Right Under My Nose

A story about an 18 year old girl and her conflict when she realises she is in love with her best friend.

 

Hmmm... First day of semester break. I had just woken up to the sound of birds singing, and a long ray of sunshine stretching out across my back. I love summer. It has that peaceful, quiet warmth that so many people take for granted. Well, peaceful, that was, until my best friend, Sarah, decided to bolt head first into my bedroom.

 

"So... What do you want to do today?". This question was asked on a frequent basis, and I was becoming more and more sure she only asked the question to bug me. As far as I'm concerned, breaks should equal relax. But as much as I explain this concept to Sarah, she just doesn't get it. To her, relaxing is going for a 2km run. So I gave in... again. "How about the beach? It's such a beautiful day!" I said, crossing my fingers and hoping she would say yes. At least if she agreed to go to the beach, I would get to spend one day of my break relaxing.

 

Sarah and I had been friends since kindergarten. Since she held my hand when I was scared about my first day. We had never left each other's side, and even took the same classes so that we didn't ever feel deserted. Our parents nicknamed us 'The Siamese Twins'. And that's how I think, and hope, it will always be.

 

"Alright. Beach it is, then. Let me get my bikini and we can head off". I was so proud that my plan worked, and she didn't see right through me. Either that, or she had decided to compromise without my knowledge. I was happy either way.

 

...

 

The car rolled up to the beach. I walked over to the hot sand, and took my shorts and T-shirt off, revealing the pink and white striped bikini I had on underneath. As I flung myself down on the sand, Sarah groaned. "Mary-Anne, it's so unfair that you look so amazing with no effort at all! I wish I could eat junk food like you and still look like that!" "Whatever, it's not like no one wishes they weren't you" I replied. And it was true. She was so dark, with the most amazing black curls, not to mention a body to die for. There wasn't a guy I had ever met who didn't want to be with her.

 

 As I sat and watched her, I started to feel things for Sarah that I had never felt before. I couldn't stop imagining what it would be like to kiss her, caress her, be with her. I was shocked that I felt this way, and that I was thinking these things, but I couldn't help it. Something seemed to have taken control of me. She was my best friend, and as far as I knew, I definitely wasn't attracted to girls. But, I couldn't get her out of my head, those long, slender legs, those beautiful, round... Oh my god! I really needed to get out of there!

 

"Um... I have a really sore tummy. I think I'm getting sick" I said. "It's okay. I'll take you home. Do you want me to stay with you?" Sarah asked. She's was always so caring, damnit! I just wanted to get away, and now I would have to smell her lavender-scented hair all the way home. "No, I'm sure I'll be fine once I'm in bed". I felt so bad about lying to her, but I really didn't have any other option.

 

...

 

After Sarah had finally gone, I got to thinking. I really couldn't afford to have these feelings for her. To fall in love with her. To want to be with her. If I couldn't control my emotions, I would lose her, and I couldn't imagine my life without her. I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed how I felt about her before now. And the worst part was, the more I thought about her, the more I had to acknowledge how much I had already fallen in love with her. It wasn't fair. It was best to stay away from her until my feelings were no more. Hopefully, that wouldn't take too long. But I wasn't so sure.

 

...

 

I had managed to avoid Sarah for two weeks by telling her I had a stomach bug. It was the longest we had ever been apart, and I missed her deeply. She still called me every day to check I was okay, but it wasn't the same as being face to face. But, in spite of all this, semester break was over too soon, and I knew I would have to confront her at university. This was going to be a nightmare. One that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

 

"Hi ya! I can't believe how well you look after two weeks of having your head down the toilet!" Sarah laughed, walking into my room. I felt nervous around her, and for the first time in my life, I couldn't find words. I felt that she would be suspicious of me very quickly. "So, tell me the truth. Who's the guy?". I didn't really know what to say, but I knew if I lied, Sarah would see right through it. I felt like I was suffocating in a sea of white clouds. "If I tell you, can you promise you won't hate me?" I said, hoping everything was going to be okay. "I don't think I ever could hate you, especially not over a guy! Go ahead!"

 

"Well, that's the thing. I'm not attracted to a guy. I'm attracted to you" I told her. She giggled, "No, really," she laughed. I sighed. "Sarah, I actually am telling you the truth". And then, before I knew what was happening, we were kissing each other so passionately, it was like the world was going to end if we stopped.  Sarah wasn't just kissing me back, but she had initiated it! She whispered in my ear, and I thought I was dreaming. "I never thought I would be able to say this, but I love you too, Mary-Anne". I was in heaven. And my worst fears were over.

 

...

 

After the day of our confession to each other, Sarah and I made a decision. Our whole lives had already revolved around each others, and we definitely didn't see that changing any time soon - if ever. We couldn't live without each other. So, since we couldn't keep it a secret forever, the only conclusion we could come to was that we would have to tell all the people we cared about. And that scary list started with our parents.

