Synopsis: Alex is a young boy who wants to be a girl, but has hidden this from everyone around him. That is, until he is saved from a bully by an older girl, Jen, who makes him an amazing offer: Work with her as a waitress at her sister’s themed café!
Things aren't always as simple as they first appear though, and Alex's life is full of seen and unseen dangers waiting to drag her down into the depths that they lurk within.

Authors note: I got this out way faster than I thought I'd be able to, which makes me suspicious that I've messed up somewhere. Hmm...
It's probably fine! Please let me know if something glaring jumps out though! Surely there's no glaring mistakes, right?
Right?
Thankyou as always for reading! And comments and kudos are always appreciated! <3

 

 
Just before our lips touched Jen stopped and her cheeks slowly filled with colour. She let out a soft breath and swallowed as her pupils grew larger, and I could almost hear the sound of her heart beating through her chest. I looked up at her as she caressed my wet cheeks with her hands and my own heart start to increase its pace. What was she doing? She…looked like she was about to kiss me…

‘Uhm!’ I gently grabbed her arms and smiled nervously as a fluffy, excited feeling embraced my stomach, making me rub my legs together. Agh! What was going on? ‘What are you doing?’

Jen leant just a little closer before she blinked, and then abruptly jerked away from me, her breathing getting even heavier. For a moment she looked scared, her eyes widening as her lips shook, and then she jumped off the bed and shakily brushed her hands thought her hair.

‘Shit! No. No…uh…,’ she put her hands on her hips and let out a frustrated breath. ‘Fuck! Not like this, not again. I need to-’

‘Jen?’ I rubbed my wet eyes and stared at her in utter confusion. ‘Are you okay?’

She spun around and looked at me with wild eyes. ‘Yes! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done that. I-I want do things…properly this time.’

I tilted my head to my side. ‘What things? What are you talking about?’

She looked at me for a moment before leaping forward and grabbing my hands in a tight grip, her eyes staring deeply into my own. ‘Alex. I promise you, I won’t tell anyone that you’re on hormones. Not even Ashley.’

‘O-oh. Good!’ I smiled at her, having been so confused by her behaviour that I’d almost forgotten what I’d been so upset about. ‘Thankyou, I-’

We both jumped as the nurse came back into the room, and Jen quickly let go of my hands. The nurse looked at us suspiciously for a moment but apparently decided that she didn’t care what was going on and just told me that mum would be here to pick me up in ten minutes. That was far sooner than I’d thought possible and my heart lifted at the news, but at the same time worry gnawed at me. I hoped she wasn’t going to miss any work and get into trouble with her boss for coming to get me. Not just for her sake, but mine too. Dad would be livid when he found out that I’d gotten mum to miss work and take me home instead of calling him.

The nurse handed me the pink scarf that’d previously bandaged my arm and told us to wait in one of the rooms down the opposite hallway, which we did so after thanking her. These rooms were just for students to rest in so they were fairly bare, with only a small bed and table in them.

As soon as we entered I sat down on the blue bedsheets and watched as Jen closed the door behind her. I was starting to feel uncomfortable after what had just happened and wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Had she really tried to kiss me? And if so, did that mean she was attracted to me? I had no idea how to deal with that! Nobody had ever shown the slightest interest in wanting to date me, let alone kissing me. She did want to date me, right? Isn’t that what people who kissed did? She said something about wanting to do it properly, so maybe she was talking about that. But what did that mean? How did you date someone properly?

She sat next to me and I looked shyly up at her, my heart skipping a beat as our legs rubbed together. She was ridiculously attractive, with her perfect complexion and beautiful face. Her lips were thick and shiny, her nose small and petite and her ocean-blue eyes ringed by long lashes, making her look older than she actually was. And her thick black hair…it was so silky and framed her face so well…

And her body…

‘Uh!’ my face burned as I looked at the outline of her breasts against her sports shirt and I quickly looked down at my lap. ‘What was you-what? Umm!’

I shook my head and felt my face somehow turn even redder. Crap! My mind was all over the place and I couldn’t focus it properly. I wasn’t used to situations like this!

‘Are you okay?’ Jen asked and I felt her hair brush up against mine as she leant down, making me shiver slightly.

I swallowed and then noticed the pink scarf in my hands. Ah! Something to talk about! Thank god.

‘H-here!’ I held up the scarf and looked up into her concerned face. ‘Thankyou for using this to cover my arm.’

‘Oh,’ she smiled and shook her head, ‘you should keep it, sweetie. Like I said before, it suits you far more than it does me.’

‘Huh? I can’t keep this. It’s yours.’

‘Not anymore. I’m giving it to you,’ She pushed my offered hand slowly into my chest and laughed softly. ‘Just make sure you wash out the blood before wearing it.’

