Survival Of The Fittest

((Ruby Forrester continued from That Evening...))

Well... That could have gone better.

Ruby still wasn't entirely sure what to think as she walked down the sidewalk, the image of Brian begging her for forgiveness still fresh in her mind.

She'd stopped crying nearly an hour ago, but her face was still red from all the tears. As upset as she was with how badly her break-up with Brian had gone, a part of her did try to rationalise what had happened and put everything in perspective. After all, in the end she had achieved more-or-less exactly what she had wanted. She and Brian were no longer together, and Brian was now with someone who obviously wanted him as much as he probably wanted... Well, him. So what was there to be upset about?

Oh right, there was also the little fact that Brian kinda jumped the gun. As much as Ruby wanted to believe that Brian was telling the truth about never intending on cheating on her, the fact remained that one way or another he DID. God knows how she would have reacted if she hadn't intended on breaking up with him anyway. Hell, she was feeling pretty betrayed anyway regardless of the fact that she didn't want to be in that kind of relationship with him in the first place.

Then again, there was also the thought that if she hadn't put off telling him the truth, then he probably would have never done anything like that in the first place. There was also the thought that the only reason he was driven to cheat on her in the first place was because of how much she had been distancing him for the past week. If it weren't for the fact that their relationship had taken a particularly awkward turn, then he might of never even considered doing such a thing in the first place.

Then again...

For fuck's sake Ruby, get a grip of yourself! What's done is done, and you can't spend the rest of your life worrying about how things could have gone had you told him sooner.

Come to think of it, she never got around to telling him that she had planned on breaking up with him anyway. Great, now that meant that she'd have to confront him AGAIN, an until then he'd be feeling even more guilty than he would if he knew that she didn't want to continue dating him in the first place. Which in turn made HER feel guilty about not letting him know when she had the chance. Sure, she could always text him about it, but that'd hardly be the most sensitive way of letting him know. No, only thing she could do was wait until tomorrow to confront him properly about it.

In the meantime, there was only one place in the world that Ruby wanted to be at that particular moment in time. Funnily enough though, that place wasn't home. After all, given how badly things had gone, the last thing she wanted to do right now was just head to bed. She wanted to talk to someone about, share her thoughts and ask for advice one what she should do next. And given how there was only one person who knew the truth about her feelings towards Brian...

Sure enough, just around the corner she found the house that she was looking for, and after taking a deep breath she walked up to the door and knocked on it three times. Whilst the person who opened it wasn't quite who she was looking for, she knew exactly what to ask them.

"Uh, hello there Mrs Flagg. Is Regan free to talk?"

((Regan Flagg continued from A week or so later))

She just couldn't get it right. Just by listening to it, you wouldn't think it would be that hard to play. Well, Regan wouldn't think it would be that hard to play. She could do the feedback part, she could do the first couple chords on the into, but she inevitably lost her place before it got to the first verse. The song was called The Groove, by Muse. She hadn't actually heard it before a few days ago, when she found it while absently surfing Spotify for new music. But once she'd listened to it a couple times, it was like a spell had been cast. Well, maybe not that extreme, but she'd really wanted to learn how to play it. So, she'd looked up the tabs and begun the process of learning how to play it herself. It was...not going as planned. She just kept making stupid mistakes, beginner stuff. Messed up timing, misplaced fingers, easy stuff. She was getting frustrated, but she was also determined to learn how to play the song. As scatter-brained as she could be in nearly every other area of her life, playing the guitar was the one place she could be considered a perfectionist. If she couldn't get it just right, she'd keep trying until she did. Well past the point where it became more frustrating than fun. It probably wasn't the healthiest learning process, but that point when she could play the song, to her degree of perfection? It was like flying. Or maybe just something that was also really cool. See, she couldn't ever come up with decent metaphors! Analogies! Whatever! It was getting on her nerves.

She'd been standing in the middle of her room for the last hour or two, trying over and over again, trial and error, trial and error. She was determined to get it right, but she also knew that she was too distracted to learn much of anything then and there. She kept thinking about the talk she'd had with Ruby today at the Chinese restaurant. Did she do alright? Like, as a friend to friend, heart to heart? She always thought of herself as the comic foil, not the confidant. What if she just made things worse? Ruby had seemed appreciative, but what if it all backfired? And why the fuck did that idea appeal to her so much? Whenever she thought about Ruby breaking if off with Brian, she felt an odd sense of...what? Glee? Satisfaction? No, nothing manipulative. But something that made her feel a teensiest bit hopeful. And, for the life of her, she just could not explain why she felt that. Granted, she was never really one for introspection, but she should at least be able to connect what made her happy and what didn't, right? She tried the intro again, her fingers playing along the neck of her guitar, the pick strumming further down to the body. But what if Ruby did break up with Brian? So what? She asked herself? Didn't we establish that was going to happen anyway? All she would need to do was be there to comfort Ruby if she needed it. That was her job as BFF.

The pick struck the wrong chord, and the note that came out instead completely threw off her rhythm. She stopped suddenly, the string still vibrating under the fingers wrapped around the neck. She pressed the ball of her hand to her temple and closed her eyes, grumbling under her breath. She took a heavy seat on her bed, the guitar sitting across her lap. Why was she so distracted, anyway? She'd done all she could. Offered some damn fine advice and helped out her friend. All she could do now was wait until she saw Ruby again to get the damage relayed to her. So why the hell did she feel so unresolved? It was like there was something tearing at her nerves, waiting just outside her range to grasp what, exactly, was bothering her. Maybe she should text her. Ask how thing went. That'd be the friend thing to do, right? It wouldn't seem too personal, would it? Her fingers absently strummed out the chords to play the intro to Come As You Are, something that, unlike learning The Groove, she could do without focusing. It helped a little, she thought, gave her something to focus on. But still dancing at the edge of her thoughts was Ruby.

She wondered if this was how a boy felt, when he just got the number of a girl he liked. Then she wondered why the hell that thought occurred to her. Then, speak of the devil, her door opened to reveal the exact girl who'd been occupying her thoughts. Ruby stood in her doorway, with the missus Flagg standing behind her. Marie Flagg looked like, if you could conceptualize it, the personification of 'preacher's wife'. Early 40's, blond hair, blue eyes, and best summed up with the word 'tidy'. Maybe 'fastidious'. All the same, she looked in at Regan with visible warmth, a warmth that was just as audible in her voice. "Regan, you're friend stopped by. I told her you weren't busy. You aren't, are you?" Regan scrambled to her feet, feeling, more than a little surprised, sliding the guitar over her shoulder and setting it on the bed. "No, no, of course not. Thanks, mom." Mrs. Flagg ushered Ruby into the room, hovering at the door for a moment afterward. "You two play nice, you hear?" She said with a playful wink and smile before closing the door and disappearing. Regan, on the other hand, felt a little put on the spot. Not that she minded Ruby stopping in. It's just that she might have straightened her room and herself up for first.

