Pocrescophobia

=Lauren's POV=

I remember the day that Jeremy changed. It was like any other day, completely regular, nothing special about it. I was 8. He was 16. My parents and I were sitting in the living room, watching TV like usual, talking about something insignificant like usual. And then he came downstairs, looking so nervous and terrified. We were all worried. Hell, Mom and Dad thought he’d gotten himself into something like hard drugs or alcohol or he’d gotten a girl pregnant. But after a while, he finally admitted that there had been something different about him his whole life, something that never quite went away. Something that made him want to put on dresses and skirts rather than talk about boobs and pussy. He always just felt that he was someone else inside. And we all supported him. We even called him our daughter and sister and took him to get new clothes.

But not everyone else was so accepting. Let’s just get this straight. Jeremy—Jennifer was my life. She was my best friend, my sister, the person I could always go running to. A few months later, we came home to see Jennifer lying peacefully in bed, not breathing or moving, with a note next to the bed and blood drying all over her wrists and arms. I’ll never forget what it looked like. That day changed everything. It turns out that ever since Jennifer decided to come out of Jeremy, she was constantly bullied and put down and manipulated and degraded.

I can’t let that happen again. But it doesn’t seem like it will. I really hope that Shae wasn’t lying because not only is it just a horrible thing to happen, but from what I’ve seen before, Shae seems like a pretty cool personand actually pretty attractive for a boy or girl. Oh hush, mind. Maybe I should go ahead and give Shae my number. Y’know, just in case he wants to talk or anything. Hmm, yeah, just because of that. Wait, do those clothes look familiar?

Cyan, you little shit. Ah, I’m so glad he’s doing something nice. God, he’s changed so much over these last few months. He’s barely the same person. But I’m really glad that he changed. I mean, yeah, he was still a pretty good friend back before, but now, I can just see that he’s less stressed inside. Plus, he’s just better to be around in general. And I’m really glad that he stopped doing all of that shit to Arden because he seems like a sweet kid.

I let my mind wander for a few minutes until I notice Shae walking by, causing me to break out of my thoughts with a smile and stand up. Finally, I catch up with him again and stop in front of him.

“Oh, hey Lauren,” he greets me with a slight smile. I smile back. “Hey. I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to eat lunch together today. I don’t really feel like eating with my friends today.” He shrugs, nodding. “Yeah, sure.”

I smile brightly. “Awesome. So I’ll see you later?” Shae nods. “Yeah, see you later.” And then I walk away with a little pep in my step and a smile on my face. Why am I so excited about this? It’s just lunch. Oh well, now to my next class.

=

The bell rings finally and I rush out before everyone else, eager to get out of that dreadful class and in the company of a new friend. As I walk into the crowded lunchroom, I notice Shae standing nonchalantly by the doors near me, obviously waiting. What a dear. Grinning, I walk up to the figure and put my hand on his slender arm to alert him that I’m here.

“Hey, let’s go,” I tell Shae, nodding to the lunch line. After we grab a barely edible lunch, we make our way outside to a calmer place to talk. Once we find a nice place to sit, I turn slightly to Shae, staring at him.

“So, tell me about yourself,” I start. He shrugs. “Well, I’m 17, I was born Cheyenne, my favorite color is orange, I have two little sisters, and two cats named Bernice and Melon.” And then the rest of the period is spend talking.