Jamie-Lee Burke yawned as the alarm on her phone woke her from a dreamless slumber. It had been a long week, but it was now Friday- a chance to relax and let her hair down, which she had every intention of doing that night, surrounded by all her friends.

"Morning, sexy," Jamie whispered in the ear of her still-sleeping fiancé, who mumbled incoherently as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Does it have to be morning?" Stuart moaned, eliciting a small giggle from Jamie.

"'Fraid so," Jamie said. "Come on, we've both got work today." Stuart smiled as Jamie gave him one more kiss, before watching, enthralled, as his fiancée swung her smooth, soft legs out of bed and padded toward her en-suite.

----------

"Morning, sexy," Nikki Thomas heard a familiar voice whisper in her ear, waking her from a dream about her future wedding day. "Some of us have work today!"

"So rub it in more, why don't you?" Nikki retorted, making her fiancée giggle.

"I thought your surgeon said I couldn’t do that until three months after your operation?" Sarah said, making Nikki stick her tongue out at her. "Speaking of..." Nikki sighed as Sarah handed her a small washbag containing a tube of hand sanitizer, a larger tube of lubricant jelly, and the four long, thick tubes that had quickly become a regular feature of Nikki's life.

"Best get this over with," Nikki sighed as she sanitized her hands, before placing a dollop of lubricant jelly on her chosen tube and slowly inserting it into her vagina. "God, this still feels so weird..."

"You had a penis for nineteen years," Sarah sighed. "You've only had your new 'parts' for what, ten weeks? It's bound to still be weird. Still, you heard what Jamie said, after a few months, it'll be like you had a vagina your whole life. It's been two years for her, I wonder if she even remembers what it was like to have- well, to NOT have a vagina..."

"Well I WON'T be asking her on the way to work today," Nikki quipped, earning a giggle from her fiancée.

"Even for two girls who share as close a bond as you two?" Sarah asked.

"The only bond I want," Nikki replied, "the only bond I've EVER wanted, is with you. You know, I almost can't believe we've known each other for a quarter of our lives."

"Five years..." Sarah sighed dreamily. "Never imagined when I was fourteen that when I was nineteen I'd be studying fashion at university, be friends with a group of celebrities AND be engaged to the girl of my dreams!"

"When I was fourteen," Nikki replied, "I never imagined that when I was nineteen- well, I never imagined any of this. Especially, well, THIS." Sarah giggled as Nikki gestured to the light blue tube that was poking out of her crotch.

"I'll jump in the shower while you're, well, THAT," Sarah said, giving Nikki a quick kiss before jumping out of bed and heading into her en-suite. "And you know Jamie, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you asking personal questions, she's always been willing to help you."

"Yeah, I know," Nikki sighed. "Assuming she doesn't spend the whole day talking about you know who..."

----------

"Steph!" The middle-aged man yelled, waking his daughter from her slumber. "Wake up! You'll be late for work!"

"Mmph," Stephanie Abbott moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "I'm awake, I'm awake..."

As she padded toward her bathroom, Stephanie mused on how many twenty year old women throughout the country would be woken by their parents in the manner she had been, either to go to work, to college or to university. Stephanie was confident, however, that none of those young women would be going to the job she was going to- and very few of them would have spent the first nineteen years of their life living as a man.

After applying her make-up and dressing in a comfortable black miniskirt, dark red long-sleeved top and funky black patterned tight, Stephanie coolly strode downstairs to where her father was waiting to give her a lift to work.

"Honestly, Steph," the young woman's father sighed. "The more time you spend as a woman, the LONGER it takes you to get ready in the morning..."

"I have a public image to maintain," Stephanie shrugged. "I'm a member of one of Britain's biggest girl bands, I can't exactly leave the house looking a tramp now, can I? And besides... I need all the 'help' I can get if I want to be feminine."

"Not THAT much," Mr. Abbott said with a warm smile. "Your manager wouldn't have selected you for the band if you weren't drop-dead gorgeous, would he?"

"...I guess not," Stephanie giggled. "Pity not everyone agrees..."

"Well you just keep, um, keeping your distance from those people," Mr. Abbott advised his daughter. "You have REAL friends, don't you? The kind who won't judge you based on things that happened in the past?"

"Yeah, that's true," Stephanie said with a smile. Ten minutes later, her smile widened as she arrived at the office complex that contained her recording studio and saw a tiny, blonde-haired girl waiting outside for her.

"Hey Steph!" Kayla Ford squeaked as she gave the brown-haired transwoman a hug. "Hi, Mr. Abbott!"

"Hi Kayla!" Stephanie's father chuckled. "Your mum and I will be out when you get home tonight- though as tonight's Friday, god knows what time you'll actually be getting home, heh!"

"Thanks, dad," Stephanie said, before following her best friend into the recording studio, where the rest of the band were waiting for them.

"Hey Steph! Hey Kayla!" Becca Milton and Adeola Benedict- the band's two de facto lead singers- said in unison as they saw the two women enter the studio.

"Hey Steph," Lauren McTavish- the final member of the band, a petite, flame-haired Scottish girl- said in a cautious tone, before all five women took their place behind the microphones that had been carefully prepared for them.

"Morning, ladies," Stuart said from his seat in the control room. "We're going to be going over tracks 3, 4 and 6 today. In your own time..." Stephanie took a deep breath as the opening bars of the song she'd sung endlessly for the previous few weeks floated through the recording studio, before launching into song alongside her four bandmates.

----------

"Morning, ma'am!" Nikki giggled as she pulled up outside the vast mansion where Jamie lived.

"Oh give me a break," Jamie retorted as she climbed onto the back seat of Nikki's car. "Stop 'ma'am'ing me, I'm not even 25 yet!"

"No," Nikki agreed. "Only ten days to go, though! I called the studio you're going to this morning, they have everything set up and ready to go, but they had to draft in a different model to replace one of the ones you were expecting."

"Huh," Jamie said. "Did they explain why?"

"Nope," Nikki replied. "Didn't ask. Offered to step in myself, though obviously as it's a lingerie shoot, that might have been awkward..."

"Scars still not faded yet?" Jamie asked with a grimace. "Don't worry, I guarantee that they will. And if they don't, there's always my 'secret weapon'."

"...Which is?" Nikki asked.

"Hey!" Jamie yelled. "Nikki's vagina! Heal faster!" Nikki giggled so hard that she snorted, and had to take several deep breaths before she composed herself.

"That's still so amazing to actually hear," Nikki sighed. "'Nikki's vagina'... Jamie, um, can I ask you, like, a personal question?"

"I just asked you a question about your vagina," Jamie replied with a giggle. "I think you're good to ask away."

"It- it's kinda about your, um," Nikki stuttered.

"My vagina?" Jamie asked. "You know I don't mind you asking anything you need to know..."

"Does- does it ever feel, you know, normal?" Nikki asked, making Jamie sigh and giggle.

"Yes, yes it does," Jamie replied in a soft voice. "Honestly... I've almost forgotten what it was like to ever have a penis. You will get there, Nikki, I promise you. Sooner than you think, too."

"I hope so," Nikki sighed.

"Getting back to work is the first part of the return to normality," Jamie giggled.

"Yes ma- miss," Nikki said. "And it helps that everybody's treating me just the same- though that's because everybody just treated me like I was a real woman before my SRS."

"That's because you WERE a real woman before your SRS," Jamie said. "Unlike some people we can mention..."

"Now- can we please not talk about her?" Nikki asked. "Neither of us know the full story there, I doubt we ever will, either."

"The 'full story' is that Steph lied to us," Jamie retorted. "Told us to our faces that she was transitioning, taking hormones... When all along she wasn't even living full-time as a woman. Worst thing of all is that she lied to her fans. Do you know how many young transgendered girls look up to Steph as an icon, a role model?"

"If I was fourteen, I know I would," Nikki sighed. "And I'm not excusing the lies, but- different people handle their transition in different ways. God knows I'm grateful I didn't end up in a mental hospital due to my gender issues."

"Assuming that was a genuine thing, her going in there," Jamie snorted. "And not just, you know, a cry for attention."

"Even if it was," Nikki said, "it, like the lies, is in the past now."

"If you say so," Jamie sighed as the car pulled into the TV studio where Jamie would be making her latest TV appearance.

----------

"Goddddd..." Becca moaned to her older brother as she led her band out of their recording studio. "Do you have to work us so damned hard?"

"Yes," Stuart flippantly retorted. "You know we have to get this album finished quick, because A- it needs to be out for Christmas, and B- I'm not going to explain to dad why you're deferring yet another year of your university studies."

"Okay, fine," Becca sighed, grabbing a cup of cold water to soothe her sore throat.

"Besides," Stuart whispered as his eyes locked onto Stephanie's slender form. "You know WHY you have to work so hard..."

Stephanie sighed as drew a cup of water from the water cooler that Becca and Stuart had just vacated. She knew when she auditioned for the band that it wouldn't just be a case of endless parties and media opportunities and that she'd have to work hard day after day, but when she applied, she never thought she had any chance of ever getting in the band- which is also why she stated on her application form that she was female, when at the time she hadn't begun the process of transitioning- and hadn't even spent longer than six consecutive hours in her female persona.

Stephanie's lies were eventually uncovered by her older brother, one of the people she had trusted the most, and in an effort to avoid what would have been a catastrophic confrontation with the management of her agency, Steph ran away, crisscrossing the whole of Britain for two months until she was eventually found by the one person who unconditionally forgave her for her deception.

"They still don't trust me," Stephanie sighed to Kayla, making the tiny blonde girl smile sadly.

"Their loss," Kayla said defiantly.

"It's been almost three months," Stephanie moaned. "It's obvious I'm not going anywhere, but for SOME people, that's just not good enough..."

"Just ignore Jamie," Kayla advised. "Eventually that stick up her arse will work its way loose. Just give her some time."

"It's not just Jamie," Stephanie sighed. "It's Beverly as well... Reckon if I'd just taken those hormones I'd got off the internet, I wouldn't be getting ANY of this shit."

"And you'd probably have made yourself so sick that running away would be the least you'd do," Kayla retorted. "Steph... Honestly. Give them time. Focus on work if it helps. Do- do you want to skip tonight?"

"If you go, I'll go," Stephanie said, making Kayla groan with frustration.

"Ugh, put me on the spot, why don't you?" Kayla asked, making Stephanie giggle. "Okay, I don't really feel like a late night anyway. Night in it is!" Stephanie smiled as she and Kayla left the recording studio, heading back to Kayla and Lauren's posh London flat to relax for the rest of the evening.

----------

"Sometimes I wonder," Nikki laughed as she drove herself and Jamie back to their respective homes, "whether or not you actually endorse any of the crap that you peddle?"

"Some of it," Jamie giggled. "You coming out tonight? Just 'cause you're not healed enough to be back at ballet yet doesn't mean there aren't other kinds of dancing you can do..."

"I'll be there," Nikki said. "Probably sat in a corner as usual, trying to keep guys out of my cleavage..."

"Do you and Sarah still play that game where you see who can flirt the hardest with the same guy?" Jamie asked, making Nikki blush.

"Oh- we did that ONE. TIME," Nikki moaned. "Decided it was a bad idea very quickly after his fingers nearly went up my arse..."

"Don't know it until you've tried it," Jamie giggled as the car pulled up outside her vast mansion. "See you later, Nikki!" Nikki smiled and waved at Jamie as she pulled away, leaving the blonde woman to enter her home to be greeted by the sound of a baby's laughter.

"Hi Jamie!" Charlotte laughed, giving Jamie a quick hug before leading the young woman to their living room, where Charlotte's husband and son- both named Keith- were playing on the carpet.

"Hi cutie!" Jamie giggled at the duo playing on the floor. "And the cutie's father."

"Ehh... Not unfair," Keith senior conceded. "This just a flying visit before you two head out?"

"Obviously," Charlotte said with a smug grin as she and Jamie retreated up the stairs of the vast house, returning 45 minutes later with the bodies covered in fake tan and extra-thick make-up, their hair elaborately styled, their slender bodies stuffed into tiny black clubbing dresses and their feet crammed into torturously high platform stilettos.

"Do NOT wait up!" Charlotte giggled to her husband, before she and Jamie got into a waiting taxi, which whisked them to their next stop- a large dance studio closer to the centre of London.

Jamie and Charlotte watched on with happy smiles as the numerous teenaged girls (and two boys) filed out of the dance studio, almost all of them stopping for selfies with the famous pair. Once the reception area of the studio had emptied, Charlotte and Jamie walked toward the actual studio itself, pausing with one foot hovering over the polished floor of the studio and nearly breaking down in fits of laughter as the tall, blonde dance instructor rushed over to them with a look of fury on her face.

"God's sake!" Krystie growled. "Every damned week... One of these day you'll forget and then you actually will walk on this floor in those heels..."

"Just keeping you on your toes," Jamie giggled as she gestured to Krystie's shiny pointe shoes. "What's going on, giving some extra tuition?"

"Huh?" Krystie asked, before acknowledging the eight teenaged students behind her. "Yeah, just a bit extra for one of the boys in my advanced class. Who may soon be one of the GIRLS in my advanced class, if you fancy waving your magical mentoring wand around!"

"Really?" Jamie asked with a tired look on her face. "Of all the ways you could've worded it, you went for 'waving a wand around'?"

"Sorry," Krystie said, nearly doubling over in a fit of giggles of her own. "Anyway, think we've just about finished up now..." The three women smiled as the eight teenagers filed past them on their way to get changed, whilst their other teacher elegantly skipped toward the trio.

"Bonsoir!" Zoe Renou- Krystie's French teaching partner- greeted the three women. "We are all getting ready for the night out, yes?"

"Two of us already ARE ready," Charlotte retorted.

"Two of us actually WORK for a living!" Krystie quipped, making all four women giggle.

"Well the harder you work," Jamie said as she followed Krystie and Zoe to the changing rooms, where their clubbing dresses were waiting, "the harder you need to play!" The four women all giggled excitedly as Krystie and Zoe changed into their clubbing gear, and soon they were in a fancy nightclub in the centre of London, along with Zoe's transgendered lover Natalie and their friend Abbey, and were soon joined by Nikki, Sarah, and their friends Katie and Lauren.

The other Lauren- the member of Out of Heaven- joined them shortly afterward, as did Becca and Adeola, and before long, the club was heaving with young men and women having a good time and trying desperately to get selfies with as many of the celebrities as possible.

Meanwhile, in a large flat not far from the city centre, Stephanie and Kayla spent the evening relaxing, playing videogames and watching Netflix, and trying to forget all about Stephanie's anxieties.

None of the women realised that their lives, as they knew them, were about to change forever.

----------

"Mmph," Jamie moaned as her phone's text message chime pierced her hungover skull. "Jesus... Stu, if this is you I swear I'm dumping you." When Jamie checked her phone, she was surprised to discover that the text message wasn’t from her fiancé (who'd spent the night at his parents' house), but from Joshua Benedict- the manager of the agency with whom Jamie, Stephanie, Nikki and all their friends were signed.

'Meeting today 1030 at the office,' the message read. 'Urgent news.' Jamie's eyes went wide as she headed into the shower to cleanse her body and try to clear her head of her hangover. After emerging, Jamie applied a full layer of make-up and dressed in a smart yet sexy white bodysuit, think black tights and a pink pencil skirt suit with matching stiletto pumps. As she emerged from her bedroom, Jamie was unsurprised to find that Charlotte had dressed similarly in a red skirt suit- and was wearing the exact same concerned facial expression as Jamie.

"You got the message too, huh?" Charlotte asked her BFF.

"Yep," Jamie replied. "No idea what it could be... I've been signed to Joshua five and a half years, and he's never been as urgent as this. Well, apart from once- when Spencer and Hall wanted to sign me."

"I remember," Charlotte whispered as she mused on her own brief career with Spencer and Hall- one of very few talent agencies in the UK that could claim to be bigger or more prestigious than Joshua's- and how it had nearly destroyed her friendship not just with Jamie, but with the rest of the girls as well.

"Have you heard from any of the other girls?" Jamie asked. "I doubt it'll be just you and me..."

"I texted them, not heard back yet," Charlotte replied. "You okay to drive?"

"Is Keith okay to get Keith junior up?" Jamie retorted, making Charlotte giggle.

"Just go," Charlotte laughed. "Sooner we're there, sooner we're back home and I can actually try to enjoy my weekend!"

"Do- do you suppose this is it?" Jamie asked. "The Angels being cancelled?"

"Even if it is," Charlotte replied as the two women got into Jamie's shiny Maserati, "we'll still have plenty of other work. It's not like Joshua will simply fire us because we're not on TV anymore, we're still his most profitable clients."

"True," Jamie shrugged as she drove the two women to the agency's office building, where a large crowd had already assembled. Jamie bristled as she walked past Stephanie, but her face lit up again when she saw the smiling face- and heavily pregnant body- of one of her oldest friends.

"Hey Mary!" Jamie giggled, before crouching down and whispering into the Irishwoman's swollen belly. "And hey, Natasha! Not long to go now!"

"Sure, the sooner, the better!" Mary laughed. "Forgot how much the last few weeks of this sucks..."

"So no hurry for number three, then?" Jamie asked, giggling as Mary stuck her tongue out at her. "No idea why we're here?"

"Nope, but there are plenty of us here," Mary said. "Krys is bringing Hannah and Viks, Out of Heaven are all here, sure, there are people here even I don't recognise!"

"Joshua..." Jamie whispered. "You- you don't suppose he's finally retiring, do you?"

"He wouldn't suddenly announce it and drag us in at short notice on a Saturday morning," Mary said, shaking her head. "When SOME OF US were out late last night!" Jamie looked back over her shoulder, grinning at the pretend hurt expression on the face of Krystie, who had just walked through the door.

"I am perfectly capable of holding my drink," Krystie said, making her BFF snort derisively.

"That's good," Mary said. "Seeing as you've been drinking my share for the whole of this pregnancy as well!"

"Someone has to," Krystie shrugged, making Jamie giggle again.

"Look at Hannah," Mary said, gesturing to the tall blonde model stood behind Krystie. "Her BFF gets pregnant, she quits drinking altogether!"

"Why is it," Krystie sighed, "that I'm the only actual teacher here, and yet I'm surrounded by swots?"

"Viks," Jamie asked, trying to stifle her laughter. "Do you or your other half know why we're here?"

"Not a clue," Viks sighed as she rubbed her own small, pregnant belly. "Jon got the text, same as the rest of us."

"Joshua's own adopted son doesn't know?" Krystie asked, taking a deep, nervous breath as Viks nodded. "This doesn't bode well... Is Adeola here?"

"Yes," Mary replied, "and she doesn't know either, despite both being his adopted daughter AND still living with him!"

"Hey everyone," Nikki said as she approached the group in her own smart suit and heels. "So... Why am I wearing my best skirt at 10:30 on a Saturday morning?"

"No idea," Jamie sighed.

"Though in fairness," Krystie said, "it IS a nice skirt. Goes well with those tan tights."

"Thanks!" Nikki beamed.

"Maybe they're announcing the fourth series of the Angels, and you're going to be the main star, given that you're the most fashionable of us all?" Hannah teased the blushing nineteen year old.

"Stop teasing her," Jamie laughed as she gave her protégé a calming hug. "Whatever it is, I think we're about to find out." Jamie's heart rate increased as she pointed to the top of the stairs, where the agency's owner had just appeared, with a look of worry etched onto his dark-skinned middle-aged features.

"Follow me, please," Joshua said to the crowd in a voice infinitely more subdued than his typical half-Nigerian half-cockney bellow. Wordlessly, the assembled crowd followed Joshua into one of the agency's large rooms, which was usually used as a photography studio but for this instance had been filled with seats, almost as though Joshua was hosting a conference in the room.

The crowd quietly took their seats and waited as Joshua opened his briefcase and took out his laptop, hooking it up to the room's projector before placing a seemingly blank DVD into the laptop. Almost immediately, the projector sprang to life, and mere seconds later, the tension levels of many in the room had risen to dangerous levels.

"Coming soon to a TV screen near you," the video announced in a grand voice, "Britain's newest and most exciting modelling super group- meet the eight young women who will soon be your new celebrity idols!"

"Kelly Watson," the video announced alongside the image of a dark-haired young woman, whose features betrayed a mixed Chinese and Caucasian heritage- and one other fact about her genetics. "When she was born, HE was called Kevin. Now SHE is not just a woman, but a supermodel, and is ready to take the modelling world by storm!"

"Jade and Mia Cooke," the video continued. "Both former finalists of Miss Merseyside, these sisters have already set runways alight on six continents!"

"Saraya Hallett and Niamh Robinson," the video stated. "Former finalists on the X Factor and ready to take the charts by storm!"

"You bitches," Becca whispered just loud enough for Stephanie and Adeola to hear- both of whom concurred with Becca's outburst.

"Katya Witkowska and Ciara Nichols," the video continued, before the final face of the new 'clique' appeared on the screen, causing Nikki to nearly wet herself in fear.

"No," Nikki whispered, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Please, god no, not her..."

"...And Dannii Samson," the video announced to loud protests from the entire room. "Together, these eight young women will take the whole of Europe by storm, and you'll be able to follow their exploits in a new reality TV series coming this spring on ITV2!" All six of the Angels groaned as though they were in pain at the mention of the network that had, for the previous three years, broadcast their own reality TV series.

Silently, Joshua ended the video and ejected the DVD from the drive, before standing in front of his assembled clients.

"They ripped us off," Krystie whispered, breaking the silence. "They fucking well ripped us off!"

"That is exactly what they did!" Joshua angrily snapped. "I received this disc two hours ago from a courier. I do not believe it was put together any more than 48 hours ago."

"But who's doing this?" Charlotte asked. "Surely they must know they can't take down an established brand like the Angels?"

"The disc is labelled 'Property of Spencer and Hall Talent'," Joshua said in a dark voice, prompting another loud groan from the crowd.

"If anyone can compete with us, it's them," Jamie sighed. "When- when did Dannii even, you know..."

"No more than a week ago," Joshua whispered. "I was offered a very generous offer to buy out her contract, I accepted... A condition of the buy-out was that the buyer remain anonymous. Now I know why."

"They obviously only wanted her because of her behind-the-scenes knowledge of this place," Sarah spat, earning a stern stare from Joshua.

"And the fact that she is six feet tall and has a near-perfect bone structure!" Joshua retorted. "But you are not wrong, Sarah. Ever since the Angels debuted, Spencer and Hall have seen me as a growing threat to them. Tried to split me apart more than once."

"I- I actually received another offer from them a month ago," Hannah whispered. "A third one. I turned it down, because, you know..."

"Loyalty," Jamie said, finishing the blonde woman's sentence for her. "Everyone in this room is loyal. Isn't that right?"

"Yes," the room said in a firm, unified voice.

"You don't know how good it is to hear you all say that," Joshua said with a smile.

"But that's still the end of our show, isn't it?" Mary asked. "Natasha's birth, Jamie's wedding..."

"I haven't heard back from ITV2 yet," Joshua sighed. "But I am already looking for alternatives, different channels... I would recommend that all of you begin aggressively marketing your online presence over the coming few weeks."

"Not easy when we're back at uni in a couple of weeks," Sarah sighed.

"Not easy when you're dropping a baby in the next couple of weeks!" Mary protested.

"This- this new band," Adeola mumbled. "Are they- are they targeting us? I mean, Out of Heaven?"

"It's a duo, not a band, from what I can tell," Joshua answered his adopted daughter. "And your band has over a million likes on Facebook. They're not going anywhere. I expect the five of you to continue the work you've been doing these past few months." Jamie bit her lip to stop herself from speaking out as Stephanie cleared her throat and prepared to speak.

"Does- does Dannii..." Stephanie stammered, feeling the eyes of the room heat up the back of her neck. "Does she know, you know... About me?"

"...Nikki?" Joshua asked, causing the young transwoman to freeze in fear as she was put on the spot.

"I, uh, I- I don't know," Nikki stuttered. "I mean, I didn't tell her, but I told other people, I don't know if they-"

"Who exactly did you tell?" Stephanie asked, her fear giving way to anger. "Am I going to end up plastered all over the front pages? I kinda have a right to know!"

"Well maybe if you hadn't lied about your status in the first place, you wouldn't be in such a panic now!" Nikki retorted.

"Ladies!" Joshua snapped. "This is NOT the way we respond to this!"

