"Oh shit," Krystie gasped as she gently lowered Mary onto the floor. "Someone get me some hot water! Joshua, do you have any towels?"

"There are some in the dressing rooms, I'll get them now," Joshua said, hurrying out of the studio.

"I am NOT giving birth on this damned floor," Mary said between gasped breaths. "And I am most definitely NOT giving birth without painkillers!"

"Jamie, call 999," Krystie ordered. "Charlotte, call Dan, get him here now."

"Will do," Charlotte said, dialling the number for Mary's husband's workplace.

"Okay," Jamie said, dialling the emergency services number.

"999, what's your emergency?" The operator asked Jamie.

"My friend's going into labour, we need an ambulance," Jamie said, trying to rein in her own sense of panic. "We're at the Heavenly Talent offices in the W2 post code area."

"We'll have an ambulance out to you as soon as possible," the operator said. "In the meantime, make sure your friend is comfortable. Tell her to remember to breathe, and remember her exercises from her antenatal classes."

"Will do," Jamie said. “Mary, umm, remember to breathe, okay?”

“Like I’m going to forget that!” Mary snapped, before yelling in pain. “Oh god…”

“Here,” Joshua said, returning to the room with several warm towels draped over his arm and his forehead glistening with sweat. “Have you called for an ambulance?”

“It’s on its way,” Jamie said as she watched Mary gasp in pain. For months, the Angels had been excited for Mary’s impending arrival, but with their future uncertain, the excitement had been replaced by a sense of trepidation and near-panic- and in Jamie’s case a feeling of guilt.

For months, Jamie had been jealous of the other five women as they embarked on their adult lives and began families. Sure, Jamie had her fiancé, and always had the option to adopt a child if she and Stuart wished, but she would never be able to experience the feeling of growing a life inside her, the unbreakable bond between mother and child. It had taken Jamie several months to shake the feelings of envy and depression that this inability had caused, but as she watched Mary lay back on the floor, her face contorted with pain, Jamie mused that this one simple image would have been enough to convince her that motherhood was a very, very bad idea.

“The paramedics are here,” Hannah said, escorting the two yellow-jacketed men into the studio, where they immediately began tending to Mary.

“Okay, Mary, is it?” One of the paramedics asked, smiling as the very red-faced Mary nodded. “It’ll all be fine, just breathe slowly and deeply.”

“Okay, okay,” Mary panted as the paramedics helped her into a wheelchair and pushed her through the front door of the agency and into the waiting ambulance.

“I’ve got my people carrier,” Krystie announced. “Is Dan already on his way to the hospital?”

“Yeah,” Charlotte replied. “God, this brings back memories, following Mary to hospital…”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed. “But back then we were actually sure about our futures.”

“Well no matter what, we’ll always be friends, right?” Charlotte said as the five women climbed into Krystie’s people carrier, trying to remain dignified in their high heels and short, tight skirts.

“Of course,” Hannah said. “Constellation may be colleagues, they may even be friends, but we- the six of us- will always be a FAMILY.”

“Right!” The other four women cheered as Krystie drove after the ambulance, but secretly, Jamie wasn’t as confident as Hannah. She knew that all friends eventually drift apart, given enough time, or given a reason, and she also knew that every man or woman has their price- and Spencer and Hall’s pockets were very deep indeed.

Shortly after the Angels arrived at the hospital, Jamie- accompanied by Charlotte- made her way to the nearest ladies’ room, where she took the opportunity to touch up her thick make-up and remove her heels to stretch her aching toes.

“God…” Jamie moaned as she wiggled her dark red toenails inside her barely black tights. “I knew Mary was due any day, I should’ve worn flats…”

“Five and a half years of wearing heels is enough for you, then?” Charlotte asked with a sly grin. “Try wearing heels while your ankles are swollen thanks to, well, your belly also being swollen.”

“Six months ago, I’d have happily taken you up on that offer,” Jamie said, earning a sympathetic sigh from her BFF. “Right now… I dunno, Charlie. I’d be happy just knowing that I’ll still be a model tomorrow.”

“You WILL be,” Charlotte said, giving Jamie a quick, comforting hug. “You heard Joshua, it’s not like we’ve been fired, it’s not like the Angels will stop being a brand just because Spencer and Hall ripped us off.”

“A brand, yes,” Jamie sighed. “But a band… You know Spencer and Hall have tried to poach us in the past, right? Actually approached Hannah twice, and they NEVER offer a contract to someone who’s turned them down before.”

“They can offer Hannah a hundred contracts, she won’t leave,” Charlotte said confidently. “You heard her- we’re her family. And take it from someone who doesn’t have any other family- you cling on to what you have.” Jamie sighed as she remembered Charlotte’s parents, who both died before she was22, and returned the hug that she had earlier received.

“Everyone has their price, though,” Jamie sighed as she and Charlotte returned to where the other three women were waiting.

----------

“Come on…” Sarah moaned as Nikki applied a thick layer of fuchsia-coloured lipstick. “We don’t want to miss the birth, and we have to get a card, and a gift…”

“I’m almost done,” Nikki said, touching up her mascara one final time before letting Sarah take her turn at her dresser. Nikki watched with a lazy grin on her face as Sarah applied her make-up to enhance her face- which Nikki of course thought was already the most beautiful face in the world.

“Do you still really think you need so much make-up?” Sarah asked. “I mean, now that you’re, you know, ‘done’…”

“Correcting my genitals doesn’t correct my face,” Nikki sighed as she pulled on a comfortable pair of thick black tights, followed by a loose, long-sleeved minidress. “No amount of oestrogen or surgery can change my bones…”

“Well fortunately,” Sarah giggled, “I love all of your bones just the way they are!”

“The ones I still have, anyway,” Nikki said, making Sarah giggle even harder.

“I won’t miss that ‘other bone’ too much, I promise,” Sarah says with a sly grin.

“Even if all my other bones are unemployed?” Nikki asked, making Sarah sigh.

“You’re not getting fired just because the show’s cancelled,” Sarah groaned. “The girls will all still be in work, they’ll still need a PA. Do you expect Jamie to pour her own coffee?”

“I do more than just fetch coffee and you know it,” Nikki said, before chuckling as Sarah giggled softly.

“I know, I know, the whole of Heavenly Talent would fall apart without you,” Sarah said, giving her fiancée a soft kiss before pulling on a short-sleeved back bodysuit and a loose knee-length skirt. “Now come on, the girls are going to be relying on us to go in there with smiles on our faces.”

“You’re right,” Nikki said with a grin. “Yes, as always…”

“You know it!” Sarah giggled.

Less than an hour later, the two young women walked into the waiting area of St Thomas Hospital carrying gifts and cars- but their smiles immediately faded when they saw the expressions on their friends’ faces.

“Umm, hi…” Nikki said cautiously as she approached her mentor. “Is- is everything okay? We were told that Mary was in labour…”

“Yeah…” Jamie said with a grimace as she escorted Nikki and Sarah away from the other four women, who all had stern, disapproving looks on their faces. “About that…”

“Oh god,” Sarah gasped. “Please- please tell me the baby-“

“The baby’s fine for now,” Jamie said, “but Mary herself isn’t. Her blood pressure is high, I mean, dangerously high. She’s being kept in for observation… The doctors want to induce but of course, Mary’s refusing, typical her.”

“Wonder why Mary’s blood pressure’s high,” Nikki sighed, earning a sympathetic smile from Jamie.

“I think everyone’s is,” Jamie said. “Come on, I’ll take your gifts, I’m sure the other girls will understand.” Nikki and Sarah both nodded as Jamie escorted them back to the waiting area, where both teenagers sat down with their cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Krystie,” Nikki whispered. “I- I’m sorry this happened, I- I kinda feel responsible.”

