Viya and Gia (sidestory)

HL: This is a short story about Viya and Gia, a follow up of the Valentines Situationship art.

Link to their art: Situationship art :heart:

[None of the photography used in the following post is mine, credit to original photographers]

[I take full credit for the story]

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“I don’t like him.”

Giana’s brows furrowed in confusion. She glanced at the concert tickets she had gotten for Viya and Elon to his favourite band. She had even prepared outfit ideas and everything.

“You don’t like him anymore? You were practically in love with him yesterday,” she stated matter-of-factly.

Her best friend glanced away from her momentarily, “Yeah.”

She then scratched her nose. Giana’s breath caught.

“You always do that when you lie. Did you not like him?”

Her best friend shook her head, “No. I never really liked him.”

Giana’s frown deepened as she tried to grasp what her literal best friend of seventeen years was telling her.

“Let me get this straight,” the bite in her voice made Viya visibly shudder, “You never really liked your boyfriend who I broke an arm and a leg for to get you with and who you’ve dated for nearly four months now even though you said you liked him?”

“Yes.”

Something within Giana cracked and she could feel the pain of rage ooze into her chest. She’s seldom been annoyed with Viya and she’s never been angry at her before. This situation was different. The person she thought trusted her and who she trusted with all of her being, had her coiled up in a lie. Giana felt betrayed and it hurt. It was a foreign feeling. Something she never thought she’d associate with Viya.

“You’ve been pretending to be in love with him? Why!?” her voice cracked slightly.

There was a few seconds of silence. There had never been such burning tension between the two of them. They had never been uncertain before, never doubted their trust and loyalty in one another. Giana could see how visibly uncomfortable Viya was. She could feel her chest ache, something beyond her own pain that wasn’t hers. Empathy, telepathy? Whatever it was, Giana could always recognise it as ‘Viya’.

Viya’s voice sounded so vulnerable, “You kept asking me if I like someone... I wanted to make you happy, so one day I just said yes. After seeing how excited you were about the fact that I finally liked someone, I didn’t have the heart to tell you that it was all a lie.”

Giana was at a loss of words. She felt as if someone had knocked the wind from her lungs. Viya had pretended to like a guy, because she had wanted to make her happy. Giana clenched her jaw, raw emotions burning in her stomach. Viya shouldn’t have done that.

“So… You pretended to like someone you didn’t? I wasn’t trying to make you feel like you ‘had’ to like someone.”

Viya didn’t reply. She just stood there, her hands holding the hem of Giana’s sweat pants, staring at a pink glitter-glue stain from their art project when they were seven.

Giana took a deep breath, thinking back to the whole year they had wasted on a boy her best friend didn’t even like, but pretended to for her sake. Giana ed the sneaky strategies to get them to talk, the stalking to see what he was like, the date ideas, helping Viya dress… How much they both enjoyed it, the smiles… It was all fake… No, it wasn’t. Viya had done it for her, it had never been about Elon. Viya was happy because Giana was happy. Giana had been happy because she was excited and happy for her best friend and been so in her element, so enthralled with the idea of Viya liking someone that Viya pretended and never once got herself to tell Giana the truth. Then Giana thought back to the time when Viya first told her she liked someone, or more like, said ‘yes’ when Giana asked. Giana ed how happy she was – how excited - and she ed the look on Viya’s face, that uncertain smile that was only there because Giana was ecstatic. That smile, that she should have seen through but was too busy screeching over how her bestie finally has a ‘crush’. And it was all, a ‘lie’. Viya never liked anyone.

Just to be spiteful, just to break the silence and get back at her a little, Giana asked, “Have you never liked ‘anyone’, Viya?”

This time it took Viya a few seconds to answer, but at least she replied, “I have.”

Giana’s jaw went slack. Viya had said it as if it would help the situation, but then why was Giana feeling as if she might split in half? She felt her throat constrict. Ouch, that hurt.

“Oh?! Have you now?!” Giana’s voice is sharper than intended, “And you never bothered to tell me?! Your best fucking friend? Why am I only hearing of this now?”

Viya shuddered, her expression that of guilt and shame. ‘Good’ Giana thought. Giana and Viya had been tied at the hip since birth, two halves of the same whole and Viya didn’t trust her enough to tell her when she liked someone.

