During the summer of 2013, before the twins' second year of secondary school, their parents had bought them each a new school uniform- and as before, Paul had bought Luke's uniform online, while Lucy had to endure a shopping trip with her mother and grandmother.

As she'd done the previous year, Lucy had begged her mother to buy her a pair of trousers for school, but yet again, she had been turned down, her mother and grandmother both stating that there was no point in wasting money when she had a perfectly good skirt that she could wear instead and several pairs of tights for when the weather was colder. Despite her inevitable stress at having to wear the garment when school started in September, Lucy knew better than to argue that they could always buy the trousers instead of the skirt or the tights.

On their first day of Year 8, the twins headed to school dressed in their 'gender-appropriate' uniforms and picked up from where they had left off at the end of year 7. Lucy spent her break and lunch times gossiping with her girl friends while Luke played football with his boy friends. When the twins arrived back home, they headed up to their rooms to change into their casual clothes- but not before Luke had spent several minutes wearing Lucy's skirt while she wore his school trousers.

This ritual continued every day throughout the first few weeks of school, with Fridays being an extra special day for the twins as they didn't just exchange their skirt and trousers, but their whole uniform too- Luke wore Lucy's blouse, tights and shoes, while Lucy wore Luke's stiff white shirt and also his PE kit of shorts and a (usually dirty) blue rugby shirt.

Friday nights were also special for Luke in particular, as it was the night of Lucy's last dance class of the week, and every Friday; before she put her uniform in the wash, Lucy allowed Luke to dance in the pink tights and powder blue leotard she had been wearing just minutes earlier.

A few weeks before their thirteenth birthday, however, things began to change forever for the twins.

"Okay," Lucy said with a smug grin as Luke balanced on one leg, with the other held out to his side. "Now how about a back catch?"

"Watch THIS," Luke said, stretching his left leg behind him and catching his ankle with his left hand, grinning as Lucy enthusiastically applauded.

"That's better than I can do!" The twelve-year-old girl giggled. "Maybe you should go in my place after all?"

"Nah, doubt we'd get away with it," Luke said with a sad sigh. "Maybe when we were younger..."

"Also, you might be TOO good at it and Mrs. Christopher might cast you in a recital!" Lucy teased, making her brother giggle appreciatively.

"I wasn't going to be the one to say it," Luke said, smiling smugly as he performed a ballerina's curtsey. "Ahh... I really wish I could, though. Like, even if I joined the boys' class, that'd be something, but- ugh. Can you imagine the spaz attack dad would have about that?"

"Aye, I can," Lucy snorted. "I asked dad if he could get me a ticket for the Crystal Palace match on our birthday, like, to go with you and granddad, he looked at me like I'd just pissed myself. And he KNOWS I'm following the Toon's season too."

"Well- he can just keep being a caveman then, see if we care," Luke said, going to strip off his leotard before smirking as an idea popped into his head. "Hey Lucy, watch this..."

"But that's the point, I DO care," Lucy snorted. "I don't want to go through my life being some sort of bloody dancing doll! I want to do things I want to do, not what I'm told to! Do you get me?"

"Aye, I do," Luke said. "But, like, I AM doing what I want to, you know?" Lucy smiled as Luke gestured to the skin-tight one-piece garment that was stretched over his body.

"Well- I guess," Lucy sighed. "Doesn't get me any closer to playing football though, does it?"

"So- so we'll go to the park one day, just you and me, kick a ball around a bit," Luke offered. "I mean, we're thirteen in a few weeks, mam and dad are bound to give us a bit more freedom, right?"

"Well- ugh, I hope so," Lucy sighed. "I- wait, did you want to show me something?" Lucy perked up as her brother nodded and moved to the centre of the room, laying flat on his back on the floor before arching his back upwards, making a perfect 'U' shape.

"Well?" Luke asked.

"Better than I can do!" Lucy replied, giggling as Luke shuffled on the floor in his upside-down position. Both twins immediately froze in terror a few seconds later, though, when a loud 'popping' sound came from Luke's direction, and the young boy felt a cool breeze pass over the now-bare gusset of his tights.

"...Ohhhh shit," Luke said as he laid back down and fiddled with the now-separate halves of the leotard's gusset, before hastily pulling the ruined garment over his head.

"Oh- oh no no no..." Lucy said, her face contorting into a look of horror, before a smile started to spread across her face. "...Actually, you know what? You may have just done me a MASSIVE favour..."

"Umm, how, exactly?" Luke asked, frowning in confusion as his sister snatched the leotard from him before changing back into her jumper and skinny girls' jeans. Confused, Luke went to follow his sister, only for Lucy to stop him and gesture at his legs- a reminder that he was still wearing her pink dance tights. After making sure that the coast was clear, Luke headed to his bedroom to change into his own jeans and t-shirt before heading downstairs, where his sister was busy trying to explain to their parents her version of what had happened.

"...Just split, just like that," Lucy said. "Thank god it didn't split in class!"

