*****
Ashlyn watched from her desk with baited breath as six-foot tall Greg, with the rugby player’s build and the eyes of a poet, opened her card. He turned to her and gave her a tentative smile. Ashlyn’s heart almost burst with joy.
This is it. Tonight you’re going to be going on a date with the hottest boy in school!
She stood up, anticipating how glorious this moment would be.
“Erm...I thought you knew I was gay,” said Greg. He was holding out her card like it was a live grenade.
Ashlyn’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The entire class had their eyes on her. Her personal drama was their entertainment. She was surprised it wasn’t on Facebook already.
“It’s not from me,” Ashlyn insisted. She looked towards her best friend Veronica, who shrugged her shoulders. Some help she was!
“I recognize your handwriting,” said Greg. “I’m flattered and everything, it’s just that...”
“You’re gay,” Ashlyn finished for him.
She snatched the card from him, shoved it into her bag, and sat down by her desk again. She wanted the world to swallow her up. How was she supposed to know he was gay? It wasn’t as if he acted like it! He had seemed so...so heterosexual. How could she have been so stupid? Why hadn’t anybody told her? What kind of journalist would she be if her gaydar was broken?
“Did you know?” Ashlyn demanded.
“I suspected,” Veronica admitted. “I thought you did too!”
“This is the worst day of my life.”
She watched Greg as he sat down and started talking to his friends. She’d fancied him for years, even watched him play rugby just so she could ogle his legs. It had all been for nothing.
*****
Veronica was telling her about all the wonderful Valentine’s cards she’d received. Ashlyn hadn’t gotten a single one. She vowed to never celebrate this silly tradition ever again. It was a waste of time and money.
“Were there any signs that I missed?” Ashlyn wondered.
The two of them were in the school cafeteria. They each had a soggy looking salad and a cup of black coffee that tasted awful. Ashlyn could feel every eye on her, mocking her for her naiveté.
Veronica shrugged. “It was just a vibe that I got.”
“The way he said it out loud…like everyone already knew…”
“I was talking to one of Greg’s friends.” Veronica looked sheepish for a second. “He had a coming out party on Facebook last week. Everybody did know.”
“Some investigative journalist I am.”
Veronica smiled. “You could put it in the school newspaper. Pretend that you’re proud of him for coming out.”
Ashlyn sighed heavily. At the moment the school newspaper was the last thing on her mind.
“Are we still going to see Sunset when it comes out?” Veronica asked, thankfully changing the subject.
Sunset! She’d forgotten about that. It was the movie event of the decade. They had finally made a film out of her favorite book of all time. It was the book that had made the world fall in love with vampires all over again. Ashlyn herself had often had a fantasy of the novel’s hunky vampire lead, Darin. There was nothing in the world more romantic than a vampire who would do anything for you.
“You’d think I’d miss out on that just because of Greg?” Ashlyn laughed, though she felt heartbroken inside.
Veronica sipped at her coffee. “You did like him. A lot.”
“He’s no Darin, though, is he?” said Ashlyn. “How could Greg compare to swarthy Irish vampire and teen detective Darin?”
Veronica laughed. “Nobody could compare to Darin. Well, the actor playing him in the movie is pretty fit. I want to have his babies.”
For the first time in a long time Ashlyn had imagined that a boy could be as wonderful as her fictional crush. For now Darin would have to do.
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