“Eh, it’s not like you pushed Dannii toward leaving Joshua,” Krystie replied. “Even though, you know, you kinda did.”

“What?” Sarah replied angrily.

“I’m just saying,” Krystie said defensively, “it wouldn’t have hurt you to try to include her a bit more these past few months. Last few times she came to the Wednesday lessons you girls treated her like a pariah.”

“And with good cause!” Sarah spat. “You know the history between us, you know what she did, you expect us to just forgive this?”

“I expect you to act like a damned professional!” Krystie snapped as she and Sarah stood up to face each other. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe Joshua wanted to market the five of you as a group, and as such, it might be in your best interests to at least pretend to be friends?”

“Ladies, not here,” Viks said quietly.

“How would you feel if Hannah suddenly flung herself at Mikey?” Sarah asked.

“Hey!” Hannah protested, visibly growing more and more uncomfortable as the argument heated up.

“Well that’ll never happen!” Krystie protested.

“Exactly!” Sarah growled. “And it did happen for me, so how about you get down off your high horse and stop throwing accusations around!”

“Oh, you little cow!” Krystie spat. Unable to contain her rage any further, Sarah slapped Krystie hard on the cheek, causing the taller woman to momentarily recoil in shock as everyone- Sarah included- looked on in stunned silence. A tense moment passed as the two belligerent women stared at each other, before Krystie’s face contorted into a look of pure fury and she launched herself at Sarah. The nineteen year old woman yelped as the taller, stronger Krystie barrelled into her, tackling her through a row of chairs to the floor before throwing a punch at her face, which Sarah was barely able to block with her arms.

“Enough!” Hannah screeched, physically dragging Krystie off of the panicking teenager. “This stops! Now! You two are supposed to be friends, for god’s sake! Both of you, apologise! Now!”

“…Sorry,” Krystie mumbled as she straightened her skirt and sat back down.

“I- I’m sorry,” Sarah whispered as Nikki helped her back to her feet.

“We should probably leave,” Nikki said in a dark voice as she shot a dirty look at Krystie.

“That’s probably for the best,” Viks said, before letting out a long, exasperated sigh as the teenagers left. “Krystie? What the hell?”

“…I dunno,” Krystie sighed. “It’s just- you know? Mary’s in here because she has high blood pressure, she wouldn’t have high blood pressure if Dannii hadn’t jumped ship, Dannii wouldn’t have jumped ship if- ugh.” Krystie sighed as the adrenaline began to thin in her blood and her hands and legs began to tremble. After taking a puff of her asthma inhaler, she stood up and slipped off her heels- to steady her feet- and walked off in search of a vending machine.

“We do NOT tell Mary about this when we see her,” Charlotte ordered, to the agreement of the other three women. “She’s got enough on her plate as it is.”

“We all have,” Viks said.

“What’s important,” Hannah said, “is that we- the six of us- DON’T fight each other. We’re family. We need to remember that.”

“Agreed,” Charlotte said, though as she looked over at Jamie, it was clear to the young transwoman that her talk about ‘every woman having her price’ was resonating in Charlotte’s mind.

----------

“Let’s see Constellation try to beat THAT,” Adeola said confidently as she took a swig from a bottle of water.

“We shouldn’t try to make this a competition,” Lauren said as she soothed her own vocal chords. “Their band- if you can call it that- isn’t even directly competing with us, we’re a five-piece, they’re a duo.”

“Stop that,” Stuart ordered from his seat in the studio’s control room. “Less gossiping, more singing!”

“Yes, yes, mein fuhrer,” Becca retorted, making her brother snort with laughter. “Seriously, though, I have heard rumours that Spencer and Hall aren’t done poaching talent from us. I haven’t had one yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a voicemail when I get home…”

“Surely not?” Kayla asked. “They wouldn’t be THAT bold, would they?”

“I doubt they’d send one to me,” Adeola shrugged. “Even they wouldn’t be able to buy off a blood relative. You four, though…”

“Well I’m not leaving, no matter the price,” Becca said with a confident smirk.

“Me either,” Stephanie said firmly.

“…Really?” Adeola asked. “’Cause I figured, you know…”

“…’You know’ what?” Stephanie asked.

“It’s just, umm… Forget it,” the dark-skinned girl said, shaking her head.

“No,” Stephanie urged. “You were going to say something, and I want to know what it was.”

“Well, just ‘cause, umm…” Adeola mumbled, fidgeting awkwardly. “Because, you know, if Dannii, like, tells about you… She wouldn’t do that to a, you know, to a colleague?”

“I’m not scared of what Dannii has to say,” Stephanie said. “And I DON’T turn my back on my friends. If the worst does happen… You’d all have my back, right?”

“Of course!” Kayla cheered.

“Right,” Becca, Adeola and Lauren all said with wide grins on their faces

“Now that we’ve established that none of you are going anywhere,” Stuart called from his booth, “can you all please get back to work?”

“His master’s voice has spoken,” Becca said, once again making her brother snort with laughter.

----------

“God…” Sarah moaned as Nikki drove the two of them to their friends’ flat. “I’m so, so sorry, Nikki. I don’t know what happened, what came over me, just- the way- the way she was talking-“

“I don’t blame you at all,” Nikki sighed. “Nearly felt like slapping her myself. Think she forgot that just because the Angels all gelled smoothly, doesn’t mean every group like them will.”

“Looks like I’ve got Wednesdays free for the foreseeable future, heh,” Sarah chuckled. “Sorry about that… Obviously you can still go to lessons if you want, I won’t mind-“

“Not without you,” Nikki said softly, making her fiancée smile.

“Really, I wouldn’t mind,” Sarah persisted. “You know how Jamie said going back to ballet helped her regain her flexibility after her operation.”

“It’s that important to you that I’m flexible?” Nikki asked, making Sarah giggle.

“Maybe,” Sarah said with a wink, before grimacing in pain. “Damn it…”

“Are you SURE you’re okay?” Nikki asked.

“Ugh,” Sarah spat. “Banged my hip hard on a chair when I, well, you know, ‘went down’… A massage would REALLY help…”

“On a bruised hip?” Nikki asked. “How, exactly?”

“It’s not my hip that I want you to quote-unquote massage,” Sarah said, bringing a sly grin to Nikki’s face.

An hour later, after their return home, Sarah stretched her naked body out on Nikki’s bed, smiling contentedly after her ‘message’.

“Is your ‘hip’ feeling any better, Miss Phillips?” Nikki asked.

“Much better,” Sarah sighed happily, before rolling her eyes as her phone bleeped to inform her of a new text message. “It’s from Jamie… Mary’s being kept in hospital for another couple of days, either until she has the baby or until her blood pressure goes down. She also wants to know if we’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the same message,” Nikki said, looking at her phone. “You know, I was actually meant to be at work on Thursday. A dancewear shoot. Guess who with?”

“Ughhhh,” Sarah moaned. “I am so, so sorry again… I know you’re trying to get all the hours you can now you’re back at work…”

“It’s fine,” Nikki sighed. “I was only going along to steal a few leotards anyway, heh. Can you believe I’ve not actually worn a leotard since I had my operation?”

“Thought you wore that bodysuit the other day?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, but- well, you know what I mean,” Nikki said. “Not worn a leotard-type piece of clothing that I didn’t immediately pull a skirt on over the top of, if that makes more sense.”

“Grammar-wise, not really, but otherwise, yeah, I guess,” Sarah said, giggling as Nikki playfully threw a cushion at her. “All the more reason why you should go to the lesson tomorrow.”

“I told you before, I’m not going without you,” Nikki said.

“Then I guess I’d better get ready to swallow a massive chunk of humble pie,” Sarah sighed as she pulled her bodysuit and skirt back on.

