“Have fun,” Janet said as her young friend headed out of the flat’s front door. “Again!”

“Thanks,” Ellie replied, already looking forward to the Friday ahead of her- but moreso the Saturday after that.

For the prior four days, Ellie and her friends had been relaxing and enjoying a well-earned half term break. However, what had the girls- especially Ellie- most excited was the Saturday at the end of the half term break, as it marked exactly eighteen years to the day since Ellie was born. However, as excited as Ellie was to finally become an adult, she also felt a sense of anxiety about the whole thing.

Following the confrontation with her family on Christmas Day, Ellie had made a conscious effort not to dwell on her relationship with her parents, deeming it to be damaged beyond repair. Ellie instead focused on the positives in her life, of which she had many- her college course was going well, she had already received conditional offers from universities for the coming September, she had a close-knit group of true friends and she had a more than adequate ‘substitute family’ in both Janet and Jack, with whom she seemed to spend more and more of her free time. And yet, as hard as she tried, Ellie couldn’t help but fixate on her parents as her most important birthday approached. She was still their firstborn whether they liked it or not, and they were her parents whether she liked it or not. They should be celebrating with Ellie, but they likely wouldn’t even acknowledge the big day, and as hard as Ellie tried not to care, with the words of her father still ringing in her ears from Christmas, she still secretly hoped for a birthday surprise from them…

“Hey Miss Birth-eve Girl!” Monique teased, giggling as Ellie approached the table where she, Kacey, Lindsay, Keira and Jodie were sat.

“Hey girls!” Ellie giggled. “Are we going guy-less today, then?”

“Meh, we thought about it,” Monique chuckled, glancing at the service counter of the posh coffee shop in which they were sat.

“But we decided to put them to work today instead,” Kacey said with a smug grin as her boyfriend returned to the table along with Jodie’s boyfriend and Ellie’s brother, each carrying trays full of drinks. Needless to say, Ellie had a wide grin on her face as Jack handed her her drink and sat down beside her.

“This had better not be my birthday present from you,” Ellie teased her brother, who blushed and rolled his eyes.

“No, but us fetching drinks for you when this place has waitresses counts as our present,” Max- Jodie’s boyfriend- said, grinning as Ellie snorted derisively at him.

“Behave,” Jodie chastised her boyfriend, before giggling as he wrapped his arm around her waist, an action that caused Ellie a twinge of envy. “So what’s the plan for tomorrow, then?”

“Dunno yet,” Ellie shrugged. “Probably hanging out at my place if that’s okay with all you?”

“Sure,” Lindsay replied. “Already looking forward to it, heh!”

“Is- is it, you know, ‘girls only’ tomorrow?” Jack asked nervously.

“Yeah,” Ellie sighed sadly. “It’d be a bit of a hard sell to Janet.”

“Yep, I can vouch for that,” Lindsay chuckled. “I’m sure she’d make an exception for you though, Jack.”

“Yeah,” Jack sighed sadly. “But I’m pretty sure mum and dad are going to find some excuse to keep me occupied all day.”

“Yeah, I can vouch for THAT,” Ellie snorted. “But I’m not going to let them ruin tomorrow the way they ruined Christmas.”

“Damn right WE’RE not!” Monique said with a wide grin, which brought a grin to Ellie’s face. As much as she dwelled on her relationship with her parents, Ellie was always comforted with the knowledge that she could always rely on her REAL family, regardless of whether they were related by blood.

“Thanks,” Ellie whispered, blinking back tears from her eyes.

“Well, if I won’t see you tomorrow,” Jack said, producing a carrier bag full of carefully wrapped gifts from underneath his chair, the sight of which made Ellie squeak excitedly. “Happy birth-eve, sis!”

“Aww, thanks, bro!” Ellie giggled, giving her reluctant brother a tight hug. “Must have been a pain getting these out the house unnoticed?”

“Yes,” Jack replied bluntly. “Go on then, open them?”

“Yeah, go on!” Jodie urged as wide grins spread across the faces of everyone sat at the table- none wider than Ellie’s herself. With a loud giggle, Ellie tore the wrapping off of the first gift, sighing happily as she revealed a small, dainty necklace with a pendant that read 'big sister'. Ellie’s grin widened as she opened her other presents, including a set of scented soaps and a small picture frame, and even though the gifts had little monetary value, she treasured each one like it was made out of solid gold.

“You really shouldn’t have spent so much on me,” Ellie chastised her younger brother, who simply shrugged in response.

“You’re my sister,” Jack replied, before grimacing as Ellie leaned in for another long, tight hug.

“D’aww,” the other girls at the table all cooed happily, even as Jack tried to wriggle out of his sister’s embrace.

“Yes, yes, okay,” the fifteen year old boy complained. “You know I don’t like being touched.”

“More’s the pity, right?” Monique teased Keira , who simply rolled her eyes in response.

“Ah, leave him alone,” Ellie chuckled as she went in for another hug with the squirming boy.

“Thanks,” Jack snorted sarcastically. “Just wish mum and dad would pull their heads out of their arses though.”

“Yeah, I’m not holding my breath,” Ellie spat. “Or wasting any on them.”

“Hell yeah,” Kacey chuckled, remind Ellie that she wasn’t the only one sat at the table who had a troubled relationship with their parents. “Soon as college is done I can’t wait to get away, live by myself.”

“…Kinda rubbing it in, aren’t you?” Jodie criticised, glancing furtively at Ellie.

“It’s okay,” Ellie shrugged. “For starters, you’ve never met Kace’s dad.” Jodie smiled sympathetically as Kacey nodded, a sad, tired expression on her face.

“And when I turn eighteen,” Jack said defiantly, “our- sorry, MY parents are going to regret a lot of what they’ve done to Ellie.” Ellie smiled smugly as her brother nodded, a determined look on his face.

“Okay, okay, we’re being brought down again,” Monique said. “And as I said, WE won’t let your shitty family ruin your day! So here’s what we’re going to do. Anyone who’s hungry can get lunch here, then we go and see Black Panther, right?.”

“Sounds good to me!” Ellie giggled as she attracted the attention of a nearby waitress.

“Hi, how can I help?” The waitress, a blonde-haired teenaged girl whose nametag read ‘Laura’ asked.

“We’d like to order some food, please,” Monique replied, before a wide grin spread across her face. “And one extra-rich chocolate birthday cupcake!”

“Aww, whose birthday is it?” Laura asked, giggling excitedly as Ellie raised her hand. “Ah, happy birthday!”

“Thanks,” Ellie said, her cheeks starting to redden. “It’s actually tomorrow, not today, though.”

“I’ll have to clear the free cupcake with my manager, then,” Laura said, “but I’m sure she’ll okay with it, hehe! Doing anything special tomorrow?”

“Yep,” Ellie replied, a wide, contented smile spreading across her face. “Hanging out with all of my friends.”

“You can never have too many,” Laura said with a wide, genuine grin of her own as she noted down the table’s orders on her notepad.

Many hours later, after a filling lunch and an exciting film, Ellie returned to her flat, where she found Janet hard at work preparing their evening meal. After kicking off her shoes, Ellie dropped her handbag onto the sofa, before dropping herself onto the sofa next to it with a long, contented sigh.

