Author's Note: takes place in mid-February of Lisa's sophomore year and Belen's junior year. (School year is September-June)

Lisa could have sworn she was visibly shaking as she stood in line with the others. She was painfully aware of how her shorts and tee-shirt exposed her skin, goose-bumps covering her arms despite the fact that was it was spring-time weather out. Lisa kicked her white cane lightly, fidgeting in an attempt to calm her nerves. The guilt was eating her up inside as she did the stretching and the push-ups and the jumping jacks. As the students went their separate ways to grab basketballs and footballs and jump ropes, Lisa picked her white cane up and began to drift away from the teachers. They were the football and volleyball coaches, and were too busy paying attention to their own teams to see Lisa making her way to the other side of the courtyard.

A waist-length fence contained the courtyard, and on the other side was a group of tree that made what Lisa called a "mini-forest". Beyond that was the parking lot. Between the basketball court and the fence was a long stretch of grass. Lisa and the other students were not allowed on the grass, and so anyone trying to skip class without being noticed has to make it across the grass, over the fence and behind a tree before the coaches could spot them. Or, at least, that was the plan.

Lisa stood at the very edge of the court, jumping rope behind the basket. Another fence separated the football/soccer field, and the far half of the basketball court was being used as a volleyball court. It was late January but it was a warm day. The conditions were perfect, had been for most of the past two weeks. That's probably what made Lisa feel the worst about this as she walked backwards towards the fence. She couldn't see if the coaches were looking at her, and with her sunglasses in place, not the students either; she could only hope they would continue ignoring her. She was the girl that had transferred in halfway through the year. Another teen sent to Catholic school because their parents were homophobic.

Lisa made it to the fence and still no one had called out to her. She threw her white cane over the fence, jumped over it, grabbed her cane and ran behind a tree in one fluid motion as fast and silently as she could. She stood behind the tree for a full minute, regaining her breath, listening for an angry yell.

Nothing.

Lisa walked until she was about equally far away from the courtyard and the parking lot, and leaned back on a tree. After waiting a few minutes, a dark blur, one of dark skinny jeans and a black leather jacket, came into view, running at nearly top speed. It slowed as it approached her, and walked the last couple of feet until it had reached Lisa.

"Now, what's such a well-mannered and innocent girl such as you doing skipping class to see a tall girl in black leather?" Belen asked, removing Lisa's sunglasses and perching them on top of her hat.

Lisa smiled, looking the girl up and down. "I ask myself that all the time."

Belen laughed and Lisa felt another wave of guilt as Belen kissed her. Lisa wrapped her arms around Belen's neck and Belen around Lisa's waist, but Lisa's mind was elsewhere.

She had been sent to this school to prevent this exact thing from happening. Her mother dropped her off and picked her up from school every day, and Lisa only left the house with her mother by her side. As the girls sat down on the grass and talked, it quickly became obvious that Lisa's mind was not in the conversation. Belen stopped mid-sentence, and when Lisa continued staring at the grass, Belen decided to speak up.

"Hey, Lisa, would you like to join the rest of us on Earth?"

Belen waved a hand in front of Lisa eyes, knowing the blind girl hated it but also knowing it was the best way to get her attention. Lisa frowned angrily and grabbed Belen's hand, pushing it away from her face.

When Lisa looked up, Belen said, "Dude, what's up?"

Instead of answering her, Lisa muttered, "You know I hate it when you call me 'dude'. I'm not one of your guy friends."

"You're right; you're not. You're my girlfriend, and I'm your girlfriend, and I love you. So please, tell me what's troubling you."

Lisa blushed slightly, looking back down at the grass. "I just... I just don't see how this is gonna work out."

Belen ignored the stab to the heart and simply asked, "What do you mean?"

Lisa almost winced. She recognized that cold, emotionless voice. It was how Belen dealt with anger, sadness, disappointment; anything she didn't want to feel.

"At this school, they've been teaching me that if you have to sneak around and lie to do something, it's sin." Lisa glanced up, and Belen's face remained calm. Her eyes were like tombstones.

"I didn't know you believed." she responded.

"I don't, but I do know that lying is wrong and sneaking around is wrong and skipping class and jumping fences is wrong."

Belen bent her knees and brought them closer to her chest, setting her arms on her knees. She was closing herself up, Lisa knew. It was part of not allowing herself to feel anything.

"What do you suggest we do?" Belen asked, no longer looking at her. "We were just so used to seeing each other every day at school. Now my mom controls my every move and I can't see you anymore unless we do this. Will we be doing this for the rest of high school?"

All Belen could do was cling onto the idea that if she said it out loud, Lisa would realize how terrible it would be and change her mind.

"Are you suggesting we break up?"

Lisa looked up at Belen, shocked. She sounded almost bored, like they were just throwing around ideas for a solution to a small, almost insignificant problem. Lisa looked down at her white cane, stared at the sun reflecting off it until a dark spot appeared in her vision.

"I think that would be best... Ow!"

Lisa looked down at the grass and saw that it had been her sunglasses that hit her on the head. Belen had thrown them at her.

"Fine then!"

It was the first time Lisa has ever heard anger and hurt in Belen's voice. It sounded so out of place that all Lisa could was to stare, frozen in place, as Belen ran away. Once the colors all blurred together in the distance, Lisa's body took over while her mind remained shut down. She put on her sunglasses, picked up her cane, and walked back towards the fence.