"Then how DO we respond to this?" Kayla asked. "This is clearly big news, you wouldn't have called us all in here otherwise."

"We ARE all looking to you for leadership, Uncle Joshua," Jonathan- who had been stood at the back of the room, behind his pregnant wife- said in a soft, quiet voice.

"And I will lead you all through this," Joshua said. "I didn't want any of you to know before any of the others, hence why you're all here. This news is not insignificant. But it's not the end of the world either."

"Not yet, anyway," Stephanie mumbled, earning a stern stare from her manager.

"Go and try to relax," Joshua ordered. "I'll keep you updated if anything happens and you have any questions, you know where to find me. Go!" The assembled men and women all nodded as they left the room, though tensions remained high as they walked through the spacious reception area.

"Well, this is shit," Krystie sighed. "Thank god the studio's doing well..."

"We should focus on that," Charlotte announced, trying to calm the crowd. "We're all still in work. Yes, this new quote-unquote 'super group' will try to eat into that, but that doesn't mean we have to let it."

"Easy to say when your whole identity isn't at threat," Stephanie sighed, prompting groans from both Nikki and Jamie.

"If there's something you want to say to me," Nikki growled, "I'm all ears!"

"How about," Stephanie retorted, "stop gossiping about my private life and find something better to talk about?"

"How about," Nikki snapped as she menacingly approached Stephanie, "stop lying about your private life and don't give us anything to gossip about?" Incensed, Stephanie shoved Nikki in the chest, sending the taller girl stumbling back on her stilettos, before both girls launched themselves at each other with clenched fists, only being stopped at the very last millisecond by Jonathan and Dan stepping between them.

"NO!" Jonathan snapped. "This- right here- it ain't happening. We are NOT breaking this down into a war! Do you hear me? Now apologise. Both of you!"

"...Sorry," Stephanie mumbled.

"Sorry," Nikki grunted.

"You heard the boss," Jonathan said in a stern voice. "Go home. All of you. Try to relax. We WILL sort this out, we WILL work through it."

"Tonight..." Charlotte said hesitantly. "If- if enough of you want a traditional Saturday party we'll have one, but..."

"I'm not really in the mood for a party tonight," Becca mumbled.

"Or me," Nikki said.

"Well- okay," Charlotte sighed. "We'll skip the party for tonight. See you all on Wednesday if not before."

"Jamie," Nikki whispered quietly. "Can- can I have a word? You know, in private..."

"Sure," Jamie said, leading Nikki, Sarah and Charlotte out to their cars. The four women were soon back at Charlotte's house, where their weary bodies collapsed onto Charlotte's plush sofas.

"Keith and Keith have gone toy shopping," Charlotte explained as she poured glasses of wine for the four women. "Maybe I should text him and tell him not to hit the credit card too hard..."

"I can't believe Dannii," Nikki sighed as she sipped her much-needed wine. "When I- when we first met her, she was obsessed, totally obsessed with getting signed to Joshua. I just don't get how she could stab him in the back like that..."

"It's not like she was short of work, either," Jamie said. "I always put in a good word for her when I was doing TV shoots... Guess to some people, fame is more important than loyalty."

"You don't suppose she'll actually spill Steph's secret, do you?" Sarah asked. "I mean, she's bound to know..."

"Steph dug her own grave," Jamie replied in a cold voice. "What's important, Nikki, is that you don't blame yourself for this as it's not- I repeat, NOT your fault."

"Yeah," Nikki sighed. "But the fact is, if we'd treated her more like a friend than a colleague-"

"No," Charlotte said firmly. "No buts. Besides, Dannii's only one of eight girls. Spencer and Hall would've formed their group with or without her."

"Yeah," Nikki mused. "But would that other final member have had the same intimate knowledge of the Angels?"

"Doesn't matter," Jamie said confidently- though deep down, she began to wonder whether or not Nikki HAD played a part, however small or inadvertent, in the formation of the new group.

----------

"Goddddd..." Stephanie moaned as she kicked off her heels and collapsed heavily onto her sofa. "This is a DISASTER."

"No. It. Isn't," Kayla tried to reassure her friend. "You heard Joshua, Out of Heaven is established. There's nothing this new band can do to change that. And maybe Dannii doesn't even know your 'secret'."

"I'll bet you a tenner she does," Stephanie sighed. "Nikki's always going on about what a cut-throat bitch she can be. I bet you this is how it went down- Dannii went to Spencer and Hall, said 'I'll give you info about Steph from out of Heaven in exchange for a nice, fat contract'."

"You're being paranoid," Kayla sighed. "Or you've been watching too much Game of Thrones. One of the two, anyway. Besides, you've been going on about how Jamie hates you for months now, and she hasn't spilled your secret, has she?"

"Only because she respects Joshua, not me," Stephanie retorted, making her best friend sigh.

"You know what I think you need?" Kayla asked. "A traditional Saturday night party."

"After we just established how much Jamie and I hate each other?" Stephanie replied.

"I didn't say 'a traditional Saturday night party at Charlotte's', did I?" Kayla giggled. "Let's start a new tradition. Saturday nights from now on are you and me, and Becca, Addie and Lauren if they want to join us, sat on one of our sofas, drinking wine, gossiping, watching TV... And yes, playing videogames if the mood takes us!"

"Sounds PERFECT," Stephanie giggled.

Later that evening, four of the five members of Out of Heaven were sat on the plush sofas in Kayla & Lauren's flat, relaxing with glasses of wine in their hands as they awaited the arrival of their final member.

"That'll be her," Kayla said as she heard her doorbell ring.

"Sorry I'm late," Becca sighed as she entered the flat and dramatically flopped onto the sofa next to Adeola. "Had to go straight from the agency to my sister's place."

"Not more bad news, I hope?" Lauren asked.

"Only for her waistline," Becca giggled. "Guess who's going to be an auntie again...?"

"She is, and you're the one who's pregnant?" Adeola asked, earning a playful shove from her best friend.

"Seriously?" Lauren asked. "Everything that happened today, and you're making jokes?"

"How much competition do we already have?" Adeola retorted. "We ain't even an A-list girl band, but we're doing alright. My bank balance has never been healthier, I can upload a photograph of a pencil to Instagram and it'd get tens of thousands of likes."

"Hundreds of thousands, depending on where you put the pencil," Becca said, earning a playful shove of her own from Adeola.

"Point is," the dark-skinned girl continued, "Spencer and Hall's new band are just gonna be a drop in the ocean. Yeah, it's a well-backed drop, but it's still just a drop. We'll still go into work on Monday, we'll still release an album by the end of the year, we'll still go on another tour next year, we'll still be sexy, successful and, most importantly of all, rich young women."

"Who hopefully WON'T try to get into a fight with their colleagues," Becca quipped, making Stephanie cringe.

"Ugh," Stephanie spat. "I just want to forget today ever happened..."

"Sounds like someone needs more wine!" Lauren giggled, pouring Stephanie another glass as the conversation moved onto happier topics, where it stayed for the rest of the night.

----------

Jamie smiled as her eyes fluttered open of their own accord, without any prompting from her phone's alarm or from her fiancé, who was slumbering in bed next to her. The extended sleep had refreshed her and made her feel less anxious about the threat the new 'super group' posed to her career, though as she showered and dressed in a comfortable white bodysuit and grey pinafore dress, her anxieties returned one by one. Would her work drop as much as she feared? Would 'The Angels' be a thing of a past- or even worse, split apart? And worst of all, would this 'Kelly' girl replace Jamie as a role model for transgendered girls?

"Mmph," Stuart moaned as he woke from his slumber. "Morning, gorgeous..."

"Morning, sexy!" Jamie giggled. "Let me guess- we're going baby shopping for your sister today?"

"She's not due until April, we've got ages," Stuart snorted.

"Ah, as if the rock-hard penis in your shorts wasn't enough proof that you're a man!" Jamie giggled as Stuart got out of bed and slowly made his way to the shower. "Take it you're looking forward to finally being able to deflate your implant?"

"I would say 'you have no idea', but we both know how inappropriate and incorrect that would be," Stuart retorted, making his fiancée laugh.

"If not shopping, then how about we just go out somewhere for lunch?" Jamie asked. "We live in the biggest, most diverse city in Europe, there's bound to be somewhere or something we haven't tried. Other than us making use of that implant, hehe!"

"Why are you so eager to head out?" Stuart asked. "After yesterday, I'd have thought you'd want to wait by your phone for any news?"

"Ugh," Jamie spat. "Believe me, that's the LAST thing I want right now. I just- I just want to forget all about these wannabe Angels, especially this Kelly girl..."

"Does seem a bit blatant," Stuart mused. "A modelling clique with a transgendered girl as their centrepiece... Spencer and Hall never struck me as a 'follow the leader' type, though."

"They follow money, same as anyone in this industry," Jamie sighed. "The last two seasons of the Angels have turned into 'Mother and Baby' time. Don't get me wrong, I adore Keith junior and I know I'll adore Natasha and Viks's kid, but still..."

"I get where you're coming from," Stuart said. "TV bosses want girls, but the six of you are now women."

"So Spencer and Hall find eight girls and make tons of cash out of them," Jamie said. "And poach probably Joshua's hottest future prospect in the meantime."

"I don't think I've said twenty words to Dannii in all the time I've known her," Stuart sighed. "Never would have picked her for a traitor, though. Wonder how Nikki's taking it..."

----------

"Feel any better after a sleep?" Sarah asked her fiancée as she padded down the stairs and slumped onto the sofa.

"Barely," Nikki sighed. "It's like- you know, I still blame myself? I've known Dannii three years, and-"

"Stop. Right. There," Sarah ordered her fiancée. "Jamie told you that it's not your fault. And it isn't It. Is. Not. Your. Fault. Dannii's always been ambitious. Overly ambitious, she's always put her own interests above those of her friends. Hell, she's always put her own interests above HAVING friends. She's no loss."

"You're right," Nikki said. "Though you gotta feel sorry for Lauren, I mean, she's known Dannii for what, eight years?"

"People grow apart," Sarah shrugged. "Well, the unimportant ones do, anyway!" Nikki giggled as Sarah leaned in behind her and gently nuzzled her bare, slender neck. "So yeah, professional worries aside, as far I'm concerned, with Dannii it's good riddance to bad rubbish."

"God, I wish I could be as calm as you are," Nikki sighed.

"Nah, don't you dare change a thing about yourself!" Sarah said, before giggling as Nikki withdrew one of her stents from her dilation kit. "Well... Don't change anything from now on, hehe!"

"Same goes for you," Nikki laughed, before putting the stent away. "I've already dilated once this morning, anyway. What you got planned for today?"

"Just more-" Sarah began, before being interrupted by her fiancée.

"Apart from pre-course reading," Nikki laughed, making Sarah giggle. "I actually kinda want to go and see Lauren, see how she's coping."

"...So do I," Sarah said. "Assuming we can fit the visit between you shoving things into your vagina, that is!" Sarah laughed as Nikki stuck her tongue out at her, before snuggling up next to her fiancée on the sofa. "And NO MORE FIGHTS, agreed?"

"More than agreed!" Nikki laughed, blushing with embarrassment at the previous day's confrontation.

----------

"Good morning, Steph!" the twenty-year old singer's mother said in a cheerful voice as Stephanie padded down the stairs. "Did you have fun at Lauren & Kayla's?"

“Yeah,” Stephanie sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table. “Pity the morning before…”

“Stop worrying!” Mrs. Abbott chastised her daughter. “You’re not the first person to have reacted badly to bad news. Just as long as you learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them, that’s the important thing.”

“I know, I know,” Stephanie moaned. “It’s just embarrassing, that’s all, I’ve never really had a problem with Nikki before… Dunno if the same could be said the other way round, though.”

“Maybe it’s something you should talk to Dr Phillips about when you see her on Thursday,” Stephanie’s mother advised.

“Nikki’s future mother-in-law? Yeah right,” Stephanie snorted.

“There’s no need for THAT attitude either!” Stephanie’s mother retorted. “Beverly’s always been impartial when dealing with you, regardless of who she’s related to.”

“I know,” Stephanie sighed. “Just can’t help but feel that if I’d just told her from the start that I WAS transitioning, that I wanted oestrogen, none of this would have happened.”

“Or,” Stephanie’s mother said, “Without Beverly to confide in in the early weeks, you’d have ended up being even more stressed out.”

“…Probably,” Stephanie sighed as her sweet-smelling breakfast was placed under her nose.

“And if you’re worried about this Dannii girl,” Stephanie’s mother continued, “you still have her number, you still have her on Facebook, right? Give her a call, drop her a message, talk it through with her, I’m sure you’ll realise that you have nothing to worry about.”

“Thought about that,” Stephanie sighed, “but she’s taken me off her Facebook. From the looks of it, she’s taken everyone else off as well.”

“Her loss,” Stephanie’s mother shrugged. “Now eat up, want to keep that voice of yours nice and strong, you’ll be doing a LOT of singing tomorrow!” Stephanie smiled as she tucked into her breakfast and tried to focus on her work and her relationships with the friends she did have, but deep inside, her worried about Dannii- and her potential ‘outing’ were just as strong as ever

----------

“Hey, girlies!” Lauren Burnett giggled happily as she welcomed her old friends Nikki and Sarah into her new flat. “Welcome to the mad house!”

“It’s, um, cramped!” Sarah laughed as she and Nikki walked hand-in-hand through the narrow hallway. “Where’s Katie, buried underneath one of these boxes?”

“She’s actually picking up more boxes, hehe!” Lauren laughed as she cleared a space on her sofa for the couple to sit down. “We may kinda have to have a clear out before we’ve even moved in, heh. Then again, this new place does have two bedrooms, so it's a big improvement on the old place!”

“Why did you even move out in the first place anyway?” Nikki asked. “Your parents live in London, so do Katie’s…”

“I’m nineteen!” Lauren protested. “Want some independence, want to live the proper student lifestyle, y’know? Eating Pot Noodles, staying up until 2am studying…”

“You did that anyway as your mum’s home,” Nikki said, making Lauren giggle bashfully. “And you had more disposable income.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same, you know?” Lauren sighed. “One good thing with less disposable income is that I finally quit smoking, especially living with an asthmatic. It’s funny, though… When I moved out of home, I always assumed it’d be Dannii that I moved in with.”

“No offence, Lauren,” Nikki said with a grimace, “but I can’t exactly see Dannii living in a place like this.”

“Honestly? Nor can I,” Lauren sighed. “Then again, I couldn’t see her betraying her friends, either…”

“Have you spoken to her since yesterday?” Sarah asked.

“Nope,” Lauren mumbled, shaking her head. “She’s even taken me off her Facebook, we’ve been friends on there years, she was my first friend on there and everything…”

“Well, we all know she’d sell her own mother for fame,” Sarah said. “No offence, Lauren, but it’s no surprise-“

“Nope,” Lauren said, nodding in agreement. “No surprise at all. I have tried calling her but she’s not picking up, might drop round her parents’ tomorrow, see if I can talk to her face to face.”

“Want us to go with you?” Sarah asked. “Give some moral support… Umm, even though that might not be such a good idea, I know she’s not that fond of me…”

“And has been a little TOO fond of me in the past,” Nikki mumbled, remembering the occasions on which Dannii had tried to seduce her- including one occasion on which the tall blonde girl had attempted to blackmail her into sleeping with her. Ever since that incident, Nikki hadn’t trusted Dannii one bit- but Dannii had at least been in a position where Nikki could keep an eye on her.

“…Actually that wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Lauren said. “A bit of moral support… Though I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to back out.”

“We’ll- we’ll let you know tomorrow,” Sarah said as Nikki remained quiet. “Anyway, you didn’t call us here to chat, you called us here to unpack, so let us know where to start!” Lauren grinned as she handed Nikki and Sarah a box each to sort through, and Nikki returned her grin, even though inside, she felt more uneasy than ever.

----------

“Are you ready for a big letdown?” Stuart asked Jamie, making the blonde woman giggle.

"With you? Always," Jamie said, making her fiancé stick her tongue out. Stuart took a deep breath as he gently squeezed the valve inside his genitals, before laughing softly as his penis- which had been constantly erect for days beforehand- slowly became limp and flaccid.

“I can’t believe you have to inflate and deflate it several times a day,” Jamie sighed as Stuart zipped up his fly.

“I’d have thought you’d be more upset about not being able to ‘use’ it for another several weeks, heh,” Stuart laughed.

“Oh no, I’m okay there,” Jamie giggled. “As long as I get to help you ‘inflate’… I’m going to need the practice there anyway!”

“Seriously?” Stuart asked as he and Jamie strolled down the stairs to the living room. “After two years of not letting me help you dilate?”

“The first few months I dilated you nearly threw up,” Jamie reminded her fiancé. “Besides, from now on, THIS will be doing the dilating!” Jamie let out a playful giggle as she gently squeezed Stuart’s crotch area, which earned an eye roll from Charlotte as the couple sat down on one of the plush sofas.”

“Get a room,” Charlotte sighed. “You’re lucky Keith junior’s at his grandparents’ today…”

“We’ve got a room, we just like this one,” Jamie retorted, before grabbing her iPad off the coffee table. “Just need to snap this for posterity…” Jamie smiled as she leaned back into her fiancé’s embrace and took a selfie of the two of them.

“And by ‘posterity’, she of course means ‘Instagram’,” Stuart snorted.

“My fans want to know what I’m getting up to,” Jamie retorted.

“As long as you’re not putting any photos on there of what you’re getting up,” Stuart said, making Jamie giggle and Charlotte nearly spit out her drink with laughter.

“Now I’m REALLY glad my son’s at his grandparents’!” Charlotte said between fits of laughter as she casually glanced at the screen of Jamie’s iPad. “Whose profile you looking at?”

“Kelly Watson’s,” Jamie said, earning groans from her fiancé and her BFF.

“Honestly, Jamie…” Charlotte sighed. “Don’t let this become an obsession, okay?”

“I’m not ‘obsessed’,” Jamie retorted. “I’m just looking at her Instagram, that’s all. Call it ‘professional curiosity’, I mean, she IS going to be a rival of mine, even if it’s just on a professional level.”

“Scouting the opposition?” Stuart asked Jamie, who nodded in response. “That’s some pretty thorough scouting, you’re going back quite a ways…”

“She uploads, like, every hour,” Jamie replied. “Eighty photos and I’ve only just covered the last month. Did you know she’s going out with Steph’s ex-boyfriend?”

“Who, Kurt?” Stuart asked. “The transman, the Canadian guy?”

“Yeah,” Jamie replied. “Wonder if Steph knows…”

“No,” Charlotte said firmly. “N. O. Do NOT tell her, that’s a conflict we do NOT need right now.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Jamie said with mock innocence. “Just think it’s a bit weird, that’s all, Spencer and Hall aren’t content just ripping me off, they want to rip off our relationship as well. Wouldn’t be surprised if she started going out with him just for that reason…”

“Whoa, getting paranoid much?” Stuart asked, earning a stern stare followed by a defeat sigh from his fiancée.

“…Maybe,” Jamie sighed. “But you have to admit, a new group of heavily-promoted models, where one of them’s transgendered? How can I not take that personally?”

“It’s an attack on all of us,” Charlotte said. “And you don’t even know Kelly, she might be a really nice person. Assuming, of course, that we ever get to meet her.”

“Any reason why you wouldn’t?” Stuart asked. “I mean, at least professionally, for shows or photoshoots, right?”

“Spencer and Hall are REALLY protective of their assets,” Charlotte said. “When I was signed to them they’d actually pull me out of gigs if they heard that the producers were even talking to other agencies.”

“Jeez,” Stuart sighed. “Obviously THEY’RE the ones who are paranoid.”

“They can afford to be,” Charlotte explained. “They’re the biggest agency in the UK, producers need them more than they need the producers and there’s always a long line of people queuing up to do work with them.”

As Stuart and Charlotte discussed Charlotte’s former agency, Jamie continued her ‘scouting’ of Kelly’s Instagram profile, before moving onto her Twitter feed. The more of Kelly’s tweets she read, the more Jamie grew to dislike the girl, little realising just how similar Kelly was to herself- a fun-loving, career-minded girl who sought to use her transgendered status to raise awareness of transgender issues in the UK. What riled Jamie the most, though, was that all throughout Kelly’s twitter feed, not a single mention was made of herself or the other Angels. To Jamie, it was almost as though she was ripping off her and her friends, and she didn’t even have the common decency to acknowledge it.

Rather than allow Kelly to wind her up further, Jamie took a deep breath and placed her iPad back on the coffee table, where it stayed for the rest of the night- though before she’d closed down her iPad, Jamie had taken the time to fire off an email…

----------

“Steph, your tablet’s pinging,” Stephanie’s mother shouted, making Stephanie sigh and pause her videogame session. “Have you set it so that it notifies you if someone’s tweeted you again?”

“No,” Stephanie replied, adjusting her bra and tying her hair back into a ponytail before heading downstairs. “Only notifies me if I get an email from someone on my contacts list… Huh, it’s from Jamie.”

“Her, of all people?” Stephanie’s mother asked. “What does she want?”

“Sent me a link to an Instagram post,” Stephanie replied.

“Is that the one that’s like Twitter, only with photos?” Stephanie’s mother asked.

“…Yeah,” Stephanie replied, inwardly sighing at her mother’s lack of technical savviness. “Huh, the account’s one of those new girls I was telling you about… Shit.”

“Stephanie?” Mrs. Abbott asked, startled by her daughter’s outburst.

“Look,” Stephanie sighed, showing her mother the photo of Kelly and Kurt cuddling in an obviously intimate way.

“Oh- Steph,” Stephanie’s mother sighed, giving the upset young woman a gentle hug. “You knew he’d move on eventually.”

“If not him I’m mad at, it’s her,” Stephanie spat. “Jamie-bloody-Lee Burke. She’s rubbing my nose in it!”

“You don’t know that,” Mrs. Abbott replied. “Maybe she just emailed you thinking it was better that you found out now, rather than later?”

“Jamie’s not that altruistic,” Stephanie snorted.

“When you first met her, you thought the sun shone out of her backside,” Mrs. Abbott reminded her daughter.

“That was a lot time ago,” Stephanie sighed. “Times change. People change. Either that, or they show who they truly were all along.”

“Either way, you’re not going to accomplish anything by sulking about it,” Stephanie’s mother chided. “You’ve got a long week of work ahead of you, so forget about Jamie, forget about Kurt and try to relax, okay?”

“…Okay,” Stephanie mumbled, before slinking back upstairs and trying to immerse herself in her game. As hard as she tried, though, she couldn’t shake the feeling of utter panic from the back of her mind.

The mere possibility that Dannii might have known the truth about her ‘status’ had caused her immeasurable worry, but she knew for a fact that Kurt knew all about her ‘status’, and whilst he’d promised to keep it to himself out of respect for her and for the relationship that they’d had, Stephanie knew first-hand that Kurt would do anything to keep his girlfriend happy- including selling out his ex-girlfriend. After finishing her gaming session, Stephanie opted for an early night ahead of an early morning the following day, but despite her best efforts, she barely got any sleep, and as she trudged downstairs the following morning in the pink tights and black leotard that comprised her dancewear, she could barely keep her eyes open.

“Bad night?” Stephanie’s father asked with a sympathetic smile. “Your mother filled me in on everything that’s been happening, about Kurt…”

“I really, really don’t want to hear his name,” Stephanie said with a nervous, tired laugh, before letting out a long, loud yawn.

“Bit harsh,” Mr. Abbott said. “But I guess I can understand. I think. Maybe.”

“What time are you at work?” Stephanie asked the middle-aged man.

“11,” Stephanie’s father replied. “Plenty of time to give you a lift to your dance class. When are you recorded your next video again?”

“Umm, start of next month,” Stephanie said. “We’ve just about got all the choreography sorted, just need to rehearse it now.”

“Well, I look forward to seeing it,” Mr. Abbott said. “Me and the other several million fans of yours who aren’t going to jump ship simply because some other band comes along. Am I right?”

“Umm… You do know that ‘flavour of the month’ is basically how the whole entertainment industry works, right?” Stephanie asked her father, who simply laughed in response.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’ll always be a superstar,” Mr. Abbott said with a warm smile, before escorting his daughter to his car and driving her to the front entrance of the Krystie Fullerton School of Dance.

As Stephanie entered the building, stifling a yawn, she was surprised to see her four bandmates already present, but all of them were wearing their street clothes, rather than their dancewear.

