Act one had just ended, and Alex was having the time of her life. She loved getting up and singing, performing, in front of an audience, even if it was a small one. She loved the feeling it gave her.

"Hey, weirdo." Alex broke into a smile.

"Hi to you too Kata."

"You're doing amazing up there." Alex smiled wider and blushed.

"Thanks."

The two girls fell into step with each other as they went into the classroom. Kata perched herself up on a table, and Alex, finding that all the chairs were covered in clothes, soon followed suit.

"You know," Alex said softly. "It was really sweet what you did for Mr. Benj." Kata shrugged but smiled slightly. The two friends sat in silence for a moment, both of them thinking their different things. Kata looked over at Alex, brow furrowed.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I think you might need to fix your hair for the second act." Alex's hands flew up to her head. She could feel the fly-aways that were supposed to be tucked neatly into her half up/half down style. She looked in the mirror and took the rubber band out of her hair, along with the bobby pins after realizing how messy it looked. Her cheeks turned slightly red from awkwardness.

"Um, I can't really do my own hair," she said. Kata laughed. "I'm serious! I can do other people's hair, but I can't do anything but a ponytail to mine!"

"It's fine, I'm the same way," Kata reassured her friend. "I'll help you out."

Alex immediately regretted saying anything. Why couldn't she have asked one of the makeup techs for help? Last time Kata did her hair, Alex's stomach got fluttery and she wasn't sure she really wanted to feel like that again.

Nevertheless, Kata came up behind Alex and began fixing her hair. Alex glanced at her friend in the mirror and blushed. Kata's lips rested in a small smile, the kind of smile that Alex couldn't help but grin back at. The kind of smile that made her feel all funny inside. But if she was being honest, her insides always felt all funny around Kata.

Kata tied off Alex's hair and turned to face her. She brought her hand up to Alex's face and gently slid her thumb across it. Alex blushed harder if that was even possible, and her heart started flopping all over the place no matter how much she told it to sit still.

"Sorry, eyelash," Kata explained. Alex felt like she should move or at least say something, but her mouth was dry and she couldn't tear her eyes away from Kata.

Had her eyes always been this pretty?

Alex stared at Kata and felt herself wanting to lean forward...

"Um, Alex, you good?" Alex pulled herself out of her thoughts and nervously chewed her bottom lip as she forced herself to look away, hoping that her racing heart would calm down.

"Uh, yeah, yeah I'm good," Alex replied awkwardly.

Crap what was Kata doing to her?

"Okay..." Kata said, giving a look of concern to her friend. Alex felt like she needed to offer some explanation for why she was acting weird, but truth be told, she didn't have one. Lucky for her, Zoe walked in and told Kata that Mr. Benj needed her. Kata threw one last worried look at her friend before exiting. Alex stared after her. Zoe looked at her thoughtfully.

"Do you have a crush on her?" she asked, softer than Alex had ever heard her speak considering the fact that Zoe was in command of every situation ever. She was in control of everything and that included her confident, commanding voice.

"What? No! Who?" Alex exclaimed nervously. Zoe came over to Alex and propped herself up on the table.

"I think you know who," replied Zoe gently, sadly almost. Alex turned crimson.

"No, I-"

"It's not healthy to be in denial of your feelings, you know," Zoe said lightly. "I freaked out too when I had my first crush on a girl too. It's scary, but there's nothing wrong with it."

Alex bit her lip. She wasn't gay, and she didn't have a crush on a girl- but she did really like it whenever Kata got close to her.

That didn't mean Alex liked her like that though.

"I don't- I don't have feelings for a girl." Zoe looked at her doubtfully but didn't say anything. Alex tried to block out everything going through her mind, but it wasn't working. She tried blocking out all the feelings she got whenever Kata was around.

"Kata's really cute, don't you think?" Alex couldn't help but smile as she thought about the way Kata drummed her fingers on the desk whenever she got bored. The way she made Alex laugh- the way Alex could make her laugh. Or the way she would start rambling whenever she got nervous.

Kata really was pretty adorable.

"Yeah." Alex sighed. Zoe looked at her knowingly. "Wait! I didn't- I mean- um-"

"Alex relax. I'm not going to say anything to anyone. It's okay." Zoe saw that Alex still looked freaked out. "Alex, it's okay to like girls, you know that right?" Alex swallowed hard. She was incredibly accepting, but the thought of having a crush on a girl scared her. What would her mom say? Would she be mad?

No. That didn't matter, because Alex only liked Kata as a friend. Nothing more.

"Alex." Alex tried to tune out Zoe's voice. Her stupid inaccurate voice. "I've seen the way you look at her. The way your face lights up whenever she's around. The way you talk about her like you think she's the most amazing person in the world. I've seen how you act whenever you two are together, it's like no one else in the world exists." Alex squeezed her eyes shut. Kata was only a friend. She was only a friend. "Just- try not to keep all your feelings down, it can be really hurtful to you. Also, know that I'll be here if you figure out that maybe you like her as a little more than a friend." Alex didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Zoe offered her a small solemn smile and put her hand on Alex's shoulder who barely noticed it because of all the things pounding on the inside of her skull.

***

After she ate dinner, Alex found herself on her bed, sketching a rainbow over a meadow scene on a piece of notebook paper. Alex drew a deer and was about to move on to a bunny when she paused.

Mr. Spears had given the class an assignment to write a six-word sentence describing the state of mind they were currently in. Alex hadn't written hers yet because she wasn't sure what to write, but an idea had just popped into her head. She grabbed a black pen from her desk and hesitated before pressing it to the paper.

A tornado of colors, my head.

She paused again. There was something missing in her picture. Then she knew. She slowly sketched out two little drawings in the corner of the paper. Two flowers.

A carnation and a dandelion.

~

11/14/16
Dear Ocean,
At the bottom of the ocean,
Dolphins stir up the sand,
To find hidden treasures beneath.
Wherever you go by me,
You throw all my emotions,
That don't want to be found-
Out where I can see them.
Out from the sediment.
I can bury them over and over,
But you just keep uncovering those things that make my heart race.
All the things I hide in the sand,
You somehow find.
Can I ask you one thing?
When everything goes flying-
Whenever you make me smile,
Whenever I see the things I try to hide,
Can you see them too?
Can you see my heart amongst the sand?

***

A/N: Has Alex finally stopped being an idiot? We'll find out in this episode of Glee!

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! If you liked it please consider leaving a vote/comment!

-Sunny <3