“Stephanie…” Beverly whispered. “Even if I wrote you a prescription, it’d still only be dated from today. I can’t backdate them for the time you were supposed to have been taking hormones.”

“It’s still better than nothing,” Stephanie insisted. “Please, if I have to get down on my knees and beg, I will.”

“Stephanie,” Beverly sighed. “We’ve been over this time and time again, you know that oestrogen isn’t a magical cure to all your problems-“

“Not all of them, but this one, it is-“ Stephanie interrupted.

“-And in your current distressed state it’ll almost certainly do more harm than good,” Beverly said. “And even if you weren’t distressed, I’d need to be convinced that you’d actually take the hormones if I prescribed them.”

“I would, I swear,” Stephanie said.

“Stephanie, you’re not calm,” Beverly said firmly. “You’re highly stressed, you’re obviously not sleeping well and you’re borderline manic. Hormone replacement therapy causes a fundamental change to your brain chemistry, and in your current state, it’d do a lot more harm than good. Once this current crisis has passed, then I’ll reconsider you for oestrogen. We’re in the middle of reviewing this anyway, if you really want oestrogen, then in a few weeks’ time I’ll happily prescribe it to you.”

“But by then it could be too late,” Stephanie said in a small, timid voice.

“And that’s why I shouldn’t prescribe it now,” Beverly said.

“If you don’t,” Stephanie said firmly, “I will do everything in my power to ensure that your daughter’s contract with Heavenly Talent is terminated.”

“No you won’t,” Beverly said calmly. “You’re not that type of person, Stephanie. I don’t doubt that you feel you need something, though- what I can do for you, if you want, is write a letter stating that we’re reviewing your hormone treatment following your hospitalisation earlier in the year. Something that will satisfy the press. I’ll also write a letter stating that that girl’s claims- that you’re just a quote-unquote ‘man in drag’- are completely untrue, and that you do indeed have a genuine, diagnosed case of gender dysphoria. That should be enough to satisfy the press, right?”

“They’re still going to rip me to shreds,” Stephanie sighed.

“This isn’t anything we haven’t discussed before,” Beverly said. “You acknowledged that when you signed for the band you effectively became public property. The press will undoubtedly have questions for you. But what’s important is to remember that when the press stop reporting on this story, you’ll still be alive and healthy, you’ll still have a job and you’ll still be able to live your life as the gender you want. You are still committed to living life permanently as a woman, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Stephanie said, nodding her head enthusiastically. “I can’t imagine going back to being Steve. I don’t have anything to go back to as ‘Steve’.”

“And ‘Steve’ himself?” Beverly asked, referring to the ‘voice’ that had occupied Stephanie’s head for months beforehand.

“Gone, and not come back,” Stephanie said with a proud grin.

“You’ve come a long, long way, Stephanie,” Beverly said. “You look proud of your progress, and you should be.”

“But I’ve not progressed far enough for hormones?” Stephanie sighed.

“Once this crisis has passed, then I will review you for hormone therapy, I promise,” Beverly said. “But a decision this big can’t be done as a knee-jerk reaction to external factors, and you know that.”

“I know,” Stephanie sighed. “It’s just- gah. If I’d just demanded oestrogen from the first meeting we’d had, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“The same thing could be said about applying to be in the band,” Beverly mused. “And even you have to admit that your life your career has been overall positive, hasn’t it?”

“Well, yes,” Stephanie conceded. “I’m rich, I’m famous, I have great friends… I get to wear all the clothes I REALLY want to wear. Being Stephanie IS a dream come true.”

“These are the positives you need to focus on,” Beverly said, before listening intently as Stephanie went into detail about the week she’d had.

A little over an hour later, Stephanie left the office feeling less stressed and overall happier about her life, with Beverly’s promised letter playing a large part in her relaxed state. Before she left the building, however, she checked her smartphone, and read a message that instantly caused her anxiety levels to rise again.

‘Come to the office immediately after your appointment,’ the message- which was from Joshua- read. ‘Press are here expecting a statement. Have prepared statement for you and sent a car to pick you up.’ Stephanie groaned as she stared out of the window and saw the vehicle, which she immediately knew was one of Joshua’s company cars.

With a sense of dread filling her veins, Stephanie walked out of the building and slowly climbed into the car. The closer they got to the office of Heavenly Talent, the more Stephanie’s hands began to shake, and when she saw the small gaggle of paparazzi camped outside the door, she began to hyperventilate. If it wasn’t for the presence of her four bandmates in the agency’s window, she would have had a full-blown panic attack, and she only barely managed to compose herself as she walked into the agency, the flashbulbs of the cameras threatening to blind her every step of the way.

“There, you’re inside now, you’re inside now,” Kayla whispered, giving her friend a tight hug as the door was closed behind her.

“FOR now,” Stephanie snorted, before letting out a long, pained moan. “God… I just wish this whole damned week would just end.”

“And it will, soon,” Joshua boomed as he descended the stairs from his office with his iPad in hand. “Here is the statement, Stephanie. Look over it, let me know if you want me to change any of it.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie whispered, swapping Joshua’s iPad for her letter from her counsellor. “Dr Phillips typed up a letter confirming that she’s keeping me off of oestrogen because of my mental issues… I know it’s not the best thing to brag about, but I thought-"

“Make 25 copies of this immediately and give them to the reporters outside,” Joshua said, handing the letter directly to his receptionist. “Stephanie, this was never about the hormones, it was about- well, you know what it was about. But I assure you that the agency will stand behind you. You’re far too valuable to simply throw away.”

“Can- can you come out with me?” Stephanie asked in a very small, very timid voice.

“Of course,” Joshua said, placing a gentle, comforting hand on Stephanie’s back and guiding her out to where the press were assembled. “Stephanie has prepared a statement for you all,” the tall, African gentleman announced. “It will address the rumours and she will NOT be answering any questions. Go ahead, Stephanie.”

“Recently, rumours have spread about my transgendered status,” Stephanie announced, her whole body trembling with fear. “It is true that I am not currently taking hormone therapy- for the reasons detailed on the letter I gave you- but I assure you I have committed to live my life full-time as a woman. I am proud to represent Britain’s transgendered community, and I intend to continue doing so for as long as I am able. Everyone should have the right to live their lives the way they want.” With shaking hands, Stephanie passed the iPad back to Joshua, who led her back into the agency’s offices.

“No questions!” Joshua boomed as the reporters continued taking their photographs and yelling after the duo. Once she was back inside the agency, Stephanie began to silently cry as her friend embraced her in a long, tight group hug.

“It’s done now,” Kayla whispered in the distraught girl’s ear. “It’s done, it’s over now…”

“Thanks,” Stephanie whispered in response as the group led her to an adjacent empty studio, where they sat down and tried to relax.

“Take your time,” Joshua said. “Get your breath back, relax. Things like that are never easy and never pleasant.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie repeated herself as she took several deep breaths to try to clear the anxiety from her mind. “Can- can I have a lift back home, please?”

“Of course!” Joshua said with a wide smile. “But before you go, we need to resolve these disagreement- no, these arguments that you and the rest of your friends have been having. We must be united to face Constellation’s threat- and with their recent actions against you, it IS a threat.”

“…I understand,” Stephanie whispered.

“Jamie, Nikki Thomas and Sarah Phillips are in my office upstairs,” Joshua announced. “We are going to sit down and sort this out.”

“I- I really don’t want to see Jamie, not right now,” Stephanie said.

“She will not cause any trouble,” Joshua said reassuringly. “I will see to that myself. Now come, the sooner we do this, the sooner it is done.”

“O-okay, I guess,” Stephanie said as she followed Joshua up to his office.

Stephanie bristled as she stepped through the door and saw the three women Joshua mentioned sat on his plush chairs, all three dressed in smart, expensive-looking skirt suits and high heeled shoes. Stephanie smoother her skirt underneath her as she sat down, trying her hardest not to make eye contact with the three upset-looking women.

“You know why we are all here,” Joshua said in a dark, quiet voice. “Tensions are running high. Too high. It stops now. Stephanie, Nikki. You do not have to be the best of friends. You do not even have to be friends. But as long as you both work for this agency you will NOT be enemies. Sarah, Kayla, the same applies to you.”

“I- I’m sorry,” Sarah mumbled in the direction of Stephanie and Kayla.

“So am I,” Nikki said in a quiet voice.