“Good day out?” Janet asked.

“GREAT day,” Ellie replied. “You still okay with everyone coming over tomorrow?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Janet chuckled. “You only turn eighteen once, and god knows you deserve to enjoy yourself and be spoiled after- well, after everything.”

“Yeah,” Ellie sighed. “And believe me, I am going to enjoy myself. On that topic, have you bought any booze for tomorrow?”

“You know my rules about that,” Janet replied with an annoyed sigh. “My 16 year old daughter is coming here tomorrow and I am not going to let her get pissed!”

“Okay, okay,” Ellie said. “…I’ll just have buy it with my own money, then. Because from tomorrow, I CAN.” A deep frown spread across Janet’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a happy grin.

“Just as long as Lindsay stays away from them,” the older woman. “If she goes home pissed, her mother will ask why, and there’s no final outcome of that that’s good.”

“Okay, okay,” Ellie sighed. “It’s not going to be a massive, wild party, just a few friends.”

“Yes, I know,” Janet said softly. “Especially as you said you didn’t want any BOYS here, heh.” Ellie bit her lip as Janet reminded her that she’d earlier lied to her friends about the reason boys were prohibited from attending the party.

“Yeah, heh,” Ellie replied nervously.

“Not that I disapprove of you going celibate,” Janet said in a quiet, concerned voice as she left the kitchen and sat down next to Ellie, “but-“

“Honestly, I’m fine,” Ellie replied defensively, before letting out a soft sigh. “Okay, maybe not TOTALLY fine, I dunno. I just- I don’t NEED a boy right now, you know?”

“I think so,” Janet whispered.

“It’s not like I’m gonna become a nun,” Ellie mumbled, feeling her cheeks start to redden. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

“Okay,” Janet said softly. “But if you ever need to talk, I-“

“Thanks,” Ellie interrupted. “But I’d rather not talk about my sex life with my-“ Ellie paused, conscious of the fact that the next word out of her mouth was going to be the word ‘mother’. Ellie's relationship with Sharon, her biological mother, had never been the strongest, especially as her father had insisted on raising Ellie as a 'chip off the old block'. The more Ellie thought about it, the more she realised that she'd probably exchanged more words with Janet in the few months she'd been living with her than she'd exchanged with her mother in the sixteen years beforehand. Which meant that in a way, Janet WAS more like her mother than Sharon had ever been...

Even though Ellie didn’t finish her sentence, Janet instinctively knew what the next word would have been, and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying as she returned to the kitchen. Ellie calling Janet ‘mum’ at Christmas had been the greatest gift the older woman had received, and even though it hadn’t happened again in the intervening two months it gave Janet a sense of reassurance that she may not have been the greatest father to either of her children, but she was far from a failure as a parent.

After dinner, the two women spent the rest of the evening relaxing, watching TV and chatting with their friends online before both heading to bed just after 1pm. However, Janet’s sleep would be short-lived, as her alarm woke her just before 6am the following morning. Even though she strongly suspected that Ellie wouldn’t be in any rush to get out of bed early, especially on a cold February morning, Janet didn’t want to take any chances.

Sure enough, just before half past seven, Ellie got out of bed, and as she walked into the living room, her jaw dropped at the sight that greeted her.

The entire room had been draped in shimmering pink and silver streamers, along with shiny fuchsia-coloured bunting that read ‘Happy Birthday’ and two large silver balloons, one in the shape of a ‘1’ and the other in the shape of an ‘8’. The sofa was covered in a large pile of presents, each one covered in shiny wrapping paper, and the coffee table was decorated with eighteen tiny cupcakes, each one decorated with pink frosting and arranged to spell ‘happy birthday Ellie’.

“Oh my god!” The birthday girl squeaked, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks.

“Happy birthday miss- sorry, MS adult!” Janet giggled, approaching the emotional girl and giving her a tight hug.

“This is so much!” Ellie squeaked. “This is too much!”

“Rubbish,” Janet said dismissively. “Like I said yesterday, you’ve earned this. You DESERVE this.”

“My sixteenth was NOTHING like this,” Ellie said with a tired chuckle as she sat down net to her presents and sipped the sweet-tasting mug of coffee that Janet placed in front of her. “Just a pile of presents, cards from mum, dad and Jack and then off to school, heh.”

“Well at least number eighteen’s on a Saturday, heh!” Janet chuckled. “So you’ve got the whole day to enjoy it. Do you know when the rest of the girls will be around?”

“About ten,” Ellie replied. “Thank you so much for all of this, Janet…”

“Hey,” Janet said softly. “It’s nothing, really. Being your guardian means more than just feeding you and giving you a place to sleep.”

“Well- thanks,” Ellie chuckled, her attention flickering between Janet and the pile of presents next to her. “Can- can I open-“

“Go right ahead,” Janet chuckled, sitting down in her chair and watching with a wide grin on her face as Ellie excitedly tore into the gifts.

Despite the size of the pile, it only took the 18 year old girl ten minutes to open all her gifts, which included cosmetics and perfume sets, toiletries, gift cards and a large pile of clothes. By the time the clock ticked 10am, Ellie was ready for the day ahead, dressed in a new midriff-baring top, a short pleated skirt and a pair of very chunky platform shoes that made Ellie feel like the most stylish and gorgeous girl in the world. Shortly afterward, a knock came from the front door, and when Ellie opened it, she was immediately swamped in a group hug by five other teenaged girls.

“Happy birthday happy birthday!” Kacey squeaked, echoed by Monique, Lindsay, Jodie and Keira. “Ah, you look amazing!”

“Thanks!” Ellie giggled, twirling to show off her new dress. “You guys look great too, thank you SO much for coming today…”

“Uh- like we’d be anywhere else?” Monique giggled. “Now sit yourself down, Princess Ellie, your courtiers are going to take care of your every need today!”

“Especially your thirst needs!” Kacey giggled as Monique produced two bottles of wine and six cans of beer from a carrier bag, which made Ellie giggle excitedly but brought a frown to Janet’s face.

“That had better be all the alcohol you’ve brought,” Janet said sternly, earning a stealthy eye roll from the birthday girl and a quiet moan of embarrassment from her daughter.

“Dad…” Lindsay grimaced as the other girls (with the obvious exception of Ellie) began to giggle.

“So I don’t want my underage daughter getting drunk when she’s somewhere other than where she told her mother she’d be,” Janet protested. “Sue me for being a concerned parent.” Janet’s frown began to slip, however, when she saw how red the two girls’ faces were becoming. “…Okay, have fun you six. But take care, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Lindsay said, before sighing and giving Janet a gentle hug. “Thanks, dad.”

“Thanks, mum,” Ellie giggled as she also gave Janet a gentle hug, before leading the girls to the cramped seating area where the first bottle of wine was quickly opened.

Within minutes, the atmosphere in the small flat was buzzing with excitement. Ellie wasted no time in opening her gifts from her friends including more cosmetics, CDs and unique hair accessories, which weren’t as expensive as the gifts given by Janet, but which Ellie treasured nonetheless.

