Anne Marie has bullied Cameron for a long time. Suddenly she finds something about him she likes.

Anne Marie stood watching Cameron, the feminized boy, who had been shoved into the middle of a circle of hostile peers at school. He hadn’t actually done anything to deserve this, but no one much liked him. He wasn’t very big or tall, was too pretty for a boy, and was kind of smart, all of which made him an easy target. After classes today a group of the girls had grabbed him and marched him into the girls’ restroom, stripped him and forced him into a mid-thigh, girly dress, made him up and braided his long hair. Now he was standing in the circle, rather nonchalantly, she thought. Being surrounded, there was no way for him to escape. People were hurling insults at him, and he was…examining his nails. He might as well have been alone there, for all the attention he was paying to his tormentors. She had to give him points on Cool. Pretty soon the bullies were tiring of the game, since he wasn’t reacting. Pictures were being taken, and probably posted online, but he wasn’t hiding. He hadn’t responded with one word to the taunts, the nasty epithets or the predictable stupid questions. She was beginning to rethink her impressions of him. Maybe he was cooler than she had always thought?

The crowd started to drift away, since they weren’t having their prurient interests satisfied, their need to feel superior gratified. It just seemed as if they were standing around watching any girl. The humiliation factor would have to be enough. Surprisingly there was no violence.

Anne Marie didn’t know exactly what she was feeling. She was experiencing a profound change in her attitudes. She had to admit she admired the way Cameron kept his cool, and she thought he looked really pretty as a girl, which stirred something inside her. She wouldn’t mind getting to know a girl like that.

As Cameron sort of peripherally saw the opportunity to get away growing he began to plan his next move, which was mainly to get his clothes back. He’d go back into the girls’ restroom—no one was likely to be there at this hour—and see if they were still there, but he wasn’t holding his breath.

In the game of survival he was pleased that his tactic of ignoring his tormentors had worked as well as it did. Not giving them attention was like denying a fire its supply of oxygen. He’d consciously made himself less interesting. He had considered posing provocatively for the people taking pictures, just to show a lack of humiliation, but had decided no attention at all would work better. The situation still scared him though. A group of people with nothing but hate in their hearts, and the potential for violence. He was really sick to death of being hurt and bullied, and of the school doing nothing about it. Getting away somewhere so he could vent…scream out about the unfairness of it all was an appealing dream.

There was still one girl left, and he recognized her as Anne Marie Brent, one of his weekly oppressors. Her head was tilted and she had an odd look on her face, but he couldn’t be bothered with paying any attention to her, other than to see if she was a threat. He looked around once more, and casually made his move towards the restroom. It didn’t look like anyone was following him. Inside the restroom he looked everywhere possible, even the trash, but as he had half expected, the clothes were nowhere to be found.

As he backed out of the last stall he turned around to find Anne Marie standing there. He hadn’t heard her come in, and wondered what new torture was coming his way.

“They’re not here,” she said.

“Um, what?”

“Your clothes. I don’t know where they went, but I doubt you’ll find them in here.”

“Ah, fine, whatever.” He made to push past her to leave.

“You look really pretty, Cammie,” she said.

He rolled his eyes. “No offense, but could you just please leave me alone?”

When she didn’t respond he slipped past her and went out the door, leaving Anne Marie rather vexed. She was trying to be nice to him for a change!

Cameron hadn’t actually taken a look at himself, or he might have realized Anne Marie was right. So he felt very conspicuous as he made his way through the empty halls to his locker. He picked up his knapsack, resigning himself to the idea of walking home looking like a girl. He only hoped no one recognized him, so he could get home in one piece.

-o0o-

Anne Marie stood in the restroom for a little while, looking in the mirror and thinking about this change in her attitude toward Cameron. It was hard, but she had to admit she was very attracted to the female version of him. Somehow he now looked…right, or normal or something, at least to her. She had no idea why that would be. She was still a little hurt that he blew her off. Not every boy got to interact with someone as good-looking and popular as she was. It took her a little while, but after a bit of honest soul searching she had to admit that there was no reason at all for him to trust her, not even with a compliment. She hadn’t been among his worst offenders, but she had made fun of him and made life harder for him. Now she had to somehow make him see that she was no longer interested in giving him grief. Well, as long as he would let her get to know him, that is. Wait—no. That would be like blackmail, and she wasn’t going to be like that to him anymore.