“Me too,” Jamie mumbled, before biting her tongue to control her anger at the band who had antagonised her the previous day.

“I’m sorry too,” Stephanie and Kayla grunted in unison.

“Clearly this bad blood will not disappear overnight,” Joshua sighed. “And we would be foolish to think it would. But we cannot afford to fight among ourselves, not with Constellation and Dannii Samson taking pot shots at us.”

“It’s just a shame that Steph had to be caught in the middle,” Becca said, shooting an accusing glare at both Jamie and Nikki. “Especially when she didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m sor- what?” Jamie asked incredulously. “Lying repeatedly is ‘not doing anything wrong’?” Stephanie bit her lip as Jamie spat accusations in her direction, but she could feel her whole body tense up as her anxiety began to give way to anger.

“Worse than babbling about people you claimed to be friends with?” Kayla retorted. “I still wonder just HOW Dannii knew about Stephanie in the first place…”

“KAYLA!” Joshua yelled, immediately silencing the whole office. “I- I apologise for raising my voice. Clearly it was a mistake to put you all in the same office at the same time. I realise that now. From now on, Out of Heaven and The Angels are not to have any contact with each other until I say otherwise. The Friday and Saturday night parties are also hereby cancelled. I will contact Krystie to let her know that the Wednesday morning dance lessons are also cancelled until further notice.”

“But- but my birthday-“ Jamie feebly protested.

“Celebrate your birthday as you see fit,” Joshua sighed. “As long as no member of Out of Heaven is there. All of you, go home, now!” The eight young women in the office all nodded quietly before filing out of the room, though tensions were still running high.

As they left, Jamie and Becca, Stephanie and Nikki and Sarah and Kayla all regarded each other with dark, accusing stares as Adeola and Lauren watched on in bemusement at the tension between the young women.

“Come on,” Becca sighed. “Let’s go back to my place, where the air should hopefully STINK a bit less.”

“Call up Katie and Lauren,” Jamie said to Nikki and Sarah. “Just because we can’t have a Saturday night party anymore, doesn’t mean we can’t have a get together for our REAL friends.”

“Maybe when we get back to your place,” Stephanie said to Becca, “We’ll relax, maybe go in your hot tub, and NOT gossip about people behind their backs!”

“I’ll text Katie and Lauren now,” Sarah said. “I’ll tell them to bring their swimsuits for your swimming pool, and maybe we WILL talk about people who aren’t present, people who should maybe follow Dannii’s example and also fuck off to Spencer and Hall!”

The two groups of women separated and headed toward their respective modes of transport, their collective anger calming as they parted but their tension levels remained high even as they drove off in opposite directions.

----------

“Didn’t go well, then?” Stuart asked as Jamie, Nikki and Sarah all climbed into his car and let out long, frustrated sighs.

“Think they said the same thing about the Titanic,” Jamie moaned. “God, I can’t believe your fucking sister…”

“You know,” Stuart sighed, “the worst thing about this is the two of you not getting on with each other? I mean, less than a year from now you’ll be family. That’s got to count for something, right?”

“I’ve got no problem with liking her,” Jamie said in a tired, exasperated voice. “Her liking me, on the other hand… And it’s pretty obvious why, too.”

“I’ve forgiven you,” Stuart said. “If I have to forgive you every day for the rest of my life, I will. She’ll forgive you too, eventually. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I hope so,” Jamie sighed. “Any news from Katie or Lauren?”

“They’re on their way,” Sarah said. “Is- is Krystie coming to this sudden party too? Because it might-“

“Think she’s at work,” Stuart says. “I know she goes into local schools some days of the week.”

“God, can you imagine that?” Sarah laughed. “One of the most prestigious dance teachers in London, a bona fide celebrity, coming into school to teach you ballet?”

“Can you imagine merely being allowed to be in that class,” Nikki mused, earning a sympathetic hug from her fiancée.

“Well you can go into any girl or woman’s class, my fully functional female fiancée!” Sarah giggled as she squeezed Nikki’s nylon-covered thigh and slowly slid her hand underneath the young transwoman's tight pencil skirt.

“Get a room,” Stuart said, making the three woman in the car giggle.

“Ehh… Actually that might be a good idea, if you dropped me off at my place,” Nikki said. “Kinda need to change before the ‘party’, or at least grab my bikini. Can't swim yet but I can at least enjoy what's left of the summer. Never thought that tights would be MORE uncomfortable post-op…”

“I think you’re making the BOY blush!” Sarah teased Stuart, who rolled his eyes in response.

“Can I remind you that I spent the first sixteen years of my life wearing tights?” Stuart asked. “I know exactly how Nikki feels. If anyone should be blushing, Miss Phillips, it’s you.”

“He’s got a point,” Jamie giggled. “Hands up everyone in the car who ISN’T transgendered and hasn’t had corrective surgery?” After letting out a long sigh, Sarah raised her hand, earning playful giggles from Stuart and Jamie and a sympathetic hug from her fiancée.

“I had my wisdom teeth out in February,” Sarah argued. “Doesn’t that count as ‘corrective surgery’?”

“Unless they were in your vagina, then no they don’t,” Jamie said, making the whole car laugh yet again as they headed toward Nikki’s house.

----------

“Oh god, even here,” Becca moaned as she pulled onto her driveway, passing a small gaggle of paparazzi that were camped outside her front gate. “I’ll drop you right at the front door, Steph.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie moaned, slipping on her designer sunglasses before darting straight toward Becca’s front door, letting herself in with Becca’s key before the photographers could get a clear picture of her. A few seconds later, her four bandmates joined her, all five women letting out long, exhausted sighs as they dropped down onto Becca’s family’s plush sofas.

“God almighty,” Lauren moaned. “Can you just imagine if the press also knew how much infighting there was? None of us would get away in one piece.”

“I’m kinda surprised they’ve not picked up on it from Dannii doing one,” Adeola sighed. “No offence, Steph… But, you know, I’m kinda- kinda-“

“Kinda grateful I’ve got all this dumped on my shoulders so it’s not being spread to you?” Stephanie sighed as Adeola grimaced. “It’s okay, I’d feel the same way. You know, when the band started, I was actually grateful to you, Lauren.”

“Really?” The flame-haired Scottish girl replied. “Why, exactly?”

“Because I was dreading being the centre of attention,” Stephanie sighed, earning a sympathetic hug from Kayla. “I mean, yes, I wanted the fame and the fortune- definitely the fortune- but the more real it became, the more terrified I got.”

“Because of your lies?” Lauren asked bluntly, earning stern stares from the other four women. “Don’t deny you’re all thinking it.”

“It’s okay,” Stephanie sighed. “And yes, that was probably my main concern. And if I have to apologise to you all again, I will, and unlike the apology I gave to Jamie just now, I actually mean it, I do feel guilty for leading you all on the way I did.”

“Well the important thing,” Kayla said with a proud smile, “is that everything’s out in the open now.”

“Or tucked behind a tight pair of underpants,” Becca teased, laughing as Stephanie threw a cushion at her. “What? We’re all thinking that too…”

“So Steph,” Lauren asked, “do you reckon you’ll ever, you know, like Jamie and Nikki did, the whole ‘choppy choppy’?”

“Like topics could get any more sensitive!” Adeola snorted with laughter. “But yeah… I’m kinda thinking that too, though…”

“…Probably,” Stephanie decided. “I’ve not decided yet… Got to get started on the oestrogen, first.”

“Can’t believe Sarah’s mum STILL ain’t given you the hormones,” Adeola spat.

“Yeah, it’s like she’s treating you like you’re not a proper woman, and that’s just not right,” Becca said.

“It’s frustrating, stressing me out,” Stephanie sighed. “Though everything’s stressing me out this week…”

“And to be fair, it’s not like you’re any less of a woman by hot having oestrogen,” Kayla said. “One of the stewardesses who sometimes comes to ballet on Wednesday’s been living as a woman for two years but refuses to take oestrogen.”

“Who, Natalie?” Stephanie asked, smiling as Kayla nodded. “Yeah, she’s cool. Notice Jamie’s never had a go at her for presenting herself as a woman when she’s not taking hormones…”

“Jamie’s just a selfish, stuck-up bitch,” Becca spat. “The less you have to do with her, the less any of us have to do with her, the better.”

“Sisters, all doing it for themselves,” Adeola sung in a teasing voice, earning an angry glare from her best friend.

