The world around Scooter was loud and energetic as people began to put together posters and banners. In the center of it all was their paint-covered boyfriend, laughing along to a joke somebody made. Committees had quickly started forming and businesses were either denying or agreeing to help... Unfortunately, most of it was the former. It had been around two weeks, Scooter's birthday had passed, a date had been set and they had received donations in forms of money and merchandise from stores.

Bay had happily taken on the role of putting together decorations and designing flyers. Now all that was left was to take the banners and decorations, have Emrys and Arcadia pass out the rest of the flyers, and finish convincing the last of the clubs and communities to participate. As far as Scooter knew, Bonnie and Hattie had worked their asses off in that aspect.

Scooter had been handling most of the financial aspects and organizing things with vendors and invites to specific organizations. They had reached out to places outside of Asper Hollows such as places that sold Pride merchandise, places that had been known supporters of their community, and local celebrities. It had been exhausting, but Scooter was good at talking to people and they would gladly take the stress off of Bay's shoulders.

Down on the streets of Asper Hollows, two skateboards glided along the cracked sidewalks. The first was a shorter girl with long pencil-straight black hair and dark hooded eyes. A baggy shirt with creme, dark blue, and light brown vertical stripes engulfed her body and was tucked into a pair of black jeans. There was a thin silver wallet chain connected to her jeans and a fake septum piercing hung from her nose.

The second was a much taller boy with tight, neat curls held out of his face by a black headband. He wore a baggy white t-shirt with the word Nike printed across it in baby blue letters. His light blue jeans were cuffed and his worn white and baby-blue shoes matched his shirt. Unlike the first girl, he wore a bright smile on his lips and would go out of his way to sway side to side. Both of them, however, had bright orange flyers in their hands.

"Have you tried Bob's Pharmacy?" Arcadia called over her shoulder before coming to a complete stop in front of the familiar small shop that had been there for decades. Emrys had been there more times than he could count... Picking up his Abuela's medicine, getting the ice cream Bob sold on hot summer days, picking up a pack of cigarettes for his mom when he was a kid... Even if he was underaged, it didn't really matter in a small town like Asper Hollows. Everyone knew one another and everyone knew that when a little kid of a known smoker headed into the store asking for a pack to just hand it over.

Emrys stopped behind her and picked up his board in one hand before peeking inside. Bob, an older man that was losing his head a little more as each day passed, was sitting at the counter. His eyes squinted at a receipt and his fingers adjusting his thin metal glasses. Emrys had always been very fond of Bob and vice versa...

"I'll ask" Emrys offered. "But you stay out here... No offense but you suck at talking to people" Emrys scoffed with a small hint of laughter behind his voice. Arcadia... She tried... But when her job was to be friendly and pass out flyers to people she hated she was a lost cause. Emrys was convinced the only reason she had the job was that she was good at skateboarding and could get around fast. And Emrys was positive that the reason they moved him off of decorating duty and onto flyer duty was that Scooter thought it was a terrible idea for Arcadia to socialize with people unsupervised...

"Fuck off, Lopez" Arcadia scoffed before roughly shoving him toward the door. Emrys couldn't help laughing a little as he headed inside and up toward the familiar older man.

"Good afternoon, Bob" Emrys grinned. The old man's face lit up as soon as he spotted the familiar white smile heading his way.

"Afternoon, Emrys" Bob chuckled. "Did your grandmother need her prescription refilled already? I swear it was only last week you came in..." Bob mumbled as he moved to check his calendar.

"No, sir. She's doing just fine" Emrys promised. "Just wanted to stop by and drop off a flyer... Asper Hollows is having a pride parade this year" a small yet shaky smile reached the old man's lips as he accepted the flyer before glancing up at Emrys and reaching for the boy's hand.

