Rachel's Decision

Chapter 1: Caitlyn's View

Caitlyn walked into the party with her twin Noah. They had been part of different circles for years until they graduated from high school and decided that their two worlds could collide. She only knew of Rachel, Noah's other best friend, the reason she was at the party tonight. Noah had decided that it was finally time that they  met. Caitlyn was that out of the loop that she realized that she didn't even know who's party they were at. Noah had picked her up and driven here. An incredibly attractive girl came over and hugged Noah, kissing his cheek. "Hey Noah" she said, her voice sounding like...Caitlyn couldn't describe it but it sounded incredible seductive, but beautiful at the same time. "Hey Rach" Noah said. Caitlyn caught her breath. This was Rachel? her brother's best friend..."I want you to meet Caitlyn" he said, gesturing towards his sister. Caitlyn glanced shyly up at the shorter girl noting that her smile just made her that much more beautiful. "It's great to finally meet you" she said finally finding the words to say. Rachel smiled just as shyly back. "Likewise" Rachel turned towards the kitchen. "I gotta go get another few bottles of Coke out" she said apologetically. "I'll catch you later" she said before leaving.

It was a few hours later before the party was calmer, so Rachel could go and hang out with her friends. She plonked herself down next to Noah and on his other side was Caitlyn, who wished that the blonde was sitting next to her. Leaning across her brother to have a meaningless conversation with the girl, she took the opportunity to fully check her out. She had blonde, wavy hair that stopped just past her chest. Her eyes were a deep blue that made it look like you could see straight into her soul. She was wearing a hand made flower blue dress that went just to above her knee that on anyone else would look childish and immature but on her looked sexy as hell. Caitlyn wished for an opportunity to touch the girl. She wanted to feel her hair, if it felt as smooth as it looked. 

Caitlyn was bisexual. She had known since she was a young girl that she was also attracted to girls. But this was an attraction she had never felt before; with a guy or girl. It felt like she was already falling in love with Rachel. But she was hesitant. Rachel was Noah's best friend, so there was the issue of hurting their friendship. She also knew from Noah that Rachel had been in love with him for nearly two years, she didn't want to hurt herself. But Caitlyn knew that she wanted to test these waters, she felt something deep.

Caitlyn wasn't paying attention as a random girl sat in a chair with a glass bottle on the floor. "SPIN THE BOTTLE!" she shouted loudly. Rachel laughed. "Go get a second bottle and we'll play that way" she said. Another guy brought back a bottle and Caitlyn went bright red as both bottles were pointed at her. "One, Two, Three, SPIN!" the bottles spun for what seemed like an eternity before landing on a guy and a girl at different ends of the room. Caitlyn took a deep breath. 'relax' she said to herself 'it's not going to point at you two' and for a few turns it seemed like it wasn't. Caitlyn was just relaxing when the first bottle pointed at her. She laughed, hiding her nervousness as she normally did. She didn't notice the second bottle slowing, slowing, stopping at Rachel. The girls blue eyes turned to her nervous. Caitlyn wanted to kiss her, badly, but she was scared. Caitlyn bent over to the other girl her hair falling in front of their faces. "Do you want to?" she whispered softly to her. Rachel took a deep shaky breath "I can't" she whispered. Caitlyn nodded and sat back before shaking her head and the bottles spun again. 

Caitlyn let Noah say goodbye to Rachel. She couldn't face the beautiful girl. She knew that the best thing for them both would be pretend they'd never met. She hid her face in the car. Noah came in and instead of starting the car he turned and stared at her. "Why didn't you say goodbye?" he asked her. Caitlyn looked away. "Caitlyn, she's been looking forward to meeting you for ages and you snub her like that! Why? Did you hate her that much?" Noah said running his hand through his hair. Caitlyn took a deep shuddering breath before looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "I love her. I've fallen in love with her" she said simply. Noah looked at her. "Oh Caitlyn" he said. "Look, I don't even know if she's bi, straight or what. All I know is that she's possibly still in love with me" He said gently hugging his sister tightly. "But, if it's any consolation" he continued, a teasing smile on his face "She was bright red after you asked her if she wanted to kiss you, and she wouldn't be bright red if she was offended or humiliated by the idea" Noah said, giving Caitlyn some hope to grasp onto. "Can I ask you a favor?" Caitlyn asked wiping the tears away and making her voice sound more confident that she felt. "Anything love" Noah said kissing his sister's head. Caitlyn pushed her jet black hair out of her face. "Can you talk to her? Can you ask her what she is? If I have a chance? If I should just go away?" She looked at her brother. Noah looked at his sister for a long moment before nodding then turning and starting the car to go home. 

