I had decided to ambush Micah once school was finished. Since she seems to want to ignore me, I will make her hear me. There was still five minutes left until school let out for the day. Once the bell rings, I'm going to race out of here as if my behind is on fire. Somehow, I felt in my bones that she would go equally as fast to avoid me.

I won't let that happen. This will never get solved if I continue to let Micah brood silently and alone.

When the bell finally rings, I shove my books into my bag, only half hearing as my teacher tells us to study for our test. I'm one of the first out the door, luckily. Looking both ways, I just so happen to spot Micah already making her way out of the school. I knew she'd try and pull a fast one on me.

I push my way past everyone, throwing out tons of 'sorry's' and 'excuse me's'. Bursting from the doors, Micah is already halfway to her car so I break out into a sprint. I hiss as my ankles feel as if they both suddenly just sprained. It's my body telling me that I need to start exercising more.

"Micah!" I pant, stopping with her as we both reach her car. "I won't let you ignore me. I know you're mad, so let's talk, okay?"

I catch her roll her eyes. She puts her hands on her hips and watches as I bend over, grabbing both my knees to catch my breath.

"Damn, Emie. Can you just let me be angry?" She huffs, dropping her arms with a small force. Micah shakes her head and unlocks her car. "Well, let's go and get in."

Straightening back up, I rub my stomach. I feel nauseous from that short run. Damn, I guess I really let myself go. Shaking my head, I go to the passenger side and get in, buckling up after. Micah starts the car and we sit in somewhat of an awkward smile as we wait for her vehicle to idle down.

"Let's go to my house, okay?" I suggest softly, testing the waters. Micah's only reply is a nod.

She puts the car into drive and heads out of the parking lot. A sign leaves me as I turn my head to look out the window. I already know that this will be an extremely long talk we'll have. I hope and pray that she'll contribute. Micah's never really been angry at me before so this is all kind of new. If anything, she's usually somewhat of a protector.

Before I know it, we're pulling up the driveway to my house. As soon as Micah parks and turns the car off, I head out and make my way to the door. Pulling my key from my bag, I push it into the slot and unlock the door. Micah takes her time coming to the porch and entering my house. I almost want to yell at her, but I don't. That will resolve nothing.

"Let's go to my room." I suggest once she finally comes in. I close the door and lock it before making my way to the stairs. When I notice Micah not following, I turn and look at her. "Micah...please? I really want us to talk and work through this."

Micah sighs and nods her head. I give a silent cheer as I turn and head up. This time I hear her behind me. When we make it to my room, I set my bag down and hop on my bed. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to breathe for a moment. The bed dips next to me as Micah takes a set.

With my eyes still closed, I ask her one thing. "Is it true?"

No reply is offered. No sound is made. The silence makes me open my eyes and turn to look at her. Her lips are set into a grim line, her eyes narrowed up at the ceiling.

"Are..." I clear my throat, feeling awkward to ask about such a sensitive topic. "Are you a lesbian, Micah? Or bisexual...maybe?"

Again, I'm met with silence until a laugh cuts through it and the tension. I lift up on one elbow quickly and turn look at Micah who's now laying back on the bed. She nearly falls off as she continues to laugh loudly. As soon as she stops, another leaves her in a booming sound that echoes in the silent house.

"Micah! I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." I whine lightly. "What's so funny anyways? You're so mad at me and I want to get to the bottom of it."

Micah settles back down, shifting around as she gets comfortable on her back. She shakes her head and lifts a hand to remove a stray strand of hair from her forehead. Her brown eyes shift to me. Our gazes meet, mine full of trepidation and her full of an emotion I can't really tell. But Micah offers me a smile, one small and soft.

"I'm whatever I want to be, Em." Micah finally relents, telling me the answer to my question. Only, I'm not one hundred percent sure what she means.

"What are you talking about, Micah? That doesn't answer my question."

Micah sits up, crossing her legs. She lifts her hands out and grabs my shoulder, giving me a small, friendly shake. "Listen to me and listen well, Emie Badgely."

My eyes widen as her face suddenly becomes serious. The smile she gave me before is gone and is now replaced with a grim line. This causes me to focus on her because for Micah, being serious isn't a normal occurrence.

"It doesn't matter what I am, Emie, because I'm happy with myself." Micah starts, her eyebrows raised and her look focused intently on my eyes. "You don't always need a label for things. Your sexuality is one of them because it shouldn't matter. People make it matter because they're scared of what's different from them or even what they're hiding under all that fear.

So, I am whatever I want to be. I'm Micah Nym, a badass who doesn't give a fuck about what people think about her. That's all people should care about. They don't need to know my sexual preference because they aren't important. My sexuality isn't who I am."