-o0o-

Cameron slunk home. Every time a car or person passed him he’d try and walk a little more like a girl. This was humiliating, and what would his mom say? Would she finally believe him that he was being bullied? Or would she think he actually wanted to dress this way? You could never count on her for support.

He had let his guard down a bit while thinking, and now he saw two beefy jerks (‘beefy jerks… beef jerkies! Heh heh,’ he thought, enjoying the wordplay) were following him. They’d been part of the circle of bullies earlier, and apparently hadn’t been satisfied with his ignoring them. How was he supposed to escape them, especially in this getup?

With very little difficulty they quickly overtook him, one of them seized him from behind and roughly held his arms back. The other one got in a soft punch to Cameron’s belly, a kind of appetizer on the pain menu. But before they could really get going, a car screeched to a halt there, and Anne Marie jumped out. “Hey, Anne Marie,” said one, “Lookie what we got.” She smiled at him. Cameron thought the worst was about to happen when she lifted her hand and pepper sprayed both boys, who quickly let go of Cameron in order to grab their faces. “What the hell did you do that for?!” one choked out. “There will be no more bullying of Cameron,” she answered. “She—I mean he, is under my protection.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to her car.

“Couldn’t she –cough!– have just told us that??” he could hear behind them. “Really! Say it, –cough!- don’t spray it!” They were laughing even as they cried.

Cameron was beyond stunned to have been rescued by her, and meekly followed her into her car, still trying to catch his breath from the gut punch.

“Did they hurt you?”

“Uh, I might have some bruises,” he panted, “but no, not really. Thank you, but why did you save me?” He looked at her curiously.

“I’ve decided to…change my attitude. I want to apologize for being so mean to you all this time,” she said, and glanced over at him. “Cameron, I meant it, earlier, when I said you looked pretty.”

He didn’t know how to respond to that. A guy is not supposed to be pretty, although he knew kids called him “pretty boy” as well as other, much more derogatory terms, all the time. He didn’t trust her enough to believe she had had a change of heart, but he had to play this carefully, so as not to rile her up.

She could tell he didn’t really believe her.

“Pull down the mirror in the visor and look at yourself.”

He did so, and was shocked at the image he saw there. How in the world could they have made him look like that? He was forced to admit that Anne Marie was right.

“Whoa…” he said, a bit overwhelmed with his image. He had no desire to look pretty. “Ah, okay. I see your point. Um…where are you taking me?” he asked, a bit apprehensively. There was no reason to believe she had turned over a new leaf. The rescue could have been staged.

“I’ll take you home if you tell me where you live.”

Deciding that, all things considered, it might be better if she didn’t know exactly where he lived, he directed her to Oakwood street, two blocks away from his house and asked to be let out in front of a house in a direct line to his, hoping he could just cut through the back yards.

As Anne Marie drove, she looked over at him as often as she could. He looked so nice dressed like that! She wished she could reach over and pet him a little, but she’d have to take this whole thing slow, or she’d frighten him off.

On Oakwood street he told her the address—the same number as his—where she stopped. “Um, thanks for the ride.”

She smiled at him. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

‘Not if I see you first,’ went through his mind.

She drove off and he darted through the yards to Crestwood street and home.

-o0o-

Once inside, he was relieved to find his mom wasn’t there. He struggled out of the clothes, and used his mom’s cold cream to get the makeup off. He pulled out the braids and put his hair back in the usual low ponytail. Then he couldn’t decide whether to burn the clothes or just throw them out; he honestly wanted nothing to do with them. He sure didn’t want his mom to find them! For the time being he put them in a paper bag hidden in his closet.

He really didn’t know what to think about Anne Marie. It was great that she had saved him from a beating, but he knew he couldn’t trust her. A person doesn’t bully someone for years and then suddenly stop… do they?

-o0o-

For the next week, for some reason, no one at school bothered him, which almost made him paranoid, waiting for the shoe to drop. There was snickering when some people saw him, no doubt due to photos of him in drag likely posted on social media. On Friday, as he was leaving school, Anne Marie suddenly appeared, startling him and putting him on edge.

“Hey Cameron, do you have some time?”

“Uh, what for?” he asked, very leery.

“I’d like to take you out for a snack or ice cream, whatever you want.”

