Whatever Next? Chapter 11 by Angharad Copyright© 2022 Angharad

(title picture Andrea Piacquadio)

“Back @ the cottge 2moro. C U soon, G. xxx” Drew sent the text and then wondered if he’d done the right thing in texting Harry. Then he shrugged to himself, he would find out anyway, and soon enough, so what harm could there be in notifying him?

Jules and Maddy had helped him pack; this time they’d included the blazer and trousers he’d bought as school uniform. Maddy had also given him her spare skirt, a grey, pleated thing that came halfway down his thigh, a real bum freezer!

He checked his bank account and he had more money than he thought, so if he needed anything he could get them himself without worrying about borrowing. He had his cash card in his purse, which was in his little handbag.

He scanned the bedroom, he saw his small rucksack. He hadn’t moved it since they’d come back, he picked it up and dug through it. He pulled out a small package and blushed. It was his present from Harry. Putting the backpack on the floor, he sat on the bed and carefully opened the package.

It was done up very carefully, the paper was kittens and puppies and had a big pink bow on it, one of those stick-on ones. He opened it very gently, ripping the tape as easily as he could so as to not damage the pretty paper. Then he reached inside from the one end and pulled out the contents. His face lit up when he saw the jeweller’s name on the boxes. He opened them both and gasped in wonder at their contents. He was still admiring them when Maddy waltzed in.

“Wadd’ya doin’?”

“Eh?”

“Wassat?”

“Something Harry gave me.”

“When?”

“When we left a couple of weeks ago.”

“Gi’ssalook then,” Maddy took the boxes gently from him and her eyes widened. “Jeez Gabs, this is nice stuff. I mean this didn’t come from a market stall.”

“I know, it’s lovely isn’t it?”

“C’mon, let’s see you wear it then.” Maddy helped him put the silver pendant around his neck and he changed his earrings for the matching silver and amethyst hoops. He rose and went to the mirror, “Wat’cha think?” he enquired of Maddy.

“I think they look really nice, you’ll have to wear ‘em tomorrow so he can see you like them.”

“Yeah, I s’pose.”

“Don’t you like them?”

“Yeah, I’m just cross ‘cos I forgot about them, I mean the present until now. I haven’t said thank you to him.”

“Jus’ wear ‘em and like give ‘im a big kiss, he’ll know then alright.”

“Dunno about the big kiss bit, but I will wear them.”

“Thought you said he was a good kisser?”

“Don’t remember saying that,” Drew furrowed his brow as he tried to recall saying anything about kissing.

“You didn’t say it with words, it was more the spaced out look after you kissed him.”

“When was that?” Drew felt a blush arise in his big toes and move swiftly up to the top of his head, bringing a rise in temperature with it.

“Like several times, including the big farewell.”

“Oh shit!” Drew remembered that, and the blush got fiercer and he got hotter.

“C’mon girl, let’s show the others your prezzies.”

“I’d prefer it if we kept this to ourselves,” Drew looked again at himself in the mirror, all he could see was a pretty young woman looking back, wearing the new adornments. Part of him liked what he saw very much; the jewellery was very pretty and suited him well. Harry had chosen very well.

“Hey, there’s another box here,” called Maddy from the bed.

“Is there?” answered Drew in surprise. He turned around and took it from Maddy’s hand. He opened it and there was a matching bracelet.

“Let’s see then?” said Maddy grabbing the box. “Wow Gabs, he must love ya, this little lot set him back a few quid.” She took the bracelet out and fastened it to Drew’s wrist. “Oh yeah, I like that. You’ll be too good to talk to us now,” she joked and they both giggled.

“What are you two up to?” asked Jules passing the door.

“Nuthin’ why?” echoed the ‘twins’.

She walked in and spotted the glitter immediately. “Where’d y’get the sparklers then?”

“Harry gave them to me,” Drew almost whispered his response.

“When?”

“When we left, remember he gave me the package an’ I shoved it in my backpack.”

“I remember the lip lock you had him in,” teased his sister.

“That was him, not me,” protested the younger sibling blushing furiously.

“I don’t recall you fighting him off, although I thought Dad was gonna have a stroke like, watching you two tongue wrestling.”