I looked down at the scarf and clutched at it, the same tightness from before descending upon my chest. She was giving me her scarf! I was going to own something of hers! That made me so happy for some reason and I put the scarf back into my lap, beaming at her.

‘Thankyou!’ I said and then squeaked happily as she patted me on the head.

‘Awww! A cute scarf should be around a cute girl’s neck.’ she laughed and I squeezed the scarf even harder. Ahh...I loved it when she called me a cute girl…

‘So…’ I tried to calm myself down and focused on what she’d said in the other room. ‘You really won’t tell anyone that I’m on hormones?’

‘No.’ she shook her head and looked seriously at me. ‘That’s your secret to share, not mine. But, I am worried about you taking them without seeing a doctor. Hormones can be really dangerous.’

‘I know, but it’s fine.’ I avoided her eyes. ‘I’m okay.’

I hadn’t noticed any bad side effects from taking them, but I didn’t really know what I was supposed to be looking for so…yeah. I might not be okay at all, but at the moment I really didn’t care. So long as my body was female then it didn’t matter if I was getting cancer or had a blood clot or whatever. My life was going to be over when I had to stop taking them so if I died then, fine. Living as a boy wasn’t a life I wanted to live. It was hard enough just living like I was now.

‘Are you sure that nobody else has noticed besides me?’ Jen looked over me and I resisted the urge to cover my chest. ‘Like, I noticed as soon as I hugged you that your body wasn’t like a boys. You’re much softer and more curved around the hips than any boy I’ve ever known. And when I felt your boobs against my back I knew that you were on hormones.’ I grimaced at that, still feeling stupid for having let that happen.
‘Surely your parents or Ashley have noticed something? Or at least suspect something’s going on.’

I remembered Ashley trying to grab me before and kicked my legs out from under the bed, frowning. ‘I…I think some people have noticed that my body’s changed a bit, or that I’m more feminine than a boy should be, but none of them know that I’m on hormones. Nobody but you knows that I have b-b…uh...’

‘Boobs.’ Jen finished for me and I winced, making her laugh and rub me on the head again. ‘What are you so embarrassed about? It’s just a word, and considering that you actually have boobs you should probably get used to saying it.’

‘Y-yeah…’ I looked down at my lap and shrugged.

‘Do you have a bra or anything?’ she asked and I gasped.

‘What! No!’ I hugged my chest and stared at her in shock. ‘C-can we stop talking about this please?’

‘Wow,’ she laughed again and I scowled at her, but that just made her laugh even harder. ‘You’re way too sensitive sweetie! Aren’t you happy that you’ve got boobs? Isn’t that something you’d want from hormones?’

‘I…yeah, but…’

I’d been hiding my breasts for so long that talking about them out loud was just…scary. A part of me longed to talk about them, to ask Jen about bras and sizes, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It felt wrong, even perverse, like I was…like I was a sexual deviant just like grandpa thought people like me were! No!

‘Umm!’ I shook my head and shook from side to side and looked pleadingly up at Jen. ‘Can we please talk about something else?’

‘…alright,’ she sighed and patted me on the back. ‘But if you’re going to be girl then you’re going to have to get used to talking about boobs, Alex.’

‘Okay.’ My stomach clenched and I looked away from her.

I wasn’t going to be a girl long enough for that to ever happen, and I didn’t even feel like a girl now, despite my body. I really hoped mum would come soon so I could hug her and lose myself in her comforting presence. Today had been way too painful and confusing for me to be able to deal with.

‘So.’ Jen leant forward and caught my eye. ‘I was wondering if I could talk to your mum about the cafe when she gets here. It’d b-’

‘What?’ I stared at her in horror. ‘You can’t! She doesn’t know that I’m trans, remember? There’s no way she’d let me work at a maid café, and even just suggesting it to her would make her suspicious! And if she figures out that I’m trans then it won’t be too long before she figures out that I’m on hormones!’

Jen let out a heavy breath and leant down on her knees. ‘Well…then, are you okay with lying to her?’

I blinked and then nodded, unfortunately well used to lying to mum at this point. I couldn’t see how it was possible to lie about not working at a café without her immediately seeing through it though.

‘How would I lie about something like that?’

‘Easy.’ Jen grinned and put her hands together in front of her. ‘We’ll just pretend that you’re working in the back, preparing food and putting it in the display shelves and stuff, not waitressing. A kitchen hand or something. Your mum will need to sign some forms because you obviously can’t work without her permission, but they won’t explicitly state that you’re working as a waitress. Just that you’re working at the café for a certain amount of hours and stuff like that.’