Janet watched from the kitchen with pride as the six girls ate and drank, sang and danced along to the new CDs and took what seemed to Janet to be a million selfies each. Ellie had had so many setbacks in her life, but had worked so hard to overcome them that Janet knew she deserved the chance to kick back and celebrate. What made Janet the proudest, though, was the ever-strengthening friendship between Ellie and Lindsay, even if it did bring with it the occasional glimmer of hope that she might eventually reconcile with the rest of her family. Janet knew that such hopes were futile, but she wouldn’t allow that to depress her. She, like Ellie, had a lot of close friends who would be there for her, a ‘substitute family’ who’d help her out when she was down. As notification of an incoming Skype call came on Janet’s laptop, Janet’s thoughts turned to the friend who she’d met when she was at her lowest, and who’d introduced her to Ellie and changed her life immeasurably. ‘You can never have too many friends’, Janet thought to herself as she got up, placed the laptop down in front of the confused eighteen year old and clicked on the ‘accept call button’.

“Happy birthday Ellie!” The unmistakable, famous face of Stephanie Abbott cheered from the screen, causing Ellie and the other girls to squeal with excitement as they gathered around the laptop. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person today, I’m up in Manchester for a friend’s wedding, but that hasn’t stopped me- well, us- from splashing out, hehe!” Ellie squeaks increased in pitch as Steph motioned to over her shoulder, where her- and Ellie’s- friends Nikki Phillips-Thomas and Jacinta Hanley were stood with wide grins on their faces.

“Oh my god!” Ellie squeaked as Janet briefly left the room, returning with yet another bag of gifts. “You didn’t need to do this, really…”

“Uh- like we wouldn’t?” Nikki replied. “For our sister on her most important birthday of all?”

“…Thanks,” Ellie mumbled as she began carefully opening the presents, gasping as she uncovered expensive gifts including a bottle of designer perfume, a new pair of expensive sunglasses and a rare book on music theory.

“I’m going to try to drop in tomorrow to see you on my way home,” Stephanie explained. “Assuming you don’t celebrate too hard tonight, of course!”

“I’ll make sure of that,” Janet said, smirking as Ellie rolled her eyes.

“If they start dancing on the table singing Shania Twain, that’s your cue to call it a day,” Stephanie teased, giggling as one of the women behind her let out a loud groan.

“Oh- are you ever going to let me forget that?” Nikki grumbled.

“I’m amazed you can remember any of it,” Stephanie retorted, giggling louder as her friend stuck her tongue out at her. “Anyway, Ellie, you have fun today, okay? I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you when I can.”

“I will, thank you so much!” Ellie giggled, waving at the screen as the famous singer smiled and ended the call.

“Oh my god, that is so cool!” Jodie gushed. “You are SO lucky to have a friend like her…” Ellie opened her mouth, ready to retort that she didn’t feel lucky, what with her family situation, her lack of a love life and her still suffering the effects of Ethan’s assault, but the more she thought about it, the more Ellie was forced to conclude that Jodie was right. There were a lot of girls who were estranged from their parents who didn’t have the friendship and support of someone as rich and influential as Stephanie Abbott, or Jamie-Lee Burke. There were a lot of girls who didn’t have friends like the five teenagers who surrounded Ellie, or the support of a parental figure like Janet. And most importantly, there were many girls who weren’t allowed, or weren’t able to be girls at all. Ellie’s life had many negatives, sure- but there were plenty of positives to her life as well.

The six girls left the flat shortly after noon for lunch and a lengthy shopping trip, with Lindsay hanging back to give her father a tight hug before joining the rest of her friends. While none of the girls had much money, they nonetheless traipsed through several stores window shopping, trying on clothes and shoes and never losing the smiles on their face.

The six girls dispersed shortly after 5:30pm and headed back to their respective homes, all of them excited following their day out and none moreso than Ellie. Many of the girls at college had celebrated their eighteenth birthday with loud, expensive parties or nights on the town, and while Ellie had been jealous of them at the time, the day had taught her that a party or a celebration isn't about what you do, but who you do it with, and Ellie could not have asked for a better group of friends to celebrate with. As Ellie headed home, the smile on her face widened when she received an unexpected text message from her brother.

‘Hey Ellie,’ the text message read. ‘Saw your photos on Instagram, am out at a Costa on Eastern Avenue, want to meet for a coffee before going home?’ Ellie giggled and immediately sent an affirmative reply to the young man- it was unusual for Jack to suggest such an impromptu meeting, but Ellie wasn’t about to turn down the chance to be with her brother on her birthday.

As she entered the crowded coffee shop, though, Ellie received the shock of her life when she realised that Jack was not alone.

“Oh sh-“ Ellie gasped as she looked across to her brother’s table and found herself locking eyes with her father- someone she hadn’t seen in the flesh in over a year. It was obvious to Ellie from the look on her father’s face that her presence was as much a surprise to him as his was to her. Ellie felt her knees start to tremble as her father's face grew red with fury- she'd mentally practised what she would say to her father if she ever saw him again countless times, but now that the moment had arrived, none of the words would come to her.

“What the-“ Ellie’s father angrily shouted, barely containing himself as he realised he was in a public place. However, this didn’t stop his face from reddening even further as Ellie continued to stare, frozen to the spot in shock. Ellie’s shock only ended when her father turned to her brother with an angry look on his face- a look Ellie was all too familiar with.

“Dad-“ Jack began nervously, barely getting out that one word before his father launched into his tirade.

“Did you know that- that THING would be here?” Ellie and Jack’s father spat in his son’s face. “Is that why you brought us here?” Ellie felt her anger rise as the older man began to shout in her beloved brother’s face.

“You know you’re not supposed to have anything to do with h- with it!” Ellie and Jack’s mother chastised the 15 year old boy. “Have you been meeting up behind our backs this whole time? Answer me!” Unable to contain her anger any longer, and fuelled by the knowledge that as an adult- a legal adult, anyway- she could stand her ground against her so-called parents, Ellie confidently strode over to the table that was already drawing the attention of the other patrons of the shop.

“I- I-“ Jack stammered, before flinching as he felt a hand grip his shoulder. However, the young man relaxed immediately when he saw that the hand belonged to his sister, who looked just as angry as their father.

“Hi dad,” Ellie said, defiantly staring once again into her father’s eyes. “Hi mum. How’s things?”

“We’re leaving,” Ellie’s father snarled, angrily putting on his coat and pushing past Ellie without giving the angry girl a second glance.

“N- no, dad, please-“ Jack pleaded.

“And you-“ the older man snarled, pointing in the face of his youngest child. “We are going to have some words when we get home! As for you-“

“What about me, dad?” Ellie asked angrily. “Going to wish me happy birthday? Or did you forget that it was my eighteenth today?” Ellie allowed herself a small smirk as her father momentarily hesitated before replying.

“Why should we care?” The older man spat. “After what you did to this family?” Ellie took a deep breath to control her anger as she prepared her reply- she was finally getting to say to her father what she’d been desperate to say for the previous two years, and she wasn’t about to let her own emotions ruin the moment.

