The Blue Dress - Part 8

by MonicaS

Copyright © 2021 Monica S.

Chris got bullied for being girly and was forced to wear a dress at school. To avoid the bullies, he started to live as a girl with support from friends and official recognition. Chris found some allies to fight the bullies and had some first successes. Chris found a girlfriend, and their relationship progressed. He saw a therapist regarding his gender identity, which was still not clear. Upcoming were a visit to his girlfriend's parents and a self-defense course.

* * *

On Friday morning, I thought about meeting Lizzie's parents later that day. I would ride with Lizzie to her home after school, so I wouldn't be able to change. I wanted to look nice but not too sexy. I thought about my skirts, all of them very short, but then my eyes fell on the blue dress that started it all. I had worn it to our first date, and it worked out fine. I just had to remember that riding a bike with it could potentially show my underwear. So I decided to wear it with nude-colored panties over my gaff together with tan pantyhose. I took extra care with my makeup and added false eyelashes to my usual routine. The blue heels and my leather jacket completed the look.

* * *

When I arrived at school, I chatted with some of my friends in front of the entrance. Then Mark showed up and approached me.

"Hi Chrissy, you are wearing my dress," he said and smiled.

"Hi Mark, thanks again for the gift," I replied in my sweetest voice. "Remember you gave it to me and insisted I wear it for my coming out. Without you, I would never have realized who I really am."

"Is that how you view it?" he asked.

"No, that was sarcastic," I said in a lower voice. "You tormented me this whole school year and crowed it with this dress."

"I'm sorry for that, but I was right that you're a girl. You are beautiful," he said and seemed totally smitten.

This is unexpected. Mark apologizes? I thought.

"Am I to believe you're a good guy now after you punched me last week?" I asked.

"That's in the past. I was mad and had to save my face. I had some time to think and don't blame you anymore. I want to make amends. I'd like to invite you to dinner at a restaurant."

"You want a date?" I asked incredulously.

"Just to talk and to overcome our past difficulties."

"I can't believe you think I'd agree to that. I don't like you and don't think you really changed."

"Give me a chance," he almost pleaded.

At that moment, Lizzie arrived on her motorbike and parked it close to the entrance.

"Sorry, I have to greet my girlfriend."

I went over to Lizzie and kissed her in greeting.

"You don't believe what just happened. Mark asked me for a date," I told her.

"What? Is he crazy? After all he's done to you? Besides, you're mine," she replied and kissed me as confirmation."

After the kiss, I looked at Mark and saw various emotions flash over his face, from disbelief over anger to resignation. He then went into the school building.

"I think he really has the hots for me," I said. "I don't know how this will end, though."

* * *

Before the first class started, I dropped off my report on Xavier at the school administration. In it, I described the two encounters I had intercepted and another one I had seen from afar. I hoped the administration could make Xavier stop bullying. If even Mark could be remorseful after counseling and suspension, it might work on Xavier too.

When I left the office, I saw the next one of our group arrive, probably dropping off their report too. Shortly after that, I passed a notice board and saw one of our flyers hanging there, so Anne was distributing them already. The protection pact was busy.

I then went to my locker, and everything was fine. I had brought some plastic bags to protect the contents as much as possible. I'd have to wait for Monday to see if my reasoning was correct.

* * *

At lunch, we saw the first effects of your flyers. Some new people came up who none of us had spoken to yet. Not all were suffering from bullying though, a few joined just to help. Additionally, some students just requested to be added to our group chat. So it was a new round of getting to know everybody and organizing help.

I hope that nobody was scared off by Mark, who again sat at the next table and watched me. He had fewer of his friends sitting with him, though.

Is he losing followers? I thought.

* * *

Once school was over, Lizzie took me home after I carefully straddled her bike. It was the first time I visited her. She lived in a nice three-story townhouse with an integrated garage. She parked her bike in the garage next to her Dad's, and we entered the empty house.

A short while later, Lizzie's younger sister, Emma, arrived. She was still in middle school, had long blonde hair, and wore a short denim skirt and a pink t-shirt that showed some cleavage. She wore quite some makeup, much more than Lizzie, and seemed rather precocious. We exchanged some words, but then we went into Lizzies room to do some homework.