“Umm… Hi?” Stephanie asked, confused by the attire of her friends.

“Oh, um, hi Steph,” Kayla said in a cautious tone. “Did- did you not get the text message?” Confused, Stephanie checked her smartphone, only to find that its battery had been fully drained.

“Shit, must have forgotten to charge it,” Stephanie mumbled. “What did the text say?”

“Spencer and Hall have sent out more videos,” Becca sighed. “Interviews with their eight new stars… Steph, we, um, we heard about Kurt and one of the new girls…”

“It’s fine,” Stephanie said in a clipped voice.

“Okay then,” Becca said, taken aback by Stephanie’s defensive attitude. “Anyway, we’re all waiting on the DVD to be delivered here for us to watch.”

“Why here and not the agency?” Stephanie asked.

“Ehh… Think Uncle Joshua’s busy, doesn’t have time to address everyone like he did on Saturday,” Adeola replied. “That, and he didn’t get any reply to your text.”

“Remind me to apologise to him yet again,” Stephanie sighed as Krystie entered the dance studio with a DVD in her hand.

“Didn’t get the text?” Krystie asked the embarrassed Stephanie. “No matter, I can always give you a private lesson after we watch the DVD, get you caught up with the other girls.” Stephanie’s embarrassment grew as she followed her friends into Krystie’s small office, where the tall dance teacher popped the DVD into her laptop and was greeted on-screen by a grid of eight names- the names of the models in Spencer & Hall’s new clique.

“Pick a name,” Krystie said. “Though I think I know which one you’re all going to go for…”

“Actually I would kinda like to hear from the two new singers first,” Kayla said, earning quizzical stares from the other girls. “What? They’re the ones who’ll be in direct competition with us, won’t they?”

“Okay,” Krystie said. “Think they were Saraya and Niamh, weren’t they?”

“Yeah,” Kayla said, watching with a determined look on her face as the brown-haired, well-tanned face of Saraya Hallett appeared on the screen.

“Hi,” Saraya said with a confident grin. “I’m Saraya Hallett, I’m 21, and I’m one of the stars in the new Constellation!”

“’Constellation’?” Lauren asked.

“…Yeah,” Krystie said with a tired chuckle.

“I started singing when I was seven,” Saraya continued. “First in my school choir, then in national singing competition- most of which I, of course, won!”

“Puke,” Becca said in a deadpan voice, making the other girls all giggle.

“I’ve always wanted to be in a girl band,” Saraya said. “My main inspirations are modern bands like Little Mix and The Pussycat Dolls, and, of course, legends like the Spice Girls!”

“And Out of Heaven, maybe?” Adeola asked.

“I can’t wait to work with the other girls,” Saraya enthused. “Being part of a tight-knit group like this is something I never had at school- most of the other girls were all too jealous of my success.”

“Puuuuuuuuuuke,” Lauren snorted.

“I’m Saraya Hallett,” The girl on the video concluded, “And this is my Constellation!”

“Well,” Becca sighed. “I don’t know about any of you, but I hate her already!”

“Are we actually achieving anything by watching these videos?” Kayla asked. “Other than stressing ourselves out, I mean.”

“You’re the one who wanted to watch her introduction video,” Adeola reminded her bandmate. “Can we watch Niamh’s, now?”

“Of course,” Krystie said, opening the next video on the list.

“Hi,” The blonde-haired girl on the screen said in a refined Irish accent. “I’m Niamh Robinson, I’m 19, and I’m one of the stars in the new Constellation!”

“Hate her already,” Becca said dismissively, making her friends all chuckle.

“I grew up in Cork,” Niamh continued, “but I moved to London last year to find my ‘fame and fortune’. I’ve received tuition in singing and dancing since I was five, I’ve actually won nationwide competitions in Irish dancing.”

“Spot a running theme,” Lauren snorted.

“I’m REALLY looking forward to singing with Saraya,” Niamh gushed. “I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends.”

“Ah, young one, you WILL learn,” Krystie said with a knowing smirk.

“I’m Niamh Robinson,” The Irish girl concluded, “And this is my Constellation!”

“My dad said something this morning,” Stephanie said at the end of the video. “That we’ll always have fans who consider us to be the biggest and the best band around. The same must surely apply to the Angels as well. The best way we can respond to this isn’t by panicking, or fighting with each other, but by carrying on the way we have been, by doing our best, producing the best singles and videos we can.”

“That’s really mature,” Becca said with a proud grin. “Kinda hard to believe it came from you, Steph!”

“Hence why you’re ignoring the ‘no infighting’ thing she just said,” Adeola teased Becca, who gave her a playful shove in response.

“This whole thing has been a real learning experience,” Stephanie said.

“You’re right,” Krystie said. “Can we please watch Dannii’s video NOW?”

“…Go on then,” Becca said, letting out a snort of laughter as Krystie clicked on the video.

“Hi,” the familiar blonde-haired girl said on the screen. “I’m Dannii Samson, I’m 19, and I’m one of the stars in the new Constellation!”

“Yes, we know who you are,” Adeola said in a deadpan voice, making her friends giggle.

“I’ve been a model since I was fifteen,” Dannii said. “When you’re six feet tall and have 41” legs, you kinda owe it to the world to show them off, hehe!”

“You never had a problem with ‘showing off’, did you, Dannii?” Becca spat.

“I’ve been signed to other, smaller agencies in the past,” Dannii continued, “but I’ve never had the opportunity to be part of a proper team of girls like Constellation. I’m REALLY looking forward to the new opportunities.”

“Oh, you bitch,” Adeola breathed.

“I’m Dannii Samson,” The blonde girl concluded, “And this is my Constellation!”

As the video ended, Stephanie inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, even as Adeola fumed at Dannii’s flippancy. By dismissing Heavenly Talent as just another ‘smaller agency’. Stephanie didn’t know what she was expecting to hear from Dannii- whether or not she’d hint at having some ‘insider knowledge’ of the working of Heavenly Talent- but her apparent refusal to even acknowledge the agency’s existence led Stephanie to believe that she, and by extension, her ‘status’, would receive no attention at all from the new group of their agents.

----------

“I’m Dannii Samson,” The blonde girl stated on the small screen in Lauren & Katie’s front room, “And this is my Constellation!”

“I am going to tear every hair out of her fucking blonde head,” Nikki spat as she switched off the video. ‘Never been in a proper team’? The Teen Angels clearly don’t count, then?”

“In fairness, I think we only ever did half a dozen things as the ‘Teen Angels’,” Lauren sighed. “And the Teen Angels only really existed as Dannii was already signed to Joshua…” Lauren’s voice trailed off as the other three women in the room stared at her disapprovingly.

“You should be angrier than anyone,” Nikki retorted. “You were friends with her for years, the way she was talking it was like she’d never had any friends in the past!”

“I’m sure she was just talking from a professional point of view,” Lauren said.

“Putting career opportunities before friends?” Sarah asked. “Yep, that sounds like her…”

“Oh, you mean the exact same way you two did when you blew us off to hang out with the Angels?” Katie asked, earning a look of pure fury from Sarah.

“Girlies!” Lauren snapped, silencing Katie and Sarah. “Dannii’s made her own bed, she’s moved on, that’s what people do, okay? Nikki’s still got her job, the three of us still have our uni.”

“…We still get to hang out with the ACTUAL Angels,” Katie interjected.

“Exactly,” Lauren said, nodding in agreement with her flat mate. “Just because Dannii’s apparently ‘gained’ doesn’t mean that we’ve ‘lost’.”

“…Even though you’ve lost your oldest friend?” Sarah asked Lauren, who frowned and blinked back a tear.

“I still have three amazing friends,” Lauren said with a warm grin. “Five, once Jacinta and Ophelia get back from Brighton.”

“…So do you still want to go round and talk to Dannii?” Nikki asked.

“Jamie-Lee’s always saying that you can never have too many friends,” Katie said.

“…I do kinda need to, you know, ‘know’,” Lauren sighed.

“Okay,” Nikki whispered, before silently leading the four young women down to her small Renault Clio.

“So, Nikki,” Katie asked with a wicked grin on her face, “how different is it driving without a dick?”

“Really, Katie?” Sarah asked.

“What?” Katie asked. “We’re all thinking it, aren’t we?”

“I’ll admit I was,” Lauren said, barely suppressing a giggle, “but I wouldn’t have worded it like that!”

“I’m just amazed ‘driving’ is the first time you asked,” Nikki laughed. “Not walking, sitting, peeing…”

“…And anything more intimate than that is NOT getting answered,” Sarah said firmly. “And if you know what’s good for you, it won’t be asked either!”

“But to answer your ‘driving’ question,” Nikki said. “…It’s taking some getting used to, but that can said of, well, ‘it’ for everything else, not just driving!”

“But no regrets?” Katie asked. “I remember you saying how sore it used to be.”

“No regrets,” Nikki said confidently. “Bruises are gone, swelling almost gone… It’s actually starting to feel normal, heh.”

“I remember her saying the same thing when her chest began to ‘grow’,” Sarah mused, making Nikki start to blush.

“What happened to not discussing sensitive areas of my anatomy?” Nikki asked her fiancée, making the brown-haired girl giggle.

“Well, the ‘cat’s out of the bag now…” Sarah teased.

“The ‘cat’ is staying in my panties, where it belongs!” Nikki protested, making the other three girls laugh.

“Oh yeah, that’s a question,” Katie giggled. “How do your panties feel against-“

“NO!” Nikki and Sarah yelled simultaneously, prompting another loud giggle from all four girls.

A short while later, Nikki parked her car just outside the posh suburban house of Dannii Samson, and took a deep breath to settle the nerves that had developed as she turned onto the street. It wasn’t the first time Nikki had visited Dannii’s home, but it was no less daunting than the first time, especially as Nikki led the women past Dannii’s convertible BMW- a car she barely drove (instead preferring to be chauffeured everywhere by her considerably older boyfriend), but which cost more than Nikki’s & Sarah’s cars put together- the cost, of course, being met by Dannii’s wealthy parents.

“Remember,” Sarah said, “we’re not here to confront Dannii, we’re just here to talk to her, say we heard the news about her new job and we want to congratulate her, that’s all.”

“That’s our story, anyway,” Nikki interjected, earning a stern stare from Lauren as the black-haired girl knocked on the front door. Mere seconds later, the door was opened by a middle-aged woman that all four girls immediately recognised as Dannii’s mother.

“Hi, Mrs. Samson!” Lauren said with a grin she tried hard to make look genuine. “Is Dannii in?”

“Hi girls,” Mrs. Samson said, her demeanour strangely defensive. “Umm, sorry, but Danielle’s out at work at the moment.”

“Yeah,” Lauren said, her grin going wider and more obviously false. “We heard about her new job, wanted to congratulate her… Wanted to see if maybe she, umm, wanted to come out for a drink later on?”

“I’ll let her know you dropped by,” Mrs. Samson said. “Now, um, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Oh, okay,” Lauren said, before her face fell as the door was shut in her face. “Well, Dannii’s avoiding us, then.”

“What?” Katie asked. “Her mum said she was at work…”

“I could hear music coming from her bedroom,” Lauren sighed. “Unless her dad likes listening to Girls Aloud…”

“Doesn’t seem likely,” Nikki sighed. “We should tell someone, Joshua maybe. Or Jamie, I dunno.”

“What would Jamie be able to do?” Katie asked.

“I- I dunno,” Nikki sighed. “I just feel like we should do something, tell someone…”

“You, maybe,” Katie said. “We might all be technically employed by Heavenly Talent but me, Sarah and Lauren haven’t done any actual work for them in ages.”

“Whereas I went back to work last week,” Nikki mumbled. “I know, I know… I’ll drop in, see Jamie, get advice from her after I’ve taken you all home.”

“I’ll come with you,” Sarah whispered, gently squeezing her fiancée’s hand as they got back in Nikki’s car. As they drove away, Nikki pondered whether or not Katie was right, whether or not there was anything they could do about the threat to their livelihood posed by the new modelling clique- or whether or not they posed a threat to their livelihoods at all. Even if the Angels had a reduced workload, Nikki’s workload- as their PA- wouldn’t change. However, Jamie was her friend, and as her livelihood WAS under threat, Nikki felt that she owed it to her to offer any support or knowledge that she had.

----------

“I’m dreading this,” Jamie moaned as she navigated the menu of her DVD- the same DVD that Stephanie and Nikki had watched mere minutes earlier.

“They haven’t been THAT bad so far,” Mary said, shifting her weight to make herself more comfortable despite her extremely swollen belly. “Not mentioned anything about the Angels. Well, unless you count Dannii pretending that Joshua operates out of a market stall, anyway…”

“I’ve not see anything to worry about yet,” Charlotte said firmly. “Just- just play Kelly’s interview.” With a grim face, Jamie nodded and pressed the play button on her remote control, instantly grimacing the second her new rival’s face appeared on screen.

“Hi,” Kelly said with a cool, shy smile that instantly got under Jamie’s skin. “I’m Kelly Watson, I’m 23, and I’m one of the stars in the new Constellation!”

“Doesn’t seem so offensive so far,” Charlotte mused.

“I was born in Hong Kong in 1993,” Kelly began. “My father’s English, he worked for the governor, my mum’s Chinese. When Britain withdrew from Hong Kong in 1997, we moved back to London, though that wasn’t the biggest change that’d happen in my life! I’ve known I was different my whole life, and not just because of my skin colour… I’ve always associated more with girls than with boys, always felt that inside, I should’ve been born a girl… I started transitioning three years ago before my final year of university. In February, I’m booked in for my final operation.”

“Three years ago…” Jamie mused, rolling her eyes. “Remind me again, when did we become famous?”

“It does seem like more than just a coincidence,” Mary said.

“I really want to be a role model for young transgendered people,” Kelly said, causing Jamie’s eyes to grow even wider. “When I began transitioning, there was no one I could really look up to, no one who was on the same journey as me who I could look to for support. I want to be that type of person for the hundreds and thousands of young girls- and boys- in the UK who need to know that they aren’t alone.”

“Oh, you bitch,” Jamie whispered.

“I’m Kelly Watson,” The black-haired girl concluded, “And this is my Constellation!”

“Jamie…” Charlotte whispered. “Those- those words have to have been put in her mouth by Spencer and Hall. Trust me, the amount of coaching they give you before media appearances is ridiculous, and as they’re conducting those interviews themselves…”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to be angry that they’re trivialising my whole fu- my whole life!” Jamie snapped. “God…”

“Maybe- maybe you should talk to her?” Mary asked. “I think Kelly actually auditioned for Joshua earlier in the year, he might still have her contact details. And I know Kurt will, I think someone’s still got him on Facebook…”

“Kelly auditioned?” Jamie asked. “Why am I only finding out about this now?”

“Joshua gets hundreds of people a day submitting their portfolios, you can’t be expected to keep track of all of them,” Charlotte shrugged.

“Well- no,” Jamie said, “but if it’s a transgendered girl applying to an agency who’s become famous off the back of a transgendered girl, then maybe-“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mary laughed. “There are SIX Angels, remember?”

“…Sorry,” Jamie said with a grimace. “But- but you know what I mean, right? Just goes to show that Kelly was BSing when she said ‘never had a role model’, you don’t audition for Joshua if you haven’t heard of the Angels.”

“It would be a bit like signing for Manchester United but never having heard of Wayne Rooney,” Mary commented. “But it’s not something we should spend too much time worrying about.”

“Especially not in your condition,” Charlotte giggled. “You’ve got far more important things to think about right now!”

“True,” Mary said with a grimace. “And on that note, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Honestly, I should set you up a cot in our downstairs loo!” Charlotte laughed as Mary waddled toward the toilet. “And as for you, Jamie, no obsessing over Kelly’s social media, got it?”

“…Got it,” Jamie sighed with a chuckle.

“You’ve just got yourself a fully-functional fiancé,” Charlotte said. “Take advantage of that fact!”

“If only I could,” Jamie snorted as she crossed her legs on the sofa and straightened her opaque black tights. “Still got a month, maybe two before we, you know, for the first time…”

“Before you act as ‘man and woman’ for the first time?” Charlotte asked. “It’s so cool that the two of you will be able to properly do that, modern medicine, eh?”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed. “Just wish it was a bit easier for him, and not just because it’s forcing me to wait longer!”

“Good things come to those who wait,” Charlotte shrugged. “And it won’t be long, I mean, he’s already back at work, right?” Jamie smiled as she nodded and thought about her fiancé sat in his recording booth, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t shake the anger she felt at Kelly’s ‘snub’ from her mind.

----------

“Excellent work, girls,” Stuart said as he opened another music track on his laptop. “Take a half hour break, believe me, you’ve earned it!” Stephanie smiled as she removed her headphones and grabbed a bottle of water to soothe her sore vocal chords.

“You’re looking happier than you were yesterday,” Becca teased her transgendered bandmate. “Not defecting to Spencer and Hall on us, are you?”

“No, HELL no,” Stephanie replied. “Just… Feel a bit better after watching the interviews, you know? Kelly didn’t mention Kurt once in her interview… She might not even know about the ‘real me’.”

“You ARE the ‘real you’, for- ugh, you know what I mean,” Becca sighed. “If you’re worried about any secret coming out, I wouldn’t worry, you saw the interviews, they’re desperate to not even acknowledge the existence of Heavenly talent or Out of Heaven.”

“Yeah,” Adeola said, interrupting the conversation. “I don’t believe for one second that Kelly girl’s never heard of you or Jamie-Lee. The way she was talking, it was like she was the first ever transgendered person in the world.”

“They can’t go up against opposition they refuse to acknowledge,” Becca said with a shrug.

“Exactly,” Stephanie said with a confident smile.

After their break, and another three hours of singing, the five young women headed back to their respective homes to rest, though as Stephanie walked through her front door, she was greeted by two surprises- one pleasant, one not quite as pleasant.

“Hello Stephanie!” The young woman’s mother beamed with a sympathetic smile. “Your brothers have dropped around to say hi!”

“Oh,” Stephanie said. “Hi Danny. Hi, um, Tom.”

“Hi Stephanie!” Danny said with a big, goofy grin.

“Hi Stephanie,” Tom said, staring stoically at Stephanie as she sat down, sweeping her short skirt underneath her backside and crossing one leg over the other as she did so.

“Good day at work?” Mrs. Abbott asked.

“Umm, yeah,” Stephanie said. “Kinda tiring, we’re really hammering away at the album to get it finished in time.”

“No rest for the wicked, even with that bad news you got?” Danny asked, earning a quizzical stare from his sister. “Rachel told me, she said she talked to your agent today about the Sky Angels programme, said he was feeling pretty stressed out by everything.”

“What bad news is this, then?” Tom asked, making Stephanie grimace.

“Thanks for that, Danny,” Stephanie whispered. “Umm, there’s a new modelling clique, set up by Spencer and Hall to rival the Angels.”

“Who are Spencer and Hall?” Tom asked. “Another agency?”

“Yeah,” Stephanie replied, her body suddenly gripped by nerves. “They’re one of the only agencies in the UK who are bigger than Joshua’s, um…”

“They’ve basically grouped eight of their models together,” Danny explained. “Though from what I hear they poached one of Joshua’s as well, haven’t they?”

“Umm, yeah, umm, one of the younger models, not one of the Angels,” Stephanie said.

“Does this model know about what’s really happening with you?” Tom asked, bringing back Stephanie’s earlier feelings of panic.

“Um, I- I don’t think-“ Stephanie stammered.

“What’s ‘really happening’ with your sister,” Mrs. Abbott said sternly, “as you well know, if that she is a vulnerable young woman who’s undergoing a large and sometimes traumatic physical transformation.”

“But she’s not changing physically,” Tom retorted. “That’s the point, and if these Spencer and Hall people find that out, they WILL go to the press about it.”

“Way to support your little sister, bro,” Danny said, shooting a highly disapproving stare at his brother. “How about showing some enthusiasm about her upcoming album? Besides, this ‘defector’ probably doesn’t even know about Stephanie.”

“And given any luck, I WILL be physically changing soon anyway,” Stephanie said. “I’m seeing Doctor Phillips on Thursday, we can talk over things… She’s hinted that she might actually prescribe hormones soon.”

“And it’s about time!” Stephanie’s mother laughed. “Hopefully things will settle down for you soon. Who knows? You may even find yourself another nice young man…”

“Mum!” Danny protested. “Stop trying to marry us all off…”

“What?” Mrs. Abbott said with a shrug. “You’re happy with Rachel, aren’t you? And Tom’s happy with Amanda, I want all three of my children to be happy.”

“I think Steph might still be getting over Kurt though, that’s the thing,” Danny said softly.

“Well he certainly isn’t still getting over me,” Stephanie sighed.

“What, has he got a new bird?” Danny asked.

“Yeah,” Stephanie sighed. “The transgendered girl from Spencer and Hall’s new… Clique…” Stephanie’s voice trailed off as she felt her brothers’ stares bore a hole in her head.

“So Kurt’s, um, going out with one of the new girls?” Danny asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” Stephanie whispered, blinking back tears as she heard Tom draw breath to speak.

“You know what’s going to happen, then,” Tim said bluntly.

“Thomas!” Mrs. Abbott snapped.

“What?” The thirty year old man shrugged. “Kurt was really hurt when he found out that Steph lied to him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s emailing the press right now. Steph… You should get to them before he does, make them see your side of things.”

“We’ve been through this time and time again,” Mrs. Abbott sighed.

“Yes, and every time we’ve been through this, we never get a resolution,” Tom retorted. “Steve or Steph needs to decide that he’ll go back to living life as a man, or SHE will finally stop pretending to be a woman and will actually live life as one.”

“I AM living life as a woman,” Stephanie snapped. “How much more obvious can it be?”

“Dr Phillips is a trained professional, and you’re not,” Mrs. Abbott chastised her son. “If she says Stephanie isn’t ready for oestrogen, then we need to accept her professional opinion.”

“Fine,” Tom sighed, sitting back defeatedly. “Just don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

“We won’t,” Mrs. Abbott said, before brightening her facial expression. “So, Stephanie, which songs were you singing today/ Can you give us a few bars?”

“Can we afford to have her sing a few bars?” Danny asked, earning a playful shove from his sister.

Stephanie forced herself to enjoy her evening in with her family- even acquiescing to the quest to sing a few bars from her song- but as she went to bed, her brother’s words resonated in her brain. She’d only gone out with Kurt for a few brief months, but in that time, she’d found him to be a kind, friendly man, and when they’d spoken after her return from her self-imposed exile, he’d reassured her that he’d never sell her out to the press. As Stephanie tried (and failed) to get to sleep, however, she wondered just how much her deception had hurt the sensitive young man- and she knew all too well that even the kindest, gentlest person can be only be pushed so far before they break.

----------

“I wonder if I’m the only woman in the world who actually proud to be watching her man play with himself,” Jamie giggled as Stuart laid on his back in their bed, inflating and deflating his new implant.

“Now you know how I felt every time I watched you play with your dildos,” Stuart retorted.

“I wasn’t ‘playing’ with them,” Jamie retorted. “They were medically necessary for the continued health of my vagina.”

“As is this,” Stuart said, laying back with a satisfied smile on his face. “Unless, of course, you’re prefer permanently limp-“ Stuart tried his best not to giggle as the nightie-clad Jamie climbed into bed next to him and silenced him with a soft, gentle kiss.

“Get to sleep, wanker,” Jamie teased, giving Stuart another kiss before switching off her light and trying to get to sleep. However, as much as her fiancé’s presence calmed her, she still felt uneasy about the threat that Kelly posed to her livelihood. Charlotte and Mary had tried to reassure her that the country was more than big enough for there to be more than ‘transgendered role model’- and unlike Stephanie, Kelly’s desire to transition was (in Jamie’s eyes, at least) genuine. Jamie was sure that if she just met and spoke to Kelly, she might even grow to like the young oriental woman, but if what Nikki had told her was true, and Spencer and Hall’s stars were refusing all outside contact, that was something that would clearly never happen, and Kelly would forever remain an adversary, a rival- and more importantly, a threat to Jamie’s livelihood.

Jamie groaned as her phone woke her just after 7am, though it took her several seconds to realise that her phone wasn’t playing her usual alarm call, but was instead notifying her of a new text message, just as it had on Saturday. And just as it had on Saturday, the message was ordering her to report to the agency later in the morning for a meeting.