While it wasn't as big as the bedroom the Flagg parents shared, it was a near second. The wall were covered with various movie and band covers, with the odd superhero thrown in. Dirty clothes littered the floor in odd piles, leading in a trail to a dresser with the drawers hanging open to reveal folded clothing. Opposite the door was a decent sized window that was currently cracked to let some air in, with the bed pushed against the wall underneath it. At the foot of her bed was her amp, and next to that a guitar stand. On the left hand wall, her TV was mounted, a rather nice 40 inch HD. Her DVD's sat in a messy pile in front of a shelf containing still more DVD's in neat order. A faint humming was still coming from the guitar, so she hurried over to flip the switch, killing power to the amp and the guitar. Regan looked around hurriedly, holding up one finger to Ruby to ask for patience while she hastily put her room in some semblance of order. She wasn't going to change clothes with Ruby around, so Regan had to content herself with running a hand through her hair. She was clad in a black tank top with Captain America's shield emblazoned across the front, as well as a pair of jeans.

After she put her light blue Gibson DG-335 back onto it's stand, she finally turned to face Ruby, a frantic grin on her face. "So, what's up?" Her smile faltered as she read the expression on Ruby's face, changing into a look of concern. "How'd it go? Is everything okay?"

As Ruby followed Regan's mother upstairs, it slowly began to dawn on her that she still wasn't entirely sure what she was going to actually say to her best friend.

She knew that, on way or another, the conversation was eventually going to lead to her recounting how the split up went. But how she was going to actually get to that point, or word it for that matter, was something she'd still yet to figure out. Hell, she wasn't even sure what kind of reaction she was expecting from Regan. Pity? Anger? Shock? A part of her was tempted to change her mind and head back home, even though she knew fine well that she couldn't back out now. Besides, deep down inside Ruby knew that she had to tell Regan now in person, rather than wait until the inevitable gossip began to spread. Last thing she wanted was for Regan to learn about what happened from some third party source who knew nothing about how it really went down. Just take a deep breath, tell her what happened, then...

...Then, who knows. Guess I'll just have to play it by year.

As she entered Regan's room, the look of surprise on her friends face reminded Ruby of yet another thing she had failed to consider. Specifically, actually letting Regan know in advance if it was okay for her to show up in the first place. Crap, that's the second time tonight that I've surprised someone. Oh well, at least this time I didn't accidentally catch someone in the middle of something compromising.

Aafter Regan's mother had left the room, Ruby opened her mouth to speak, only to be silenced as her friend went about making sure her room was in a more presentable state. As tempted as she was to tell Regan not to worry, given how chaotic her own room looked at the moment, she decided to let Regan do as she pleased if it made her feel more comfortable. It wasn't exactly the first time Ruby had ever been in Regan's room before. The sheer number of comics, posters and DVDs that littered the place never failed to astound her. Back in her own room, she barely had enough books, games and DVDs to fill one bookcase. And as for posters, the only ones Ruby had in her own room was a Reservoir Dogs one and an old Slayers poster she'd owned for god knows how long. In any case, Regan's attempts at tidying the place up did give Ruby one last opportunity to think about how exactly she was going to word this.

However, by the time Regan finally asked how it went, Ruby still wasn't entirely sure. For a brief moment, she almost replied with 'Oh yeah, everything's fine' on instinct, only stopping herself at the very last minute when she realised how that would that would completely undermine the whole point of why she was there in the first place.

"Oh, i'm fine... Ish.... Um, sorry about showing up so suddenly, I meant to send you a text in advance but I kinda... Forgot..."

Wow, off to a fantastic start, aren't we?

"You, uh, mind if I sit down?" she said after a moment's silence, sitting herself down on Regan's bed.

"I like what you've done with your room... Is, uh, that a new poster? Could have sworn that wasn't there the last time I was here." she said, unsure as to what to say next. Damnit Ruby, why're you acting so nervous all of a sudden? She's your friend! You should be feeling relaxed around her, and yet for some reason your acting more jittery then you were on your first date with Brian...

After allowing Regan the opportunity to talk about her poster, Ruby sighed and decided to cut to the chase. Unless she wanted to spend the next hour or so avoiding the subject, she had just get herself together and say what needed to be said.

"Anyway, I... I'm guessing that you want to know how it went, between me and Brian."

Okay, better...

"A-And, I'm guessing you can already tell that things didn't go quite as smoothly as I'd originally planned."

Good good, keep it up. Don't falter now.

"Well... Okay, here's how it went. After I spoke with you earlier, I texted Brian asking him if I could meet up with him at seven. He didn't reply immediately, but when he did he asked if I could meet him at McDonalds at eight instead. I agreed at first, but later I ended up getting a bit... Well, impatient, so I decided to surprise him by arriving at his apartment ten minutes before we were supposed to meet. I've no idea why that seemed like such a good idea at the time, but, whatever... The thing is."

She stopped for a moment, allowing herself the chance to take a deep breath before continuing.

"The thing is... When I arrived at his apartment, I realised that he was not... Well, alone, if you catch my drift."

She paused again, allowing Regan the chance to figure out what she meant. In all honesty, she wouldn't be surprised if she'd figured out that's what happened ages ago.

"So... Yeah. When he realised I was there, he immediately jumped up and started rambling on about how sorry he was, and how he hadn't meant to do it in the first place, etcetera etcetera... At the time, I was too pissed off with him to listen to any of it. I mean, I know that the whole reason I was there in the first place was so that I could split up with him, but... Jesus, how else could I react to something like that? After pretending to love him for so long just to keep him happy, he goes ahead and makes out with fucking Kenji of all people! Yes, THAT Kenji! I'm still not sure which took me more by surprise. The fact that Brian was having an affair in the first place, or the fact that he was having one with a guy."

She stopped herself when she realised how worked up she was getting, and decided to wait a moment to allow herself to cool down.

"So... Yeah, long story short, it probably could have gone a lot better."