“…I dunno,” Nikki sighed. “Between me and Steph, and now you and Krystie, that’s a level of awkward we really don’t need.”

“It won’t go away by ignoring it,” Sarah said. “The sooner we work through this, the sooner things can get back to normal. Well, for everyone apart from Dan and Mary, anyway, things don’t get back to normal with a newborn under the roof!”

“And I should know, heh,” Nikki chuckled as she heard her infant sister chuckle in her downstairs playpen. “Funny to think that in four months, she’ll be starting baby ballet with Krys.”

“Meh, it’ll just make picking out Christmas and birthday presents easier,” Sarah said, making Nikki giggle. “And don’t worry about your job, whatever you do. I’ll eat as much humble pie as I need to get you back in Krystie’s good books.”

“I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without you,” Nikki sighed, giving her fiancée a long kiss even as her subconscious told her that despite Sarah’s reassurances, her future, like those of the Angels, was far from certain.

----------

“Unacceptable!” Joshua boomed, startling the five young women stood in his office- especially Krystie, who was the main target of his rage.

“I’m really, really sorry,” Krystie mumbled.

“I am not the one you should apologise to!” Joshua snapped. “You are just lucky that there were no press around to witness this!”

“I just- I just saw red-“ Krystie babbled, her knees shaking with nerves.

“Save it,” Joshua sighed, before sitting back down. “This whole situation has made us all tense, even me. But you are professionals, all of you! What Dannii did… It stabbed me in the back. It stabbed us all in the back. But what’s done is done, and fighting about it will do no one any good! I will be talking to Sarah Phillips about this. You will both be at your studio tomorrow morning to properly apologise to each other. I will personally see to that.”

“Y- you will come to ballet tomorrow?” Charlotte asked.

“I will not be wearing the uniform, so get THAT mental image out of your heads!” Joshua laughed, making the five women all giggle. “But I want this situation sorted, and immediately. I have found work for all five of you next week, good-paying work. And no, Jamie, I am not making you work on your birthday!”

“Oh god, my birthday,” Jamie laughed. “I’d actually forgotten about that… Hardly seems important now, heh.”

“Just more proof that you’re the most warm-hearted of all of us,” Charlotte giggled as she gave her BFF a tight hug. “If I was turning twenty-five, I know I wouldn’t forget about, I’d insist on a huge party, loads of presents…”

“You did turn twenty-five, four months ago,” Viks reminded the giggling Charlotte. “And you DID have a huge party and loads of presents!”

“You’re right, Mrs. Benedict, I did!” Charlotte laughed. “Which means that Jamie needs to as well!”

“Agreed!” Joshua boomed. “You are all friends again! Go, before I actually start listening to your gossip!”

“Can do, boss!” Hannah giggled as she led her four friends out of the vast office.

“And Krystie?” Joshua asked, stopping the tall dance teacher in her tracks before she left the room. “We all make mistakes. All of us. Just make sure you don’t repeat them.”

“I won’t,” Krystie said, her cheeks flushing as she left the office and caught up with her friends.

“So, girls,” Hannah said. “We’re five young, sexy women wearing expensive designer clothes in the middle of the most cosmopolitan city in Europe. You know what that means, right?”

“Does that mean that we are ladies who lunch?” Charlotte asked her friend, who giggled in response.

“It means that we are SUCCESSFUL ladies who lunch,” Viks giggled.

“That sounds good to me,” Krystie sighed. “I want to forget all about the EXISTENCE of Sarah bloody Phillips, at least for the rest of the day, heh!”

“And about the existence of Kelly bloody Watson, Dannii bloody Samson and all of their ‘constellation’!” Jamie said, earning cheers from her friends as they headed out of the agency.

All throughout lunch, the five women found themselves facing requests for autographs and selfies from fans, and these requests didn't stop until the literal second Krystie had started her car and driven them all back to their respective homes.

On any ordinary day, the women would have been thoroughly irritated by the constant interruptions to their meal, but on that particular day, every request for an autograph was welcomed as it served as a reminder that despite the rise of Constellation, all the women were still famous in their own right- and this feeling of relief was strongest of all for Jamie.

As a transgendered woman- a transgendered model and celebrity, no less- Jamie possessed a rarity value that Joshua had successfully exploited to make himself and Jamie very wealthy. Jamie was 100% sure that Kelly's presence within Constellation was a direct attack on her 'unique selling point', and it was impossible for Jamie to see that as anything other than an attack on her sense of self, no matter how hard Jamie tried to remind herself that she wasn't the first transgendered person in the world to be seen as a role model- and she certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Hope your day was better than mine," Jamie said to her fiancé that night as they both got undressed and got ready for bed.

"I had to take repeated breaks from work to 'play' with my genitals," Stuart explained, making Jamie giggle, "with my little sister knowing exactly what I was doing each time I left the studio."

"Okay, that IS pretty bad," Jamie laughed.

"Though to be fair..." Stuart grimaced. "You probably had the worst news of the year so far, so there's no real competing with that, even if I wanted to."

"Thanks," Jamie whispered. "We all knew it was coming anyway, but to hear it... And to hear that we're being replaced by THEM... It's kinda a bitter pill to swallow, you know?"

"I give 'em a year," Stuart said, before giving his giggling fiancée a long kiss. "Now get to bed, reality show or no reality show, you're still a busy young woman, and you've got a long week ahead!"

"Yes, sir!" Jamie giggled, returning Stuart's kiss before climbing into bed and snuggling against his warm body. Stuart's embrace made Jamie feel safe, contented and, most importantly of all, loved, but as she drifted off to sleep, her anxieties about her future- especially her continued fame- were just as strong as ever.

----------

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nikki asked her fiancée the following morning as she finished blow-drying her hair. "I can skip it if you want, say I don't feel up to it just yet... Wouldn't be TOO far from the truth if I'm honest."

"No, Joshua's phone call yesterday was VERY insistent," Sarah replied. "And I know it's not like I work for him THAT often, but I do need the extra money... Can't live off the 'bank of mum' forever."

"Only if you're sure," Nikki said, sighing happily as Sarah rolled a pair of soft pink tights up her slender, toned legs before stepping into a plain black tank leotard that clung tightly to her torso. After stepping into her own dancewear, Nikki couldn't resist the urge to tightly embrace her fiancée from behind, sighing happily at the feeling of their soft, tender bodies pressing against each other.

"...We're going to be late," Sarah giggled.

"Meh," Nikki shrugged. "I can honestly say I'd just rather do this all morning."

"And get me in trouble?" Sarah asked.

"I'll take the blame," Nikki mumbled into Sarah's neck as she nuzzled it. "Can you honestly say there's nowhere you'd rather be?"

"About four feet from here, in that bed," Sarah whispered, before running her hand down Nikki's torso, her fingers getting slower and slower as she reached the gusset of Nikki's leotard.

"Mmm," Nikki dreamily moaned as the pressure from Sarah's fingers increased. "Can't wait until we can do this, you know, for real..."

"It's not still too sensitive?" Sarah asked.

"Not through two layers of lycra it isn't," Nikki giggled, before a gasp caused her to release Sarah from her embrace. "Umm... We probably should get going, heh."

"Just one thing before we go," Sarah said with a giggle as she sat her fiancée down on the side of their bed.

"Umm... Okay?" Nikki asked with confusion as Sarah began brushing her hair, before pulling it back into a tight ponytail and tying it into a severe bun. "You do know Krystie usually does this, right?"

"Yeah, well Krystie can tie her own fiancé’s hair into a bun!" Sarah said smugly. "Actually, his hair is long enough that she probably can, heh."

"She will see this as provoking her," Nikki said, before pulling on a loose dress, a pair of flats and leading Sarah down to her car.

"Then it's up to her whether or not to rise to the provocation," Sarah shrugged. "Bye Chris! Bye Sandra!"

