I was lounging on my bed, headphones plugged into my phone, as I chatted with Eliza. She was my secret, my solace, my love. I told her about my day, about how my biology teacher Mrs. Thompson had lost her shit when she found my squirrel dress in my locker. "She was all like, 'Louisa, that's disgusting! You can't bring that to school!' But, like, it's art, you know? So what if it's a dead squirrel? I made it fabulous."

Eliza laughed at my rant, her voice warm and soothing. "Far out… That is far out, Louisa. You're a real revolutionary, sticking it to the man. Or, in this case, the woman."

I couldn't help but smile. I loved how Eliza understood me. She never judged me for my weird hobbies or my quirks. "So, babe, tell me about your day. Anything interesting happen?" I asked.

There was a pause, and I could tell Eliza was hesitant. "Well, I had a bit of a row with my dad. He doesn't really approve of our relationship, Lou. It's a bummer, really."

"What? Why not?" I asked, feeling a bit defensive. "We're just two people who love each other. What's wrong with that?"

"I know, right?" Eliza sighed. "He's just so... old-fashioned. Thinks I should be focusing on other things. But you know what? I don't give a damn. You make me happy, Lou. And I think that's pretty groovy."

I felt a warm glow in my chest at her words. "That's all I want too, Eliza. To be happy with you."

The conversation turned lighter, as Eliza tried to steer it away from her family drama. "So, Lou, have you thought about what we'll do when we finally meet? You know, after you graduate and all that jazz?"

I grinned, excited by the prospect. "I've been thinking about it a lot, actually. We could build a tiny house together, somewhere in the woods. Just us and nature, you know? We'd have a little garden and live off the grid. Just... be happy with each other."

Eliza's voice held a soft, wistful note. "That sounds amazing, Lou. Just the two of us, creating our own little world. It would be far out, really."

As we continued to talk and dream about our future, I couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky. Sure, there were challenges ahead, but with Eliza by my side, I felt like I could face anything. Even if the world didn't understand us or approve, we had each other. And in the end, that's all that really mattered.

I lay on my bed, feeling the warmth of Eliza's love enveloping me, and I realized just how incredibly lucky I was to have her in my life. My heart swelled with emotion, and I knew I had to tell her how I truly felt. "Eliza, I need to tell you something."

"What's up, Lou?" Eliza asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

Taking a deep breath, I finally said the words I'd been longing to say. "I love you, Eliza. More than anything in the world."

Eliza's response was immediate and enthusiastic. "Oh, Lou! I love you too, so much! I can't believe you said it! I'm over the moon!"

As we basked in the glow of our shared love, I couldn't help but wish the whole world knew about us. "Eliza, I wish we could just shout out to the whole world that we're in love. I want everyone to know."

She seemed intrigued by my bold statement. "Really, Lou? You'd want that? Everyone knowing about us?"

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I do. Because we're not doing anything wrong. We're just two people who love each other. And maybe if more people knew about us, it could help others feel less alone or afraid to be themselves."

There was a brief pause, and then Eliza's voice filled my mind, louder than before. "I, Eliza, love Louisa Stroup!" The sound of her voice seemed to reverberate through my entire being, sending tingles down my spine and filling me with a joy I'd never felt before.

I laughed, feeling giddy with love. "Wow, Eliza, I felt that all the way to my toes!"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Just then, there was a knock on my bedroom door. "Louisa, it's time to get off the phone and go to bed," my mom called through the door.

I rolled my eyes but whispered into the phone, "I've gotta go, babe. My parents are on my case."

Eliza's voice was soft and loving. "Alright, Lou. Sweet dreams. I love you."

"I love you too, Eliza," I whispered back, the warmth of her love surrounding me as I drifted off to sleep, the phone still pressed to my ear. In that moment, our hearts and minds were intertwined, and the distance between us seemed to vanish. Together, we shared the night, dreaming of a world where our love could shine without fear or judgment.