"Well- aye, that's true!" The twins' mother chuckled. "It's no big deal, you were outgrowing it a bit anyway. We'll go out tomorrow and get you a new one, okay?"

"Well..." Lucy said, biting her lip and fidgeting awkwardly. "I'm kinda, you know... Not really liking ballet anymore?"

"What?" Sarah asked, a look of sheer disappointment coming over her face. "But you're so good at it..."

"I'm hardly the best in the class," Lucy shrugged. "Mrs. Christopher says I'm gonna have wait longer for pointe shoes as well, and 'cause they cost so much, it'll save you some money, like?"

"We don't mind spending money on you doing things you love," Sarah said. "What will you do with your time if you stop going to ballet?"

"Well- I can think of something to do," Lucy replied. "I can join a sports team at school, maybe?"

"Do you like any sports?" Sarah asked.

"I like football," Lucy replied with a shrug.

"But you've never played it before," Sarah retorted. "How do you know you'll be any good at it?"

"Well, I-" Lucy stammered, before frowning as her mother smiled.

"Tell you what," Sarah said, "you have a think about it, and talk to me again when you know what you really want to do." Which means 'think about it until you change your mind', Lucy angrily thought to herself.

"Okay," Lucy mumbled, handing her mother the ruined dancewear before trudging back upstairs, passing her brother on the way.

Luke looked on sympathetically as Lucy took one of the pillows from her bed and pressed it against the wall, before banging her head into it over and over. It was a ritual that Lucy had developed shortly after the twins' last birthday, and Luke had observed that it had become more and more frequent as the weeks had gone on.

"Hey," Luke said, placing his hand on his sister's back in an attempt to calm her down. "It'll be okay. Just keep sucking at ballet and eventually you'll just get kicked out, right?"

"Oh aye, mum'll LOVE that," Lucy snorted sarcastically.

"Well- well I can always keep breaking your leotards, then?" Luke offered, smiling as his joke got a smirk out of his sister.

"Aye, well that's gonna be the thing, isn't it?" Lucy moaned as she threw her pillow back onto her bed. "Come on, stand next to me."

"Umm, why?" Luke asked as he stood face to face with his sister.

"'Cause this is the problem," Lucy sighed. "That leotard was already small on me. The next one's hardly gonna be baggy- it's a leotard, for god's sake, it's got to be skintight. And you're already 2 inches taller than I am."

"...So the new one probably won't even fit me," Luke realised, sighing heavily as his sister nodded. "And things are only gonna get worse."

"Aye," Lucy sighed sadly.

"Well, we- we can just make the most of it while we can, can't we?" Luke shrugged as he sat back down on his sister's bed. "And I mean, you can still wear my clothes when you want to, can't you?"

"Well- I guess," Lucy mumbled, before groaning loudly and collapsing back down on her bed. "Ugh, this would be so much easier if we'd been born the right way round, you know?"

"What, me as a girl and you as a boy?" Luke asked.

"Exactly," Lucy replied, before letting out a long, pained sigh.

"Can't argue with THAT," Luke said. "But, you know, you can still talk to me about anything, you- you know? Any time you need to, right?"

"Thanks," Lucy said with a warm, genuine grin. "Don't be too pissed off when I get you football stickers again for your birthday, okay?"

"As long as you're okay with chocolate?" Luke asked.

"Nah, chocolate is ALWAYS welcome," Lucy replied, her grin widening as her brother gave her a gentle hug before leaving her alone in her room.

The twins' thirteenth birthday passed without incident a few weeks later. Their grandparents had taken them out on their usual trips to the MetroCentre (for Lucy) and St James' Park (for Luke), and as usual, neither twin particularly enjoyed the trip. Much to their relief, though, their grandparents had simply chalked that up to being typical moody teenagers, and had promised that there wouldn't be any further birthday trips out.

As the twins got older, though, their bodies began to change more and more. By the end of their second year of secondary school, Luke stood almost three inches taller than his sister, and while he was far from overweight, he had a noticeably wider chest and waist as well. However, it was smaller, less noticeable changes that were causing the twins the greatest stress.

"Okay," Paul said, trying to stop himself from grinning with pride as he stood next to his son in the bathroom. "You've got the cream on, next step, you take your razor and place it against your skin, just like this." Paul held his safety razor underneath his foam-covered chin, the blades pointing toward his chin. Slowly, and with trembling hands, Luke emulated his father, earning a playful sigh and an eye roll from the older man. "There's no need to be so nervous! If you get cut, you get cut, but you're not going to do yourself any permanent injury! But as this IS your first time, you're better off taking it slow. So just watch what I'm doing, and follow along. Take the razor and gently pull it across your face just like this. Be gentle- this isn't a race." Luke nodded as he gently pulled the razor across his face, following his father's instructions to the letter.

Minutes later, Luke's face was clean of both shaving cream and the light layer of fuzz he'd been growing over the previous few weeks. While Luke was happy to once again have a smooth face, he was unnerved by the wide grin on his father's face- and the knowledge that in the future, he'd have to repeat the ritual every day of his life.

"Well?" Paul asked, barely containing his glee. "What d'you think?"