After changing into her best miniskirt suit and stilettos, Jamie met up with the similarly-dressed Charlotte in the kitchen, whose face was covered in worry even as she fed her infant son.

“What do you suppose it’ll be this time?” Jamie asked her BFF, who sighed in response.

“Joshua telling us that this whole Spencer and Hall thing was a practical joke?” Charlotte retorted, making Jamie snort with laughter. “I dunno, Jamie. I called Mary, she’s been called in as well… You don’t- you don’t suppose someone else has, you know, ‘gone over’, do you?”

“I dunno,” Jamie sighed. “I hope not. But- ugh. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stephanie’s gone over to Spencer and Hall. Much as she had it coming with her lies, I’ve not exactly been making her feel welcome lately…”

“That should be enough incentive to change immediately,” Charlotte said bluntly, making Jamie sigh and nod.

“I know, I know,” Jamie moaned. “Remember when all we had to worry about were our waistlines and which company we’d be modelling for next?”

“Yeah,” Charlotte sighed. “Then we became adults.”

“Worst decision I ever made,” Jamie said, making her BFF giggle.

“Tell me about it,” Charlotte giggled as she handed her son to his father and followed Jamie out to her car. “When we get back, we’re getting Katie round her with her camera and we’re having a proper photoshoot, before we actually forget how to be models!”

“Deal,” Jamie giggled as she fastened her seatbelt and drove her and her BFF to the offices of Heavenly Talent, where Krystie, Mary, Hannah and Viks were already waiting for them.

“Hey girls,” Charlotte said as she and Jamie greeted their four friends with hugs. “Just the Angels today?”

“Yeah,” Hannah said. “Expected to at least see Nikki here as well, or Out of Heaven…”

“Pretty sure Out of Heaven will be here later recording,” Jamie said, before taking a deep breath as the imposing figure of Joshua Benedict appeared at the top of the stairs leading to his office. “Looks like it’s show time, girls.” Silently, Joshua descended the stairs and headed into the same studio he had assembled his employees in three days beforehand, with the six young women following closely behind him.

"Take a seat," Joshua announced, before removing his expensive, tailored suit jacket and sitting down opposite the six girls.

"We are cancelled, aren't we?" Krystie asked with a long sigh.

"We don't know that for sure," Hannah retorted.

"We do now," Joshua announced in a sombre voice. "The controllers of ITV2 called the production company last night. They will not be renewing the Angels for a fourth season."

"Well, okay," Charlotte said calmly. "We expected this to happen, we were prepared for this happening, nothing lasts forever."

"Spencer and Hall put out a press release a few minutes ago announcing that their Constellation will be the stars of a new reality TV show," Joshua sighed. "Coming soon to ITV2."

"Typical!" Jamie spat. "Just fucking typical!"

"Watch your language!" Joshua chastised, silencing the young blonde woman. "I am looking at other angles, other potential ways of keeping our brand alive. I promise you, twelve months from now, you six will be as famous as you are now."

"But hit YouTube and Instagram as hard as we can, right?" Krystie asked.

"And make sure you are saving your money," Joshua advised, causing Charlotte to blush with embarrassment. "I'll call you or text you when I have further news."

"Joshua, are- are you feeling okay yourself?" Jamie asked, frowning as the tall, dark-skinned man shook his head.

"Life was so much simpler before you six made me millions!" Joshua said with a loud chuckle. "I'll be fine. I'm playing in the big leagues, I have to put in the extra effort."

"I'll not expect Jonathan back early from work, then," Viks sighed, earning a sympathetic chuckle from her adoptive father-in-law.

"You and that treasure inside you will always be his first priority," Joshua said softly. "I'll make sure he NEVER forgets that. Now go! I have phone calls to make!" The six women all silently nodded and headed to the exit of the studio, but before they reached the door, they were stopped by Mary suddenly crying out in pain.

"Oh god!" Mary gasped as she clutched her swollen abdomen. "Now? Why, of all times, why now?"

TO BE CONTINUED

"Oh shit," Krystie gasped as she gently lowered Mary onto the floor. "Someone get me some hot water! Joshua, do you have any towels?"

"There are some in the dressing rooms, I'll get them now," Joshua said, hurrying out of the studio.

"I am NOT giving birth on this damned floor," Mary said between gasped breaths. "And I am most definitely NOT giving birth without painkillers!"

"Jamie, call 999," Krystie ordered. "Charlotte, call Dan, get him here now."

"Will do," Charlotte said, dialling the number for Mary's husband's workplace.

"Okay," Jamie said, dialling the emergency services number.

"999, what's your emergency?" The operator asked Jamie.

"My friend's going into labour, we need an ambulance," Jamie said, trying to rein in her own sense of panic. "We're at the Heavenly Talent offices in the W2 post code area."

"We'll have an ambulance out to you as soon as possible," the operator said. "In the meantime, make sure your friend is comfortable. Tell her to remember to breathe, and remember her exercises from her antenatal classes."

"Will do," Jamie said. “Mary, umm, remember to breathe, okay?”

“Like I’m going to forget that!” Mary snapped, before yelling in pain. “Oh god…”

“Here,” Joshua said, returning to the room with several warm towels draped over his arm and his forehead glistening with sweat. “Have you called for an ambulance?”

“It’s on its way,” Jamie said as she watched Mary gasp in pain. For months, the Angels had been excited for Mary’s impending arrival, but with their future uncertain, the excitement had been replaced by a sense of trepidation and near-panic- and in Jamie’s case a feeling of guilt.

For months, Jamie had been jealous of the other five women as they embarked on their adult lives and began families. Sure, Jamie had her fiancé, and always had the option to adopt a child if she and Stuart wished, but she would never be able to experience the feeling of growing a life inside her, the unbreakable bond between mother and child. It had taken Jamie several months to shake the feelings of envy and depression that this inability had caused, but as she watched Mary lay back on the floor, her face contorted with pain, Jamie mused that this one simple image would have been enough to convince her that motherhood was a very, very bad idea.

“The paramedics are here,” Hannah said, escorting the two yellow-jacketed men into the studio, where they immediately began tending to Mary.

“Okay, Mary, is it?” One of the paramedics asked, smiling as the very red-faced Mary nodded. “It’ll all be fine, just breathe slowly and deeply.”

“Okay, okay,” Mary panted as the paramedics helped her into a wheelchair and pushed her through the front door of the agency and into the waiting ambulance.

“I’ve got my people carrier,” Krystie announced. “Is Dan already on his way to the hospital?”

“Yeah,” Charlotte replied. “God, this brings back memories, following Mary to hospital…”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed. “But back then we were actually sure about our futures.”

“Well no matter what, we’ll always be friends, right?” Charlotte said as the five women climbed into Krystie’s people carrier, trying to remain dignified in their high heels and short, tight skirts.

“Of course,” Hannah said. “Constellation may be colleagues, they may even be friends, but we- the six of us- will always be a FAMILY.”

“Right!” The other four women cheered as Krystie drove after the ambulance, but secretly, Jamie wasn’t as confident as Hannah. She knew that all friends eventually drift apart, given enough time, or given a reason, and she also knew that every man or woman has their price- and Spencer and Hall’s pockets were very deep indeed.

Shortly after the Angels arrived at the hospital, Jamie- accompanied by Charlotte- made her way to the nearest ladies’ room, where she took the opportunity to touch up her thick make-up and remove her heels to stretch her aching toes.

“God…” Jamie moaned as she wiggled her dark red toenails inside her barely black tights. “I knew Mary was due any day, I should’ve worn flats…”

“Five and a half years of wearing heels is enough for you, then?” Charlotte asked with a sly grin. “Try wearing heels while your ankles are swollen thanks to, well, your belly also being swollen.”

“Six months ago, I’d have happily taken you up on that offer,” Jamie said, earning a sympathetic sigh from her BFF. “Right now… I dunno, Charlie. I’d be happy just knowing that I’ll still be a model tomorrow.”

“You WILL be,” Charlotte said, giving Jamie a quick, comforting hug. “You heard Joshua, it’s not like we’ve been fired, it’s not like the Angels will stop being a brand just because Spencer and Hall ripped us off.”

“A brand, yes,” Jamie sighed. “But a band… You know Spencer and Hall have tried to poach us in the past, right? Actually approached Hannah twice, and they NEVER offer a contract to someone who’s turned them down before.”

“They can offer Hannah a hundred contracts, she won’t leave,” Charlotte said confidently. “You heard her- we’re her family. And take it from someone who doesn’t have any other family- you cling on to what you have.” Jamie sighed as she remembered Charlotte’s parents, who both died before she was22, and returned the hug that she had earlier received.

“Everyone has their price, though,” Jamie sighed as she and Charlotte returned to where the other three women were waiting.

----------

“Come on…” Sarah moaned as Nikki applied a thick layer of fuchsia-coloured lipstick. “We don’t want to miss the birth, and we have to get a card, and a gift…”

“I’m almost done,” Nikki said, touching up her mascara one final time before letting Sarah take her turn at her dresser. Nikki watched with a lazy grin on her face as Sarah applied her make-up to enhance her face- which Nikki of course thought was already the most beautiful face in the world.

“Do you still really think you need so much make-up?” Sarah asked. “I mean, now that you’re, you know, ‘done’…”

“Correcting my genitals doesn’t correct my face,” Nikki sighed as she pulled on a comfortable pair of thick black tights, followed by a loose, long-sleeved minidress. “No amount of oestrogen or surgery can change my bones…”

“Well fortunately,” Sarah giggled, “I love all of your bones just the way they are!”

“The ones I still have, anyway,” Nikki said, making Sarah giggle even harder.

“I won’t miss that ‘other bone’ too much, I promise,” Sarah says with a sly grin.

“Even if all my other bones are unemployed?” Nikki asked, making Sarah sigh.

“You’re not getting fired just because the show’s cancelled,” Sarah groaned. “The girls will all still be in work, they’ll still need a PA. Do you expect Jamie to pour her own coffee?”

“I do more than just fetch coffee and you know it,” Nikki said, before chuckling as Sarah giggled softly.

“I know, I know, the whole of Heavenly Talent would fall apart without you,” Sarah said, giving her fiancée a soft kiss before pulling on a short-sleeved back bodysuit and a loose knee-length skirt. “Now come on, the girls are going to be relying on us to go in there with smiles on our faces.”

“You’re right,” Nikki said with a grin. “Yes, as always…”

“You know it!” Sarah giggled.

Less than an hour later, the two young women walked into the waiting area of St Thomas Hospital carrying gifts and cars- but their smiles immediately faded when they saw the expressions on their friends’ faces.

“Umm, hi…” Nikki said cautiously as she approached her mentor. “Is- is everything okay? We were told that Mary was in labour…”

“Yeah…” Jamie said with a grimace as she escorted Nikki and Sarah away from the other four women, who all had stern, disapproving looks on their faces. “About that…”

“Oh god,” Sarah gasped. “Please- please tell me the baby-“

“The baby’s fine for now,” Jamie said, “but Mary herself isn’t. Her blood pressure is high, I mean, dangerously high. She’s being kept in for observation… The doctors want to induce but of course, Mary’s refusing, typical her.”

“Wonder why Mary’s blood pressure’s high,” Nikki sighed, earning a sympathetic smile from Jamie.

“I think everyone’s is,” Jamie said. “Come on, I’ll take your gifts, I’m sure the other girls will understand.” Nikki and Sarah both nodded as Jamie escorted them back to the waiting area, where both teenagers sat down with their cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Krystie,” Nikki whispered. “I- I’m sorry this happened, I- I kinda feel responsible.”

“Eh, it’s not like you pushed Dannii toward leaving Joshua,” Krystie replied. “Even though, you know, you kinda did.”

“What?” Sarah replied angrily.

“I’m just saying,” Krystie said defensively, “it wouldn’t have hurt you to try to include her a bit more these past few months. Last few times she came to the Wednesday lessons you girls treated her like a pariah.”

“And with good cause!” Sarah spat. “You know the history between us, you know what she did, you expect us to just forgive this?”

“I expect you to act like a damned professional!” Krystie snapped as she and Sarah stood up to face each other. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe Joshua wanted to market the five of you as a group, and as such, it might be in your best interests to at least pretend to be friends?”

“Ladies, not here,” Viks said quietly.

“How would you feel if Hannah suddenly flung herself at Mikey?” Sarah asked.

“Hey!” Hannah protested, visibly growing more and more uncomfortable as the argument heated up.

“Well that’ll never happen!” Krystie protested.

“Exactly!” Sarah growled. “And it did happen for me, so how about you get down off your high horse and stop throwing accusations around!”

“Oh, you little cow!” Krystie spat. Unable to contain her rage any further, Sarah slapped Krystie hard on the cheek, causing the taller woman to momentarily recoil in shock as everyone- Sarah included- looked on in stunned silence. A tense moment passed as the two belligerent women stared at each other, before Krystie’s face contorted into a look of pure fury and she launched herself at Sarah. The nineteen year old woman yelped as the taller, stronger Krystie barrelled into her, tackling her through a row of chairs to the floor before throwing a punch at her face, which Sarah was barely able to block with her arms.

“Enough!” Hannah screeched, physically dragging Krystie off of the panicking teenager. “This stops! Now! You two are supposed to be friends, for god’s sake! Both of you, apologise! Now!”

“…Sorry,” Krystie mumbled as she straightened her skirt and sat back down.

“I- I’m sorry,” Sarah whispered as Nikki helped her back to her feet.

“We should probably leave,” Nikki said in a dark voice as she shot a dirty look at Krystie.

“That’s probably for the best,” Viks said, before letting out a long, exasperated sigh as the teenagers left. “Krystie? What the hell?”

“…I dunno,” Krystie sighed. “It’s just- you know? Mary’s in here because she has high blood pressure, she wouldn’t have high blood pressure if Dannii hadn’t jumped ship, Dannii wouldn’t have jumped ship if- ugh.” Krystie sighed as the adrenaline began to thin in her blood and her hands and legs began to tremble. After taking a puff of her asthma inhaler, she stood up and slipped off her heels- to steady her feet- and walked off in search of a vending machine.

“We do NOT tell Mary about this when we see her,” Charlotte ordered, to the agreement of the other three women. “She’s got enough on her plate as it is.”

“We all have,” Viks said.

“What’s important,” Hannah said, “is that we- the six of us- DON’T fight each other. We’re family. We need to remember that.”

“Agreed,” Charlotte said, though as she looked over at Jamie, it was clear to the young transwoman that her talk about ‘every woman having her price’ was resonating in Charlotte’s mind.

----------

“Let’s see Constellation try to beat THAT,” Adeola said confidently as she took a swig from a bottle of water.

“We shouldn’t try to make this a competition,” Lauren said as she soothed her own vocal chords. “Their band- if you can call it that- isn’t even directly competing with us, we’re a five-piece, they’re a duo.”

“Stop that,” Stuart ordered from his seat in the studio’s control room. “Less gossiping, more singing!”

“Yes, yes, mein fuhrer,” Becca retorted, making her brother snort with laughter. “Seriously, though, I have heard rumours that Spencer and Hall aren’t done poaching talent from us. I haven’t had one yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a voicemail when I get home…”

“Surely not?” Kayla asked. “They wouldn’t be THAT bold, would they?”

“I doubt they’d send one to me,” Adeola shrugged. “Even they wouldn’t be able to buy off a blood relative. You four, though…”

“Well I’m not leaving, no matter the price,” Becca said with a confident smirk.

“Me either,” Stephanie said firmly.

“…Really?” Adeola asked. “’Cause I figured, you know…”

“…’You know’ what?” Stephanie asked.

“It’s just, umm… Forget it,” the dark-skinned girl said, shaking her head.

“No,” Stephanie urged. “You were going to say something, and I want to know what it was.”

“Well, just ‘cause, umm…” Adeola mumbled, fidgeting awkwardly. “Because, you know, if Dannii, like, tells about you… She wouldn’t do that to a, you know, to a colleague?”

“I’m not scared of what Dannii has to say,” Stephanie said. “And I DON’T turn my back on my friends. If the worst does happen… You’d all have my back, right?”

“Of course!” Kayla cheered.

“Right,” Becca, Adeola and Lauren all said with wide grins on their faces

“Now that we’ve established that none of you are going anywhere,” Stuart called from his booth, “can you all please get back to work?”

“His master’s voice has spoken,” Becca said, once again making her brother snort with laughter.

----------

“God…” Sarah moaned as Nikki drove the two of them to their friends’ flat. “I’m so, so sorry, Nikki. I don’t know what happened, what came over me, just- the way- the way she was talking-“

“I don’t blame you at all,” Nikki sighed. “Nearly felt like slapping her myself. Think she forgot that just because the Angels all gelled smoothly, doesn’t mean every group like them will.”

“Looks like I’ve got Wednesdays free for the foreseeable future, heh,” Sarah chuckled. “Sorry about that… Obviously you can still go to lessons if you want, I won’t mind-“

“Not without you,” Nikki said softly, making her fiancée smile.

“Really, I wouldn’t mind,” Sarah persisted. “You know how Jamie said going back to ballet helped her regain her flexibility after her operation.”

“It’s that important to you that I’m flexible?” Nikki asked, making Sarah giggle.

“Maybe,” Sarah said with a wink, before grimacing in pain. “Damn it…”

“Are you SURE you’re okay?” Nikki asked.

“Ugh,” Sarah spat. “Banged my hip hard on a chair when I, well, you know, ‘went down’… A massage would REALLY help…”

“On a bruised hip?” Nikki asked. “How, exactly?”

“It’s not my hip that I want you to quote-unquote massage,” Sarah said, bringing a sly grin to Nikki’s face.

An hour later, after their return home, Sarah stretched her naked body out on Nikki’s bed, smiling contentedly after her ‘message’.

“Is your ‘hip’ feeling any better, Miss Phillips?” Nikki asked.

“Much better,” Sarah sighed happily, before rolling her eyes as her phone bleeped to inform her of a new text message. “It’s from Jamie… Mary’s being kept in hospital for another couple of days, either until she has the baby or until her blood pressure goes down. She also wants to know if we’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the same message,” Nikki said, looking at her phone. “You know, I was actually meant to be at work on Thursday. A dancewear shoot. Guess who with?”

“Ughhhh,” Sarah moaned. “I am so, so sorry again… I know you’re trying to get all the hours you can now you’re back at work…”

“It’s fine,” Nikki sighed. “I was only going along to steal a few leotards anyway, heh. Can you believe I’ve not actually worn a leotard since I had my operation?”

“Thought you wore that bodysuit the other day?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, but- well, you know what I mean,” Nikki said. “Not worn a leotard-type piece of clothing that I didn’t immediately pull a skirt on over the top of, if that makes more sense.”

“Grammar-wise, not really, but otherwise, yeah, I guess,” Sarah said, giggling as Nikki playfully threw a cushion at her. “All the more reason why you should go to the lesson tomorrow.”

“I told you before, I’m not going without you,” Nikki said.

“Then I guess I’d better get ready to swallow a massive chunk of humble pie,” Sarah sighed as she pulled her bodysuit and skirt back on.

“…I dunno,” Nikki sighed. “Between me and Steph, and now you and Krystie, that’s a level of awkward we really don’t need.”

“It won’t go away by ignoring it,” Sarah said. “The sooner we work through this, the sooner things can get back to normal. Well, for everyone apart from Dan and Mary, anyway, things don’t get back to normal with a newborn under the roof!”

“And I should know, heh,” Nikki chuckled as she heard her infant sister chuckle in her downstairs playpen. “Funny to think that in four months, she’ll be starting baby ballet with Krys.”

“Meh, it’ll just make picking out Christmas and birthday presents easier,” Sarah said, making Nikki giggle. “And don’t worry about your job, whatever you do. I’ll eat as much humble pie as I need to get you back in Krystie’s good books.”

“I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without you,” Nikki sighed, giving her fiancée a long kiss even as her subconscious told her that despite Sarah’s reassurances, her future, like those of the Angels, was far from certain.

----------

“Unacceptable!” Joshua boomed, startling the five young women stood in his office- especially Krystie, who was the main target of his rage.

“I’m really, really sorry,” Krystie mumbled.

“I am not the one you should apologise to!” Joshua snapped. “You are just lucky that there were no press around to witness this!”

“I just- I just saw red-“ Krystie babbled, her knees shaking with nerves.

“Save it,” Joshua sighed, before sitting back down. “This whole situation has made us all tense, even me. But you are professionals, all of you! What Dannii did… It stabbed me in the back. It stabbed us all in the back. But what’s done is done, and fighting about it will do no one any good! I will be talking to Sarah Phillips about this. You will both be at your studio tomorrow morning to properly apologise to each other. I will personally see to that.”

“Y- you will come to ballet tomorrow?” Charlotte asked.

“I will not be wearing the uniform, so get THAT mental image out of your heads!” Joshua laughed, making the five women all giggle. “But I want this situation sorted, and immediately. I have found work for all five of you next week, good-paying work. And no, Jamie, I am not making you work on your birthday!”

“Oh god, my birthday,” Jamie laughed. “I’d actually forgotten about that… Hardly seems important now, heh.”

“Just more proof that you’re the most warm-hearted of all of us,” Charlotte giggled as she gave her BFF a tight hug. “If I was turning twenty-five, I know I wouldn’t forget about, I’d insist on a huge party, loads of presents…”

“You did turn twenty-five, four months ago,” Viks reminded the giggling Charlotte. “And you DID have a huge party and loads of presents!”

“You’re right, Mrs. Benedict, I did!” Charlotte laughed. “Which means that Jamie needs to as well!”

“Agreed!” Joshua boomed. “You are all friends again! Go, before I actually start listening to your gossip!”

“Can do, boss!” Hannah giggled as she led her four friends out of the vast office.

“And Krystie?” Joshua asked, stopping the tall dance teacher in her tracks before she left the room. “We all make mistakes. All of us. Just make sure you don’t repeat them.”

“I won’t,” Krystie said, her cheeks flushing as she left the office and caught up with her friends.

“So, girls,” Hannah said. “We’re five young, sexy women wearing expensive designer clothes in the middle of the most cosmopolitan city in Europe. You know what that means, right?”

“Does that mean that we are ladies who lunch?” Charlotte asked her friend, who giggled in response.

“It means that we are SUCCESSFUL ladies who lunch,” Viks giggled.

“That sounds good to me,” Krystie sighed. “I want to forget all about the EXISTENCE of Sarah bloody Phillips, at least for the rest of the day, heh!”

“And about the existence of Kelly bloody Watson, Dannii bloody Samson and all of their ‘constellation’!” Jamie said, earning cheers from her friends as they headed out of the agency.

All throughout lunch, the five women found themselves facing requests for autographs and selfies from fans, and these requests didn't stop until the literal second Krystie had started her car and driven them all back to their respective homes.

On any ordinary day, the women would have been thoroughly irritated by the constant interruptions to their meal, but on that particular day, every request for an autograph was welcomed as it served as a reminder that despite the rise of Constellation, all the women were still famous in their own right- and this feeling of relief was strongest of all for Jamie.

As a transgendered woman- a transgendered model and celebrity, no less- Jamie possessed a rarity value that Joshua had successfully exploited to make himself and Jamie very wealthy. Jamie was 100% sure that Kelly's presence within Constellation was a direct attack on her 'unique selling point', and it was impossible for Jamie to see that as anything other than an attack on her sense of self, no matter how hard Jamie tried to remind herself that she wasn't the first transgendered person in the world to be seen as a role model- and she certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Hope your day was better than mine," Jamie said to her fiancé that night as they both got undressed and got ready for bed.

"I had to take repeated breaks from work to 'play' with my genitals," Stuart explained, making Jamie giggle, "with my little sister knowing exactly what I was doing each time I left the studio."

"Okay, that IS pretty bad," Jamie laughed.

"Though to be fair..." Stuart grimaced. "You probably had the worst news of the year so far, so there's no real competing with that, even if I wanted to."

"Thanks," Jamie whispered. "We all knew it was coming anyway, but to hear it... And to hear that we're being replaced by THEM... It's kinda a bitter pill to swallow, you know?"

"I give 'em a year," Stuart said, before giving his giggling fiancée a long kiss. "Now get to bed, reality show or no reality show, you're still a busy young woman, and you've got a long week ahead!"

"Yes, sir!" Jamie giggled, returning Stuart's kiss before climbing into bed and snuggling against his warm body. Stuart's embrace made Jamie feel safe, contented and, most importantly of all, loved, but as she drifted off to sleep, her anxieties about her future- especially her continued fame- were just as strong as ever.

