Thankfully, Quinn didn’t o go to a hospital. She was, however, furious, her jaw ched as she patrolled the park for the dickheads who’d viciously shoved her dower slide. Every step she took, every sharp turn of her head, radiated simmering rage.

  Perhaps it was best for all involved that she couldn’t find them. She might have murdered them on the spot.

  Sooner rather than ter, mostly due to the mood, the three decided it was time to head out. The day’s fun had soured, cut short by anger and pain, and there was no point stig around to stew in it. They piled into Quinn’s car, the tension lingering like stati the air. But instead of suggesting they go home, wanting to salvage their day, Quinn turo the girls, her voiexpectedly light, “Why don’t we go to a drive-in? Since Sarah’s parents won’t be expeg us for a few more hours, we have a little bit of time. Frankly, I really don’t want to have to expin why we’re back so early.”

  “I—I’d like that,” Sarah murmured, gng at Quinn with . “Are you sure, though? You went through something truly awful today. Remember that my mom baked an apple pie? A slice of her yummy pie might make you feel better.” She chewed her lip nervously, waiting for a response, her worry palpable.

  Leona frowhe suggestion hanging in the air like a questioher of them wao answer. While the pie might be sweet, her parents were anything but!

  Qui out a short, brittle ugh, easing the tension just enough. “I’m pissed off, even now, and I mean REALLY! But I’m not letting those piss ants ruin my day. It’s not my style to let anyone mess with my head or make me feel like a victim. If I ever see them again—well, they’d better hope I don’t ever.” Her grin was sharp, dangerous, and for a moment, the car felt like a p.

  Sarah chuckled nervously, trying to lighten the mood. “I ’t wait to share Mom’s pie with you—the both of you—but more than that…” Her voice softened, and she turned her eyes to Leona. “I just want to be out with you as long as possible, so I’m fih hanging out more. Quinn’s right—let’s not tell my dad about what happeoday. If he finds out, he might never let me go out again, especially with you two.”

  Quinn nodded quickly, her expression serious. “Yeah—he probably wouldn’t trust me again, or this city, especially if you told your parents what I just said.” She barked a ugh and shot Sarah a wry look. “Sad truth is, he’s ly wrong. Things are getting worse in San Isidro. Creeps like those jerks do hang around. But don’t worry—we keep those kinds out of our raves. You weren’t in any dahere. You couldn’t have picked a better oo try the se out.”

  Leona winced, remembering how Robbie had been mauled by his old fme at her very first rave. She g Quinn, frowning. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Quinn—”

  Quinn shook her head, cutting Leona off before she could finish. She could already read the dire of Leona’s thoughts, and the st thing any of them needed was Sarah’s father finding out what had happe Leona’s first rave.

  Leona swallowed her protest, f a weak smile as she g Sarah. “But, Sis… you say raves are safe, but your friends there seemed kinda rough around the edges.”

  “Nah!” Quinn threw her arms out, exasperated. “Tough oside, total sweethearts on the inside. You know better than that, now Leona. Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

  “That’s true,” Sarah said with a bright smile. “Most people are better thahink.” Her innoce was radiant, so ge was almost painful.

  Leona sighed, studying Sarah’s face, torween admiration and fear. That’s a little too optimistic, even for her, she thought. But she’s so cute… She reached out, taking Sarah’s hand, squeezing it gently.

  The thought of anything happening to steal Sarah’s innoything that could make her cry—made Leona’s heart lurch. But this time, at least, things had worked out. Sarah was still untouched by the darker side of the world.

  For now.

  SeaView ema had been a mainstay in the San Isidro area for close to three decades now. It was the site where tless wonderful memories were made: from young couples on first dates, to parents esg for a Leave-The-Kids-With-The-Babysitter Night, and older couples celebrating golden anniversaries.

  Sadly, like so much else in the area, the currey of the drive-ier didn’t live up to those memories. Ma and ownership had ged hands too many times, and what was once a bastion of indie and art-house films had slowly been repced by more lucrative blockbusters. The distinctive character and charm of the pce had been squeezed out, repced with something more homogenized. More corporate.

  Everywhere you looked, there were ads—dies, soft drinks, posters for the Big Thing. The assault wasn’t just visual either. Evetle speakers they handed out to py the movie’s audio were taihey never fully turned off, f endless loops of pre- and post-sing ads.

  The only reason Quinn even sidered bringing them to SeaView was because she knew some of the cession workers. They also worked the rave circuit. Not the best employees, maybe, but they loved the movie-going experience, and plenty of them dreamed of making films themselves. A few had even asked Quinn if she’d let them use her tracks for a ses, but she’d deed, figuring her music wasn’t quite right for their projects.