"It's okay, I guess," Luke replied with a shrug that made his father chuckle and roll his eyes.

"Try to get enthusiasm out of a teenager," Paul chuckled as he reached inside the medicine cabinet for a small bottle of translucent liquid. "Now, d'you know what this is?"

"Umm... Aftershave?" Luke replied.

"Spot on!" Paul said, his proud grin widening. "Now this isn't cheap, so you don't wear it after every time you shave, only on special occasions. But I think today definitely qualifies as a special occasion, don't you?"

"I-" Luke began.

"Let me guess- 'you guess'," Paul interrupted, before chuckling again as his son shrugged. "That's okay. I know this whole puberty thing can seem scary to you at times, but trust me, once you're through the other end, you'll be laughing. And shaving IS a skill you're gonna need." Luke flinched as his father dropped some of the aftershave onto his hands and rubbed it into his cheeks, making the teenaged boy flinch as it stung his still-raw skin. "Aye, it stings a bit at first, but you'll get used to it." 'I doubt it', Luke thought to himself as he breathed in the scent of the aftershave- an unmistakably male scent.

"Thanks, dad," Luke mumbled as he pulled his t-shirt back on.

"Hey, it was a special day for me too!" Paul chuckled. "Every dad looks forward to the day when he teaches his son to shave. I still remember when my dad taught me, heh. And one day, you'll get to teach your son too!" Luke suppressed a shiver at the thought before a question popped into his head.

"But- but what if I don't have any sons?" Luke asked.

"What, if you only have daughters?" Paul replied, his son detecting a subtle sneer in his voice. "Well, I- I suppose you'll have special days with them too." 'Like you have with Lucy?' Luke thought to himself as he was ushered out of the bathroom.

"I guess," Luke shrugged.

"Say that one more time and it'll officially be your catchphrase!" Paul teased. "Want to go downstairs and show your mum?"

"I- umm, sure," Luke said, forcing a smile on his face as he headed downstairs, where he tried not to fidget as his mother fussed over him and his smooth face. Once the novelty of the first shave had worn off, Luke headed back upstairs, though as he always did when he was stressed, he didn't head into his bedroom, but rather his sister's.

"Hey Lucy," Luke said as he let himself into the room without knocking, frowning as Lucy snorted angrily.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Lucy asked as she rolled over on her bed and stared witheringly at her brother.

"When have I ever needed to knock?" Luke retorted.

"Ugh- fine, have a seat somewhere," Lucy sighed as she grabbed her iPad. "What do you want, anyway? And what's that smell? Smells like that shit aftershave dad wears sometimes..."

"Aye, that's 'cause it is," Luke sighed.

"Why would you be wearing dad's after-" Lucy asked, before grimacing as she realised the answer. "Ah. Right."

"Yeah," Luke said. "'Right'."

"Well- all I can say is that it could be worse," Lucy moaned.

"What, worse than growing hair on your face and slashing it with a razor every day?" Luke snorted. "Got any, you know, examples of what's worse than that?"

"I have, actually," Lucy responded angrily. "Top drawer of my nightstand." Luke frowned as he moved over to the drawer and opened it, finding within it Lucy's hairbrush, her watch, her sunglasses... And a nearly empty box of tampons.

"...Oh," Luke said, backing away from the sanitary product like it was a coiled snake. "How- how long?"

"Just a couple of months," Lucy sighed. "I told mum, she said- she actually said 'let's keep it a secret from your father and your brother'."

"What?" Luke snorted. "How is that gonna help you or anyone else?"

"Because mum and dad both live in this weird 'bubble' where men and women live in completely separate universes," Lucy scoffed. "Like, you even knowing about periods will make you, I dunno, melt or something."

"Probably," Luke shrugged.

"Though for the record, I HAVE learned to shave," Lucy said, rolling up the leg of her jeans to reveal the smooth, hairless leg underneath- a stark contrast to the wispy hairs covering Luke's own legs. "Armpits as well. Mum's promised to take me to a proper salon for my next birthday to get my eyebrows shaped too."

"Lucky you," Luke snorted.

"And yes, I know you'd kill to be able to do any of this," Lucy scoffed. "Spare a thought for someone who doesn't have a choice, okay?"

"Well- I don't envy ALL of it," Luke sighed as he closed the nightstand drawer. "I guess shaving isn't THAT big a deal..."

"Aye, well, it'd be nice to pick and choose which bits of being a boy or a girl you get to put up with," Lucy sighed.

"...But, you know, you kinda can," Luke said. "I mean, not right now, but when we're older, you know?"

"Umm... What?" Lucy snorted. "How, exactly?"

"...Follow me," Luke said, leading his sister into his bedroom, where he opened his wardrobe and pulled out a box filled with magazine and newspaper clippings. "Mum and dad don't know about this, so please, PLEASE don't tell them, okay?"

"Aye, you know I won't," Lucy reassured her brother. "What is all this about?"

"Have you heard of the Angels?" Luke asked.