“Do NOT remind me that my brother’s marrying her,” Becca moaned.

“I thought you two had started to get along better?” Lauren asked.

“Yeah, well this week has just shown her true colours,” Becca spat. “Stuart could do better. MUCH better. Infinitely better, in fact. Kinda wish now that Steph had acted on that little crush of hers…”

“Oh, you- you total cow!” Stephanie moaned as Becca giggled wickedly.

“What’s this now?” Lauren asked, her and Kayla’s eyes lighting up as Stephanie cringed behind a cushion.

“’This’,” Becca said with a smug grin, “is young Miss Abbott having a massive crush on our producer and my brother for a brief period last year.”

“Hardly ‘massive’,” Stephanie mumbled.

“Pity, I’d kinda liked to have you as a sister-in-law,” Becca said.

“Is that why you went out with Kurt?” Lauren asked. “I mean, are transgendered guys your, you know, ‘thing’?”

“…Kinda,” Stephanie confessed.

“Huh,” Kayla mused. “It’s just, you know, I kinda always figured that you’d go for, you know, girls…”

“Well…” Stephanie said. “Kinda… Kinda keeping my options open. Will need to keep them WIDE open now, thanks to Dannii…”

“Ugh,” Kayla spat. “The REAL villain here. I swear if I ever see her again, I’ll rip her hair out. Assuming I can reach it, anyway…”

“And assuming there’s any hair left after we’ve all had our turn,” Adeola growled. “Still can’t believe she stirred that shit about us, saying we’re not really friends when they’re the ones who were slapped together at random.”

“The three of us,” Kayla said, motioning to herself, Lauren and Stephanie, “actually knew each other before we were in the band. Well, we met at the auditions. Well, Lauren and I both met Steph at our first and second auditions respectively.”

“Take it from us,” Adeola laughed. “Bex and I REALLY lucked out by having you three, some of the other auditionees… Yeesh.”

“Who was that tall girl with the purple hair?” Becca asked her dark-skinned best friend. “Don’t think she was transgendered, just really, really weird, had all those piercings too.”

“Danae,” Adeola said as she remembered the audition. “Yeah… THAT would’ve made the band a bit different, heh!” The five women all laughed at Adeola’s joke, though Becca’s laugh soon turned into a sigh as her text message alert echoed through the living room.

“Don’t tell us- Riley, right?” Kayla teased the brown-haired girl.

“Who else?” Becca laughed tiredly as she read her text message. “Apparently ‘the guys’ are threatening to beat up Paul- Dannii’s boyfriend, the photographer- for what she did.”

“That’s why I like being on this side of the gender divide,” Stephanie chuckled. “Boys become your own personal attack dogs.”

“Yeah, but Paul himself ain’t done nothing, has he?” Adeola asked.

“No, no, I’m calling them off,” Becca laughed. “Paul’s even skinnier than Riley so it’d hardly have been a fair fight.”

“Pity,” Stephanie shrugged. “We could’ve used Paul to get to Dannii, finally get our chunks of hair.”

“Or at the very least,” Kayla said, “ask her why she’s being such a bitch.”

“You know…” Lauren mused, “If you wanted to do that, you could always just call Kurt.”

“Kurt?” Stephanie asked, bristling at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. “Doubt he’d want to talk to me…”

“If you don’t want to talk to him, then obviously, you shouldn’t,” Kayla said, shooting a disapproving glare at Lauren. “But he is going out with a member of Constellation, right?”

“I think so,” Stephanie mumbled. “Their transgendered girl, I think…” Stephanie paused as she twirled her smartphone in her fingers. It had been several month since she and Kurt had last spoken, and even longer since she’d split up, and the thought of speaking to him- especially considering the circumstances of their break-up- just added to Stephanie’s already overwhelming anxiety levels.

“If- if you want me to call him-” Becca said softly.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Stephanie whispered. “Have to ‘woman up’ sooner or later…”

“You don’t have to do it in here,” Kayla said hastily. “You should- you should be in private when you call.”

“I- I- I can’t do it,” Stephanie moaned, letting out a small sniff as she tossed her phone onto the coffee table. “God…”

“I’m sorry,” Becca moaned, giving Stephanie a gentle hug. “I- we shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“We probably wouldn’t have got through to Dannii anyway,” Lauren sighed. “Spencer and Hall seem to be blocking all contact with Constellation.”

“We’re sorry, Steph,” Adeola said, joining in the hug.

“No, it’s my fault,” Stephanie moaned. “It’s- it’s all my fault.”

“No it’s not,” Kayla insisted. “It’s all Dannii’s fault! You know that!”

“No, I- I-“ Stephanie sobbed, before breaking down in a flood of tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just want to go home…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Becca whispered, trying to soothe the distraught girl. “I’ll drive you home. Just- just dry your eyes, then I’ll bring the car round, okay?”

“Okay,” Stephanie sniffled as the rest of the band embraced her. The companionship shown by her bandmates made Stephanie feel more loved than she had been in a very long time, but deep inside, she felt embarrassed. Embarrassed to be so emotional in front of her friends, embarrassed to have brought the wrath of the press down on Heavenly Talent… And embarrassed to be wearing women’s clothing.

It had been months since Stephanie had last worn an article of male clothing, but there were still occasions when Stephanie looked at her feminine self in the mirror and felt that she was a fraud. That she didn't deserve to wear the beautiful clothes and make-up, that she didn't deserve to be seen as the sex symbol that she was... And that if she'd been granted the oestrogen she'd demanded, she wouldn't have deserved that either. The constant antagonism of the press, not to mention Jamie and Nikki- REAL transgendered women- only reinforced this belief in Stephanie's mind.

"Think we just about avoided the press," Becca whispered as she followed Stephanie into her empty house. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you, or send Kayla round?"

"No," Stephanie sighed. "No sense in me making you miserable as well."

"What are you going to do now?" Becca asked.

"Crawl into a hole and wait for it to close over me," Stephanie moaned, prompting Becca to wrap her in a tight, genuine hug.

"You know," Becca whispered, "much as I hate her, Jamie's right about one thing. When we started the band... I was seriously jealous of the attention you three got. You, Lauren and Kayla."

"...And now?" Stephanie asked.

"I can't imagine the band- hell, I can't imagine my life without the three of you in it," Becca said with a warm smile. "Sisters?"

"Sisters," Stephanie said, returning Becca's hug.

"And I am officially confiscating your laptop, your iPad and your phone!" Becca said, retrieving said electronic items and stuffing them into her tote bag. "I'll bring them back tomorrow. Do NOT look on the sidebar of shame. Got it?"

"...Got it," Stephanie sighed, before moaning as Becca left her alone in her empty house. With no other option, Stephanie sloped upstairs to her bedroom, where she collapsed on her bed, her limbs splayed out as she tried to forget about the misery of the past 24 hours.

----------

"Seriously, I just don't get your problem with Steph," Hannah sighed as she dried off her body, which was clad in a very skimpy one-piece purple swimsuit. "We all have secrets, right?"

"There's 'secrets' and there's 'basing your entire life on a lie'," Jamie retorted as she adjusted her own tight blue swimsuit. "THAT's the problem."

"I dunno," Viks sighed. "Seems to me that there's more than one side to every story, nothing's ever as 'black and white' as you're suggesting."

"It is if you believe Becca," Nikki moaned.

"She's not THAT bad," Hannah said. "She's always been polite to me..."

"She's always sucked up to you," Nikki snorted.

"Ladies," Charlotte sighed as she cradled her infant son on her lap. "Not here, not now. It's not doing any of us any good gossiping about people who are supposed to be our friends. You've heard what Joshua's said. We all have work. You three are starting back at uni in a couple of weeks." Sarah, Katie and Lauren all nodded, their enthusiasm for arguing sapped by Charlotte's calmness. "And most importantly of all, our family will be getting a new member soon." The women present at the swimming pool all smiled as they heard a car pull onto Charlotte's gravel driveway and sound its horn twice to announce its arrival.

"Speaking of..." Hannah giggled, before cheering along with the other women as Mary slowly waddled toward them, her belly just as large as it had been before.

"You can all stop laughing," Mary growled as her husband helped lower her onto a comfortable sun lounger, whilst her daughter quickly toddled into Eilish's waiting arms. "Especially you, Viks! Six months from now..."

"Eh, it'll be worth it though," Viks giggled as she patted her own growing belly.

