Rock Star Makeover, Parts 7 & 8
 
Author's note: As promised, here is both parts 7 and 8. I hope the bit of darkness in part 7 doesn't scare too many people off. All comments, even negative ones, are appreciated.

 

Part 7:
 

After lunch, Gabbi came with me back to my place, and we hung out for the rest of the day. Gabbi made sure to include Adam in our games, and by the end of the day he was smiling again. After she left, I asked Adam, “Well, that was pretty close to how we would’ve hung out before she came out to me, don’t you think?”

He said, “Well, except for the occasional kisses you were sharing.”

“Yep, that part’s new. But fun, I’d have to confess.”

“I’m glad for you bro. Too bad I can’t find somebody like her.”

“You will. You’re too good a guy to go without for long.”

“Okay. That’s enough mushy stuff for the day. Let’s eat supper.”

That night, as I slept, I had a dream Gabbi and I being in a maze. At the start of the maze, she was Gavin again, and at various “stations” within the maze she became a little bit more feminine. What made it odd was that there were voices around us. Some were encouraging, but some where trying to get Gabbi to turn around and go back to the beginning. Then Gabbi seemed to be stuck in the floor, and she started crying. Then her cries turned into my alarm ringing, and I woke up.

I went to school, and was totally taken back by seeing Gabbi dressed in her boy clothes. I went up to her, and asked. “Gabbi, what happened? I thought you were going to start attending school as your real self.”

“After what happened with Adam, I …. got scared and decided to come to school as Gavin. I’m.... I’m sorry. Are you disappointed in me?” she said.

I gave her a hug, and said, “No way. I … I can only imagine how it must feel. I just...I just hope you don’t get hurt trying to be somebody you’re not.”

“Thanks Noah. I .. I knew it wouldn't be easy. I... I thought I had thought of everything. But I... I’m more scared than I thought.”

“It will be okay, Gabbi. But as far as I’m concerned, you don’t need to be wearing a skirt to be … Gabbi. You’re just in tomboy mode, and that’s cool too.”

That got me a kiss.

The rest of the day was hard, to put it mildly. I could get her to brighten up for brief periods, but they wouldn’t last. At the end of the day, I told her. “Gabbi, I have to help my art teacher. You going to be okay to go home alone?”

“You and your projects. Okay... I’ll be all right.”

Once she was safely on her way home, I ran to the Principal's office. I lucked out, he was still in, so I knocked on his door.

“Come in.” he said.

I came in, and sat down.

He looked at me, and said, “What can I do for you? Its... Noah, isn’t it?”

“‘I’m... surprised you know my name, sir.”

“I’m not totally blind to what’s been going on the last while. About your …. friend?”

“She’s more than that now.”

“Ah... so its ‘she’ is it? Well, .. that explains a few things. It might not surprise you to know her mother booked an appointment to see me today, but canceled.”

“I think that’s because Gabbi made her. She found out my brother lost a girlfriend over her, and I … think she’s …”

“Blaming herself?.”

“Yeh. Can... can you help her? Please?”

“I’ll do what I can. Thank you for coming and telling me.”

“Thanks” I said, and left.

I felt much better on the way home. I was almost to my door before I realized I had just blown it, big time. I suddenly remembered what my mom had said about hiding the truth from Gabbi. I realized that I had just done worse than that. I had lied to her. I had gone behind her back and told the principal.

“Gotta make this right. “ I said to myself.

I made a quick call home, and went to Gabbi’s house. I rang the bell, and Gabbi answered.

She was still in boy clothes.

“Gabbi, can I come in?”

She let me in, and I said, “Gabbi, I …. I have a confession. I … I lied to you. I didn’t have a project with my Art teacher. I went to see the principal. I … told him whats been going on.”

“How could you do that, Noah? If I wanted him to know, I would have told him myself. How could you betray me? I don’t want to see you again!” She stormed up to her room.

Her mom came in, and said, “I heard, Noah.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Martin. I … I was scared for her. Can’t she see I just didn’t want to lose her?”

“I’m sorry Noah. I’m worried too.”

She gave me a hug, and I left, and went home.

That night, I dreamed again. It was like the dream I had the night before, except Gabbi was alone in the maze. She was also a bright, shining flame, that got brighter the closer she got to the end. Then she got stuck, and cried out. I tried to reach for her, but it was like I was behind glass. I could see her, but I couldn’t touch her. Then she got unstuck, but headed back to the beginning. As she did, her glow dimmed. I screamed for her to stop before the glow went out entirely …..