“All I did,” Ellie said in a cold, calculated voice, “was tell you that I couldn’t live my life the way I did before.” Ellie checked over her shoulder to ensure that she had the attention of all the diners in the café before continuing. “Unless you feel that being transgendered means that you deserve to be kicked out and live on the streets at the age of sixteen?” Ellie’s announcement was met with grunts of disapproval, just as Ellie predicted, and while she subconsciously knew that some of the disapproval would be directed at her, the look of discomfort on her father’s face was enough to convince her that she’d scored a long overdue victory. Her victory was short-lived, however, when a smartly-dressed woman emerged from behind the café’s counter.

“I’m sorry, but you’re causing a disturbance,” the young woman said softly to the feuding family. “I’m going to have to ask you all to leave.”

“Fine,” Ellie’s father growled, zipping up his coat and turning to face his youngest child, only to roll his eyes and sigh when he saw tears trickling down the teenaged boy’s face.

“Ugh, Jack…” Ellie sighed sadly, walking toward her distraught brother to comfort him only to be cut off by an angry glare from their father.

“Come on, Jack, stop crying,” Ellie and Jack's mother admonished in a cowed but still angry voice.

“This was meant-“ Jack mumbled, only to be interrupted by his father yet again.

“We will talk about it at home,” the older man said firmly, before turning to face his daughter. “And as for you- if I see you anywhere near our family again, I’ll call the police. Understand?”

“You’re okay with losing both your children, then?” Ellie sneered as the fractured family were ushered out of the café by the increasingly-agitated staff. “Why d’you think Jack wants to spend so much time with me?”

“Because he’s a stupid child who doesn’t know what’s good for him,” Ellie’s father snarled. With a look of pure fear on his face, Ellie’s brother gulped and took a long, deep breath before opening his mouth.

“…No,” Jack feebly said.

“What did you just say?” Ellie’s father growled.

“I said ‘no’,” Jack mumbled. “I- I want Ellie to be a part of my life. To be a part of all our lives. I want us- I want us to be a family again, is that so wrong?”

“But why?” Ellie and Jack’s mother pleaded. “You saw what your brother did to this family.”

“Sister,” Ellie said firmly. “I’m Jack’s SISTER.”

“No you’re not,” Ellie’s mother spat. “People don’t just wake up one morning and go ‘oh, I want to change my gender today’.”

“It- just- you think I’m doing this on a whim?” Ellie hissed. “Didn’t you ever, EVER notice how miserable I was when I was a boy? Why d’you think I’m happier now?”

“Because you’re an ungrateful little shit who never knew what was good for HIM!” Ellie’s father shouted.

“Stop it!” Jack yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks as his stress and rage reached boiling point. “Why- why can’t you just accept that this is what Ellie needs?”

“Why do you care so much about your brother anyway?” Ellie and Jack’s mother asked, frowning as the teenaged boy briefly opened his mouth to reply, before clenching his jaw shut and trembling with fear.

“…Jack?” Ellie asked, her anger instantly vanishing to be replaced by concern for her younger sibling.

“I care…” Jack said, his voice cracking with emotion, “because- because I- I’m transgendered too.”

“You’re WHAT!?” Ellie and her father asked simultaneously, both voices full of incredulity.

“I- I-“ Jack said, before doubling over in pain and vomiting loudly into the gutter.

“Oh god, Jack…” The distraught teenager’s mother said, embracing her child in a tight hug. “Let- let’s get you home, okay?”

“I- I’m being serious,” Jack said between shallow, rapid breaths. “I really, really wish I was a girl-“

“We will talk about this at home,” Jack’s father said in a calmer voice, placing a calming hand on his younger child’s back as they headed back to their car.

“I- I should come-“ Ellie stammered, only to be silenced as her father turned around, anger having returned to his eyes.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage?” The older man hissed.

“Don’t you?” Ellie retorted, staring defiantly at her father as he led his family away. Once they were out of sight, however, Ellie felt a wave of emotion wash over her, bringing floods of tears to her eyes.

Ellie didn’t know whether or not Jack was serious about his being transgendered. She knew that his desire, his desperation for the family to reunite was sincere- it was often all they would talk about during their frequent conversations. However, as hard as Ellie tried, she couldn’t remember a time when Jack had ever said anything about wishing to be a girl. Ellie wished she could have some confirmation about Jack’s sincerity, but she knew that the only person who could say for certain either way was the teenager themselves- and it looked like that was no longer a possibility.

Ellie’s younger sibling remained at the forefront of her mind as she made the short tube trip home. Even though Jack had made no overt statements about wishing to be a girl, she remembered all the questions he had asked about her transition, especially in the early years. What Ellie had initially written off as idle curiosity suddenly took on new meaning for her, as did many other facets of Jack’s character- his shyness, something ‘Liam’ had particularly suffered from, his refusal of Keira despite the girl practically throwing herself at her… Ellie only knew one thing for certain, and that was despite the obstacles her parents would no doubt place in her way, she had to speak to Jack again- and she’d need help when she did. Fortunately for Ellie, she knew just who to turn to…

“Hello again, birthday girl!” Janet chuckled as the eighteen year old girl walked through the front door of the flat. “Had a good day?” Janet’s smile faded when she saw the look of stress and tiredness on her young friend’s face, along with the tell-tale streaks of mascara on her cheeks. “Oh god, Ellie… What- what happened?”

“My family happened,” Ellie groaned, kicking off her shoes and flopping onto the sofa. “I got a text from Jack asking me to come and meet him. When I got there, my parents were there too, Jack had set it up, like.”

“Guessing it didn’t go well?” Janet asked softly.

“Ugh, if it was just a shouting match with my father, I could cope,” Ellie moaned. “But Jack, he- he-“ Ellie blinked back tears as she tried to put her feelings into words.

“What did he do?” Janet asked.

“He-“ Ellie said, taking a long, deep breath to calm her nerves. “He said he was transgendered as well. I mean, like- completely out of nowhere, me and dad were arguing, he just says ‘I’m transgendered’.” Janet nodded as she took in what Ellie said- she knew that the situation would need to be treated with extreme care, and as fragile as she could be at times, Ellie wasn’t always the most tactful person in the world.

“What did you say when Jack told you this?” Janet asked.

“I- I don’t even remember,” Ellie sighed. “I was just in total shock. Then dad just grabbed Jack, ran off home and I- I just came back here. I want to help him, Janet. I- I need to know if, umm…”

“If he’s being serious?” Janet asked. “It’s understandable. I’ve got to admit, I’ve never been on, you know, the receiving end of a coming out before, I wish I knew what to tell you.”

“I wish I knew what to do,” Ellie moaned. “I mean, I NEED to talk to Jack, obviously, but that’ll never happen with mum and dad on the warpath. And, you know, I’m worried about him? After how dad reacted when I came out, god knows what they’re saying to him now…”

“You shouldn’t go there alone,” Janet said firmly.

“Yeah, kinda figured that one out for myself,” Ellie snorted. “Sorry, but- I doubt mum and dad are going to want to listen to you either, you don’t really, you know, get along…”

“Very true,” Janet said, retrieving her phone from the coffee table and opening up Facebook. “But this is important to you, which means it’s important to me as well. We’re not going to be able to do anything tonight, and it’s probably for the best if we all sleep on it anyway, but you need to remember- and Jack definitely needs to know- that we all have a much bigger family than just the people in this flat.”

“Oh- I don’t want to drag Steph into this…” Ellie moaned.