Caitlyn got home and went to bed. She needed some thinking space. She changed into her nightie and slid under the covers. Almost immediately after she closed her eyes Rachel's face appeared in her mind. She smiled, blushed bright red before closing her eyes and drifting off into a dream full of Rachel

Chapter 2: Noah's View

Noah rung Rachel as soon as he got home from dropping off his twin. Partly because he wanted to make sure she was okay after the party and party because he too was curious about whether or not she liked Caitlyn. He flopped on his bed as her phone rung. "Hey" Rachel's voice said tiredly. He could hear noises as she moved around. "What'cha doing?" he asked his friend, confused. She sounded as tired as he felt, so why wasn't she laying down? "Even though I had permission for the party, and even though there was no alcohol, Tom decided that at 2am he's coming over to make sure that everyone's gone and that the house is spotless and that there's no evidence of alcohol on my breath" Rachel sighed. Noah felt his heart sink. Tom was Rachel's older brother and ever since Rachel's dad had left Tom had made himself the father figure in their house and acted like Rachel was his daughter now. It drove her crazy. "Oh love" he said now. "You should have told us, Cait and I would have gladly stayed to help clean up and even stay over". He could practically hear Rachel shaking her head over the phone line. "He would have told you to leave, and besides, everyone was pretty cool about cleaning up their own mess seeing as nobody was drunk. It's just staying awake that's hard" She said sounding relieved. "And besides" she continued, sounding a little bit tentative. She took a deep sigh "I don't think she liked me".

Noah was confused. "We're talking about Caitlyn right? My sister?" he asked her. If only Rachel knew how untrue that was. "Yeah...After I said no to kissing her, she just started ignoring me". Rachel said sounding hurt. Noah sighed. "Can I come over tomorrow?" He asked suddenly. If he was going to talk to about this to her it had to be in person. Rachel was surprised. "Sure" she responded. "Is ten okay?" she asked. They finished their conversation before Rachel's doorbell rung and she promised to see him the next day.

The next day Noah walked in the back door of Rachel's house like he normally did. She was in the kitchen making something but her face had flour on it. "What mess are you making?" he teased as he shut the glass door behind him. She jumped nearly dropping the tin. "thought we could use a cake" she said laughing before putting the tin in the oven and closing the door. he grabbed a kitchen cloth and wiped the flour of her nose. "How was Tom last night?" he asked, warming up to the topic he came to discuss. Rachel sighed and shook her head. "Told me that next time he'd be coming to make sure it was all appropriate" she said before flopping onto the couch. Noah sat next to her before sliding his arm around her shoulder, "So, What'd you think of Caitlyn?" he asked her. Rachel (Noah noted with pleasure) blushed bright red. 

"She was...interesting" Rachel said softly. Noah wanted to laugh at her but he didn't. He smiled softly down at his friend. "Hey? can I ask you something?" he asked. Rachel laughed and nodded. "Would you  have kissed Caitlyn?" he asked softly. Rachel snuggled into him, hiding her face so that he couldn't see her blush more. ".....I wanted to" she whispered. "I thought she was beautiful, seeing her was the confirmation I needed to know that..." she sighed. "That I'm bisexual" she whispered before her shoulders shook softly. Noah held her fiercely. "There is nothing wrong with that" he said to her. Rachel turned to him with tears in her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to kiss her? with wanting to hold her, to be held by her? In my family there is everything wrong with that" she snapped. "Tom would seriously try and kill me if he knew" She whispered before breaking down. Noah held her and smoothed back her hair. Sometimes he wondered if this was the best thing to do for her knowing how she had felt about him for the past two years. But on the other hand he knew that he was the only person in her life who did that for her. Everyone deserved to be held and seeing as their was nobody to do that for her he felt he had a obligation to do it. When she calmed down he pulled her up to face him. "Hey, screw them okay? You do what you feel is right..." he paused for a second. "Did you want to kiss Caitlyn?" he asked again. Rachel nodded. "Then do it the next chance you get" he said simply. "But...She didn't like me" Rachel said sounding like the little kid she sometimes could be. Noah laughed and kissed her head. "Oh love, Caitlyn..she's...shy around people she doesn't know" Noah said quickly deciding that Caitlyn could be the one to tell her that she felt things for the girl. "Take a chance love" he said softly. 