Did she just invite him out?? He looked up to the sky, to see if there was an alien up there with some sort of ray that distorted reality. Nope. Nothing.

“Why in the world would you want to go out with me, or me with you? I mean, I appreciate you bailing me out last week, but you helped make my life miserable for years.”

“I know I did, and I’m very sorry about that. That was before I saw something in you that I found interesting and attractive. If you noticed, no one bothered you this week, and that’s because I told them all to cut it out. So… how about it?”

He stood there looking at her. “I don’t get it, Anne Marie. How can you go from treating someone like crap to wanting to go on a date with them with no warning? And I’m just supposed to forget the abuse?”

“I’m not sure how to explain it,” she began. “Last week when you were in that dress I was admiring how you were keeping your cool in the middle of a bunch of bullies, and studying you, when suddenly I realized I was, like, finding you attractive,” she said, a bit embarrassed about admitting it.

Cameron processed that, and then the light bulb went on. “So wait, that means you found me attractive, like, as a girl!”

“It’s not as simple as that,” she explained. “Of course I knew you were a boy, but the combination…the idea of a pretty girl being a boy really appealed to me.”

“I see,” he said, not seeing at all. “So I’m not all dragged up now, and haven’t the least desire to put girls’ clothes on again. Why are you still interested?”

“Cameron, I’m smart enough to know that while the outer wrapping can be pretty, it’s the actual person inside the wrapping that’s where the real interest lies.”

“But…” he floundered for words. “I’ve always been this person!”

“True, but until last week I was too stupid to really take a good look at you. So, to kinda make it up to you I want to try and get to know you and see if my feeling is right.” She really felt like she was baring her soul to him, which wasn’t that easy, even though she had no lack of self-confidence.

He was shocked that she had admitted being wrong and ‘stupid.’ That was very unexpected. “Uh, well, okay,” he relented. “It still seems really, um, fishy to me.” She seemed very sincere, but he was uneasy. He resolved to stay on guard. Truthfully he didn’t know how well turning her down would have gone. He also hadn’t realized she was so powerful. All bullying had stopped on her say-so? Wow! Yet, with all his experience, it still felt like a setup.

-o0o-

She drove them to Draegers, an old-fashioned dessert shop in town, and they sat across from each other in a booth. She treated him to a sundae, and got one herself, and they just… talked. He found she didn’t seem purely evil, as he had formerly thought. Also, she was a lot smarter than he would have suspected. She even had a sense of humor.

She decided he was a lot more interesting than she initially had guessed. Instead of just some hopelessly nerdy kid, he liked some of the same music she did, was a reader, and informed on a wide variety of subjects, and loved to draw. He was unable to stifle his love of wordplay and puns, and she had to groan once or twice.

After a while Cameron started to relax a little bit when she didn’t seem to have an ulterior motive, though he couldn’t help wondering if that was a mistake.

She drove him ‘home’ again, and when she stopped she said, “Maybe we can do this again?”

He turned to her. “Listen, Annie Marie, I admit I had a nice time with you today, and thanks for the ice cream, but I really find it hard to trust you. I feel like if I let my guard down I’ll get sucker-punched.”

She thought it over. “I guess I can understand that, but maybe as time goes by you’ll learn I’m not all bad, especially if you give me a fair chance. Something about this desire to get to know you is kinda making me grow up.”

He stood in the driveway as she drove away, and waved. When she was out of sight he ran between the yards to get to his own street. Anne Marie did seem nice, but he also knew what she was capable of. He also couldn’t help wondering what would happen when the other bullies found out she was trying to get to know him. It seemed like that could lead to a whole new world of pain. On the one hand she did seem like an interesting person. On the other hand, being her friend was like striking up an acquaintance with a cobra, not knowing when it might lash out, fangs bared.

-o0o-

When his mother got home that evening she had a funny look on her face. She didn’t say much until the two of them were sitting down to dinner.

“One of my co-workers showed me something interesting today on social media. Can you guess what it was?”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “Yes, I think I can. Was it a picture of your son being bullied and humiliated?”

“Didn’t look like bullying to me. Just looked like a pretty girl looking at her nails. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I never know whether you’re going to believe me!” he said, with some heat. “I’ve been bullied for years, and you always seem to think I’m making it up! Or you tell me to suck it up. The day that picture was taken a group of about eight girls grabbed me, forced me into the girls restroom, stripped me and got me into that getup. If I had done that to any of them, they would be screaming sexual assault at the very least, and I would have been expelled! Maybe even jailed.”