“I’m not inviting her, just letting her know what’s happened,” Janet replied.

“She’ll insist on coming along tomorrow,” Ellie said.

“That’s what I’m counting on,” Janet said, before smiling at her young friend’s look of concern. “If Jack really is transitioning, who d’you think he- sorry, SHE will turn to most for help?”

“Huh, like mum and dad will let him,” Ellie snorted.

“Best case scenario,” Janet said. “Jack starts transitioning. Who’ll she look toward the most?”

“Well, her counsellor, I suppose,” Ellie replied, before sighing as she realised what Janet was implying. “…Or me, I guess.”

“Right,” Janet said. “And I give you support when you need it, and I rely on Steph… There’s a long chain of support here for when we need it.”

“So who’s at the end of this chain?” Ellie asked.

“No one,” Janet replied. “The chain goes in a loop, everyone helps each other when they need it. And right now, you and Jack need it the most.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Ellie said, her cheeks reddening. “So, umm… What’s for dinner?”

“Umm, the special birthday meal we bought on Thursday?” Janet replied, chuckling as Ellie’s cheeks reddened further. “Did you really just forget that today was your birthday?”

“No,” Ellie replied defensively. “Maybe…”

“Heh, it’s okay,” Janet said with a warm smile. “Just shows what a good-hearted person you are, worrying about your brother.”

“I guess,” Ellie shrugged, glancing at the corner of the room where the morning’s colourful decorations were stashed out of sight- a celebration that felt a lifetime away to Ellie.

“Well, I know you have a heart of gold,” Janet said with a smile, giving the young woman’s shoulder a gentle squeeze as she headed through to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal.

Ellie spent the rest of the evening less than 3 feet away from her phone just in case her brother, or even her parents made contact, which ultimately didn’t happen. For the second night in a row, Ellie found herself struggling to sleep, though that was due to anxiety over Jack’s situation rather than the excitement and anticipation she felt the previous evening. Ellie did eventually drift off to sleep, and when she woke the following morning, she became immediately aware of multiple voices coming from the living room. Confused, Ellie wrapped her warm, fluffy dressing gown around herself and headed out into the living room, where for the second day in a row, her jaw dropped at the sight before her.

“Oh, hi Ellie!” Stephanie said with a soft, supportive smile.

“Oh- oh my god, Steph!” Ellie squeaked. “I- I haven’t got any make-up on…”

“Don’t worry about that, we’re all friends here,” Ellie’s friend Nikki said from her seat next to Stephanie. Alongside her was a woman Ellie recognised as Nikki’s wife Sarah, and an older woman Ellie hadn’t met before but looked familiar to her.

“I’ve been filling everyone in on what you told me last night,” Janet explained as Ellie sat on the arm of the sofa. “Steph, Nikki and Sarah you already know, but this is Dr Beverly Phillips, Sarah’s mother.”

“H- hi,” Ellie said nervously as she shook the older woman’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie,” Dr Phillips said. “Janet left out that I’m actually a psychiatric doctor specialising in gender identity issues. Stephanie explained to Nikki and Sarah the situation you found yourself in yesterday, and they asked if I could help out, which I was only too happy to. Even if my daughter and her wife do owe me more than a few favours by this point.”

“Mum usually charges a lot for her appointments,” Sarah explained.

“Oh- you really didn’t need to go to all this trouble for me, really,” Ellie said. “Especially this early on a Sunday morning…”

“Like I said, I’m happy to help out,” Dr Phillips said.

“And Nikki and Sarah are more than paying for it by being up this early,” Stephanie said with a smug grin as her two young friends scowled. "Left Manchester just after 7am, a time I think these two are allergic to!"

"And who's the one who slept all the way on the drive home?" Nikki retorted, making Stephanie roll her eyes and Ellie giggle and blush at the unconditional friendship she ws being shown.

“Well- thanks,” Ellie said. “’Course this’ll probably be a waste of time, mum and dad probably won’t even let us on the driveway…”

“That’s why we’re coming in force,” Sarah replied. “Strength of numbers, that sort of thing. And mum’ll be doing all the talking.”

“And of course, Jack could just be taking the piss,” Ellie mumbled.

“But do you really believe that, Ellie?” Dr Phillips asked, smiling supportively as Ellie sighed and shook her head. “I will admit, what we’re doing today is a lot more like an intervention than one of my usual sessions, but if what I’ve heard is accurate- and I’ve no reason to believe it isn’t- then time is of the essence.”

“Intervention?” Nikki asked. “What, like for drug addicts?”

“In a sense,” Dr Phillips replied. “But in this case it’s Ellie and Jack’s parents who are in need of the intervention. The first 24 hours after someone comes out are the most crucial and need to be handled with extreme care, you know that, surely?”

“God knows I do,” Ellie snorted.

“It’s important that we approach this delicately,” Dr Phillips said. “That we’re not too emotional and that we don’t get our hopes up too high. This is just step one for Jack, there’s a long road ahead.”

“And I should get dressed first,” Ellie said, chuckling as her friends all smiled. “Ooh, actually… Do you- do you think I should take some clothes for Jack? You know, in case- umm…”

“That’d be a great idea,” Dr Phillips said with a warm smile as Ellie headed back to her bedroom.

The short car ride to Ellie’s parents’ house was conducted in total silence save for the occasional instruction from Dr Phillips’s car’s satnav. As they arrived at the house, Ellie’s legs began to tremble, and as she got out of the car, clutching her bag of old clothes, she had to be steadied by Janet to keep from falling over.

“Do you need a minute?” Janet askes softly, smiling sympathetically as Ellie shook her head.

“No,” Ellie whispered. “We- we’re here for Jack.” Janet smiled as Ellie took a deep breath and led the small group toward the modest house’s front door.

As Ellie rang the doorbell, is suddenly dawned on her that if everything went according to plan, she would end the day with a brand new sister. As brothers, ‘Liam’ and ‘Jack’ had never been particularly close, certainly not as close as Ellie and Jack were as brother and sister. Ellie knew her own reasons for being introverted as a child, but had never suspected that her brother’s reasons might be the same…

“Who- you!” Ellie’s father snapped as he opened the door and came face to face with his oldest child. “Don’t you think you did enough damage yesterday?”

“Dad, we- we need to tal-“ Ellie stammered.

“We have nothing to say to you,” Ellie’s father growled. “Now fuck off before I call the police!”

“Mr Blake,” Dr Phillips said soothingly as she stood next to the trembling teenaged girl.

“Who are you?” Ellie’s father sneered. “Another tranny?”

“My name is Doctor Beverly Phillips,” the middle-aged woman replied, not rising to Ellie’s father’s bait. “I’m a psychiatric counsellor specialising in people with gender identity issues. Ellie and her friends have told me about your encounter yesterday and what your younger child said. I’m here to offer help- both to Jack and to you and your wife.”

“We don’t- Jack doesn’t need your help,” Mr Blake replied, his anger being defused by the counsellor’s calm demeanour. “He didn’t mean what he said yesterday.”

“I want- I’d, umm, like to hear that from Jack,” Ellie said defiantly.