After we were finished, we watched some TV. As I was determined not to ruin my makeup this time, I sat apart from Lizzie. That felt really strange, so soon I was snuggling up with my girlfriend after all. No kissing, though, even if it was hard.

Eventually, Lizzie's Mom arrived, dressed in a business suit and heels.

"Hi Mom," Lizzie greeted her.

"Hi, Sweety," her mother greeted back. "And you must be the mysterious Christine, who stole my daughter's heart."

"Hello, Mrs. Campbell, it's nice to meet you," I said.

"Please call me Kim. I'm only Mrs. Campbell at work. Speaking of work, let me get out of these clothes before Joe comes home," Lizzie's Mom said and left to change.

A bit later, Lizzie's father arrived with some plastic bags in his hands. He was dressed more casually in jeans and a shirt.

"Hi Liz, I brought Chinese takeout," he said. "Can you take it to the dining table?"

"Hi Dad, sure. This is my friend Christine." Lizzie replied.

"Hello, Mr. Campbell," I greeted him.

"Hello Christine, please call me Joe. Mr. Campbell is my Dad," Lizzie's father said. "So you're the new girl in school?"

"Um, I guess," I replied and wondered what he knew about me.

"I hope you like Chinese food. The only one interested in cooking in this household is Emma, and we can't let her cook always. So it's usually takeout food."

Soon the table was set, and all members of the Campbell family arrived. As Kim changed into a casual skirt and top with house shoes, I was the only one in heels. Well, better to be a bit overdressed than underdressed. We sat down, started eating, and had some small talk.

"I'm glad you managed to win my daughter's heart," Joe told me eventually, "Liz is much happier now. The breakup with her ex took quite some toll."

"Dad, I don't use Christine to get over my ex," Lizzie asserted.

"Sorry, I didn't want to insinuate that. I just wanted to say that you're good for Liz. She told us that you organized a group of students that fights to stop bullying?" her Dad asked.

"Yes," I answered, "but I didn't do it alone. My friend Anne actually does most of the organizing."

"Don't sell yourself short," Lizzie replied. "You are the heart of the group. You recruited most of the members, and you motivate us."

"I think it's commendable to not only fight back for yourself but for others too," Joe said. "You probably had your share of bullying as a lesbian, just like Liz. I always accepted that she's a lesbian, but sometimes I wish that she wouldn't be so she'd not get bullied. One thing is an advantage, though, she won't get pregnant accidentally. With Emma here, I worry a lot that she'll be a boy magnet soon."

"You don't have to worry. I'm on the pill already," Emma announced.

"Oh, but you're still so young. You don't want to, you know, do it already?" Joe asked.

"I'm nearly 14," Emma replied.

Some kids start early, I thought.

There was a pregnant pause that I used to drop the next bombshell and said, "Umm, actually I'm transgender, that means I have a male body. So I guess I could get Lizzie pregnant, theoretically."

"Oh," both parents let out.

"I guess I better get on the pill, too," Lizzie declared.

"But you're a lesbian," Joe said. "Why would you, I mean, I thought ... ?" Joe seemed confused.

"Because Christine is a girl and smart and beautiful, and it doesn't matter what genitalia she has," Lizzie said.

"So did you ... do it?" he asked.

"Dad, that's none of your business," my girlfriend replied. "Christine, you have to excuse my Dad. He's always among other computer nerds at work and doesn't really know how to behave towards women. I wonder how he could get Mom to marry him sometimes."

"That's easy. Joe can be charming, and you just have to love this big doofus, even if he's clumsy sometimes. Regarding the topic at hand, I assume you know to be responsible," Kim said and looked at me sternly.

"Of course," I replied.

"So Lizzie said you're a 'new girl at school,' and I assumed it meant you moved here recently, but now it seems she meant something else," Kim insinuated.

"Um, yes. I go to school as a girl for two weeks now," I said.

"Two weeks only? I'd never have guessed. Well, you probably prepared for that for quite some time."

"Mom, she's a girl now, and it doesn't matter how and when," Lizzie defended me.

"Yes, you certainly appear to be one, more so than my Lizzie here," her Mom said.

"Well, it doesn't matter how that came to be," Lizzie's Dad said after finding his composure again. "Important is that you're Liz's girlfriend, and we all welcome you in the Campbell family."

