Reflections in the Dark

Strangers to Friends, Friends to BFF's, BFF's to Lovers If asked, she'd say it was something they slipped into a little too seamlessly. If asked, she'd say it was the most unexpected and beautiful thing to develop in her life.

MJ's reflection stared through her, her features looking elfish under the dull glow of the theater. It blurred the details, but her main features stood stark against the glass: the glow of her skin and the wide-set red of her eyes, which weren't hers alone, stared back. I look so much like him; she used to think to herself. Now she emphasized the fact that she was her own person, and the face she wore was her own in all its beauty.

"MJ?. The voice opposite her interrupted her thoughts. Ren held her hand loosely, looking at her through the dim lights as the movie played on in the background, her skin screwed up around those dark brown eyes. The other girl placed a hand on her thigh easily, using her other hand to turn her face in her direction. "Baby, I lost you for a moment. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got lost in thought for a moment," MJ replied, tugging herself closer into the girls side.

Ren sighed, her eyes still on the screen, as she brought a hand to thread through the other girl's hair. "You know, sunshine, in all the times we've been together as friends as best friends, this," she said, motioning between the two of them, "is something I never thought would become something."

MJ sat up to look at her, eyes understanding as she met Ren's gaze.

The other girl had the most hard-headed crush she'd ever known and lived through. It had lasted years; she herself even pushed the girl to try and get something with the guy who didn't even give her the time of day. It wasn't until she accidentally found out about a sudden boyfriend the other girl had gained that MJ herself slowly began to change. Her need to protect became possessiveness; her aggression toward the other girl's boyfriend at the time turned to jealousy, but it was never jealousy for her friend; it was jealousy for all the boys who had been able to get her attention except her.

A few weeks after they broke up and a month after that, something changed between them again, and MJ at the time knew it wasn't with her. Ren was clingy—clingier than she'd ever been during their friendship—and after COVID came and they were separated, something changed again. While MJ knew she'd had feelings for the other girl, she never let it be known. She always kept it to herself, even when she saw the girl she liked pine for someone who didn't want her.

It was dumb; she had known it back then, and she knows it now, but seeing her friend happy was all that was going through her head back then; keeping her that way was all she tried to do.

Looking at the girl in front of her now, she knows she's grown. Gone is the young girl who would smile and giggle at the boy who didn't want her; in her place are her lover, her friend, and her confidant.

She's never been more grateful for the girl her starlight has become.

"Baby, you were you and I was me; the people we were back then couldn't have the relationship we have now; technically, we still can't, but we got where we are because of who we were."

She kisses the girl's hand, looking up at her through the darkness. "I'm sure the you back then couldn't love me the way the you right now can."

She kisses the girl's neck, then her cheek, easily maneuvering herself between the girl's legs. "The you back then was too boy obsessed, and the me back then was too focused on everything around her to think about what she truly wanted.

She leans forward, placing a small peck on the girl's lips.

"I'm certain you can agree to that at least."

Moving back to the girl's side, she smiled. "It's okay; you didn't know I was never expecting you too. I wasn't even expecting this relationship. In all honesty, I knew my feelings, but I also thought I had a good grasp of yours, and within that grasp, our relationship was never a possibility."

"Even back then, I never knew what I felt was viewed as wrong, and even now that I do, I don't think I would change that.

So don't focus on that; focus on the present and who we are now."

Ren sits in silence for a moment, stewing in her thoughts, the black of her hair shading what little of her eyes could be seen.

For a moment, MJ considers sitting up and checking on the other girl, but soft lips on the top of her head stop her in place.

"Thank you; I really needed to hear that."

"It was no problem."

The rest of the movie passes in a blur.

When they leave, they leave with lighter hearts and whispered promises. Something constantly shared between the two.