“Our entire lives I have told you about each and every one of my crushes! I want to know when someone makes my best friend’s heart skip a beat. I want to make sure that she doesn’t get hurt. I want to make sure that whoever she likes is deserving of her! I want to be there to her! And you didn’t tell me. Why?” Giana had never been someone that would lay her emotions out on a platter, yet, she never really had an occasion to until then.

Giana’s eyes didn’t leave Viya’s face. She watched her best friend’s eyes tear up, watched her chin crinkle slightly, her cheeks redden, eyes diverted and slightly red. It made something withing Giana hurt more.

“I was scared of what you might think of me,” It had taken Viya a while to get it out and Giana could feel it, her body sizzling, chest tight, tongue, numb and she knew Viya was feeling all that.

A breath left Giana’s body and she took a step closer, the tension feeling a little more vulnerable now.

“Why would you be scared of what I would think if you liked someone-“

There was a click, a thought, a realisation when she said that. She knew exactly what it sounded like. Giana suddenly felt cold, chills ran through her bones. Fuck.

“Was it a girl?”

Giana didn’t receive the luxury of a verbal answer, but Viya having slid to her knees, head bowed in defeat and tears seasoning her carpet and the memories held within was answer enough.

Giana should have gone to comfort her, should have soothed the heartache she knew belonged to Viya, but something within her own heart tore. Something she just couldn’t ignore – a blurred line between rage and sorrow.

Was she the problem? Was she not enough of a best friend for her other half to have shared with her such an intimate detail about herself? Was she not enough for Viya to trust her with her feelings and her thoughts? With her sexuality? Giana didn’t realise she was crying until she felt a droplet fall on her hand from above.

The thought of not having been able to provide Viya with a safe enough space made Giana feel both inadequate and jealous. She felt a little dizzy, realising how emotionally draining the day had been. Giana felt like there was a wall between them, leaving her standing there, not knowing what exactly to say, do or feel, because Viya didn’t want her to know, but now she did.

Instead of yelling, which she considered, she opted for: “How long have you known you are gay?”

Viya’s small voice came, “I’ve always sort of known.”

Giana’s jaw clenched in unison with her heart, a fresh wave of tears making an appearance. Their entire lives... Giana thought she knew everything about Viya but she was hiding such a fundamental part of herself from Giana, carrying within herself the weight of an uncertainty that she kept secret because she didn’t believe Giana would understand.

“And you never once thought you could tell me? Am I not trustworthy enough? I know you know that I’m not homophobic. Do you not think I love you enough to accept you?” Giana decided she hated how her voice broke.

“You were always talking about boys and expecting me to like them too-“

Giana felt a little bit of her rage slip, oops, “Viya Adams, don’t you dare turn this onto me!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry! I was scared. I still am!” Viya sobbed.

Giana’s voice rose in pitch, “Scared of what?!”

Viya looked up momentarily, making Giana’s stomach flip, “Scared of things changing between us.”

Giana stared at her for a second and then bit the inside of her cheek. A wave of understanding washed over her body like a balm, soothing the burn of Viya’s secrets just a little. She sighed and finally ed Viya on her floor, going onto her knees. She held onto Viya’s shoulders.

“You think I’d be uncomfortable with you being lesbian?” she bent down slightly, trying to catch her eyes.

Viya looked away, clearly not having been used to the truth coming out of Giana’s mouth so easily and unapologetically.

Viya didn’t reply.

“Hey…” Giana had an amused chuckle in her voice, despite the hurt still lingering at her chest and her drying tears, “Look at me, Vi.”

Viya finally looked up, teary and puffy-eyed.

“I love you,” Giana said, gently and fuller with emotion that she expected.

Something like hope flashed in Viya’s eyes and Giana could feel a warmth spread through her chest. Giana smiled and Viya smiled back, small, but there.

Viya hadn’t said anything yet.

“Hey. Come here you silly girl,” Giana opened her arms, sitting comfortably.

Viya hugged her, holding onto Giana so desperately that Giana swore she’d never let go as long as Viya needed her. As Viya sunk into her, tears dampening her (their) favourite hoodie, Giana stroked her back soothingly and said, “I’ll help you break up with him. And don’t you dare ever keep such important things from me ever again.”

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