“…Fine, if it’ll get you off my doorstep,” Ellie’s father grumbled. “Jack! Get down here!” Ellie smiled as her younger brother walked down the stairs in his pyjamas, his messy hair giving away the fact that he’d only just got out of bed despite it being almost 11am.

“E- Ellie?” Jack asked, immediately trembling with nerves at the sight of his sister.

“H- hey, Jack,” the eighteen year old girl replied. “I- umm, what you said yesterday…”

“Tell him you were just joking about what you said,” the teenagers’ father said with a stern look in his eye.

“It’s okay, Jack,” Ellie said softly as she gestured over her shoulder to where her friends were stood. “You can tell us the truth, we won’t be offended. Were you just joking yesterday when you said you were transgendered?”

“I…” Jack squeaked, before his whole body started to shake and tears flowed from his eyes. “...No…”

“What?” Ellie’s father asked incredulously as Ellie reached forward and gave the distraught boy a long hug.

“May we come in, Mr Blake?” Dr Phillips asked.

“…I think you’d better,” Mr Blake replied, leading the assembled group into the living room, where Ellie made a point of sitting down next to Jack in what was- or rather, used to be- her usual seat.

As everyone introduced themselves to Jack and his parents, Ellie (who obviously already knew everyone) took the time to look around the living room and muse on how little it had changed in the almost two years since she’d last been in the house. However, she couldn’t escape the feeling of how much she herself had changed in the same amount of time. It was the first time she'd ever been in the room wearing a skirt, for one thing. Though as familiar as the room was, Ellie was forced to conclude that it wasn’t truly her home anymore, and that even if she and her family reconciled, it may never be again.

“Okay then,” Mr Blake said with a loud sigh as he sat down in his usual chair. “You’re the doctor, you tell us how we can cure this- this thing.”

“It’s not simply a case of ‘curing’,” Dr Phillips advised. “Being transgendered is not a disease or an illness, not even a mental illness in and of itself, though if improperly- well, improperly handled, it can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression. We need to take action now to ensure that that doesn’t happen.”

“Okay, I get that,” Mr Blake said, visibly struggling to keep his patience in check- something Ellie immediately attributed to her presence in the room. “So what do we do first?”

“First we need to get Jack registered with a counsellor, someone professional he can speak to about this,” Dr Phillips advised. “The Tavistock and Portman centre has a long waiting list but there are many private counsellors I can recommend, and as Jack is almost 16 he may well be referred to an adult counsellor already. Your GP can get the ball rolling on this as well.”

“And they’ll cure Jack of these thoughts?” Ellie and Jack’s mother asked, making all of the transgendered women in the room bristle. “I’ve heard of places where people go, where they can be cured, like a psychiatric hospital?”

“If you’re referring to so-called conversion therapy, then I must strongly advise you not to go down that route,” Dr Phillips said. “As I said, being transgendered is not in and of itself a mental illness.”

“But the whole definition of transgender is ‘brain doesn’t match body’, isn’t it?” Mrs Blake asked.

“Yes,” Dr Phillips replied, “but trying to force the brain to match the body carries with it far more dangers than making the body match the brain, as with any attempt to try to force someone to think in a particular way.”

“It’s brainwashing, basically,” Nikki said bluntly. “I have a friend who’s told me stories about a time her family coerced her into going to ‘conversion therapy’ and I would not wish that on anyone.”

“What’s most important,” Dr Phillips continued, “is what Jack wants. Jack, I know this must be overwhelming and scary for you, but we are all here to help, right?” Dr Phillips looked pointedly at the young boy’s parents, who both reluctantly nodded.

“I- I’ve just-“ Jack stammered.

“Would you rather talk somewhere quieter?” Dr Phillips asked, smiling as Jack nodded. “Is there a room we can use, please? I’m conscious that we are intruding in your home, especially on a weekend, I promise we won’t take up any more of your time than we need to.”

“No- no, you’re right, this does need sorting out,” Mr Blake sighed.

“I’m guessing my old room is free?” Ellie asked, causing an awkward silence to descend over the room.

“I’d like to come too,” Ellie and Jack’s mother said firmly.

“…Jack?” Dr Phillips asked, smiling as the teenaged boy nodded.

“I want Ellie to come as well,” Jack said, exchanging a smile with his older sister.

“Lead the way,” Dr Phillips said, following as Jack led the small group up the stairs.

As Ellie entered her old bedroom, she bit her lip to keep from commenting on the sight that greeted her. ‘Liam’ had had relatively few possessions of his own, certainly a lot fewer than ‘Ellie’ had acquired, but they were still enough to personalise what used to be her bedroom. However, those possessions were nowhere to be seen, stashed away in one of the many boxes that now cluttered the room. Ellie couldn't help but feel that she herself had been treated the same way by her family.

Ellie put her feelings to one side as she took a seat next to Jack on the bed she hadn’t slept in in what felt like forever. An awkward silence filled the room as everyone waited for someone else to talk first, before Dr Phillips broke the silence with a question.

“How long have you had these feelings, Jack?” Dr Phillips asked in a soft, gentle voice.

“…A lot longer than I’ve known about Ellie, if that’s what you’re asking,” Jack replied, taking a deep breath as Dr Phillips nodded at him to continue. “I dunno. Since primary school, I know that. I’d look at the girls in their uniforms, playing their games while I ‘had’ to play football, and I’d just, you know, wonder why that couldn’t be me.”

“I know that feeling,” Ellie whispered, wrapping an arm around her sibling’s shoulder.

“Has the feeling got stronger as you’ve got older?” Dr Phillips asked, smiling supportively as Jack nodded in reply.

“Some days at school it’s all I can think about,” Jack moaned. “I mean I- I try not to, I try to tell myself that it’s, you know, ‘wrong’, that I’d eventually, I dunno, ‘grow out of it’, but it never seems to work.”

“Have- umm, did I, you know… Make things worse?” Ellie asked in a quiet, emotional voice. “Please tell me the truth, Jack…”

“…A little, maybe,” Jack replied, making Ellie bite her lip to keep herself from crying. “I mean, you made me think, you know, that it was possible, but if I ever did, it’d be such a high cost…” Despite herself, Ellie felt a solitary tear trickle down her cheek. She’d often thought about what her parents had told her when she was ejected from the home, about how she might have ‘corrupted’ her brother, and she’d always thought that it was bigoted nonsense. However, as much as she tried to reassure herself that Jack would have had transgendered feelings regardless of her influence, a small part of her wondered whether or not her parents were right. Jack’s words had obviously tried to reassure Ellie that he didn’t blame her for anything, but that didn’t stop the eighteen year old girl from wondering whether or not things would have been different had she made different choices. Much to both teenagers’ surprise, however, when they looked at their mother, they found that she was crying too…

“Have- have you ever worn-“ Mrs Blake asked in a quiet, hoarse voice.

“No,” Jack replied. “I- I didn’t dare…”

“What- that is, how would you like to proceed?” Dr Phillips asked. “Do you want to transition?”

“I- I don’t know,” Jack moaned. “I just don’t want to, you know, have to hide anymore, to pretend that I don’t have these feelings.”

“Do you- do you want to, you know, act on these feelings?” Ellie asked, remembering the bag of clothes she’d left downstairs with her friends.