Then I woke up in a cold sweat.

My mom took one look at me when I came downstairs, and sent me back to bed. I went, and fell back to sleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. It seemed like only seconds later when my mom shook me awake.

“Sweetie, you want some lunch?” she said.

“No thanks.” I mumbled.

She put a hand on my shoulder, “Sweetie, have you at least tried to talk to God?”

I shook her hand off. “I can’t tell God from Satan right now. Just let me be, okay?”

“Okay. I love you.” she left my room.

I made no reply. I just curled up tighter and fell asleep again. The next time mom shook me awake again, it was dark outside.

“Get up, Noah. You have someplace to be.”

I managed to get dressed, and dragged myself downstairs, and climbed into our car. My mom got into the driver’s side, and we took off.

“Where we going?” I asked groggily.

“To see Dr. Mitchel.”

“He can’t help me, Mom.”

“Don’t you remember, hon? He helped when your dad died.”

“Gabbi helped too.”

“At least talk to him hon.”

So I did.

When our session was over, Mom took me home again.

“Any better, sweetie?” she asked.

“I... don’t know, Mom. He gave me some things to think about.”

We arrived home to find Adam waiting for us with a worried look on his face.

“Noah?” He said, in a choke. “Please bro. I … just hang in there. For me? I … don’t think I could take much more loss right now.”

I looked at him, and remembered how much he had to be hurting. Losing Francine, then me scaring him, it had to be tearing him up. I straightened up myself, and said, “I’ll try, bro.”

He actually hugged me.

*********

Part 8

The next morning, I felt a touch better, so I prepared to go to school. My mom fussed a bit, but let me go. If you have ever read about “heartbreak” and thought it was just a word, well, you were wrong. My heart literally ached. I felt worse than when my dad had died. It was like without Gabbi, I was totally off balance, and could fall over at any moment.

It wasn’t until the first class we shared that I realized she wasn’t there. I started really getting worried, and all kinds of recriminations ran through my head. Finally, on my free period, I went to the office. I wasn’t really sure what I could do, but I had to see the principal again.

I actually ran into Gabbi.

I picked myself up, realized who it was, and said, “Gabbi!”

I was honestly not sure what to do. I wanted to hold her so bad it hurt. But I just stood there for a minute, and then said quickly, “Gabbi, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so scared, and then I thought you hated me and...”

“Noah, just stop.” she said.

I looked at her in agony. All I could think of was, “shes going to send me out of her life, for good.”

“Please, Gabbi...”

“Let me talk first. I’m so, so, sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Oh God, Gabbi I...” I pulled her into my arms, and held her tight.

She had tears in her eyes as she said, “I’ve been worried about you too. Your mom told me how hard you were taking things. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you. I’d have done anything to prevent that. And then I realized that’s exactly how you must have felt. when you went to the principal.”

“I’m sorry Gabbi. I should’ve never lied to you.”

“I understand, Noah. You probably thought I wouldn’t have let you go if I‘d known, and you would’ve been right. And I got good news.” She smiled, and added, “The principal is going to make an announcement this afternoon about tolerance, and tomorrow, I come to school as Gabbi, for good. “

“That’s great! And... what about us? Are we good.”

“Don’t be a goof. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily.”

“Good to know.”

I gave her a kiss.

Right after my spare period it was lunch, so Gabbi and I ate together. We talked about what the principal would say that afternoon. Finally, the bell rang, and we heard the announcement to go to the gym. We went, and the principal waved to us, directing us to sit in the front row.

He said, “Good afternoon, students and staff. I will keep this short, and to the point. In September, the school board passed a policy of tolerance towards students who are gay, lesbian, or transgendered. I didn’t like that policy then, and I don’t like it today.”

Gabbi gasped.

He continued, “I didn’t like it because I don’t believe it goes nearly far enough. We shouldn’t just ‘tolerate’ students who are different. We should take the extra step, and make them feel like they belong. There are students here today who have … struggled in this area, and at least thought about hurting themselves, thanks to our ‘tolerance’. And if even one of my students acted on those kind of thoughts, it would eat at my soul. And I hope it would eat at yours.”

He paused, and took a breath, and then continued again, “Up until now, that policy has just been words on a paper. But that changes today, because one brave student has come forward to ask for permission to live as the gender she knows herself to be. But like I said, the policy isn’t enough.