"Bye, girls," Nikki's parents said to the two young women as they drove away, heading directly towards the Krystie Fullerton School of Dance.

When Nikki and Sarah arrived, they weren't surprised to see that there were several people already present. They were, however, surprised by the presence of a camera crew standing alongside the owner of Heavenly Talent.

"Sarah Phillips!" Joshua boomed, momentarily startling the nineteen year old woman. "Do not look afraid! Anything I had to say to you I said during our telephone call yesterday. All that remains is for you and Krystie to speak to each other. On camera."

"...On camera?" Sarah asked in a quiet, timid voice. "Is- is that really necessary? I thought no one knew about the fight..."

"They don't," Joshua explained. "And they don't need to. But we are a family. We have no secrets. Families will occasionally argue. Families will sometimes fight. But families always come together in the end."

"Trust me, I know," Sarah sighed. "You wouldn't believe the disagreements I had with my dad's wife last year. And the ten years before that, heh."

"And even if the Angels have been cancelled by ITV2," Joshua continued, "that doesn't mean that there aren't other channels!" Joshua, Sarah and Nikki all chuckled, though their laughter was brought to an abrupt stop by the arrival of the dance studio's owner.

"Hi Joshua," Krystie said nervously. "Umm, hi Sarah..."

"Hi Krystie," Sarah mumbled.

"We- we should get this over and done with," Krystie said. "Though you are going to have to remove your street shoes, that floor costs a LOT to repair."

"...Yes ma'am," Joshua sighed, before he and his camera crew removed their footwear. "I suppose they don't do pointe shoes in size 13?"

"I wouldn't let you wear them even if they did," Krystie snorted. "No offence, Joshua, but you're not exactly built like a ballet dancer, even a male one."

"I do perhaps overindulge on the finer things in life!" Joshua laughed. "Perks of being a millionaire, heh."

"As for you two," Krystie said to Nikki and Sarah, "usual places. And no, I won't be offended that you tied Nikki's bun when they is and always has been my job!" Sarah blushed a bright red as she linked her fingers with Nikki and headed toward the barre, where they began their usual warm-ups- though Nikki was still much less flexible than usual. Soon, the dance studio filled with familiar faces, but before the lesson could begin, Joshua moved to the middle of the room, trying not to smirk at his awkwardness of walking in sock feet.

"If I may have your attention," Joshua boomed, his voice echoing in the vast room. "The last few days have been trying for all of us. Tensions have been high, too high. But we must remember that we are a family. I love you all as though you were my children, and it hurts me to see two sisters fighting. Krystie, Sarah." The two young women took deep breaths before stepping forward to the spots Joshua indicated on the studio's floor.

"Sarah," Krystie said, her discomfort plain for all to see, "I apologise for what I said yesterday and how I reacted, it was immature of me, I took my frustrations out on you and I acknowledge that that was entirely wrong."

"Krystie," Sarah whispered. "I apologise for what I said and did yesterday, I overreacted to what you were saying and I was wrong to do so." Slowly, the two women leaned toward each other and gave each other an awkward hug as the rest of the room applauded.

"For this alone, we should never fight again," Krystie whispered, making Sarah giggle. "And I don't mean just you and me, I mean fighting ANYONE."

"Agreed," Sarah laughed, before skipping back to where her fiancée was waiting at the barre.

For the next hour the gathering of women performed their exercises, stretches and steps to the best of their ability as Krystie and Zoe watched on intently, and Joshua watched with pride etched onto his face that his employees were able to conduct themselves in a mature, friendly manner. The middle-aged gentleman was convinced that the maturity shown by his girls would lead to a new unity between all of them, but as the women began to get changed after the lesson, that illusion was quickly shattered.

“Oh shit,” Becca mouthed as she approached Stephanie with her smartphone in her hand. “Umm, Steph, umm, you might want to see this… You might want to sit down.”

“What is it?” Stephanie asked, the tension quickly returning to her body. Rather than give a direct answer, Becca thrust her phone into Stephanie’s hands, on which was a video of Dannii Samson in front of the same star field background that she’d been interviewed in front of o Monday.

“- opportunity to make new friends that I’m most looking forward to,” Dannii explained as Stephanie resumed the video mid-sentence. “When I was working with the Angels… It was clear that many of them weren’t ‘friends’ as such, they were just working together because, you know, they were told to.”

“The lying little slag,” Adeola breathed. “So much for ‘not being in direct competition’ with us…”

“So you’re saying that The Angels aren’t as friendly as they appear?” The interviewer asked.

“Nowhere near,” Dannii said, shaking her head. “The same goes for Out of Heaven as well.”

“Well- maybe at first,” Lauren said in her strong Scottish accent. “Now, though…”

“They were only formed due to Joshua’s adoptive daughter twisting his arm,” Dannii continued. “She and her best friend aren’t even that good at singing, everything’s cleaned up before it gets released to the public.”

“I will fucking kill her,” Adeola growled. “I will tear every bleached blonde hair out of her head!”

“It gets worse,” Becca whispered in a dark voice.

“Their transgendered singer isn’t even transgendered,” Dannii continued, making Stephanie’s throat fill with bile. “By which I mean, umm, she’s not, like, just a woman, I mean, she’s not actually transitioning, taking hormones or anything, ‘she’s just a man in drag.”

“Oh- oh god,” Stephanie gasped as she collapsed back in her seat, her skin drained of all colour and her forehead covered in a flop sweat.

“Steph, I- I’m so sorry,” Becca whispered. “But I thought it was best that you saw this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Stephanie replied in a gasped whisper as a crowd began to form around the distressed young woman.

“What’s happened?” Charlotte asked.

“Dannii, she-“ Kayla stammered. “She, um, she blew Stephanie. I mean, she, um, she told about Stephanie, and that she’s not on hormones.”

“Oh my god,” Nikki gasped. “That cunt. That total cunt. She actually did it…”

“The only person who ‘did’ anything was you!” Kayla snapped at Nikki, who recoiled in shock. “Didn’t it occur to you that maybe you shouldn’t just randomly gossip about people’s private details?”

“Leave her alone!” Jamie yelled, standing side by side with her protégé. “Did it maybe occur to YOU that if people didn’t lie about their private details, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this sort of mess in the first place?”

“Oh, because every transgendered person in the world has to be like you, don’t they?” Becca growled. “Little miss perfect, living in her big house, having all the best doctors at her beck and call…”

“Oh, like you DON’T live in a huge house, miss ‘daughter of a millionaire’?” Jamie retorted, causing Becca’s face to contort with anger. “The only reason you’re even here today is thanks to nepotism!”

“Huh,” Becca snorted. “Looks like I owe Nikki an apology, it’s clear now who was REALLY in Dannii’s ear.”

“And just what is THAT supposed to mean?” Jamie yelled.

“Stop this!” Charlotte screeched, silencing the packed changing room. “What the hell is even happening here? Spencer and Hall are directly attacking us now, and rather than unite against them we fight each other? Becca, Jamie, a few months from now you’ll be sisters-in-law! Just- gah! I can’t deal with this, not today!” The room watched in shock as Charlotte pulled on the short dress she’d worn to the dance studio and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

“You should be supporting Stephanie, not having a go at her,” Becca said in a cold, calm voice as she left the changing room with the rest of her band in tow.

Jamie felt her cheeks flush as the remaining women in the room all stared her with confused and disapproving looks on their faces. Nikki bit her lip as she also felt her cheeks begin to redden, though the comforting grip of her fiancée’s hand on hers helped to prevent this.

“Why do you have such a problem with Stephanie, anyway?” Hannah asked Jamie, who sighed in response.

“I don’t like being deceived,” Jamie replied. “She lied to my face. She lied to all our faces, and she expects us to just forgive her just like, you know, just like that?”