While Ruby moved further into the room, Regan did one last sweep. Kicking errant clothes from her path, pushing her comics into more manageable piles, that sort of thing. She personally felt a little embarrassed that Ruby stopped in while her room was so out of sorts. Not that it's current state of mess was out of the ordinary. It almost always looked like a tornado had just passed through, a tornado that liked b-movies and comic books. The only progress ever made toward straightening up her room was when her mom did it for her while she was away from home. That was normal mom behavior right? Probably, yeah, but maybe not so much for an 18 year old girl. Really, the only time Regan did any cleaning of her own was when company was coming over. And when she had warning that company was coming over. Granted, Ruby had seen her room before. Probably in messier states then it was now. After all, she was a common enough sight in the Flagg household that she'd been escorted up well after 8 at night.

All the same, Regan wished she'd had some time to make her room, and herself, more presentable. That same unexplainable thought, comparing herself to a boy meeting his date for the first time, occurred to her. She wasn't sure if it made her want to laugh or curse. She settled on pushing it out of her head, trying to occupy herself with more productive lines of thought. Like, for example, being a good friend. Ruby was clearly upset about something. No prizes for guessing what.

While Ruby took a seat on the bed, Regan did one last glance around her room, just to police up anything that was especially...what? Incriminating? Embarrassing? Probably embarrassing. On impulse, she snatched up a trade paperback with Catwoman emblazoned across the cover, as scantily clad as ever, and quickly turned it over. Of course, Catwoman was also on the back. She slid over the pile of comics that she'd bought today so that they cascaded down and covered up Catwoman. It was only then she realized that two of the comics in the pile she knocked also featured Catwoman prominently on the cover. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at Ruby, who was seemingly more interested in a poster than anything else for the moment. Regan looked at the poster Ruby indicated before finishing the job of hiding her Catwoman collection.

"You mean the Joan Jett poster? It's relatively new, I guess." Feeling strangely satisfied that her Catwoman collection was hidden, she turned and joined Ruby sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked up at the poster Ruby mentioned. It featured a view of a stylized and very very curvy Joan Jett from behind, her guitar at her side with the headstock pointed at three figures in the distance. Above the picture, it boasted (warned?) that 'THE WOMAN WITH THE BAD REPUTATION IS WAITING', and below that, 'JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS'. "I guess it's just a Joan Jett poster. I've never seen her before or anything. I just really like Joan Jett."

With that in the way of explanation, they both fell silent. Maybe Ruby expected her to ramble some more. For once, Regan had her tongue on lock down. It was obvious from the way Ruby was fidgeting that this wasn't a social call. This was BFF stuff right here, and it was damn important. At least, in the confines of the room and to the people in it, it was damn important. In the grand scheme of things, maybe not so much. Anyway.

Regan listened quietly as Ruby recounted the evening. Kenji was the guy who was, like, crazy about Spiderman, wasn't he? She was pretty sure she was thinking of the right guy. He hadn't seemed like he was gay. Then again, neither did Brian. Of course, her frame of reference for 'gay' was Elton John, or maybe Freddie Mercury. Though, technically, Mercury wasn't gay. She wasn't sure where this train of thought was going or what she intended to prove with it, so she let it derail there instead of running the risk of asking Ruby if Brian acted Elton John-ish in the last few days. By the time Ruby finished, Regan had a dozen things she wanted to say. Mostly the same sort of platitudes she'd spouted off in the restaurant today. If she had known Ruby planned to stop by after breaking the news to Brian, she would have done some research to come up with something better than 'there are other fish in the sea'. Most of the thoughts that occurred to her were along those lines and were therefore out of consideration automatically. While she struggled to come up with something to say, a sudden realization hit her like a bolt of lighting. When she'd held Ruby's hand today, that had worked wonders. Hadn't it? Yeah, of course it had. The topic at hand was orders of magnitude worse, so the gesture should be something more comforting.

"So... Yeah, long story short, it probably could have gone a lot better."

So, Regan hugged her. It seemed like the best, most obvious thing she could do. So obvious, in fact, she wondered why it didn't occur to her sooner. She guessed that it didn't matter now. Comfort mode:engaged. "I'm sorry that things ended up like they did." She hugged Ruby tighter. "But you're through it now. No more awkward feelings around Brian, no more pretending for his benefit. At least you can say that you're done with that." Regan let that sink in for a few moments, ostensibly to make it sound more poignant. Part of her felt strangely content to just hold Ruby. She felt acutely aware of Ruby's body against hers. When she realized that, as a friend, she probably wasn't supposed to think things like that, she relaxed the hug, enough so that she could speak to Ruby face to face, instead of face to shoulder. Her face felt uncomfortably warm, and she guessed she might be blushing, for God knows what reason. "At least you got it over with, right? Awkward stuff is out of the way, at least for the time being. You probably won't hear from Brian until tomorrow, when he meets up with you to explain that he and Kenji both tripped and fell on each other and proceeded to get braces stuck together or something equally plausible."

Maybe it was time for some levity? Some of that patented Regan charm. Or maybe 'charm' would be more accurate. Still, she seemed to amuse Ruby often enough, so maybe this was the best way she could help? Bring her out of a funk, as it were. Regan offered a grin, albeit a weak one. "Look on the bright side! Now you're automatically the good guy in this relationship argument. Everyone sides with the cheated upon. Like, it's the law. Unless you were smacking him around a bit before hand, but I'm almost fairly sure you didn't. Besides, like you said, you were going to break things off anyway. This just saved you some time in explaining that it's not him. As sweet as you are, you would've probably found a way to make him think it was his idea all along, but can you imagine how long that would have taken? You know what you should do, especially if you're feeling vindictive? Talk some girl into telling Brian you started fooling around with her. This one would work better if you waited some time first, as Brian would never believe you fooled around while seeing him. That whole 'too sweet' thing again." Regan paused, pretending to give the issue serious thought. "Would pretending to date a girl actually get to him, though? You know what, scratch that idea, I'll come up with something better."

The ideal goal was a smile. Maybe even a laugh if the Fates were feeling generous. But she could content herself with a smile, especially if it meant she had helped Ruby out. Regan brought her in for another hug, just to make sure that she'd done her job. "Whatever you decide, it's going to be okay. You'll find someone you're happy with, someone you don't need to pretend for. This is just a little road-bump. You'll see. It's all going to work out in the end."

