General RP Shackled hearts.....(Tina and AvidDreamer)

[Tina Louise2]

Ok, raise your hands.....how many of you ever saw those old Andy Griffith black and white TV shows? or the original Footloose movie with Kevin Bacon?
believe it or not, small towns like those not only exsist but religious and social strangleholds still keep them under thumb.

April, 22 and Fiona, 23, had known each other since they were 7 years old. Not only did they both live in the same small town but just across the street from each other. It wasn't a coincidence that they attended the same schools....there was only the one elementary and one high school in the microscopically small town, so they both had the same teachers and later both became cheerleaders starting in their junior year of high school.

The town in question was a microcosm of every small town in America, especially down south in the so-called 'Bible belt'. It's hard to believe that in this day and age, such towns exsist but indeed they do. The town wasn't Victorian or something out of the Twilight Zone but like the town in 'Footloose', it was practically run by the Baptist church, the only Church in town, as a matter of fact.
It wasn't as if the words Gay, lesbian or bisexual were unheard of....it's just that everyone was, or seemed to be hetero. The families or couples that were rumored to be anything else were somehow convinced to leave town. Bands played in the town square during the summer, an old world one cannon was in the middle of the park and had been since forever. Nothing changed here.

That is, until one day when two of it's young female citizens rediscovered each other.

April and Fiona were relaxing in the park one Saturday afternoon. They played around, taking leaves of grass and throwing them at each other, then watched lazily as women walked down the street pushing baby strollers.
"God," April said....."I can't picture myself having a baby and raising it in this damn town....."

 

[AvidDreamer]

Fiona was back in town for a couple of months after she had moved out of the small town after high school. She needed an escape because of some family secrets that were held close to the chest. No one knew about what went on behind the Goodwin's closed doors. While growing up Fiona wasn't allowed to even tell her best friend about it. No matter how much she wanted too, she couldn't. She knew that word would get back to her father about it as well. The one man she feared the most.

So one day after she had finally finished high school she packed up her bags and left in the dead of night. Her own mother didn't even know what she was planning. She wanted to make a name for herself. She wanted to break free from the home she had grown up in, and she wanted to explore what the world had to offer. She was only nineteen at the time and learning about her own sexuality. While she had been living in New York City making a name for herself as a ballet dancer, she met and fell in love with Monica. The first woman she had ever let into her life in a romantic way.

They were together until she turned twenty-one years old, and that's when shit hit the fan. Monica was cheating on her with their professor. When Fiona found out she was heartbroken. She quit dancing and had spent her final couple of years getting everything squared away to move back home to the town she fought so hard to leave. That's when she realized April was speaking. She young woman turned her attention to April and shrugged a bit. "I mean it's a shitty place to raise a kid, I wouldn't have any kids myself until I'm officially out of here again." She said lightly.

It was her life long dream to get out of this hell for good. She wasn't going to be living here her whole life. She would die before she did that. She looked over at April and cocked her head to the side. "I did miss you while I was in New York though. Our late night talks, sleepovers, gossiping. I'm sorry I never kept in touch while I was gone" she admitted softly. She meant it too. April was her best friend in the whole world, and she had pretty much abandoned her. She was back now though for a couple of months before she went to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of being on broadway.

She fell silent as she turned to watch the people around them, wondering what April had done while she had been away.

 

[Tina Louise2]

For April, the happiest moment of her life was when Fiona returned to town and back in her life.
To say they were the best of friends was an understatement...they were close enough to finish each other's sentences, their families often took vacations together.

When Fiona left it tore a cannonball sized hole in her heart. She understood why Fiona had to leave and wished she had the courage to join her.

All was forgiven when she saw Fiona again...it was as if the years never left. Even though it's been a couple weeks since Fiona's return, April felt they still needed to get ho know each other again.

"I'm so glad to have you back again," she said...April kissed Fiona but unlike a friendly peck on the cheek, this one was right on her friend's lips.

 

[AvidDreamer]

Fiona was slightly taken back when April just leaned in and kissed her. She pulled away quickly and shook her head lightly. "April I can't" she breathed out. Her eyes quickly scanned the area around them and she stood quickly. "I'm sorry" she breathed out. She grabbed her book bag and slipped the strap over her shoulder and rounded the bench and headed back towards the parking lot.