“I wasn’t,” Drew was now so hot he was in danger of catching alight.

“Yeah, I saw that too,” added Maddy, “It was the spaced-out look that got me, then she protests she didn’t like it.”

“Nah, she was protesting ‘cos he like had to stop to breathe.”

“Stop it you two, it wasn’t like that at all!” Drew was now close to tears again.

“We will if you tell us the truth,” challenged Jules.

“Wadd’ya mean?” asked Drew very wary of the traps they usually set.

“That you liked it.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did, your body language said you did.”

“Oh,” said Drew and sat down on the bed, and rested his chin on his hands.

“You did, didn’t you?”

“It was okay, I s’pose.” He looked down at the floor and he knew he had enjoyed it and that they knew it too. “But I’m not gay or anythin’.”

“Gay?” Jules looked perplexed, “Gabs you’re a girl, kissing boys isn’t gay, it’s fun!”

“It’s compulsory,” quipped Maddy, “and we’ll see you get some more practice.”

“What about you then, who are you gonna kiss? You don’t seem that fussed on William,” Drew aimed at Maddy.

“Don’t worry about me, I‘ll find a pair of lips to suck, don’t you worry,” which was exactly what Drew was worried about.

He sat listening to the two girls exchanging snippets about boys at the school and wondered about the conversation that had just ensued. Like all teenagers and most adults, he enjoyed kissing. Kissing boys was a novelty and he had some reluctance towards it, but that was because he’d been brought up as a boy. This could be a mistake and he might actually be a girl. In which case kissing boys would be okay.

His thoughts were going deeper as he continued in this vein. If he wasn’t actually becoming a girl, just his body doing stupid things which could be sorted, but was living as one to help catch Meadows, was it okay to kiss Harry then? He wasn’t sure unless it was a role play to help maintain his disguise and prevent the embarrassment exposure would cause.

What about the growing fondness he was developing for the boy? That was the key issue, wasn’t it? Harry was a good lad and he knew he’d have got along fine with him as Drew. But he wasn’t Drew, not anymore, he was Gaby and she liked Harry, very much. In fact, just thinking about him gave her a warm feeling that she didn’t get from anyone else, even Maddy.

“You’re thinking about Harry, aren’t you?” accused Jules.

“How, what do you mean?” he replied indignantly, whilst blushing.

“ ‘Cos you’ve got a stupid look on your face which girls only get when they’re in love.”

“That is plain stupid, how can I be in love with any boy?” Drew was close to either exploding in anger or bursting into tears.

“Hey, cool it. I’m only saying what I saw, like okay?”

“It’s true Gabs, you did look love-struck and you were thinking about him like, weren’t you?”

“No, I was … okay, I was.” He looked dejectedly at the floor and a tear filled his eyes.

“I knew it,” triumphed Jules, “That’s’ why you want to go back down to Dorset, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not,” protested a sniffing Drew.

She sat alongside him, “It’s okay to fall in love, Gabs, honest it is, it’s the best feeling there is. So just go with the flow, all right? All we have to do now is fix Maddy up with some adorable hunk and all three of us can have a good time.”

“But this is wrong, I shouldn’t feel like this about another boy.” Drew was now starting to weep.

Jules put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, “You can’t help it, girl, it’s yer ‘ormones, we all get it, enjoy it, it’s fun.”

“But I don’t want to, I want to be a boy again, I don’t want to be a girl.”

“I don’t think you have a choice any more, Sis.” Jules hugged him as he cried into her shoulder.

The next day, Dave and John helped load all the bags into the car, John’s car. His big Mondeo estate easily swallowed the load. Carol’s Honda wasn’t big enough for the bodies and their bags, so John took the day off and offered to drive them down. He also wanted to see the cottage for himself and be assured that it was suitable. Dave had wanted to come as well but had to deal with the insurance assessor who was visiting the damaged house.

There had been a scramble about who would travel with whom. No one really wanted to go with Carol, especially as her car was slower and noisier and so was she. In the end, the three teens went with John and Josie went with Carol.

They stopped three times en route, each time having to wait for Carol to catch up despite John driving more slowly than usual. At the last comfort stop, they arranged to meet at the cottage and John took the keys, whereupon he raced off ahead, narrowly missing being caught by a speed camera.