Whilst Ruby wasn't exactly sure as to how Regan would react to the new, by the end of her explanation she had considered a number of possibilities. Maybe she would react by trying to cheer her up with a joke or two? Maybe she would try to comfort her with some cliche words of wisdom? Or maybe she would just completely freeze up and the two of them end up having to endure a long awkward silence?

One thing she hadn't expected though, or even considered for that matter, was that Regan would hug her.

At first, she wasn't exactly sure how to react. She was so surprised that it took a moment for her to even acknowledge what was going on. Not that she was complaining in the least, though. Quite the opposite actually. Once the surprise had worn off, it didn't take long for her to wrap her own arms around Regan and hug her back, holding her just as tightly as she herself was being held as she rested her head on Regan's shoulder. As she lost herself to the embrace, she couldn't help but feel a lone tear trickle down her cheek, one which she was quick to remove with her finger before her friend noticed.

As she sat there, holding Regan against her and listening to what she had to say, she couldn't help but feel... Well, she wasn't exactly sure how she was feeling. But whatever it was, it felt good. Like, really REALLY good. To the point where she was beginning to wonder whether or not friends were supposed to feel this good whilst embracing one another. It wasn't as if they had never hugged before, although as far as she could recall all their previous hugs had been brief and light hearted. This one on the other hand was different to the others. There was just something special about it. Something she just couldn't put her finger on. For now though, she was content to just relax and enjoy it for as long as possible.

When Regan finally relaxed the hug to talk face-to-face, Ruby couldn't help but notice that her friend seemed to be red in the face. Was she... Blushing? Why would she do that? Come to think of it, her own face happened to be feeling warm as well. Did that mean she was blushing too?

Those weren't the only thoughts running through Ruby's head as she sat there listening to Regan, whose face was so close she could see her own reflection in her eyes. For reasons she'd yet to fully understand, she couldn't help but admire just how attractive her friend was. With her cute heart-shaped face, her sweet lips and the gorgeous smiles they formed. But, it some ways most of all, were her eyes. Her beautiful, light-blue eyes. It was normal for her to think that, right? Just a mutual appreciation of another woman's attractiveness. It was hardly the first time those thoughts crossed her mind whenever she was talking to Regan, or any particularly attractive girl for that matter. In fact, why was she even thinking about that right now?

At that point, Regan distracted her thoughts yet again when she jokingly suggested that Ruby pretend to fool around with another girl just to get back at Brian. The fact that Ruby had no intention of getting her own back at Brian aside, she couldn't deny that the idea amused her, if anything because of how ironic it would be. At any rate, it was enough bring a smile to her face, one which continued to grow warmer as Regan brought her in for another hug.

"Whatever you decide, it's going to be okay. You'll find someone you're happy with, someone you don't need to pretend for. This is just a little road-bump. You'll see. It's all going to work out in the end."

For a moment, Ruby was content to just lose herself to the embrace. To say that she was now feeling better would have been something of an understatement. If anything, she probably hadn't felt this good in a long, long time. Why exactly was that the case, she wasn't entirely sure. But whatever it was, she had Regan to thank for it. And she'd be damned if she couldn't come up with a good way to repay her friend for her kindness.

On that note, Ruby pulled back so that she was looking into Regan's eyes again, a warm smile on her face as she began to talk.

"I... I don't know what to say, but... Thank you. I can't even begin to describe how much better I'm feeling."

She paused for a moment, holding back the urge to let a few tears drop before finally carrying on.

"Really though, I... I don't think I could ever thank you enough, for everything really. For all the good times we've shared together, for always knowing exactly what to say to make me laugh, or cheer me up. But most of all, for always being there to comfort me whenever nobody else could."

That time, not even all the willpower in the world could have stopped the single tear that found itself flowing down her cheek.

"You've been a better friend to me than anyone else has, more than a friend really... And.... And I......"

...I think I might be in love with you.

.....

Wait, what? Where did THAT thought come from? I don't love Regan, at least, not in THAT way. We're just friends, that's all! Friend's are allowed to deeply care for each other, right? They're also allowed to admire their friend for being attractive as well, right? It's not as if I've never felt this way about a guy before, right? Even if I can't think of anyone right off the top of my head, I'm sure I must of at some point, right? Regan is my friend, she always has been. Nothing more, nothing less.

...If that's that case, then why did I just kiss her?

She suddenly opened her eyes, not even realising that she had shut them in the first place, to find Regan's staring right back at her and her lips pressed against her own. The kiss had only lasted a few second, but for Ruby it felt as though it had lasted an entire lifetime. At the very least, it had lasted long enough for a countless number of thoughts and feelings the run through her head, the biggest of which being WHY she kissed Regan in the first place. Did she do it on impulse without even realising it? Surely not. A part of her wondered whether or not she had been desperate to do so for ages now, and after being briefly distracted by the thought of actually loving Regan, her subconscious took it upon itself to do what she probably would have never done herself in a million years. What if it was Regan who had started the kiss? Or hell, what if they both did at the exact same time?

Whatever the case, what was done was done, and as Ruby pulled back she immediately began to apologise profusely.

"Oh god, I-I-I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did that, I... I... Jesus, why did I just do that?!?"

What she didn't say was that the next biggest question on her mind, right behind why she kissed Regan in the first place, was why had she enjoyed it so much.

((Just putting this in before I leave, so you have something to reply to. I do want to add in some more, but actions/speech will stay the same. ))

Was she...? Did Ruby really just kiss her? For a few seconds, she couldn't begin to even process anything else as that question ran circles around her head. It just seemed so...ludicrous? No, incredible? So unlikely, that she could scarcely believe it had happened. It had happened, right? She didn't just, you know, snap, right? Maybe she was hallucinating. Would that be preferable? Well, no, schizophrenia would never be preferable to anything. Not that she meant to go on a tangent about mental disorders. She was just trying to make sense of what was happening. Like, why would Ruby kiss her? She knew that her joke about sleeping with another woman was just that, right? A joke? Ruby maintained a strong sense of humor in the past, so not getting the joke wasn't likely. Maybe finding Brian in the act did irreparable damage to her funny-bone? Maybe Regan just did such an awesome job making Ruby feel better that...Ruby decided that Regan was just that irresistible. Okay, yeah, she was stretching.