“Is there any way we can help Jack without, umm… Dressing up?” Ellie and Jack’s mother asked, an uneasy look on her face. “I mean, surely we should wait for a diagnosis before we do anything rash?”

“Wearing a dress is hardly ‘doing anything rash’,” Ellie retorted, before flinching as her mother stared at her with an angry look in her eyes. “No- no, I’m serious. There are worse things in the world than someone who USED TO BE a boy wearing a skirt!”

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt to enable Jack to begin exploring his feminine side,” Dr Phillips advised. “In fact restricting it would do far more harm than good. You need to accept, Mrs Blake, that Jack does have a feminine side. It’s not something that’s ‘wrong’. Jack may never grow out of it. And forcing him to repress it WILL in the long run harm him far more than allowing him to express it, whether that expression is part- or full-time.”

“…Okay,” Mrs Blake mumbled. “But you do have to acknowledge the effect that this will have on me and my husband, right?”

“It will be a long adjustment period,” Dr Phillips conceded. “But Jack’s counsellor will be able to help you just as much as they help him. Mrs Blake, you need to go into this period without any preconceptions, without any expectations of a ‘best case scenario’, especially if in that scenario Jack ends up not transitioning.”

“So our feelings about this are just not important?” Mrs Blake asked, anger beginning to seep into her voice.

“Not as important as Jack’s,” Ellie snapped back, silencing her mother along with everyone else in the room.

“…What I’m sure Ellie means,” Dr Phillips said in a soft, calming voice, “is that it’s Jack’s life we’re talking about, and you need to put his feelings first and foremost, and trust that he knows what he wants. I understand this may be difficult-“

“Really?” Ellie’s mother asked. “Do you know what it’s like to have a child suddenly turn around and say ‘oh, I want to be a girl’?”

“I know what it’s like to have a transgendered child-in-law, for what that’s worth,” Dr Phillips replied. “One of the young women sat downstairs is my daughter, and sat next to her is her wife, who was male when I first met her six years ago. She began transitioning at the age of sixteen, and was regularly living part-time as a girl before going full-time.”

“…Oh,” Mrs Blake said in a subdued voice.

“All that mattered to me,” Dr Phillips continued, “was that Sarah loved Nikki and vice versa, and that I continued to love them both as part of my family.”

“So… What now?” Mrs Blake asked. “We go out and buy Jack a dress for him to wear whenever he feels anxious?”

“That decision should be Jack’s,” Dr Phillip’s said softly as Ellie fidgeted in her seat.

“I, umm,” Ellie began. “I kinda- kinda brought along a bag of clothes, you know, just in case…” Ellie bit her lip as she looked at her mother, whose facial expression made it clear that she did not approve of this development. However, with a loud sigh, she nodded her head, bringing smiles to both her children’s faces.

“Would you like some privacy?” Dr Phillips asked as Ellie headed downstairs to retrieve her bag.

“I’d want Ellie to stay,” Jack said as he began to shiver with excitement. Ellie blinked back a tear as she quickly skipped down the stairs, returning seconds later to discover Jack alone in her old room.

“…So this is real, then?” Ellie asked after a brief silence.

“Yep,” Jack replied nervously. “I- I’m sorry…”

“Oh- oh for god’s sake, Jack,” Ellie sighed, giving the nervous young man a hug. “What do YOU have to be sorry for?”

“Messing up your birthday,” Jack mumbled. “You know, ‘stealing the spotlight’ or whatever…”

“Oh- trust me, you don’t need to feel guilty,” Ellie said. “At all. In fact, I’m sorry I didn’t see this earlier, sorry you felt you couldn’t tell me. I mean, it’s not like I was going to tell mum and dad, was it?”

“I- I dunno,” Jack said in a quiet, timid voice. “I guess I was just so scared…”

“Oh- god,” Ellie sighed, tightening her hug. “You don’t need to be scared any more. And you don’t need to be male, either.” Ellie grinned widely as she opened the bag to show its contents. As he reached into the bag, Jack’s grin widened and even surpassed Ellie’s own.

“This- this is like a dream,” Jack sighed as he gently caressed the clothes within, as though he was scared that his touch would damage them. “Can- can I-“

“Go right ahead!” Ellie giggled. “That IS why I brought them, isn’t it? There’s some underwear in there as well in case you want to and a pair of flat shoes too. If you want to wash them when you’re done, just leave them with me and I’ll make sure it gets done. I’m sorry there’s no make-up, but-“

“This is more than I could ever have asked for, believe me!” Jack giggled.

“Do you want me to, umm, turn my back?” Ellie asked.

“…Please?” Jack asked, which Ellie replied to with a smile and a nod before turning her back on her brother.

As she listened to Jack strip off his clothes and gently step into the new garments, Ellie’s mind wandered back to the time when the mere act of pulling on a skirt sent a shiver of excitement down her spine. Back then, it was a step into the unknown, the same steps Jack was taking that very second, but over time it became normal, everyday- though no less exciting to the eighteen year old girl. Even with a thirty skirts of all lengths and styles in her wardrobe, each one held a special place in her heart, as did every dress, every top, every pair of shoes, even every pair of tights. Ellie didn't just feel excited, but felt privileged every time she was able to get dressed in her beautiful clothing, and that sense of privilege only grew as she realised that privilege was now extended to her beloved younger sibling.

“Okay,” Jack said, taking several deep breaths to calm himself. Ellie turned around to look at her new sister, and a wide grin spread across her face at the sight that greeted her.

Standing before Ellie was an average-looking teenaged girl, a little shorter than her, clad in a dusky pink hoodie, a denim skirt and a pair of opaque black tights. Her hair was short and messy and she wasn't wearing any make-up or nail polish, but Ellie was easily able to identify her not just as a girl, but as her sister.

“…Beautiful,” Ellie whispered, making her new sister blush.

“You’re just saying that…” The younger teenager mumbled, sitting down on the bed with knees pressed tightly together.

“No, honestly, I’m not,” Ellie said softly. “Okay, your hair’s a little short still, but it’ll grow, and once you get practised with make-up you will pass as easily as I do, trust me.

“Well- I guess,” Ellie’s new sister chuckled, amazing the 18 year old girl with how effortlessly they’d slipped into using feminine mannerisms and speech patterns- just as easily as Ellie herself had done two years earlier.

“…You’re gonna need a name, though,” Ellie reminded the new girl sitting alongside her. “I mean, ‘Jack’ can kinda be a girl’s name, like if it was spelled without a ‘K’, or ‘Jackie’…”

“Ehh… Nope,” the fifteen year old replied with a girlish giggle. “How- how did you, you know…”

“Pick ‘Ellie’?” The eighteen year old replied. “My initials, ‘Liam Edward’, ‘L. E.’, Ellie. Not as easy for you, ‘Jack Peter’, ‘Jape’ isn’t a great name…”

“How- how about ‘Jade’?” The younger girl asked.

“Jade…” Ellie mused. “Well- well, it’s your name, if you like it…”

“I do,” Ellie’s sister said with a confident smile and an outstretched hand. “Jade Blake, nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too!” Ellie giggled, shaking Jade’s hand and giving her a long, gentle hug.

“God,” Jade sighed, “this- this still feels like a dream…”

“Well, you don’t have to wake up if you don’t want to,” Ellie whispered. “I never did.”

