I remember the moment I found out Lena liked girls - it was back when I was kind of normal, a year before I was taken away.

The sun was beginning to darken from behind the floral curtains in my kitchen and the clock's numbers had turned to seven, yet Lena still wasn't home. Instead of sitting at the counter staring at my English homework that I couldn't read, I began to worry.

My leg kicked against the chair and I gazed expectantly at the front door, trying to listen for any movement outside the house. All I heard were the swaying of tree branches against each other, and the heavy wind that whirled around outside.

But before I could even pick up the phone to call her, the door busted open, and Lena's laughter immediately filled the small house. My shoulders instantly deflated in relief.

"Lena, why are you home so late?" I asked her, watching her set her books down on the counter beside me. Her long-time friend Tania stumbled in behind her, their cheeks both flushed and laughter still erupting from both of them.

"Hi, Ethan," Tania smiled at me, her large brown eyes squinted.

Tania had always been such a great friend to Lena, ever since they met at the mere age of six. Although my parents had never been too fond of Tania because she had dark skin, I didn't find anything wrong with her. In fact, I found that she was very beautiful, and looked very mature for her age. She shared many similar, sharp facial features with Lena which made them both strikingly gorgeous. Tania was very tall and slim, with high cheekbones, arched eyebrows and tight black curls falling to her shoulders, at only fourteen years old.

Lena ignored my previous question and leaned over my shoulder, staring down at my writing and smacking her gum. "Eth," she said. "You spelled almost every word wrong."

Before I could answer, she cut me off again.

"Mom and dad aren't home, right?" she asked, a sudden thread of worry prominent in her tone.

I looked up at her, tapping the end of my pencil against the misspelled words I had written. "No, they won't be home 'til later."

Lena shared a glance with Tania before biting her lip in contemplation. "T and I will be upstairs. Don't come in, okay?" she asked, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm serious, Ethan," she stressed, "don't."

I nodded, sighing. "Okay, why are you being so weird about it?"

She just looked at me before turning away. "Yell up the stairs when you see mom and dad pull in, please."

I watched them as they both walked up the stairs hesitantly, and I couldn't have been more confused. I wondered if they were doing drugs up there or something, but I figured it wasn't really my place to scold her or ask her about that.

Darkness was beginning to engulf the entire room, so I flicked the table lamp on to see my homework better, not that it mattered. I couldn't exactly do it anyway.

I even tried reading the paragraph out loud, hoping that would help make sense of what I was attempting to read so I could summarize it for this fucking schoolwork. "...I keep picturing all... all.. these, little kids playing some game in this big field of... rye? and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - Yeah, I can't do it," I concluded, shaking my head. "I can't read this."

I began to feel an overwhelming frustration with the closeness of the words in the paragraph, and the way the letters floated on the page and switched around. How could anybody read it? My head was throbbing, holding a dull pain that spread throughout my temples - a familiar pain I felt whenever I tried to do my homework. I took my glasses off and set them aside, rubbing my eyes and groaning under my breath. 

I grabbed the paper off the counter, wondering if maybe Lena could help me with the homework. She usually helped me, but I knew that she told me not to go in her room. Asking one question couldn't hurt though, right?

I stepped up the stairs and walked up to her white door, which had pictures of flowers and peace signs taped on it, as well as a bubble-letter drawing of her name. I knocked on it nervously, chewing on the sleeve of my sweatshirt as I waited for her to answer.

"Lena?" I asked against the door, leaning closer in attempt to hear something. "Lena," I repeated quietly, knocking again.

Starting to grow nervous, my fingers wrapped around the doorknob and I absentmindedly swung her door open.

I don't know what I was expecting.

"Lena?"

But my heart fell to my stomach.

Her room was dark, but the moonlight shimmered through her open window and illuminated the two figures tangled in her bed together. Lena and Tania's contrasting skin colours were meshed and pressed up against each other. They were both unclothed and kissing each other wildly - before they both noticed me standing dumbfounded in the doorway, of course.

Lena's scream almost shook the house.

"Ethan!" Her voice was almost blood-curdling. My eyes were wide and I was frozen in place. "Get out! Ethan!" She bellowed again, while her and Tania gradually inched away from each other while holding her sheets over their chests.