"What, that shit reality show that was on ITV2?" Lucy asked, earning a frown from her brother.

"It's not 'shit'," Luke protested. "It's actually pretty good if you take the time to watch it, they're not at each other's throats the whole time, they're, you know, friends?"

"Whatever you say," Lucy snorted. "What about the show, anyway?"

"You know that one of the women on the show used to be a man, right?" Luke asked, earning a look of confusion from his sister.

"Wh- really?" Lucy asked as she studied the clippings. "Which one?"

"Can't tell, can you?" Luke asked with a smug grin that widened as his sister rolled her eyes. "Jamie, the second one from the right on that photo."

"She's gorgeous," Lucy mused. "And she really used to be a man?"

"Until she was nineteen," Luke replied. "She's taking hormone pills, had breast implants, lots of stuff like that."

"Aye, well- good for her," Lucy scoffed.

"Oh- I- I thought this would help?" Luke said, upset by his sister's callous dismissal.

"Umm, how?" Lucy asked. "You show me a girl who used to be a guy. It's not like I've never seen one before."

"...So, umm, you- you've looked into this already?" Luke asked.

"If by 'this' you mean 'transgender things', then, well, yeah," Lucy confessed. "I just, you know, looked it up on Google, I found a few sites, read a few blogs..."

"Jamie-Lee Burke has a blog," Luke mumbled.

"I was- I was looking more for, you know, blogs of guys who used to be girls," Lucy said. "I thought, well..."

"It'd be more, what, relevant to you than a girl like Jamie-Lee?" Luke asked. "I- I get that. Really, I do. I- I'm sorry if I, you know-" Luke grunted and smiled as his sister gave him an unexpected, but not unwelcome hug.

"Nah, it's okay," Lucy said with a smile. "You were trying to help. Heh, you're about the only person in the world who is."

"And the only person who knows what you're going through," Luke chuckled. "So, umm, do- do you think, you know, that you're transgender? That you, umm, should really be a man?"

"...I'm not 100% sure," Lucy confessed. "But I am, you know, 85-90% that- well, yeah. I SHOULD be a man. I feel like it, deep down inside, that who I am, I'm- I'm just, you know, wrong."

"You should tell someone," Luke said softly.

"Umm, like who, exactly?" Lucy snorted. "Mum? Dad? You really think they'd understand? How d'you think dad would react if you told him you wanted to be a girl?"

"I- umm, I dunno..." Luke mumbled.

"Exactly," Lucy said. "You do- you do want, you know, to be a girl, don't you?"

"...Maybe 70%," Luke replied with a shrug. "If you're, you know, 85-90-"

"Oh- okay," Lucy said, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. "I thought, you know, 'cause you were following blogs yourself, and this Jamie-Lee woman, that-"

"I need- ugh, I dunno," Luke sighed. "I need to think about it more, that's all. Heh, even though some nights I can't think about anything else."

"Well- aye, I know THAT feeling," Lucy sighed, before giving her brother another welcome hug. "So any time you want to talk, just ask. And no, you don't need to knock, as long as I don't need to knock to come in here, okay?"

"Deal," Luke chuckled as he returned his sister's hug.

Over the course of the following months, the twins took each other up on their offer multiple times, with Luke confessing to Lucy his increasing desire to wear the clothes, the make-up and the jewellery that she hated, and Lucy confessing her envy at Luke growing taller and stronger, being more physically active than her- and especially spending time with their father, who Lucy felt forgot about her a little more with every passing day. The twins would regularly spend hours in each other's bedrooms, talking about their feelings of frustration at being in the wrong bodies, their fantasies of living the lives they so desperately wanted to live, and their anger at the people who they knew would try to prevent their dreams from coming true. During their discussions, Luke and Lucy came to realise that each of them had only one person in the world in whom they could truly trust- each other.

Thanks to their discussions with each other, by the time the twins had turned fourteen, they were both over 99% convinced that they were truly transgender, 'born the wrong way round'- but by the time they were both fourteen, their physical changes had taken an even firmer hold on their life.

Whilst Lucy was stuck at a relatively petite 5' 3", her main growth spurt having long since finished, Luke was 5' 8" and still growing. None of Lucy's clothes came close to fitting Luke, no matter how hard the twins tried. Both of them even followed online tutorials on learning how to sew and alter clothes, but it was to no avail.

On the day before their fourteenth birthday (which fell on a Sunday)- despite their parents' and grandparents' promise the previous year, Lucy was taken to a local salon for the beauty treatment she'd so dreaded, while Luke had gone with his father and grandfather to the match at St James' Park, a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal. All throughout the day, both Luke and Lucy wanted nothing more than to scream in frustration, to yell at their parents that no, they would not go along with what they were told they must do, and they would not be who they were told they must be by the people who pretended to care for them the most. However, just as they had done their whole lives, they remained quiet. They played the parts they were expected to play, even as they felt themselves die a little on the inside.

When they returned home, however, Luke and Lucy immediately perked up, as they were back in each other's company, and could finally drop the mask and stop pretending- though for Lucy, at least, that would be much easier said than done.