“Are you telling me the truth? You don’t look very unhappy in the picture.”

His jaw dropped. “THIS is why I didn’t tell you! You never believe me! I’m not sure what it would take for you to believe your own child, who is not a liar. Slashes from a knife? A bullet hole? A black eye? Or would you think I did that to myself?? Thanks so much for your loving support!” he shouted with the maximum amount of sarcasm possible. He got up from the table and stormed back to his room, shutting the door.

His mother remained at the table, open-mouthed. Had she really been that bad? No, she couldn’t have been! Cameron was probably exaggerating. Having grown up with only a sister, she had always been under the impression that all boys could take care of themselves, completely ignoring the fact of Cameron’s short stature and lack of muscles. It had been a great day when her bully of an ex-husband left the house for good, but at the same time he left behind a bad feeling about males in general. She wouldn’t admit this to anyone…and hardly even to herself, but she was looking forward to the time when Cameron went off to college or moved out and she’d have the place to herself and wouldn’t have to deal with any males at all.

-o0o-

That went just as badly as Cameron had expected. He knew his mother didn’t really like men, thanks to his big jerk of a father. For so long he hoped she’d make an exception in that attitude for her own son, who was nothing like his father, but evidently not. Maybe it was time to see if he could find somewhere else to live. Would Aunt Rachel let him live with her? She had always seemed sympathetic to him… and there were only two years of high school left. His mom would probably be happy not to have to deal with him anymore.

With that in mind, Thursday after school he took the bus to Aunt Rachel’s place. She had also been married, but had been widowed and left comfortably off. To keep herself occupied she had a part-time job three days a week. She welcomed Cameron inside and gave him a quick hug.

“This is unexpected, Cam, but I’m happy to see you.”

That made him smile. So few people were happy to see him.

“Thanks, it’s good to see you too. I, um, wanted to get your advice.”

She looked at him in appraisal. “Let’s go sit down. Do you want a drink?”

“Oh, just water, thanks.”

She got two waters, and they settled down in the den.

“So tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Well, I think you know I’ve been bullied for a long time at school?”

She nodded yes.

“So a couple weeks ago these girls grabbed me, forced me into the girls’ restroom and got me into drag. Then they pulled me out so that everyone could make fun of me.”

She looked at him sympathetically. She knew he’d probably make a very pretty girl.

“I decided to mostly ignore them, and it didn’t take long before they wore themselves out and left. I went back in the restroom and of course my clothes were gone. This one girl, Anne Marie, followed me in, and I thought she was going to hit me or something (she’s always bullied me) but instead she complimented me. I got my bag from my locker and started home, but two great big dumb football players followed me and were just starting to hit me when Anne Marie pulled up in her car, got out and pepper-sprayed them!”

“This sounds awful, Cam. Can’t the school do anything about it?”

“They have always ignored it. I don’t know if it’s because a lot of the guys are on the sports teams, or what, but they never do a thing.”

“Your mother should go in there and give them a piece of her mind!”

“See, that’s the main part of the problem—she never believes me when I tell her I’ve been bullied. She either thinks I’m lying or I should ‘act like a man’ and just take it! It’s driving me nuts! I have had it with her!”

“Do you want me to talk to her for you?”

“I don’t think it would do any good,” he said. “What I wanted to ask…” he said, and stopped. It wasn’t easy to ask a favor as big as this.

She nodded encouragingly.

“Well, I wondered if you might let me live here with you.”

Her eyes widened in surprise and she sat back. “Oh my. I was not expecting that. You do realize she has legal custody of you?”

“Yeah, but I’m sorry to say I don’t think she even likes me. I think she’d be glad to be rid of me.”

“Oh Cam, you shouldn’t say that. I know she can be cold towards men, but—”

“She’s more than cold, Aunt Rachel! My stupid oaf of a father made her hate all men. She lumps me in with them without even considering who I am! I’m just…really tired of it. Like just now, when I told you about that incident, you looked like you believed me. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that!”

