A couple of days passed since the incident with Cal.

Grace was being a bit of a coward and certainly petty, but she couldn't help but do her best to avoid Cal. It was for a number of reasons – she was angry at her, she was scared she wouldn't believe her, and she was scared to talk about her true feelings.

At best she was delaying the inevitable – at worst, she was completely pushing Cal away and ruining their relationship. Regardless, this couldn't go on much longer, and Grace knew it.

But every time she'd get a glimpse of her in the hallways or the parking lot, she couldn't help but immediately hide from the other girl. It was a visceral reaction, a defense machinism even.

Thank God Dana caught wind of the situation somehow, because she stopped bothering the both of them entirely. She never tried to talk about it, but she'd often flash suspicious glances in Grace's direction. It got on Grace's nerves, but she decided to ignore the blonde anyway.

By the time Grace noticed how long she'd been avoiding Cal, it was Friday after school, and she'd stayed behind to finish a chemistry project, late enough that Cal was probably already at home. Fuck, I'm going to have to endure the weekend like this, Grace thought. I might just have to meet her outside of school at this point.

She headed out to the front where Jeanette said she'd pick her up. But when she got there, she didn't see Jeanette's black SUV. Parked at the curb was a sedan, the window rolled down with Cal leaning out of it.

"I'm your ride today," she said with a blank expression. "That is, if you don't want to have to walk."

Grace was too shocked to even run away. "Cal?"

"Please get in," she said, her voice a bit desperate.

Grace swallowed, knowing she couldn't make it out of this situation without being completely obvious. If she ran away now, she probably wouldn't get another chance to patch things up. Hesitantly, she walked around to the passenger door and climbed in.

The silence was palpable as Cal started the engine and drove out of the drop-off circle. She noticed the car wasn't going in the direction of her house.

"What are we going?" she asked.

"Just somewhere to talk," Cal replied. She glanced at Grace, a glint of something reflecting in her eyes. "Just trust me."

"Okay," was all Grace could muster, and she texted her Dad that she'd be home a little late.

The car ride was silent the entire way, and Grace spent her time looking out the window. Her heart was pounding, partly because she was unsure of what was going to happen and partly because she was sitting next to Cal after almost a week on not seeing her.

In spite of the drama going on, she couldn't help but feel a little bit happy to see the transfer student again. Her feelings were definitely still alive and well.

Finally, Cal turned off the freeway to a side road, and Grace started to recognize where they were going. Cal drove a little off the road to park near the shore of the lake, one that Grace used to go to a lot when her mother was still alive. Although it was a popular hang-out spot, at this time and month the lake was entirely devoid of people.

Cal got out of the car and Grace followed suit. Cal leaned against the trunk of her sedan, facing the broad lake which was glowing pink as it reflected the setting sun.

To Grace's surprise, Cal pulled out a pack of cigarettes, taking one and holding it in her mouth as she held it to the flame of a lighter.

"I didn't know you smoked," Grace remarked.

"Does it bother you?" Cal asked, though she said it in a way that was almost a challenge.

"No. It's just a little surprising."

Cal sighed, releasing a puff of smoke. "I don't do it super often. Just a habit I picked up last year."

Grace timidly walked over and leaned against the trunk as well.

"Why the lake?" she asked after a couple seconds passed.

"It's a neutral place to talk," Cal answered, shrugging. "Plus, it's pretty during the sunset."

Another few seconds of silence passed, and in a way, it was almost peaceful just watching the sun go down. It was a little chilly, but the crisp air was refreshing to Grace, even when it was mixed with the smell of cigarette smoke. She buried her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Why'd you avoid me so much?" Cal asked. "Makes you seem a little suspect, you know?"

Grace found herself getting angry at the comment, but she took a deep breath and reigned in her emotions. It was understandable that Cal would be upset after being continuously ignored.

"I...was thinking about what to say," she said.

"Do you know now?" Cal asked.

"Not exactly," Grace said, "but I'll try anyway."

Cal took a puff of her cigarette, waiting. Grace turned towards her, gathering her conviction.

"Look, I know it looks bad," she began. "But I've never truly bullied or harassed anyone. I can be a major bitch, but I don't pick on people who can't stand up for themselves. Especially not over something like grades."

Cal searched her eyes, flicking some ash off the end of her cigarette. "Then what about what Sarah was saying? She told me you've been holding a grudge since she's going after the top spot in the school."

"Sarah and I were friends freshman year," Grace explained. "She'd follow me around everywhere and I'd defend her from people who would pick on her for being shy. Some girls who bullied her in middle school came to this high school as well, and I got caught in the crossfire.

"I started studying a lot after my mom died because I just didn't really know what else to do with myself. When I started getting first on the exams, Sarah started to show her true colors...she'd steal my study materials and copy off my tests. I knew she was troubled because she had a lot of pressure from her parents to do better, but I think from the beginning she was using me. First to protect her from bullies and then to mooch off of for grades."

Cal listened quietly, her eyes focused on the sunset rather than on Grace.