Emma had looked at me curiously for some time now and finally said, "Lizzie always has strange girlfriends, but I think I like you."

The topic of sex and gender was dropped, and we returned to less controversial subjects. All in all, it was a nice evening, and the Campbells seemed to accept me. In the end, Joe took me home in his car as Kim didn't like Lizzie taking me home on her bike late in the evening.

* * *

On Saturday morning Mom and I prepared for day one of our self-defense training class. We dressed in athletic gear, had a light breakfast, and drove to the gym where the course took place.

The training consisted of lectures and hands-on training. We started with some explanation of the mindset required to fight back if we were attacked. Then the trainers talked about what motivates an attacker, what their mindset or their problem is. They also explained the different modes of violence, but the focus was on physical violence for the rest of the day. Of course, it's best not to get attacked at all. So we got told about the crime prevention pyramid, setting boundaries, and de-escalation of a conflict. The latter was trained in a workshop style where everybody tried to apply what we learned in a simulated scenario.

Then came what we were all waiting for, the actual fighting. We were taught a few simple attack and defense moves so we wouldn't get overwhelmed. Basically, it was going for the eyes first, knee into the groin area second, and, if possible, knee to the head. When attacked from the back, we should use our elbows to the head or stomach. Additionally, we learned ways to break free from an attacker.

The last part was actual physical fighting. There were some opponents in a lot of padding for us to fight against. When it was my turn, I was hesitant at first, but they encouraged me to use full force, showing me they'd feel nothing. In the end, it was quite liberating to let loose and do anything I could to get rid of my attacker.

I was physically exhausted but happy when the class ended. We indulged in takeout pizza as neither Mom nor I had much energy left for cooking when we went home again.

After a break, I got to work some more on my Halloween costume. The ordered parts had arrived, so I could add the zipper, and I managed to adjust it to fit me. Some bits were still missing, like the finger loops on the sleeves, the feathers in the back, the long skirt part, and the hat.

* * *

On Sunday, Mom and I continued with our self-defense training class. The lecture part was more about sexual assault, and it frightened me a bit. I never thought about what could happen to a woman, well, to a guy too, I guess. Well, they taught us about some ways to recognize and minimize risks, so talking about what could happen was probably needed.

Then we were taught about what was legal when defending ourselves and also what items could be used. In my state, using pepper spray for defense was legal but banned at school. So I'd have to rely on my alarm thingy and on my new self-defense abilities.

We had practical training, too, this time focusing on fighting while lying down and some more frontal assault. In the end, I was exhausted again but felt I could probably fight somebody off if I got assaulted. I didn't want to put that to a real-life test, though.

When I was back home, I called Lizzie, and we talked for a long time. I described my self-defense course, and Lizzie considered taking one too. Additionally, we talked about my evening with her parents, and she told me they all liked me, even if it got a bit awkward when I outed myself.

* * *

Monday morning, I got to school way before the doors opened to possibly catch the religious messenger. I wore trainers to be able to run but didn't otherwise compromise my look, which meant a short skirt over pantyhose. Jamie arrived shortly after me, and we hid behind a corner. I actually brought a mirror on a stick to look around the corner and watch the school entrance.

A few minutes later, somebody arrived and waited near the entrance. I didn't know who it was because they wore a hoodie that obscured them. The doors got unlocked before any other student arrived, so they were still alone. They looked around, probably making sure they weren't seen, and went inside. Jamie and I hurried to the entrance and arrived just in time to see the person turning into the hallway that led to my locker. So we continued following, making sure not to make any noise, looking around corners with the mirror. Eventually, our target went into the hallway with my locker. I again peered around the corner with my mirror and saw them getting something out of their backpack and squirting it into my locker.

I sprinted towards them and shouted, "Hey, stop that!"

They turned towards me, dropped what they were holding, then ran away. I stopped at my locker as I had recognized the perpetrator, a boy with whom I shared some classes.

"Larry, stop running away," I exclaimed. "I have your backpack, and I'll report you if you don't come back."

Larry actually stopped and slowly came back. I opened my locker to check the damage. There was a box of orange juice on the floor, and it seemed quite a lot of its content was in my locker now. Fortunately, the plastic bags kept it away from my books.