She looked at him sympathetically. “You poor kid. Yes, I did know how she feels about men, but like you I thought she’d see you differently. I guess I could talk to her and find out how she’d feel about you moving in with me. I wouldn’t mind some company, and you and I have always gotten along well.”

“I would be really grateful,” he gave her a sad smile.

“Do you want to try staying here this weekend? Just to see if you like the house, and we could find out how we get along?”

“I would love to do that!”

She looked at the clock. “She should be home in another hour. I’ll call her then and discuss it with her.”

-o0o-

They sat and talked for a while. Then she showed him the guest room where he would be staying. It was just a plain, comfortable room with a bare bed and dresser, nothing special. It did need some attention though.

Cameron had always liked Aunt Rachel. She had always given him positive attention, something he was starved for. He felt like she was one of the very few people who saw him as a regular human being. Her birthday and Christmas presents were always nice, and thoughtfully picked out. His mother tended to go more for the gift card method, or plain old cash, rather than actually taking the time to think what he might want. When he took the time to carefully pick out something for her, she never seemed genuinely appreciative.

When the hour was up Rachel called her sister in the kitchen while Cameron waited breathlessly in the den. When she came back in after the call she looked thoughtful.

“Well? What’d she say?”

“I’m sorry to tell you she almost jumped at the opportunity. She was trying to downplay it, but I’m pretty sure she would welcome the chance to have you out of the house. I had no idea things were that bad.”

Cameron looked down. He knew his mother didn’t really seem to like him, but to so easily give him up… that hurt. He remembered when he was a kid and they had gotten along well. Those days disappeared as his father got more offensive. He wondered if his mother even remembered that his father had no love for him either, lumping the two of them together as millstones around his neck.

Rachel sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Never mind, Cam. There’s at least one person around who loves you.”

That almost brought tears to his eyes. He looked at her and simply said, “Thank you.” He could not remember the last time anyone had said that to him.

-o0o-

On Friday, Anne Marie somehow missed seeing Cameron at school, and decided to find him and see if he would go out with her again. She drove to the house on Oakwood where she had dropped him off, and knocked on the door. A gray-haired lady answered.

“Yes?” she said.

“Hi, I wondered if Cameron was home.”

“Cameron? There’s no Cameron living here.”

“Cameron Davidson?”

“Davidson, Davidson …I think the Davidsons live a couple blocks away. We get their mail now and then. It’s the same house number, but different street.”

“I see. Thank you, ma’am, sorry to bother you,” Anne Marie said, and left. She was just a little taken aback, and a little bit pissed off. Then she remembered Cameron said he couldn’t really trust her. She decided she was willing to cut him some slack here.

She drove two streets over and found a neat-looking bungalow on Crestwood with the same number. Ringing the bell, the door was answered by Cam’s mother. When she asked for Cameron she got the distinct impression that his mother didn’t seem to like him.

“Oh, he’s at his aunt’s house, and he’ll be there all weekend. Are you his…girlfriend?” From the incredulous way she asked, it was obvious to Anne Marie that she couldn’t believe her son could have attracted someone as good-looking as her. She really felt like sticking it to her and telling her yes, but common sense prevailed.

“No, just a friend. Could you tell me his aunt’s phone number? I’d really like to get in touch with him.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that…”

“Please? It’s very important,” Anne Marie said. She knew how to use the force of her personality to get what she wanted, and it worked this time too.

-o0o-

Back in her car she called the number. Rachel answered.

“Hello? Who is calling?… oh, Cameron?”

Cameron frantically waved at his aunt to indicate that he was not there, no matter who it was. He couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to get in touch with him. Fortunately she got the message.

When she hung up she told him it was a girl named Anne Marie.

He sighed and said, “She’s this girl at school who had always bullied me. And now suddenly she wants to be friends. But I really don’t trust her.”

“Oh yes, you mentioned her the other day.”

Rachel listened closely as he told the whole story again, and she asked some questions. The trust issue was understandable, but it seemed to her as if this girl sincerely wanted to get to know him. “It sounds as if she could be a strong ally, maybe even protect you.”

“But I just can’t let my guard down with her. I wish I could, because when she took me for an ice cream she did seem nice and kind of interesting. It’s hard to understand why someone would bully you for years and then change their attitude in one minute.”

“She took you for ice cream? Hm.” Rachel considered the dynamics of a girl taking a boy out. “What exactly did she tell you?”