  After paying for admission and pig up their speaker box, the three pulled into a parking spot well ahead of the sing. They had time to kill.

  Quinn g Leona, her expression serious. “Hey, squirt. Why the long face?” Before Leona could respond, Quinn turo Sarah, her smile lightening. “Sarah, chill out here while we grab some cessions. What do you want? A hot dog or two? Chi strips? Some pop? Something to drink?”

  Sarah tilted her head, thinking. “Um—do they have any pizza? And maybe a soda?” Then she frowned, puzzled. “Wait, why ’t I e with you? We’re here together, aren’t we?”

  “Pretty sure they’ve got pizza,” Quinn said with a ugh. “It’s just sister talk. Wao check if Leona’s okay after my ragic demise earlier.”

  Sarah’s eyes softened. “Oh, I get it! I wasn’t thinking about how she’d feel.” She threw her arms around Leona in a tight hug. “She’s absolutely right! Go have your talk. I’ll keep busy. Plenty to see here, anyway.” She poi the tral movie s pying trailers and local ads.

  Leona blushed, her heart thudding. Sarah was so cute, way more than she could ever hope to be. The sudden urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming.

  Quinn waited, smirking as Leona gazed into Sarah’s cute eyes, her heart pounding. When nothing happened, she shook her head. “Alright, enough with the googly eyes back there!” She vaulted out of the car, ughing. “!”

  Leoated, then bounded out after Quinn. Sarah chuckled as she watched them go, but there was a questioning look in her eyes she couldn’t quite shake.

  Ohey were weaving through the cars toward the cession stand, Quinn took Leona’s hand. “Alright, you wao know what I’ve got on my mind, right? Let’s talk. You’ve been ag awfully emo.” She tweaked Leona’s h a teasing grin. “I know you were scared when I went down that slide headfirst, but that’s not what I really want to talk about—and I know it’s on your mind.”

  A ercial suddenly bred from the speakers, interrupting them. “Exteerprises: Always look for silver linings!”

  Both of them gred at the s as it shifted to an ad for a local restaurant. Leona shook her head and admitted, “I was hel scared. I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do. Nothing at all—” Tears slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them.

  Quinn immediately ed her arms around Leona, holdiightly. “A, it’s okay—that’s life sometimes.” She held her little sister for a long moment, then patted her head gently. “Things happen, and w about what might happen or dwelling on what’s past—it’s not good for you. Got it?”

  Leona sniffled, her lips twisting into a weak smile. “This from the berserker who went on a rampage, looking to sughter those guys who messed with you?” She ughed softly, the sound a little ragged but real.

  “Hey now, you bme me for that?” Quinn protested, fshing a grin. “Still, I ’t believe those assholes got away after what they did. But holy, what I really wao talk about was you.” Her tone softened, growing more serious. “I’m just gd Sarah didn’t find out your secret at the ark. If my fat saved you from being outed, I’m happy enough.”

  Leona rolled her eyes, though a chuckle slipped out despite herself. “Your life is worth way more than a stupid secret, idiot.” Her smile faded as she exhaled, tension creeping ba. “Anyway, when I look into Sarah’s eyes… I want to kiss her—and I regret keeping things from her. I’m scared of what she’ll think when I finally tell her, but I think—”

  Qui out a low whistle. “So yoing to tell her?” She cocked an eyebrow. “If her parents catch wind of it, you know what’ll happen. They don’t seem like the ‘we’re-all-God’s-children’ type. I’m not sure it’s for the best.”

  “I don’t know… they seem like det enough people, if really strict—” Leona muttered, though even she could hear the uainty in her own voice.

  “Yeeeah,” Quinn drawled, leaning in with a smirk, “when you say it like that, it sounds more like you’re trying to vince yourself than me.” Her expression turned uncharacteristically thoughtful, and Leona’s stomach tightened. She knew when Quinn was about to drop something big. “But Sarah…” Quinn paused, as if weighing her words carefully. “I’m ohousand pert sure about this—she’ll call you her best friend to your face, but her feelings go deeper than that. I think she likes you just as much, and it fuses her, so she’ll keep friendzoning you.”

  Leona blihe world narrowing to Quinn’s voice.

  “If you’re not out of the closet to yourself, it’s scary. And with parents like hers? I get it. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. If you want things to bloom, you’ll have to tell her at some point. But doing it now might end everything before it really starts. As things stand, nothing will happen if you stay quiet. But a word of warning—” Quinn’s eyes darkened. “If you try to date her without being upfront? It’ll blow up worse ter.”

