Chapter Text
The street was oddly quiet for a Saturday evening. Only a few cars going by every hour with the sidewalks deserted as the rain poured heavier and heavier. Streetlamps lit up sections of the sidewalk in a soft yellow glow, keeping areas engulfed in darkness where the light didn’t reach. Halfway down this street sat a small library. The windows were framed in light brown wood, with the window decorated up for Christmas, with fairy lights strung across the top, and tinsel draped over the books as they were arranged in a way to show off their colourful covers. They were sat atop a sparkly rainbow tablecloth, with boxes arranged to keep the books from toppling over. To the right of the window stood the door, a matching light brown wood with a semi-circle stained-glass window situated at the top of the door, allowing its patterned light to reflect when the light hits it a certain way.
Inside, the library is bigger than it may look from the outside. Just like the window, the interior is decorated for Christmas. To the right of the window is a Christmas tree, with baubles painted and created by the children in the community, small book baubles, gold and silver tinsel, and twinkling fairy lights, all topped off with a star on top of the tree. There is tinsel hung up from the ceiling, making the library feel cosy despite its size. In the back right corner is the coffee machine, the kettle, and an array of teas, coffees, and juices that can be made if, and when, they’re wanted by those sat in the seating area, either doing work, or just reading. On the back wall of the library, behind the many bookcases, sat a staircase, leading to the top floor that was filled with more bookshelves, and equally as decorative as the ground floor.
The library was fairly quiet, not many people visiting. However, in one corner of the seating area sat two girls. Sam had short blue hair with an undercut, blazing blue eyes, and dressed in a graphic t-shirt, blue dark wash jeans, a flannel shirt wrapped around her waist, and black, scuffed converse on her feet. To the right of her, her jacket, still a bit damp from the rain, was placed over the back of a vacant chair in an effort to dry off. On her left, sat the other girl, Phoebe, her hair was in a blonde bun that sat on the crown of her head, keeping her hair out her eyes as she was leaning on Sam’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth that she radiated on a cold December day. Phoebe was wearing a purple t-shirt that had small animals dotted around it. Over her shoulders was a scarf, placed there by Sam half an hour after they entered the shop because she could feel Phoebe starting to shiver. Her black leggings were tucked into her black Dr. Martin’s, helping to keep the cold away from her feet.
Over the speaker system played soft lo-fi Christmas music to create a calm, and serene atmosphere. A warm cup of tea was being cradled in Phoebe’s hands as she watched over Sam, giving her small noises of encouragement when she read over something particularly well-written. The relaxing sound of the crackling fireplace, quiet in the background, mixed with the ambience of the rain against the window gave the perfect white noise for studying. This was taken advantage of by a few students, sparsely littering the library’s two floors. Due to the warmth the fire was giving off, Phoebe was starting to fall asleep against Sam, her eyes closing slowly and her body relaxing, fingers becoming loose on her teacup in hand. Sam had noticed this and made a move to extract the cup before it made a mess on the floor. After placing it carefully on the table, she pressed a kiss to Phoebe’s forehead before continuing on with her work, the soft typing on her laptop helping lull Phoebe into a peaceful sleep.
An hour and a cold cup of tea later, the work was finished. Sam sat up and stretched her aching muscles to try and shake the oncoming cramp that she could feel creeping up on her as a result of being hunched over for over an hour. After carefully putting her laptop away, she went to go and wake up Phoebe, gently shaking her shoulder. However, this only earnt her a disgruntled groan in response.
“C’mon baby, you need to wake up. It’s already getting late” Sam had whispered, swiping hair that had fallen out of the bun out of Phoebe’s face, hoping the touch would be enough to wake her without startling her. Phoebe had taken this as a sign of affection and had leant further into her touch, softly smiling. “you’re leaving me no choice now Sweetheart, I’ve only got one thing left to do” a smirk was evident in her voice, as it clearly wasn’t the first time this threat had been used. Phoebe had shot up and out of her sleep, trying to glare at her girlfriend, but failing as she got caught in a yawn.
“Now that was just mean”, she grumbled, not a fan of being woken up from her slumber.