“But she told the truth eventually,” Hannah retorted. “And it’s easy to see why she felt she had to lie.”

“And it’s not like you didn’t lie to us for ages,” Krystie said as she entered the changing room. “I’d known you for almost two years before finding out that you were transgendered.” Jamie bit her lip to try to calm herself from the bombardment of criticism, but in the end was unable to do anything other than shake her head and walk out of the changing room with her cheeks burning with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

As she drove back to her large house, Jamie reflected on what her friends had said and whether or not she HAD been too harsh on Stephanie. She knew all too well how vicious the press could be, and how determined they could be to unearth any secrets about anyone famous. She was convinced that Stephanie was going to be in for one of the hardest weeks of her life… And yet Jamie couldn’t shake the feeling that’d brought it on herself. Stephanie HAD lied about her transgendered status. She’d told Jamie that she’d been taking oestrogen when she wasn’t, and worse yet, she’d told her fans- many of whom were also transgendered- the same thing.

Jamie was forced to acknowledge that her own deception hadn’t been any better, of course- in the months after she began her transition, she’d set up a blog and a YouTube channel in an attempt to increase her public profile, and through those channels, she’d promoted herself as an ordinary twenty year old woman. A chance encounter with an acquaintance from her old school had seen Jamie outed to the whole world before she was ready, leading to heartfelt apologies to all her friends and to her fans. The key difference in Jamie’s mind, however, was that when she’d been outed, Jamie had had only a tiny handful of the fans she would later gain through the Angels- and nowhere near the number of fans that Stephanie had.

Jamie had agreed to ‘mentor’ Stephanie during her rise to fame, to guide her and defend her from the inevitable hostility that she would receive from various closed-minded corners of society- but Jamie felt that she was simply incapable of doing that job whilst her ‘protégé’ wasn’t being entirely truthful with her.

“Charlotte?” Jamie asked as she opened her front door and let out a long sigh. “Charlie? You home?”

“Jamie?” A quiet Irish voice replied from the living room. “That you?”

“Eilish?” Jamie asked, smiling as the petite frame of Charlotte’s son’s nanny walked into view, carrying the tiny infant in her arms. “Where’s Charlotte?”

“She’s not come home,” Eilish replied. “Not even called, why, is everything alright?”

“I dunno,” Jamie sighed. “She seemed pretty upset…” Jamie sighed as she scanned the large entranceway and her eyes became fixed on a large portrait hanging on one of the walls. “…Never mind. I know EXACTLY where she is.”

A short while later, without even having changed out of her dancewear, Jamie parked her car in the small, secluded car park next to an empty, eerie cemetery. After getting out of her car, it took Jamie no time whatsoever to locate her BFF, who was stood over the grave of her mother.

“Charlie,” Jamie whispered.

“Hi Jamie,” Charlotte sniffled in response. “Mum, you remember Jamie, right?”

“He-hello, Mrs. Easton,” Jamie said respectfully. “It’s, um, nice to see you again…”

“Look at the date,” Charlotte whispered. “The date on the tom- the first date.”

“Oh,” Jamie said as she read the inscription that read ‘born 14/09/1961’. “Oh, right, um, happy birthday, Mrs. Easton.”

“She would’ve been 55 today,” Charlotte mumbled. “I wonder what she’d think, of this whole ‘Constellation’ thing…”

“She’d be proud of the way you’re handling it,” Jamie said soothingly. “You’re being way more mature than I am, that’s for sure…”

“I- I really need your support, Jamie,” Charlotte sniffled. “Especially today of all days.”

“You’ll always have my support,” Jamie whispered, giving the upset young woman a tight hug. “We’ll always be Angels, and we’ll always be BFFs, right?”

“Right,” Charlotte mumbled.” But I’m not the only person who needs your support right now.”

“I know,” Jamie sighed. “And I wanted, I really wanted to be Stephanie’s friend, but I don’t even know who she is, there have been so many conflicting stories…”

“She’s not, you know, ‘stable’,” Charlotte said softly. “She needs our help, not us yelling at her.”

“I’m still not convinced that stay in the loony bin was genuine,” Jamie said in a cold voice. “I hate myself for saying it, but if I was looking for attention, some sort of validation for what I’d done… It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d do.”

“…Me too,” Charlotte sighed. “But nothing’s going to get solved while you’re still at each other’s throats, you need to sit down and talk to each other. And do it soon, too-“

“-Before Joshua forces us to, I know,” Jamie said, letting out a tired chuckle. “Will- will you come with me, please? I mean I know I support you, but there are times when I need-“

“Of course I’ll go with you,” Charlotte said, returning Jamie’s earlier hug. “As long as you change out of your leotard first!” Jamie giggled happily as the two women said their farewells to Charlotte’s mother’s grave before making their way back home.

----------

“Make the tea extra strong, extra sweet,” Becca ordered Adeola as she gripped Stephanie’s ice-cold hands in her own to stop them from shaking. “Now listen to me, okay? This is NOT the end of the world. Joshua is the king of spin. He WILL put out any and all fires that come our way, okay?”

“O-Okay,” Stephanie replied between gasped, panicked breaths. “Oh god, why did this happen?” Becca gave Stephanie a long, tight hug as the transgendered girl slowly wept into her shoulder.

“Dannii’s a selfish bitch,” Kayla said coldly. “You heard Nikki and Sarah, she always was. She’ll get her karma eventually though, trust me.”

“Ugh, fucking Nikki fucking Thomas,” Stephanie spat as she dried her eyes. “I swear I’m going to slap the teeth out of her mouth next time I see her…”

“Whoa, Steph,” Becca said, releasing her hug. “Kinda getting a bit ‘violent mood swing’-y on me here…”

“Sorry,” Stephanie moaned as she slumped forward again. “My emotions are just all over the place…”

“Then… Maybe it’s best if you DON’T take oestrogen?” Lauren asked, earning stern stares from her bandmates. “What? You get flooded with oestrogen, it’ll be a bit like puberty, right? I don’t know about you girls but I would NOT want to go through all that again…”

“…She may be right,” Becca whispered. “You know Beverly will say the same thing, didn’t you say she’s been withholding hormones whilst you’re recovering from your hospital visit?”

“But I need SOMETHING,” Stephanie moaned. “ANYTHING, I can’t- I just can’t go on like this, the press are going to tar me apart…”

“Joshua won’t let them!” Adeola urged, placing a mug of hot, sweet tea in Stephanie’s hands. “He always looks after his own like family. You’re no different.”

“After I lied to him all this time?” Stephanie asked, tears returning to her eyes. “I’ve screwed everything up! It- it’s all over…”

“It is NOT over!” Kayla said firmly. “Not now and certainly not because of that tall bitch! We’re all behind you. ALL of us. Right?”

“Right!” The other three women all cheered, bringing the smile back to Stephanie’s face.

“Thank- thank you all,” Stephanie sniffled, before breaking down in tears again as the front door of her home opened and her mother came rushing through to give her a long, tight hug.

“I came home as soon as I heard,” Mrs. Abbott said. “Steph, I’m so, so sorry…”

“Thanks,” Stephanie sniffled. “I- I just want to climb into a big hole and die…”

“No you most definitely don’t!” Mrs. Abbott snapped, startling her distressed daughter. “You have people who count on you, Stephanie Abbott. Four of them are in this room right now. Five, actually, because you can count me as one of your fans. However bad it seems right now, we WILL get through it and you WILL go out there with your head held high, understand? I know it’s difficult right now but sulking in your room never solved anything!”

“O-Okay,” Stephanie sniffed, blinking back yet more tears.

“Adeola,” Stephanie’s mother asked, startling the dark-skinned girl. “Your uncle will already know this news, won’t he?”

