Ray of Light

❊ Chapter seventeen: Delilah ❊

March 6th 2017

Ray

"I'm Delilah," the new girl introduced with a smile.

"Ray," I replied, for once not being awkward. "You wanna sit here?"

I pointed at the empty seat beside me.

"Sure, thankyou," Delilah thanked me with a grateful smile as she sat down."Do I need an exercise book?"

"Yeah, I'll go get you one," I quickly replied, standing up.

I went to the back of the classroom and opened the cupboard. I smiled softly to myself as I thought of her and I felt a fluttery feeling in my stomach. I'd never seen a girl like her. I'd never felt so excited to talk to someone before.

"Ray!"

I jumped upon hearing my name being called. I was sat in craft services, head resting on my hand as I stared into space. Sebastian and Anthony Mackie were stood not far away, clearly waiting for me.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Who were you daydreaming about?" Anthony asked with a grin.

"Oh, nobody," I replied, standing up.

That was a blatant lie. Neither of them looked, convinced, but Seb changed the subject anyway, saying, "We have a scene to shoot soon, me and Anthony were gonna go practice."

"I'll join you," I offered, going over to them.

~~~✸~~~

Scarlett

"Have you noticed how Ray's acting?" Sebastian asked me and Evans, coming over to us once all the work that day had been wrapped up.

"Yeah," Evans chuckled. "She's stuck in a daydream."

I cocked my eyebrow with confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

I'd not spent much time with her that day due to being busy with other things.

"Me and Mackie tried talking to her this morning whilst she was at craft services and she just wasn't in this world," Sebastian replied with a smile. "Like she was thinking of something. Something good by the look on her face."

"I think she's got a crush on someone," Chris said.

"Like who, Tom Holland?" Seb joked.

I laughed, unable to imagine Ray Hopkins and Tom Holland dating.

"I very much doubt it," I put in.

"You should ask her," Chris suggested to me. "If she's gonna tell anyone, it's you."

I shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm dropping her home, I'll ask her," I replied with a smirk. "See if she really does have a crush on someone."

~~~✸~~~

"So, you got any news or anything?" I asked Ray as I drove her home.

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, confused.

"What am I forgetting?" she asked.

I laughed.

"I just wondered."

Ray bit her bottom lip and fidgeted with her hands. We were in silence for a few minutes until she suddenly asked, "How do I know if I like somebody?"

Ha, bingo!

"I guess you feel differently about them," I replied. "It's not like loving a family member, it's a different feeling."

"Like, nervousness?"

"Usually. You find yourself thinking about them a lot. And your friends will probably notice a change in you around them."

"Oh..."

I glanced at Ray as she stared ahead, brain working furiously.

"Do you have a crush on someone?"

I couldn't hold in the question any longer. Ray blinked a few times, until she finally replied, "Maybe...?"

I smiled.

"Do you wanna tell me about him? Or her?"

Ray smiled suddenly.

"It-it's... It's not a boy."

"Is it a girl?" I asked, pride starting to glow in me.

"Yeah," Ray admitted. "I-I'm not lesbian, I don't think, but- No, I might be, but I don't know-"

"I'm not bothered who you like. Like girls, boys, non-binary, whoever."

Ray smiled at me gratefully.

"She's also trans," Ray added.

"Really?"

"Yeah, boy to girl. She's new to school."

"So that's why you've been so dreamy all day then, huh?"

Ray looked at me, shocked.

"How did you know?"

"Sebastian told me," I laughed.

As I drove, I spotted a McDonalds. Honestly, I just wanted to sit in the car and talk to her all night about her crush.

"Hey, how about we get a McDonalds?" I suggested.

Ray laughed.

"Wow, you really are interested in my crush," she said, no hint of sarcasm whatsoever in her voice.

"No idea if you're being sarcastic there, but yes I am," I chuckled.

Ray grinned.

"Sure, why not. I haven't had one for years."

We drove into the drive thru and ordered our food. Neither of us wanted too much to eat, so we both just ordered a portion of fries and a drink. Ray also ordered an ice-cream, which to my surprise, was actually available. I parked the car in a quiet corner of the car park whilst we ate. I listened to Ray talk about her crush - whose name I found out to be Delilah - then when she started to express worry about telling people that she liked a girl, I quickly assured her that it was okay.

"It's just, what if people think I'm weird cause I don't like boys?" she fretted, before eating a few more of her fries.

I looked at her softly and gently put my hand on her knee.

"You can like whoever you want. If you know your own value, nobody else's opinion really matters."

"It's just that I'm nearly 16 and never really... loved anybody like this before. I've dated boys before, sure, but that was just cause I needed to be normal. None of them ended well," Ray sighed.

I couldn't really imagine the confusion the teen was going through. When I was a teenager, you dated boys and that was really it. Now there was so much inclusivity in schools, where teenagers could be free to date who they wanted. The hurdle was figuring out who they wanted to date.

"I know that I'm probably not much help in figuring this out with you, but if you ever wanna just vent, don't worry about me judging you," I offered.

Ray smiled at me.

"You're always so nice to me," she commented.

"I hope I am," I replied with a smile.

She reached over and hugged me. I rubbed her back gently as she hugged me.

"My life has changed so much in just a couple of months," Ray said.

"For the better?"

"Yeah, and I'm so glad it has."

"So am I sweetheart, so am I..."