"...You, umm, you- you look nice," Luke mumbled as his sister paced around her bedroom, trying to walk off her nervous anger and frustration.

"I look stupid!" Lucy hissed in reply. "I fucking well feel stupid too!" Lucy sighed as she gazed into her mirror at the expensive make-up that had been applied to her face, at the eyeliner and fake eyelashes that highlighted her blue eyes, and the dark pink lipstick that added unwanted volume to her mouth. "Ugh, Luke, I- I know you'd love all this, but-"

"No, I- I'm sorry," Luke sighed. "I should've known saying that'd, you know, make you angry..."

"Worse is that I've got a whole weekend of this," Lucy sighed. "Got to put all this make-up back on first thing tomorrow morning and keep my hair like this for the big, fancy meal we’re having. And wear a stupid dress as well, of course."

"That I'm never going to get to wear," Luke sighed sadly, making Lucy frown before giving her brother a long, tight hug. "We need to do something about this. NEED to."

"Yeah, I know," Lucy sighed. "But what, though? What can we do that wouldn't involve mum and dad finding out?"

"We- we could tell a doctor," Luke shrugged. "All the blogs I've read have said that if you want to transition- medically at least- you need to see a doctor first. We could always make an appointment and go in together, maybe?"

"What good would that do, though?" Lucy asked. "Sure, they can't tell mam and dad, but they can't tell anyone else either, and they can' give us any hormones or any other pills either, definitely not without telling mam and dad."

"Well- it'd be someone else to talk to?" Luke shrugged.

"I'm happy talking to you, though," Lucy said, making her brother sigh.

"If you were that happy, you wouldn't be stomping around the room, would you?" Luke retorted.

"I'm unhappy because of this!" Lucy snarled as she pointed at her made-up face. "Ugh, Luke, I- I'm sorry again. I don't want to snap, but it's not like- ugh, never mind..."

"I- wait right there," Luke said, momentarily leaving his sister alone in her bedroom before returning with a small package in plain wrapping paper.

"What's this?" Lucy asked as she took the package from her brother. "Clothes? You really think this'll help?"

"Just- just open it," Luke said. "It's, like, a 'private' present. One I couldn't give you in front of mum and dad, something for you-"

"Oh- oh my god," Lucy said as she removed the wrapping paper to reveal a football shirt bearing the black and white stripes of her home team.

"It was mine, last year," Luke explained. "It won't fit me anymore, but it might fit you. Heh, figured I should, you know, return the favour for all the times you-"

"Thank you," Lucy said, giving her brother another tight hug. "I love it. Really!"

"Even if it is a year out of date?" Luke asked.

"Better late than never?" Lucy replied, earning a giggle from her brother. "I- I have something for you too, wait a sec..." Luke smiled as Lucy opened her wardrobe and fished a small package out of the bottom, wrapped in just a Tesco carrier bag. "I- I got this for you, I kinda had the same idea, heh."

"What is it?" Luke asked, before gasping in happiness as he opened the bag to reveal a 3-pack of plain black tights in large size- a size that would be far too big for Lucy, but just the right size for him.

"Figured you could, you know, hide these away," Lucy mumbled. "And, you know, you can't wash them ever, so, like, don't overuse them- just like I can't this shirt, heh."

"It's perfect," Luke said with a grin as he gave his sister a gentle hug. "Thank you SO much."

"...What are brothers for?" Lucy said with a happy, contented giggle.

None of the presents the twins received the following day on their actual birthday made them as happy as the presents they had received that Saturday evening. As always, Luke received football-related gifts, a few items of clothing- boys' clothing, of course- a couple of DVDs and a new videogame. Lucy's presents consisted mainly of clothes, as well as some make-up, perfume, a few ornaments for her bedroom and a new, fancy journal, the only present she didn't resent- even if she would have preferred it to not have a floral pattern on the cover. As always, the twins exchanged 'public' presents with each other, with Luke receiving a Guardians of the Galaxy DVD while Lucy received a new, fancy pencil case. This year, however, the twins had an easier time accepting each other's gifts, knowing that they had received their 'real' gifts from each other the previous day.

Luke and Lucy endured the evening meal with their parents and grandparents, the latter being especially relieved when it ended and she could remove her fancy dress and scrub her face clean of her make-up, even if it was only a brief respite before the twins returned to school the following day. However, both Luke and Lucy found it easier to pull on their hated school uniforms when they knew they had their birthday gifts to each other waiting for them when they returned home.

As they knew they couldn't wash each other's gifts, Luke and Lucy only 'indulged' sparingly over the following months, and their 'indulgences' became less and less frequent as spring gave way to summer and eventually autumn, which brought with it the start of a new school year, more specifically, the start of the twins' GCSEs.

Luke and Lucy had both been successful academically in lower years, but they knew that Year 10 was when things really began to get serious. However, both twins relished the challenge that lay ahead of them, especially as the subjects they chose to study provided a rare occasion when they were entirely free to make their own choices. Rather than study a 'manly' topic such as sport, or metalwork or woodwork, Luke instead opted for art and two foreign languages. Lucy, however, surprised her parents by choosing to study PE and electronics. However, there was one area where both twins were as enthusiastic as each other- science.