"So," Mary sighed as she tried to get comfortable. "What did I miss while I was in hospital?"

"More importantly," Charlotte asked, "why is little Natasha still inside you and not out in the big wide world? Surely the doctors offered to induce you?"

"I am NOT being induced," Mary spat. "We went over this when Kristina-Leigh was born. And born LATE, I might add! Still got a week or two to go for 'Tasha."

"But how's your blood pressure?" Hannah asked.

"Falling, thank god," Mary sighed. "More importantly, what. Did. I. Miss? Last thing I know we've got this mega-super-ultra-group of models directly competing with us, then all of a sudden I'm not hearing a D'd thing about Constellation or Dannii or any of their girls!"

"We- we just didn't want to worry you, that's all," Nikki whispered.

"I'm 25," Mary retorted. "26 next month. I'm not a child, any bad news, I can handle it. I mean, we've already been cancelled, what more can happen?" Mary stared at the assembled crowd of women with a stern glare as they remained silent. "Tell. Me!"

"There- there's been kinda a few disagreements," Charlotte whispered. "Umm, between members of the Angels, and other Heavenly Talent people..."

"At the hospital," Sarah whispered. "Krystie- Krystie and I, we- we kinda- kinda got into a fight..."

"A fight!?" Mary yelled. "Are you- are you fu- are you serious!?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Sarah moaned. "Everyone was tense, there were raised voices, one thing led to another... Still got a bruise on my hip." Mary looked on in amazement as Sarah lifted the rear of her silver-coloured swimsuit to show Mary the bruise on her right hip.

"And we- by which I mean, the Angels and the Teen Angels," Jamie said, "we've been, well, forbidden from having contact with Out of Heaven until everything's blown over."

"Oh- what?" Mary moaned. "Jamie, what have you done NOW!?"

"I- what?" Jamie angrily retorted. "Just go ahead and blame everything on me, why don't you?"

"STOP!" Charlotte snapped, before sighing as her raised voice caused her son to start crying. "Now look- ugh." The poolside party watched on in embarrassment as Charlotte took her son into the vast house.

"Just because we're models doesn't mean we have to let our egos rule us," Mary said in a dark voice. "Jamie, you've been at Steph's throat for months now. It was inevitable that it'd boil over eventually. Have you never thought of trying to get to know the girl?"

"I thought I was," Jamie spat. "For the last eighteen months. Turns out the person I was trying to get to know didn't exist."

"...Jamie DID put in the effort," Hannah mumbled.

"Can you blame Steph for keeping a few things back?" Mary asked.

"A few things? No," Jamie said. "Everything? Yes, yes I can blame her. If she'd opened up to me from the start-"

"You'd probably have had her kicked out of the band," Viks snorted.

"I'd have tried to understand why she did what she did first," Jamie growled. "Instead she waited until she was indispensable, until the band couldn't function without her, THEN she comes clean about everything."

"Some people are intimidated by talking to people they looked up to," Viks shrugged.

"She told the lies to everyone," Nikki said. "If she wanted a quote-unquote normal transgendered person to talk to she could've always talked to me. I actually feel like she's trivialised the last five years of my life."

"Oh- what?" Mary snorted. "Bull, Nikki. No one's trivialising anything you've gone through. Steph has her own problems. If we were real friends, we'd support her, not shun her."

"If she was a real friend, she'd trust me, not lie to my face," Jamie retorted, before getting up and heading into the vast house. "If you'll excuse me, I don't feel like partying anymore."

As she walked into the house, Jamie blinked back tears, especially as she passed Charlotte, who regarded her with a withering stare that made her feel like she was an inch tall. Jamie had badly wanted to be Stephanie's friend, to guide her down the same path that she had taken toward womanhood, but Stephanie's inability to trust Jamie with the truth had left Jamie unable to trust anything that came out of Stephanie's mouth.

Even though Stephanie had maintained the facade toward everyone, not just her, Jamie took the deception in a very personal way. As a fellow transwoman, Stephanie should have felt able to entrust Jamie with any secret, no matter how dark. However, when Jamie asked herself how she would have reacted if she'd been told that Stephanie hadn't been taking hormones, she was forced to confess- she didn't truly know...

----------

"Do you REALLY feel like that?" Sarah asked her fiancée as she drove her, Katie and Lauren back to their respective houses. "That Stephanie trivialised your journey? Because from where I'm sat- and where I sleep every night- you don't feel 'trivialised' to me."

"...I dunno," Nikki sighed. "I mean, I have no problem with people being on different parts of the, you know, 'spectrum'. I mean, I started out as a crossdresser, right? And through dressing, through spending time with you, I gradually discovered who I really was, deep inside. If that's what Stephanie needed, then fine, but..."

"But saying you're further along the 'spectrum' than you actually are, that's the offensive part, right?" Katie asked.

"...I guess so," Nikki said. "I mean, I actually believe her when she says she does want to be female for the rest of her life. Then again, I can't understand why anyone WOULDN'T want to be, heh."

"Girl life forever!" Katie and Lauren cheered with a tired voice.

"Exactly," Nikki chuckled.

"Anyway," Sarah said, reasserting herself in the conversation, "we're not to have any contact with Stephanie or any other member of Out of Heaven. Also, our night out tomorrow is cancelled. Well, our OFFICIAL night out, anyway..."

"Got to celebrate our second-to-last Friday as free women before heading back to uni somehow, haven't we?" Lauren giggled.

"Oh sure, make it sound like you're getting married," Nikki snorted. "When you're in the car with two girls who actually ARE getting married."

"Sweet, blessed captivity," Sarah said, making Nikki snort derisively.

"I am SO having a better hen party than you!" Nikki said, sticking her tongue out at her fiancée.

"Nuh-uh," Sarah retorted. "Mine will have students at it, right, girls?"

"Right!" Lauren cheered.

"Wrong!" Katie said smugly. "Nikki got me as her bridesmaid first, so she gets the pleasure of my company at HER hen night!"

"Really?" Lauren asked. "Literally a month ago, we agreed to be each other's maid of honour if we get married?"

"I've known Nikki longer than I've known you," Katie shrugged.

"By all of two and a half hours!" Lauren moaned.

"Girlies!" Sarah snapped. "Let's not turn THIS into a civil war as well, okay? Can we just agree that no matter whose hen night we're on, we all get so drunk we run the risk of permanent brain damage?"

"Now THAT I can agree on 100%!" Katie giggled.

"Girl life forever!" The four women cheered as they headed back toward their homes.

----------

"I'm sorry," Jamie sighed as she slumped into the sofa, having changed from her swimsuit into a loose, comfortable shirt dress. "AGAIN. I'm especially sorry I made that little treasure cry."

"Apology accepted, from both of us," Charlotte giggled as she watched her husband and her son play on the living room floor. "Anyway, I'd have thought you'd be looking forward to tomorrow, not looking back at the last few days."

"Ah, yes," Keith senior laughed. "All those years of work, finally paying off... What is it you were studying again?"

"Business administration," Jamie replied. "Figured that the modelling wouldn't last long so I'd better make myself useful to Joshua some other way, heh. Then, of course, the Angels happens, I take a year out to concentrate on that... Good job I went back to finish my degree, heh."

"Ugh, you two and your fancy degrees," Charlotte sighed, before letting out a giggle.

"As if you'll let little Keith leave university with anything less than a PhD in rocket science!" Keith senior retorted, making Charlotte laugh.

"I bet none of Constellation have any fancy degrees," Jamie snorted.

"Umm..." Charlotte grimaced. "I think it said in Kelly's introduction video that she did. I think she's the only one, tho-"

"Yeah, of course she fu- of course she does," Jamie sighed. "Godddd... There's always, ALWAYS someone better, isn't there?"

"Oh please," Charlotte said with a chuckle. "As if Kelly's better than you at ANYTHING."

"You don't need to stroke my ego," Jamie sighed. "Much as it needs a good massage right now..."

"Ugh, been there, needed that," Charlotte laughed. "But seriously, you heard what she said. She also said that she was pre-op. I'll bet you a million pounds that she'd be utterly jealous of you if you ever met in real life. And I'll bet TEN million that she's seen you as a role model in the past."

"I doubt it," Jamie sighed. "No one signed to Spencer and Hall respects ANYONE else."