It was just, you know, first kiss. First kiss, and from a member of the same sex at that. Confusion was understandable, right? Hell, Regan had been lost from the moment Ruby's lips make contact. For a very fleeting second, she considered pushing Ruby away, or moving back herself, or really anything to break the kiss. It was just so unexpected, she could only think about putting the situation back to normal. Normal being, not kissing another girl. But that second's hesitation seemed to just melt away as the kiss went on. Any thoughts of pushing her away similarly melted away. All Regan could think of how soft Ruby's lips were, how wonderful, how right this all felt. As surprising and unexpected at it all was, it felt amazing. It might have been her imagination, but there might have been stars. Probably her imagination. The last thing she wanted was first the kiss to end. As far as first kisses went, she'd probably give it a 9.

But, she guessed all good things must come to an end. As engrossed as she was in the kiss, some part of her realized that sooner or later one of them would realize what they were doing. To her disappointment, Ruby pulled away after only a few seconds. At least, it must have only been a few seconds, thought it felt much longer. While Ruby stammered out apologies and pushed herself back on the bed, Regan tried to figured out why she felt so elated. Maybe it was just the novel feeling of being kissed for the first time? Or maybe it was Ruby. Maybe it was that the kiss was such a surprised, in and of itself? Or maybe it was Ruby.

Regan never claimed to be the smartest girl around. Her scatter-brain reputation was well-earned. But even she couldn't ignore the evidence right in front of her face. This was just the last puzzle piece to fall into place. Yeah, sure, most people could figure out a puzzle way before that point. You start with edges and work your way in, getting the corner pieces first. But if you went with that, the whole metananalogy fell apart. So, going with the last puzzle piece angle. How long had she felt weird around Ruby? Not like she was keeping some big secret and just trying to keep it hidden. Well, maybe she was keeping a secret of a sort, but whatever. How long had she always felt like there was something about Ruby that always caught her and held her attention? She'd really only started noticing it around the bowling birthday bash (alliteration was awesome), but she couldn't say that it wasn't happening before that. It had slowly developed, sure, but it had developed all the same. The culmination of all that developing interest was the kiss, and and now it made perfect sense. Or some semblance of perfect sense.

So, while Ruby was trying to make things right, Regan started to giggle. It wasn't as hysterical as her earlier fear of schizophrenia might have suggested. Instead, it was a happy, nervous giggle. She'd had the same giggle when her parents had presented her with her brand new DG-335 Pelham Blue guitar, when she didn't want assume that it was automatically going to her, but was really, really hoping. It was the laugh she had now, as Ruby tried to smooth things over. She held up her hand, just to cut Ruby off.

"It's okay." She said, wearing a broad, albeit nervous, grin. "Really, really. It's, I mean, really, totally okay. Completely okay. I mean, I'm really really okay with it." She giggled again, and the blush on her cheeks deepened. "And I think I'm saying really a lot, but I'm just...I don't know, this is just...that was great. Really really great. In fact, it was so great..." At the moment, Regan felt she could take on the world in a fist fight and win. She was riding high, and nothing was impossible. With this confidence spurring her own, she took Ruby's hand and leaned in close, planting a kiss of her own. It was no doubt fumbling and uneducated by comparison, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was that it conveyed, to Ruby from Regan, that she wasn't upset. Far from it, really. It conveyed that, any feelings Ruby might have, Regan reciprocated. It occurred to Regan that maybe Ruby really had made a mistake and just might regret the kiss for reasons other than embarrassment. Of course, those things occurred to her after the second kiss was finished. All the same, she finished the thought she scarcely remembered starting. "It was so great that I needed to try it again.

Well, for the second time that evening, Regan reacted in a way that Ruby hadn't expected her to.

Her apologetic babbling gradually died down as her friend began to giggle, her head tilting ever so slightly as her left eyebrow raised in confusion. Was this for real? She had been expecting something more along the lines of a long awkward silence, or maybe even a shocked outburst. Sure, she couldn't recall a single moment when she'd seen Regan be angry at anything, but it struck her as a far more likely reaction then the one she was currently witnessing.

What exactly did this mean? Did Regan find something about this whole situation funny? Was it something she had said whilst she was apologising for what just happened? Or maybe... Maybe she DID genuinely enjoy.... No, surely not. That can't be right. Since when did Regan enjoy getting kissed by other girls? As far as she knew, Regan had always been straight, right? At the very least, she never showed any interest in other girls... Then again, had she ever seen Regan show any interest in boys either? She always just assumed that was because she didn't like broaching that subject, but now that she thought about Regan had never said ANYTHING to indicate that she was remotely interest in members of the opposite sex. Then again, come to think of it, neither did she. But that didn't mean that they were both... No, that was just...

Then again, she HAD enjoyed that kiss. More so than any of the ones she'd ever shared with Brian. Was that just a coincidence? And come to think of it, she always wondered why Regan was so obsessed with Catwoman...

Nonono, this is crazy. She obviously must be thinking about this too deeply. There's no way that... Naaaw, that can't be right. Besides, she still doesn't know whether or not Regan really did enjoy it or not.

Once the giggling was over, Regan began to assure her that it's okay, her cheeks still glowing a bright shade of red. After which, she then went on to say that...

...Oh, so she definitely enjoyed it after all. So much so in fact, that before Ruby could say anything in response, Regan leaned forward and kissed her back. Any lingering doubts about whether or not she really had enjoyed kissing Regan were flushed away the moment her friend's lips made contact with her own. She would have been surprised had it not been for great it felt. No, on second thoughts, it wasn't great. It was bloody fantastic. If anything, she was more surprised at the fact that she was disappointed when Regan eventually pulled back.

"It was so great that I needed to try it again."

After a brief moment of silence, Ruby finally replied with a simple "...Oh."

She paused again, her eyes drifting down to look at Regan's hand clutching her own before returning her gaze to her friend's eyes. Her stunning, light-blue eyes... Oh god, this is... I have no idea what this is.

"I, uh... Thanks, I-I guess. I thought it was... Great. Too?" she said, letting out a brief nervous laugh.

The more she thought about it, the more it gradually began to make more sense. So much so that she was beginning to wonder why the hell she never realised it earlier. All this time, she had assumed her affectionate feelings towards Regan were just the kind that close friends had for each other. Perhaps if Regan was a boy she would have realised it much sooner, after all it hadn't been until now that she began to truly wonder whether or not the reason why she never loved Brian was simply because she was... Well, to put it bluntly, a lesbian. Sure, the thought had struck her before, but until now she had always brushed it aside. Now that she was genuinely thinking about it though, it all made perfect sense.

Not that a part of her still had some doubts, though.

