hasn’t had any problems with it.” Laila was religious, perhaps the most religious person Sammy had ever known well, and often religion and intolerance blended into one another. Which was a darn shame, Sammy thought; she and her moms had seen and known intolerance and hate, but fortunately, never by their personal religious sects. They went to church and everything. Sometimes Sammy went with Laila during the school year, so she knew what Laila’s stance was.

“You can tell people - or not - whenever you want to,” she added genuinely. “It’s your choice when and how to come out, and who you come out to.” Sammy smiled, her hands sliding from Gia’s shoulders down to take Gia’s hands, giving a light, loving squeeze upon arrival. “Jax is cool with it, though, right? Does your mom know?” It was important to get support from home - Sammy certainly had it, as a lesbian and a pansexual had no room to judge a bisexual daughter - and she really hoped her friend was getting it.

OOC: You are correct. I was just using it as a filler word for something that isn't PG. Haha.

12 Sammy Everything about this is good! 310 Sammy 0 5

Gia

January 19, 2017 7:03 PM

Some of it, not all by Gia

Gia found herself surprised that Laila knew about Sammy’s sexual orientation. She had thought that Sammy had only ever confided in her about it She wasn’t sure why she had thought that, perhaps because even when she had told Gia it had only been because she had sent a letter to Joella in Gia’s name. It hadn’t really seemed like a genuine ‘I have something to tell you’ moment. Did she have that with Laila?

A lot of emotions went through Gia when she heard this, but the most predominant one was jealousy. Sammy had felt close enough to Laila to actually admit something but had only felt obligated to tell Gia because of her letter. She didn’t know if that was how it actually happened, but the feeling of green that ran through her certainly put to mind that it was the truth of the matter. She knew she had no right to feel anything negative about it as it was Sammy’s right to discuss her sexuality with whomever she wished, but she could not help the feelings she had in regards to it.

Gia looked down at their linked hands, her face rather stoic, making her look even more like her brother than usual. Normally, Gia’s features were light and warm, so this look seemed like a cold stark contrast even though she ought to feel happier about being somewhat open. “Jax does not care who I like as long as they make me happy and are good to me.” Gia replied to Sammy, finally looking up at her as she thought about how to explain her mother. “She does not know. She… would have difficulty with it.” Her mother would, eventually, understand and accept her, but she would need time and Gia wasn’t quite ready for that battle just yet.

6 Gia Some of it, not all 308 Gia 0 5