“Oh c’mon, I tried to wake you up nicely, but you didn’t budge” Sam retorted, her smirk turning into a genuine smile at the sight of her sleepy girlfriend trying to stay awake. “I didn’t actually tickle you, you brought that upon yourself last time”. This comment caused Phoebe to start packing up her things in silence, grabbing her coat from the chair, slipping it on and making her way to the door. Sam was not having this, she quickly grabbed her belongings, threw on her jacket and made a dash for the door, trying to catch up with her girlfriend who was already waiting in the snowy street.
Creeping up behind Phoebe, Sam grabs her waist and whispers in her ear “You know, it’s not safe for a pretty girl like you to be alone in the middle of a darkened street,” causing Phoebe to turn around and nearly smack Sam across the face, only being stopped by her wrist being caught mid-air by a laughing Sam.
“Now that wasn’t very funny”, the response falling on deaf ears as Sam continued to laugh at her.
“I was kidding baby, but really, it isn’t safe, at least wait for me next time before making a mad dash to the street”, concerned for the safety of her lover, Sam made a reach for her hand as they started walking side by side down the street, making both feel warmer in the cold, bitter weather of the outside.
Whilst waiting for the green man to appear at the traffic light at the bottom of the street, Sam broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between them. “Is it okay if we don’t hold hands now? I don’t want anyone that knows me to see” she paused and gestured to where their hands joined between them, “this, and tell my parents”. The silence between them was deafening as she waited for Phoebe to answer.
A soft sigh and a small “okay” was to be heard as Sam’s hand suddenly became multiple degrees colder. “But you do know you have to tell them some day? It’s been, what, five years now? We can’t keep treading quietly around them for much longer, it’s going to get even more difficult”. Phoebe was concerned about her girlfriend’s parents' reaction, but she just wanted the sneaking around to stop. She wanted to be known as ‘Sam’s Girlfriend’ and not ‘best friend’ anymore. It was getting annoying, but she knew the consequences of it if her parents were to find out. However, this didn’t stop her imagining a life where they could be open and free with what they want to do. A life where they could hold hands in places that were lit, cuddle on the sofa without anyone getting suspicious of them. It was a pain, but if it meant that her girlfriend wasn’t being kicked out of the house for the time being, then she’d put up with the stolen kisses here and there.
“I know I will, but what if they don’t support it? Heck, I know they don’t support it. The backhanded comments at the dinner table, the sound of disgust and the channel change when something even remotely LGBTQ+ comes on the screen. It gets so disheartening like I can’t actually be myself around them.” There was a wobble in Sam’s voice, small enough to pass by the usual ear, but to Phoebe, this was a sign that she was caught up inside her head, her brain going a million miles a minute, processing all the various ways that she could be disowned, forced away from those she loves the most, and possibly made to breakup with the love of her life. “Is it too much for me to ask them to love me unconditionally? To not judge me based on who I love?” The wobble becoming more evident by the second, Phoebe decides to jump in to save her from the embarrassment that would come from breaking down and crying in the middle of the street. The green man appears, and they start crossing, and after making it safely to the other side, she continues their conversation.
“Hey now, we’ll figure this out somehow, you’re still the same person that they raised. It has nothing to do with you, we all know you can’t choose who you love. Who would choose to get bullied, or outcast, disowned, hell, even killed in some countries?” This seemed to have the opposite affect she was wanting as she could see the tears starting to make their decent down Sam’s face. It ate Phoebe up inside to know that she helped cause those tears to surface, but she pushes through. “And if anything, you’ve got my family, they support this and would honestly do anything to help you, to help us. If worse comes to worst and you get kicked out, my parents won’t hesitate to let you live with us. They love you, I love you. So please don’t let this be the end to the last 5 years” Phoebe was practically begging Sam at this point, only a few steps away from Sam’s house now.
“I’ll tell them” the reply was soft, nearly missed as a car drove by, but phoebe heard it clear as day. “I’ll bring it up at the dinner table tomorrow” Her voice was shaky, but she had calmed down slightly on the walk back home. This brought a smile back onto Phoebe’s face. After giving her one last hug a small whispered “I love you” in her ear, Phoebe walked down the street in the direction of her house, leaving Sam to walk down the small path of their front garden to her front door.