"...I-I mean, I was just... You know, we're really good friends, I was feeling upset, and it was just. Y'know, a friendly smooch, which is perfectly normal thing for friends to do right? Nothing out of the ordinary, nope. 'Cause we're just really REALLY close friends, right?"

Yeah... You realise you're only kidding yourself, right?

She nibbled her lower lips nervously, her gaze slowly drifting to Regan's smile before returning to her eyes.

"Th-This was just... You know, one of those funny little secret moments between good friends, or something. In a few weeks time we'll be looking back on this and laughing about it. Just two good friends who shared a harmless little kiss... Sure, they probably enjoyed it a little more than friends usually should, but it's still just a kiss. Nothing more, nothing... Less."

The more she continued to ramble on, the more she gradually wanted to lean forward and kiss Regan again. Just once more, for good luck. And sure enough, once she had finished talking, she did find herself moving her lips slowly Regan's.

"Although, I... I suppose one more... couldn't hurt......"

On that note, after giving Regan ample enough of a warning to back away if she wanted to, Ruby closed her eyes as their lips made contact again for the third time that evening.

This one however, didn't just last a few brief seconds. It was originally meant to, yes, but after two brief moments euphoria Ruby wasn't going to let this one end so soon. And whilst she did eventually pull back, it was only so that she could allow them both to catch their breath before resuming it with twice the vigour as before.

If there was one aspect about her relationship with Brian that she was now beginning to appreciate, it was that it had given her plenty of experience when it came to kissing. Experience which Regan seemed to lack, although for what she seemed lack in experience she made up for with enthusiasm. Nevertheless, Ruby took it upon herself to lead, and as their kiss gradually grew in passion she slowly placed her hand behind the back of Regan's head and tilted her own slightly to the left so that she could take their kiss in a more open mouthed direction, although she resisted the small voice in her head that demanded that she made good use of her tongue. Last thing she wanted to do was intimidate Regan by taking things too far too early.

After almost a minute or so this, the two were briefly interrupted as Regan accidentally slipped onto her back, with Ruby falling over and landing on top of her. After sharing brief laugh, the two paused for a moment, with Regan pinned against her bed as Ruby moved up into a more comfortable position. After gazing into her eyes for a good few seconds, a warm smile found itself on Ruby's face as she moved a stray hair that was covering one of Regan's eyes, and before long she had bent over and picked things up from where they had left off.

By this point, all remaining doubts had been thoroughly shredded up, grinded into a fine powder, and emptied into a endless whirlpool of assuredness. No doubt about it, Ruby liked the ladies, and by god she was loving every minutes of it. Why the hell was she trying to make up excuses earlier? It wasn't as if there was anything particularly taboo about it, especially here in Seattle. Sure, her parents would be in for a big surprise when she finally tells them, but hey. Besides, she hadn't had this much fun since... Well, ever.

Sadly though, all good things must come to an end, although in this case if it weren't for outside influences they probably would have carried on like this indefinitely. She was in the middle of wondering whether or not she should take this any further when she heard the footsteps, her lips slowly parting away from Regan's as she tried to ascertain whether or not they were about to be interrupted. Sure enough, the voice of Regan's mother rang out, and Ruby wasted no time in getting off her 'friend' to allow her to speak.

Her heart was still beating fast as Regan spoke with her mother, her hand reaching up to wipe sweat from her brow. How long had they been kissing for? It must of lasted a good three or five minutes, maybe even more. Either way, regardless of what she had said before, there was definitely no way she could claim that was just a 'harmless little kiss'.

Once they were convince that Regan's mother was out of earshot, Ruby turned to face the girl she had just made out with and sighed deeply.

"Well... I, uh.... Wow, I literally have no idea what to say."

So, her evening had definitely taken a turn for the strange. Pleasantly strange, of course. Not like, 'stalked by the government paranoia' strange, but...Okay, yeah, strange. It was, like, how could she have ever expected this to happen? Going from consoling her best friend to making out with her? Her! As in, a girl! Regan was still grasping the novelty of it all, how startling and swift it all was, but also how amazing it turned out to be. Not the the realization that she was gay, but the revelation that her best friend was gay and also into her. Really, what were the odds? This was some Love Actually, Sleepless in Seattle romantic comedy stuff. But it was still wonderful and fantastic and amazing, despite that. Wasn't there a saying about not looking a gift cow in the mouth? Cow? Some farm animal. Gift farm animal in the mouth. The point being, this was a good thing. Finding out Ruby digged her, and discovering that, to her (sort of) surprise, she herself dug Ruby. Both parties were obviously happy with how things turned out. It was a good thing, and maybe she should just let it be that.

Well, yeah, sure, there was Ruby trying to talk herself out of the idea. But she wasn't very convincing. Not to compare Ruby to an alcoholic, but it sounded a lot like a drinker trying (and failing) to talk himself into one more drink. Like, what's the harm in it? After all, one drink never killed anyone, right? That argument. Deep down, the guy already knows he's going to drink. Anyone with him already knows he's going to drink. So, let's not kid anyone, right? Regan was sorely tempted to enact a version of that and lean across the bed to give Ruby another kiss to speed things along. Making peace with the idea of liking girls was important and all, but Regan was impatient and she'd finally admitted to the notion that she found Ruby stone-gorgeous. Just to be fair, she'd compare herself to the drinker this time. Like the guy saw a bottle of, she didn't know, vodka wine or something. She didn't know alcohol, so whatever, some intoxicating beverage. That beverage was right in front of her, him, and he'd know it'd make him feel awesome. So why wait?

Regan felt sort of like that. Only, actually, throw that analogy out the window, because part of her felt that comparing people to alcoholics was probably bad.

While Ruby deliberated, Regan rocked back and forth on her bed, fully of excited and nervous energy. She wore a broad grin on her face, and, as impatient as she might be feeling, she guessed that it was probably important that Ruby didn't feel rushed. A smaller part of her wondered why she was willing to jump right in. After all, Ruby was the one with relationship experience, and if was nervous and uncertain about all this, shouldn't Regan be feeling the same? Like, shouldn't she be feeling Ruby's lead, offering these new developments due consideration?

Well, yeah, she probably could. But it felt right. You know? Just so right. She didn't want to deliberate on it, and maybe run this risk of talking herself out of on account of nerves. Her approach to life more or less boiled down to this: Life's a race, and you've gotta dare to win.

Well, it was something like that. Different wording, similar message. You know how it is.