"Back in Vietnam..." He began. It was then Emrys knew he was in for another long war story... He usually didn't mind them, but today he had things to do. Only he didn't know how to say so without being rude, so he stayed and listened. "I fought beside a man... I believe his name was Bosco... At least, that was what everyone called him... Very good man, fine soldier, good lookin' too... Always caught ladies' eyes... A few years after the war my late wife, Eleanor, and I took a train down to California when we learned he had fallen ill. Eleanor baked him a nice pie... You can only imagine my surprise when I found him kissin' a man" Bob scoffed before shaking his head in disbelief.

Emrys' eyebrows shot up in surprise at that. He had heard stories about Bosco from Bob in the past... Usually stories about him getting them out of tight situations or being a big charmer. But never in his life would he ever expect him to have been a gay man... It was somewhat refreshing to know that.

"Anyways" Bob waved him off. "Turns out the old fart had been unfortunate enough to get caught up in the aids epidemic... Lost a lot of good friends during those times... You and Bosco are a lot alike, ya know..."

"I appreciate the compliment" Emrys chuckled. "I hope to see you at the parade then?"

"Sure, sure" Bob waved him off before his eyebrows creased together in concern. "Where's that blonde boy you're always with? The Winston Harley's boy?" Emrys' stomach twisted at his words. It didn't feel right to refer to Arran as Winston's son or his boy. He knew Arran loved Winston dearly... But he wasn't a father to Arran. He didn't deserve the title in Emrys' eyes. He guessed he could understand... Arran had said similar things about Emrys' parents but that was different.

"Arran? Right... Not sure, actually" Emrys shrugged.

"Well, I find that hard to believe" Bob scoffed. "The boy is practically attached to your hip... Hell, I remember the first time y'all came in here together" He chuckled. Emrys forced a small smile at that. Of course, he remembered... He remembered running around and poking at all of the random treats and snacks Bob sold, he remembered begging Arran to buy him a soda, he remembered dragging Arran from store to store...

"Emrys, what's taking so long?" Arcadia demanded. Emrys sighed and mumbled an apology, followed by goodbye to Bob. He headed out of the store silently replaying Bob's words in his mind. Arran was not attached to Emrys... If anything it was Emrys that was attached to Arran. He was always the one clinging to Arran's side, begging to go places with him... The only reason they had even become such good friends was because of how persistent Emrys was to play with the scruffy blonde boy down the street that wanted nothing to do with him.

He vividly remembered growing up with Arran. He remembered when they first met at a potluck for one of their neighbors. A scrawny middle-aged woman had dragged two boys into Mrs. Miller's yard by their ears. She had left a bowl of potato salad on the table before going off to smoke with her friends, but the two boys didn't go off to play. They stood beside their dad wearing identical scowls on their faces.

He remembered always watching Arran try and be like his dad. He remembered the first time he ever watched Arran shoot a gun, he had been terrified and hated the loud noise... But still proud because Arran seemed proud. He remembered trying to figure out how to play baseball because Arran wanted to get better at it. He remembered watching the boy willingly get covered in grime from cars and listening to him talk about all the different parts and brands. Emrys did everything for Arran because he was attached to Arran. Not the other way around.

But what if he was wrong? What if it wasn't him that had the emotional attachment to Arran but rather Arran had one with him? Arran wasn't obvious about it... But if Emrys thought back on all of his memories, even when Arran had acted like he wanted nothing to do with him he was always there. He was always there to jump into a fight when kids gave Emrys a hard time. He was always there to keep Emrys out of trouble and clean up his messes. He was always sitting two seats behind him in class, always glancing over with watchful eyes, always trying not to smile at Emrys' jokes. Maybe Emrys was wrong. Maybe Arran was attached to his hip rather than the other way around.

_________________________________________

"I got a few kids from band to agree to play, a few cheerleaders agreed to be in the parade, not much from the boy's baseball team but the basketball team turned out pretty well" Hattie listed off. Bonnie bit back a small smile and gave her best friend a quick hug to thank her for all of her help. Hattie was a gift from the heavens if you asked Bonnie. She admired her, she wanted to be more like her, and she would be proud to call Hattie her sister-in-law one day.