He dropped by to see Caitlyn after he left Rachel. He knew if he didn't he'd get a call as soon as the next day to find out if he'd talked to Rachel. He flopped on her bed as she was cleaning up her room ready so she could find her books for Uni. "What brings you over here?" she asked excitedly, knowing why he was there. "Can't I see my twin?" he teased. 

Caitlyn shook her head. "Nope, gotta have a reason, so spill" she said flopping next to him. Noah took a sigh, rolled onto his side and supported himself with his elbow. He poked her nose. "She's scared Caitlyn, Her family is Homophobic, her brother would literally harm her if he found out she was even approached by 'one of them'...But, she knows she's bisexual, you showed her that the second she saw you. She likes you, alot. She's just cautious" Noah said to Caitlyn who was nodding seriously throughout his talk. She took a deep breath. "I feel like I should not feel anything for her just so she doesn't get hurt" Caitlyn whispered. Noah shook his head. "Nope, I told her she should take a chance" he said. "she should do something for herself, give herself a chance...I also told her" he said in a teasing tone "That she should do something about her feelings for you, give you a little shock..can't say when, or where, but she will" he teased as his sister went bright red. He got up, "I'm going to the bathroom" he said walking away as his sister walked to the window, smiling happily.

Noah was distracted by his sisters happiness as he walked into the bathroom. He forgot (which was unusual, but not unusual given the circumstances) to take his phone out of his pocket and as he pulled down his pants, his phone slid into the toilet before he could catch it. "Oh shit" he said as he realized it was covered in more than just toilet water. He had no choice but to flush so he could get his phone. He walked into his sisters room, "Can I borrow your phone? I kinda dropped mine and I need to tell Rach that I'll be getting a new one" he said. Caitlyn looked at him, a slow smile spreading across her face. "But then I'll have Rachel's number" she said. Noah laughed at her. "Well there's the silver lining hey?" he said, "Now you both have an excuse to make plans with each other" he said as he grabbed his twin's phone.

Chapter 3: Marissa's View

Marissa was hot and she knew it. Walking into her work, the local phone store she arranged her hair so that it made a cover over her large amount of cleavage showing. Her co-worker Travis stared at her. "Hey, Marissa, how's it going?" He said flirtatiously. Marissa laughed before blowing him a kiss and dropping her bag in her locker and walking back out to the counter. For the first hour of the shift she flirted with Travis just because there were no customers in the store. Then as she glanced out she saw a guy entering the store. He was hot. Jet black hair that looked like he hadn't even brushed it, greeny-blue eyes that just looked like they could stare into you forever, and his body looked sexy. She glanced over at Travis who was about to speak to the boy. "Travis!" she said loudly, "Break time". Travis looked at her before leaving reluctantly. She walked up to the guy deliberately pushing her hair away from her chest. "Hey, I'm Marissa, what can I help you with?" She asked, making the innuendo obvious in her voice. "Noah. I need a new phone...I kinda dropped mine in the toilet" he said embarrassed. She laughed. "No big deal, let's see what we can get for you" She said leading him towards the phone wall. 

Marissa spent over half an hour helping Noah choose a phone. As she ran through the purchase she had a thought. While Noah was distracted looking at some covers, she grabbed the phone and quickly logged in her phone number.  She then set him a alarm in the phone telling him to go to the local sizzlers. She knew he wouldn't resist her. She walked over, handing him the bag with the box, softly touching his arm. He looked at her smiling before saying goodbye and walking out of the store. Seconds later she got a text. "See you Saturday night" it said. Marissa laughed to herself before going on her break.