The point was, when Ruby finally deciding that one more kiss was in order to fully decided her position, Regan was more than ready. She wasn't quite sure etiquette in this situation, though. Kissing, she meant. Like, kissing someone for the first time. If they started to initiate the kiss, should you meet in the middle or let them come to you? What about hands? What do you do with this things? Like, keep them pinned at the sides, no visas for traveling? Despite her motto, she was guessed that it'd probably be best if Ruby took the lead. If only just for now. Because, if she was sure of anything, this wasn't going to be a one time dealie. Oh, hell no. This was awesome, and she was pretty sure Ruby felt similarly. It would be a situation that would requite some planning, and that could wait for later. For the time being, she was perfectly content to lose herself in this kiss. Had she mentioned how right it felt? Because she wanted to stress that. Right, and awesome, and just, just great. Really perfect. Actually, now that she was subject to a guiding hand she decided she'd be pretty content with Ruby taking the lead in the future. Confidence-inspired second kiss aside, letting Ruby take the lead was proving overall to be a better experience. Did that mean she was the 'girl' in the relationship? Yes, she was a girl in the relationship, but was Ruby acting as the boy? Was that an actually set of terms of gay couples? Man, she'd need to do some research or something.

Also, she'd need to make sure this would actually be a relationship. That part was also probably important.

Also, it seemed that Ruby knew proper hand etiquette. She ad one hand on the back of her head, holding her steady. Yeah, like Regan planned on going anywhere. Besides the minute adjustments Ruby made, the occasional gasp, and the just general closeness of Ruby, Regan began to drift. She started to tune everything else out. Everything except Ruby. She didn't want the moment-the kiss- to end, and for the longest time, it didn't. When Ruby broke away, it was like a veil had been lifted. She was lying on her bed, with Ruby hovering over. She giggled again, mumbling something that sounded like, "Easy, tiger." She wanted to lean up and kiss Ruby again, just to make sure that this was all really happening, that it wasn't just a dream. Ruby; finger brushed gentle across her forehead, brushing aside a strand of hair. In that moment, Regan realized that she loved her. It seemed like a sudden realization, but maybe she'd felt it for a long time. After all, they'd know each other for a long time. Maybe it was like the realization that she was gay. All she needed was the right catalyst to bring it to light.

Her reverie was broke when her mom's voice broke the comfortable silence the two of them were sharing. Ruby leaned back, and Regan's own response to the sudden intrusion was to nearly jump out of her skin. She managed to keep from crying out like some horror movie scream queen, but only just. She looked guiltily toward the door and glanced back at Ruby as her mom called out. "Regan, honey, has your friend already eaten dinner?" Regan looked over at Ruby and made some spastic hand gestures that might possibly convey 'I'll try to get her out of here'. If you were being honest, they looked more like spastic hands gestures that conveyed only poor motor skills. "We can heat something up downstairs if she's hungry, mom. We're okay for now." To her credit, she didn't sound nearly as flustered as she looked. At least, she didn't think so. In any case, it was hard to top her seizure-gestures. From the other side of the door, her mom replied, "If you say so, dear. Let me know if you need anything." And, with that, departing foot steps. Regan collapsed back on the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well... I, uh.... Wow, I literally have no idea what to say."

"I'm sure I can come up with something romantic and charming once I'm sure I'm not going to have a heart attack," Regan offered, accompanied by a frenetic grin. "Until then, I'll settle on saying that, other than nearly dying of fright, I haven't felt this awesome in ages. I feel like I could fist-fight Batman and Bane at the same time." She raised her fists in the air, throwing a few loose punches at the ceiling. "If I picked up my guitar, I could probably play Stone Cold Crazy, which, for the uninitiated, is a really fast and difficult song." Regan looked up at Ruby and smiled, big and broad and excited. "This is easily the best night of my life. So far, I mean. I'm sure something could along to top, but I'd assume you'd be involved in that too, probably. But, for now, best night of my life."

Thankfully, whilst Ruby was more-or-less speechless, Regan's enthusiasm was more than enough to bring a smile to her face.

Once her heart had slowed down to a less frenetic pace, Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as she fell back on the bed beside Regan, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she listened to what Regan had to say. The more Regan went on about this being the most awesome night of her life, the more Ruby was inclined to agree with her. Despite her doubts, she couldn't remember the last time she'd ever had so much fun in one night. They hadn't even done anything particularly raunchy. Sure, it was probably the most genuinely passionate kiss she'd ever shared with someone, but nevertheless that was but only of the reasons why it had felt so great. There was something so liberating about it. Something that made Ruby feel as though for the first time in years she was finally free to do what she wanted.

Sure, at first it had felt a little strange being so intimate with one of her closest friends, especially seeing as she was also a girl and all. Now that she was beginning to get used to the concept, she couldn't think of anyone else she'd rather be with. Admittedly, now that she thought about it there were a few other girls she knew whom she found physically attractive, but not near;y on the same emotional scale as her feelings towards Regan. She didn't just want Regan because she found her attractive (Although it did certainly help). She wanted her because she... Well, as cheesy as it sounds, loved her.

"This is easily the best night of my life. So far, I mean. I'm sure something could along to top, but I'd assume you'd be involved in that too, probably. But, for now, best night of my life."

"Yeah... Remember what I said earlier today? About how things with Brian never really felt right? Well, lets just say... What we just did? THAT felt right. Like, really... REALLY right. Like, so right that it's practically left, or... I don't know, you get what I mean."

She sighed, her thoughts briefly drifting back to Brian. It was only at that point that it occurred to her that not only did she find out her ex-boyfriend had a thing for other guys, but that she herself had a thing for members of the same sex too. It was such strange coincidence that for a moment she almost started to wonder whether she really had been dreaming all this time. Well, if that's the case, I better not wake up any time soon.

"Wow, I uh... Can't say I ever really saw this coming. I mean, I suppose the thought had struck me once or twice, but I never seriously considered it you know? Seems really obvious now that I think about it..."

At that point, she turned over onto her side to face Regan, her lips forming a warm smile.

"I mean... We've always been close friends. More than friends really. I'm surprised I hadn't realised that I felt this way much sooner. I mean, all the signs were there clear as day. Your cute smile, the way you always know how to make me laugh... I don't think I've ever felt this way about anyone before."

As she reached her hand out to caress Regan's cheek, another thought occurred to her. What if Regan didn't feel the same way? Sure, she was definitely attracted, but that didn't nessisarily mean that she had similar feelings towards her. For all she knew, Regan might only be interested in her physically, rather than on a more emotional level.

