Society never approved of Aileen's preferences because she likes dresses and women.

"You are lovable, Aileen. Never forget that. Someone will love you no matter the gender."

Selena's words comforted Aileen's heart like she was talking to her guardian angel in the shape of her very best friend. She thanked the heavens for Selena, but just as their mood was lightening up, Aileen's mother barged into the room. Eleonor's eyes gave them a sharp look, her hands were shaking, and her breath was as fast as if she ran a quarter-mile per second.

Thinking that Aileen and Selena were doing something she disapproved of, Eleonor pointed her finger directly at Selena and instructed her to leave. Selena has no other option but to do so. She gave Aileen one last look before she close the door as if she was asking Aileen if she'll be okay. Aileen gave her a slight nod and plastered a soft smile.

"Selena is my friend! For God's sake, mother!" Aileen shouted back as the doors were shut closed. Tears are starting to form in the corners of her eyes, and her heart is somersaulting.

"...and you, I don't have a gay daughter!" Eleonor added.

"Well then, maybe I'm not your daughter anymore," Aileen whispers. The tears she was holding couldn't carry their weight anymore as they uncontrollably fell in her cheeks, just like how she fell into her knees when the weight was too much for her to bear. She started packing her clothes and decided to leave her horrible house.

"Leave! No one will ever accept you, Aileen! The society never does!" Her mother's words were like daggers to her heart, a pain only a mother could give.

Where will she stay the night? She has no clue. She has nowhere to go. For the hundredth time that night, she questioned herself if what she did was the right thing. Should she go back to her mother? Should she apologize for the things she said? Her judgments are clouded by her thoughts of being accepted and being loved for who she is.

Aileen never drinks alcohol, but for some reason, she went to a bar after a heated argument with her mother. After a few bottles of alcohol, she decided to make a move. She needs it. She's now ready to tell the world who she is. 

A gay. 

And a lovable one.

"Having one of those rough nights?" a guy asks. He is sitting two chairs away from where Aileen is, drinking the same amber-colored liquid as Aileen.

Aileen's gazes drifted from her liquor to where Neal is. 

"I'm gay," Aileen says just as fast as her sight went back to her glass of whiskey. She knows what the guy is doing; she's seen it so many times she memorized how Grade A assholes do their thing.

"I'm gay," he responded. Aileen's hands clenched into the glass that she was holding. Her palms tightened around the glass, almost like it would shatter any moment; her knuckles were white from anger.

"Don't mock me," says Aileen. She immediately grabbed her purse to take the seat farthest away from the guy, but she froze before she could take a single step when she heard the guy.

"I, really, am gay."

Aileen gave her side gazes to the guy and noticed his neatly penciled eyebrows as they rose. His lips were in the shade of crimson.  

Aileen went back to her seat, "If you're not gay, I'm going to kill you."

"Way too harsh, darling. I'm Neal, by the way." Neal offered Aileen his hands for a shake. His hands were firm and straightened, "...and you are?"

Aileen reached her hands to his, "Aileen. Gay."

Aileen never thought she would say that in public. Once in high school, she thought she'd die without anyone knowing that she likes women.

Gay. Gay. Gay.

She repeatedly says the word in her mind like some broken record, but the sound of it makes her calm and relax like someone is playing jazz while giving her a back massage.

"Earth to Aileen? Aileen to Earth?" Aileen suddenly gave Neal a confused look, her eyes searching for answers to what he was saying earlier. Neal's eyebrow rose with a questioning look, but Aileen only replied by raising hers too. "My hands."

"Oh, good graces!" Aileen suddenly pulled her hands away from Neal's.

"What are you thinking?" Neal asked, laughing.

"I have never introduced myself as gay. Not even once," Aileen said. She can feel butterflies in her stomach. "My mother never liked the idea of having a gay daughter. It pisses her, and I have to keep everything inside of me not to disappoint her. And now..." Aileen couldn't contain the butterflies in her stomach as she plastered a smile "...I'm fina-fucking-lly free," she said and chugged the amber-colored liquid in front of her. 

Neal noticed her luggage beside her. "Darling, did you just run away from home?" Aileen looked at him. She followed his gazes set on her luggage.

"No shit, Sherlock," she says.

"And you have no other place to stay?"

"No. Shit. Sherlock."

"Would you like to come to my place?"

Aileen took a few good minutes before answering. Could she trust Neal? 

"I mean, I have nowhere to go."

"Is that a yes, honey?"

"Maybe." 

The night was young for the both of them. They spent a few more hours on the bar, talking about how shitty life can get, and for the first time in her existence, Aileen felt wonderful having someone who would understand her. Selena's always there for her, but with Neal, it's just not the same.

When they went home, Neal let Aileen use his bed for the night. A whole night turned into days into weeks into months. For some reason, everything just became perfect. They are two buddies sharing the same energy. That night she ran away from home was when she ran into herself—her most authentic self. Finding herself an ally amid the chaos is a bonus.

A few days later, Neal went home drunk.

"What the hell happened to you?" says Aileen just as she opens the front door for him.

"Why do you have to make me feel something I haven't felt before?" he said in a groggy, almost hoarse voice.

"What?" Aileen kept her balance when Neal suddenly charged in her direction and pinned her to the wall. Aileen yelped, and although she could push Neal away, she froze.

Neal smiled. "I like you..." he said. His voice is hazy, his eyes glossy and red, and his mouth smells like a bottle of Jack Daniels. He added, "...a lot, and I don't know how the hell did that ever happen. What kind of sorcery is this, darling?" His voice is in high pitch. "I like boys...men. I like men. And you are a woman, so I don't know what happened. When it started or how it started. Can you believe that?" He laughed almost sarcastically. 

Aileen couldn't sleep that night.

