....we looked each other in the eye, and almost in slow motion our lips met. I felt something like an electric shock through my body as we kissed. Time seemed to stand still and we became oblivious to the rest of the world as we poured our emotions into each other with our embrace. I felt my nipples begin to swell with my incipient arousal, I felt something stiffen against me..   The Price to Pay - Vol. 3.10 - Bitter-Sweet by Alys

I stepped off the train, at Caerdydd Canolog station, and straight away spotted my sister in her usual black goth clothes.

"Hey Taran", I yelled and ran over to give her a hug. She hugged me back and then held me and looked at me.

"I can't believe how much you have changed since the last time I saw you", said Taran taking in my new feminine haircut, pierced ears and wide loop earrings, printed summer dress, make up and sandals.

"You look amazing!"

"Thanks, you look pretty good too", I replied, smiling.

"Only my usual stuff. Anyway come on", she added, taking my arm, "I know a cool little bar near the station where we can have a drink and chat"

"But I'm only 16, they won't let me in"

"Don't worry you look at least 19 in those clothes and anyway you don't have to have beer or anything, so it'll be alright"

We walked a few hundred metres from the station, up a small side street, to a little pub called Y Deryn Du. Inside it was quite dark with posters of rock singers and bands all over the wall. A loud Nirvana track was playing.

"It's a bit noisy here", I said raising my voice.

"It's OK we can go to the beer garden at the back. Through that blue door. What do you want to drink", Taran asked, pointing at the drinks list.

I indicated my choice and made my way out into the garden, leaving Taran with the joyful task of communicating with a young man, as goth as her, who was working behind the bar. A few minutes later she arrived with a blackcurrant and soda for me and a bottle of Carlsberg for herself. She sat down, next to me, on the comfortable park bench in the warm mid-morning sun.

"So what have you been up to then?", she asked. "Mum has told me a few things but I'm not really up to speed on the latest"

I proceeded to fill Taran in on everything that happened over the last month. She was a little surprised when I mentioned Amarjit and so she asked the obvious question to which I had to nod and smile. She gave me a hug.

"Well I always wondered if my brother would be gay, but never a lesbian!"

She was visibly angry when I mentioned the Oaf.

"If I ever come across the bastard then I know of another use for garden shears", she said with quite a bit of anger in her voice.

Finally I relayed the latest developments in becoming 'out' to people I knew and my planned 'date' with Sion.

"Well it sounds good from the point of view of your friends, are you thinking about going back to school? What about Sion, how do you feel about him?" she asked in her usual rapid fire questioning.

"I'm still not sure about school, it all sounds a bit daunting being in an environment where everyone knew me as a boy for five years, although I think I would be lonely at college, how can I tell people there about my past? As far as Sion is concerned, I'm not sure. It feels different with him than it did with Amarjit.", I said a little wistfully thinking about my holiday romance.

"Anyway that's enough about me, how about you and your exciting life in the big city", I asked turning to look at my elder sister.

There then followed a quarter hour of what gigs she had been to, who was living/breaking up with whom, what her feminist group were doing and how she was a bit bored working in the vegetarian peace cafe. Finally she turned at me and said:-

"Do you know what? I think Mum wants to succeed with you in a way that she didn't with me with the feminine look"

"I don't mind it sometime, but most of the time it's too much hassle", I replied

"I suppose I rebelled against her constant nagging to look pretty", said Taran, "anyway that's enough gassing it's time to take you shopping"

We spent the couple of hours in as many of the lovely little clothes shops in Caerdydd that we could fit in. We bought a few items each, finally I spotted a beautiful peasant skirt in a small boutique which Taran encouraged me to buy.

Too soon it was time to rush back to the station and jump on the 2.30pm to Aberllwyd just as it was about to leave. With a last wave to my sister I left the metropolis behind.

At just after six my Mother dropped us outside Y Ganolfan".

I wore the peasant skirt, that I had bought earlier, and a crop top under a thin cardi to meet Sion. He looked handsome in his open necked shirt and tight jeans.

We made our way into the auditorium and found some seats near the back a little away from the remainder of the sparse audience.

The film started with the titles, 'Very Annie Mary', and then with it's completely bonkers opening of a bread van with speakers driving around windy valley roads with Jonanthan Pryce singing along in Italian, with his beautiful tenor voice, to an aria. We soon got involved in the bitter sweet story of a village's attempt to raise funds for a trip to Disneyland for a young girl with terminal cancer, while holding evangelical church services with scratch and sniff bibles. It could only be based in the South Wales valleys I thought as I laughed at the scence.

I felt the emotions of the central story and held Sion's hand for reassurance. He looked at me strangely but carried on holding my hand and squeezed back. The end of the film came too soon and we made our way out of the cinema and paused in the foyer.

"That was really nice Sion", I said holding onto him, "thanks for asking me"

"Thanks for coming, I really enjoyed it too", we looked each other in the eye, and almost in slow motion our lips met. I felt something like an electric shock through my body as we kissed. Time seemed to stand still and we became oblivious to the rest of the world as we poured our emotions into each other with our embrace.I felt my nipples begin to swell with my incipient arousal, I felt something stiffen against me.

"Hey Sion, how are you doing?", came the gruff voice of Elfed Williams, crashing into our idyll. He was an occasional not very skillful football team member who was generally too eager to injure opponents to be picked too often to play.

"Whassup Sion, who's the girl?", asked Elfed's mate Alex Johnson, an equally brutish individual.

Sion looked up a little tensely.

"Hi Elfed, hi Sion, this is Celyn Angharad ", he replied giving me a new middle name to try an disguise my identity.

I smiled at them trying not to expose too much of my face.

"She is a sexy piece", continued Elfed, staring at my body and obviously mentally undressing me. I felt sick.

"I'm sure I've seen her somewhere before, and I'm sure I would remember a hot thing like her, can't think where though, what school does she go to Sion?"

I felt myself boiling with the two boys' offensive attitudes.

"Sorry guys we have to go we're waiting for a lift home, bye", said Sion leading me away before I could explode.

As we stood waiting for my Mother I became aware of the 2 lumps in heated conversation, they kept looking at me, obviously undecided. At that moment my Mother pulled up and unfortunately not in the anonymous blue VW Golf but in her very obvious and noticeable yellow Vauxhall Astra hatchback. She waved at us. We began to make our way towards the car. I hoped against hope that our two 'friends' had not recognised the car, no such luck

"Hey Sion", yelled Alex "how's the tranny freak in bed? Has she shown you her dick yet?"

I froze

"Come here girly-boy and show us your silicone tits!", shouted the other lump

I ran to the car and threw myself in the back seat, Sion hurried after me. My Mother looked at us strangely and drove off quickly. I slumped down in my seat with a dreadful feeling of defeat overwhelming me.

"How can I go back to school now? I wish I had died!"