  Leona’s gaze dropped to the ground, nodding softly. Quinn wasn’t usually this insightful, but when she wasn’t ag on impulse, she was sharp. Damn sharp.

  “Anyway,” Quinn said, g Leona on the shoulder with a grin, “let’s grab that food. Whe back… I think I’ll feel a sudden, pressio go to the bathroom.” She winked. “Whatever you decide, you two should be alone for it.”

  When the sisters returned with their food, Quinn passed Sarah her promised big foldable New York-style slice of pizza and a giant pstic cup of fizzy soda. Sarah’s grin stretched wide, her eyes glittering with the anticipation of a sugar rush. Leona, juggling a chili cheese dog and an equally rge cup of lemon-lime soda, carefully affixed the drink in one of the pop-out cup holders extending from the tral armrest box. The subtle tremor in her harayed the nerves she was trying to suppress.

  “Enjoy your food. It’ll be a bit before the show starts, and gosh—” Quinn patted her stomach with exaggerated drama, grinning mischievously. “All that water I swallowed must be catg up to me. Be back when I get this settled.” She pointed emphatically at her waist.

  Sarah doubled hing so hard she nearly dropped her pizza, clutg it in one hand and her soda iher, barely maintaining trol. “That’s so gross!” she giggled, her shoulders shaking.

  Leona gri the se, her eyes sparkling for a fleeting moment, but the tremor in her chest persisted. Her heart was rag. Quin, surprisingly graceful for someone usually all limbs and chaos, was still punctuated by exaggerated strides—an absurd pantomime desigo sell her excuse.

  When Quinn disappeared into the distance, Leoled into the seat o Sarah. For a while, there was nothing but the fortable sound of their quiet breathing, and the occasional slurp from a straw, their eyes meeting and exging warm smiles. The intimacy of silence ed around them, unspoken words hanging in the air.

  The annouhat the movie was about to begin suddenly bred through the radios in the cars, shattering the moment. Sarah goward Leona, her brow furrowed with curiosity. “Did you settle things? You seem happier now.” Her voice was soft, but teasing, and she added with a giggle, “Your sister seems tough, but silly.”

  “Yeah—we did,” Leona answered, her throat suddenly dry as she took a long pull from her soda, the cool citrus not enough to soothe the fire growing in her chest. She gnced away, then back, gathering ce. “Um… Sarah, y’know—there’s something I want to tell you. And I hope you’ll whisper with me—” Her voice dipped to a near-whisper, trembling slightly.

  Sarah’s smile faded, repced by a ed frown. “What? Is Quinn still hurt? Does she o go to the hospital after all?” Her brows drew together in worry.

  “No—it’s nothing like that. It’s… I’m… something about me that—it’s ued, maybe—” Leona’s face flushed, her pulse r in her ears as she edged closer to the brink of fession. The words felt heavy, as though they might break her on the way out.

  Sarah studied her for a moment, then broke into a bright smile. “You’re way too cute right now.” She paused thoughtfully. “You’re emotionally strong too, but—oh Lord, are you a Satanist?”

  Leona nearly fell over, her head jerking to the side as if Sarah had physically struck her. “What?! No!” she yelped, aghast. “Your parents might think that if you ever bbbed about this, but no—I’m a good person!” Her protest was vehement, desperate to dispel the absurd accusation.

  Sarah waved her hands in frantic apology, ughie herself. “I know you are, Leona. You’re my best friend.” Her voice softened, eyes wide with siy, before she hesitated. “No, I ’t pretend—I think I already know what yoing to say to me—”

  Leona’s stomach twisted, her eyes widening. “You do?!” How I be cute if she’s already guessed my secret?!

  Sarah nodded, her fidence surprising. “I want you to know I still want to be your friee this, but I—I don’t think I really like you the way you wao.” Her gaze fell, and she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

  Leona’s mind raced. Wow! She figured out that I like her? That’s it?! Wait, but isn’t that actually a huge deal?! I wao be my girlfriend! She blushed furiously, scrambling tain trol. “Y-you think I li-li-li-like you?” Her eyes darted anywhere but Sarah’s face, her heart pounding.

  Sarah’s eyes wideears pooling as her voice wavered. “You—you don’t?” Her lip trembled. “I—I—I thought… You know—I was a fool to think that you’d—”

  Leona giggled softly, shaking her head, and pced a haly on Sarah’s shoulder.

  Could it be that she’s ag like some kind of tsundere? Saying things she doesn’t mean?