I lean back as if I've just been hit. I guess I have because Micah's just hit me with some hard facts. She's absolutely right, though. Micah is her own person and her sexuality doesn't define her. What defines her is who she is as a person. As she said, Micah is a badass who doesn't care what people think.

"But," Micah speaks again, pointing a finger up and tilting her head slightly to the side. "Since it matters so much to you, I'd say I'm pansexual. It doesn't matter what you've got below the belt as long as we work good together."

My teeth grind into my lower lip as she reveals this. "I only wanted to know because I know that Sebastian...what he did and said was wrong and I need to know that you're okay."

Micah gives me that same smile from before. This time, I notice how her eyes squint only slightly and how her nose twitches for a second.

"I'm not upset that the whole school knows that I'm not some stick." At least I know that she means she's not straight as a stick. "I'm mad because you, my best friend, didn't ask me once if I was okay."

I never would've expected Micah Nym to look so damn vulnerable in this moment. Her smile is gone and replaced with a frown. Her eyes are downcast, having looked away after baring her soul to me. I feel like such a jerk and the feeling is crushing and I almost feel like I can't breathe. Micah's right, I should've gone to her first instead of Sebastian. But, of course, I was too blinded by my hurt and love for him. The truth is, I'd follow Sebastian into the sun. Realizing this now, it terrifies me that I could be so lovestruck that I'd forget my friends.

Pulling myself from the self pity, I throw myself onto Micah, wrapping my arms around her neck. She falls backwards with me on top of her. Unfortunately, tears are beginning to well in my eyes, one drop betraying me and leaving. This breaks the seal, causing all of my tears to leave me.

"I'm so sorry, Micah. You're right. I've been a shit friend because I've been so worried about myself and Sebastian." I shake my head that's been lodged into her neck. "I didn't call you or text you or anything. I left you with Jenny and I know you guys don't get along well. I'm just so sorry."

Micah pulls her hand out from its place between our bodies. She begins patting my back softly as if I'm a baby or a small child.

"Emie, chill." Micah laughs softly. "Listen, I know you didn't mean to. This is just my teenage angst and feeling some dumbass form of insecurity."

I pull back from her and give her a look. My eyebrows are downcast, reflecting confusion because I have no idea where this is coming from. I'm going to get to the bottom of it though.

"Insecurity? Micah, you're the most confident person that I know." I say, but slowly realize that saying that won't help. "Where are these feelings coming from?"

Micah shakes her head and looks away from me. She runs her hands over my black and white comforter before looking over at me and shaking her head again.

"That's a talk for another time, okay, Em?" She gives me a pleading look that I can't say no to.

"Okay." I do and say nothing else but settle down next to her.

The next few minutes are spent with us silently gazing up at the ceiling. I trace the prints of the ceiling flowers with my eyes as I think of everything that Micah told me. Your sexuality doesn't define you, not at all. If Micah isn't afraid to be who she is, then Sebastian shouldn't be either. The only thing is, I have no idea how long Micah has known that she wasn't straight. Ten has only ever had a hunch and only now is he coming to terms with it.

"Oh, and Em?" Micah speaks, breaking the silence we had settled in. I look over at her, quietly telling her she can continue. "Tell Sebastian that it's okay to be confused. He doesn't need to figure everything out about himself now. There's so much more to him than this."

I give Micah a small, adoring smile. She's always been smart, but Jesus. I'd say she should be some kind of therapist or maybe go into philosophy. She definitely has the brain and patience for it. Micah has always been able to read people well, or at least read me well. And just like that, I'm violently pushed from cloud nine with only one thought.

How did she know about Sebastian?

*Hello, hello. I don't know about you guys, but this is one of my favorite chapters so far. A lot of Micah's thoughts come from my own. I just don't think anyone should let their sexuality define them. I know a lot of people use that as their identifying trait, but that's bullshit (excuse my language). Your sexuality doesn't make you who you are and anyone who uses that as a key component of themselves doesn't know that they have other traits about them that make them who they are. I'm tired of people using their sexuality as a way to get attention, popularity, sympathy, etc. You're just you, that's it. I'm sure some might disagree, but that's just me. Like, I'm pansexual, but I'm not shouting it from the rooftops because there's more to me than that. 

Anyways...longest author's note yet haha. How did you guys like this chapter? We see a little more of Micah and her personality and even a future problem for Emie to solve. She's fixed the small crack in their friendship but now she has to figure out where her relationship with Sebastian is going. How do you think things will play out? Also, don't let Jenny leave your minds. Can you guess what character she'll play? Or how her character will react to Micah being eccentric? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys next time!

Before I go...I want to say thank you to all of you. The Beard is almost at 300 reads and I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks so much for giving this story a chance and taking your time to read and continue reading it. I'm so grateful. Now really, bye!*