Maddy sat thinking how she would miss her dad when he went back, he was driving back that evening. Jules sat yearning to get her body wrapped around her John and staring into each other’s eyes, while Drew sat half dreading and half impatient to see her Harry.

'My Harry, jeez what is happening to me? I’m feeling this like strange sensation in my tummy, whenever I think about him.' In his head he was half dreading making a fool of himself and being thought of as queer. 'Maybe that’s what I am, a queer a pansy or whatever. All I know is that my tummy feels this like weird impulse or throb whenever I think of him or see him. Is that what love feels like? I want him to kiss me! Oh my God, what am I like saying!'

Jules spotted him playing with his bracelet and then blushing and she knew what he was thinking about. He glanced shiftily at her and she gave him a wink back. He blushed and knew she knew what he was thinking about.

With Maddy’s help and that of the in-car GPS sat nav, they arrived at the cottage. Drew stopped to help unload the car while Maddy and Jules went to unlock it. Mrs Bugler had left them some milk and another apple cake. She’d also put a box of free-range eggs from her neighbour’s chickens on the kitchen table, together with a note welcoming them back.

All the cases in, Maddy gave her father the Cook's tour, while Jules called John and Drew tried to deal with his sense of guilt over wanting to see Harry. The tea was brewing when Carol and Josie arrived, John helping to unload her car of the groceries she’d bought the day before.

The tea had just been poured when the doorbell rang. Jules almost fell in her haste to open the door, only to be greeted by Harry bearing another large bunch of flowers.

“Oh it’s you, Harry!”

“Is Gabs, there?”

“GABY SOMEONE TO SEE YOU,” yelled Jules and Drew blushing deeply, checked himself in the mirror in the dining room, adjusting a stray wisp of hair, before walking gracefully to the hall.

“Oh hi,” said Drew bashfully.

“Hi,” blushed Harry. “Oh, these are for you,” he thrust the bouquet into his beloved’s hands and then held out his arms to embrace her.

“For me?” squeaked Drew in a high pitch which was almost above the hearing range of a hypersensitive bat, “Oh thanks.” He found himself driven by something beyond his control as he stepped into Harry’s embrace and they kissed longingly.

As they stopped for air, the cheer that went up from all the others who had watched in silence, made them cringe and blush like the geraniums in pots which were at the door and windows of the cottage.

“Welcome back,” said Harry.

“Yeah,” said Drew, allowing Harry to put his arm around his waist.

On his drive back John didn’t know whether he would comment upon Harry’s entrance or not to Dave who would probably be horrified. Part of him had been fascinated by it. He had watched with bated breath as a boy who looked so much like a girl it was untrue, was embraced and melted into the arms of another boy as they kissed. It was beautiful in its own way but it had disturbed him, it would have done if it had been Maddy who was involved.

He pondered on the relationship between Drew, now Gaby, and his daughter. He presumed that was now just as two girl cousins. Maddy didn’t seem to be worried by it, at least she wasn’t moping over a lost boyfriend, if anything she seemed to encourage Drew to become increasingly effeminate. No, that was wrong, he wasn’t an effeminate boy, she was a rather attractive girl but quite what would happen in the end, John was extremely glad he didn’t know and even more so that it wasn’t his problem. Bringing up a normal girl was bad enough, raising one who wasn’t was a potential nightmare.

“They settled in alright?” asked Dave pouring him out a beer.

“Yeah, the drive down was a pain with all the road works, but otherwise it was okay.”

“Everyone okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“My two didn’t cause any problems?”

“Nah, they were good as gold. Gaby’s lad turned up with a big bunch of flowers, half as big as himself,” said John testing the waters.

“Oh Harry, yeah, nice kid, so polite. Thinks the sun shines ... you know.”

“Yeah, that was the impression I got.”

“Did the other one turn up, John, can’t think of his other name.”

“Oh yeah, he and Jules were like two lovesick calves.”

“Yeah, we had to use a crowbar to prize them apart when we came back.” Dave chuckled as he remembered that day, hoping John didn’t spot the twitch he gave when he recalled Gaby and Harry’s farewell kiss.