June sat at the edge of Harry's pool, as she watched her feet kick in the water. As soon as she arrived, she realized what a mistake she had made. Allie and Harry had flirted in the car the entire way over, and they continued to flirt across the pool. She forced herself to focus on her feet instead, wondering how much longer she could handle this torture before she gave in and just walked home.

The image of Elle and Campbell seemed etched into her mind. The way he picked her up, the way she giggled and leaned into him when she talked. Their absence at the party didn't make things any better for June, reminding her that even if they shared a moment, she still ended up with Campbell in the end.

Then, there was Allie. She wasn't sure what she felt towards her friend, but she did know that she hated the way she acted around Harry. She wanted to convince herself that it only bothered her because she felt left out and ignored, but she knew it was deeper than that. She lifted her head and let her eyes wander to where Allie and Harry sat, smiling and laughing at one another. She regretted looking at them almost immediately.

"Hey," A voice pulled her attention away, and she was grateful for it.

To her left, Grizz came and took a seat next to her. He let his feet dangle into the water, too, and offered her a small smile. June offered a sad smile back before remembering that he had nearly caught her and Elle earlier. She wondered if he would say anything to anyone or what he was thinking.

"About earlier..." The boy started, holding eye contact with the girl. She felt her stomach lurch as she realized she was right, the events were on his mind.

"Forget about it," She shook her head quickly. Some part of her knew Elle wouldn't want the news coming out, that the girl's had been caught almost kissing, and that she needed to contain it now.

"Oh, I mean I was just going to say I wasn't going to say anything to anyone, and I'm sorry for uh... interrupting," The boy tore his eyes away and awkwardly scratched at the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it," June reassured. "We were just being stupid, nothing was going on anyways."

"Okay," Grizz nodded his head. June knew he probably didn't believe her, but she was thankful he was playing along anyway. "So, what're you doing over here all alone anyway?"

June shrugged in response. Even if she wasn't in an awful mood, she still probably wouldn't be the life of the party. She was one of the few sophomores old enough to go on the trip, so it wasn't like she had many friends here. To most, they treated her like a little kid.

"Do you want a drink?" He offered. 

June was filled with a bit of happiness from all the effort he was putting in to cheer her up. She glanced over at Harry and Allie one last time before nodding. Grizz stood up and reached his hand out, offering it to her to help her up too. They then made their way to the kitchen, pushing past the groups of kids.

Once they made it to the kitchen, Grizz grasped a clean cup from the counter then scanned through the various bottles of alcohol and juices to mix it with. June had never tried most of the alcohol there, so she felt like she was in no place to make suggestions. Grizz settled on a bottle of some clear alcohol she had never seen before and poured a bit in the cup before filling it the rest of the way with coke.

"Try this, tell me if it's too strong," Grizz offered her the cup.

June accepted it and took a sip, the bitter taste stinging her throat. Although it definitely tasted too strong to her, she didn't want to seem like a baby who wasn't used to drinking so she forced a smile and nodded her head.

"It's good!"

"That's not the face of someone who's drinking something good," Grizz noted as she took another sip and scrunched up her nose. "I can make you a new one."

Grizz was interrupted by two people stumbling through the kitchen, giggling the whole way. Both Grizz and June paused, eyeing the two as they passed by. It was Allie and Harry, so enthralled with one another that they didn't even notice the others.

"Allie?" June called out when the girl was almost out of the kitchen. She paused and snapped around, Harry following her lead and looking extremely annoyed. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, June," Allie paused, shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Uh, Harry's just showing me something in his room."

June snorted almost immediately and had to use every bit of strength in her body to keep her from rolling her eyes. Grizz stood beside her awkwardly, glancing every couple seconds between the two girls.

"Yeah, I'm sure he is," June muttered before turning her back on the girl. After a few moments, it became clear the pair had left, infuriating June more.