  “No—it’s not that,” Leona murmured, her voice steadying as the words she feared most tumbled forth. “I’m just… literally not who you think I am. That’s what I really wao tell you.”

  Sarah blinked, her head tilting. “You’re not—?” Relief flickered across her face, but fusion lingered. “I don’t uand, but I’m relieved it’s not—y’know—what I thought.”

  Leona exhaled shakily, gripping Sarah’s shoulders. “Biologically, I’m a boy. I wasn’t born a girl. I mean—there’s still that part of me that’s a boy’s, but… well, I o tell you before I burst.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened further with each word until she backed against the door, her hand fumbling with the tch. Then, to Leona’s shock, she burst into untrolble ughter, sppihigh and shaking her head, her ughter rising until it filled the car.

  Leona’s heart lurched, her throat tightening as her mind spun with panic. She hadn’t expected this. Not this.

  “Oh, oh wow! That’s… That’s so weird! I’d never have guessed, Leona… But it’s good! Weird, but sooo good!” Sarah beamed, her face lighting up as if a weight had lifted. “And if you’re actually a boy, that means there was no reason to worry so much!” Without hesitation, she threw herself at Leona, snuggling against her chest with surprising tenderness, her arms ing around her in a fierce embrace.

  Leona froze, wide-eyed, her mouth slightly agape as Sarah led in, giggling softly. The warmth of Sarah’s body pressed close, and the damphat spread against Leona’s shirt told her Sarah was g. She felt Sarah’s fingers knot into the fabric, holding on as if she might vanish. “Mmm… Leona, I’m so happy right now—so much that I ’t properly express it.”

  Stunned, Leona could only gape, her heart stuttering in fusion. Slowly, as the weight of Sarah’s words settled in, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Blushing deeply, she finally lifted her arms, ing them around Sarah with a gentle, protective warmth. “I-I’m happy too,” she whispered, though a strange sense of unease curled in her chest. “But… why were you worried?”

  Before she could press further, Sarah lifted a hand aly pressed it to Leona’s mouth, sileng her with a pyful smirk. “No, never mind that… What matters right now is that now I know the truth, I finally feel fortable with these feelings.” She snuggled closer, releasing a bright, trumpeting ugh. Her eyes narrowed mischievously as she leaned back just enough to poke one of Leona’s breasts. “These boobs of yours feel so real—wait, they are real! Just pressing up against them didn’t really sink in until now. They’re not fake. What gives?”

  Leona blinked, stunned by the ued poke, and twisted her lips in thought. “You really don’t know?” She tilted her head, amusement flickerie her ay. “Like I said, I’m not a boy… at least, not in the way you’re thinking. I guess I’m kind of stu between.”

  Sarah’s brow furrowed in curiosity, leaning closer as Leona tinued, her voice soft but steady. “I’ve been on hormonal rept therapy—HRT—for three years now. It’s a medical treatment that helps me be who I really am. Someday, I’ll be a plete girl—with surgery. But I won’t be able to have kids if I take it that far.” Her voice faltered for a moment before she rushed on, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It never felt like the right time. I didn’t want to trick or lie to you. I just didn’t know how to express it.”

  For a moment, silence hung heavy betweehen, Sarah nodded, her expression softening. Without a word, she unched herself fain, ing Leona in an even warmer embrace. “I think I kinda get it,” she murmured against Leona’s shoulder. “It’s so weird. But I hope we still be really good friends.”

  Leona nearly short-circuited, her mind spinning in chaotic loops. Was it really going to be that easy? Somethi off, the pieot quite fitting, but Sarah’s hug was so genuine, so full of affe, it scrambled her thoughts. The wires in her brain tangled.

  Mumbling against Leona’s chest, Sarah’s voice was low and muffled. “I get that you didn’t feel like a boy, I guess—but holding you like this… it doesn’t feel real. There’s nothing boyish about you. Though I don’t uand it, I’ll trust what you’re telling me.” She pulled back slightly, her face flushed a deep crimson. “No, don’t you dare show me!” She blurted, cheeks bzing.

  Then, softer, almost shyly, she added, “Like I said earlier… I’m gd you were born a boy. I—um…” She fidgeted, eyes darting away before she gnced back up through lowered shes, her voice trembling. “Ever since we met, I’ve been happier. Y-you know?”

  Leona’s breath hitched, her heart poundiically. “Me too…” she said softly, meeting Sarah’s gaze. “I’m much happier now that we’ve met.”

  For Leona, the universe felt as though it had flipped entirely upside down. Could things get any weirder?