"It wasn't working and she still wasn't doing so well on exams," Grace continued. "She blew up at me and told the teachers I was copying off of her. When that didn't work, she'd stage it like I was bullying her and threatening her to do worse on exams. It was really obvious that she was making it up, so teachers stopped trusting her and she even got into trouble with the administration.

"A lot of rumors surfaced from the whole situation, like that my dad was pulling the strings to get Sarah in trouble. But mostly, people just started to avoid her because she was getting a little hysterical and obsessed. I think she truly believes it's my fault that people don't like her, but I mostly tried to stay out of the situation. I don't think she's mentally sound, but she's been harassing me for years now and I'm tired of it. That's why you saw me blow up in the bathroom at her."

Cal puffed her cigarette again, looking over at Grace. "I've never seen you that pissed before, not even at me, so I was surprised."

"Sometimes I get close to that level with you," Grace joked, smiling a bit at the slightly lightened mood.

"I'm gonna put this out," Cal said, holding up her reduced cigarette. She went to the car and came back, leaning on the trunk again. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "So...why was Sarah targeting me? She seemed to specifically want me to hate you."

"Uh, well, I..." Grace tensed, swallowing nervously. She looked at her feet, happy that Cal seemed to be doing the same. Her chest was on fire, her stomach doing somersaults, her hands clenching the fabric inside her pockets. Fuck it. "She must've...guessed how I feel about you."

There was a second of silence, and Grace didn't dare to look up at Cal.

"How you feel about me?" Cal echoed, her voice wavering a bit.

"Yeah," Grace choked out, her cheeks beginning to blaze. "I think that I...like you."

She saw Cal jolt out of the corner of her eye, now standing straight instead of leaning on the car.

"Oh, um..." Cal trailed off, trying to find her words.

Grace wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole, especially at that reaction. She must've been completely stupid, thinking that there was a chance Cal felt the same way. After all, just because Cal was a lesbian didn't mean she'd be into her like that.

As Cal seemed to fumble with words, Grace stood up straight as well.

"Well, I think I'm just gonna go drown myself in the lake," she said awkwardly, horrified that she had no way of walking out of this situation since her ride home was the object of her embarrassment.

Suddenly, Cal grabbed her wrists, turning them face-to-face. Grace couldn't help but look up at Cal, whose face was also extremely red, her expression flustered.

"I'm sorry, I'm just super surprised," Cal stammered. "I didn't think this talk would turn out this way."

She moved her hands down to Grace's, holding them as they locked eyes. "Look, I know I've been a complete idiot, accusing you of things and being suspicious of you. But everyone I've cared about has ditched me in one way or another, so I've been scared..."

Grace listened, trying her best not to look away in spite of her embarrassment. Cal seemed so flustered and unsure of herself, a state that Grace had never seen her in. She was usually so confident and direct.

"My ex turned out to be someone I didn't know at all," Cal continued, "so the thought of you being someone else around other people scared the shit out me. I just wanted to run away because I was afraid of what you'd tell me..."

"You were scared of getting hurt?" Grace asked gently.

Cal cracked a humorless smirk. "Yeah. Because I like you so much."

Grace's heart nearly pounded out of her chest and she immediately broke eye contact and stared at her feet. She started to feel almost light-headed with relief that her feelings were actually reciprocated. All of this was relatively new territory for Grace, and putting months worth of feelings out in the open was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

"We're both really stupid," Grace muttered.

"You can say that again," Cal agreed.

--

The sun had completely set, leaving the lakeside dark and cold, so the girls decided to get back into the car and head home. During the car ride, Cal didn't let go of Grace's hand, sending shivers down her spine.

"Your hand's sweaty," Cal teased.

Grace blushed. "My hands don't sweat," she argued indignatly. "Must be yours."

Cal laughed, and Grace's heart tightened at how genuinely happy it sounded.

She wanted to stay with Cal a little longer, but her father was already blowing up her phone, and she knew it'd be pushing it to ask to stay out. Even so, when they pulled up at the curb next to Grace's house, Grace was hesitant to let go of Cal's hand.

"I'm really glad we got this all settled," Cal said.

"Me too."

Cal was silent for a second, but then she looked up and they locked eyes. The feeling gave Grace a sense of déjà vu from the sleepover they had several weeks ago, their faces instinctively drawing closer to each other.

But this time, the action was carried through. Their lips touched lightly, lighting Grace's body on fire. It was very light and chaste, but still enough to make the honor student's head spin. When they pulled away, Grace let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"You taste like cigarettes," she blurted out quietly.

Cal looked surprised for a second, then she burst out laughing. "You sure know how to follow a mood!"

Grace blushed, embarrassed. "Oh, shut the hell up! And who kisses before the first date anyway?"

"What? You kissed me at the same time!" Cal looked at Grace with a genuine smile, her voice lowering. "I really like you...so much."

And now Grace was blushing for a different reason. "I...I like you too."

They said their goodbyes and Grace ran up to her house. She basically flew past her dad and brothers in the living room, immediately heading to her room to lay face-down on the bed. She couldn't believe all of what just happened.

She likes me back...