The next morning, a Saturday, Taylor was awoken by a gentle knock on his door. He sat up to see Aunt Agnes waiting by the door.

 

“Is something wrong?” Taylor asked, yawning.

 

“I was about to ask you the same thing, Emily hasn’t come by yet and I got worried.” Aunt Agnes stepped into the room.

“Worried? Why?” Taylor reached for his phone and realized that it was nearly noon. “Wow… She let me sleep in?”

 

“Did you two have a fight?” Aunt Agnes asked.

 

“No.” Taylor replied. “I haven’t spoken to her since she went to get her hair done yesterday.”

 

“Did something happen with Logan at the movies? I noticed you weren’t too eager to chat when you got home.”

 

“Sort of… Logan… he kissed me.”

 

“Oh my…” Aunt Agnes sat down onto the bed next to Taylor.

 

“Yeah, I’m still not entirely sure how I felt about it.”

 

“Did you like it?”

 

“No!”

 

“So there you go!”

 

“But I still kissed a boy!”

 

Aunt Agnes put her hand on Taylor’s shoulder and smiled.

 

“Trust me, Taylor. When you’ve been around for as long as I have… boy or girl, you’re going to have some kisses you regret.”

 

“Doesn’t it make me… gay?”

“If you didn’t enjoy it, it means that, at the very least, you’re not attracted to Logan. So, I’d say no.” Aunt Agnes said. “But even if you are gay, that’s not a bad thing.”

 

“I guess it’s not…” Taylor said, sitting up. “This summer has been a disaster.”

 

“I know, and I take a good chunk of the responsibility for that, although it’s not like you made it any easier on yourself. You had a few outs that you didn’t use, and you really let Emily walk all over you. You’ve got to learn to put your foot down with people like her. How did you get along at home?”

 

“At home it was different, when I’m me, I know what I like and what I don’t, I didn’t have to be constantly worried that someone would figure out who I really was. I guess I was just taking the path of least resistance and hoping that if I just skated through, the summer would end and I could return to normal.”

 

“It’s going to be tough, I mean, Emily’s not just going to stop texting or tweetmailing you, or whatever it is you kids do, are you going to keep an outfit and makeup to keep her at bay when you leave? Or are you going to just drop all contact? Because if you think I’ll put up with her hounding me for the rest of my life, I’m just going to tell her where you live and let you figure it out.” Aunt Agnes chuckled.

 

“I didn’t really think that far ahead…” Taylor muttered.

 

“The anthem of this summer, for both of us.” Aunt Agnes stood up. “So, what’s next?”

 

“I think I’m going to go over and talk to Emily, I’ve got some things to get off my chest.” Taylor replied.

 

After his shower, Taylor put on one of his “cute outfits” that Emily had picked out for him during one of their trips to the mall, consisting of a pair of capris and a scoop neck tee. He was going to just wear one of his, as Emily referred to them, “tomboy outfits”, but he figured if he was going to clear some of the air with Emily, it’d be best to not rock the boat too much. Taylor headed across the street, his flip flops slapping against the ground.

 

“Hey, bestie!” Emily said, looking up from where she was sitting on the porch. “How was the movie? I was gonna come by this morning, but Logan said you seemed a little weird last night so I wanted to give you some space.”

 

“The movie was awesome!” Taylor said. “How was your hair appointment?”

 

“Fine, but come on, spill!” Emily said. “Logan said you started acting weird after the movie…”

 

“Did he tell you what happened?” Taylor asked.

 

“Not really, he just said that you came home and that was it.” Emily replied. “Why? Did something happen?”

 

“During the movie… he kissed me,” Taylor said.

 

“That’s great!” Emily exclaimed, then noticed Taylor’s serious face. “Isn’t it?”

 

“No! I’ve been trying to tell you, I like Logan as a friend. I don’t want to date him!” Taylor said.

 

“But I thought…” Emily started.

 

“That’s exactly it, you never really gave me a chance to explain that, you were practically planning our wedding! I’d still really like to be friends, with both of you… I just don’t want to lead Logan on, you know?” Taylor finished. “It’s not right.”

 

“I get it.” Emily said. “But that’s something you’ve gotta tell him yourself.”

 

“I know.” Taylor took a deep breath as Emily opened her door.

 

Taylor knocked lightly on Logan’s door, when he didn’t hear a response, he peeked in, and saw that Logan was wearing a headset as he played a video game. Taylor knocked slightly louder, then cleared his throat, which finally got Logan’s attention. He quickly paused the game.

 

“Oh hey, what’s up Taylor?” Logan asked. “Feeling better?”

 

“Yeah, Listen, I think I need to clear some things up.” Taylor started. “I…”

 

“Only want to be friends? I figured as much after the kiss, I probably should’ve figured way earlier, Emily has a way of only saying what she wants you to hear.”

 

“Emily told you things about me?”

 

“Nothing major, just hinting, I’m sure she did the same to you, needling about looks or something I said in passing that she pounced on. I do like you, but I’m happy to just be friends”

 

“I’m so glad, I really didn’t want to be leading you on.” Taylor sighed in relief.

 

“No worries. Besides, I don’t think long distance would have worked out. When would we have ever talked? Cause if you had to divide video-calling time between me and Emily, I’d never get my turn.” Logan chuckled.