Chapter 4: Rachel's Date

Rachel was surprised when she got a text from Caitlyn. She didn't remember giving the taller girl her number. It turned out that Noah had broken his phone and that he wanted Caitlyn to tell her that he'd talk to her as soon as he got a new phone. Then a second text came through a second later. 'Rach, wondering if you wanted to come over Saturday night, got the latest Harry Potter movie and I wanted some company watching it? You can stay over if you want' Rachel didn't hesitate. She knew she didn't have to ask permission off her parents. 'sure, see you around six' she said before switching off her phone.

Rachel didn't talk to either of them until Saturday, so she had no idea that it was really Noah that had invited her over. She didn't realize that Caitlyn had no idea that she was even coming over. As she rung the door at the dot of six, she also heard Caitlyn's landline ring. "Bye Noah" she heard the girl say as the door unlatched. As she saw Caitlyn's face she couldn't help but have a massive smile on hers, and as soon as Caitlyn glanced up, she smiled back and her eyes shone.

"Sorry about the mess" the girl said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I had to go out earlier and didn't have time to clean" She apologized.
Rachel laughed. "Cait, this house doesn't look messy at all. It looks perfect." She said smiling. Caitlyn blushed bright red. "You hungry?" she said putting a pizza into the oven. Rachel nodded. "Awesome" she said, leading Rachel into the loungeroom before sprawling out on the couch. "You said you had the last Harry Potter movie?" Rachel asked curiously. Caitlyn nodded. "Yeah, have you seen it?" she asked. Rachel shook her head. Caitlyn got off the couch and bounced over to the DVD player. "Time to change that" she said.


It was about ten thirty before the movie ended and the two girls went upstairs. "Do you wanna have a shower?" Caitlyn asked the blonde. She shook her head. "I showered before I came here, do you want to take one?" she asked, hiding her head as she blushed at the suggestiveness of her sentence. Caitlyn shook her head. "I'll have one in the morning." She said as Rachel grabbed her pj's. "Where do you want me to go?" she asked. Caitlyn shrugged. "Change here if you want" she said somehow managing to make her sentence sound so casual and mean nothing. Rachel stared at her back for a second, before slowly beginning to change. As she was taking off her shirt it got caught on her earring. "ahh" she mumbled. Caitlyn turned, before seeing the girl and laughing uncontrollably.  Then as she stepped forwards to help her, she accidently brushed her arm against the girls breast. Both girls stopped breathing. Caitlyn hastily freed the girl before turning back to the wall and changing silently.

Rachel shivered as they slid under the covers in Caitlyn's bed. It had suddenly gotten freezing. Caitlyn stared at her before moving closer and wrapping her arms around her. Five minutes later she sat up before reaching for a remote and turning on a heater. "Is that better love?" she softly asked. Rachel nodded in the darkness. "yes" she whispered, pushing a strand of jet black hair out of the girls face before brushing her lips with her fingertips. Caitlyn opened her mouth a centimeter before sucking the finger gently. Rachel leaned closer to the girl before removing her finger and replacing it with her lips. She kissed the girl gently biting down on her lower lip, moving the hair from her face. Caitlyn opened her mouth a little wider, pushing her tongue into the kiss. They pulled apart a few moments later and Rachel closed her eyes, wrapping her arm around the other girl and her legs tangled inbetween Caitlyns. "Goodnight" she whispered.
Caitlyn returned the hold. "Night..." she said kissing her lips softly.

The next morning the girls awoke to smells of bacon and sounds of the TV turning on. "Caitlyn! Rachel!" Noah was calling. They looked at each other sleepily, untangled themselves and properly woke up. Caitlyn couldn't look at Rachel, she didn't know what the other girl was thinking. She was scared that Rachel would regret their kiss from the night before. Rachel knew that she wanted more of a chance with Caitlyn. She wanted to date the girl. They got up together and as they walked towards the door their hands brushed accidentally. That set Rachel on fire. She looked at Caitlyn's amazing green eyes before pushing her against the bedroom wall kissing her with passion. They kissed for about five minutes before Rachel pulled back, mussed her hair up sexily before walking downstairs smiling at Caitlyn sweetly. Caitlyn shook her head, feeling incredible as she followed...as she followed her girlfriend. 

