When I found Sixcia after that whole... ordeal, she was happily chatting with Ashley by the school's entrance. I walked over to them, where Ashley spotted me and started waving, though she still looked flushed.
"Are you alright?" Ashley asked me.
"Yeah, uh, Kalissa just wanted to talk." No doubt Ashley would have been worried after seeing me exit the class with someone who could throw me into space with minimal effort.
"Oh, okay, so you want to go hang out or something?" Ashley asked me. Any other day I would have said sure, but there was a bit too much that I needed to get off my chest.
"Sorry, I need to ask Sixcia a few things. I think we'll just head home for today."
"Oh, w-well, see you tomorrow!" Ashley waved at us both and walked away. I readied myself for what I was about to say and turned towards Sixcia.
"Uh... I need to talk to you."
"I gathered as much." She smiled. "What's on your mind?"
We started walking the path back to my house. I didn't know where to start. Whether to let her know how I was feeling, what Kalissa and I did, that the Love Box (at least, so far) was working. I was a mental mess right now.
I looked up at the sky, wondering what God chose to put me in this situation. Just as I was about to just stay silent the rest of the way like I always did, Sixcia spoke up.
"So, did something happen?"
I took a moment, breathed in and nodded.
"I, uh... Talked with Kalissa."
"Oh?" She smiled.
"Mhm... We, well, no, she uh..." I breathed in again. My feet dragged slightly on the sidewalk as I relived the memory in my mind. "We kissed."
Sixcia's smile only grew wider.
"Good for you!"
"Is it?" I asked. "I mean... I'm not..."
"Did you enjoy it?" She asked.
I looked away. This was way too vulnerable of a moment for my taste.
"B-But... I can't be gay." I insisted.
"Why?" Sixcia asked.
"You wouldn't get it."
"Maybe I would. You won't know until you tell me."
I looked at her. It was weird. Even though she was fully in her disguise, I felt like I was looking straight into those colorful eyes of hers. I clenched my fists, trying to give myself some strength.
"Six, my reputation is already pretty bad. I'm a coward, I'm shy, you know, most shy people can at least say they're pretty smart. I can't even say that much about myself. I'm... I'm worthless." I shrugged. "Imagine adding gay on top of that."
Sixcia turned her head. I could see the gears working in her mind.
"You're wrong." She replied suddenly.
"What?"
"You're wrong. About a lot of that, actually."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, for starters, would a coward have jumped in front of a moving vehicle to save a stranger?"
I recoiled.
"Sure, anyone would have done that! It was... It was the right thing to do!"
"Would someone shy have spoken to a girl twice their size and presented them with what I assume was something embarrassing?"
"Probably." I shrugged.
Sixcia took a step closer to me. Her scent, like flowers in spring, invaded my nostrils.
"Is the person who saved my life worthless? Am I worthless?"
I couldn't help but stare at her for a second before I put some space between us.
"I don't know. I mean, no. But..."
"And, the last question, is there something wrong with being homosexual?" She asked. My eyes popped open. "You seem to be quite adamant in not being that."
"No, no, of course not!" I replied. "I'm just... Other people think it's weird, you know?"
"Who?"
"Well, homophobes and shit." I shrugged.
"Have you met one of these people?"
"Not yet."
"Then," she stopped. We stood on the side of the road as countless students lost in their own worlds walked past us. "You're afraid of something you haven't even seen."
"... What do you want from me?" I asked with a sigh. I was getting tired of all of this, already.
"I don't want anything from you. You own me, after all." She started walking ahead. "But I would like for you to be happy."
In half an hour, we were back home. Mom was more than thrilled to see Sixcia come back, to the point where when I said she would be staying over for not one, but multiple nights, she didn't even question it. We barely talked. I flopped face-first onto my bed as soon as I reached it. Sixcia hovered, literally, over me for a bit.
"Could I share my opinion?"
"If you want to." I shrugged, my voice muffled as it was full of cotton sheets right now.
"Then I will." She stated cheerfully. "Listen, I believe you should give this all a try."
"Give what a try?" I turned towards her.
"... Being homosexual."
"You can just say 'gay' or 'a lesbian'. Saying homosexual feels like I'm in a science class or something."
"Oh, well, yeah, being gay."
I looked at her. The vesie smiled at me widely, teeth as white as could be.
"But..." At this point, I wasn't even sad. I was just... Confused. I turned over and stared at the ceiling. "Am I really...?"
"It sounds like you could be."
"How do you deal with this?" I asked.
"With being ho-, gay?"
"Yeah." I curled up a little. "What's the vesie take on all this?"
"Oh, no. I believe the word is "bigotry" right? That's not a thing in vesie culture."
"Wow." I was impressed. "I guess you guys are kind of perfect, huh?"
"No. Far from it." She shook her head feverishly. "Um... Don't you think there's a reason I left to come here, to the human world?"
"Sure, but I figured it was just because you felt like it."
"Partly. But, in truth, vesies are... I guess classist is the word. We have families that have been alive for hundreds of years and if you don't belong to one of those, you're nothing. Respect is inherited. So, to them, I'm nothing."
She shrugged with a sad smile.
I couldn't really respond to that, so I sat up, crawled over to her and threw an arm behind her back.
"Sorry. It was stupid of me to just assume you have no problems of your own."
"... You did say you weren't smart."
At that, I laughed genuinely for the first time in a while.
"Smartass." I quipped back at her before falling on my back. After the giggles settled, I kept my eyes up. "So. I might be gay."
Sixcia curled up next to me. Well, I guess owning her did have its perks if it meant she could act as an improvised pillow.
"You might be gay." She reaffirmed.