 

“You’re probably right…” Taylor said.

 

“I’m about to go up against the Lich Queen, wanna be Player 2?” Logan held up a controller.

 

“Nothing would make me happier.” Taylor gladly took the controller and sat down next to Logan.

 

A few days later, after the emotionally charged conversations were over, including one that Taylor had with Emily about boundaries, which she seemed to be receptive to, it was just another summer day. Taylor was eating breakfast, he had his hair up in a messy bun and was wearing a pink tank top and shorts, since he was waiting for Emily’s morning run, which he’d intended to drop, but actually found the run to be enjoyable and beneficial, despite the athletic gear he had to wear for it. Aunt Agnes had just sat down with her breakfast when the phone rang.

 

“I’ll get it! Hello?” Aunt Agnes asked as she picked up the phone. “Oh, hello, do you want me to put Taylor on? Oh, I see. He’s right here, give me a moment.”

 

“Who is it?” Taylor asked.

 

Aunt Agnes put the phone on speaker and placed it onto the kitchen table.

 

“Taylor? Are you there?” the voice of Taylor’s mother came out of the phone.

 

Taylor’s parents hadn’t been keeping in regular contact during their trip because the area of the country they were in had less than reliable cell phone service and spotty at best internet. This arrangement suited Taylor fine, since it meant his parents were unaware of his activities. The less explaining them the better. A call meant either an emergency, or it meant they were back in the country and were going to come get him soon.

 

“Mom! How’s the trip?” Taylor asked. “When are you getting back?”

 

“The trip is nice, your father’s been working a lot, but it’s a beautiful country.” Taylor’s mother replied, deliberately ignoring the second question. “How have you been? Keeping busy with Aunt Agnes?”

 

“We’re doing fine… There were a few hiccups at the beginning, but as much as I like it, I can’t wait to get home.” Taylor said.

 

“About that…” Taylor’s mother started. “Maybe I should let your father explain.”

 

“What’s going on?” Taylor asked, hearing the phone being fumbled to another person.

 

“Taylor? Is that you?” Taylor’s father asked. “Have you had fun staying with Aunt Agnes?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me and sure, I’ve had fun. Mom was saying something about when you were coming to get me.” Taylor replied.

 

“Right, so for all the work I’ve done this summer, I got a promotion.”

 

“That’s great!”

 

“It is, but the position requires me to set up a new office over here, and they want me to oversee it for the first few months of operation, it’s only temporary, four months at the most, but it doesn’t make sense to move you and all of our things to a new country if we’ll be back by Christmas. We got an email from Principal Fletcher from a school over by Aunt Agnes’s house offering you a scholarship.” Taylor’s father continued.

 

Taylor looked over at Aunt Agnes who only shrugged in response.

 

“It was a bit hard to understand at first, but since it would make things easier, we accepted it. You’ll stay with Aunt Agnes for the Fall, start at this Summit Academy place, which based on what we’ve read seems like a great school, and your mother and I will handle my work, come back at Christmas and you’ll start the spring semester back at your old school and graduate with your friends. Doesn’t that sound great?” Taylor’s father finished.

 

“What? But why can’t I go home?” Taylor asked.

 

“Because we won’t be there, and you need a guardian staying with you if you’re a minor.” Taylor’s father said.

 

“What if I stayed at Owen’s and lived with him?” Taylor asked.

 

“Trust me, it’ll be for your own good.” Taylor’s father replied. “Oh and Taylor? Your mother and I want you to know, we accept you no matter what.”

 

“Huh?” Taylor was confused. What the hell was his father talking about?

 

“And even if there’s something you don’t want to tell us yet, we understand.” Taylor’s mother interjected.

 

Suddenly it clicked. If they’d gotten an email from Principal Fletcher… she must’ve said something about the cheerleading or the fact that Taylor, as far as Principal Fletcher knew, was a girl.

 

“You don’t understand! Whatever that email said, it’s all a big misunderstanding!” Taylor shouted.

 

“We’re so glad that you came out of your shell with the cheerleaders and we’ve got a lot to talk about, but I’d rather discuss it in-person, and failing that, at least when we have reliable internet to do a video call.” Taylor’s father said.

 

“Wait, just let me explain!” Taylor insisted.

 

“Sorry, Taylor, but the phone connection is breaking up. We’ll talk soon, okay?” Taylor’s mother finished just as the call cut off, replaced by a dial tone.

 

Taylor was utterly stunned. Aunt Agnes hung up the phone and put her hand on Taylor’s shoulder.

 

“What do I do now?” Taylor looked up at Aunt Agnes, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

 

“It is a co-ed school, I think if I explain all this to Vicky, she’ll understand.” Aunt Agnes said.

 

“But all those people who already know me… The girls on the team, the coach… I thought I’d just be able to forget about this whole summer once it ended…” Taylor sighed. “This isn’t how this summer was supposed to go…”

 

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry… Aunt Agnes observed.

 

Taylor sat with his head in his manicured hands as he realized that his time as a gamer girl, Emily’s bestie and a cheerleader wasn’t coming to an end as he’d hoped, but only just beginning. It was going to be a long semester...

 

To Be Continued...