I couldn't move. My heart was racing. They were... both two girls... and instantly, a flashback of a conversation I had with my parents years before played throughout my mind.

"Ethan, any girls catching your eye lately?" my mother had asked me once, while mixing a bowl of pancake batter on the kitchen counter.

I shook my head.

"No? Not even one?" my mother asked me again, her pale eyes trained on me as if it was mandatory for me to have a crush on a girl at ten years old.

"Ethan, you better not turn out a faggot," my dad had said from behind a newspaper. "Because a boy who likes boys is no son of mine. I will not tolerate it. Girls were all I thought about at around your age, and they better start being on your mind too."

"A faggot?" I repeated quietly, my shoulders hunched.

"That goes for you too, Lena," my father continued. "But I know my little girl's already gettin' all the boys, ain't she? You would never disappoint me, my Sweetheart. You're too pretty to be a dyke, anyways," he chuckled.

Lena looked up from her cereal, her big eyes looking up at her father and her missing teeth showing in a wide grin. "Uh-huh!" She was only eight years old, and clearly had no idea what anyone was talking about.

"Oh, our little Lena and Ethan would never have such an impure thought. They know it is disgraceful, don't they?" My mom's smile was huge as she gazed at me. "My handsome little boy. Girls are going to be knocking our door down pretty soon, I'm sure of it."

As I stood there, everything began to make sense. Lena, having an abundance of guys chasing after her, yet never having a boyfriend or showing a shred of interest in any boy, never really seemed right to me. I thought it was because she was just too young - and I mean, she was. Apparently not as innocent, though.

"Get the fuck out of my room, Ethan! What is wrong with you?" she cried out, her tone altering from angry to desperate.

I swallowed hard and quickly stepped outside of her room, slamming her door shut. My heart was racing as I blankly gaped at her door, still unable to comprehend what had happened.

Suddenly, Lena's door flung open, nearly hitting me. She stomped in front of me with her dark hair disheveled, her cheeks shimmering with fresh tears and a large sweatshirt over her small figure.

"You can't tell mom and dad!" She sniveled, shaking her head. "You can't tell them!"

"I-"

"Fuck you!" she cried out, slamming her hands on my chest. I took a step back and swallowed hard again - all I could do was stare at her.

"Are you going to go to Hell?" I had asked quietly, my gaze shifting to the ground.

Images of Lena's emotionless face as we sat at the pews of Church clouded my thoughts, as well as the sound of her monotonous voice reciting prayers after Mother forced her to speak.

"It's all bullshit, Ethan! I love Tania and I have to be so scared because of it. But once, just once, I thought, oh, maybe my brother won't be a fucking idiot and just barge into my room! But you are an idiot!" she continued to scream, her pale skin sweating and reddening by the second. "You can't tell them! You can't!"

I nodded, my eyes huge at this point. "You love her?" I asked, my voice subdued and shaking with nervousness. "But she's not... she's, a girl."

Lena had began to settle down, but her breath was still heavy and her thin fingers were threading through her hair.

"No shit, Ethan. Yes, I love her. I love her so much, Ethan. And I like girls - only girls. I don't like boys, no matter how hard I try," she said, tears beginning to slide from her closed eyes. "And I don't give a fuck what mom and dad say. They're liars."

I awkwardly looked at the ground again, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"It's... okay," I assured her softly. "I, um, I won't tell them, okay? I promise."

At that point, I could only imagine what our parents would do if they found out.

We both jumped when the sound of keys jingling and the door opening erupted from downstairs. With wide eyes, Lena's warm hand closed around my long and cold fingers, her eyes desperate and glittering with tears that still fell down her cheeks.

"Thank you," she said, her voice so faint it was barely coherent, before we heard heavy and familiar footsteps making their way up the staircase. "If they ask, T and I are studying. Got it?"

I nodded.

She slipped into her room quickly before our father reached the top of the stairs, leaving me standing alone in front of her door with my English homework still in my hand.

_

he views of these characters do not reflect my personal views.just making it clear though i hope you all would know that by now. there was extremely offensive language used and I am sorry if it offended anybody!