Luke and Lucy had been fascinated with science, in particular chemistry, ever since Luke had been given a basic chemistry set for his tenth birthday. On that same day, Lucy had received a new pair of ballet slippers, but secretly, she had more fun helping (or even watching) Luke try out the many experiments within the set. As the twins has got older, their interest in science hadn't waned, but when they entered secondary school, they also developed an interest in biology- specifically, the biological differences between men and women, and the way those differences could be overcome or even reversed.

By the time the twins has started their GCSEs, they were already familiar, thanks to Wikipedia and other websites, with the differences between male hormones and female hormones, and the effect it would have on the human body if a person replaced their assigned gender's hormones with those of the opposite gender. It was something both twins were eager to experience, and as such, they threw themselves into their science schoolwork.

Over the course of their GCSEs, Luke and Lucy helped each other study on an almost nightly basis, their regular discussions about their feelings and their ambitions being supplemented by talk of revision and exams. And it paid off- when the twins received their GCSE results in the summer of 2017, both were thrilled to learn they'd got 8s in biology and chemistry- more than enough to secure the place at the further education college they'd applied to. However, the end of the twins' exams had also left them without anything to distract them from the fact that both of them had continued to grow and change over the previous two years. Both of the twins were sixteen, meaning that Luke was almost a man, and Lucy was almost a woman- and the situation was becoming unbearable for both of them.

Luke stood only a shade under six feet tall, with well-defined muscles and an unmistakably masculine jawline that was regularly covered in light stubble. Lucy, meanwhile, stood a mere 5' 4" tall, which may have been average height for a woman, but was far shorter than Lucy had hoped to grow. She had a narrow waist, curvaceous hips and bottom and soft C-cup breasts on her chest, all of which had made her the object of desire for many of her male schoolfriends. While Lucy wasn't entirely repelled by the attention, and even found some of the boys attractive, she felt that the attention was unwarranted, as while the boys may have liked her body, she herself hated it.

However, on one fateful July morning, things would finally begin to change for the twins.

"Are you going to spend the whole summer sulking in your room?" Paul chastised his daughter. "This is the longest summer break you'll ever get, you should be out enjoying if with your friends!" What friends? Lucy self-pityingly thought to herself as she thought about the girls from her school, many of whom would be soaking up the sun on the Tyneside beaches wearing tiny bikinis, or hanging around coffee shops or back gardens in loose, tiny summer clothing that showed off their body. Lucy, meanwhile, was desperate to hide her body away from the rest of the world, figuring- or rather, hoping that if it was out of sight, it would be out of mind. However, as hard as she tried, nothing could pull Lucy out of her funk- especially not her father.

"I'm happy in here," Lucy moaned. Well, happier, Lucy thought to herself. Or 'less miserable'. Slightly less miserable, anyway...

"It's a gorgeous day outside, you don't want to spend all if it indoors!" Paul said.

"And who are you to tell me what I want?" Lucy whispered quietly. "Not that you'd ever change the habit of a lifetime..."

"Okay- fine, have it your way," Paul sighed in exasperation. "But don't come whining to me when you suddenly find it's September and you've wasted your whole summer break!"

"I won't," Lucy grunted as she rolled off her bed and skulked over to her wardrobe, retrieving the football shirt she'd stashed at the back- the same shirt her brother had given her two years earlier. In what had become a ritual for her, Lucy pressed the soft fabric against her face and inhaled, trying as hard as she could to concentrate on the feel and the smell in the hope that it would blot out the feelings generated by her body. As always, however, Lucy was forced to face the cold, hard truth that her body had not changed, and nor was it going to.

On the other side of the landing, Luke laid on his bed lazily scrolling through videos on his phone. When the Grand Tour had launched on Amazon, it hadn't taken much to convince his father to shell out for an Amazon Prime membership, but Luke couldn't have cared less about the antics of Clarkson, Hammond and May- it was the show that originally featured six, but had since expanded to ten supermodels that interested him the most, not least because two of the ten women were born as boys, just as Luke had been.

"It's sometimes difficult," the refined voice of Jamie-Lee Burke spoke quietly from Luke's phone. "Just trying to be yourself when the whole world tells you you're someone, someTHING else."

"How did you cope?" The interviewer asked, prompting a smile from the blonde woman.

"With my friends," Jamie replied. "True friends, the ones you can really talk to, are rarer than diamonds. But I also had a lot of professional help, too. I still speak to my gender identity counsellor from time to time, and there's no shame in that, in seeking help if you need it."

"What advice would you give to young transgendered people who might not be able to live life as the gender they want?" The interviewer asked. "Or who might be prevented from doing so by their circumstances?"

"I would say that there ARE people out there who will help," Jamie said. "Even if it feels like the whole world is against you, believe me, it isn't."