ONE MONTH LATER…

TIME PASSES...IT HAS BEEN A MONTH SINCE RACHLYN AND NOSSIA (cute co-names no?) STARTED DATING...WHAT HAPPENS NEXT????????????

SIDE NOTE: IDEA

I need something Evil for Marissa to do to get Rachel out of everyone's picture, at this point I'm considering having a party where Marissa says to Caitlyn that she thinks that Rachel likes Noah leading Caitie to dump Rachel, then Noah chooses Caitlyn (obviously duh) over Rachel and leaves her, also choosing Marissa over her, then Marissa hooks up with Tom telling Tom "accidentally" about Caitlyn and Rachel, then calling a friend about it, having Caitlyn overhear, Caitlyn overhears, tells Noah, who breaks up with Marissa before Noah takes Rachel to Caitlyn's for them to talk, and Tom appears right as they kiss, makes them break up and takes her home banning her from Caitlyn...what do you guys think though?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5: Marissa's Plan

Marissa walked in the door of Noah's house, not sure what to expect. He had invited her over to meet his sister and his best friend. He had told her that he had been best friends with Rachel since High School, and that his sister Caitlyn, was his other best friend. He had also told her that Caitlyn and Rachel were together, just to avoid awkwardness he said. Marissa walked into Noah's room to find a blonde girl laying with her head on Noah's shoulder as he smoothed back her hair and a second girl with jet black hair spoke softly to her. Marissa cleared her throat as all three of them turned to her. The blonde sat up and looked away as Noah got up and kissed Marissa hello. "This is my sister Caitlyn, and this is our best friend Rachel" he said introducing the girls. The blonde nodded as the other girl smiled "Hey, we've heard alot about you" she said as Rachel sat there not saying anything. The wheels in Marissa's head started turning. "What are we doing tonight?" she asked, turning to Noah as the girls glanced at each other. "I thought we'd just stay in. It's Tuesday so there's nothing much to do out anyway" he said. Marissa shrugged and plonked herself purposely in between the twins leaving Rachel on the outer edge, who then sat up and folded her legs up to her chest and sat there silent. "So" said Marissa, "what were you guys talking about?" she asked. They all went silent. Nobody was willing to offer up the topic of conversation. Rachel cleared her throat; "That apparently some idiot wants to make a remake of Grease with Justin Beiber and Miley Cyrus in it" she said shaking her head. Marissa glared at the blonde. "That'd be awesome, Justin and Miley are amazing" she said. The blonde glanced down again, before glancing back up and looking at Noah, not letting her eyes turn away. He looked up and saw her, his expression softened and Marissa realized that Rachel must be in love with Noah.

It was later that night when Marissa got Caitlyn alone as they poured drinks for the others, she looked at the other girl pretending she knew nothing about her and Rachel. "What's their story?" she asked, nodding towards Noah and Rachel who were sitting on the couch talking, Rachel's eyes conveying some message that Marissa couldn't quite figure out. "They've been best friends since we were in year 12, we know her almost as well as we know each other" Caitlyn said guardedly. Marissa looked at her, "Really? cause it seems like she has feelings for him doesn't it?" she asked looking at them again. Caitlyn shook her head "No way, she's with me" she laughed smiling at Marissa. Marissa glanced puzzled at her before turning to the girl and whispering softly to her. Caitlyn stared at them for a few seconds before her expression closed over. "Excuse me" she said before walking away. A second later the blonde was pulled to her feet and dragged away. Marissa sauntered over and plonked herself next to Noah before kissing him. They were interrupted a few minutes later by a door slamming and Rachel appeared in the doorway.  