"Hey, I've been there, done that too," Charlotte laughed. "It's cold and lonely at the top. It's much less money but I'm so glad I came back to Joshua in the end. Spencer and Hall is a corporation, a business. Joshua's is a family."

"Hell, he even treats ME like family, and I've never done a second of work for the guy," Keith laughed. "Unless you count 'hanging around the background of episodes of the Angels that I didn't get paid for', anyway."

"He's godfather to your son, that's practically family anyway," Jamie mused.

"Can you imagine anyone ever naming one of the Spencer and Hall dictators as godfather of anything?" Charlotte asked.

"Not counting if their surname was 'Corleone'," Keith quipped, earning a laugh from everyone in the room. "Have you tried talking to this Kelly girl? I'd be surprised if she didn't follow you on Twitter."

"She doesn't," Jamie sighed. "At least, she doesn't anymore, no way of telling if she ever did. Dannii doesn't follow any of us anymore either."

"Spencer and Hall keep a FIRM hand on their talent's social media," Charlotte sighed. "They won't just let some random person show up on their doorstep either, you heard what Lauren said about trying to talk to Dannii- someone she's known for eight years."

"Maybe I'm just being naive," Keith muttered, "but I always thought that if you talked to someone, listened to them tell their side of things, it'd help you understand them and empathise with them more."

"If only that was the case," Jamie sighed as she relaxed into the sofa.

----------

The following morning, the employees of Heavenly Talent- Angels, Teen Angels and singers alike- all got out of bed with a weary look on their face, exhausted from the week's worth of conflict they'd had to endure. One of the women, however, didn't get out of bed at all, no matter how long and loud her alarm clock rang.

"Leave me alone," Stephanie mumbled, rolling over in bed and pulling the covers over her face, groaning as her face was also covered by several locks of her long brown hair.

"Steph?" The young woman's mother called from downstairs. "Stephanie? Are you going to get up today?"

"Leave me alone!" Stephanie moaned, before sighing as her mother walked up the stairs and barged, uninvited, into her bedroom.

"Stephanie Abbott," the middle-aged woman said firmly. "Your problems aren't going to go away simply because you're hiding in your bed and refusing to acknowledge them! Running away didn't work, and neither will this, so get up, and I'll make you a cup of tea."

"Tea isn't going to make my problems go away either," Stephanie moaned.

"No it isn't," Mrs. Abbott conceded. "But you've been in bed for over twelve hours, you must be thirsty, and I'm definitely not waiting on you hand and foot, so get out of bed, get dressed and I'll see you downstairs. Got it?"

"Got it," Stephanie mumbled, waiting until her mother left the room before swinging her smooth, hairless legs out of bed and sighing as she noticed several chips in the dark red polish on her toenails.

Without even thinking about what she was doing, Stephanie retrieved several balls of cotton wool and a bottle of her favourite nail polish from her dresser and began repainting her toenails, also taking the time to touch up the colour her fingernails. Once she was done, she took the well-worn, antique hairbrush she'd received for her birthday and set about brushing out her hair, before tying it back into a tight ponytail and supplying her make-up for the day.

It was only as she was applying her scarlet lipstick that Stephanie actually looked at herself in the mirror- not at her reflection, the face she was applying make-up to, but at herself. For as much as she felt like a fraud for living life the way she did... She certainly did look like it, at least not to herself.

After her make-up, Stephanie pulled on her underwear, her preferred padded bra and control thong, followed by a pair of translucent black tights, before crouching down to pick a top out of her bottom drawer. As she crouched down, Stephanie felt the 'pull' of the rear strap of the thong and mused on how, the first time she'd felt it, she'd been more aroused than she'd ever been in her life. Now, however, the 'pull' was more of an irritation than a titillation. Stephanie wondered if Kayla, who had great trouble finding underwear (especially thongs) to fit her petite frame, felt the same irritation whenever she got dressed.

After pulling on the short-sleeved striped top, which hugged Stephanie's figure tightly, the transgendered woman stepped into a tight black miniskirt and grinned as she zipped up the rear of the garment. After slipping on a handful of her favourite bracelets and a dainty silver necklace, Stephanie sprayed on a light cloud of her favourite perfume and mused on how feminine her room smelt even without the perfume. Previously, it had always been a typical teenaged boy's room, complete with the odour usually found in such a room, but in recent months Stephanie found her room smelling virtually identical to those of her friends. It was as if every one of her senses had been dominated by femininity- her own femininity.

As Stephanie walked down the stairs, she was reminded of exactly why she should embrace her femininity. There, on the wall, was her final school photo from 2012- or rather, 'Steve's final school photo. her sixteen year old self had been awkward and shy, and when the photo was taken, she remembered staring at her female classmates in their short skirts and opaque tights and wishing that she could be them, if only for a brief second. The feel of her own skirt pulling on her thighs and her own tights rubbing against each other as she walked down the stairs filled Stephanie with a sense of fulfillment. She was living proof that dreams could come true... Even when she found herself in the middle of a nightmare.

"At last!" Mrs. Abbott moaned as Stephanie slumped into one of the kitchen tables. "You look much better with your hair down, though." Stephanie giggle and rolled her eyes as she untied her ponytail and allowed her tresses to fall freely about her face.

"Better?" Stephanie asked.

"Much," Mrs. Abbott said with pride. "You really are a beautiful young woman, Stephanie."

"Thanks," Stephanie said, trying her hardest to believe her mother's flattery. "Just wish I felt like it all the time..."

"What girl hasn't obsessed over her appearance at one time or another?" Stephanie's mother shrugged.

"I guess," Stephanie sighed. "Do- do you have any newspapers around here?"

"No!" Mum says firmly. "N-O. You are NOT working yourself up into a frenzy about what the press have written!"

"Then they have written something, then?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know, and I'm not going to waste any effort finding out," Mrs. Abbott replied. "And nor should you."

"How can I not worry when my whole career depends on it?" Stephanie moaned. "God... This whole Spencer and Hall thing is just one nightmare after another. I wish- I wish I'd never auditioned for this bloody band."

"Don't say that!" Mrs. Abbott admonished her daughter. "If you hadn't auditioned, you wouldn't have had all the amazing opportunities you've had over the past year, you wouldn't have earned that boatload of money you're always bragging about... And I wouldn't have finally got the daughter I always wanted."

"...You always wanted a daughter?" Stephanie asked.

"After two rowdy boys, more than anything," Mrs. Abbott said softly as she sat down and gave Stephanie's hand a supportive squeeze. "Not that I didn't love 'Steve', of course. And I'd much rather you'd have been 'Stephanie' from birth."

"That makes two of us," Stephanie sighed.

"But however you had to get there," Mrs. Abbott continued, "whatever road you had to take to become 'Stephanie', I'm glad you've got here eventually, and I am so, so proud of all you've accomplished. Well, when you're not sulking in your bedroom, anyway!"

"Heh," Stephanie sighed. "Can I sulk in the living room instead? Can't really face going out today..."

"You rest up for today, take the time to relax," Mrs. Abbott said warmly. "I've got the whole day off work to make sure you're okay. Don't take that to mean I'm going to wait on you hand and foot, though!"

"I know better than THAT," Stephanie snorted. "Has- has anyone tried calling today? From the agency, I mean..."

"No one from the agency," Mrs. Abbott replied, before taking a deep breath. "Tom called earlier this morning, said he wanted to talk to you."

"Ugh," Stephanie spat. "Let me guess, he saw something in the newspapers and wanted to rub my face in it?"

"I didn't ask," Mrs. Abbott said. "I just made it perfectly clear to him that he is NOT to come by until you're feeling up to it. Same goes for Danny and those so-called friends of yours from that agency."

"What about the band?" Stephanie asked. "Becca nicked my phone, iPad and laptop yesterday to stop me from looking at news websites..."

"For that alone, that girl is welcome in this house any hour of any day!" Mrs. Abbott laughed. "But if you'd like, I could call your friends round?"

"...I'd really appreciate that, thanks," Stephanie sighed, before sloping through to the living room and switching on her Xbox in a vain attempt to relieve some of the stress she was still suffering from.

----------

"Looking good," Stuart said with a proud grin as he watched his fiancée pull on a modest black pencil skirt and a plain white blouse.

"Just as long as I'm looking SMART," Jamie retorted, adjusting her blouse before slipping her feet into a pair of conservative heeled pumps.