“Well…at that incident a couple weeks ago I told you about she said she had been watching me, admiring my poise under pressure. And that she found me attractive, but… I was in girls clothes!”

“Ah, now it begins to make sense.”

“Huh?”

She smiled at him. “There are some women who really find men in drag a turn-on. Sounds like she might be one of them, and she’s just discovering that.”

“But I’m not interested in wearing those clothes! I told her so, too.”

“What did she say to that?”

“Uhh, she said she was smart enough to know that it was the person, not the clothes.”

“You know, Cam, this girl sounds like she has her head screwed on straight. If it wasn’t for the bullying…”

“She said she wants to, like, turn over a new leaf, and that somehow this situation is making her grow up.”

“I don’t know…it seems like you should give her a chance, but I’m not going to push you one way or another. I’ll also tell you I had the impression she knew you were here, in spite of your signals.”

“And just how did she get this number if not from my mother! Crap!”

-o0o-

Anne Marie spent some time contemplating about how she could have been so cruel for so long – she had never thought of herself as a cruel person. It was just fun to torment nerdy, geeky people. She had a different view now and wondered how she had ever thought it was fun to make someone suffer. And on top of that to have a mother who didn’t even seem to like you… that just seemed unthinkable. It made her feel guilty for adding to Cam’s troubles.

She also had to fight her natural instinct to seek revenge for being snubbed. If this was going to work, she would have to do better.

-o0o-

Cameron stayed the weekend with Rachel and enjoyed himself a lot. It was such a relief living with someone who actually liked him, and believed him. He felt like it was the first time in ages he could unclench himself. Aunt Rachel took him out to dinner on Saturday at a nice Italian restaurant. They didn’t do anything special during the day, just simple interactions. He offered to help around the house and she did ask him to mow the lawn. He was sorry when the weekend was over.

“Do you think I’ll be able to live with you, Aunt Rachel? I really enjoyed spending the time with you.”

“We’ll see, Cam. It was nice having you here. I’ll be talking to your mother today about this.”

-o0o-

At school he was successful in avoiding Anne Marie on Monday, but on Tuesday she found him and offered him a ride home.

“You’re probably not going to want to be doing that, since I’m going to move in with my aunt.”

“Oh. Is she in this school district?”

He nodded yes.

“Well then it can’t be all that far. If you want I’ll help you move. I do have a car, you know. You probably won’t be moving a lot of furniture, will you?”

He shook his head. He stood looking at her. It still didn’t compute for him, the way she was so nice to him. He was so afraid of giving in to her and then getting a metaphorical if not an actual black eye.

“Look, Cameron, I know you don’t trust me, but I really do want to be your friend.”

“I’m…afraid.”

“Of me?”

“No, I’m just afraid if I say yes it’ll all backfire on me, and then it’ll be even worse than before.”

“Well, here’s the thing, Cameron: there’s no way for me to actually prove to you my good intentions. You’re going to have to take a leap of faith. Because I just don’t know what I can do to show you I’m sincere.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You seem like you’re really trying hard and I keep putting up roadblocks, but I have a long and painful history that makes me very wary.”

“And that’s understandable, especially by me. All that time it never occurred to me what the effect of my treatment of you would be.” She paused. “I just want to…to try and make it up to you. Please.”

The “please” got his attention. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard that word come out of her mouth. He sighed deeply. “Okay, Anne Marie. I may be making a big mistake, but I will try and be your friend.”

She gave him a genuine smile. “Can I give you a little hug for that?”

After he nodded okay, she stepped forward and gave him more than a little hug. She was a bit taller and enjoyed how their bodies fitted together. She’d never dated a shorter guy before—not that they were dating—and it was surprisingly nice to be the taller one.

Cameron didn’t get any hugs at all from his mother. Aunt Rachel usually hugged him when he visited. So hugs were pretty rare. He had to admit Anne Marie was good at it. He liked the faint smell of her perfume, the feel of her body against his. He felt himself relax a little.

“That was nice,” Anne Marie said, as she pulled back. “Thanks.”

He blushed. “Thank you too.”

-o0o-

Not much later they were sitting at Draegers again, having ice cream.

“So tell me why you’re moving in with your aunt.”

“My mother, well, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t like me. She just never believes me when I tell her I’m having real problems at school. And when I told her about that last episode, she still thought I was lying! Really pissed me off! My own mother! The one person you think you should be able to count on.”