"I have to go" Rachel said, tears streaming down her face. Noah jumped up and went to her as Rachel shook her head and stepped backwards away from him before turning and running out Noah's house and slamming the door. Noah heard her house door slam a few seconds later.. Noah glanced at Marissa. "Can...you, give me a second?" he asked turning to the door his sister was locked behind. Marissa shrugged and settled herself on the couch; grabbing her phone. Noah stepped into his room.
"Caitie? What's wrong?" he said as his sister was laying on the bed. Caitlyn looked up. "You know what that bitch told Marissa?" she said with tearstained eyes. Noah shook his head before sitting next to his sister. "That she never wanted to be with me, that she was getting with me to spend more time with you but pretending that being with me was close to being with you". Noah wanted to not believe Caitlyn. He wanted to believe that Rachel would never say such a thing. But what was the alternative? Believing that his girlfriend would deliberately try and sabotage his friendship with his best friend, that she would try and sabotage his sisters relationship. He shook his head. "I don't want to believe this" he said softly. Caitlyn shook her head. "She didn't deny it....Maybe that's what she was crying about earlier" Caitlyn said. "Knowing that Marissa knew and that it was only a short space of time before her secret was out". 

Noah nodded slowly. "But Marissa just met Rachel, how the hell could Rachel have told her that?" he questioned slowly. Marissa opened the door and came in holding her phone. "She texted me saying that she was going to break up with Caitlyn tonight....That she had had enough" she said showing them the text. Her Iphone had Rachel's name and the conversation, which was intended, it seemed for someone else. Suddenly Noah's phone started buzzing. It was Rachel's home number. "I didn't...You need to believe that I didn't do that". Noah knew then, that because she said "I didn't do that" not, "I didn't say that" that she was lying and she had sent those texts. "It's over Rachel" he said into the phone. "You've hurt Caitlyn, You've hurt me, and we're done..." he said. He could hear Rachel crying into the phone. "Your...Your choosing Marissa over me?" she whispered. "You promised you'd never do that". Noah sighed. "Technically I'm choosing Caitlyn over you; and you promised you'd never hurt Caitlyn so all our promises are kinda void right now." He said angrily. Rachel took a deep breath. "Okay, fine, I'll go...It doesn't matter anyway" she said..."Thanks for keeping me sane the past three years, both of you" she said before hanging up the phone.

Noah turned back to his sister and his girlfriend. He turned to Marissa. "I don't wanna sound harsh, but I think Cait and I need some alone time" Marissa smiled before kissing Noah gently and then letting herself out of the house. Noah pulled his sisters head onto his chest and whispered softly over and over that it would be okay until she fell asleep.

Marissa had one more stop to make before she went home. Stopping her car six houses down at Rachel's she walked up to the door and rung the doorbell..An older, cute guy opened the door. "Yes?" he said looking at her, smiling slightly. "Hey, I'm Rachel's friend Marissa, she left her phone at Noah's and I thought I'd drop it off." she said as Rachel came into sight, she handed it to the blonde. "Careful love, You wouldn't want that to drop into the wrong hands" she said as Tom glared at her and she scurried away. "So, wanna have coffee?" Tom asked. Marissa smiled. "Tomorrow? Noon, there's a Starbucks about two streets away?" she said. Tom nodded and Marissa walked away. She really liked Noah and had no intentions of going out with Tom. She just wanted to make it so that Rachel would never be allowed near Caitlyn and Noah again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6: Tom's Date

Tom left the house thinking he was going on a date. He picked up a single rose, dressed nicely and got to the coffee shop a little early and waited for Marissa. When she got there, she plonked down next to him, wearing a short little dress. They talked about random things; nothing special. Then Marissa leaned forward so that Tom could see down her shirt. "I wanted to talk to you about Rachel". Tom looked at her puzzled. "I just wanted to say I think it's amazing how supportive you are of her and Caitlyn" she said smiling sweetly. Tom leaned back. "Her and Caitlyn? I thought she was with Noah?" He asked. Marissa shook her head. "Nah, I'm with Noah, She's been dating Caitlyn for the same amount of..."Marissa trailed off, a surprised look on her face "You didn't know?" she said, looking away, "I'm sorry, I always put my foot in it" she apologized. Tom looked at her. "Rachel's a lesbian?" he asked sounding...well..angry. Marissa paused, "I'm pretty sure they're both bisexual" she said, Tom glared at her.
"And that makes it better? In my opinion that makes it worse, I mean come on pick one or the other" he said standing. He put some money on the table. "Where are you going?" she asked sounding concerned. "I need some time to think; then I need to talk to my sister" He said leaving. Marissa hung her head for a few seconds until he was out of sight. Then she whipped her phone out.