"You're a graduate, that automatically makes you smart," Stuart laughed, earning a stuck-out tongue from Jamie. "And try to relax, okay? This is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, it's a good chance to get away from all of this 'Constellation' shit. And you know there'll be SOME paparazzi there, but for a good reason this time, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jamie sighed.

"And you know your parents are going to be extra proud of you today," Stuart laughed. "Didn't you say they've cleared a place on their mantlepiece just for your graduation photo?"

"They've had it cleared ever since I told them I was starting this degree," Jamie chuckled. "When we got engaged I think they actually cleared another space for our engagement photo rather than just use that existing one."

"So everything about today is happy, right?" Stuart asked. "Your parents are happy and proud, so am I, and you have every right to enjoy yourself and bask in our pride and love. And that's an order, right?"

"Ooh, look at you, being all assertive," Jamie teased, silencing her fiancé with a long kiss.

"Are you telling me to remember who REALLY wears the trousers in our relationship?" Stuart asked.

"No," Jamie retorted. "You know full well that authority wears a skirt, and it always has. So in a way, yes I am reminding you who wears the trousers. It's you. And don't you dare forget it!"

"Yes ma'am," Stuart laughed as he fastened his tie, laced his smart black shoes and followed Jamie down to her car.

Two hours later, Jamie took a deep breath as she stepped onto the stage in the packed auditorium, a black gown draped over her shoulders and a flat black academic cap perched on top of her blonde hair. She smiled as she accepted her degree from the university's chancellor, before making her way off stage to where her parents and her fiancé were waiting with wide grins plastered all over their faces- a grin that Jamie quickly adopted herself.

"I am so, so proud of you!" Jamie's father said as he embraced his daughter. "Miss Jamie-Lee Burke, BA (hons)!"

"Thanks!" Jamie squeaked, before accepting more hugs from her mother and her fiancé.

"Such a shame the rest of your friends couldn't come," Jamie's mother sighed.

“It’s the same at every graduation, tickets are limited,” Stuart said. “I remember at mine, actually having to buy a ticket off a friend just so Becca could come.” Stuart frowned as Jamie bristled at the mention of his sister. “But of course, today’s about the newest member of the academic world, heh!”

“Thanks,” Jamie said with a grin as she and her family headed out of the packed hall. A wide smile crept across her face as she was intercepted by reporters asking her for photographs- a request to which she happily obliged- but her smile began to fade when she realised that there were only two camera people present, rather than the usual gaggle.

“Jamie,” one of the cameramen asked as he took photographs of the young woman, “do you have any comments about Constellation?” Jamie’s smile faded entirely as the mention of her newest rivals began to ruin her carefully-planned day.

“We’re not talking about them,” Stuart said, placing a protective arm around his fiancée. “Today’s about Jamie, if you want to ask any questions, ask them about her and her degree.”

“Is it true the Angels have been fighting amongst each other?” The reporter asked as Jamie was led away by her parents and her fiancé. “Jamie!"

"Jamie," another reporter yelled. "Do you have any comment on the rumours about Steph Abbott?"

“Goddddd…” Jamie moaned as she slumped onto the back seat of her parents’ car. “Why, even here, even today?”

“They still feel like you’re public property,” Stuart sighed. “Paparazzi never build people up, they only tear them down. No doubt the headline will be ‘Jamie-Lee Burke puts on a brave face at her graduation even as the Angels fracture internally’ or something.”

“Not that you’ll read any of those stupid headlines, I trust?” Jamie’s mother asked.

“No, of course not,” Jamie sighed.

“And I assume that what the reporter said wasn’t true,” Jamie’s father said, “and that the Angels HAVEN’T been fighting with each other?”

“…I wish,” Jamie mumbled.

“Oh, Jamie,” the young woman’s mother sighed. “Really?”

“It’s not like we’re at war with each other,” Jamie retorted. “It- it’s this Steph girl, her secret’s finally got out… People are blaming Nikki- you know, that girl I’ve supported? People are blaming Nikki for it, some are even blaming me.”

“…And who is to blame?” Jamie’s mother asked.

“Steph herself, in all likelihood,” Jamie said.

“At least partially,” Stuart said. “Don’t think there’s a single transgendered person alive who hasn’t had to hide the truth about themselves at one point or another, god knows Jamie and I are hardly innocent there.”

“Well- no, we’re not,” Jamie said. “Steph’s entitled to her secrets, same as the rest of us. And it’s not like she deserves the dragging through the mud the press are giving her.”

“…The press are giving her a hard time too?” Jamie’s father asked.

“And how,” Jamie sighed.

“You know,” Jamie’s mother said, “it wouldn’t kill you to offer some support, rather than rubbing it in.”

“Oh- even from you guys?” Jamie moaned.

“I’m just saying,” Jamie’s mother said in a calm voice, “if you’re facing this ‘threat’ from Spencer and Hall, the best way to face it is in a united way. And if that means you make some concessions, if it means you’re the one who has to step up and offer the olive branch, then that’s what you need to do.”

“Just- just drive me home,” Jamie sighed, taking off her cap as she was driven back to her vast home.

----------

“Knock knock?” Kayla asked as she poked her head around the door of Steph’s living room, where the transgendered girl was still sprawled on the sofa, playing on her Xbox. “Got room for one more?”

“Grab a controller,” Stephanie giggled, tucking her nylon-covered legs underneath her so as to make room for the tiny blonde girl.

“I’ve just been to Becca’s,” Kayla explained. “The five of us are going to have another ‘girls’ night’ at our flat tonight, if you’re interested.”

“Does the Pope shit in the woods?” Stephanie asked, making Kayla giggle. “I feel really bad that I ran off yesterday, but- but I just really, really needed some space.”

“Oh believe me, I understand,” Kayla said softly. “And you only ran home, so it could’ve been a LOT worse.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Stephanie sighed as she remembered her previous ‘exile’. “You- you say you were just at Becca’s?”

“Yes…” Kayla said, before frowning as Stephanie paused their game. “Yes, Steph, yes she did give me back your devices, and no, I’m not going to show you the headlines.”

“I have a right to know!” Stephanie said in an angry voice. “Hell, I have a right to get my stuff back!” Kayla grimaced as she reached into her tote bag for Stephanie’s electronic gadgets, placing them on the coffee table before taking out her own smartphone.

“You get your stuff back,” Kayla said. “But I show you the headlines, okay? And if you even think about running away or holing yourself up in your room-“

“I won’t, I promise,” Stephanie said, her heart beating faster as Kayla opened up her phone’s browser and showed her the offending headline, which immediately made Stephanie's heart sink.

‘It’s a man’s world,’ The headline read. “Shocking revelations confirm that ‘Stephanie’ Abbott is not transitioning-‘

“Oh goddddd…” Stephanie moaned, closing her eyes so as not to read any more of the article. “That statement was supposed to make thing better, not worse…”

“The statement was about getting the truth out there,” Kayla whispered. “And don’t focus on the article, read the comments.” Stephanie took a deep breath as she scrolled down the article to the comments section, and as she read the first comment, her heart immediately began to warm up again.

“What a brave girl,” Stephanie read aloud, letting out a small chuckle. “This article is nothing more than a transphobic, misgendering, deadnaming piece of trash. Good on you, Stephanie.”

“That was the highest rated comment,” Kayla said with a proud grin as Stephanie moved onto the next comment.

“As a transgendered person myself,” Stephanie quoted the second comment, “I know how frustrating it can be to have the world constantly question your decision to live your life as the woman you truly are inside. Being a woman isn’t about what’s in your blood, it’s about what’s in your soul.”

“Looks like the statement DID make things better,” Kayla said with a smug grin. “Of course, there are some negative comments on there, but- it’s the usual crap you’ve had to deal with for eighteen months, you know? The knuckle-draggers, the UKIP brigade, people who wouldn’t listen to us anyway. And the positive comments are the ones getting all the upvotes.”

“I knew when I made that statement Joshua would’ve preferred it if I’d said more, had a proper press conference,” Stephanie sighed.

“The way you were yesterday, there was no way you’d have made it through one question, let alone an entire press conference,” Kayla retorted. “Especially as the press already seem to have up their minds…”

“But the fans, other people are clearly willing to listen to what I have to say,” Stephanie said. “We- we SHOULD hold that press conference. If nothing else it’ll take the wind out of Jamie-Lee bloody Burke’s sails…”

“Well… I guess, if you really feel you’re up to it,” Kayla said. “Your emotions have up and down like a rollercoaster the last couple of days…”

“I should call Joshua now,” Stephanie said, reaching for her phone.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Kayla said, grabbing Stephanie’s wrist and preventing her from grabbing her phone. “Steph… Seriously. You’ve been through a lot. Take some time to think about this, okay?”