"Thank you so much" Bonnie mumbled. "You don't know how much this means"

"You've been nothing short of good to me... I like to repay my favors. Besides, Emrys is a doll and I'd hate to see him disappointed if it didn't turn out well" Hattie chuckled. "Come on, we'll be late" The shorter blonde girl pulled her back over her shoulder before leading the way down to the gym where the rest of the team was already warming up.

Bonnie's stomach twisted in discomfort. She had slowly been coming out to friends and family, overall it had gone well enough. Her mothers had been thrilled, her main friend group was supportive, the people down at the Burrows were all good to her... But her volleyball team was a completely different story.

"Listen up ladies" Hattie called as soon as her foot hit the hard floors of the gym. Hattie and Bonnie were co-captains... Bonnie handled most of the organizing, events, and fundraising while Hattie handled working with each girl and keeping everyone motivated. She handled the team activities and settled disputes between the girls. "I've got an event for us"

The girls slowly looked up from their stretching and headed over to their waters while Hattie grabbed one of the flyers for Pride from her bag and held it up.

"As you all know, one of our teammates and dear friends recently shared a very personal part of her life with us" Hattie began. "To prove our support we will be participating in Asper Hollow's first Pride parade. We'll be joining our cheerleaders, basketball players, and a few students from the school band-"

"What if we can't go for religious purposes?" Elizabeth interrupted. Her best friend Cady tugged on her sleeve and gave her a harsh glare, but Elizabeth kept going. "You of all people should understand that Hattie" Hattie stopped for a moment, pressing her lips in a thin line. Hattie Washington, Asper Hollows resident good doer. The sweet Christian girl that attended church every Sunday ran for charities, spent her spare time volunteering and trying to make Asper Hollows a better place. Hattie was living proof religion was made to bring good and even if people had twisted it around over time, there were still people fighting to keep the peace and love it could bring.

"Elizabeth, I have gone to school with you since we were six. I have sat beside your family in church since the sixth grade and been nothing but kind to you" Hattie carefully began. "But if you want to sit down with me and have a chat about sin, how about we talk about how wasted you were last week at Danny's sweet sixteen party? Or the fact that your parents got divorced last year? You break clearly written rules all the time but the moment a passage that has been interpreted a million different ways tells you that supporting your friend among countless other people you grew up beside is wrong you care about sin?"

Bonnie stared at Hattie in pure shock for a few moments. Of course, she knew that Bonnie was clever and good at debating. She was in the debate club and was actively working toward becoming a lawyer. But she had never seen her be so... Upfront. So confrontational. Even when confronting bullies, Hattie was always passive-aggressive or giving passive threats and warnings.

"You don't know what you're talking about" Elizabeth shot back. "Whatever, you can't make me go anyway"

"You're right, I can't. But I can count it as a practice which you know that if you miss one practice this week you'll be sitting out for the first half of the game this weekend" Hattie deadpanned. "Now I don't know about you, but I'd like to play as much as possible, my senior year so I suggest you come to support your friend"

The girls fell silent and exchanged glances and silent conversation. Bonnie wasn't sure how she felt about everything... On one hand, it was nice to see Hattie put a homophobe in their place. On the other hand, she didn't want any of the girls to resent her or Hattie for making them attend something they didn't believe in.

"You didn't have to" Bonnie whispered as soon as the girls were dismissed to finish warming up. Hattie looked at her in pure disbelief for a few moments, her eyebrows creasing together.

"Seriously? Sometimes you need to be a little selfish, Bonnie... You've busted your ass for this team. The least you deserve is them having your back" Hattie deadpanned.

_________________________________________

Later that day, Bonnie headed downtown where people were already beginning to set up. Pinning up banners, two pre-teen girls were decorating the floors in rainbow patterned chalk, flags being placed and hung both outside and inside businesses, people already beginning to claim spots for booths. Only three days left.