She couldn't believe that happened. In public too. She was all of a sudden confused. What had gotten into the other woman? Was she really that stupid? Doing something like that in public, and knowing damn well the town they lived in! She shook her head lightly as she flipped the flap of her bag open and started digging around in her bag for her keys. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening.

She found her keys and unlocked the door. She didn't care if she didn't see April for a couple of days. The woman didn't even want to talk to her it seemed like. Her head was swimming with confusion. She locked the car doors and started the car up. She looked towards the bench as to where April was still sitting and shook her head again. She wanted to go back and kiss the woman again, but she couldn't. Not in public.

This was her worst nightmare. Yes she was bi-sexual, but everyone in town looked down on that. They all called it a sin. If you were to fall in love with the same gender as yourself you would be shunned. She tore her eyes away from April and looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her, and she backed out of the parking spot and then headed out of town. She had to clear her head, and she couldn't do it in a place she knew that April might show up at.

 

[Tina Louise2]

April sat on her knees, her mouth open in protest and watched Fiona leave. She sat there and cried....how could she have been so stupid?
But she didn't understand herself why she kissed her...it was all.ost automatic, like instinct.

She got up and went to her car, still sobbing. She sat inside for a few minutes to collect herself..she had to go to Fiona and try to explain what just happened, even though she could hardly understand herself.
The sobbing gave way to crying uncontrollably. One wrong move on her part may have doomed their relationship forever. To make matters worse, she had no idea where Fiona left or even if she would return.

 

[AvidDreamer]

Fiona knew it wasn't right that she ran away. But she didn't know what else to do. April just up and kissed her, and in public. She honestly didn't know what the other woman was thinking. She had to admit she had been thinking about doing something like that, but she knew better. She knew not to do something like that in public. In a way she was glad that Monica wasn't in her life any longer due to moving back to this hell hole she called home. She wanted Monica to meet her parents along the way, but deep down she knew she wouldn't.

After about thirty minutes Fiona pulled off to the side of the road and shut the car off. She reach for her phone in her bag and saw that her mother had called her. She sighed lightly as she opened up the voicemail that was waiting for her. "Hi baby, I don't know where you are, but I'm sure you're with April. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I are going out to dinner tonight so whenever you get home we might not be here. We love you sweetheart, and are so glad you're more."

That was all the message was about. She saved the message and leaned back against the seat. She wanted to call April and ask her what the fuck she was thinking, but she knew better than that. She would have to talk to her in person sooner or later. She looked down at the phone in her hands and bit her lip wondering why the woman hadn't even reached out. Did she really hate her that much to not even check? Then again she could also do the same thing and she wasn't. She shut her phone fully off, tossed it onto the seat next to her, and pulled back onto the road. She was just going to drive around until she was ready to go home. For now she needed to gather her thoughts and figure out what she was going to say to the other woman when she saw her again.

 

[Tina Louise2]

April was at wit's end. She knew she fucked up as soon as both her confession of love and the kiss occurred, but sometimes nature does impulsive things. She picked up her phone and started to call Fiona but thought against it....her lifelong best friend was confused, pissed off and she felt if she called she might even drive Fiona away.

Finally after wrestling with her emotions she did complete the call but by then it went straight to voicemail, a sign that Fiona must've turned her phone off.
"Well, she said aloud to herself...."I already messed things up, I can't do any worse...."
She left a note on voicemail.

"Fi.........God I'm sorry for what happened....I mean, no I don't regret what I did cause you had to know how I feel about you, but I guess it was wrong. I need.....oh, fuck it, forget what I need....I mean...."
by then she was crying again. She hung up.

How could she have messed things up so royally? what happened to those corny, mushy Netflix movies where two lovers meet again after a long time passed?......the voice inside her head was quick to answer.

'........you impulsive bitch,' the voice scolded her. 'what did you expect....that she'd run into your waiting arms?'
April drove back home. Still living at home to help defray the high cost of college education, she kept her old bedroom. She pulled up a chair and sat near the window facing across the street and almost directly towards Fiona's. Her parents were off on another of their vacations and the house never felt as lonely as it did right now.