 

We figured that the easiest way to tell them was to have a dinner party. That way, we wouldn't have to repeat it to the other set, and they had all been friends forever anyway, so it wouldn't look suspicious.

 

All four of them turned up right on time (probably in the same car). After dinner, we announced our news, "Okay, well..." I stuttered, "We actually invited you all here because we needed to tell you all something." Our parents looked at us in anticipation, like little puppies waiting for their milk. But I was sure they could never have anticipated what we were about to tell them. I froze. Sarah chipped in. "Well, what Mary-Anne was trying to tell you is that we've recently discovered we have feelings for each other. You know, deeper than just a friendship..." Silence. The one thing I had been dreading. It seemed to go on for hours, even though I knew it was only a few minutes. Yelling I could deal with, but silence meant I couldn't tell what anyone was thinking.

 

It was my father that spoke first. "Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that if you girls are happiest together, I don't see what right we have to spoil that for you. You've been inseparable since you met, and, quite frankly, it's better to have Sarah and her family in ours rather than some guy who we don't know from a bar of soap".

 

I was eternally grateful to my father. Ever since he spoke, everyone was great. I couldn't thank him enough. Finally, dinner was over. It was such a huge relief. The only person to tell now was Lola, our closest friend. But we had left her till last, because we thought she would be the easiest and most understanding person to tell.

 

...

 

We had university classes again the next day, and saw Lola before our classes. "Hey, Lola!" I yelled excitedly as we ran up to her. "Hey guys, what's happening?" "We have some good news" I said, and then, blurting it out excitedly, I said, "Sarah and I are dating". "Good for you!" Lola replied with a smile on her face. I was relieved. I knew she would understand. "So, how did you two manage to find dates at the same time? I mean, I know you do everything together, but that's a bit spooky. They're not twins, are they?"

 

My heart sunk. She actually didn't understand. "I don't think you understand, Lola." Sarah said, looking her in the eye. "Mary-Anne and I are dating each other"

 

Turns out, our happiness doesn't actually matter to Lola. She pretty much fled from us after we told her, telling us we were going to hell. You would think that would be bad enough, the way she went from being our best friend to someone who doesn't want to know or associate with us. But that was just the start.

 

After our first class after telling Lola, we walked out into a sea of flyers. I was surprised - I had never seen so many flyers in one area. There must be a huge party or something, I thought. That was, until I noticed that everyone was staring at me, and there was a picture of me and Sarah on the front.

 

I snatched up a flyer to see what it was all about. It looked like this:

 

Congratulations!

 

Please join me in congratulating

Sarah Willis and Mary-Anne Salisberg

In their new found love together

 

We wish you all the luck

 

I couldn't believe it. I raced over to the class Sarah was due to come out of, only to find the same thing happening. I scanned the crowd for Sarah, and found her sitting in the courtyard, staring at the flyer in disbelief. I grabbed her arm, and led her to the escape of the car.

 

"The b***h!" I yelled, slamming the door. "Yeah," Sarah replied, looking shocked and sad all at once. I had never seen her look like that, she's usually the optomist. "So much for a friend. If she had a problem with us, she could have talked to us about it, rather than broadcasting it to the whole university!". And it only got worse. In a few weeks, Lola had managed to turn the whole student body of 2000 people against us. I couldn't stand to even look at her.

 

I had had enough. Sarah kept saying that the best thing would be to wait till it all blows over, but I was pretty nervous about how long that would be. So I confronted Lola in the most public place I could think of, the middle of the courtyard. "Lola!" I yelled as I saw her crossing the brick grounds. I stormed towards her, and grabbed her arm as a good 200 people looked on. She looked absolutely stunned, like she never expected me to do anything like this. "I just wanted to let you know that I don't really give a s**t what you think  about Sarah and I. I can't believe that you could turn on us so quickly after being our best friend, just because you found out we're lesbians. I don't hate you, you just don't exist to me." I stormed off, leaving her gasping for air.

 

And it worked. Ever since I confronted Lola, we had no more trouble from anyone. I'm sure no one cares we are in love with each other. To me, there's no difference between us and a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship. The only difference is that some people appreciate one, but shun the other. Sarah and I are still deeply in love, and I believe it's a love that will last forever.

Reviews

[KonxOmPax]

I enjoyed this story. I think you could've developed some points further and taken more time with it. For instance, the anxiety Mary-Anne was feeling could've been dragged on quite a bit to give a really good sense of how she was really feeling toward Sarah. I would've liked to see the plot in a little less of a nutshell as it seems rather rushed. In any case I still like it and I think you write pretty well and will get better as you keep on writing. Cheers!