"Easy for you to say," Luke sighed as he tossed his phone aside and laid back on his bed. He'd watched the video of Jamie's interview countless times, and each time he'd hoped to get some kind of insight, some kind of revelation that would help him break free of his male body, but each time, he'd been disappointed. Each time he finished watching the video, he stared down at his athletic, masculine 5' 11" frame and sighed.

Luke would've given anything to be able to be a girl, even if it was for only 30 seconds. But none of his sister's clothes fit him, he couldn't buy any of his own, he couldn't even apply any make-up out of fear of being caught. Like his sister, Luke was afraid of the consequences of being HERself- and that's what made him most depressed of all.

With a heavy sigh, Luke picked himself off his bed and loped downstairs to get a drink, when he discovered his father deep in an unusual phone conversation.

"Aye, that'll be grand," Paul said as he paced back and forth in the living room. "Alright, she'll see you then." Luke frowned in confusion as his father ended the phone call, before turning to him with a serious look on his face.

"...Dad?" Luke asked. "Who was that?"

"The doctor," Paul replied.

"Wh- are you alright?" Luke asked, concern quickly spreading across his face.

"Aye, I'm fine," Paul replied. "It's your sister." Panic gripped Luke's body and his heart started to race at the news- while he would've been devastated at the loss of any member of his family, the mere idea of his sister becoming ill filled him with a greater sense of dread than he had ever felt in his young life.

"Wh- what, is- umm- is- wh-" Luke babbled.

"You've probably not noticed," Paul said sombrely, "but lately she- she ain't been herself. Your mam and I are- we're worried that she might be depressed. We've booked her an appointment at the GP tomorrow at eleven, could you nip upstairs and tell her?" Luke gripped onto the banister for support as the adrenaline quickly disappeared from his body- after all, his father wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know. He also knew that Lucy would be ballistically angry at their father once again making a decision for her- but he also knew, thanks to watching the interview with Jamie-Lee Burke, that the appointment presented a golden opportunity- for both of them...

"Sure," Luke said with a shrug as he headed back upstairs, trying not to run out of fear of giving away his excitement about his plan. When he reached his sister's bedroom, he opened the door and entered without knocking, just as he and Lucy had agreed all those years ago.

"Hey Luke," Lucy moaned. "Heard you and dad talking downstairs, what were you talking about?"

"...Umm, you, actually," Luke mumbled, flinching as his sister shot him an angry stare.

"Should I even bother asking?" Lucy snorted.

"He- he's booked you a doctor's appointment for tomorrow," Luke explained, his tension levels rising as Lucy's stare got even angrier.

"I'm NOT sick," Lucy growled.

"He's worried that you're depressed," Luke explained.

"I-" Lucy began, only to be cut off by her brother.

"And you are depressed," Luke continued. "Don't bother denying it, this is me you're talking to. You're depressed, and so am I."

"So what's a doctor going to do?" Lucy scoffed. "Give us both some pills that make us dopey? No thanks."

"Well, there are pills that'd help us," Luke suggested. "They're called hormones."

"Oh- yeah, like THAT's gonna happen," Lucy spat. "I like actually having a bed to sleep in, thank you very much."

"Aye, so do I," Luke sighed. "But I also like wearing skirts. I like wearing make-up. I like being able to be free to talk about my feelings, watch what I want, say what I wa- heh, just to BE who I want."

"None of which will happen in a ten-minute meeting with a doctor," Lucy retorted.

"No, but after a load of meetings with a gender identity counsellor, it might," Luke said. "I was watching an interview with Jamie-Lee Burke-"

"Now THAT's a surprise," Lucy scoffed.

"-And you know what she said?" Luke asked, undeterred by his sister's sarcasm. "That there's no shame in asking for help if you need it. And let's be honest, we need help."

"We need better parents," Lucy sighed.

"Yeah, well, I can't argue with that," Luke said. "But things aren't going to get any better if we do nothing, and this- well, it's something, you know?"

"Well- I guess," Lucy said. "Though did you notice how dad just made this appointment without even talking to me first?"

"He's a MAN," Luke shrugged. "Talking about things like feelings or depression are just- 'ugh' to him."

"But you can?" Lucy asked, a sly smile spreading across her lips.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "So what does that say about me?"

"...You total GIRL," Lucy teased her brother, who simply smiled smugly in response.

"Thank you, BOY," Luke replied, feeling a sense of true happiness as his sister giggled happily.

However, as the twins discovered later that night, even this first step toward living the lives they dreamed of wouldn't be entirely free of obstacles.

"Wha' that girl needs ain't a doctor's appointment, it's a good hiding!" Derek spat as his grandchildren listened on from Lucy's room, directly above where the argument was taking place. "That'd soon teach her ta stop bein' depressed! That boy o' yours, too!"

"Dad, it ain't the fifties anymore," Paul retorted. "You can't just solve a problem by giving it a hiding!"

"Ya can't, but I can!" Derek scoffed, making his grandchildren simultaneously roll their eyes.

"I'd like to see him try," Luke snorted. "Just- what planet does he live on?"

"Ugh, one I never want to visit," Lucy spat.

