Let Her Go - Passenger

Chapter Twenty: Going Viral

No one wants to go back to school. I sure as hell didn't want to especially when my Nana had me spoiled rotten for the remainder of our vacation. Going home to microwave dinners and takeout was almost like being thrown into a form of cruel punishment.

Overall our trip went really well. The morning that we got home late, Nora and I woke up in the same bed together that afternoon just barely able to open our eyes. To my horror, Nana must've come in some time during the day and laid out some juice and fruit salad for us on the bedside table. Mind you, she never said anything about me and Nora sharing the same bed but she did wink at me every now and then when we were in the same room. It was then I realized my Nana was the greatest and most accepting person ever.

Josh was only too happy to see me when we got off the plane at the airport. He waved wildly with Jesse in his arms, nearly dropping him.

"Look, bud! It's your Auntie! Wave hi!" He took Jesse's little wrist and shook it in the air. "Hi Auntie! We missed you so much!"

"And I missed you guys too." They gathered me up for a hug in their arms. "Was everything good while I was gone?"

Josh nodded. "If you mean were there any changes with dad then no. Everything's all good on that front. But Jesse here can count to twenty now. Isn't that right, little man?"

"Twenty!" Jesse cried, holding his hands high up in the air while giggling. "Nora home too?"

Nora peered around her mom's head and beamed. "I'm home too, tiny human. Did you miss me?"

We all laughed when Jesse shook his head and cuddled into my brother's shoulder. Guess that answers that.

After that we all went to Josh's place (his friend's house as I said before) and had barbecue for lunch. Anya hugged me and welcomed me home, telling me all about how she liked every photo that I posted on my Instagram.

"I know. You blew up my phone with the comments and likes," I said. "Were you bored? No women giving birth lately at the hospital?"

She nudged me with a laugh. "I wasn't bored. I just enjoy seeing you have fun and posting about it. Is that a crime?"

Nora laid out our goods across the living room table to show everyone what we bought there. Anya absolutely loved our robes, saying it fit us perfectly and made us look like real witches. She loved our wands too.

"Do they light up or anything?" She asked while waving one in the air.

"No but they did interact with a lot of places at the park. You say a spell and point it and it works!" Nora exclaimed. "I also got these for you too. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. They-"

"Mean every flavor," Anya and Nora finished together, giggling so hard that they started to wheeze.

"What did you buy, Lane?" Josh asked. He was running back and forth between the barbecue and the dining room so much that his face was starting to turn pink.

"Uh....not much really. Robes. A wand. Mostly food to be honest. We ate these sandwiches that had different color bread. They were good."

"Don't forget the Butterbeer," reminded Nora.

I nodded. "The Butterbeer was really good. It was creamier than I thought it was gonna be but still delicious."

Peter spoke next. "The main event was the fireworks show so how did that turn out?"

At the mention of the fireworks, Nora and I shot a glance at each other before quickly looking away. Neither of us wanted to answer but one of had to. So might as well have been me.

"They were amazing. A few of the fireworks made the Hogwarts houses in the sky. Another made this snake coming out of a skull thing-Nora won't tell me what it means."

"That's because it's in a later book. I'd just ruin it for you if I explained it," she mumbled under her breath. I guess we weren't telling them about the kiss and how we actually missed half the fireworks show....

"It sounds like you girls had a fantastic time in Florida," Mary said to us. "Got lots of sun. Went to the beach. Not that you couldn't do it here but still. It was a change of environment anyway."

"And no doubt our Nana cooked them nice meals while they were there too!" Josh called out from the patio door.

"No, she actually let us starve the whole time we were there!" I shouted back which earned myself a nudge from Nora.

"That's not true. She fed us very delicious food. I've never had genuine Chinese food before," she told her parents. "Laney's grandparents were very hospitable and kind. They're so cute when they talk about their wedding."

Once the barbecue was done and we were all sat around the kitchen table, that's when I began to sense an uneasy feeling settle in my stomach. While Nora talked with our families and laughed at what was being said, I couldn't help but think back to our kiss in Orlando. Did she feel uneasy too? Where exactly do we go from here?