“I’m sorry, Cameron. It sounds awful to have to live with someone like that. Do you have any idea why she treats you like that?”

“Oh, it’s because of my father. You remember those guys you pepper-sprayed the other week? He was a lot like them, treating us both like crap. When he finally went ahead and hit her she made him move out, and he was happy to go! The thing is, I think he made her hate all men, including me.”

Anne Marie felt even more empathy for him. “Well, I don’t know too much about abused women, but it somehow doesn’t surprise me that she would end up with an attitude like that.”

“But she includes me with all those guys! Me! Her own son! I never did anything against her!”

“It sounds like she could use some counseling.”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with her.”

They continued talking, getting to know one another better, and afterwards she drove him home. He agreed to let her help him move his few possessions after school on Friday. Aunt Rachel had a few things to do to get the room ready for him, or he would have moved immediately.

-o0o-

After he was moved in with Rachel, things started to go a little more smoothly for him. Most of the abuse at school had stopped. There was one jock, Jeff Bradley, who still seemed unhappy that he couldn’t grind Cameron into the dirt. The rumor was that he still had the hots for Anne Marie, who had broken up with him over a year before, and didn’t like it that she was taking an interest in that loser, Cameron. Every once in a while Jeff would run into Anne Marie in the hallways and try to get her to come back to him, but she always tried to make it clear she wasn’t interested. He swore never to give up though.

As for Anne Marie, she was slowly proving to Cameron that she really had turned over a new leaf. She gave him many rides to and from Rachel’s house, and as he warmed up to her, she took him on what could only be described as dates. Movies, dinners, walks. He was cautiously warming up to her. It felt a little odd to have a friend at all, and he knew under ordinary circumstances she would never have even looked twice at him. He was unaware of the way she was taking the traditional male role, in pursuing him and paying for him, as this was his first experience with this sort of thing. He allowed her to give him more hugs, now and then, which both took pleasure in.

Since she was doing so much for him, he was starting to feel he needed to give something back, to do something big for her. But he wasn’t sure what that might be. Until he figured it out he gave her a couple of his drawings of nature scenes. She was properly impressed.

-o0o-

As the weeks passed Anne Marie was very much enjoying spending time with him. He was completely unlike any other boy she’d gone out with. He was more polite, and seemed to take an interest in what she said. Sometimes they’d have discussions about schoolwork or some intellectual topic, or about movies. But at times, when she was sitting across from him she would sometimes imagine him in his female form. It would take so little to make him into a pretty girl… but that wasn’t what this was about.

Sometimes she would come with him into Aunt Rachel’s house and spend time with the two of them. Aunt Rachel seemed to like her and approve of their friendship, and she thought Aunt Rachel was a really cool person.

-o0o-

One weekend afternoon Cameron and Anne Marie were taking a walk. She’d gotten him to the point where she could hold his hand, and they were strolling along in the park, chatting, when into their path stepped a very drunken Jeff Bradley.

“So, here you are, with that little pansy. Anne Marie, you’re supposed to be with me, not that loser!

“Jeff, you’re drunk. Please go home. Who I am with is no concern of yours.”

“You’re making a big mistake,” slurred Jeff, and pulled a small gun out of his pocket.

Seeing this Anne Marie quickly pulled out her phone and pressed 911. Jeff unsteadily brought the gun up to threaten them with, and Cam, not even thinking about what he was doing, stepped in front of Anne Marie. Time slowed down for him as he watched the hand with the gun. Before he even stopped moving there was a loud bang and a scream, “NOOOO!!!” and he was instantly out of his body, hovering above the scene, observing Anne Marie grab his body as it slumped down. He watched her cradle him and desperately tell him to hang on. There seemed to be an awful lot of blood.

Jeff just stood there stupidly. He couldn’t believe he had actually shot the gun. He hadn’t meant to shoot. He was just going to threaten them, that’s all…

-o0o-

Cameron felt very peaceful up here, even happy, in spite of the events unfolding below. He felt almost no attachment to his injured body. He became aware of someone by his side. Tearing his eyes away from the tragic scene he looked over and saw his deceased grandmother, who looked younger than he remembered.

“Grandma Jenny? What are you doing here? …

She smiled at him. “Hello Sweetie.”