----------

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nikki asked her fiancée the following morning as she finished blow-drying her hair. "I can skip it if you want, say I don't feel up to it just yet... Wouldn't be TOO far from the truth if I'm honest."

"No, Joshua's phone call yesterday was VERY insistent," Sarah replied. "And I know it's not like I work for him THAT often, but I do need the extra money... Can't live off the 'bank of mum' forever."

"Only if you're sure," Nikki said, sighing happily as Sarah rolled a pair of soft pink tights up her slender, toned legs before stepping into a plain black tank leotard that clung tightly to her torso. After stepping into her own dancewear, Nikki couldn't resist the urge to tightly embrace her fiancée from behind, sighing happily at the feeling of their soft, tender bodies pressing against each other.

"...We're going to be late," Sarah giggled.

"Meh," Nikki shrugged. "I can honestly say I'd just rather do this all morning."

"And get me in trouble?" Sarah asked.

"I'll take the blame," Nikki mumbled into Sarah's neck as she nuzzled it. "Can you honestly say there's nowhere you'd rather be?"

"About four feet from here, in that bed," Sarah whispered, before running her hand down Nikki's torso, her fingers getting slower and slower as she reached the gusset of Nikki's leotard.

"Mmm," Nikki dreamily moaned as the pressure from Sarah's fingers increased. "Can't wait until we can do this, you know, for real..."

"It's not still too sensitive?" Sarah asked.

"Not through two layers of lycra it isn't," Nikki giggled, before a gasp caused her to release Sarah from her embrace. "Umm... We probably should get going, heh."

"Just one thing before we go," Sarah said with a giggle as she sat her fiancée down on the side of their bed.

"Umm... Okay?" Nikki asked with confusion as Sarah began brushing her hair, before pulling it back into a tight ponytail and tying it into a severe bun. "You do know Krystie usually does this, right?"

"Yeah, well Krystie can tie her own fiancé’s hair into a bun!" Sarah said smugly. "Actually, his hair is long enough that she probably can, heh."

"She will see this as provoking her," Nikki said, before pulling on a loose dress, a pair of flats and leading Sarah down to her car.

"Then it's up to her whether or not to rise to the provocation," Sarah shrugged. "Bye Chris! Bye Sandra!"

"Bye, girls," Nikki's parents said to the two young women as they drove away, heading directly towards the Krystie Fullerton School of Dance.

When Nikki and Sarah arrived, they weren't surprised to see that there were several people already present. They were, however, surprised by the presence of a camera crew standing alongside the owner of Heavenly Talent.

"Sarah Phillips!" Joshua boomed, momentarily startling the nineteen year old woman. "Do not look afraid! Anything I had to say to you I said during our telephone call yesterday. All that remains is for you and Krystie to speak to each other. On camera."

"...On camera?" Sarah asked in a quiet, timid voice. "Is- is that really necessary? I thought no one knew about the fight..."

"They don't," Joshua explained. "And they don't need to. But we are a family. We have no secrets. Families will occasionally argue. Families will sometimes fight. But families always come together in the end."

"Trust me, I know," Sarah sighed. "You wouldn't believe the disagreements I had with my dad's wife last year. And the ten years before that, heh."

"And even if the Angels have been cancelled by ITV2," Joshua continued, "that doesn't mean that there aren't other channels!" Joshua, Sarah and Nikki all chuckled, though their laughter was brought to an abrupt stop by the arrival of the dance studio's owner.

"Hi Joshua," Krystie said nervously. "Umm, hi Sarah..."

"Hi Krystie," Sarah mumbled.

"We- we should get this over and done with," Krystie said. "Though you are going to have to remove your street shoes, that floor costs a LOT to repair."

"...Yes ma'am," Joshua sighed, before he and his camera crew removed their footwear. "I suppose they don't do pointe shoes in size 13?"

"I wouldn't let you wear them even if they did," Krystie snorted. "No offence, Joshua, but you're not exactly built like a ballet dancer, even a male one."

"I do perhaps overindulge on the finer things in life!" Joshua laughed. "Perks of being a millionaire, heh."

"As for you two," Krystie said to Nikki and Sarah, "usual places. And no, I won't be offended that you tied Nikki's bun when they is and always has been my job!" Sarah blushed a bright red as she linked her fingers with Nikki and headed toward the barre, where they began their usual warm-ups- though Nikki was still much less flexible than usual. Soon, the dance studio filled with familiar faces, but before the lesson could begin, Joshua moved to the middle of the room, trying not to smirk at his awkwardness of walking in sock feet.

"If I may have your attention," Joshua boomed, his voice echoing in the vast room. "The last few days have been trying for all of us. Tensions have been high, too high. But we must remember that we are a family. I love you all as though you were my children, and it hurts me to see two sisters fighting. Krystie, Sarah." The two young women took deep breaths before stepping forward to the spots Joshua indicated on the studio's floor.

"Sarah," Krystie said, her discomfort plain for all to see, "I apologise for what I said yesterday and how I reacted, it was immature of me, I took my frustrations out on you and I acknowledge that that was entirely wrong."

"Krystie," Sarah whispered. "I apologise for what I said and did yesterday, I overreacted to what you were saying and I was wrong to do so." Slowly, the two women leaned toward each other and gave each other an awkward hug as the rest of the room applauded.

"For this alone, we should never fight again," Krystie whispered, making Sarah giggle. "And I don't mean just you and me, I mean fighting ANYONE."

"Agreed," Sarah laughed, before skipping back to where her fiancée was waiting at the barre.

For the next hour the gathering of women performed their exercises, stretches and steps to the best of their ability as Krystie and Zoe watched on intently, and Joshua watched with pride etched onto his face that his employees were able to conduct themselves in a mature, friendly manner. The middle-aged gentleman was convinced that the maturity shown by his girls would lead to a new unity between all of them, but as the women began to get changed after the lesson, that illusion was quickly shattered.

“Oh shit,” Becca mouthed as she approached Stephanie with her smartphone in her hand. “Umm, Steph, umm, you might want to see this… You might want to sit down.”

“What is it?” Stephanie asked, the tension quickly returning to her body. Rather than give a direct answer, Becca thrust her phone into Stephanie’s hands, on which was a video of Dannii Samson in front of the same star field background that she’d been interviewed in front of o Monday.

“- opportunity to make new friends that I’m most looking forward to,” Dannii explained as Stephanie resumed the video mid-sentence. “When I was working with the Angels… It was clear that many of them weren’t ‘friends’ as such, they were just working together because, you know, they were told to.”

“The lying little slag,” Adeola breathed. “So much for ‘not being in direct competition’ with us…”

“So you’re saying that The Angels aren’t as friendly as they appear?” The interviewer asked.

“Nowhere near,” Dannii said, shaking her head. “The same goes for Out of Heaven as well.”

“Well- maybe at first,” Lauren said in her strong Scottish accent. “Now, though…”

“They were only formed due to Joshua’s adoptive daughter twisting his arm,” Dannii continued. “She and her best friend aren’t even that good at singing, everything’s cleaned up before it gets released to the public.”

“I will fucking kill her,” Adeola growled. “I will tear every bleached blonde hair out of her head!”

“It gets worse,” Becca whispered in a dark voice.

“Their transgendered singer isn’t even transgendered,” Dannii continued, making Stephanie’s throat fill with bile. “By which I mean, umm, she’s not, like, just a woman, I mean, she’s not actually transitioning, taking hormones or anything, ‘she’s just a man in drag.”

“Oh- oh god,” Stephanie gasped as she collapsed back in her seat, her skin drained of all colour and her forehead covered in a flop sweat.

“Steph, I- I’m so sorry,” Becca whispered. “But I thought it was best that you saw this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Stephanie replied in a gasped whisper as a crowd began to form around the distressed young woman.

“What’s happened?” Charlotte asked.

“Dannii, she-“ Kayla stammered. “She, um, she blew Stephanie. I mean, she, um, she told about Stephanie, and that she’s not on hormones.”

“Oh my god,” Nikki gasped. “That cunt. That total cunt. She actually did it…”

“The only person who ‘did’ anything was you!” Kayla snapped at Nikki, who recoiled in shock. “Didn’t it occur to you that maybe you shouldn’t just randomly gossip about people’s private details?”

“Leave her alone!” Jamie yelled, standing side by side with her protégé. “Did it maybe occur to YOU that if people didn’t lie about their private details, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this sort of mess in the first place?”

“Oh, because every transgendered person in the world has to be like you, don’t they?” Becca growled. “Little miss perfect, living in her big house, having all the best doctors at her beck and call…”

“Oh, like you DON’T live in a huge house, miss ‘daughter of a millionaire’?” Jamie retorted, causing Becca’s face to contort with anger. “The only reason you’re even here today is thanks to nepotism!”

“Huh,” Becca snorted. “Looks like I owe Nikki an apology, it’s clear now who was REALLY in Dannii’s ear.”

“And just what is THAT supposed to mean?” Jamie yelled.

“Stop this!” Charlotte screeched, silencing the packed changing room. “What the hell is even happening here? Spencer and Hall are directly attacking us now, and rather than unite against them we fight each other? Becca, Jamie, a few months from now you’ll be sisters-in-law! Just- gah! I can’t deal with this, not today!” The room watched in shock as Charlotte pulled on the short dress she’d worn to the dance studio and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

“You should be supporting Stephanie, not having a go at her,” Becca said in a cold, calm voice as she left the changing room with the rest of her band in tow.

Jamie felt her cheeks flush as the remaining women in the room all stared her with confused and disapproving looks on their faces. Nikki bit her lip as she also felt her cheeks begin to redden, though the comforting grip of her fiancée’s hand on hers helped to prevent this.

“Why do you have such a problem with Stephanie, anyway?” Hannah asked Jamie, who sighed in response.

“I don’t like being deceived,” Jamie replied. “She lied to my face. She lied to all our faces, and she expects us to just forgive her just like, you know, just like that?”

“But she told the truth eventually,” Hannah retorted. “And it’s easy to see why she felt she had to lie.”

“And it’s not like you didn’t lie to us for ages,” Krystie said as she entered the changing room. “I’d known you for almost two years before finding out that you were transgendered.” Jamie bit her lip to try to calm herself from the bombardment of criticism, but in the end was unable to do anything other than shake her head and walk out of the changing room with her cheeks burning with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

As she drove back to her large house, Jamie reflected on what her friends had said and whether or not she HAD been too harsh on Stephanie. She knew all too well how vicious the press could be, and how determined they could be to unearth any secrets about anyone famous. She was convinced that Stephanie was going to be in for one of the hardest weeks of her life… And yet Jamie couldn’t shake the feeling that’d brought it on herself. Stephanie HAD lied about her transgendered status. She’d told Jamie that she’d been taking oestrogen when she wasn’t, and worse yet, she’d told her fans- many of whom were also transgendered- the same thing.

Jamie was forced to acknowledge that her own deception hadn’t been any better, of course- in the months after she began her transition, she’d set up a blog and a YouTube channel in an attempt to increase her public profile, and through those channels, she’d promoted herself as an ordinary twenty year old woman. A chance encounter with an acquaintance from her old school had seen Jamie outed to the whole world before she was ready, leading to heartfelt apologies to all her friends and to her fans. The key difference in Jamie’s mind, however, was that when she’d been outed, Jamie had had only a tiny handful of the fans she would later gain through the Angels- and nowhere near the number of fans that Stephanie had.

Jamie had agreed to ‘mentor’ Stephanie during her rise to fame, to guide her and defend her from the inevitable hostility that she would receive from various closed-minded corners of society- but Jamie felt that she was simply incapable of doing that job whilst her ‘protégé’ wasn’t being entirely truthful with her.

“Charlotte?” Jamie asked as she opened her front door and let out a long sigh. “Charlie? You home?”

“Jamie?” A quiet Irish voice replied from the living room. “That you?”

“Eilish?” Jamie asked, smiling as the petite frame of Charlotte’s son’s nanny walked into view, carrying the tiny infant in her arms. “Where’s Charlotte?”

“She’s not come home,” Eilish replied. “Not even called, why, is everything alright?”

“I dunno,” Jamie sighed. “She seemed pretty upset…” Jamie sighed as she scanned the large entranceway and her eyes became fixed on a large portrait hanging on one of the walls. “…Never mind. I know EXACTLY where she is.”

A short while later, without even having changed out of her dancewear, Jamie parked her car in the small, secluded car park next to an empty, eerie cemetery. After getting out of her car, it took Jamie no time whatsoever to locate her BFF, who was stood over the grave of her mother.

“Charlie,” Jamie whispered.

“Hi Jamie,” Charlotte sniffled in response. “Mum, you remember Jamie, right?”

“He-hello, Mrs. Easton,” Jamie said respectfully. “It’s, um, nice to see you again…”

“Look at the date,” Charlotte whispered. “The date on the tom- the first date.”

“Oh,” Jamie said as she read the inscription that read ‘born 14/09/1961’. “Oh, right, um, happy birthday, Mrs. Easton.”

“She would’ve been 55 today,” Charlotte mumbled. “I wonder what she’d think, of this whole ‘Constellation’ thing…”

“She’d be proud of the way you’re handling it,” Jamie said soothingly. “You’re being way more mature than I am, that’s for sure…”

“I- I really need your support, Jamie,” Charlotte sniffled. “Especially today of all days.”

“You’ll always have my support,” Jamie whispered, giving the upset young woman a tight hug. “We’ll always be Angels, and we’ll always be BFFs, right?”

“Right,” Charlotte mumbled.” But I’m not the only person who needs your support right now.”

“I know,” Jamie sighed. “And I wanted, I really wanted to be Stephanie’s friend, but I don’t even know who she is, there have been so many conflicting stories…”

“She’s not, you know, ‘stable’,” Charlotte said softly. “She needs our help, not us yelling at her.”

“I’m still not convinced that stay in the loony bin was genuine,” Jamie said in a cold voice. “I hate myself for saying it, but if I was looking for attention, some sort of validation for what I’d done… It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d do.”

“…Me too,” Charlotte sighed. “But nothing’s going to get solved while you’re still at each other’s throats, you need to sit down and talk to each other. And do it soon, too-“

“-Before Joshua forces us to, I know,” Jamie said, letting out a tired chuckle. “Will- will you come with me, please? I mean I know I support you, but there are times when I need-“

“Of course I’ll go with you,” Charlotte said, returning Jamie’s earlier hug. “As long as you change out of your leotard first!” Jamie giggled happily as the two women said their farewells to Charlotte’s mother’s grave before making their way back home.

----------

“Make the tea extra strong, extra sweet,” Becca ordered Adeola as she gripped Stephanie’s ice-cold hands in her own to stop them from shaking. “Now listen to me, okay? This is NOT the end of the world. Joshua is the king of spin. He WILL put out any and all fires that come our way, okay?”

“O-Okay,” Stephanie replied between gasped, panicked breaths. “Oh god, why did this happen?” Becca gave Stephanie a long, tight hug as the transgendered girl slowly wept into her shoulder.

“Dannii’s a selfish bitch,” Kayla said coldly. “You heard Nikki and Sarah, she always was. She’ll get her karma eventually though, trust me.”

“Ugh, fucking Nikki fucking Thomas,” Stephanie spat as she dried her eyes. “I swear I’m going to slap the teeth out of her mouth next time I see her…”

“Whoa, Steph,” Becca said, releasing her hug. “Kinda getting a bit ‘violent mood swing’-y on me here…”

“Sorry,” Stephanie moaned as she slumped forward again. “My emotions are just all over the place…”

“Then… Maybe it’s best if you DON’T take oestrogen?” Lauren asked, earning stern stares from her bandmates. “What? You get flooded with oestrogen, it’ll be a bit like puberty, right? I don’t know about you girls but I would NOT want to go through all that again…”

“…She may be right,” Becca whispered. “You know Beverly will say the same thing, didn’t you say she’s been withholding hormones whilst you’re recovering from your hospital visit?”

“But I need SOMETHING,” Stephanie moaned. “ANYTHING, I can’t- I just can’t go on like this, the press are going to tar me apart…”

“Joshua won’t let them!” Adeola urged, placing a mug of hot, sweet tea in Stephanie’s hands. “He always looks after his own like family. You’re no different.”

“After I lied to him all this time?” Stephanie asked, tears returning to her eyes. “I’ve screwed everything up! It- it’s all over…”

“It is NOT over!” Kayla said firmly. “Not now and certainly not because of that tall bitch! We’re all behind you. ALL of us. Right?”

“Right!” The other three women all cheered, bringing the smile back to Stephanie’s face.

“Thank- thank you all,” Stephanie sniffled, before breaking down in tears again as the front door of her home opened and her mother came rushing through to give her a long, tight hug.

“I came home as soon as I heard,” Mrs. Abbott said. “Steph, I’m so, so sorry…”

“Thanks,” Stephanie sniffled. “I- I just want to climb into a big hole and die…”

“No you most definitely don’t!” Mrs. Abbott snapped, startling her distressed daughter. “You have people who count on you, Stephanie Abbott. Four of them are in this room right now. Five, actually, because you can count me as one of your fans. However bad it seems right now, we WILL get through it and you WILL go out there with your head held high, understand? I know it’s difficult right now but sulking in your room never solved anything!”

“O-Okay,” Stephanie sniffed, blinking back yet more tears.

“Adeola,” Stephanie’s mother asked, startling the dark-skinned girl. “Your uncle will already know this news, won’t he?”

“Uhh, yeah, I think so,” Adeola replied.

“So he’ll already know what to do, right?” Mrs. Abbott probed further.

“He’ll be drawing up a plan if he hasn’t already,” Adeola said.

“Then he’s the person you need to talk to,” Mrs. Abbott said firmly. “I can take you there now- as long as one of you is okay with riding in the boot, that is.”

“Yeah, that’d be me, I’m the smallest,” Kayla laughed.

“But- but I’m not dressed, none of us are dressed-“ Stephanie protested.

“No buts,” Mrs. Abbott said. “The longer you stay here worrying about this, the more worked up you’ll get and there’s no way I’m risking you running off again. Now out.” Silently, Stephanie nodded and headed out of the house to her mother’s car, where she tried to get comfortable in the passenger seat despite the fact that she still wore her tight dancewear. The other four women followed suit- with Kayla letting out a tired grin as she climbed into the car’s boot.

Twenty minutes later, the six women arrived at Heavenly Talent, where they were quickly escorted into the office of the agency’s owner, who greeted the women with a stern expression.

“Joshua, I am so, so sorry-“ Stephanie pleaded, before being interrupted.

“Do not be,” Joshua said in a much quieter voice than his usual bombast. “We all knew that there was a possibility this day would come. We’re just lucky we got you here before the paparazzi arrived.”

“Guess I’m riding home in the boot, then,” Stephanie sighed, earning a quiet chuckle from her employer.

“Obviously what Dannii Samson and Spencer and Hall have done is a betrayal of trust,” Joshua said. “But there is nothing we can do or say about it. We cannot complain about damage to our brand as Dannii was merely commenting on her experience here, and we cannot claim slander as, well, Dannii didn’t lie. All we can do is clarify the situation. I have issued a statement to the press stating that due to your on-going mental issues, your counsellor has recommended that hormone treatment is withheld from you for the time being, but that you will be considered for it again in the future.”

“…Isn’t that, you know, another lie?” Lauren asked, earning an angry stare from her employer.

“It is not the whole truth,” Joshua retorted.

“But it’s our best option for now,” Stephanie sighed as her stomach churned.

“You will also need to speak to the press, to explain,” Joshua told the terrified young woman.

“I’m sorry?” Stephanie’s mother asked. “Is that really necessary, with everything that Stephanie’s going through?”

“I’m not asking for a press conference!” Joshua snapped, before sighing. “I apologise for raising my voice. The press will want to hear from Stephanie in person, even if it is just reading out the statement we prepared. The important thing now is to limit damage, especially with Spencer and Hall’s teeth closing around our throats. I will arrange something for tomorrow morning at 10:30.”

“What can I do for now?” Stephanie asked.

“Try to relax,” Joshua said with a warm smile. “You’ve been through a lot today. You need to take the rest of the day off, try to relax, regain your strength.”

“Sounds like someone could use a LOT of pampering,” Becca said with a warm grin.

“…That sounds AMAZING,” Stephanie said, making the other women in the room all giggle.

“Now go!” Joshua said with a loud chuckle. “Before the press get here!”

“Okay,” Stephanie laughed, before pausing. “Umm, one other thing…”

“What is it, Columbo?” Joshua asked, making Stephanie chuckle despite her inability to get the reference.

“It- it’s about Jamie…” Stephanie mumbled.

“I heard about the argument at your dance lesson,” Joshua said stoically. “I actually HEARD the argument.

“I’d- I’d really appreciate it if she didn’t stick her nose in,” Stephanie said. “I mean, I know you kinda ‘appointed’ her to be, like, a mentor to me, but…”

“As of right now she has no relationship, official or unofficial, with you in this organisation,” Joshua said. “I had noticed for some time that you and she were not fans of each other. This is a pity, but sometimes personalities clash. I’ll let her know to keep her distance.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said with a tired grin, before both of her hands were grabbed by Becca and Adeola, who led her down the stairs to her mother’s car.

“Now for the IMPORTANT bit!” Becca giggled. “By the end of the evening, you are going to be a totally new woman!”

“Yeah,” Stephanie laughed, though internally, she wished that becoming the ‘new woman’ that Becca described was as simple a case as applying a new layer of make-up.

----------

“Who does that little blonde Oompa-Loompa think she is, anyway?” Nikki growled as she stretched out on Katie and Lauren’s sofa. “Where does she get off hurling accusations like that around?”

“Especially when it almost certainly wasn’t you who told Dannii in the first place,” Katie snorted. “I really wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that it was Jamie who blabbed…”

“Bit harsh, isn’t it?” Sarah asked.

“Not really,” Katie shrugged. “Haven’t you been paying attention the last few months? They do NOT like each other.”

“Well if it was a choice between Jamie and Steph, I know who I’d rather have,” Nikki snorted. “I mean, I don’t HATE Steph, but… You have to admit, she brought this all on herself.”

“But did she, really?” Lauren asked. “I’d have thought you’d sympathise with her, because, you know…”

“Because we’re both transgendered?” Nikki asked, before sighing. “…I wanted to like her, I really did. I mean, so what if she’s not taking hormones? You don’t spend an hour dancing around a ballet studio in full dancewear with your face made up and your hair in a bun if you WEREN’T committed to living life as a woman. Hell, you wouldn’t accept a job in a girl band if you weren’t committed. Or have laser hair removal…”

“Mum’s sometimes talked about her work,” Sarah mused. “How some people simply aren’t suitable for taking hormones, because it can change you mentally.”

“Did- did it change you?” Katie asked Nikki, who let out a long sigh.

“…I’m not 100% sure,” the transgendered woman replied. “Before I’d started taking them, I was basically female-brained already, I spent most weekends with Sarah as ‘Nikki’, I knew that this would be my future and I began focussing entirely on it, it never really occurred to me to focus on ‘Nick’s thoughts as, as far as I was concerned, my future was only ever going to be ‘Nikki’. And you can hardly say I haven’t committed to that future. On that note…”

“Eww,” Katie grimaced as Nikki produced one of her long, thin stents from her handbag. “NOT on either of our beds! We’ve got just enough space on our bathroom floor, use that instead!”

“Fine,” Nikki sighed with mock frustration, before giggling and heading to the flat’s small bathroom. “Just because you’re jealous that I get to shove long, stiff things into my vagina on medical orders!”

“And when you’re done with it you can shove it up your arse!” Katie retorted, making the room giggle as the conversation moved onto happier topics.

----------

“God, I feel almost naked,” Jamie sighed as she stared at her minimal make-up job in her mirror. With her face enhanced only by mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss, it was the least make-up Jamie would wear outside her home for many months.

“You know the reasons why,” Charlotte said. “If you go down there as ‘Jamie the superstar’, all you’ll do is intimidate Steph. She needs to see the real you, the ordinary girl once you’ve stripped away all the layers.”

“Never heard it called a ‘layer’ before,” Jamie retorted, making Charlotte giggle as she pulled on a pair of sheer black tights underneath her short, flared skirt. “And I’m guessing flats instead of heels?”

“You guess right,” Charlotte laughed, tossing Jamie a very plain pair of black ballerina pumps.