In the center of it all were Bonnie's good friends. Zack up on a ladder struggling to pin up a banner, Tj harassing Zack by occasionally shaking it or shouting up at him, a few of her other friends from school helping to add the finishing touches to decorations... But what stood out to her was Arcadia. Her shirt was coated in purple glitter, a bright smile on her lips and laughter echoing around her as she turned to throw a handful of teal glitter back at Emrys. Both seemed to be in some sort of battle... But both were happy... Both were free.

Bonnie never had much in life. Her grandparents had moved to the United States from India, built up a stable home from nothing, and passed on good mannerisms and work ethic down to her mother then Bonnie. She always had a close tie to her family and somehow she only became closer to them after her mother met Donna and Tj became her brother. She was good at remaining civil and keeping to what was expected of her, and maybe that was enough or seemed like a lot to most.

To Bonnie, it wasn't though. To Bonnie, it was all just a beautiful illusion she had trapped herself in. Sure she was popular, but how many of those people were still going to smile at her in the halls when they realized she liked girls? Sure, she had good grades but how far would that really get her? She'd just be another college student swamped in debt in a few years. She had a good family but she couldn't even bring herself to be real around them up until recently.

This year, things were getting better though... This year she was finally okay with herself. This year she was allowed fo be gay, she was allowed to make mistakes, and she was allowed to be a little selfish sometimes. This year she finally had something, because this year she was living her truth. She wasn't sure if things would have ended like that if she hadn't ever kissed Arcadia in that alley...

In ten years she wanted to be with a woman, maybe married maybe not. She wanted to be an engineer and work her ass off to be something worthwhile. That was just what she hoped for, it didn't really matter what happened as long as she was happy. If that night in the alley never happened she'd probably be somewhere else. Maybe she'd still be with Zack and living a lie. Maybe she would have finally come out but cut all of her friends off from Asper Hollows so she didn't have to face them. Now she didn't have to worry about either of those futures... That was more than she had ever asked for.

"You know... That jacket looks a lot better on you" Arcadia decided as she neared Bonnie. She hesitated for a quick moment before going onto her toes and pressing a quick kiss to Bonnie's lips making a smile break out on both of their faces.

"Thanks" Bonnie bit back a laugh as her fingers fumbled with the pockets of the vintage athletics jacket Arcadia had given her, as promised. It smelt like pine trees and maybe there was a hint of campfire on it at times. It made her wonder where Arcadia lived, it was still a mystery to everyone as far as Bonnie knew.

"Yeah... No problem..."

"You're covered in glitter" Bonnie commented with a small snicker as she glanced down at Arcadia's shirt. If there was one thing she remembered from being Arcadia's chemistry partner, it was that she hated glitter with a burning passion. Mostly because it was impossible to get rid of.

"Don't remind me" Arcadia groaned. "Emrys was being a dweeb so I grabbed one of the things of glitter Bay was used to make decorations and dumped some on him. Then the fucker grabbed an entire handful and chucked it at me" Arcadia snapped making Bonnie break out laughing.

"Sounds like you're having fun?" Bonnie offered. Arcadia shrugged and glanced over at Bay, Scooter, and Zara - some of the few people Bonnie recalled being friends with Arcadia. Scooter was balancing on Bay's shoulders as they added a rainbow flag up onto one of the posts, Zara was handing them things as they went along.

"I guess... I still think this entire thing is stupid and reckless but if it works it works" Arcadia decided after a moment of silence. "But it's nice to have something to do"

"Well..." Bonnie hesitantly began. "If you wanted something to do you could always come over tomorrow..." Bonnie carefully suggested. She wasn't sure how Arcadia would react, but she hoped she'd say yes.

"Sounds like you're asking me on a date" Arcadia snorted. "But yeah, sure... I'll go... Like if you want me to" She shrugged. Bonnie rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile.

"Great. It's a date"

Question of the chapter: What do you want to be when you're older?