Well, only one way to find out...

"I... I don't suppose you feel the same way, do you?"

Ruby was right, in that now, here, after this kiss(es, plural), it all seemed obvious. Like a puzzle or whatever she had compared it to before. It kind of made her wonder why no one had figured it out before. Especially lately, with all the lingering touches and...other stuff. But, you know, hindsight and all that. Like, now, yeah, it was obvious. Like, duh, of course we're both gay. We should date. Or, kiss. Make-out. There's the terminology again. Was this considered making out? Assuming that this all did, in face, turn into something more, Regan had some awkward conversation in store for Ruby. Awkward? Well, maybe not awkward, as it were. Not if it was just the two of them. Especially since she planned to lead with 'what constitutes making out, and when is it only kissing?' Fundamental relationship stuff, you know how it is. 'What's the correct term for two women dating: a partnership, or a couple?' That last one actually was legitimate. She always saw it referred to as partners, not a couple. What was up with that? A partner was someone who helped you rustle some cattle, or helped you perform a drug bust.

Actually, she might hold off on the gay culture stuff. It occurred to her that Ruby was as new to it all as she was. Well, yeah, Ruby was smarter, but it was still a new subject.

Anyway, that could all wait. She was drifting again. Drifting about Ruby, but still drifting while the real thing was lying right next to her. Man, just the mental acknowledgement oif that made her fell giddy. It was like, you know that something really awesome is actually true, but then you actually spell it out to yourself and it's that that much better. It wasn't a DG-335 Pelham Blue guitar, it was her DG-335 Pelham Blue guitar. Ruby wasn't lying on the bed, she was lying on the bed next to her. Okay, phrased like that, it didn't have as much of an impact. But it was still really really awesome. It still made her want to just jump up and rattle off a tough guitar solo or doing something similarly impressive for Ruby. Maybe box a rhino, or something. She'd go into the prep required, but that way lies rambling. Maybe she'd just settle for the guitar. Easier, much more skilled at it, especially compared to rhino-boxing.

"I... I don't suppose you feel the same way, do you?"

To be honest, Regan had been more considering the best way to demonstrate her affection for Ruby instead of hanging on every word. There was probably a lesson there, something about compromise. Despite her thoughts being occupied by Ruby, she felt a little guilty that she had exactly listened to Ruby. It kind of balanced out, right? So, it wasn't as guilt-inspiring as, say, thinking about shoes. Or whatever it was normal girls thought about. Still, can you imagine how embarrassing it'd be to confess she wasn't listening with exactly rapt attention? Hell with that. No, she had this. Besides, how many way could you interpret a question like that? Well, a lot, depending on context. The context here? Kissing (making out?). So, puzzle it out. Assume she meant an emotional attraction. Obviously, they both enjoyed kissing. Obviously. Maybe that was what she was talking about? Or maybe it was the emotional attachment. Maybe that was wishful thinking? No, no, the cheek touch, that was emotional attachment. So, connect the dots.

But, even assuming that was what she meant, what was the answer? Not a...difficult question, no. Just, she wanted to be sure that it was, you know, actually attraction and not, post-coming-out nerves or something. That made sense right? Yeah, she thought so. Did she feel the same way?

Yeah. Hell yeah, even. Ruby was, is, the only girl for her. The only girl that stood out in her mind. Even when she wasn't admitting anything to anyone, she felt that way about Ruby. Always in or near her thoughts, even when they weren't hanging out. Which, by the way, wasn't often. They hung out all the time. Yeah, maybe, at the time, she might have noticed that another girl was cute. But no one ever stuck with her like Ruby. So, maybe she should share that? Or, at least, parts of it. Maybe tastefully edited.

Cue the blush and bashful grin. "Honest injun? I'm crazy about you. I mean, I really really-" See, she didn't want to jump off that diving board quite yet. Professing love wasn't something done casually, even if it seemed to be pretty common now. What if she did say it and Ruby thought she was weird for saying it so soon? Like, not even before the relationship properly began? Yeah, maybe she'd hold onto that one. Just in case, you know? "-really, really care about you. More than friends caring, I mean. It's why I always try to be so funny around you, I mean. I like making you laugh. I plain old like making you happy. It's cheesy, but I'm happy when you're happy. I think I've always wanted to say this, but I'm head over heels for you and I think I have been for a long time now. Have been for ages now, I mean. At least since the bowling bash birthday thing."

Still really hoping that was actually the question Ruby asked. If not, things might get awkward.

Ruby was more than relieved to hear that Regan requited her feelings, her lips forming a warm smile to extinguish any doubts Regan had as to whether or not Ruby really did feel the same about her.

Well, now that they had both established that they had genuine feelings for one another, the next thought to cross Ruby's mind was where things would go from there. After all, they can't really go back to being just friends, not after more-or-less professing their feelings for one another. That said, it wasn't that long ago that Ruby was still technically Brian's girlfriend. Surely it'd be best to wait a while before jumping into another relationship? Let her thoughts sink in a little, actually think about this before making any definite decisions.

Then again, what other decisions were there for her to make? Pretend like this never happened? Spend the rest of her life in doubt whilst exchanging awkward glances with Regan? It wasn't as if they would be persecuted by society for being in a relationship. This was Seattle for Christ's sake! There were probably more homosexual couples here than in the rest of the USA combined, with the exception of San Francisco. The fact of the matter was, she already knew what she wanted. The only question was whether or not that's what Regan wanted too.

"Sooo... I, guess this means we're no longer 'just friends' anymore."

Wait, nono, that didn't come out right. Damnit Ruby!

"I-I mean, if you want to just stay friends, that's fine by me! I'm not trying force you into any commitments or anything! It's just that... Well, it's obvious that we both like each other, right? And not just in a 'I think you're super hot' kind of way either, although I can't deny that it certainly... Um, helps."

She paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to get her thoughts across before finally continuing.

"What I'm trying to say is... If you want to just stay friends, i'm okay with that. I can't exactly blame you if you wanted some time to let all this sink in a little. But... If you want to, you know, be MORE than just friends I'd be okay with that too. More than okay, really, not that I'd be hurt if you wanted some time to think about it."

It was at that point that Ruby realised that she was holding Regan's hand, her cheeks turning red a little as she gazed into Regan's eyes.

"But just so you know, whenever you feel like you're ready, I'll be here waiting for you."