June then reached for the closest bottle of alcohol and then grasped one of the plastic shot glasses and filled it up. She had never actually done a shot before, but it felt like something an angry girl in her situation would do in a movie, so she did it too. Grizz watched her quietly, unsure of whether or not he should interfere. She quickly brought the shot glass to her lips and through it back, doing her best to ignore the sting that followed.

"It feels so warm," June commented, causing Grizz to break into a small smile.

"Yeah, fireball is like that," He chuckled before glancing at the cup that had previously been in her hand. "Oh, right, did you want me to make you a new drink?"

"No," June shook her head and forced back another gulp. "This one's good."

✰

June now laid on one of the lawn chairs facing the pool, head lulled to the side. Grizz sat at her feet, having followed her around all night ensuring she was safe and nobody tried to mess with her. He had tried his best to keep her away from getting any more alcohol, but it seemed like every time he turned around she had found more and downed it. Now, he was sure she'd be dealing with a pretty big hangover the next day.

"I'm sorry I ditched you as a partner earlier," June sighed. The first thing Grizz had learned about June was that she was a very apologetic drunk, and this was about the fifth thing she had apologized for in the past ten minutes.

"It's fine," Grizz reassured, patting the girl's knee kindly.

"Are you sure? It was so nice of you to let me be your partner and I just ditched you for some girl," June sat up and looked at the boy, not paying any attention to how loudly she was speaking. The sentence seemed to remind her of Elle, though, and she threw herself back down as she thought of the girl. "She's so pretty though, like an angel."

"Okay," Grizz cut her off, glancing around nervously at the kids around them. It was that point in the night where everyone was pretty drunk and not paying any attention to anyone else, but he still didn't want her to say something she might regret. "Why don't we get you home?"

A clap of thunder made June shoot up quickly. Any ideas she had about arguing with Grizz and pleading to let her stay went out the door the second she heard that sound, and she was immediately nodding her head. Grizz chuckled at the drunk girl before helping her up and trying to lead her away. June didn't exactly cooperate, and kept getting distracted by the things around her, but luckily Grizz was big and could steer her away.

"Thanks for being there for me tonight," June spoke once they were in the street. She had begun to walk somewhat straight, allowing Grizz to let her go.

"What are friends for?"

"You think we're friends?" June looked up to him, her face mimicking the awe of a child.

"Yeah," Grizz chuckled. "I do."

"That's so nice, you're so nice," June affirmed, nodding her head. "I thought my only friend was Allie. And maybe Cassandra. And Elle. Maybe. I don't know. I want to be her friend. Or more. I don't know." 

Grizz listened as June blabbered, hoping she wasn't saying anything she might regret tomorrow. Of course, he didn't care what the girl's sexuality was, but he didn't want her to mistakenly come out while she was drunk and regret it. 

"You're drunk," Grizz pointed out, hoping to change the subject.

"What? Pft, no," June denied, raising her eyebrows up at the tall boy.

Grizz simply chuckled, thankful to see their houses in the distance. He was sure it would rain soon, and he didn't want to get caught outside in it. He knew when they made it to her house he'd have to wait to leave until she fell asleep and ensure that she slept on her side, not her back. He made a mental checklist of all of the things he had to do to ensure her safety as they grew closer.

"Do you hate going to your house now?" June questioned quietly. Her voice sounded small and vulnerable, and Grizz realized she was turning serious.

"Yeah," Grizz answered honestly, staring down at his shoes as they walked. "It's not the same now."

"That's how I've felt for a while," June noted, avoiding eye contact with the taller boy. "It hasn't been my home for months, not since my mom..."

Grizz nodded, knowing what she meant without her having to say it. Although he couldn't truly relate, he could empathize with the pain she so clearly felt. He wondered if it was a good idea to take her to her home that night, or if he should just offer to let her stay at his house. He could always take the couch while she took his bed. There was also his parent's bed, but he wasn't sure he'd even be able to walk into the room. It would be too weird.