"Naya, Hey it's Rissa, So. Tom just left, and he is pissed. Stage two complete, Next stage, waiting for Tom to lock her in her house or something crazy like that, he is a total homophobe" She laughed and clicked her phone shut and left the shop unaware that Caitlyn was working at the cafe; taking the money off the table and had heard every word spoken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7 - Noah

Caitlyn scurried out back after sticking her tip into her wallet. She grabbed the phone off the hook, luckily the manager was out, but she knew he wouldn't care anyway. He had the hots for her even though she had rejected him several times during the eight months she had worked there. "Noah, Hey, it's me" Caitlyn said when her brother answered his phone.

"Caitlyn, aren't you meant to be working?" Noah asked puzzled. He knew his sister had a shift at the cafe. He also knew that Marissa had been busy that morning. So far Rachel hadn't texted him, since Marissa had uncovered her secret. "I need to tell you something" Caitlyn said hurridly. Noah sat up. "shoot" he said, wondering what in the world was that important that Caitlyn would need to tell him at work. "Tom was just  in here..." Caitlyn began. Noah felt himself freeze.

"Is..Is Rachel okay?" he asked hesitatingly afraid of the answer. Caitlyn spoke to someone next to her for a few seconds. "Right now yes, cause I happen to know that she's at Tafe till 4...Noah, Rachel never said that to Marissa about using me, I'm pretty sure that Marissa stole her phone or something, because...because she told Tom about me and Rachel. That's who Tom was with" Noah sat there shocked for a few moments. "Rachel and I" he said automatically. Caitlyn ignored his grammar correction cause she knew there wasn't enough time. "Noah, Marissa called her friend as soon as Tom left and told her that her plan to keep her away from us was working, and that she knew Tom would lock her up or something. I'm scared for Rachel, but...I'm here till 6, I can't do anything. If you decide to stay with Marissa-" Caitlyn rambled until Noah cut her off. "Her Journalism course today right?" He asked abruptly. Caitlyn paused. "Yes" she said, "You remember where it is?" she asked her brother whose memory would fail him at the worst of times.  "I've been there how many times? I'll take her to your place. Her brother doesn't know where that is....I'll deal with Marissa on the way" he said before hanging up.

Noah jumped into his car, which Rachel had helped him research and buy. She really was the best friend any person could have. He slipped his phone into the bluetooth holder and started the engine. He arranged the GPS to direct him to Rachel's Tafe so that it'd be easier to drive. "Dial Marissa" he spoke loudly. He was angry. He was angry at Marissa for sabotaging his relationship with Rachel, for attempting to sabotage his relationship with Caitlyn, and for ruining Caitlyn and Marissa. But more; he was angry at Tom; how stupid he was for not accepting his sister, for hurting Rachel. For everything.   "Hey Baby" she said into the phone. Noah decided to ease into the topic. "Hey, so how was your morning? what'd you get up to?" He asked casually while following the GPS instructions. "I uh, went and hung out with a friend, we did facials" she said quickly, too quickly, proving to Noah that she was lying. "Oh, yeah? anyone I know?" He pressed. Marissa sighed, "Is something wrong? you sound like your accusing me of something" Marissa said sounding hurt. Noah laughed bitterly as he parked his car in the carpark near the journalism department. "Well, maybe the fact that I know your lying to me" he said angrily. "Wha....what do you mean?" Marissa faltered. Noah shook his head. "Well, next time you try and out my best friend to her abusive brother, make sure her girlfriend isn't standing behind you waiting to get your tip" he said loudly. Marissa stumbled for a few moments. "But she does still like you...Caitlyn's face said it all" She blabbered. Noah didn't say anything. "I'm breaking up with you. I don't know why you chose me, but...I don't want to talk to you - ever again...Oh, and if anything happens to Rachel, don't be surprised if Caitlyn tries to hit you...cause I'm not gonna stop her". He hung up the phone just in time to see Rachel walking across the path.