I mean....now would've been the perfect opportunity for her to come out but I would never pressure her into doing something she wasn't comfortable with. I wasn't an asshole like that. Coming out had to be on the person's own terms and not someone else's. Anyone who thinks otherwise are jackasses who have never had to experience discrimination in their lives. Being LGBTQ isn't exactly fully accepted despite the fact that it's 20gayteen now. People are gay, Susan.

"Nora? Can we talk in private?" I whispered when the adults were out on the patio.

Nora shot me a look. "I know what you want to talk about-"

"Then listen to me. Hear what I have to say."

She sighed, almost wearily, but nodded anyway.

We went into the bathroom where I shut the door and locked it behind us. This way we can get some privacy as we talked. Or I talked. She'll just probably listen more or less.

"Why are we in the bathroom?" Nora asked. She had put the toilet seat cover down and sat on top of it, arms folded across her chest.

"More privacy, obviously. You never question why a person went into the bathroom." I sat on the edge of the bathtub across from her. "We gotta talk....about Orlando."

She shrugged. "Orlando Bloom? I loved him in Pi-"

"Cut the shit, Nora! This is serious!" I spat. Calming my breathing, I waited until my heart slowed before I spoke again. "We kissed, Nora. We kissed each other."

"I'm aware of that."

"And I want to know where we go from here. What do we do?"

Nora took her glasses off to clean them. She never spoke when she did this and each passing second was just another bit of my patience slipping out of my control. When she was finally finished, she looked up at me with big blue eyes.

"Nothing," she said.

I blinked. "What?"

"We do nothing. I like you, Laney. Believe me when I say this. I really do like you but I'm not ready to come out to my parents or anyone else yet for that matter."

"But you...." I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. "You came out to me."

She took my hands and held them. Turns out she was shaking just as much as I was. "I know. I trust you. Because I know you won't tell anyone and will let me do this on my own terms. It's not up to you to decide when I'm ready. It's up to me."

I wasn't going to cry in front of her. I had a reputation to maintain and I wasn't going to lose it in front of her, of all people. "So what do I do? Just-just ignore the fact that I fucking like you and pretend those feelings don't exist? Because that's bullshit, Nora. Complete bullshit."

"Then how do you think I feel?!" She was yelling now. I don't think I've ever heard Nora yell or even remotely raise her voice at anyone. Ever. The fact that was was at all showed me how upset she really was. "I have to pretend I'm straight! Not because I know my family won't accept me because I know they will wholeheartedly but everyone else at school would rip me to shreds! Nora the Nerd is a freak! She loves everyone! She'll fuck anyone and everyone!"

Whoa. Now she was swearing. I knew this was where I had to step in and try to calm her down. "Nora, you're not a freak. No one's going to think that-"

"No? How did your coming out go?"

"Wh-" I shook my head in exasperation. "There wasn't a national holiday named after me that's for sure. There was no parade to celebrate. Nobody gave me a bisexual pride cake. My dad just grunted and shrugged. Josh said he was proud and Anya damn near broke my spine when she hugged me. Oh and Sam gave me Mulan on Blu-Ray."

Nora's serious face cracked as she almost smiled. "Well that's a hell of a lot better than what would happen if I came out to people. Our school would have a field day making my life even more of a living hell than it already is."

She reached behind her and flushed the toilet to make it sound like she was actually using the bathroom. Smart girl. Wish I would've thought about that.

"Before we finish here, I just wanted to let you know something..." Words were beginning to fail me again but I grasped whatever I could in the English vocabulary and formed a sentence. "I'll wait for you. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you for when you're ready."

Nora's eyes widened but brightened when I said this. "Seriously? You'd do that for me?"

I bowed my head. "I'm not going to force you to come out just so I can date you, Nora. I might be a bit of an ass sometimes but I'm not a bitch."

Nora snickered. "Never thought you were either of those things. Now come on. Let's get back to the barbecue before everyone wonders where we ran off to."

We exited the bathroom together. Josh of course noticed and raised an eyebrow as we sat down at the table again.