“The longer goes unsorted, the worse I’ll get,” Stephanie retorted. “I thought the whole country was against me, now I know that they’re not!”

“Well- I guess…” Kayla muttered. “As long as you’re sure this’ll be good, this’ll help… You know how the press can be.”

“I’m sure,” Stephanie whispered. “The sooner this is behind us, the sooner we can get back to making music, right?”

“Well THAT I can hardly argue with,” Kayla chuckled as she released Stephanie’s wrist and allowed her to make her phone call.

“Good afternoon, Heavenly Talent, Ella speaking,” the refined voice of the agency’s receptionist said, answering the telephone after one ring.

“Oh hi Ella, it’s Steph, Steph Abbott,” Stephanie said. “Is Joshua free?”

“Oh, hi Steph,” Ella replied. “Sorry, he’s busy in meetings all day, this whole Spencer and Hall thing, you know… I might be able to fit you in tomorrow if you want.”

“Well, I guess- wait, tomorrow?” Stephanie asked, confused. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, isn’t it?”

“’Fraid so,” the receptionist said. “Overtime for all of us, heh. Can you come in at eleven tomorrow?”

“Umm, I guess,” Stephanie said. “See you tomorrow, then!”

“I’ll let Joshua know now,” Ella said, before ending the call.

“Joshua’s opening the agency tomorrow?” Kayla asks. “He must be busier than I thought… This whole Constellation thing must be worse than we thought.”

“All the more reason to settle my issues down as soon as possible,” Stephanie said.

“You’re right,” Kayla said with a warm smile. “Now can we get back to our game, please?”

“Gladly,” Stephanie chuckled, finally unpausing the game and relaxing back into the sofa, reinvigorated by the support her fans had shown her. The panic she had felt over the past 24 hours had all been for nothing- her true fans, the people who mattered the most, accepted her for who she was just as easily as her family and her friends had accepted her.

As she whiled away the afternoon gaming with Kayla, though, Stephanie wished that it would be that easy for certain other people- people who in the past had claimed to be her friend- to accept her for who she was.

----------

“Congratulations!” Sarah giggled as she greeted the still-gowned Jamie with a tight hug.

“Thanks!” Jamie squeaked, before greeting Nikki with a tight hug of her own. “This’ll be you in a couple of years…” Jamie dangled her degree in front of Sarah’s face, giggling as the nineteen year old woman playfully moaned at the teasing. “Knowing you, it’ll probably be better than a 2:2, too…”

“If your degree’s a 2:2,” Nikki asked with a twinkle in her eye, “does that mean we get to celebrate by wearing academic gowns and, well, tutus?”

“If we get to celebrate at all,” Jamie sighed as she led the two teenagers into her living room, where Charlotte and Stuart were waiting for them. “You heard Joshua’s ‘decree’, no ‘official’ parties until this current situation’s sorted out, no contact with any members of Out of Heaven at all…”

“We read about Stephanie online,” Nikki said in a sombre voice. “I- I really do feel sorry for her, you know?"

“I know,” Jamie sighed. “Still, she’s at least taking steps to correct her behaviour, I’ll give her that. She’s seeing Joshua tomorrow at eleven, just before the Angels are seeing him, so presumably they’ll be sorting something out. You know… I’ve actually been contacted by some papers, asked to give a comment on Stephanie’s situation.”

“…And what did you say?” Sarah asked.

“Refused to comment,” Jamie shrugged. “Steph’s made it clear that she doesn’t want my mentorship, Joshua’s forbidden me from seeing her… As far as I’m concerned, Stephanie might as well exist on a whole other planet.”

“That’s certainly better than obsessing and seething over the girl,” Charlotte laughed, earning a quizzical stare from Jamie. “Oh, don’t deny it, at one point I wondered whether or not you had a voodoo doll of her!”

“Taking it a bit far, maybe?” Jamie asked. “She lied to me, she lied to all of us. THAT I don’t like. And yes, I know, we all have secrets, we’ve all lied in the past…”

“And her lies have affected a lot of people,” Nikki whispered. “I’m seeing Facebook posts from some of the kids I’m supporting, you know, like Laura? Some of them are pretty shaken up by Steph’s news.”

“But surely some are encouraged by it, too?” Sarah asked, earning quizzical stares from both Jamie and Nikki. “I mean, there’s got to be plenty of kids out there who want to live as the opposite gender and take hormones, and pass as the opposite gender, but for whatever reason they’re not able to, right?”

“Umm… I’m not following,” Jamie said.

“The point is,” Sarah said, “that it doesn’t matter what’s in your genetics, or even in your blood, it’s what’s inside that counts, right?”

“That IS definitely true,” Stuart said in a quiet voice. “And if it takes Steph a little longer to get there than the rest of us, why should it matter?”

“When it hurts others, that’s when it matters,” Nikki said, earning a confused stare from her fiancée. “Anyway, topic change! What ARE we going to do tonight?”

“Just because Joshua says we can’t have an ‘official’ night out, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right?” Jamie asked. “I’ll be honest, I’m probably not up for any clubbing, not after this week, anyway.”

“Ah, welcome to your late twenties,” Stuart laughed, earning a playful punch in the ribs from his fiancée.

“I’m not 25 for another three days, leave me alone,” Jamie moaned. “One thing about getting my degree, I really wish I’d had the proper uni experience, like you and the girls are having. Partying every night, living in squalor…”

“I’ll let Katie and Lauren know you said that next time I see them,” Sarah laughed.

“Don’t forget your other two friends,” Jamie said. “That really nice transgendered girl you go to uni with and her really weird friend.”

“Jacinta and Ophelia?” Sarah asked, biting her lip after she spoke.

“Yeah,” Jamie said, oblivious to Sarah’s disapproving stare. “I like Jacinta, she’s really sweet, you know? Really outgoing and friendly.”

“Yes,” Sarah said stoically, whilst internally thinking that if Jamie liked the two women as much as she claimed, she’d have at least remembered their names. “They should be back in London by next weekend.”

“Good,” Charlotte said with a warm grin. “Hopefully by then this whole Constellation thing will have blown over and we can properly celebrate!”

“I wouldn’t count on it, but it’s a nice thought,” Stuart sighed.

“So… Nothing tonight, then?” Nikki asked, earning groans from her friends.

“You need to head home to dilate every few hours anyway!” Jamie reminded her blushing protégé. “Tell you what, Out of Heaven or no Out of Heaven, we’ll still have a party here tonight, okay?”

“Sounds great,” Nikki giggled as she relaxed back into her fiancée’s embrace, as unaware as Jamie was at Sarah’s unhappiness at their disapproval of Stephanie.

----------

As evening turned into night, the women of Heavenly Talent tried their hardest to relax and put the stressful week they’d had behind them. Their respective parties passed quietly and without incident, and by the time Jamie, Nikki and Stephanie headed to bed, they were all ready to face the challenges that the following week would throw at them- but first, they were determined to enjoy the brief respite offered to them by the weekend.

After waking up, showering and applying her make-up, Stephanie had a smile on her face as she rolled a pair of translucent tights up her legs, before stepping into an expensive dark red pencil skirt suit with matching stiletto heels.

“Let’s see you call me a man when you get a load of this,” Stephanie said with a confident grin as she admired her reflection in the mirror, before heading downstairs to where her father was waiting.

“You look very professional, Stephanie,” Mr. Abbott said with a proud smile. “Professional AND feminine.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie breathed nervously.

“If- if you don’t want to do this, we can call your agent, explain that you’re-“ Mr. Abbott said, before being cut off by his daughter.

“I want to do this,” Stephanie said. “I want to put this as far behind me as fast as possible. ‘Mo More Lies’, heh. The fans are still on my side- well, most of them, anyway- just need to get the press back on my side now.”

“That might not be as easy as you think,” Mr. Abbott said. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave it a few more days?”

“Like you always say, ‘strike while the iron’s hot’,” Stephanie giggled as her father led her out to her car.