“Do you remember five years ago?” Jamie asked. “If I left the house looking this you’d have had a fit…”

“Ah, 20 year old Charlotte,” Jamie’s best friend laughed. “Yeah, she had a LOT of growing up to do.”

“Does- does that also apply to me?” Jamie asked.

“…It wouldn’t hurt you,” Charlotte whispered. “Now come on, I’ll drive you to Steph’s.”

“Thanks, Charlotte,” Jamie said, grinning as the two women headed downstairs. After bidding farewell to Eilish and Keith junior, Charlotte and Jamie elegantly slid into the former’s Mercedes and set off, arriving a short while later outside Stephanie’s parents’ house. Jamie took a deep breath as she knocked on the door, and forced a smile on her face as the stern face of Stephanie’s mother appeared at the door.

“What do you want?” Mrs. Abbott asked, making Jamie wince.

“Um, h- hi Mrs. Abbott,” Jamie said. “Can- may I, um, may I speak to Stephanie, please?”

“She’s not here,” Stephanie’s mother retorted in a clipped voice. “And she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“I only want to clear the air,” Jamie explained. “I feel some responsibility, I am her mentor, after all…”

“Not anymore you’re not,” Mrs. Abbott snorted. “Please leave. Stephanie’s going through a lot and she doesn’t need another confrontation with you right now!”

“…Okay then,” Jamie said stoically, before groaning with frustration as the door was slammed in her face. “God above!”

“Take a deep breath,” Charlotte said, giving Jamie’s hand a comforting squeeze. “You may need to give her a couple of days, maybe try again at the weekend after things die down a bit, both with Constellation and the whole Stephanie ‘thing’.”

“…You’re probably right,” Jamie sighed, getting her phone out of her bag.

“Calling Stuart, I hope?” Charlotte asked as the two women drove away from Stephanie’s home.

“Who else?” Jamie giggled as she dialled Stuart’s number.

“Hey you,” Stuart’s soft, masculine voice said, answering the phone after one ring.

“Hey you,” Jamie cooed. “Hope you’re not doing anything this afternoon, as I have the whole of the rest of the day free and I need my sexy stud to, well, ‘service’ me…”

“Nothing planned at all,” Stuart laughed. “Well, other than lying flat on my back with a raging stiffie, anyway.”

“Tempt me, why don’t you?” Jamie giggled.

“As soon as the doctor gives me the okay, I promise we will be at it like rabbits on Viagra,” Stuart said, making Jamie laugh. “In the meantime, give me ten minutes, I’ll ‘let myself down’ and head straight round to yours.”

“No need, you just lay right there,” Jamie giggled. “We’re already on our way round to yours.”

“Uhh- really?” Stuart asked, his voice gaining a sudden element of panic. “Umm, it’s okay, really, I’ll head round to your place.”

“Why don’t you want me to come to your house?” Jamie asked as she also began to panic at the possibilities- as much as she trusted Stuart, she had cheated on him in the past, and she could never discount the possibility that he might try to get ‘revenge’…

“Umm… Becca’s here,” Stuart said, making Jamie sigh and roll her eyes at her own paranoia.

“Well, it IS her house,” Jamie shrugged.

“Yeah, but-“ Stuart protested.

“She told you about our little ‘disagreement’ this morning,” Jamie sighed. “It’s okay, I’ll stay out of her way, I promise.”

“Becca’s not alone,” Stuart said. “Her whole band’s here.”

“All- all of them?” Jamie asked. “Even-“

“ALL of them,” Stuart confirmed, leading to an awkward pause.

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Jamie said firmly, before ending the call and ignoring Stuart’s subsequent attempts to return her call.

“…Steph’s there, isn’t she?” Charlotte asked, making Jamie once again groan with frustration.

“Yes…” Jamie sighed. “Charlie, I-“

“I’ll take you there,” Charlotte said. “I probably shouldn’t, but I’m taking you there only to see your fiancé, okay?”

“…Okay,” Jamie sighed.

The rest of the car ride was conducted in deathly silence, and as Charlotte pulled up outside the Miltons’ vast home, Jamie found herself gripping her nylon-covered thighs in a vain attempt to relieve her tension.

“Just call Stuart,” Charlotte advised her BFF. “Get him out here, I’ll take you both home, you get to spend the rest of the day with your fiancé, everyone’s happy.”

“I want to at least try to talk to Steph,” Jamie said. “That’s why we came out, that’s why I’m dressed down, that’s what we’re doing.”

“…If you’re sure,” Charlotte sighed. “I’ll keep the engine running…”

“It’s your petrol,” Jamie shrugged as she got out of the car and walked across the driveway toward the front door, which she knocked on without hesitation- though she let out an involuntary wince when the door opened to revealed Becca’s frowning face.

“What the fuck do you want?” Becca growled. “Stu! Your fiancée’s here!”

“I want to see Stephanie,” Jamie said firmly.

“Well get this- she doesn’t want to see you,” Becca retorted. “Take Stuart and leave. Now.”

“Surely it’s Stephanie’s choice who she sees?” Jamie asked.

“It is,” Becca said. “And she’s told me quite clearly that she does. Not. Want. To see. You.” Jamie opened her mouth to argue further, but was interrupted by the sight of a figure appearing behind Becca- not the slender, handsome figure of her fiancé, but the tiny form of Kayla Ford.

“You’ve got some nerve, showing your face here,” Kayla snapped. “After the way you’ve treated Stephanie these past few months, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the one who tipped Dannii off in the first place!”

“If there wasn’t anything to ‘tip off’ Steph wouldn’t even be in this mess!” Jamie angrily retorted.

“You total cow!” Becca spat. “Kayla, can you believe this?”

“At this point in time, I’ll believe anything,” the tiny blonde girl snarled.

“Oh this is rich,” Jamie sighed. “The two of you spend the last eighteen months as bitter rivals, and now all of a sudden, you’re best friends?”

“People change,” Kayla retorted.

“And not always for the better,” Becca said, before breathing a sigh of relief as her brother appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Finally! Here, take your fiancé and GET OUT!” Stuart stared in disbelief as his younger sister forcefully shoved him out of the front door before slamming it in the trio’s faces.

“Umm… Hi,” Stuart said, greeting his fiancée with a gentle kiss. “What- what is it this time?”

“Basically the whole of Out of Heaven,” Jamie sighed Charlotte led them back to her car. “There was yet AOTHER fight at ballet, this time Out of Heaven vs me and Nikki… I take it you’ve seen the stories about Steph?”

“Hard to ignore them, especially will all five of the band holed up at our place,” Stuart sighed. “Guess it was always going to happen eventually… I just- I just wish I knew what was really going on, you know? In her head, I mean…”

“God knows,” Jamie sighed. “When you’re unemployed for a long time, I guess desperation can make you do strange things.”

“Now, in fairness, it’s not like she reluctantly became a woman,” Charlotte said as the trio drove away. “It’s not like she was forced into it, or had no say in the matter…” Jamie bit her lip as Charlotte spoke, remembering the circumstances of the beginning of her own womanhood.

“And she had been a crossdresser for years beforehand,” Stuart said. “You yourself said: just because you wear a skirt, it doesn’t make you a woman.”

“And just because you’re not taking hormones, it doesn’t mean that you’re not,” Jamie sighed. “I know, I know… When you say you are but you aren’t, though THAT makes you a liar.”

“We’ve all made mistakes,” Charlotte whispered as the car headed back to her vast home.

----------

“Can you believe the nerve of that woman?” Becca asked as she and Kayla returned to her bedroom, where Stephanie was sat in front of her dresser in mid-makeover. “And can you believe she tried to stir that shit between us as well?”

“What’s this?” Adeola asked.

“Jamie actually tried to pit us against each other,” Kayla replied. “Tried to make out that we were bitter rivals, like we hated each other.”

“In fairness, you were kinda distant from each other at the start of the band,” Lauren muttered, earning stern stares from both Becca and Kayla.

“…Whose side are you on?” Becca asked.

“Fine, fine,” Lauren said, holding up her hands in mock surrender.

“People change,” Kayla repeated her earlier statement. “Some for the worse, but some very much for the better!” The tiny blonde girl giggled as Becca handed her her ceramic hair straighteners, and she began turning Stephanie’s naturally wavy hair shiny and arrow-straight. At the same time, Becca removed Stephanie’s nutrient face mask and began applying a thick layer of make-up, starting with a matte foundation before adding a light layer of blush, thick mascara and eyeliner, a dark eye shadow and blood-red lipstick.

Whilst her face was being treated, Stephanie’s long fingernails were being reshaped and recoloured with a dark red polish by Adeola, and Lauren was coating her bare, hairless legs and arms with a layer of fake tan. Once her cosmetic treatment was complete, Stephanie squeezed her body- enhanced by a tight control thong and a padded strapless bra- into one of Becca’s tiniest little black dresses, before stepping into a pair of platform stilettos with a dangerous tall 6” heel. With her look complete, and feeling more feminine than she had ever previously felt, Stephanie rose from her ‘make-up chair’ and posed for her four friends, all of whom greeted her with cheers and wolf whistles.

“Hot mama!” Adeola giggled as she photographed Stephanie for her Instagram account. “Anyone who doubts you now should look at these photos, girl, you are SEXY!”

“Who needs oestrogen, eh?” Lauren laughed as she fished around her handbag for her smartphone while Stephanie laughed nervously at her comment.

“Girly and gorgeous!” Becca laughed as she also snapped Stephanie for her Instagram. “You know, it’s kind of a shame NOT to show off such a sexy look to the public…”

“I’d… Really rather not,” Stephanie sighed as she finished posing and sat down on Becca’s bed. “Especially not while the public are still ‘doubting’ me. Have- have there been any stories? You know, on the sidebar of shame, or on other-“

“We’re not telling, and you’re not asking again,” Kayla said firmly. “You know it won’t do you any good to worry about it.”

“Exactly,” Becca said. “So we’re going to have a girly night IN. No public, no fans, no sidebar of shame, just five women, all of whom are 100% feminine, girly, gorgeous and sexy, right?”

“Right!” Kayla cheered. “Does this mean I also get to have a makeover and borrow one of your dresses?”

“…Yes, Kayla, yes it does,” Becca laughed, making the tiny blonde girl cheer and jump into Stephanie’s recently-vacated make-up chair. “Though I hope you brought your own shoes, I haven’t owned any size 2s since I was twelve!”

“You should know by now that good things come in small packages,” Kayla said smugly. “The smaller the package, the better the thing!”

“I’ll remember you said that for your birthday next month!” Adeola teased Kayla, who rolled her eyes and sighed.

Stephanie had a wide grin on her face as she helped with the makeover of all four of her bandmates, though inside, her mind was still in turmoil and her stomach was tying itself in knots with worry. Ever since she joined the band, she’d feared the day that she’d be ‘found out’ by the public, and whether or not it would result in her having to leave the band- or worse yet, have to go into hiding for her own safety. As the first transgendered member of a mainstream girl band, Stephanie had a rarity value that had earned her some criticism from some corners of society (criticism that Stephanie had long since learned to disregard), but vast support from other parts of the world, particularly the LGBT community. Even though the other four members of Out of Heaven were cisgender and heterosexual, Stephanie’s presence was enough to earn the band very well-paying gigs at several LGBT-organised concerts and events, and Stephanie herself got her first ever booking as a solo artist at the London Pride festival the previous June.

However, all of this support Stephanie had received was based on the understanding that Stephanie was a pre-operative transsexual, that she was actively taking steps to live life full-time as a woman and she’d left her old male life behind her, when in fact, virtually none of this was true. Whilst Stephanie had indeed started to live life full-time as a woman, and she had put ‘Steve’- the boy she used to be- firmly in the past, such developments were much, much more recent than she had led her fans to believe- and her hormones were still dominated by the testosterone produced by her fully-functional genitalia. Stephanie knew from experience that this kind of deception would lead to her support vanishing in an instant, and as her four bandmates all slept, the anxiety kept Stephanie awake in her sleeping bag on Becca’s floor.

Silently, so as not to wake the other four women in the impromptu ‘slumber party’, Stephanie slinked across the bedroom floor to her handbag, where she retrieved her smartphone and opened up her browser, where she Googled her own name. The first headline she saw nearly made her drop her phone in shock and brought tears to the corners of her eyes.

‘Still the man she used to be?’ The headline read. ‘Shocking revelations that Stephanie Abbott is not transitioning but still living life as a man in private whilst maintaining a public façade of being a woman.’

“Oh god,” Stephanie whispered, literally throwing her phone back into her handbag before climbing back into her sleeping bag and trying not to cry herself to sleep as a million scenarios, each one worse than the last, passed through her mind.

By the time she eventually woke up the following morning, Stephanie had had little more than an hour’s sleep, but her stress and anxiety had rendered her so tired that she was barely able to open her eyes, whilst her friends were already up and moving about.

“Steph…” Becca cooed as she gently shook the exhausted girl’s shoulder. “Steph, wake up- wait, hang on, have you been crying during the night? Your eyes are all… Oh god, Steph…” Becca sighed as she gave the distraught girl a long, tight hug, which the other three members of Out of Heaven quickly joined in.

“You looked at the sidebar of shame in the night, didn’t you?” Kayla asked, groaning with frustration as Stephanie nodded. “Idiot. You know what the press are like, they’re never there to lift people like us up, only put them down.”

“Fortunately,” Adeola said as she got her own phone, “You’ll always have us and your REAL fans to lift you up.” After drying her eyes, Stephanie stared at the image on Adeola’s phone, which was the Instagram post of the photograph she’d taken the previous evening. Overnight, the post had received over fifty thousand likes, and virtually all of the comments on the post were in support of Stephanie- phrases like ‘there’s no way you were EVER a man’ and ‘I don’t care about hormones, look at those legs’. For every positive comment Stephanie received, however, she knew that there would be at least 3 negative comments that Adeola had either blocked or deleted, and that her Instagram posts typical got a LOT more likes than fifty thousand.

“I- I should get ready,” Stephanie sighed. “Counsellor’s appointment this morning.”

“With Nikki Thomas’s mother-in-law?” Kayla asked. “Even after all the hassle that’s gone down between you two?”

“Beverly’s a total professional,” Stephanie said as she pulled on her underwear from the previous night, followed by a pair of opaque black tights, the tight grey top she wore to the previous day's dance lesson and a plain, straight black skirt that Becca was happy to lend her.

“Okay, if you say so,” Kayla sighed. “It’s just I dunno if I’d be able to confide in someone who, you know, ‘worked for the other side’. She IS Jamie’s counsellor too, you know.”

“She’s also sworn to secrecy about everything- literally everything- I say in there,” Stephanie retorted. “I, um, I told her about, you know, well, ‘you know’, pretty much from the first minute I walked into her office. If I hadn’t had her support these past months… God knows what I’d have done.”

“Besides run off for several weeks?” Lauren asked, leading to an awkward silence within the room.

“Exactly,” Stephanie whispered.

“Do you know what you’re going to say to her today?” Adeola asked. “She’s bound to have seen the reports online…”

“True,” Stephanie whispered as she repaired her severely damaged eye-make-up. “And I know she’ll be able to give me good advice to help me through this. But to answer your question, Addie, yes, I know EXACTLY what I’m going to ask her.”

An hour later, after checking for (and not finding) paparazzi, and with a determined expression on her face, Stephanie coolly strode into the office of Doctor Beverly Phillips, who greeted her with her usual handshake.

“Hi Stephanie,” Beverly said with a sympathetic voice. “I’m glad to see you’re at least looking okay after all that’s happened. Yes, I have read the reports, I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said with a tired grin. “Yeah, it’s been pretty mental the last few days. The band are supporting me, Joshua’s supporting me… But I really, really do need your help.”

“Of course,” Beverly said. “Anything you need, just name it.”

“Good,” Stephanie said with a happy smile. “Because I need a prescription for oestrogen. And I’m not leaving this office without it.”

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

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

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

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

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

“I would, I swear,” Stephanie said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…I understand,” Stephanie whispered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hardly ‘massive’,” Stephanie mumbled.

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

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

“…Kinda,” Stephanie confessed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"...And now?" Stephanie asked.

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

"Exactly," Nikki chuckled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Right!" Lauren cheered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Better?" Stephanie asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That makes two of us," Stephanie sighed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

"Yeah, I guess," Jamie sighed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No, of course not,” Jamie sighed.

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

“…I wish,” Jamie mumbled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And how,” Jamie sighed.

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

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

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

“…And what did you say?” Sarah asked.

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

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

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

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

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

“Umm… I’m not following,” Jamie said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----------

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

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

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

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

“Thanks,” Stephanie breathed nervously.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"...Sorry," Stephanie mumbled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Two more questions," Stephanie said quietly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Uncle Joshua!?" Jonathan asked, his voice filled with panic. "Uncle Joshua! Get up! Please, please get up..."

"Oh my god," Viks gasped as she crouched down beside Joshua. "Steph, call 999! Now!"

"Uh, okay," Stephanie said, fumbling in her bag for her phone as Viks rolled Joshua onto his back and checked his neck.

"He's got a pulse but it's very weak," Viks said.

"What- what do we do?" Jonathan asked, unable to contain his sense of panic.

"Get a first aid kit," Viks said. "If it's a heart attack then he needs aspirin. Joshua... Joshua, can you hear me?" Viks breathed a sigh of relief as the middle-aged man quietly grunted in acknowledgement.

"999, what's your emergency?" Stephanie's telephone said, momentarily startling the girl and bringing her back to reality.

"Uhh... I need an ambulance. Now!" Stephanie said. "The, umm, Heavenly Talent Offices in W4. I mean W2! My bo- my friend, he's... He's having a heart attack."

"An ambulance is on its way," the 999 operator said. "Is he breathing?"

"I think so," Stephanie said as she crouched down beside Joshua.

"Give him space!" Viks hissed at Stephanie, who immediately jumped up, startled by Viks's sudden assertiveness.

"Keep him talking," the 999 operator said. "Make sure he keeps breathing. If possible, give him aspirin, it'll help to thin his blood."

"O-okay," Stephanie mumbled.

"The ambulance will be with you shortly," the operator said. "Make sure he stays conscious and alert until it gets there." Stephanie nodded, her panic making her unaware of how useless such a gesture was in a telephone conversation.

The next ten minutes seemed like ten hours for the four occupants of the spacious office, and when the paramedics finally arrived, Jonathan, Viks and Stephanie were almost hysterical with relief. Stephanie watched, transfixed with fear, as Joshua was attached to an oxygen mask and wrapped in a blanket, before being loaded onto a stretcher and being borne down the stairs of the office and into the waiting ambulance. As Stephanie followed Joshua, however, her panic turned into terror as she looked across the reception area of the agency and her eyes locked with those of Jamie-Lee Burke.

"Steph," Viks whispered, pulling the transwoman's attention away from her nemesis. "You should go home. You did good, okay?"

"O-okay," Stephanie whispered, but the more she withered under Jamie’s gaze, the less convinced she was- especially as Jamie was surrounded by the rest of the Angels, whilst Stephanie was very much alone.

“…What did you do?” Jamie growled at Stephanie, causing the latter’s jaw to drop.

----------

Jamie watched in horror as Joshua- the man who had given her a chance so many years ago, who had supported her through every step of a transition and who had been like a father to her- was wheeled out of his office on a stretcher, his body covered in a blanket and an oxygen mask covering his ashen face. Before Jamie had the chance to process her emotions, however, her attention was drawn to the top of the office’s stairs, and the three figures slowly descending them- the rearmost of whom caused Jamie’s blood to boil. Half an hour earlier, Joshua had been healthy, but after dealing with Stephanie’s problems, he was being taken away in an ambulance. It took no time at all for Jamie to put two and two together.

“What did you do?” Jamie snarled, startling her fellow transwoman.

“Jamie!?” Charlotte asked, shocked by the accusation.

“How- what- why has this happened?” Jamie asked, her eyes remaining fixed on Stephanie’s pale, shocked face.

“He- he had a heart attack,” Viks whispered. “Jamie, it’s hardly Stephanie’s fau-“

“Would he have had the heart attack if he wasn’t busy shovelling her shit?” Jamie growled as tears began to form in Stephanie’s eyes.

“It was at the very worst the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Charlotte pleaded. “He’s been overworked for months, you’ve said so yourself in the past.”

“So she decides to drop more work on him,” Jamie spat. “Knowing that-“

“STOP THIS!” Jonathan bellowed, silencing the entire reception area with his emotion-filled voice. “STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! He- he isn’t even at the fucking hospital yet and all you can do is fling accusations around! Well this isn’t happening! All of you, go home!”

“We- we had a meeting to discuss channels-“ Krystie said quietly.

“Well it’s been cancelled, okay?” Jonathan growled. “Go home! I’ll call you when I need you! IF I need you!” Silently, the women in the reception area all file out of the agency’s front door, none of them able to look each other in the eye as they got in their respective cars to head home. It was only once Jamie and Charlotte were on the road that the silence was broken.

“What the hell, Jamie?” Charlotte asked incredulously. “Here I was, thinking you’d actually changed, that you and Stephanie might actually stand a chance of getting along. Especially now, of all times! With Joshua in hospital, we should be united, not at each other’s throats!”

“Gah- I don’t know, I’m sorry,” Jamie sighed. “I wanted to be open-minded, I wanted to start to like Steph again, but I just went in there, seeing Joshua, then looking Steph in the face, I- I dunno. I’ll apologise to her later.”

“It’d be best for now if you two just stayed away from each other,” Charlotte said quietly.

“Oh, I agree 100%,” Jamie said. “Especially as we still have no idea what’s happening with our show…”

“Jonathan’s another person who we need to give a break,” Charlotte said. “He was deputy manager of the agency, that means he’s in charge now.”

“…And he couldn’t have picked a worse time to take over,” Jamie mumbled.

“Which is-“ Charlotte began, before being interrupted by her BFF.

“Which is why we need to be united, to support him,” Jamie said. “I know, I know… I promise, next time I see Steph, I keep my mouth shut, okay?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Charlotte said, earning a snort of laughter from the two women as they approached their vast home.

----------

Immediately after walking through her front door, Stephanie kicked off her stilettos, took off her fitted suit jacket and collapsed onto her sofa, before letting out a long, anguished scream.

“Stephanie!?” Mrs. Abbott called from the kitchen. “Stephanie… What’s happened?”

“Every time!” Stephanie wailed as tears flowed freely from her eyes. “Every time I think things are going right for me…”

“Oh, Steph…” The distraught woman’s mother said, sitting down next to her daughter and giving her a long, comforting hug as she wept. “Tell me what happened, please let me know how I can help…”

“It- it’s Joshua,” Stephanie sobbed. “We- we were talking to the press, then he- he just collapsed… It’s all my fault! It’s all my…”

“Shh, shh,” Mrs. Abbott said soothingly. “How can it possibly be your fault?”

“I- I don’t know,” Stephanie moaned.

“Then it obviously wasn’t your fault,” Mrs. Abbott said. “You said he just collapsed?”

“Ye-yeah,” Stephanie sniffled. “They say it was a heart attack…”

“Well they can be brought on by anything,” Mrs. Abbott said. “Take it from someone who’s seen literally hundreds of people suffering from one.”

“Then it could have been me…” Stephanie wailed.

“NO!” Mrs. Abbott said firmly. “Listen to me. You are NOT to blame for this, no matter what you or anyone else thinks! You’ve been in such a good place lately, you are not letting this ruin it! I’m sure when- WHEN, not if- Joshua gets out of hospital he’ll greet you with that wide grin and loud laugh of his, same as he always does.”

“…I don’t know,” Stephanie moaned, before looking at her mother in confusion as the middle-aged woman shoved her phone into her palm.

“You know several people who DO know,” Mrs. Abbott said. “Your band. Call them round, they’ll help you out.”

“But- but Adeola will have gone to the hospital,” Stephanie whined. “To be with her uncle…”

“Then at the very least, call Kayla,” Mrs. Abbott ordered. “She’s not gone home to Southampton this weekend, has she?”

“I- I don’t think so,” Stephanie sniffled.

“She’s always been there when you needed her,” Mrs. Abbott said. “And you need her now. Three hours ago you had a smile on your face and a spring in your step, Stephanie. You WILL get that back. I promise.”

“It doesn’t feel like it right now,” Stephanie moaned.

“It never does when you’re depressed,” Mrs. Abbott whispered. “But you’ll get better. So will Joshua. You said you talked to the press, that went well, didn’t it?”