A small bubble of hope appeared in my chest, but I tried not to let it grow too big yet. ‘But she’ll want to see me working though. And so will dad and Ashley and my brother!’

‘Yep! And when they do, we’ll put you in a boy’s suit or something and you can go in the back area.’ Her eyes sparkled mischievously. ‘They’ll think you’ve always been there, sorting cupcakes and the like. And because in that role you don’t serve anyone and are mostly hidden from view they won’t have much reason to stay around for very long, and when they leave you can just put the maids uniform on and go about like nothing happened.’

The bubble grew larger. ‘But what if they drop by unannounced and see me in the maids uniform?’

‘Then we can just pretend that you’re wearing it as a joke! Or that I forced you to wear it because I thought it’d look cute on you. Which it will.’ She rubbed my head and beamed as I squeaked. ‘See? It’ll be easy enough. And sis will be fine with it too so don’t worry. I’ll talk to her.’

I stared at her in awe. How had she come up with all of that so quickly? I couldn’t even think of one way to hide it from my family but she’d figured it out in less than two minutes! Whoa…

‘You’re really good at lying!’ I blurted out, and then blushed. ‘I mean! Not that that’s a good thing! Unless it is? Is it?’

She laughed and shrugged. ‘Lying’s fine if you do it for a good cause, and this is definitely a good cause.’

The bubble of hope exploded throughout me and a beautiful light consumed me. Oh my god! I could actually do this! I could actually be a waitress! I could wear a cute outfit and be a girl! Serve customers and work with Jen and other waitresses! And all the customers would see me as a girl! I’d be able to finally show off my body instead of hiding it under boy’s clothes!

I’d be doing something normal. Something a normal girl would do! I’d…oh…oh god…

My body began to shake and the fear and confusion I’d been feeling was washed away in an ocean of joyful excitement so bright and warm that I immediately drowned in its endless depths.

‘Is this really possible?’ I asked Jen as my eyes threatened to start tearing up again. ‘I can really be a maid? A waitress?’

‘Yes.’ She nodded and then gasped as I dove into her chest and squashed her with a tight hug. She put her arms around me and patted me on the back, her breathing starting to become heavier. ‘Alex, I-’

‘Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!’ I looked up at her and my heart swelled with affection. Ahhh! I loved Jen! ‘You’re amazing. You’re the best person in the world! I love you! I never thought something like this would be possible! Thankyou! Thankyou! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Jen! You’re awesome! I love you so much! I’m happy! I’m…I’m happy!’

She turned bright red and looked away, a shaky smiled appearing on her face. ‘T-thanks sweetie…but, you…you should…’

Before I could continue my shower of praise there was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal mum. My heart exploded with joy and I pounced off of the bed and crashed into her stomach, giving her the tightest hug I could muster without alerting her to the presence of my breasts. Pain tore through my leg but it was tiny compared to the tsunami of joy ripping through me. Hee!

‘Whoa! Alex?’ mum staggered backwards with a laugh and put her hands on my shoulder. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I am! I am!’ I practically shouted and squeezed her joyfully. ‘I’m so happy mum!’

‘I got call from a nurse though, saying that you were hurt and needed a lift home.’ Mum’s expression began to darken and I blinked guiltily.

‘Oh! Uh….’ I quickly let go of her and held up my bandaged arm, and showed off my bound leg. ‘I hurt my arm and my leg, and they’re really sore!’

‘You don’t look like you’re in pain.’ Mum frowned and looked past me to Jen. She blinked in recognition and to my relief a smile replaced the frown. ‘Hi Jen! What are you doing here?’

‘She carried me here! On her back!’ I bounced over to Jen and hugged her arm. ‘Without her I’d have died! She’s amazing!’

‘You wouldn’t have died.’ Jen laughed, her face still red for some reason. ‘S-he just couldn’t walk so I carried him here.’

‘What happened?’ mum gently grabbed my arm and inspected it with a grimace.

‘I fell over on the way to school,’ Jen’s ability to lie inspired me so I decided to elaborate. ‘I was running because I’d stopped off to get some food and was going to be late, so I wasn’t looking where I was going accidentally ran into a dumpster!’

‘Owh, sweetheart.’ Mum breathed and gently touched the bandage, making me wince. ‘Is it bad?’

‘It is, but it’s not serious,’ I poked out my leg a bit. ‘My leg’s much worse. Jen said that my kneecap was dislocated!’

‘What?’ mum looked sharply at Jen.

‘It was dislocated, but it’s back where it should be now.’ Jen said quickly. ‘And it wasn’t far out of place so it’ll probably heal in a few days. He does honestly need to go home and rest, but probably just for a day. Maybe two if his leg is still really sore tomorrow.’