“But you’re dead… Wait—I’m not dead, am I? I don’t feel dead. In fact I feel pretty good!”

“You aren’t dead. It’s only your physical form that has died. The real you is immortal.”

He looked back to the scene below. “Why did this have to happen? I don’t understand.”

She gave him a kindly look. “Some time before you were born you made a deal with Anne Marie to save her life at the cost of yours. This was payback for a huge favor she did for you during a lifetime where the two of you were very close to each other, maybe a hundred and twenty years ago. She gave her life for yours then.” To his confused look she said, “Don’t worry - you’ll remember all this later.”

“Before I was born… how is that possible?’

“Haven’t you noticed you’re still alive? You have lived many times before, thousands and thousands of lifetimes. In some of those lifetimes you and Anne Marie knew each other. In a not-so-distant lifetime you made things very difficult for her, although in that life she was a boy and you were a girl. You got the payback for that in this lifetime.”

“So it’s reincarnation! I always wondered if that was real. Huh. I wonder if that was why she was attracted to me when I was in girl’s clothes… But… Grandma, I was so young…I might not have been super-happy, but I didn’t want to die; I still had things I wanted to do.”

Not unkindly she said, “Cameron, you have accomplished what you came to accomplish for this lifetime, and by your selfless act you showed great love. Give me your hand, honey, and come with me.”

They held hands and a portal of sorts appeared, with light brighter than the sun streaming through it. They walked through together and they and the portal vanished.

-o0o-

Back in the Physical world Jeff was still standing there looking at Anne Marie cradling Cameron’s body when the cops arrived.

“Drop the gun!!” one yelled. “NOW!!”

Almost having forgotten he was holding a gun, he looked down at his hand, and was bringing it up to get a better look at it when the cop, after yelling at him again, took that as a threatening move and shot him.

Anne Marie flinched from the loud noise, but averted her eyes. She did not want to see anyone else get shot. One was bad enough. She kept crooning to Cameron to hang on and not die, but she was beginning to realize he was already dead. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She was too shocked to feel much of anything except sorrow and disbelief. They were just getting to know each other!! An ambulance arrived and she was gently pried away from him.

Later, after she was able to give the police an account of what had happened, and had passed on contact info for Aunt Rachel, she was taken home. She felt totally numb now. Her parents were very solicitous, but she wanted to be by herself. They wanted her to take off her bloody clothes, but at that moment all she could think was that that was all she had of Cameron; she wasn’t quite ready to give it up. She thought about how she was really getting to like him, and it seemed like he was quickly thawing out in his attitude toward her. That he was dead just seemed incomprehensible. One minute alive; the next dead. That he had actually sacrificed himself for her and died in her arms was just so bewildering she could barely get her head around the idea. For the next few weeks she would suddenly find herself overwhelmed with emotion, and she’d get jittery. Later on, every time she started reliving the scene it would make her break down and cry.

-o0o-

The funeral was not very well attended, but Anne Marie was there, sitting next to Aunt Rachel, for whom she had developed a real fondness. Cam’s mother, of course, was there, red-eyed. ‘Like she cares!’ thought Anne Marie. ‘It’s a little late to start now!’

Aunt Rachel could feel her bristling. She laid a hand gently on Anne Marie’s and whispered to her, “Calm down, dear. She has just lost a son, and no matter how she treated him, that was someone she gave birth to and raised.”

Anne Marie looked at her as comprehension soaked in. She nodded. “You’re right…you’re right. It’s just hard. Would things have turned out differently if she had been nice to him?”

“That’s something we’ll never know.”

-o0o-

In the years to come Anne Marie became a big advocate against bullying, even traveling around to speak out about the effects it could have. She stressed that bullies seldom, if ever, knew what might be going on in the lives of those they bullied. Some were already being bullied at home and the added pressure of bullying at school might send them over the edge. Bullying was just a more pleasant name for terrorism.

She also made time in her schedule to regularly visit with Aunt Rachel. They seemed to be the two people who felt the most loss from Cameron’s death, and it drew them together. When Anne Marie finally found the boy she was to marry, when she was thirty years old, she brought him to meet Aunt Rachel, an important figure in her life.

As for Cam, the next time he was reborn it was as Anne Marie’s daughter, whom she named Kammie in memory of her friend.

The End.