"Rach!" He called out. Rachel turned, tucking her hair behind her ear. Looking at him, she ran quickly across the lot to him. "I didn't..." she said quickly before being cut off by the tightest hug possible. "I promise it doesn't matter, and I promise it will never happen again". He said. He grabbed her bag and shoved it in the back. "We're going to Caitlyn's" He said abruptly. "Your brother knows" he said as he shut her door for her. When he sat down Rachel was staring at him. "Relax, he doesn't know where Caitlyn lives. I'm dropping you off, I'm gonna go and pack some stuff for you and your moving in with Caitlyn" he said starting the car. Rachel placed her hand over Noah's. "Thankyou" she whispered before starting to cry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8 - The Finale

Noah pulled up to Caitlyn's and handed Rachel a key. "Make yourself at home, have a shower, have a sleep, whatever you need love...I'll be back" He said reversing back out of the driveway once Rachel was out of the car. He drove along the three blocks to Rachel's house, where, thankfully, Tom's car wasn't in the driveway. He knocked on Rachel's door where her mum answered. "Hi Noah how are you?" Mrs. Hamilton asked smiling. "I'm okay Mrs. Hamilton, but I need to talk to you about Rachel...and Tom" Noah said looking directly at her. Mrs.  Hamilton's face faltered as she held open the door; shutting and locking it behind Noah. "How long have you known?" she asked as she led him into the kitchen and handed him a glass of water. "She came to school one day back in year twelve with bruises on her arms, and she just broke down...I promised her we'd make it okay" he said sipping his water. "How long has it been going on?" he asked looking back up. Mrs. Hamilton closed her eyes for a moment. "Since she was born. He didn't like that he wasn't the only child anymore....It got worse though when she was four and he caught her holding hands with her best friend...who was also a girl...then he got insane with how 'protective' he was, and seemed to be happier when she was alone...with no friends...I was so glad when she met you...Tom seemed happy cause she loved you...happy because he thought that was confirmation that she was straight..." Mrs. Hamilton shook her head. "I don't understand why an eight year old would be that homophobic..."

Noah shrugged. "That bit doesn't matter now...Rachel is Bi, and she's...well, she's in love with my sister." Noah said. "It honestly isn't my concern if you don't support your daughters sexuality, but I want to take her stuff and take her to Caitlyn's to live...it's not safe anymore...my...my ex told Tom about her and Caitlyn, and apparently he's ready to kill her." Noah said. Mrs. Hamilton put her drink down with a force. "I support and love my daughter, and I regret that I couldn't help her and save her from the pain she's gone through". She paused. "I don't want her to leave. But, I want to help her." she left and started walking up the stairs beckoning Noah to follow. 

It was a few hours later with a few boxes that Noah finally left to go back to Caitlyn's. As Mrs. Hamilton shut the boot, Tom's car pulled up next to Noah's. "What are you guys doing?" He asked sounding annoyed. Mrs. Hamilton beckoned her son inside. "Rachel's not living here anymore" she said. "I didn't say she could leave" Tom said angrily. He tried to open Noah's boot but he locked the doors. "She's leaving. She will be happier and safer. If you ever try and come near her again, I will call the police. Stay away from Rachel" he said walking towards his car and unlocking it again. He managed to open the door, "Oh, who cares if she's gay or bi...she's your little sister, you were meant to protect her, but in a loving way. You broke her". He said. Smiling at Mrs. Hamilton, Noah got into his car and drove away. 

Caitlyn got home from work and heard the shower running. Confused, she walked into the bathroom. "Hello?". The taps turned off. "It's me Caitie" Rachel's voice rung out. Caitlyn wandered in and grabbed a towel, "You okay hun?" she asked wrapping the towel around her girlfriend and kissing her head. "I will be" she said softly before kissing her lips softly. "Are you okay with me living with you?" she whispered. Caitlyn was surprised, but recovered quickly. "Happy about it...I was gonna talk to you about it before...." she trailed off. Rachel lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry Rachel, I shouldn't have believed her" she said hugging her tightly. Rachel shrugged. "it's...it's gonna be fine Caitlyn" she whispered as Noah's car pulled up.