“Well, I- I guess,” Stephanie said.

“Then you’ve had a win today,” Stephanie’s mother. “So call Kayla, get her round here. There aren’t many days I’m willing to wait hand and foot on you and your friends, take advantage of them!” Stephanie giggled as she composed her text message to Kayla, inviting her around to her house. Fifteen minutes later, the two women were, as always, sat on the sofa gossiping and gaming, and desperately trying to make Stephanie forget about all of her worries- though both women kept one eye on their phones, waiting for news from the hospital about their manager.

----------

“We came as soon as we heard,” Nikki said, giving Jamie a hug as the blonde woman let her and Sarah into her home. “Katie and Lauren are on their way. Is there any news?”

“Not yet,” Jamie sighed as she led the young couple into the house’s vast main function room where Hannah and Charlotte were already waiting, along with many more of Joshua’s clients whose names Nikki didn’t know or didn’t remember. “Adeola’s at the hospital with him, so’s Judith, Joshua’s wife.”

“How did this happen, anyway?” Sarah asked.

“I don’t know,” Jamie sighed. “When I got there they were already wheeling him out on a stretcher… Only people who were there were Viks, Jon and…”

“…And?” Sarah asked.

“…And Stephanie,” Jamie said with a long, frustrated sigh. “I know it’s bad, but I still reckon if it hadn’t been for her pushing him to do an impromptu press conference, he wouldn’t have had his heart attack.”

“How- how is SHE feeling?” Sarah asked. “I mean, that must be a pretty traumatic thing to see…”

“Especially when people started having a go at her immediately afterward,” Charlotte interjecting, earning an angry stare from Jamie.

“I think she got a taxi home,” Jamie mumbled. “God, why does this always happen?”

“What do you mean?” Nikki asked.

“When Charlotte’s son was born, it was literally a week after my grandmother died,” Jamie mused. “Now Mary’s baby’s due any time now, and Joshua…”

“Don’t speak like that!” Charlotte moaned, tears welling in her eyes. “Last we heard he was still alive, and he’s going to stay that way. I refuse, I REFUSE to believe otherwise.”

“Either way, he won’t be back at work for a while,” Nikki sighed. “My grandfather was off his feet for a month after he had a heart scare a couple of years ago, and that wasn’t even a full-blown attack.”

“Yeah, but your granddad’s in his seventies,” Sarah reminded her fiancée. “Joshua’s 55, and he’s every bit as tough as he looks.”

“Who’s running the agency now?” Nikki asked. “Jon?”

“Yep,” Jamie sighed. “Poor guy nearly had a freak out in the reception area just a few minutes after finding himself in charge.”

“Wonder why,” Charlotte said in a snide voice that nearly caused Jamie’s blood to boil. “’Scuse me.”

“Oh- please tell me the two of you aren’t fighting too?” Nikki sighed.

“Ugh,” Jamie moaned as she led the young couple to a comfortable sofa, where the three women elegantly sat down with their knees pressed tightly together. “It- it’s nothing really. Well, it’s something, it’s this whole ‘Steph’ thing, Charlotte thinks I’m being too hard on her. Maybe I am, I dunno, but the evidence just speaks for itself. Okay, so maybe the heart attack WASN’T Steph’s fault, but you can’t deny she’s caused Joshua way more than his fair share of stress this last year… God knows she has me.”

“Definitely,” Nikki sighed. “If it wasn’t for this whole Steph thing, Joshua would’ve been able to focus on Constellation, rather than put out yet another one of her fires.”

“…But it was Dannii’s fault, surely?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, definitely,” Jamie said. “But if she hadn’t had anything to leak to the press…”

“I don’t think any of the Angels have any ‘dark secrets’, do they?” Nikki asked. “Or any of the other members of Out of Heaven?”

“Nope!” Jamie said. “Thing about being famous- as you two will no doubt learn some day- you really do have to be squeaky clean, whiter than white.”

“Even when you’re not famous,” Nikki laughed, before turning to her fiancée. “Remember how pissed we got at your nineteenth?”

“I’d be lying if I said I remembered ANYTHING about that night,” Sarah snorted. “Only time I’ve ever been still drunk the following morning. Remember my stepmother really tearing into me about it, though.” Nikki opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of her phone- and the phones of everyone in the room- alerting her to a new message.

“It’s from Adeola,” Jamie said. “Joshua’s in a critical but stable condition, they needed to operate to remove a blood clot from one of his arteries.”

“But he’s recovering?” Nikki asked.

“…Time will tell,” Jamie sighed. “Apparently Becca’s there with the family, so’s Viks. Guessing Jon’s still at the agency trying to get the hang of things.”

“And the rest of Out of Heaven?” Sarah asked.

“Who cares?” Jamie snorted. “Probably gone to stay with their families for the weekend.”

“Speaking of,” Sarah said, standing up.

“Whe- where are you going?” Nikki asked, surprised by her fiancée’s sudden departure.

“I said I’d help mum in the garden this afternoon,” Sarah said, before giggling. “I actually said WE’D help, but if you’re not feeling up to any physical exertion-“

“Give my love to Beverly,” Nikki said, bidding her fiancée farewell with a gentle kiss.

“Aah, you two are too cute!” Jamie sighed tiredly.

“I love her,” Nikki sighed as she watched Sarah’s pert bottom, wrapped in its tiny black skirt, retreat away from her. “I honestly, truly wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for her. I mean, obviously, I owe you a lot too, but Sarah… She is my soul mate.”

“So cute,” Jamie giggled. “Is she really going to do garden work in that skirt? Every time I set foot in our garden it’s like my tights get instantly shredded…”

“Mine too,” Nikki sighed as she adjusted her skin-tight legwear. “Kinda why I avoid our back garden like the plague, ours AND Sarah’s heh. Well, unless we’re sunbathing, anyway! Didn’t get to do too much of that this summer though, for obvious reasons…”

“Oh trust me, you will,” Jamie said with a giggle. “The bruising’s already faded, right?”

“Yeah,” Nikki whispered as she examined her blemish-free thighs through her translucent tights. “Still a little swollen, though…”

“That will go REALLY quick,” Jamie laughed. “You’ll be rocking the absolute tiniest lingerie and swimwear before you know it, guaranteed!”

“Not to mention ‘wearing’ things ‘in’ rather than just ‘on’,” Nikki said with a sly grin. “Artificial things, of course, and Sarah will be the only one actually ‘clothing’ me, but still…”

“You go, girl!” Jamie teased the blushing teenager. “Love having someone to have proper ‘girl talks’ with.”

“Umm, the rest of the Angels not good enough for you?” Nikki asked, earning a stuck-out tongue from her mentor.

“You know what I mean,” Jamie said, rolling her eyes. “Heh, you’re the only other person who knows what I mean, especially now you’ve got an ‘innie’ rather than an ‘outie’… God knows I’m probably never going to have this conversation with Steph…” Nikki sighed sympathetically- like Jamie, she’d tried to get to know Stephanie and had tried her hardest to like her, but if the events of the past week were anything to go by, those efforts were all in vain.

Nikki had taken the ultimate final step in her commitment to living life as a woman, whilst Stephanie had yet to take what was, in Nikki’s eyes, the first step. However, in her dealings with young transgendered people, Nikki had spoken to many young men and women who were confused about their gender identity, unsure about whether or not to fully commit to the life they had chosen. It had never occurred to Nikki that Stephanie- a woman a year older than her- might have been in the same situation as those confused, often frightened teenagers.

----------

“Any news yet?” Stephanie asked Kayla as the tiny blonde woman checked Facebook on her phone.

“Nope,” Kayla sighed. “Nothing from Addie OR Jon yet… Steph, I’m really, really worried…”

“I think everyone is,” Stephanie sighed as she browsed the games menu on her Xbox. “Never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I really don’t feel like gaming right now. We- we should be there, you know? Be there for Joshua, or at the very least for Addie.”

“Becca’s with her,” Kayla mumbled. “But I know what you mean… If you hadn’t called I’d probably have come round myself, heh. Don’t want to be alone today…”

“Lauren still in Scotland?” Stephanie asked.

“Yep,” Kayla said with a nod. “I’ve sent her text messages but not heard anything back yet. Almost wishing I hadn’t chucked Rob now…”

“You WILL find someone,” Stephanie said, giving the young woman’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Hell, it’s not like you don’t have guys flinging themselves at you left, right and centre!”

“I’ve told you before,” Kayla sighed. “I don’t want A guy, I want THE guy… If they’re flinging themselves at me it’s only because of my fame, not who I am as a person… God, feel selfish thinking about this, now of all times?”

“Sorry, shouldn’t have brought it up,” Stephanie sighed, before being interrupted by a knock at the front door.

“…You expecting something from Amazon?” Kayla asked.

“No…” Stephanie said, answering the door and gasping when she saw who was stood on her doorstep.

“Hi, Stephanie,” Sarah said in a soft, timid voice. “Can- can I come in, please?”

“What are you doing here?” Stephanie asked. “I thought we weren’t supposed to have any contact with each other?”

“We’re not going to resolve our differences by not talking,” Sarah said. “And we DO have differences to resolve.”

“Who is it?” Kayla asked, before also gasping at the sight of the brown-haired girl on Stephanie’s doorstep. “What- what do you want?”

“I want to apologise,” Sarah said. “For anything I said or did that made you- either of you- stressed, or upset, or depressed… This ‘war’ has gone on long enough.”

“…Apology accepted,” Kayla mumbled. “And if- if I said or did anything to hurt you, or, um, or Nikki, then I, um, I apologise too.”

“So do I,” Stephanie whispered. “Is- is Nikki with you?”

“No,” Sarah mumbled, her cheeks starting to flush with embarrassment. “Just me. I, um, I nearly brought my mum round, heh. Figured you might need help, I kinda heard what happened at the agency. Not just Joshua, I mean, but what Jamie said, what she did.”

“Ugh,” Stephanie spat. “What’d help the most is NOT hearing that woman’s name ever again!”

“Well, like it or not, we ARE all Heavenly Talent girls, even Jamie,” Sarah sighed as she followed Stephanie into her living room. “Much as she’s been pissing me off lately…”

“Oh, preach!” Kayla said, making the women all giggle.

“And for what it’s worth,” Sarah said, “I genuinely don’t know who told Dannii about you. I know it wasn’t me or Nikki. I doubt it was Katie. Lauren… I dunno. She was always close with Dannii, but recently…”

“That’s your Lauren, right?” Stephanie asked. “The black-haired girl?”

“Yeah,” Sarah said with a nod.

“I remember ‘our’ Lauren getting shit from Becca and Adeola for having the same name when our band first started,” Kayla snorted. “I- I’m sorry I accused you and Nikki of spilling to Dannii. It’s just- this whole ‘Constellation’ thing, you know?”

“Constellation are more of a competitor to the Angels than to Out of Heaven, aren’t they?” Sarah asked. “I thought their quote-unquote band was a duo?”

“It’s still competition,” Stephanie shrugged.

“And as you said,” Kayla snorted, “we’re all Heavenly Talent girls. What affects one of us affects all of us.”

“Ugh, please tell no one you said that,” Sarah laughed. “I don’t need to spend my free time making Musketeer costumes for your birthday next month! Was bad enough making all those kimonos for your brother’s Japanese party in July!"

“You have to admit,” Stephanie giggled, “it WAS fun wearing the geisha make-up, though!”

“Except when you had to touch your face for any reason,” Kayla snorted. “And it was JULY, couldn’t you have made the kimonos out of a slightly lighter fabric?”

“Danny wanted it to be authentic,” Sarah shrugged. “Think he was suffering more in that samurai armour, heh!”

“Good,” Stephanie said, earning giggles from the other two women. “Have you heard anything yet about Joshua?”

“Last I heard they were operating to remove a blood clot,” Sarah sighed. “Condition is critical but it’s a pretty routine operation. I’m sure he’ll be fine, he might just need to tone the volume down a bit, that’s all.”

“Meh, he’ll have, like, 999 decibels left,” Kayla shrugged, earning more giggles. “We were in the middle of a gaming session, want to join us?”

“I… I never really had a videogame growing up,” Sarah said with a grimace. “Mum’s kinda conservative, reckoned my time would be better spent reading, or practising for one of my after-school clubs. Plus… She kinda… Ugh, I’m not- I’m not saying this.”

“No, it’s okay,” Stephanie whispered.

“She kinda… Thought they weren’t very ladylike,” Sarah sighed. “I mean, I asked for an Xbox for my fifteenth birthday, all the kids at school were going mad about it as that Game of Thrones-style adventure game had just come out. Even Nikki spent ages playing it.”

“What, Skyrim?” Stephanie asked. “Yeah, I remember Danny getting me that for Christmas that year. Mum wasn't happy when she saw that 18 certificate on the front, especially as I was only fifteen at the time!"

“Yep,” Sarah giggled. “Mum took one look at a video of it and was horrified and that was the end of that discussion. Thought Xboxes were just for teenage boys who spend their whole lives wanking into a sock. Umm, no offence…”

“None taken,” Kayla said, interrupting Stephanie before she had a chance to speak and making her laugh.

“None from me either,” Stephanie giggled, sticking her tongue out at Kayla. “And for the record, I have NEVER wanked into a sock. OR a pair of tights. And strangely enough, your mum’s always encouraged me to pursue the hobbies I used to enjoy when I was ‘Steve’, with gaming basically being top of that list.”

“Oh, well, if it’s my mum’s professional opinion…” Sarah giggled, grabbing a game controller from the coffee table and settling into the sofa with her two friends to while away the rest of the afternoon playing videogames- though all three women kept an eye on their mobile phones for any updates on their boss’s condition.

----------

“Hi Beverly,” Nikki said as she walked through the front door of her fiancée’s house, kicking off her heels and collapsing into the sofa. “Isn’t Sarah here? Don’t see her car on the drive…”

“Hi Nikki!” Sarah’s mother replied from the kitchen. “No, I thought she was with you all day? How is Joshua, anyway?”

“Umm, out of surgery, which is something,” Nikki said. “Recovering in intensive care but they say he’s stable, so fingers crossed. Sarah said she was coming home to help you in the garden, didn’t she?”

“Sarah, helping me in the garden?” Beverly said with a laugh. “She knows full well that we hire a gardener, and I don’t think she’s even set foot in that garden in over a year.”

“…Oh,” Nikki said, her face falling as she learned of Sarah’s deception.

“Oh, um, I’m sure she’s back at your place,” Beverly said, immediately sensing Nikki’s worry. “Or at your friends’ new flat. Probably planning a special surprise or something. Your three month anniversary is coming up, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, on Wednesday,” Nikki said, smiling as she rubbed her nylon-covered thighs together. “Would’ve thought she’d wait until then…”

“Well, you know Sarah,” Beverly laughed. “She likes to make a fuss!”

“Yeah,” Nikki said in a flat voice. “I should, um, I should get back to my place, see if she’s there…”

“Oh, um, if she’s planning a surprise, that might not be the best idea,” Beverly said, bringing the smile back to Nikki’s face.

“…So she IS planning a surprise, then?” Nikki asked. “Huh, figured she’d have come up with a better cover story than ‘helping you in the garden’.”

“She’s probably just worried about Joshua, forgot her planned cover story,” Beverly said.

“Yeah… Yeah, that’s probably it,” Nikki said with a grin. “Wonder what the surprise is… Been ages since I last had a good pampering session.”

“You and Sarah have been practically living at the salon over the last few weeks!” Beverly laughed. “It’s a wonder either of you have any fingernails left!” Nikki giggled as she examined her immaculately-sculpted, crimson fingernails.

“Very true,” Nikki giggled. “They are constantly growing, though, which means that they do need constant care…”

“And besides,” Beverly said, “it’s the three month mark… You know how significant THAT is.”

“Yeah…” Nikki whispered as her imagination began to wonder just what surprise Sarah had in store.

Two hours later, Sarah walked through her front door with a smile on her face and was greeted by a long, deep kiss from her fiancée, which only served to widen her grin.

“You’re happy,” Sarah giggled.

“You’re back,” Nikki said with a smug grin, before Sarah another kiss. “So… Picking up gardening tools?” Nikki smiled sympathetically as Sarah grimaced, having been caught out in her lie.

“Sorry…” Sarah grimaced.

“It’s okay,” Nikki said. “Especially as I know where you REALLY were.”

“Really- you’re okay with it?” Sarah asked as she sat down next to her fiancée.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Nikki giggled.

“Well,” Sarah said, “I just figured the history between you and Stephanie-“

“Stephanie!?” Nikki exclaimed. “What- what’s Stephanie got to do with this?”

“…Where did you think I was?” Sarah asked nervously.

“Preparing a special surprise,” Nikki answered. “For my three months since SRS on Wednesday… You- you were with Stephanie all this time?”

“Yeah,” Sarah whispered, making Nikki groan. “Nikki, please try to understand, I didn’t- I didn’t want to lie to you, but with Jamie there, I- I just didn’t know what to do.”

“Go on,” Nikki said, breaking the awkward pause that filled the room.

“The way Jamie was going on,” Sarah said, wiping a tear away from her eye, “I- I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I know she’s your friend, I know she’s your mentor, but- but- ugh.”

“…She does make some valid points,” Nikki whispered. “Stephanie DID lie to us all, she made me feel really uncomfortable when the truth came out about her-“

“I assure you, she felt just as uncomfortable, if not more,” Sarah said. “She’s had people constantly judging her ever since she returned. I should know, I was one of those people.”

“So- so why are you now on her side?” Nikki asked.

“Just because I’m on her side doesn’t mean I’m not on yours,” Sarah said, squeezing her fiancée’s hand supportively. “You come first, always. But Stephanie’s in a lot of confusion, a lot of pain, even. You’ve helped so, so many kids over the last few years, haven’t you?”

“Well- yes,” Nikki said. “Stephanie’s hardly a kid, though, I mean, she’s older than me. Not by much, but still…”

“Does that mean that she doesn’t need help?” Sarah asked. “And I can’t think of anyone better to help her than you, Nikki. Jamie’s supposed to be her mentor but let’s face it, in that role, she’s failed.”

“I guess…” Nikki mumbled.

“I’m sorry,” Sarah sighed, resting her head on Nikki’s shoulder. “This- I shouldn’t have done this, at least, not without talking to you first.”

“It’s okay,” Nikki whispered. “I forgive you, of course I forgive you, and I always will.”

“Thanks,” Sarah sniffled. “You know… I reckon you and Stephanie have a lot more in common than you might think.”

“Apart from our genitals?” Nikki asked, making Sarah laugh.

“Being a woman’s about more than what you keep in your knickers,” Sarah laughed. “You taught me that over the last five years, remember? Got a good refresher on that from Steph today too.”

“Sounds like I could use a refresher as well,” Nikki mumbled.

“I didn’t say that,” Sarah said. “I’d never say that, I know how much this life means to you. So again, I’m sorry. If you’d rather I stayed away from Steph-“

“No, I’m not going to tell you who to be friends with,” Nikki laughed. “I- I just want you to trust me a bit more, okay?”

“Okay,” Sarah said with a tired grin, before kissing her fiancée deeply, making sure Nikki knew just how much she loved her.

As she laid in bed later that night, though, Nikki struggled to get to sleep. The transgendered woman had always felt that Sarah’s presence in bed next to her was a source of infinite comfort, but for the first time ever, it was making Nikki uneasy. She had always been honest and upfront with Sarah, and Sarah had always been honest and upfront with her, but Sarah’s actions in approaching Stephanie troubled Nikki greatly. As much as she tried to write it off as jealousy or paranoia, she still couldn’t shake the worry that her feelings for Sarah- or worse yet, Sarah’s feelings for her- had changed.

----------

“Ugh,” Stuart moaned as Jamie rolled over in bed and her long blonde hair flopped into his face. “Stop that… I know you’re worried about him, I am too, but please try to get some sleep…”

“Sorry,” Jamie moaned, sighing as she checked the time on her phone. “3:40… Still no news.”

“Joshua’s wife will probably be asleep too, like we should be,” Stuart grunted.

“Yes, I know,” Jamie sighed.

“And it’s tomorrow you should be unable to sleep,” Stuart said with a quiet giggle.

“Yes, yes, I know,” Jamie sighed. “Hardly the happiest birthday I’ll have ever had, even including last year…”

“Just means I’ll have to work extra hard,” Stuart said, gently kissing Jamie’s smooth, bare neck. “Though obviously any ‘extra hard’ present will have to wait a few weeks…”

“My parents always used to tell me off when I broke my presents immediately after getting them,” Jamie giggled.

“Same here,” Stuart laughed. “’Course, all my presents when I was eight were Barbie dolls or dressing up outfits…”

“Neither of us had the happiest childhood,” Jamie sighed.

“I remember you saying,” Stuart whispered. “What was it you said, ‘didn’t know who I really was until I was in my late teens’?”

“Didn’t even have any thoughts of crossdressing until I was well into my teens,” Jamie said.

“Not knowing who you truly are inside…” Stuart mumbled. “Remind you of anyone?” Stuart grimaced as his fiancée’s face screwed up into a frown, before the transgendered woman clamped a pillow over her face and screamed into it.

“Really?” Jamie asked incredulously. “Even here?”

“…Sorry,” Stuart mumbled.

“I guess you’re not wrong, though,” Jamie sighed. “And she definitely didn’t deserve the rinsing she got from the press.”

“Hell, no one does,” Stuart sighed. “Look, I- I’m sorry I brought her up, it’s just- you know? I have to work with her, and she and Becca have grown close too. Feel like I’m caught in the middle of a catfight, and I’ve had more than enough of those for one lifetime.”

“…Sorry,” Jamie sighed. “Just- just try to get back to sleep, okay? If we get the call from the hospital to go down there I want to be rested.”

“The call for Joshua or the call for Mary?” Stuart asked, making Jamie snort with laughter.

“Never rains, but it pours…” Jamie sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to get even the tiniest amount of sleep.

----------

“Feeling a little better this morning?” Stephanie’s mother asked as the brown-haired woman flopped into a kitchen chair. “You look a lot better than yesterday.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said with a tired, snorted laugh. “What’s for breakfast?”

“’Good morning mum, and how are you today?’” Mrs. Abbott said in a mocking voice, making her daughter groan.

“Morning, mum,” Stephanie sighed. “Sorry, didn’t get much sleep last night, I kept checking my phone.”

“…And any news?” Mrs. Abbott asked.

“It looks like he’s gonna be fine,” Stephanie said, earning a sigh of relief from her mother. “He’ll be in hospital at least another week, though. And… That wasn’t the only reason I was checking my phone.”

“To see what reaction there was to your press conference yesterday?” Mrs. Abbott asked.

“Yep,” Stephanie whispered. “Hardly any websites reported on it…”

“They’re probably still writing up their story,” Mrs. Abbott shrugged.

“24 hours later?” Stephanie asked. “Maybe if they were putting it in a newspaper, but on a website…?”

“Well look at it this way, then,” Mrs. Abbott said, clearly frustrated by her daughter’s pessimism. “These kinds of newspapers only ever publish bad news, right? They only ever set out to tear down famous people like you?”

“Usually, yeah,” Stephanie snorted.

“So maybe no news is good news?” Mrs. Abbott asked. “They can’t report anything negative about you anymore, so they’re choosing not to report anything at all?”

“It’s a nice thought,” Stephanie laughed. “They’re probably just waiting for my next screw up so they can slaughter me again.”

“Well then it’s obvious what you need to do,” Mrs. Abbott said with a smug grin. “And that’s ‘not screw up’.”

“Easier said than done,” Stephanie snorted.

“Oh, I dunno,” Mrs. Abbott giggled. “You made a new friend yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Well- yeah, I guess,” Stephanie said. “She might be coming over again today, might be bringing Nikki with her.”

“Another transgendered girl?” Mrs. Abbott asked, smiling as Stephanie nodded. “Good, then that means another friend for you!”

“Hopefully,” Stephanie said.

“Who knows,” Mrs. Abbott laughed, “maybe this time next week you and that Jamie girl will be friends again!”

“I wouldn’t go THAT far,” Stephanie chuckled as she drank her coffee, before heading through to her living room and awaiting the arrival of her friends.

----------

Jamie forced a tired smile onto her face as she heard the unmistakable sound of her godson’s laughter coming from her kitchen. The smile remained on her face as she entered the kitchen to see the tiny boy being fed his breakfast by his father, though her smile began to fade when the boy’s mother stared at her with a neutral expression on her face.