It's not supposed to be that way. Neal is gay, and she can attest to that because he didn't show anything but being gay for the past couple of months.

The following day, Aileen prepared breakfast just like how she would do in the past month. When Neal woke up, she found her heart beating three times than its average pace.

"Good morning," Neal said casually.

"Good morning," Aileen responded.

"Are you okay? You look sick," Neal said as he studied the face of Aileen. He stood up and tried to touch Aileen's forehead to check her temperature, but before he could reach her, she avoided his contact immediately.

"I'm fine." Aileen sat on the opposite side of the table. Although she couldn't look at him directly, her peripheral visions were so on point; she caught him raising an eyebrow, questioning her actions.

It was a Saturday; Neal told Aileen he'd be out for the night. His friends are inviting him over for a few drinks. Before he left, Neal lightly touched Aileen's cheek with his cheek just like how close female friends do.

"Bye! And drink your medicine, honey, you look pale! You need some blush, baby!"

The door was shut, but her heart was confused as hell. This guy is different from the guy she was looking at yesterday. She had the house all to herself, and things kept on rummaging her mind. She tried doing the chores but did no help. Her mind is still with his. She decided to clean the house instead. She's pretty sure that cleaning will drain her energy to let the issue go—but it didn't.

She hurriedly grabbed the bottle of a 12-year-old Glenlivet from the bar and did a couple of chugs. The alcohol sets in fast towards her system as she becomes tipsy by the minute.

She didn't take another drop of the whiskey. Her judgment becomes blurry, her eyes clouded by drowsiness, her breathing slowed, but her heart is racing like she just went on a marathon and won.

All hell broke loose when Neal went home. They are both drunk, and their judgment is clouded. Aileen, for some reason, opened the door for Neal when he rang the doorbell. Before he could take a step, Aileen charged in his direction and pulled him for a kiss on the lips. It was intense—intoxicating, just like the alcohol running in their blood, making them do things they never thought they would do in a hundred lifetime. Both of their hands traveled along each other's body like it was some wonderland and the rest is history.

Aileen woke up the following day with a dizzy head. A blurry night passed her by, but then realizations hit her when she found Neal lying in bed next to her, naked—completely naked. She recklessly got up; her head pounded, but she didn't have time to contemplate. What the hell happened yesterday was a mistake. She needs to leave his place, and she must do it fast before he wakes up. She needs to get away. And where will she go? Home.

At first sight of her mother, she cried just like how a baby would. It wasn't easy, but they found their way to forgive each other.

Five weeks after, Aileen experienced feelings of lightheadedness and dizziness, and it went on for days. Eleonor suggests having her checked by a doctor. Tests have been done on her, but the one that struck her the most is a positive pregnancy test.

"Who's the father, Aileen? It would be best if you tell him," Eleonor says on the way home.

"Just some guy I don't know," Aileen responded. She knew Neal wouldn't like the idea of them having a kid. He's gay. She knew he would have hated her because of the baby. She's gay. The kid would have hated them if the kid knew their parents were both gay.

A few months after, Aileen's baby bump grew bigger and bigger. She's staying at her apartment a couple of miles away from the town. She doesn't want to run into Neal, especially not now that her stomach is blowing up like she'd eaten a whole watermelon. 

She was trying to pick the freshest apples in the supermarket when she heard someone call her name. She didn't have to look to know who it was. She knows exactly who's the owner of the voice. She froze; the apple slipped her hands as they became jelly. Her heart somersaulted. Her sweat is starting to form on her whole body.

She slowly turned to see him. Neal is wearing a charcoal suit, his eyebrows still perfectly penciled, and his lips are still in the shade of crimson.

Neal's smile slowly weakened, his face almost turned into a questioning look, upon the sight of her belly.

"You're..." he mumbled. His eyes drifted to Aileen's belly once again and back right into her eyes, still working his way to speak, "You're..."

"Should we talk somewhere else?" Aileen asked, her eyes are red from the forming tears, her voice shakes, and her baby is kicking inside her. The baby must have known it was the voice of her father.

When they head back to Aileen's apartment, Neal didn't waste any more time.

"Why did you leave that day? How long have you been pregnant? Who's the father of the kid?" Confused, questions came in like raging waters of a flood from Neal's mouth. Aileen's answer is a cry. He wasn't mad. He's dreading to have some answers to his questions. "I searched for you everywhere. I couldn't find you. I didn't know where you live or who your friends are, and you changed your number." Aileen wasn't able to speak as the air is filled with her sob. It took Neal a few more minutes before he could say another word; this time, his voice shakes, "I wasn't all drunk those two nights. Those were the best nights of my life, and the next day was the worst. You were able to give me both heaven and hell in a matter of three days. Do you know how that feels?" Aileen just kept on sobbing. "Fine. One question, Aileen. Just please, please answer me truthfully." Neal took a pause not knowing what to expect, "Who's the father of the child?"

When Aileen's eyes met Neal, she saw a different shade of life. Right then and there, she knew what she has to do--to tell the truth. "You."

Neal's eyes suddenly shut, trying to process the information. "You didn't have to leave."

"You're gay. You would have hated me for this," Aileen said as she pointed in her bump.

"I am gay. I still am and always will be, for Pete's sake, but that doesn't give me the right to refuse a child. I would have taken care of you, Aileen. We could have worked things out. I am a human, just in case you forgot, and I am capable of loving whoever the fuck I want."

If there's one thing Aileen knew, it's that someone loved her just as she is. The biggest plot twist of her life is being married to Neal, and who would have thought that a gay man and a gay woman would go along perfectly together? If there's one thing that kept them intact, it's the heart beating inside Aileen's stomach.

She still likes dresses and women; he still enjoys going out with neatly penciled eyebrows and a crimson lips. 

Did they live happily ever after? Definitely.