—

The next morning, I woke up to the feeling of my phone stuck to my cheek. I peeled it off, grinning at the memory of falling asleep while talking to Eliza. After getting dressed and eating breakfast, I headed to school, still feeling the warmth of our conversation from the night before.

But as I walked through the school hallways, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. It felt like everyone was staring at me, which was unusual since I wasn't exactly the center of attention at school. The only person I usually hung out with was Erica Adler, my BFF since kindergarten.

Erica was short and firmly built, with a passion for academia that I'd never quite shared. We balanced each other out, though, and I couldn't imagine life without her.

After third period, I met up with Erica at her locker. We chatted about nothing in particular—how boring our history class had been, what we thought of the cafeteria's mystery meat.

Then, almost as an afterthought, Erica mentioned something strange. "You know, Lou, I had the weirdest thought last night. I was thinking about your love life, which is funny because I don't usually think about that sort of thing. But the strangest part is that I thought of you as Louisa Stroup—like, full name. I never call you that."

I blinked, a bit confused by her comment but not making the connection to Eliza's declaration. "Huh, that is weird. But, you know, brains are strange sometimes."

Erica shrugged, and we closed our lockers, heading off to our fourth period classes. As I walked down the hallway, I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was watching me. It was unsettling, but I tried to ignore it and focus on the love and happiness that Eliza had brought into my life. Little did I know that everything was about to change.

Lunch went by, and the lingering feeling continued, but seemed to fade throughout the day. Eighth period was Biology, which was a favorite of mine, probably because I enjoyed learning about living things and how they worked.

Our teacher, Mr. K, short for something he'd never bothered to tell us, was an eccentric but lovable guy. He was always trying to make the subject more entertaining, which often meant cracking jokes that only he found funny. Today was no exception.

As we filed into the classroom, he stood at the front with a big grin on his face. "Hey, class! Why did the mushroom go to the party?" No one responded, so he answered his own question. "Because he's a fungi!"

The class remained silent, and Mr. K's smile faltered. "Get it? Fungi? Fun guy?" he explained, but still, no one laughed. He sighed and moved on. "Alright, let's get started. Today, we're looking at slides of different types of mushrooms."

We got to work, peering into microscopes and examining the intricate details of the fungi. I was fascinated by the alien-like structures, and it felt good to be focused on something other than the strange feeling I'd had all day.

Just as I was adjusting the focus on my microscope, the classroom door opened, and the principal, Ms. Johnson, entered with a man in a suit. They both had serious expressions on their faces.

"Excuse me, Mr. K," Ms. Johnson said, “We need to speak with Louisa Stroup."

Mr. K looked surprised but nodded. "Of course, Ms. Johnson."

I felt a knot forming in my stomach as I stood up, my mind racing with possible reasons for this sudden interruption. I followed Ms. Johnson and the mysterious man out of the classroom, my heart pounding in my chest.

As the door closed behind us, I couldn't help but wonder what this unexpected turn of events could mean for me and, more importantly, for my secret relationship with Eliza.

As we entered an empty classroom, I noticed how odd it was that the room wasn't in use. Usually, our school was so short on space that multiple classes had to share rooms, separated by dividers. Our school district was poor, but we made do with what we had.

The man in the suit took a seat at the teacher's desk, gesturing for me to sit down across from him. I hesitated for a moment before complying, my nerves on edge.

"My name is Jamal," he said, his voice steady and professional. "I am with the Central Intelligence Agency, and I just have a few questions for you. I'm sure this is nothing, and you'll be able to go about your day. There's just been a bit of a panic with some higher-ups. I apologize if this affects your school day, but we've got over a hundred agents out talking to a bunch of people right now. I'm confident this is nothing, but I've got orders to check in with you, so here we are. I just have two questions for you."

My heart raced, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. What could the CIA possibly want with me?

The suit leaned forward, his eyes locked on mine. "Are you Louisa Stroup?" he asked.

I nodded anxiously, swallowing hard.

He paused for a moment, as if considering his next words carefully. "And do you know anything about a girl named Eliza?"

My heart sank, and a cold dread washed over me. How could they possibly know about Eliza?