"What were you two doing in the bathroom?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Peeing? Geez. Can't even relieve ourselves without the Spanish Inquisition attacking on all fronts."

Josh smirked. "So you two peed together?"

Anya pinched his side. "Knock it off, Joshua. You never ask a lady what she was doing in the bathroom. It's rude."

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School was back in session a few days later. As much as I was happy to see Sam again, I wasn't as happy to see everyone else. Everyone else can choke.

There was something weird going on in the hallways as I walked through them. When I passed other students, their heads would duck together and whispers would fill the halls. Was there something in my hair? Did I remember to put on jeans this morning?

"Uh, Sammy? Why is everyone staring at me?" I asked him.

Sam cocked his head. "You mean you don't know?"

My locker door finally opened on the third try of the combination. "Know what? Did someone I know die that I'm not aware of?"

"That's not even funny and you know it." He took out his phone and typed something in before handing it to me. "I guess if you're gonna hear it from anyone it might as well be from me. Softer blow."

I took his phone in my hand. "What am I going to be looking at?"

Sam's face fell into a frown. "Just see it for yourself."

The video started. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at first but when the fireworks started I realized that I was watching the fireworks show at the Harry Potter resort. The camera shifted downwards and instantly, my stomach dropped at what I saw next. Nora had pulled me towards her and we started kissing.

Someone had recorded the entire thing and uploaded it online.

I'm not sure what's worse. The fact that someone had the audacity to upload what was meant to be a private moment (in a very public place) or the fact that the video had over 8 million views on YouTube. Those 8 million people took the time out of their busy schedules to watch a 25 second video of two girls kissing and made a viral video online. It was even appropriately titled "It's Love-iosa" so I'll give them credit where credit is due.

"You didn't know about this?" Sam lowered his voice to a whisper. "It's been an online trend for days now. Even the news covered it."

"Yeah no shit. Some idiot thought it would be good jerking off material for his fellow pervs so he posted it online for a laugh. Big deal." I slammed my locker door shut while handing Sam back his phone. "I'm sure Nora's seen this and is totally fine-"

"YOU!"

Literally everyone's heads turned to see who the screaming voice belonged to. Turns out it belonged to a very angry and upset looking Nora Lovegood. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying but that wasn't the worst part. Her hair looked like it had been pulled out of her ponytail and her clothes were ripped in several places. I swear, if looks could kill then her glare would've sent me to an early grave.

"You!" She screamed again. "You did this!"

I did this? I never posted this damn video so I had no sweet clue what she was talking about. "Nora? I had nothing to do with this. Someone recorded us at the resort-"

"No!" She screamed. I had to duck because she threw a can of soda at me and it exploded over my head upon impact with the locker. "If you had just treated me like everyone else, this wouldn't have happened!"

"What-" I wiped the soda from my eyes. It burned like a bitch. "Treated you like everyone else? You mean like complete shit?!"

The tears were now falling freely from her eyes. "Yes! Things weren't supposed to be this way, Laney! This wasn't meant to happen! Look at me!" She indicated her ripped clothing. "I got fucking jumped in the girls room. All because of a stupid kiss!"

As she moved to rush past me, I quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from going any further. "Nora! Please listen to me-"

"Stay. The hell. Away from me," she hissed so harshly that it made me step back in surprise. "This is all your fault. Don't ever talk to me again. I hate you."

She stormed out of the school with no one stopping her. The halls were so quiet that the only thing I could hear was the pounding of my  heartbeat in my ears. The whispers were still there but they were muffled compared to the constant drumming in my ears.

"So," Sam finally said. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "I don't think she's totally fine."
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Ah angst. No story is complete without it. One moment everything is sunshine and unicorns and the next it's PAIN.

This chapter pretty much sets up the plot for the rest of the story. It's a downward roller coaster ride from here and things only get worse. Just thought I'd give you a heads up ahead of time. Next update will be on Friday!

Comments? Leave one. Votes? Leave one of them too. Anything to help get this story in the spotlight is much loved and appreciated as always.

Thanks for reading!