As they approached the offices of Heavenly Talent, however, Stephanie’s face fell when she saw the gaggle of paparazzi camped outside the agency’s front door, all of whom turned their cameras onto her as she arrived.

“While the iron’s hot,” Stephanie whispered as she waited for a security guard to emerge from the agency and escort her inside.

“Good luck,” Mr. Abbott whispered, giving his daughter’s hand a supportive squeeze before watching on nervously as she was escorted inside the agency’s building, fending off photographers and their intensely personal questions every step of the way.

“Hi Stephanie,” Ella- the agency’s receptionist- said as the transwoman coolly strode up to her desk, her gait that of someone who’d been walking in high heels for their entire life. “Joshua’s in his office but he’s got someone with him at the moment, are you okay to wait?”

“Sure,” Stephanie said, sitting in one of the waiting area’s plush chairs and unconsciously crossing one slender, nylon-covered leg over the other.

As she waited, Stephanie thought about what she’d say to her agent. Between coordinating work for the Angels, combatting the threat of Constellation and managing the day-to-day running of the agency, Joshua was spreading himself very thin, and Stephanie felt extremely guilty about the extra work and hassle her issues were causing him- even if they weren’t entirely her fault.

When she was eventually called up to Joshua’s office, however, Stephanie’s fears were allayed when the middle-aged gentleman greeted her with a wide grin on his tired face.

“Stephanie!” Joshua boomed as the young woman elegantly lowered herself into one of his plush chairs. “I will admit, I was surprised when you called asking for a meeting, I would have hoped that you would spend yesterday trying to forget about everything!”

“I did,” Stephanie said, before letting out a long sigh. “But I can’t hide from it forever… Thought the statement had done more harm than good at first, but the comments those articles were getting, they- they put a smile back on my face.”

“Good!” Joshua laughed. “Then why do you need to see me?”

“I want to put this behind me, once and for all,” Stephanie said. “I want to call a press conference, answer questions… I get the impression you wanted me to answer questions on Thursday when I gave my statement.”

“I would have preferred it,” Joshua said. “But your wellbeing comes first, always.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie whispered. “And I bet you’d be happy to get all those press away from the front door of the agency, right?”

“Are you kidding?” Joshua laughed. “Better they’re here than camped outside Spencer and Hall’s front door!”

“Heh,” Stephanie chuckled. "Bet they're kicking themselves for going after me, right?"

"Spencer and Hall are playing a long game," Joshua said in a dark, almost tired-sounding voice. "They must have known how we'd respond, and how your fans would respond. This is nothing more than distracting us from the real threat- Constellation."

"...Sorry," Stephanie mumbled.

"Don't you ever dare apologise again!" Joshua boomed. "You do realise, Stephanie, that you have no more secrets? Nothing to hide anymore? You are free, free to live your life the way you want without anyone questioning you."

"...Does 'anyone' include Jamie?" Stephanie asked.

"ANYONE," Joshua clarified. "And on that topic, the sooner my agency is unified, the better! The Angels will be seeing me in half an hour to discuss the possibility of finding another channel for their show, even if it's just one of the thousand digit Sky channels. If you want to be gone by then, then by all means. But if you choose to stay, then so much the better."

"I- I really want to get everything with myself sorted first," Stephanie said. "I'm sorry, I know that must sound selfish-"

"No more apologies!" Joshua laughed, startling Stephanie into silence. "Heh, maybe I should tell Stuart Milton to make that the title of your third album! But I agree with you entirely. When do you want to hold this press conference? I will of course go with you."

"Well, um, there's a flock of reporters downstairs..." Stephanie said.

"Really?" Joshua asked. "Stephanie, if you are not prepared-"

"I feel better now than I've done for a long, long time," Stephanie explained. "Knowing that the fans are on my side, and you're on my side... I honestly feel like I could take on the world."

"Taking on the world is a much less daunting prospect than taking on the press," Joshua said softly.

"Nonetheless," Stephanie said, taking a deep breath. "I AM all dolled up..."

"As you wish," Joshua said, rising from his desk and leading his performer down the stairs to the front door of the agency. "But we do this MY way, understand?"

"Of course, boss!" Stephanie said, taking another deep breath as Joshua opened the door and the duo were blinded by the photographers' flashbulbs.

"Listen!" Joshua boomed, effortlessly silencing the reporters. "You have many questions! But you may ask them now, one each and one at a time! And when we have decided that this question and answer session has ended, you will all leave!" The reporters resumed taking their photographs as several microphones were thrust into the nervous Stephanie's face.

"I'm already regretting this press conference," Stephanie said, making the assembled reporters all laugh and easing the tension on the doorstep.

"You!" Joshua yelled, pointing to a reporter near the front of the flock. "You're first! I remind you- no interrupting!"

"Stephanie," the reporter asked, "do you feel that by not transitioning, you're trivialising the struggles faced by other transgendered people?"

"Well one, I AM transitioning," Stephanie said. "Just because I haven't been prescribed hormones doesn't mean that I won't be, or that I don't want to be. I've committed to living life permanently as a woman. Therefore, I AM transitioning. And second... That's up for other transgendered people to decide. I can only live my own life."

"Next question!" Joshua boomed, pointing to a reporter directly in front of Stephanie. "You! Ask your question!"

"Stephanie," the reporter asked, "do you feel like a fraud, being a member of a girl band despite not being a girl?"

"You could've asked me that question eighteen months ago," Stephanie spat. "And the answer then would be the answer I give now. No, I don't feel like a fraud. This incredibly smart man standing behind me knew from the start that I wasn't genetically female. If he didn't want me in the band, he wouldn't have chosen me from all the girls who auditioned."

"Accidents of birth should never prevent people- ALL people- from reaching their full potential," Joshua said. "Being born a man should not stop anyone from becoming a beautiful woman if they so choose. Being born with this face, though..." Joshua and Stephanie both grinned as the reporters laughed, and the tension on the doorstep began to evaporate entirely.

"Two more questions," Stephanie said quietly.

"You heard the lady!" Joshua boomed as the reporters worked themselves up into a frenzy to be the one to ask their questions. "You, next!"

"How have the band reacted to your news?" The reporter- who was stood at the back of the crowd- asked.

"They've shown me nothing but unconditional love and support," Stephanie said with a warm grin. "And I unconditionally love all of them, and would support them to the end of the Earth."

"True friendship!" Joshua boomed. "You don't get THAT from assembling a group of models or singers at random!" Stephanie smirked at Joshua's quip, which even she realised was intended for Spencer and Hall's ears. "Final question! You- make it a good one!"

"If you weren't still in the band, would you still be living your life full-time as a woman?" The reporter asked.

"If you're asking 'am I only being female in order to keep my job'," Stephanie replied, "then the answer is 'no'. I am committed to this life. One hundred per cent. And I don't care who doubts it, I know deep down, inside, who and what I am."

"That was the last question!" Joshua boomed. "Go back to your offices and write the news- Stephanie Abbott is a beautiful talented young woman, and anyone who says otherwise needs to get their facts straight!" the tall, dark-skinned gentleman breathed a deep sigh of relief as the assembled reporters dispersed, before chuckling as his adopted son walked up with his pregnant wife in tow.

"Just caught the end of that," Jonathan said with a wide grin on his handsome features. "You really are a magician, Uncle Joshua!"

"I just have experience in playing the game, that's all," Joshua laughed, patting the young man on the shoulders as he led him back into his office.

"That was really mature of you," Viks said to Stephanie, making her blush. "God knows I'd never have been able to speak to a crowd like that..."

"You've been an Angel for three years!" Stephanie laughed. "And if there's one thing I've learned over the course of being Stephanie, it's that there really isn't any limit to what you can do if you just believe you can."

"Now THAT I can drink to!" Viks giggled. "Well, in six months' time, anyway!" The two men and two women laughed as they climbed the staircase back to Joshua's office, where the middle-aged man flopped heavily into his chair, letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Victory's in sight, then?" Jonathan asked. "The press are off Steph's back, Spencer and Hall ain't got no more ammunition, all that's left is to sort out our internal squabbles, right?"

"Yeah," Joshua said, taking several shallow breaths as his forehead began to glisten with sweat.

"Unc- Uncle Joshua?" Jonathan asked, his face contorting with fear as Joshua grimaced in pain, before clutching his chest and pitching sideways out of his chair, landing in a heap on the floor.

"J- Joshua?" Stephanie asked as she stared at the motionless form of her boss.