“Uhh, yeah, I think so,” Adeola replied.

“So he’ll already know what to do, right?” Mrs. Abbott probed further.

“He’ll be drawing up a plan if he hasn’t already,” Adeola said.

“Then he’s the person you need to talk to,” Mrs. Abbott said firmly. “I can take you there now- as long as one of you is okay with riding in the boot, that is.”

“Yeah, that’d be me, I’m the smallest,” Kayla laughed.

“But- but I’m not dressed, none of us are dressed-“ Stephanie protested.

“No buts,” Mrs. Abbott said. “The longer you stay here worrying about this, the more worked up you’ll get and there’s no way I’m risking you running off again. Now out.” Silently, Stephanie nodded and headed out of the house to her mother’s car, where she tried to get comfortable in the passenger seat despite the fact that she still wore her tight dancewear. The other four women followed suit- with Kayla letting out a tired grin as she climbed into the car’s boot.

Twenty minutes later, the six women arrived at Heavenly Talent, where they were quickly escorted into the office of the agency’s owner, who greeted the women with a stern expression.

“Joshua, I am so, so sorry-“ Stephanie pleaded, before being interrupted.

“Do not be,” Joshua said in a much quieter voice than his usual bombast. “We all knew that there was a possibility this day would come. We’re just lucky we got you here before the paparazzi arrived.”

“Guess I’m riding home in the boot, then,” Stephanie sighed, earning a quiet chuckle from her employer.

“Obviously what Dannii Samson and Spencer and Hall have done is a betrayal of trust,” Joshua said. “But there is nothing we can do or say about it. We cannot complain about damage to our brand as Dannii was merely commenting on her experience here, and we cannot claim slander as, well, Dannii didn’t lie. All we can do is clarify the situation. I have issued a statement to the press stating that due to your on-going mental issues, your counsellor has recommended that hormone treatment is withheld from you for the time being, but that you will be considered for it again in the future.”

“…Isn’t that, you know, another lie?” Lauren asked, earning an angry stare from her employer.

“It is not the whole truth,” Joshua retorted.

“But it’s our best option for now,” Stephanie sighed as her stomach churned.

“You will also need to speak to the press, to explain,” Joshua told the terrified young woman.

“I’m sorry?” Stephanie’s mother asked. “Is that really necessary, with everything that Stephanie’s going through?”

“I’m not asking for a press conference!” Joshua snapped, before sighing. “I apologise for raising my voice. The press will want to hear from Stephanie in person, even if it is just reading out the statement we prepared. The important thing now is to limit damage, especially with Spencer and Hall’s teeth closing around our throats. I will arrange something for tomorrow morning at 10:30.”

“What can I do for now?” Stephanie asked.

“Try to relax,” Joshua said with a warm smile. “You’ve been through a lot today. You need to take the rest of the day off, try to relax, regain your strength.”

“Sounds like someone could use a LOT of pampering,” Becca said with a warm grin.

“…That sounds AMAZING,” Stephanie said, making the other women in the room all giggle.

“Now go!” Joshua said with a loud chuckle. “Before the press get here!”

“Okay,” Stephanie laughed, before pausing. “Umm, one other thing…”

“What is it, Columbo?” Joshua asked, making Stephanie chuckle despite her inability to get the reference.

“It- it’s about Jamie…” Stephanie mumbled.

“I heard about the argument at your dance lesson,” Joshua said stoically. “I actually HEARD the argument.

“I’d- I’d really appreciate it if she didn’t stick her nose in,” Stephanie said. “I mean, I know you kinda ‘appointed’ her to be, like, a mentor to me, but…”

“As of right now she has no relationship, official or unofficial, with you in this organisation,” Joshua said. “I had noticed for some time that you and she were not fans of each other. This is a pity, but sometimes personalities clash. I’ll let her know to keep her distance.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said with a tired grin, before both of her hands were grabbed by Becca and Adeola, who led her down the stairs to her mother’s car.

“Now for the IMPORTANT bit!” Becca giggled. “By the end of the evening, you are going to be a totally new woman!”

“Yeah,” Stephanie laughed, though internally, she wished that becoming the ‘new woman’ that Becca described was as simple a case as applying a new layer of make-up.

----------

“Who does that little blonde Oompa-Loompa think she is, anyway?” Nikki growled as she stretched out on Katie and Lauren’s sofa. “Where does she get off hurling accusations like that around?”

“Especially when it almost certainly wasn’t you who told Dannii in the first place,” Katie snorted. “I really wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that it was Jamie who blabbed…”

“Bit harsh, isn’t it?” Sarah asked.

“Not really,” Katie shrugged. “Haven’t you been paying attention the last few months? They do NOT like each other.”

“Well if it was a choice between Jamie and Steph, I know who I’d rather have,” Nikki snorted. “I mean, I don’t HATE Steph, but… You have to admit, she brought this all on herself.”

“But did she, really?” Lauren asked. “I’d have thought you’d sympathise with her, because, you know…”

“Because we’re both transgendered?” Nikki asked, before sighing. “…I wanted to like her, I really did. I mean, so what if she’s not taking hormones? You don’t spend an hour dancing around a ballet studio in full dancewear with your face made up and your hair in a bun if you WEREN’T committed to living life as a woman. Hell, you wouldn’t accept a job in a girl band if you weren’t committed. Or have laser hair removal…”

“Mum’s sometimes talked about her work,” Sarah mused. “How some people simply aren’t suitable for taking hormones, because it can change you mentally.”

“Did- did it change you?” Katie asked Nikki, who let out a long sigh.

“…I’m not 100% sure,” the transgendered woman replied. “Before I’d started taking them, I was basically female-brained already, I spent most weekends with Sarah as ‘Nikki’, I knew that this would be my future and I began focussing entirely on it, it never really occurred to me to focus on ‘Nick’s thoughts as, as far as I was concerned, my future was only ever going to be ‘Nikki’. And you can hardly say I haven’t committed to that future. On that note…”

“Eww,” Katie grimaced as Nikki produced one of her long, thin stents from her handbag. “NOT on either of our beds! We’ve got just enough space on our bathroom floor, use that instead!”

“Fine,” Nikki sighed with mock frustration, before giggling and heading to the flat’s small bathroom. “Just because you’re jealous that I get to shove long, stiff things into my vagina on medical orders!”

“And when you’re done with it you can shove it up your arse!” Katie retorted, making the room giggle as the conversation moved onto happier topics.

----------

“God, I feel almost naked,” Jamie sighed as she stared at her minimal make-up job in her mirror. With her face enhanced only by mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss, it was the least make-up Jamie would wear outside her home for many months.

“You know the reasons why,” Charlotte said. “If you go down there as ‘Jamie the superstar’, all you’ll do is intimidate Steph. She needs to see the real you, the ordinary girl once you’ve stripped away all the layers.”

“Never heard it called a ‘layer’ before,” Jamie retorted, making Charlotte giggle as she pulled on a pair of sheer black tights underneath her short, flared skirt. “And I’m guessing flats instead of heels?”

“You guess right,” Charlotte laughed, tossing Jamie a very plain pair of black ballerina pumps.

“Do you remember five years ago?” Jamie asked. “If I left the house looking this you’d have had a fit…”

“Ah, 20 year old Charlotte,” Jamie’s best friend laughed. “Yeah, she had a LOT of growing up to do.”

“Does- does that also apply to me?” Jamie asked.

“…It wouldn’t hurt you,” Charlotte whispered. “Now come on, I’ll drive you to Steph’s.”

“Thanks, Charlotte,” Jamie said, grinning as the two women headed downstairs. After bidding farewell to Eilish and Keith junior, Charlotte and Jamie elegantly slid into the former’s Mercedes and set off, arriving a short while later outside Stephanie’s parents’ house. Jamie took a deep breath as she knocked on the door, and forced a smile on her face as the stern face of Stephanie’s mother appeared at the door.

