I heard Phil lumbering around upstairs, my mom clanging and clinking pots and pans in the kitchen, and the near-constant sound of the plumbing trying to kill itself, but all I could think about was her...

And then my brother's wet finger in my ear.

"Ahhg, fuck you!" I yelled. I punched him on the shoulder — not as hard as I could have, as he bruises like a peach.

"Language," my mom said.

"Language is a system that consists of the development, acquisition, maintenance and use of complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so, and a language is any specific example of such a system," I said, which is what I always said when my mom screamed at me 'language,' as if it's going to make me quit swearing.

"Okay, okay, eat your food, you potty mouth," she said. I tried not to smile. "So where did you run off to today?"

"Yes," Phil said, turning towards me in his seat, "pray tell, dear sister. Pray tell where you were today?"

"Nowhere," I said, taking a long sip of my blue Fanta. "Just, like, a walk."

"I thought I saw you walking with someone," Phil said. I shot him a dirty look, even though I didn't think he knew anything incriminating.

"Heh, well, I was with Rae," I said, which, technically, wasn't a lie. "We just walked to that park behind the co-op, and, like, talked and stuff."

"What did you talk about?" Phil asked, poking the bear which was me.

"Phil, remind me, how much did you get on your last economics paper?" I asked, changing the subject.

Phil slowly breathed out in defeat.

The telephone rung, and, for a second, we all sat exchanging looks from across the table, as if to say, "You getting the phone? I'm not getting the phone."

Finally my mom scooted out of her chair and approached the telephone, still ringing — more furious every time. She lifted the receiver up with a chunk, and held it to her ear.

"Hello?"

Someone on the other side of the phone babbled to my mother, who tried to interrupt and ask who was speaking.

"Cassia?" my mom inquired, as soon as she it dawned on her.

Cassia was Rae's mother. What the fuck. My spoon full of cheese was stalled between the bowl and my mouth, my interest piqued.

"Slow down, I don't know what you're talking about," she said soothingly. "She what?" Mom walked into the other room, assumably to get away from the sound of Phil eating.

"Do you have any idea what that's about?" I asked Phil.

He looked up at me with mac n' cheese ridiculously far from his mouth in all directions.

"Never mind," I said. I got up from my chair, stealthy as a ninja, and fallowed my mom to the other room. Unfortunately, Mom turned the corner almost immediately and asked what I was doing.

"Being a dope-ass spy?" I cooed.

"Get back there," she said, guiding me to the table with a sturdy hand on my shoulder.

"What happened?" I asked.

She squirmed like she would have done anything to get out of the conversation.

"That was Raegan's mother," she said. "She was freaking out because Rae just came out to her and her husband."

I sucked my Fanta into my nose.

WHAT THE FUCK?!

OH SHIT.

IS THIS A DREAM? TELL ME THIS ISN'T A DREAM!

KILL ME RIGHT NOW. NO, DON'T DO IT! DO IT! NO, WAIT, DON'T DO IT!

OKOKI'MFREAKINGOUTKEEPITTOGETHERJACKKEEP.IT.TOGETHER.

"Oh," I said.

"Really?" Phil said, smacking his lips, "Ohhhhhhhh, that explains a lot. Remember, Jack, this explains it!" He was referring to when he asked her out and she said no. I would have liked to point out that time she and I spent two hours walking and talking and then she came out to her parents. But who's keeping track of these stories, right?

"Why was she freaking out?" I asked, intentionally deepening my voice, to disguise the urge to throw myself out of a double-paned window.

"Some moms just want things to stay the way they were," my mom said. She went back to her fat-free mac n' cheese.

"That's not an answer."

My mom sighed. "It's not like Cassia is homophobic, she just doesn't like to stray from what she knows. She's not comfortable with that. She's always wanted grandkids, too. She just needs a little time to get over it and figure out what to say."

I could have ranted about all that was wrong with how Mrs. Watters handled the situation, but I didn't. I had a need to ask the next question.

"Mom, what would you say if I said I was gay?"

"Frankly, honey," she said, "I wouldn't give a flying fuck."

"Language!" I exclaimed. We started laughing. So did Phil, but, trust me, he didn't get it.

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LE GASP!!!!!!

Rae is gay. Hey, that rhymes! AND SO DOES THAT! 

Ok I'm getting too excited.

Thank you for reading this chapter. I haven't been posting on the regular for a few days now because of some problems with Wattpad (it's really no prob... I love you, Wattpad.) And also it doesn't really hurt me 'cause I may be a little tiny itty bitty bit late... Right now I'm working on the eighteenth chapter, and, oh boy, thing are starting to get-- no spoilers, no spoilers....(:

Anyway, have a happy day!!