He took a look around the room, and then said, “ I can demand her safety from abuse. I can tell you that any hazing or mistreatment will be dealt with severely. But I’m looking for more. I’m hoping that you can put aside any discomfort, and reach out to her, and make her feel welcome. I can’t demand those things. I can only ask for them. But i do ask, because I believe they are right. Now, Gabbi, step forward.”

Gabbi managed to stand up, and he brought her to the microphone he was using.

The principal said, “Most of you probably saw the video that introduced this young woman to the world. Almost none of you can understand how much courage it took to make it, and how much more it takes to stand here now. She was once known as Gavin Martin, but she is asking all of us, from now on, to call her by her true name. Young lady, please introduce yourself.”

He handed Gabbi the mic, and she managed, “C... call me Gabbi.”

The reaction was mixed. Some people were obviously offended, some looked shocked or confused, and some clapped. The principal took back the mic, and said, “All right. Back to classes, everyone.”

The students filed out, and I turned to the principal and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome Noah. Now go back to class.”

I took Gabbi’s hand, and did as I was told.

As luck would have it, we shared our first class after lunch, so I got a chance to see how well the announcement worked. When Gabbi put her hand up, she was called “Gabbi” by the teacher, and based on the reaction of the other students, it seemed like a majority were at least okay with her. After the class ended, I gave her hand a squeeze, and then went to my next class.

At the end of the day, we met up, and I asked her how it went, and she said, “It was okay for a first day. But there are a lot of students on the fence, and I don’t know which way they’ll jump. “

“I’m with you no matter how they react, Gabbi.”

“I know.” she said, and gave me a kiss. Hand in hand, we walked home.

When we got to my place, Gabbi shared with my mom and Adam about how it went.. My mom gave her a hug, and Adam congratulated us. After a while, she said, “I should go home. See you tomorrow?”

“Couldn’t keep me away.” I said, and gave her a kiss.

The next morning, She showed up in a skirt, and her school time as Gabbi really got under way. The rest of the week passed in a blur. She got more and more confident each day, and our relationship grew stronger and stronger. Then, Friday night, as we were in my house, my mom said, Noah, I think you need to have that talk with Gabbi soon.”

“Okay Mom, I will.”

Saturday, I went over to her house, and was a little shocked to discover she was alone.

“Where’s your mom, and sister, Gabbi?”

She reddened, and said, “My mom thought we needed to talk about some stuff, and thought we might need some privacy.”

I blushed, and said, “I’m guessing she was thinking of the same thing my mom was. She thought we should talk about where our relationship is going. And when we might get more... intimate.”

Gabbi asked, “Can we talk about it? Right now?”

“I guess. I’m … a little nervous, Gabbi.”

“I think I know why. But maybe you should tell me anyway.”

“Gabbi … I … I mean, what we do now is good. But when we are ready for more, I’m a little worried about wigging out.”

“Because my body is more male than female.”

‘Yeh. Sorry.” I said.

“Don’t be. It’ll be okay. I’m not without ideas.”

“I’m assuming that means you already have a plan.” I said.

She gave me a grin, and said, “What would be the odds I hadn’t?”

“Care to share with the slow lane?” I said.

“You’re not slow.”

“Slower than you. But really, what is your idea?”

“I’m already on hormones.” She said.

“I’ve been reading up on the transition thing. That means you will get more of a girl shape over time, right?”

“Got it in one, yes. Its early yet, so you wouldn’t notice unless you saw me naked.”

“I think I’ll leave that one alone. So what’s the bottom line?” I asked.

She smiled at me and said, “It kinda depends on you and how far we could go without you feeling uncomfortable.”

“That’s the thing, Gabbi. I honestly don’t know. I might be fine all the way through, right now. But I might freak out too. But I don’t know any way to find out without trying, and if the wrong result happens.... I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know, Noah. But you should know I have the same fears you do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When I look at me, without all the makeup and the padding, I see a boy. And I know you’re straight. I’ve tried to imagine you and me … and well, I keep seeing you hate me.”

“I couldn’t hate you hon.”

“I know. But I think the point is moot at the moment.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because neither of us is ready. If you think about it, we haven’t been ‘dating’ all that long. I think we need to be together a bit longer, maybe do a bit more growing up first. “

“I think you’re right Gabbi. As long as you don’t think I’m... rejecting you.”

“I could say the same, Noah.”

“No way, Gabbi. Now, what the heck are we doing with our day?”

“Isn’t there a Mystery Science Theater marathon on at the Art Theater?.”

“Now that’s the geek I remember!”

“Of course.”

“Well, what are you waiting for, girl. Lets get going!”

It was just like old times for us.

Only a lot better.