‘Hmm. That sounds pretty bad.’ Mum looked at me suspiciously. ‘Why are you so happy then?’

There was no way I could tell her why, at least not the whole truth, but that was fine. It was normal to get this excited about being able to work, right?

I let go of Jen’s arm and bounced over to mum. ‘Can I work at a café with Jen?’

Mum’s face went blank for a moment and then she looked confused. ‘What?’

Jen came over and smiled crookedly, putting an arm on my shoulder. ‘My sister is opening a café next week, and our…kitchen hand quit suddenly so we need to find a replacement, and I’ve been talking to Alex and thought that maybe sh-he could have the job.’

‘A kitchen hand?’ mum looked at me in surprise. ‘Do you even know how to help out in a kitchen?’

‘I do!’ I beamed, but then faltered. ‘K-kinda. Jen and her sister will teach me!’

‘Why do you want Alex?’ mum frowned at Jen. ‘Surely there must be hundreds of other, more experienced people you could hire for the job.’

‘My sister wants kids to work in the café.’ Jen squeezed my shoulder. ‘She wants the cafe to be like a hangout for schoolkids, and thinks that having schoolkids there will help with that. She has this thing she keeps saying, “For schoolkids, by schoolkids”.’

‘Ohh. That’s a neat idea.’ Mum smiled slightly. ‘You do know that someone Alex’s age can only work three hours on a weekday though, right?’

‘I do! And the café’s only going to be open in the afternoons on weekdays so we can easily work around that.’ Jen nodded.

‘Can I work there mum?’ I hugged her and looked up at her with the cutest expression I could make. ‘Please? I really want to!’

‘Why?’ she patted me on the head. ‘You’ve never shown any interest in working before.’

‘Because it’ll be fun! I’ll get to work with food and meet new people and make heaps of friends.’ I looked back at Jen. ‘And Jen is really nice and she needs me!’

Mum looked at me thoughtfully and didn’t say anything, so I hugged her tighter. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…

‘Are you free tomorrow afternoon?’ Jen asked and I looked at her hopefully. ‘I was going to show Alex the café so he could get a feel for it, and you should come along too. You can meet my sister and she’ll be able to answer any questions you have, and she’ll probably do a better of explaining what it’s all about than I can.’

‘That would be great, actually.’ Mum said, sounding relieved. ‘I finish work at four so I could be there at quarter past?’

‘That should be fine.’ Jen nodded. ‘Alex and I can look around the mall while we wait for you.’

‘Mm!’ my heart leapt and I wriggled about from side to side. ‘That sounds great!’

Mum laughed and ran her hands down the sides of my head. ‘Well, that’s all sorted then! Are you hungry, little man? I was thinking we could go someplace quiet and have a chat about some things.’

I nodded enthusiastically. ‘You don’t have to go work though?’

‘No, I took the day off after…well, I took the day off.’ She grimaced and I looked at her curiously.

‘Why?’

‘Because I needed to think about some things,’ her expression hardened for a moment but she quickly smiled and gently pushed me off her. ‘But we can talk about that while we’re eating. I want to talk to the nurse before we go, to see if I need to do anything with your injuries.’

‘Okay!’ I turned around and hugged Jen as hard as I could, not having to worry about her feeling my breasts. ‘Thankyou so much for today!’

‘It was my pleasure.’ She patted me on the back and I noticed once again that her face had grown red.

Was she embarrassed about something? Or was she attracted to me and I was making her want to kiss me like she’d nearly done before? If that was even what had happened. I still had no idea, and I found it hard to imagine that someone could be attracted to me of all people.

Oh well. I could deal with it tomorrow. Today was a happy, awesome great day! I didn’t want to think about confusing things anymore. I was going to have morning tea with mum and enjoy myself!

‘I’ll see you tomorrow!’ I grinned and then slowly let go of Jen. ‘Thanks again, Jen.’

‘No problem sweetie,’ she gently touched my head and then tugged on the scarf. ‘Make sure you look after this, okay?’

‘I will.’ I nodded and then turned around to bounce out of the room.

‘Bye Jen.’ Mum waved slightly and Jen waved back, smiling widely.
Oh my god.

It’d seemed impossible, but today had somehow turned into the best day ever! Ahh! I was actually going to get to be a waitress, and people would finally see me as a girl! And I was about to spend some time with mum after months of her stuck working! This was amazing! This was heaven! I hadn’t been this happy in years…

Nothing could possible ruin this day. After all the bad things that had happened, I deserved one day of happiness, right?

Right?

To be continued

Thankyou for reading! <3 <3
I am concerned that I made Alex's happiness a bit annoying, but I hope it's understandable from the character.