“What do you want?” Mrs. Abbott asked, making Jamie wince.

“Um, h- hi Mrs. Abbott,” Jamie said. “Can- may I, um, may I speak to Stephanie, please?”

“She’s not here,” Stephanie’s mother retorted in a clipped voice. “And she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“I only want to clear the air,” Jamie explained. “I feel some responsibility, I am her mentor, after all…”

“Not anymore you’re not,” Mrs. Abbott snorted. “Please leave. Stephanie’s going through a lot and she doesn’t need another confrontation with you right now!”

“…Okay then,” Jamie said stoically, before groaning with frustration as the door was slammed in her face. “God above!”

“Take a deep breath,” Charlotte said, giving Jamie’s hand a comforting squeeze. “You may need to give her a couple of days, maybe try again at the weekend after things die down a bit, both with Constellation and the whole Stephanie ‘thing’.”

“…You’re probably right,” Jamie sighed, getting her phone out of her bag.

“Calling Stuart, I hope?” Charlotte asked as the two women drove away from Stephanie’s home.

“Who else?” Jamie giggled as she dialled Stuart’s number.

“Hey you,” Stuart’s soft, masculine voice said, answering the phone after one ring.

“Hey you,” Jamie cooed. “Hope you’re not doing anything this afternoon, as I have the whole of the rest of the day free and I need my sexy stud to, well, ‘service’ me…”

“Nothing planned at all,” Stuart laughed. “Well, other than lying flat on my back with a raging stiffie, anyway.”

“Tempt me, why don’t you?” Jamie giggled.

“As soon as the doctor gives me the okay, I promise we will be at it like rabbits on Viagra,” Stuart said, making Jamie laugh. “In the meantime, give me ten minutes, I’ll ‘let myself down’ and head straight round to yours.”

“No need, you just lay right there,” Jamie giggled. “We’re already on our way round to yours.”

“Uhh- really?” Stuart asked, his voice gaining a sudden element of panic. “Umm, it’s okay, really, I’ll head round to your place.”

“Why don’t you want me to come to your house?” Jamie asked as she also began to panic at the possibilities- as much as she trusted Stuart, she had cheated on him in the past, and she could never discount the possibility that he might try to get ‘revenge’…

“Umm… Becca’s here,” Stuart said, making Jamie sigh and roll her eyes at her own paranoia.

“Well, it IS her house,” Jamie shrugged.

“Yeah, but-“ Stuart protested.

“She told you about our little ‘disagreement’ this morning,” Jamie sighed. “It’s okay, I’ll stay out of her way, I promise.”

“Becca’s not alone,” Stuart said. “Her whole band’s here.”

“All- all of them?” Jamie asked. “Even-“

“ALL of them,” Stuart confirmed, leading to an awkward pause.

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Jamie said firmly, before ending the call and ignoring Stuart’s subsequent attempts to return her call.

“…Steph’s there, isn’t she?” Charlotte asked, making Jamie once again groan with frustration.

“Yes…” Jamie sighed. “Charlie, I-“

“I’ll take you there,” Charlotte said. “I probably shouldn’t, but I’m taking you there only to see your fiancé, okay?”

“…Okay,” Jamie sighed.

The rest of the car ride was conducted in deathly silence, and as Charlotte pulled up outside the Miltons’ vast home, Jamie found herself gripping her nylon-covered thighs in a vain attempt to relieve her tension.

“Just call Stuart,” Charlotte advised her BFF. “Get him out here, I’ll take you both home, you get to spend the rest of the day with your fiancé, everyone’s happy.”

“I want to at least try to talk to Steph,” Jamie said. “That’s why we came out, that’s why I’m dressed down, that’s what we’re doing.”

“…If you’re sure,” Charlotte sighed. “I’ll keep the engine running…”

“It’s your petrol,” Jamie shrugged as she got out of the car and walked across the driveway toward the front door, which she knocked on without hesitation- though she let out an involuntary wince when the door opened to revealed Becca’s frowning face.

“What the fuck do you want?” Becca growled. “Stu! Your fiancée’s here!”

“I want to see Stephanie,” Jamie said firmly.

“Well get this- she doesn’t want to see you,” Becca retorted. “Take Stuart and leave. Now.”

“Surely it’s Stephanie’s choice who she sees?” Jamie asked.

“It is,” Becca said. “And she’s told me quite clearly that she does. Not. Want. To see. You.” Jamie opened her mouth to argue further, but was interrupted by the sight of a figure appearing behind Becca- not the slender, handsome figure of her fiancé, but the tiny form of Kayla Ford.

“You’ve got some nerve, showing your face here,” Kayla snapped. “After the way you’ve treated Stephanie these past few months, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the one who tipped Dannii off in the first place!”

“If there wasn’t anything to ‘tip off’ Steph wouldn’t even be in this mess!” Jamie angrily retorted.

“You total cow!” Becca spat. “Kayla, can you believe this?”

“At this point in time, I’ll believe anything,” the tiny blonde girl snarled.

“Oh this is rich,” Jamie sighed. “The two of you spend the last eighteen months as bitter rivals, and now all of a sudden, you’re best friends?”

“People change,” Kayla retorted.

“And not always for the better,” Becca said, before breathing a sigh of relief as her brother appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Finally! Here, take your fiancé and GET OUT!” Stuart stared in disbelief as his younger sister forcefully shoved him out of the front door before slamming it in the trio’s faces.

“Umm… Hi,” Stuart said, greeting his fiancée with a gentle kiss. “What- what is it this time?”

“Basically the whole of Out of Heaven,” Jamie sighed Charlotte led them back to her car. “There was yet AOTHER fight at ballet, this time Out of Heaven vs me and Nikki… I take it you’ve seen the stories about Steph?”

“Hard to ignore them, especially will all five of the band holed up at our place,” Stuart sighed. “Guess it was always going to happen eventually… I just- I just wish I knew what was really going on, you know? In her head, I mean…”

“God knows,” Jamie sighed. “When you’re unemployed for a long time, I guess desperation can make you do strange things.”

“Now, in fairness, it’s not like she reluctantly became a woman,” Charlotte said as the trio drove away. “It’s not like she was forced into it, or had no say in the matter…” Jamie bit her lip as Charlotte spoke, remembering the circumstances of the beginning of her own womanhood.

“And she had been a crossdresser for years beforehand,” Stuart said. “You yourself said: just because you wear a skirt, it doesn’t make you a woman.”

“And just because you’re not taking hormones, it doesn’t mean that you’re not,” Jamie sighed. “I know, I know… When you say you are but you aren’t, though THAT makes you a liar.”

“We’ve all made mistakes,” Charlotte whispered as the car headed back to her vast home.

----------

“Can you believe the nerve of that woman?” Becca asked as she and Kayla returned to her bedroom, where Stephanie was sat in front of her dresser in mid-makeover. “And can you believe she tried to stir that shit between us as well?”

“What’s this?” Adeola asked.

“Jamie actually tried to pit us against each other,” Kayla replied. “Tried to make out that we were bitter rivals, like we hated each other.”

“In fairness, you were kinda distant from each other at the start of the band,” Lauren muttered, earning stern stares from both Becca and Kayla.

“…Whose side are you on?” Becca asked.

“Fine, fine,” Lauren said, holding up her hands in mock surrender.

“People change,” Kayla repeated her earlier statement. “Some for the worse, but some very much for the better!” The tiny blonde girl giggled as Becca handed her her ceramic hair straighteners, and she began turning Stephanie’s naturally wavy hair shiny and arrow-straight. At the same time, Becca removed Stephanie’s nutrient face mask and began applying a thick layer of make-up, starting with a matte foundation before adding a light layer of blush, thick mascara and eyeliner, a dark eye shadow and blood-red lipstick.

