(This is an alternate plot line that I was considering for World Burn but was too angsty. Enjoy!)

Tonight was the annual Halloween Party, held at the Samuels' house, and somehow you got an invite. "Somehow", as in you had been dating Regina secretly for months and she managed to snag you an invite being the most influential person at North Shore High and basically ruling the place. Nonetheless, it was definitely not your scene and, because Regina wasn't ready for your relationship to be public yet, you literally had no one. You didn't mind that Regina wanted to be private as you completely understood; she had her whole image on the line, and she was almost a different person when you two were alone - much softer. Despite this, you hated how defensive she would get. In public, she would treat you like trash - which, to be fair, is how she treats everyone else, but it still sucked.

You stood in the corner, watching other partygoers awkwardly from afar until suddenly a girl dressed in a wedding gown approached you. "Oh, shit." You jumped, not noticing the girl until she was a foot away, "You scared me."
"Sorry," the girl said sheepishly, pulling a set of fake teeth out of her mouth and sticking it in her slightly exposed bra, "I just, saw you standing here alone from across the room and thought I'd approach you. I'm Cady, by the way."
"Oh, the new girl from... Africa?"
"Yeah! Kenya, specifically."
"Oh, nice." You trailed off, eager for the conversation to die off and her to leave you alone.
"So, are you single?" She asked.
You didn't know how to answer, "Well, technically I am but I'm not sure. It's complicated."
"Too complicated for me to do this?" She slurred, leaning in and placing her hands on your chest. You backed away from her and felt eyes boring a hole in your head. You turned your head and made eye contact with Regina, who was fuming. You grimaced, begging for help with your eyes. Cady, eyes sealed shut and not noticing your efforts to move away, kept leaning in until her lips made contact with your cheek. Her eyes shot open, a blush creeping on her cheeks.

"You have to face me, silly." Cady giggled, preparing to lean in again.
"I don't want to kiss you." You replied plainly and pushed her back. This girl was getting on your last nerve; she could not take no for an answer. She looked up into your eyes like a hurt puppy, a pout on her face.
"But I-" Before Cady could finish speaking, she was pulled backwards by a strong force; it was Regina. You looked to the girl as if she had just been graced by the presence of an angel - which was appropriate considering that was what Regina's costume was.

"You heard her, she doesn't want to kiss you." Regina ordered, her arms crossed as she towered over the other girl. You felt weak in the knees at Regina's intimidation.
"And you care why?" Cady inquired sassily, trying to return the energy but falling flat.
"I don't, just you're such a creep for continuing to make advances after she told you no."
"Oh, I get it. You like her."
"Wait, Regina. Do you? You're never this nice to anyone." Gretchen asked, approaching the scene.
Regina's eyes widened, "N-no, Ew," she stuttered and backtracked, disgust on her face, "She's just some weird loser dyke. Why would I date her?"

Even though you knew Regina was just saying that to defend herself, her words still hurt. You didn't expect her to take it so far as to call you the one name she knew you hated. You had been called that by almost everyone else in your life, and you had trusted her to be different. Tears welled up in your eyes and threatened to spill out as you quietly exited the house party, weaving through the crowd that had formed to watch the serene unfold.

You sat in the gutter as you texted your mom, asking her to pick you up. You had planned on staying at Regina's after the party, but after that little event you weren't up to it.

"Y/n!" You heard Regina's voice call out a few metres behind you, "What's wrong?"
"What do you think? I'm just some 'loser dyke'? That was too far."
"I'm sorry, you know I'm not ready to be out yet!"
"I know. But I'm not sure how much of this I can take! I'm tired of being your little secret fling while you talk about me like that in public. Those words get to me."
Regina frowned, "I know, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry." She said and sat down next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Gretchen's whiney voice questioned from behind you two. Regina quickly pulled her arm away and stood up.
"Nothing. God Gretchen, you're so nosy."
"Are you sure? Because it looked like you were cuddling up close to y/n over there."
"Ew, no. I wouldn't touch that lesbo with a ten foot pole. She probably has chlamydia or something from all the scissoring she does."
You groaned, Regina could not help herself when it came to defence.

Soon after, Gretchen headed back inside, and you spoke again.
"I think we should break up."
"What?" Regina's voice broke, her eyes softening.
"I just can't take this anymore. I don't wanna be someone's dirty little secret. When you're ready to be out we can try this again but for now we're done."
"No, please y/n. I love you." She pleaded. Your face softened for a second, but you stayed resilient. Luckily for you, your mom showed up and you quickly hopped in, watching Regina stand there, hurt, as you drove away. You felt bad, but you know you did what was best.

-

On Monday, Regina looked a mess. You looked at her sympathetically, knowing this was your fault.

At lunch, before you could make it to the cafeteria, an arm harshly pulled you into the bathroom; it was Regina. Her eyes were red and puffy, seemingly from lack of sleep and too much crying, and her makeup was minimal. Your face softened at the girl.

"I need you, y/n. Please." She begged. You stayed silent.
"Please. What do I have to do to make it up to you?" She pleaded, searching your eyes for any emotion. You shrugged; you and her both knew what she could do, but you knew that wouldn't happen. Regina suddenly stood up straight, as if she had an idea. She then pulled you by your wrist again, this time to the cafeteria.

Her high heels clomped on the tiled floor as she sashayed through the rows of tables. People stopped and quietened down when she passed, staring after her. Some people shot you questioning looks, confused as to why Regina was pulling you along after her, especially after the little spat on Halloween.

When she got to the middle of the cafeteria, she stopped and stood with her arms crossed, then cleared her throat. "Excuse me, everyone. I have an announcement." The rest of the cafeteria went silent, turning their attention to the Queen Bee. "You guys all know, y/n, right?" She questioned, looking around, some people nodded their heads feverishly, "Well, what you don't know is that we're dating. Yep, that's right. I'm a lesbian and this is my girlfriend. We've been dating for 5 months, and none of you even knew." Everyone looked at her in shock, not expecting the extremely homophobic blonde to end up being gay.

Regina then turned to you, and mumble, "May I?" You nodded. She leaned in and placed a kiss on your lips, lingering for a second before pulling away. She then turned back to the students. "If any of you have an issue with this, I will ruin you. And y/n's mine, don't even try hitting on her." She directed the last part to Cady, who cowered in her seat.

You grinned at the blonde, proud of her for coming out. She grinned back, and you two went and sat together at the Plastics table, where you were met with open arms. You rest your head on Regina's shoulder, extremely glad to have her back.