I got some tissues from my purse and, when Larry reached us, I told him, "Here, take them and clean up the mess you made."

He took them and started cleaning. He was some inches taller than me, but I wasn't afraid of him, especially with Jamie by my side.

"Why did you do such a stupid thing?" I asked but didn't get an answer.

"If your answers don't satisfy me, I can still report you," I continued.

"No, please don't do that," he pleaded. "If my parents find out, I'll be in big trouble."

"Then talk."

"It's because being gay and dressing in women's clothing is a sin."

"There are a lot of gay people, and you didn't put messages and squirt orange juice into their lockers, so why did you pick me?" I asked.

"Because I had to stop you."

"Why?"

"Because ... because you made me have gay thoughts," Larry confessed.

"Does that mean you think I'm attractive? And that makes you gay?"

"Umm, yes."

"Oh Larry, maybe you can't help it, but you're quite messed up. First, you can't harm anybody even if they do something you think is wrong. Second, if you're gay, that is okay. The text in the bible is thousands of years old, and society changed. The same for wearing women's clothes. Third, I'm a girl now, and if you think I'm attractive, that doesn't make you gay."

Larry didn't seem to get what I told him, so I continued, "To make it clear, no more actions like this, no more messing with people, do you understand?"

"Yes," he answered meekly.

"Okay, I'll find out if anything like this happens again, and I know about you now."

"I won't do it again."

"Good. The other thing, you need counseling. Is your family religious?" I asked.

"Yes, very."

"Hmm, then your family probably won't approve, but you can see the school counselor."

"Do I need to?" Larry asked.

"You thought you were doing something bad just because you're attracted to me. Do you think that's healthy? You need help. Talk to the counselor."

"Okay, I'll try."

"What I don't understand, why did you do all this? Do you think some notes and orange juice can turn me back into a boy? It might have made me miserable, but I'm a girl now, and you can't change that. So why?" I asked.

"It was the only thing I could think of."

"You really need help," I said and then touched the cleaned surfaces. "Hmm, it's still sticky. Tomorrow you'll bring real cleaning supplies, and we'll meet here 10 minutes before class. Then you can do it properly."

"I don't have time tomorrow. Can I do it Wednesday?"

I sighed and said, "Okay, but you better don't show me up. Now take this to the trash."

Larry took the used tissues and the orange juice and left quickly.

"I would have reported him," Jamie told me.

"I don't know if that would have done any good. He's messed up and needs help, not punishment. He isn't the typical bully."

"Yeah, you're right."

* * *

In fashion class, I managed to create the hat for my Halloween costume with a little help from the teacher. Without the millinery wire, it wouldn't have worked as it gave the hat stability. I certainly learned a lot in creating my outfit.

I noticed that Ralph was creating a dress too and wondered who would model it for him. After all, we would have to present our finished projects by somebody wearing them.

* * *

Lunch was business as usual now, with the protection pact coming together, greeting new members, and discussing actions. Well, there was quite some chitchat too as we were becoming a big group of friends. We had grown and were sitting at three table rows now. Organizing everything became harder with so many people. We were using the chat app for important information to make sure everybody got them. I still made people mix around to avoid building subgroups. We juniors and the few seniors had to talk with freshmen and sophomores too to be effective.

I talked about my self-defense course and encouraged everybody to take part in one too. Our goal was to prevent bullying, but we couldn't be everywhere. So the ability to discourage attacks or to fight back when needed would help a lot.

I noticed that Brian and his friends seemed to have integrated well. Brian sat next to Paula while Simon sat next to Susan and Jonas sat next to Becky with the other fashion girls at another table.

Mark was again sitting at a table next to our group. But as I sat in the middle row, he was further away from me. I wondered how long he'd keep this up. He only seemed to watch me and didn't interfere with our protection pact, so it didn't really bother me.

Something noteworthy was the news that two school board members had resigned, presumably for personal reasons. That seemed to be quite a coincidence, especially after the principal told me that the school board meddled in Mark's suspension.

* * *

After school, Anne took me home this time. Lizzie was busy, so I was home alone. I missed her already.

I used the time to work on my Halloween costume some more and nearly completed it. I still had more than a week, but it couldn't harm to finish early.

* * *

To be continued

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