Whilst her face was being treated, Stephanie’s long fingernails were being reshaped and recoloured with a dark red polish by Adeola, and Lauren was coating her bare, hairless legs and arms with a layer of fake tan. Once her cosmetic treatment was complete, Stephanie squeezed her body- enhanced by a tight control thong and a padded strapless bra- into one of Becca’s tiniest little black dresses, before stepping into a pair of platform stilettos with a dangerous tall 6” heel. With her look complete, and feeling more feminine than she had ever previously felt, Stephanie rose from her ‘make-up chair’ and posed for her four friends, all of whom greeted her with cheers and wolf whistles.

“Hot mama!” Adeola giggled as she photographed Stephanie for her Instagram account. “Anyone who doubts you now should look at these photos, girl, you are SEXY!”

“Who needs oestrogen, eh?” Lauren laughed as she fished around her handbag for her smartphone while Stephanie laughed nervously at her comment.

“Girly and gorgeous!” Becca laughed as she also snapped Stephanie for her Instagram. “You know, it’s kind of a shame NOT to show off such a sexy look to the public…”

“I’d… Really rather not,” Stephanie sighed as she finished posing and sat down on Becca’s bed. “Especially not while the public are still ‘doubting’ me. Have- have there been any stories? You know, on the sidebar of shame, or on other-“

“We’re not telling, and you’re not asking again,” Kayla said firmly. “You know it won’t do you any good to worry about it.”

“Exactly,” Becca said. “So we’re going to have a girly night IN. No public, no fans, no sidebar of shame, just five women, all of whom are 100% feminine, girly, gorgeous and sexy, right?”

“Right!” Kayla cheered. “Does this mean I also get to have a makeover and borrow one of your dresses?”

“…Yes, Kayla, yes it does,” Becca laughed, making the tiny blonde girl cheer and jump into Stephanie’s recently-vacated make-up chair. “Though I hope you brought your own shoes, I haven’t owned any size 2s since I was twelve!”

“You should know by now that good things come in small packages,” Kayla said smugly. “The smaller the package, the better the thing!”

“I’ll remember you said that for your birthday next month!” Adeola teased Kayla, who rolled her eyes and sighed.

Stephanie had a wide grin on her face as she helped with the makeover of all four of her bandmates, though inside, her mind was still in turmoil and her stomach was tying itself in knots with worry. Ever since she joined the band, she’d feared the day that she’d be ‘found out’ by the public, and whether or not it would result in her having to leave the band- or worse yet, have to go into hiding for her own safety. As the first transgendered member of a mainstream girl band, Stephanie had a rarity value that had earned her some criticism from some corners of society (criticism that Stephanie had long since learned to disregard), but vast support from other parts of the world, particularly the LGBT community. Even though the other four members of Out of Heaven were cisgender and heterosexual, Stephanie’s presence was enough to earn the band very well-paying gigs at several LGBT-organised concerts and events, and Stephanie herself got her first ever booking as a solo artist at the London Pride festival the previous June.

However, all of this support Stephanie had received was based on the understanding that Stephanie was a pre-operative transsexual, that she was actively taking steps to live life full-time as a woman and she’d left her old male life behind her, when in fact, virtually none of this was true. Whilst Stephanie had indeed started to live life full-time as a woman, and she had put ‘Steve’- the boy she used to be- firmly in the past, such developments were much, much more recent than she had led her fans to believe- and her hormones were still dominated by the testosterone produced by her fully-functional genitalia. Stephanie knew from experience that this kind of deception would lead to her support vanishing in an instant, and as her four bandmates all slept, the anxiety kept Stephanie awake in her sleeping bag on Becca’s floor.

Silently, so as not to wake the other four women in the impromptu ‘slumber party’, Stephanie slinked across the bedroom floor to her handbag, where she retrieved her smartphone and opened up her browser, where she Googled her own name. The first headline she saw nearly made her drop her phone in shock and brought tears to the corners of her eyes.

‘Still the man she used to be?’ The headline read. ‘Shocking revelations that Stephanie Abbott is not transitioning but still living life as a man in private whilst maintaining a public façade of being a woman.’

“Oh god,” Stephanie whispered, literally throwing her phone back into her handbag before climbing back into her sleeping bag and trying not to cry herself to sleep as a million scenarios, each one worse than the last, passed through her mind.

By the time she eventually woke up the following morning, Stephanie had had little more than an hour’s sleep, but her stress and anxiety had rendered her so tired that she was barely able to open her eyes, whilst her friends were already up and moving about.

“Steph…” Becca cooed as she gently shook the exhausted girl’s shoulder. “Steph, wake up- wait, hang on, have you been crying during the night? Your eyes are all… Oh god, Steph…” Becca sighed as she gave the distraught girl a long, tight hug, which the other three members of Out of Heaven quickly joined in.

“You looked at the sidebar of shame in the night, didn’t you?” Kayla asked, groaning with frustration as Stephanie nodded. “Idiot. You know what the press are like, they’re never there to lift people like us up, only put them down.”

“Fortunately,” Adeola said as she got her own phone, “You’ll always have us and your REAL fans to lift you up.” After drying her eyes, Stephanie stared at the image on Adeola’s phone, which was the Instagram post of the photograph she’d taken the previous evening. Overnight, the post had received over fifty thousand likes, and virtually all of the comments on the post were in support of Stephanie- phrases like ‘there’s no way you were EVER a man’ and ‘I don’t care about hormones, look at those legs’. For every positive comment Stephanie received, however, she knew that there would be at least 3 negative comments that Adeola had either blocked or deleted, and that her Instagram posts typical got a LOT more likes than fifty thousand.

“I- I should get ready,” Stephanie sighed. “Counsellor’s appointment this morning.”

“With Nikki Thomas’s mother-in-law?” Kayla asked. “Even after all the hassle that’s gone down between you two?”

“Beverly’s a total professional,” Stephanie said as she pulled on her underwear from the previous night, followed by a pair of opaque black tights, the tight grey top she wore to the previous day's dance lesson and a plain, straight black skirt that Becca was happy to lend her.

“Okay, if you say so,” Kayla sighed. “It’s just I dunno if I’d be able to confide in someone who, you know, ‘worked for the other side’. She IS Jamie’s counsellor too, you know.”

“She’s also sworn to secrecy about everything- literally everything- I say in there,” Stephanie retorted. “I, um, I told her about, you know, well, ‘you know’, pretty much from the first minute I walked into her office. If I hadn’t had her support these past months… God knows what I’d have done.”

“Besides run off for several weeks?” Lauren asked, leading to an awkward silence within the room.

“Exactly,” Stephanie whispered.

“Do you know what you’re going to say to her today?” Adeola asked. “She’s bound to have seen the reports online…”

“True,” Stephanie whispered as she repaired her severely damaged eye-make-up. “And I know she’ll be able to give me good advice to help me through this. But to answer your question, Addie, yes, I know EXACTLY what I’m going to ask her.”

An hour later, after checking for (and not finding) paparazzi, and with a determined expression on her face, Stephanie coolly strode into the office of Doctor Beverly Phillips, who greeted her with her usual handshake.

“Hi Stephanie,” Beverly said with a sympathetic voice. “I’m glad to see you’re at least looking okay after all that’s happened. Yes, I have read the reports, I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said with a tired grin. “Yeah, it’s been pretty mental the last few days. The band are supporting me, Joshua’s supporting me… But I really, really do need your help.”

“Of course,” Beverly said. “Anything you need, just name it.”

“Good,” Stephanie said with a happy smile. “Because I need a prescription for oestrogen. And I’m not leaving this office without it.”