“Yeah…” Jade said with a grimace. “But- but your life, you know…”

“What about it?” Ellie asked.

“It’s not- it’s not, umm…” Jade mumbled, biting her lip. “You’ve kinda- kinda had it tough…”

“…I’ve definitely had to earn my life, that’s for sure,” Ellie conceded. “Not exactly been a fairytale, heh. But you’ll have it easier, trust me. All my friends will be your friends, and mum and dad… They won’t treat you the way they did me, I’m sure they won’t.”

“I guess…” Jade said, fidgeting uncomfortably. “I just- I- I don’t think I can, you know…”

“Well- okay,” Ellie said, trying her hardest to hide her disappointment.

“Don’t- don’t get me wrong,” Jade said. “I LOVE this. If it was as easy as this… I- I’m going to, you know, need support… If you- if you moved back in-“ Ellie felt her eyes widen and her whole body bristle at her sister’s suggestion. She didn’t doubt that her presence would be an immeasurable help to Jade, especially at the start of her journey, and her own relationship with her parents seemed to have improved (not that it could’ve got any worse), but the thought of living in the household again was inconceivable to the eighteen year old girl. Especially as the more she thought about it, the more she realised that Janet was much more her ‘real’ mother than Sharon was.

“No,” Ellie said, bluntly interrupting her sister mid-sentence.

“…Okay,” Jade mumbled. “I- I’m not ready to go downstairs like this…”

“Okay,” Ellie whispered. “Keep- keep the clothes, any time you need to-“

“Thanks,” Jade whispered. “I’m, umm, I’m going to change back now…”

“Okay,” Ellie said. “I- I’ll be downstairs.”

“Okay,” Jade said. “But- well, at least now, you know, mum and dad, they- we won’t have to, like, sneak around behind their backs, right?” Despite her disappointment, Ellie was forced to smile at this bit of news, which she quickly decided was the best birthday present she could have possibly received.

Ellie returned to the living room and re-took her seat, where she was joined minutes later by Jack, once again wearing his male clothing along with a look of deep shame on his face.

“Hello Jack,” Dr Phillips said softly. “Did- did you have a good talk?”

“Yes,” Jack whispered. “I- I really, really want to see a counsellor about this. Regularly.”

“We’ll call the doctor first thing tomorrow to sort this out,” Ellie and Jack’s father said in a calm, almost sympathetic voice. Ellie mused that whatever Dr Phillips said to him must have been very good indeed.

“Also,” Jack said in a nervous voice, “I- I want Ellie to, umm, to support me… I don’t- I don’t want her to be isolated from this family anymore.” Ellie let out a soft sigh as she saw the dark looks spread across both her parents’ face following this request.

“We- we’ll think about it,” the teenagers’ mother said. “Though I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you two to, umm, talk on Facebook…”

“We’ll send you friend requests as well,” Nikki said in a quiet, respectful voice. “Anytime you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“Thanks,” Jack whispered.

“Well, umm, we should probably get going,” Janet said softly. “Ellie, do you- do you want to, umm, stay a bit longer?” Ellie hesitated before answering- while she would've loved to have spent more time with Jack, or even better, with Jade, introducing her to all the new feminine sensations that awaited her, the truth was that she was a stranger in the house- and after everything her parents had done to her, she was still a long way from forgiving them.

“…No,” Ellie whispred. “Let’s go- let’s go home.”

“Okay,” Janet said softly as she led the small group out of the house.

“Thank you all for coming today,” Mr Blake mumbled as he showed the visitors out. “And thank you for your advice, Dr Phillips. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure Jack gets the help he needs.”

“If you need any further help, let any of us know,” Dr Phillips said, shaking the older man’s hand before escorting Janet and Ellie back to her car. Both transgendered women let out long sighs as they sat down and fastened their seatbelts.

“That went quite well,” Janet said, trying to reassure her young friend.

“I’ve known comings out that have gone much worse than this,” Dr Phillips concurred. “I think Jack can be positive about the future, as can you, Ellie. You heard what your father said, and I believe he’s sincere about making sure Jack gets the help he needs.”

“Yeah,” Ellie snorted. “Help to stay a boy by any means necessary.”

“I- I don’t believe he’ll consider so-called conversion therapy,” Dr Phillips said. “He didn’t strike me as being particularly religious.”

“No, in his mind, HE’s god,” Ellie snorted. “When I came out it was either ‘live as a straight male’ or ‘get out of the house’.”

“They’ve had two years to think about it since then,” Dr Phillips said. “They need to face the reality that both of their children are transgendered or have transgendered feelings, and this isn’t something they can simply ‘order’ away.”

“Some people shouldn’t be parents at all,” Ellie mumbled, slouching down in her seat.

“But they ARE your parents, Ellie,” Janet advised her young friend. “I think today for the first time in a long time, they’re actually acknowledging that.”

“And while you were upstairs, I gave your parents details of nearby NHS family counsellors,” Dr Phillips said. “I’ll email you the same details when I get home.”

“I guess,” Ellie sighed as they headed home through the crowded streets of North-east London.

When she arrived home, Ellie went straight to her bedroom and crashed down onto her bed, her head spinning as she tried to make sense of the weekend’s events. She had a brother, who was possibly going to become her sister in the coming few months. She was no longer fully estranged from her parents, and she and Jack- or rather, Jade- would be able to communicate freely whenever they wanted. And yet, Ellie still felt uneasy. She couldn’t fully trust her parents to act in Jade’s best interests, or indeed her own, despite Dr Phillips’s reassurances of her father’s sincerity. She couldn’t trust that Jade would fully commit to the transition despite their talk in her old bedroom. And most of all, her old home wasn’t her ‘real’ home anymore.

Worse than all of that, though, was the feeling of jealousy Ellie felt toward her younger sibling. Jade would get all the help Ellie didn’t. She would be accepted where Ellie herself was rejected. And she almost certainly wouldn’t end up with an ugly scar on the back of her head. Ellie didn’t want to feel jealous of Jade- whether they were her brother or her sister, Ellie loved them regardless, and Ellie hoped that they could live the life they wanted to, but she couldn’t escape the feeling that Jade was going to get all the luck that she herself didn’t.

As Ellie laid in her bedroom contemplating the situation, Janet sat outside in her chair worrying about the eighteen year old girl, and her younger sibling as well. Ellie’s childhood had not been an easy one despite Janet’s best efforts to care for her, and her first two days of adulthood had been filled with stress. Janet hoped for Ellie’s sake that her parents were sincere about wanting to build bridges with both daughters, and a large part of herself also wondered if there was any chance of reconciling with her own family…

Ellie let out a long sigh as she walked through the front door of the college, still exhausted from the weekend and mentally completely unprepared for the week ahead. However, as she entered the familiar surroundings, she realised that as much as her life had changed, it was still continuing, and Ellie was as determined as she was before Jack's coming out to make the most of her life. The fact that she was able to openly chat with Jack online the previous night was all the reassurance that Ellie needed of that.

“Hey Ell!” Monique said with a giggle as she greeted Ellie with a tight hug. “Missed you yesterday. You had fun?”

“Ugh,” Ellie groaned. “LONG story…”