"Why don't you stay at my place tonight?" Grizz offered, causing June to nod her head 'yes' in response.

They arrived at Grizz's house and he led her inside, immediately marching her up the stairs to his room. He searched through his drawers for a big t-shirt and shorts before handing them to her and pointing her to the direction of the bathroom.

"There should be a new toothbrush in the cupboard."

June nodded and went down the hall into the bathroom. Almost immediately, she was caught off guard by her reflection. She stared into the mirror, making various different faces and turning her head in different angles, taking in the way she looked. She was sure the alcohol was making her do it, but she was still intrigued.

Then, she peeled off her clothes and tugged on the shorts and t-shirt which were way too big on her. As she looked at her reflection again, she couldn't help but think she looked like Gustavo from Big Time Rush. The comparison caused her to laugh hysterically. Eventually, after what felt like hours, she stumbled out of the bathroom and back down the hall to Grizz's room.

"You have to sleep on your side," Grizz instructed as he placed a garbage can beside the bed.

June obeyed and crawled into the bed, immediately laying on her side facing the garbage can. Grizz seemed to scan her, checking to see if there was anything else he needed to do before he left. When he decided there was nothing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded.

"Do you need anything?" He questioned.

"Could you stay for a little bit?" June pleaded, sounding like a little kid.

Grizz chuckled a little bit and nodded before taking a seat a the foot of the bed. 

"Remember earlier, when I said that nothing was happening with me and Elle behind the shed?" She questioned as she rolled onto her back and stared up at his ceiling. The room felt like it was spinning, so she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yeah?" Grizz responded, deciding he'd just make her roll over again before he left.

"I lied."

"I know," Grizz responded quietly, staring down at his hands in his lap.

"I like her a lot," June sat up to look at him and almost immediately regretted it. She steadied herself by putting her hands down, keeping herself in place.

"I know, I can tell," Grizz nodded.

"Is it obvious?" She bit down on her lip.

"No, but I've known you since we were little. I think that's why," Grizz shrugged. He wanted to help, but he also didn't want to pry, especially while she was drunk, so he let her lead the conversation. June closed her eyes again and drew in a shaky breath, preparing for what she was about to say.

"I'm a lesbian."

June peaked her eyes open, half expecting a look of anger or disgust to be on Grizz's face. Instead, he had a somewhat conflicted expression on his face, as if he didn't know what to say. Her stomach sunk as she thought back to her mother's reaction.

"Say something," She muttered, feeling as if both of her coming outs had been a failure.

"Thank you for trusting me, it takes a lot of courage to come out," Grizz responded, seeming genuinely in awe by the girl. All that he hoped was that she wouldn't regret it.

"You mean, you're not upset or I don't know... disgusted?" June asked incredulously.

"Why would I be? This doesn't change how I look at you at all."

Tears began to form in June's eyes as she realized he really meant what he was saying. It had been so ingrained in her mind that there was something wrong with her that she had begun to believe it, and never would have thought she'd get a positive response.

"Hey, don't cry," Grizz smiled, wiping away a tear from her cheek before pulling her in for a hug. "You're still the same Junebug I pushed down at the playground when you were in first grade."

June choked out a laugh as they pulled away from one another. She wiped her tears on the back of her arm, thankful that the burden on her chest had somewhat been lifted. It felt good to know that someone there finally knew about such a big part of her. When she looked up at Grizz, he was the one now sporting a torn expression, looking down at his lap.

"What?" June cocked her head to the side. "Ya sad that this means you'll never get a chance with me?" She joked, nudging him with her arm.

"Yeah," Grizz forced a smile. "Something like that."

A/N: ahhhh this was such an emotional chapter for me. June has officially come out to someone! While drunk! Which is, coincidentally, the same way I first came out to someone (lol at my life). Anyways June obviously doesn't know that Grizz is gay and I imagine her courage to come out kind of made him realize what he wanted too. Anyways. June deserves the world. Happy end of pride. Much love.