"Are- are you still up for going tomorrow?" Luke asked hesitantly. "To the doctor's, I mean?" Lucy paused before answering to listen to the argument continuing beneath her.

"Wha' this world needs is less hand-holdin' and more good, honest graft!" Derek snarled. "Get tha' boy in the army, they'll teach him ta be a real man!"

"And find that girl a nice husband she can settle down with!" Elaine insisted. "That's probably why she's miserable, 'cause she hasn't got a boyfriend yet!"

"...Oh yeah," Lucy replied. "I am DEFINITELY up for tomorrow."

The following day, the twins put their plan into action. Realising that it'd look odd if Luke accompanied Lucy to her appointment, he left the house early, planning to rendezvous with his sister at the GP's surgery.

Lucy, meanwhile, had played the role of the sullen teenager to a T, protesting and whining about going to the appointment only to be told in no uncertain terms that she would be going- just as she had hoped. Knowing that her father would insist on driving her to the surgery, Lucy had managed to convince him to drop her at the front door and let her go in alone, for fear of being seen by any of her friends- a concern that was totally fictional but which she knew her father would believe. After all, he still thought of Lucy as being the stereotypical teenaged girl he was expecting, rather than the conflicted teenaged boy she knew she was, deep down inside. Once Paul had driven off, Lucy summoned her brother via a text message, and the two of them waited for Lucy to be called in to speak to their family doctor.

"Hello Lucy, Luke," Dr Sutton had said with a smile. "Lucy, it's just you that your dad asked me to speak to today, and given what we're discussing, are you sure you want-"

"Yes, I want Luke to be here," Lucy interrupted, exchanging a nervous smile with her brother. "Why I'm here affects him as much as it does me."

"Well- okay, it's your meeting," Dr Sutton shrugged. "I guess twins are closer than most sibling relationships, after all."

"Yeah, we- we have a lot in common," Luke said, smiling as his sister chuckled nervously.

"Before we begin," Dr Sutton said, "I want you to know that everything you say in here is completely confidential. I won't tell your parents anything you tell me without your explicit consent, even if what you say has to concern them. As I said at the start, this is YOUR meeting, not theirs." Lucy took a deep breath and felt herself calming down following the doctor's reassurances- which felt very similar to those her brother had given her the day before.

"Okay," Lucy said.

"Your father asked me to see you as he's worried that you've been depressed recently," Dr Sutton said in a soft, professional voice. "I'm not going to patronise you by saying that all teenagers are moody- only you can tell me what the problem really is. Lucy, is there a problem you want to discuss with me today?"

"...Yes," Lucy replied as she felt her heart race and her whole body becoming flustered. She was about to tell someone other than her twin the secret that had consumed her whole life, and she felt simultaneously terrified and exhilarated at the prospect of someone new learning about her secret- about the 'real' her.

"Take your time," Dr Sutton said.

"All my life, I- or rather, we..." Lucy said.

"We- we've felt like we- we were 'wrong'," Luke continued.

"Okay," Dr Sutton said. "Can you describe in what way you feel 'wrong'?"

"We-" Lucy began, before freezing, her throat refusing to obey her and say the words she'd longed to say for years.

"We feel that we were born the wrong way round," Luke said firmly. "All my life, I- I've dreamed about being a girl."

"And I- I've always thought that I should be a boy," Lucy explained, her heart racing as the doctor simply nodded.

"You say you've had these feelings your whole life?" Dr Sutton asked, smiling as the twins both nodded in response.

"I- we've, umm, we've read online about things like gender dysphoria," Luke explained. "We- we think that describes us."

"I feel- I actually feel ashamed of my body," Lucy said, blinking back a tear. "Like, this is just not who I'm supposed to be!"

"I understand," Dr Sutton said. "Have you told your parents about this?" The doctor frowned as both teenagers scoffed in derision. "I'll take that as a 'no', then. If I can be serious for a minute, I should tell you that I can't diagnose gender dysphoria. That has to be done by a specially trained counsellor, who I'll be only too happy to refer you to if that's what you want."

"Definitely," Lucy said without hesitation.

"Please," Luke said, a nervous smile spreading across his face.

"This counsellor won't be able to diagnose you in one meeting," Dr Sutton said. "It can take some time. I'm sure you're aware of hormone replacement therapy as well?" The doctor smiled as both twins nodded. "They can prescribe that if they feel they should, and as you're both sixteen, they won't have a problem with prescribing an adult dose if they feel it's necessary- and you won't need permission of your parents to do that, either. That said though, as you are still living with your parents-"

"Yeah, that is the problem," Lucy sighed. "We know it ain't gonna be easy."

"But this is a journey we want to take," Luke said softly. "T- together." Luke grinned widely as he stared into his sister's eyes, seeing for the first time in years the glimmer of hope. They were under no illusion that the journey would be a quick of easy one, but they had taken the first steps, and together, they would take the next step, and the next, and the next, and however many steps were necessary until they had fulfilled their dreams- dreams that for the first time ever, started to look like a reality.