The next morning Anne got up really early, she got ready for school and left the house with plenty of time to walk to Abby's house.

When she got there she stood, shifting from foot to foot, plucking up the courage to speak to her best friend. The situation seemed so surreal.

Eventually she became annoyed with herself and knocked on the door. Abby's mother answered the door in a crisp business suit. "Oh, Anne, Abby isn't feeling well, she's going to stay home today. You don't normally pick her up before school, everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine Mrs Rosenberg, do you mind if I go talk to her before school?" Anne asked, knowing that Abby was cutting class to avoid her.

"Sure hun, pop up and see her."

She took her shoes off again and climbed the stairs. This time feeling hopeful that perhaps Abby wasn't going to out her.

She cracked open the bedroom door and called "Abby, is it okay if I come in?"

There was a rustling in the room and then Abby said "If you like."

She opened the door and stepped in, closing it quietly behind her before sitting primly on the corner of the bed. "Mind if we talk?"

Abby was sitting up with her knees in front of her, bed clothes pulled to her neck. "Sure." She said, not quite meeting Anne's eyes.

"What you did yesterday was cruel. You like boys and I know it, you were playing with my emotions and I didn't like it." Anne started, her speech rehearsed in her head.

"I know." Abby whispered.

"I was feeling really vulnerable." She continued.

"I know." Came the whispered reply.

"And it hurt. I cried for hours."

"Sorry." Came the tearful reply.

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"Okay, I can see you regret doing it. I'm willing to forgive you if you promise not to do something like that again." Anne said, forcing the words to come out strong.

"I'm sorry. I went about the whole thing the wrong way. I'm really sorry." Abby said through the tears running down her cheeks.

"Friends?" Asked Anne, holding her arms out for a hug.

"Friends." Abby replied, leaning in to receive it.

A minute later Abby whispered "Bi-curiuos by the way." Anne pushed her away, laughing "naked under the covers by the way!"

"So, you coming to school?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, suppose so. Didn't do the homework though, and I didn't get much sleep."

"Right, get dressed, we have about twenty minutes before the last bus. You can copy my homework, it's pretty shitty though." She left Abby to get dressed trying not to think too closely about the smooth skin of her back that she had just been holding.

"Mrs Rosenberg, Abby is going to come to school. She's just really tired." She explained.

"She'll have to hurry. I'm off to work but you could make her a sandwich to take to school if you want to be nice." With that she ducked out the door.

Anne quickly made up a couple ham and cheese sandwiches and put them in a bag. By the time she had tidied up Abby came down, she was looking a little bedraggled. "Right, let's go." She called out.

They double timed the walk to the bus stop and arrived just in time. The second bus was always quieter and they managed to get the back seat to themselves. Anne got out her homework and handed it to Abby to copy, also pulling out a hairbrush and some concealer. She sat behind Abby and brushed her hair whilst her friend copied the scribbled homework.

"You’re right you know, your homework is awful!" Abby griped.

"Hey, you could have done it on your own!" Anne laughed. "Turn around and I will hide those black bags under your eyes."

"I'm sorry I kissed you." Anne said, "No, I'm sorry I kissed you then. I don't regret kissing you, I just wish I had timed it right."

Anne glanced at the almost empty bus, there were no students from her year and no one was looking back, she leant in and kissed her friend on the lips, a longer kiss than the last one but still fleeting. She then leant into her bag as Abby touched her lip in disbelief. "Needs some chapstick!" She proceeded to apply the chapstick to Abby's lips before putting some on herself. Abby was still sitting in shock when Anne leaned in again, kissing her a little more deeply.

"Right, now I can say I kissed a girl and I liked it." She laughed at her friend's cheesy grin. "How was the taste of my cherry chapstick?"

Abby hugged her arm, "I can't believe you did that! On the bus! Oh my god." She put her head back on the headrest and stared at the roof. "It was awesome. I'm never going to hear that song without thinking of this." The smile seemed permanently affixed to her face, the homework forgotten, they just sat for the rest of the bus ride.