“Morning, Charlie,” Jamie said as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down opposite the father and son.

“Morning, Jamie,” Charlotte replied. “You going to your parents’ today?”

“Umm, no,” Jamie replied. “Going to see them tomorrow, umm, you know, for my birthday…”

“I see,” Charlotte said, leading to an awkward pause that was broken by a loud, masculine groan.

“Really?” Keith asked with a long, drawn-out sight. “Whatever happened to ‘BFFs’?”

“That’s a good question,” Jamie said, earning an angry sigh from Charlotte.

“You know the answer,” Charlotte growled. “The closest thing I have to a father might be on his deathbed for all I know, my career’s just been nuked and my best friend is tearing apart the closest thing I ever had to a group of siblings!”

“What the hell did I do!?” Jamie asked, before groaning as Keith junior began to cry. “Sorry, sorry…”

“I’ll take him into the living room,” Keith senior whispered, picking up his son and leaving the two women alone in the kitchen.

“…I am sorry,” Jamie sighed. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice...”

“He’s a sensitive boy,” Charlotte shrugged. “It’s not the first time he’s cried, and it won’t be the last. Making Stephanie cry, on the other hand…”

“Ugh,” Jamie moaned, lowering her head to the table and allowing her long, blonde hair to splay out from her head. “I don’t recall ever actually making her ‘cry’. It’s not like she’s got the hormones for it, anyway…”

“Yeah, THAT isn’t helping,” Charlotte snorted, making Jamie moan again.

“What exactly do you want from me, Charlie?” Jamie asked. “Do you want me to apologise to Stephanie?”

“It’d be a start,” Charlotte whispered. “What’d also be good is you remembering exactly where you came from, exactly why ‘Jamie-Lee Burke’ exists in the first place. Because as I recall, when you were nineteen years old- not THAT much younger than Steph- you didn’t have any oestrogen in your blood either, and unlike her, I’m guessing you didn’t want any?”

“…I don’t regret it,” Jamie said as she stared down at her highly feminine figure, at the two tender mounds protruding from her chest, at her narrow waist and widened hips and at the soft, hairless legs poking out from the bottom of her dressing gown. “Becoming Jamie-Lee is the best thing that ever happened to me and if I had to do it all again, I would.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Charlotte said. “But can you honestly say that, if it wasn’t for me, you’d be a woman today?”

“…Probably not,” Jamie moaned. “I don’t know WHAT I’d be. I don’t even know if I’d still be alive…” Charlotte let out a long sigh at Jamie’s attempt to manipulate her emotions, but despite herself, she still sat down next to the transgendered woman and gave her a long, tender hug.

“We both owe each other a lot,” Charlotte mumbled into Jamie’s shoulder.

“THAT’s for sure,” Jamie chuckled. “What does this have to do with Steph, anyway?”

“A chronically unemployed man in his early twenties gets the opportunity to live life as a successful, rich woman,” Charlotte said. “But in order to live that life successfully, he must hide a secret from his closest friends. Who am I talking about: James Travis or Stephen Abbott?”

“…I don’t know,” Jamie conceded. “But once I committed to that life, I COMMITTED. Without hesitation.”

“Only thanks to help from me,” Charlotte said. “Pulling in favours with doctors to fast-track your hormone treatments, not to mention that healthy boost to your bank balance. A balance, I should point out, that’s currently bigger than mine.”

“I tried to do the same for Stephanie,” Jamie mumbled. “Who’ll probably be richer than either of us in a few months’ time.”

“But not everybody’s the same as you,” Charlotte whispered. “Hell, we, you and I, look almost identical, but you know we’re totally different people regardless of how we were born.”

“If you’d chosen Stephen Abbott for your ‘duplicate’,” Jamie whispered, “he’d probably have jumped for joy when he woke up dressed as a woman, rather than spend the first ten minutes panicking. Steph always said she’d crossdressed or dreamed about it from an early age.”

“It’s her life,” Charlotte said. “She’s entitled to live it however she wants. And the truth’s now out, she has nothing to hide. Her fans have accepted her. We’ve mostly accepted her. And Joshua’s accepted her. What better ‘welcome home’ present could there be than for him to see all of his girls- ALL of his girls- united?”

“United against Constellation?” Jamie asked.

“If that’s what it takes,” Charlotte shrugged.

“…Okay, okay,” Jamie sighed. “I’ll apologise to Stephanie, I’ll try to build a bridge, get to know her better. AFTER my birthday. On Tuesday.”

“Tuesday it is,” Charlotte said, giving Jamie another long, tight hug.

“When did you become the most sensible one of us, anyway?” Jamie asked. “Five years ago you wanted to wear a skin-tight red unitard on national television…” Jamie giggled as Charlotte blushed at the memory of her younger self, before letting out a long, happy sigh.

“It was about the same time I became a mother,” Charlotte whispered. “I want little Keithy to have as many aunts and uncles as possible.”

“…Still wish he’d been a girl?” Jamie asked quietly.

“Every day,” Charlotte sighed, prompting Jamie to give her a tight hug. “But I’ll love him no matter what gender he is, or what gender he chooses to be in the future. And besides, I can always try for another girl… God knows Keith and I are getting enough practice there!” Jamie gave Charlotte a playful shove as both women stood up and headed through to the living room, giggling at the sight of their partners playing on the floor with the tiny infant. The week had taken its toll on Jamie, as it had with all the other women, but after her talk with Charlotte- and the rejuvenation of her friendship- she felt ready to take on the world- even if that meant swallowing a large chunk of humble pie for Stephanie.

----------

“Hey,” Stephanie said as she opened her front door and greeted Sarah with a long, friendly hug. “Hey, Nikki…” Stephanie and Nikki both giggled awkwardly as they approached each other, laughing even louder as they shared a hug.

“Are we the first here?” Sarah asked as she and her fiancée followed Stephanie into her living room.

“Yeah,” Stephanie said. “Kayla will be here in a bit, Lauren- our Lauren- is still in Scotland, Becca and Adeola are obviously still at the hospital…”

“Any- any news?” Nikki asked.

“Still in intensive care,” Stephanie whispered. “But recovering fast. Addie says the surgery was a complete success. He may even be back at work within a month.”

“Good,” Nikki said softly. “And- and any news on how, umm, how Jon’s coping?”

“…Not yet,” Stephanie mumbled. “I’m going to see him tomorrow- the whole band is- see what we can do to help out. Joshua left some BIG shoes to fill.”

“Well, now that Jamie’s got her degree, she might be able to help a bit with the admin side of things,” Sarah said.

“Ugh, if you say so,” Stephanie snorted. “I- I’m sorry, I just don’t want to even THINK about her right now. This whole week wouldn’t have been as a big a disaster as it was if she hadn’t been such a total bitch…”

“…Hard to argue with that,” Nikki sighed. “Though you and I didn’t exactly help, either.”

“Maybe not,” Stephanie shrugged, before a grin crept across her face. “Doesn’t mean it’s too late to make up for it, though. Especially after what Sarah told me yesterday…”

“Okay…” Nikki said with a puzzled grin. “And what, exactly did Sarah tell you?”

“Just answer me this question,” Stephanie said, her grin widening. “Empire or Stormcloaks?”

“Ahh,” Nikki said, “memories. And… Stormcloak.”

“Me too,” Stephanie giggled as Sarah looked on in bewilderment. “Had to really, I WAS playing a Nord.”

“Argonian,” Nikki said. “God, I loved that game… Got my mum and dad to buy it for Christmas that year even though I was only fourteen. Advantages of being the only child- well, at the time, anyway- you get spoiled, heh. Plus mum and dad thought it’d draw my attention away from girls.”

“Which obviously worked,” Sarah giggled, wrapping her arms around Nikki’s slender waist.

“Shouldn’t need to ask which gender your character was, should I?” Stephanie asked with a giggle.

“Nope!” Nikki said, prompting a mass giggle.

“And you never thought to introduce Sarah to the wonders of Tamriel?” Stephanie asked.

“Ehh…” Nikki grimaced, letting out a light giggle. “Whenever we spent time together, we kinda- we kinda had ‘other’ hobbies.”

“…Ah,” Stephanie said, letting out a light giggle of her own. “God, you’re so lucky, having a friend like Sarah…”

“Having a fiancée like Sarah!” Nikki said, prompting another mass giggle. “But you’ve not exactly done bad yourself, I mean, you’re rich, famous, gorgeous and girly, all without the help of hormones, right?”

“If you say so,” Stephanie shrugged.

“I DO say so,” Nikki said firmly. “And… I’m sorry. If at any point I made your life hard, or stressed you out, or did anything wrong, I apologise, I really, truly do.”

“…And I’m sorry too,” Stephanie said. “I’ve not exactly behaved brilliantly toward you two over this past week. Friends?”

“…Friends,” Nikki said, giving Stephanie a tight, genuine hug. “Any time you want to have a chat about, well, girl shit, you just ask, I’ll always respond.”

“I will,” Stephanie said, letting out a tired giggle. “God, it’s so weird, you know? I mean, you’re a year younger than me, but you’re actually at the end of your journey and I’m not even at the start of it.”

“Well, like a very clever woman told me,” Nikki said, squeezing her fiancée’s hand, “everybody goes down their ‘journey’ at different speeds. You’ll get there eventually, Steph. Five years from now, I reckon you’ll be just as ‘inward’ as me, heh.”

“God, I dunno,” Stephanie sighed. “I pass out every time I have to have an injection, the thought of major surgery…”

“It DOES hurt, at first,” Nikki said. “But it’s well worth it in the end.” Stephanie smiled at Nikki’s tale, before leaping up as another knock came from the front door.

“Hey, bestie!” Stephanie giggled as she welcomed Kayla into her home with a tight hug.

“Hey, Steph!” Kayla giggled. “Oh, hey Sarah, hey Nikki!”

“Hey Kayla,” Nikki and Sarah said simultaneously.

“Soo…” Kayla teased. “What are we all talking about?”

“Right now?” Nikki replied. “The advantages of having a vagina.”

“You mean there are DISadvantages?” Kayla asked, prompting yet another mass giggle.

“3 months and counting, and I’ve not found any yet,” Nikki said with a smug grin. “Well, the dilation can be a pain, but it’s such a small price to pay.”

“19 years, 10 months and counting,” Sarah said with an even smugger grin than her fiancée’s. “No disadvantages whatsoever.”

“I think we might be making Steph jealous,” Kayla said as Stephanie let out a long sigh.

“Well she shouldn’t be,” Nikki said. “Because she’s no less a girl than any of us, right?”

“Right!” Sarah and Kayla cheered as Stephanie giggled and his her blushing face behind her long brown hair.

“Ugh, enough already!” Stephanie laughed. “Now that we’re all actually here, gaming session, anyone?”

“Well I guess we could,” Nikki said, producing a large shopping bag from next to where she was sat. “Or…”

“…Or?” Stephanie asked.

“Or,” Nikki said, “Remember I told you that any free time I had with Sarah- before I was transitioning, I mean- we used to have another ‘hobby’?”

“Yes…” Stephanie said, smirking as she correctly guessed the contents of Nikki’s bag.

“Well,” Nikki explained. “I figured that as we’re both size tens, and near enough the same height…” Stephanie gasped with excitement as Nikki produced from her bag one of the most beautiful dresses Stephanie had ever seen.

The dress was made of a red fabric that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and rippled like a sand dune with every touch. It had thick shoulder straps, a square neck and a narrow, cinched waist, and ended in an asymmetrical knee-length skirt.

“It’s gorgeous,” Stephanie breathed as she gently caressed the soft material.

“It’s yours,” Sarah said with a proud grin.

“Wha- really?” Stephanie asked. “This- I should at least pay you for this, how much did it cost?”

“Altogether?” Sarah asked. “Maybe £11. £12 if you include the thread. Honestly, it’s fine. Call it a ‘peace offering’.”

“Ugh, SO jealous,” Kayla said as she also caressed the dress. “You could at least try it on, Steph…”

“Oh- right, yeah,” Stephanie said, gently taking the garment from Sarah and heading toward the stairs.

“Umm… Where you going, Steph?” Nikki asked, stopping the confused Stephanie in her tracks.

“Umm… Privacy?” Stephanie replied.

“Why?” Sarah giggled. “We ARE all girls here, right?” Stephanie blinked back a tear as a wide grin spread across her face.

“Thank you,” Stephanie whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. “But… If I’m going to wear a dress like this, I’ll need matching shoes, right?”

“Well, duh,” Nikki chuckled.

“And a dress this beautiful needs make-up to match, right?” Stephanie asked.

“I guess,” Sarah said, a wide smile spreading across her face.

“And your hair will need styling too, right Steph?” Kayla asked, leading to yet another mass giggle. “So maybe we should head up to your room… All of us!”

Stephanie squeaked with excitement as she led her friends up to her room, where she quickly stripped down to her bra and her thong. Standing before her friends in just her underwear, Stephanie suddenly felt very self-conscious. She’d changed costumes in front of the band before, but this experience seemed much more intimate, especially as she was the only one changing her clothes. The reassuring looks in her friends’ faces, however, served to strengthen Stephanie’s resolve, and within seconds, the three women had sat Stephanie down in front of her dresser, where her make-up was enhanced, her hair curled into a fancy style and her fingernails and toenails were repainted the same shade of red as the dress.

Stephanie took a deep breath as she stepped into the elaborate dress, holding her stomach in as Sarah zipped it up at the back. Despite being designed for Nikki’s measurements, the dress still fit her fine, even if the cleavage wasn’t as pronounced as it would have been had Nikki been the one wearing it. Stephanie giggled as Kayla attached a pair of matching sandals to her feet that had torturous 5” platform heels, before standing up and posing for her three friends, all of whom eagerly snapped her with their phones.

“Here we go again,” Kayla giggled.

“Getting a new dress every time I get depressed almost makes it worth it,” Stephanie chuckled, before handing her own phone to Kayla. “Can you get a few photos, please? Not for Instagram, just saved to my phone.”

“Sure,” Kayla said. “But our photos are all going up on Instagram, right girls?”

“Damn right,” Nikki giggled. “What do you want your photos for, Steph?”

“Just… Something I need to do,” Stephanie said, carefully sitting down on her bed and opening up her text messaging app after Kayla handed her phone back to her.

‘Hi Janet,’ Stephanie typed into her phone. ‘Hope you’re keeping well… I guess you saw the way the press dragged me through the mud this week. Just wanted you to know I’m feeling fine, my friends and family have really helped me through it. Even made a new friends too- one of whom made this GORGEOUS dress in the attached pic. Hope you’re doing okay. Love Steph xxx’

“Done,” Stephanie said, putting her phone back on her dresser. “Kinda feel a bit overdressed now, heh…”

“Well it’s lucky we packed more than one dress then, isn’t it?” Sarah asked. “You saw how big Nikki’s bag was…”

“There’s innuendo there, but I’m not going to make it,” Nikki retorted, sticking her tongue out at her giggling fiancée.

“I suppose those dresses were all done to your measurements,” Kayla sighed. “Not got any in, like, girls’ sizes?”

“Oh, like this one?” Sarah asked, reaching into her bag for a tiny silver-coloured minidress that Kayla excitedly took and held against her body, admiring her reflection in Stephanie’s full-length mirror.

“So cool,” Kayla sighed happily.

“It’d look even better on your body than in front of it,” Nikki teased, prompting Kayla to squeak with excitement as she stripped off her top and her skirt, before unclipping her bra and tossing it onto the pile of clothes on Stephanie’s bed. As she had done many times in the past, Stephanie marvelled at how comfortable Kayla was baring her ‘personal areas’ not just to her, but to the other women in the room. It was on such occasions that Stephanie felt the most accepted as ‘one of the girls’, especially as Nikki and Sarah also stripped down and changed into the dresses they brought along- in Sarah’s case, a shiny hot pink and red-coloured strapless bodysuit with a matching skirt, and in Nikki’s case, a calf-length indigo-coloured dress with lilac hints.

“I’m not breaking any laws by going topless in front of you, am I, Kayla?” Nikki asked, earning an angry glare from the tiny blonde girl.

“Hey!” Kayla protested. “I’ll remind you that I’m nineteen next month! Okay, I don’t look it, but that’s what these are for, right?” Kayla giggled excitedly as she held up Stephanie’s still-warm curling tongs, which Kayla’s hair was soon wrapped around, transforming her youthful bob into a chic wavy style.

“Gorgeous,” Stephanie giggled as she applied a thick layer of dark make-up to Kayla’s youthful face. “Even if it does add a decade to you…”

“I WILL punch you,” Kayla playfully threatened as Nikki and Sarah giggled. “What do I have to do to convince you that I am actually an adult?”

“An adult who’s playing dress-up with her friends?” Nikki teased, making Kayla laugh defeatedly.

“I guess so,” Kayla laughed. “Though I guess the two of you have, like, over thirty years to catch up on…”

“Oh trust me, Nikki’s NOT been wasting time there!” Sarah giggled.

“Speaking of,” Nikki grimaced as she reached into her tote bag, retrieving a long, pencil case-like washbag. “Can I- can I use your bathroom, please? Still have to do this SO many times a day…”

“Sure,” Stephanie whispered, letting out a happy sigh as Nikki left the room. “You know, I kinda feel guilty, ‘playing dress-up’ whilst Joshua’s still in hospital…”

“I think he’d be proud of us,” Kayla said confidently. “I think he’d take one look at four of his girls who don’t normally hang out like this, umm, well, hanging out like this, and I reckon he’d have that big, wide grin on his face, same as always.”

“I agree,” Sarah said as she adjusted the top of her bodysuit. “AND I bet that Spencer and Hall’s so-called Constellation won’t get the chance to hang out like this, I bet they wouldn’t be allowed!”

“Dannii doesn’t know what she’s missing,” Kayla snorted with a smug grin.

“Oh, I bet she does,” Sarah retorted. “It’s just that to some people, money and fame are more important than friendship.”

“Heh,” Kayla laughed. “If Spencer and Hall had made me the same offer eighteen months ago I’d probably have jumped at the chance. I would actually have done X Factor last year if I hadn’t got into Out of Heaven.”

“You’d probably have walked it, too,” Stephanie said. “Take it from someone who hears you sing every day!”

“I wouldn’t have got ‘this’, though!” Kayla said, gesturing to the three women’s beautiful dresses. “And I would’ve had to stare at Simon Cowell’s face every day. Some fame comes at TOO high a price.”

“Oh- that’s right,” Sarah said. “You’re an only child, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Kayla sighed. “Mum and dad always tried for a second, but I was apparently a ‘miracle baby’, always destined to be alone.”

“I know the feeling,” Sarah sighed. “I mean, I have a brother and a sister, but they’re half-siblings on my dad’s side so I wasn’t raised with them. Nikki’s effectively an only child too, as her sister’s eighteen years younger than she is.”

“Well, I’m just glad I’ve got more sisters than I can count now!” Kayla giggled, before her face fell as the girls’ phones all bleeped to inform them of a new text message.

“Jos- Joshua?” Stephanie whispered.

“No,” Sarah said. “From Mary. Looks like our ‘family’s going to get another new member today!” Stephanie’s and Kayla’s jaws dropped as they read the text message, and after waiting for Nikki to finish dilating, the four women jumped into Sarah’s car, still dressed in their fancy clothes and make-up, and hurried to the maternity ward where their friends were already waiting for them.

----------

“God…” Jamie moaned as she leaned back into the hard hospital chair and tried to get comfortable. “Doesn’t it normally go quicker if it’s the second child?”

“Pretty sure it doesn’t work that way,” Krystie replied. “Would be nice to think that it did, though…”

“It’d be nice just to be able to give birth at all,” Jamie mumbled.

“Trust me,” Charlotte snorted. “If you’d done it once, you’d disagree… But I do kinda get where you’re coming from.”

“The old ‘pangs’ coming back?” Krystie asked her transgendered friend.

“They never really went away,” Jamie sighed. “Guess I can settle for being ‘coolest aunt’ for now.”

“Ehh…” Krystie grimaced as she saw a group of figures looming at the entrance to the waiting area. “May want to be another type of ‘cool’…” Jamie bit her lip as she saw Becca and Adeola slowly approach their area.

“Hi,” Becca said stoically as she sat down opposite Jamie, fixing the blonde woman with a cold glare.

“Hi,” Jamie replied.

“My brother not with you?” Becca asked.

“No,” Jamie whispered. “He- he had to see Jonathan tonight, something about your album.”

“My brother not with you?” Krystie asked Becca in a desperate attempt to relieve some of the tension in the room.

“We’re not joined at the hip,” Becca snorted in response.

“No, just at the pelvis,” Krystie retorted, making both Jamie and Becca giggle despite themselves. “Addie, um, how’s- how’s-“

“Recovering,” Adeola said, earning sighs of relief from Jamie and Krystie. “Doctors reckon he’ll be on his feet this time next week. I- I ain’t seen him yet, dunno if I could face it…”

“It’s understandable,” Jamie whispered, earning a sympathetic smile from the dark-skinned girl. “Becca, I- I know we’ve not seen eye to eye, but for now, for today… Let’s be friends, okay? For Mary?”

“’Friends’ is pushing it,” Becca grunted. “But there’s no need for us to be enemies. Truce?” Jamie smiled as Becca extended her hand, which the blonde woman eagerly shook.

“Friends,” Jamie whispered, before bristling as Stephanie, Kayla, Nikki and Sarah all entered the waiting area- and from their clothing, Jamie quickly deduced that they’d spent most of if not the whole day together.

Jamie took several deep breaths to try to calm herself at what she could easily have viewed as a betrayal. Nikki was her protégé, someone who had always turned to her when she was in need, and someone in whom Jamie could always confide, so to see her suddenly start to hang out with Stephanie- a person Jamie and Nikki had both badmouthed mere days earlier- made Jamie feel like hers and Nikki’s relationship was being trivialised, and this upset Jamie greatly.

However, the rational side of Jamie reminded her that she had resolved to try to make peace with Stephanie, and it was only logical that Nikki should try to do the same. Nikki was an adult, her own person- it wasn’t like she needed Jamie’s permission before seeking a peaceful reconciliation with Stephanie, and if anything, Jamie should be proud of Nikki for taking the initiative. Nonetheless, Jamie still felt a twinge of anger that she couldn’t shake. What she could do, though, was channel it in a less confrontational way.

“I am so jealous of those dresses,” Jamie said, earning giggles from all the girls as the new arrivals sat down. “Seriously. Sarah, I’m guessing they’re all yours?”

“Yep!” Sarah said smugly. “And no need to be THAT jealous, I mean, it IS your birthday tomorrow, and I have had the whole summer to work on special projects…”

“At this rate, it won’t just be Jamie’s birthday tomorrow!” Krystie said, barely suppressing her excitement.

“Oh, that would be so cool,” Kayla sighed. “An honorary aunt having the same birthday as her honorary niece…”

“Yeah,” Jamie whispered as she avoided Stephanie’s stern gaze. “Umm… And, you know, all her parents happy, and, umm, friends?”

“Yeah,” Stephanie whispered, biting her lip to keep herself from blowing up at the woman who had antagonised her over the past several months. “Is- is the other member of your band on the way?”

“I’ve texted her,” Kayla said. “Think it’d actually be quicker to get to London from Paris than it would from where she lives, heh.”

“Speaking of,” Charlotte asked, “is Zoe coming tonight?”

“Try and keep her away,” Krystie laughed. “She’s really grown close to Mary’s first since she started at our school, think she wants to scout her second baby ballerina, heh.”

“Unless, of course, Natasha takes after her dad?” Becca teased.

“Now THAT is too terrifying a prospect to imagine!” Krystie retorted, making all the women laugh as they anxiously awaited the newest member of their ‘family’.

Hours passed as more women joined in the vigil at the hospital, and despite both camps agreeing to remain civil for Mary’s sake, tensions still ran high between the Angels and Out of Heaven. Due to her need to dilate, Nikki periodically excused herself from the conversation, and as she was on her way back from her latest dilating session, Jamie took the opportunity to talk to her privately.

“Hey,” Jamie whispered to the brown-haired girl as she sanitised her hands.

“Hey,” Nikki whispered in reply.

“So…” Jamie said. “You and Stephanie?” Jamie grimaced as Nikki responded with a long, tired sigh.

“…That was Sarah,” Nikki said. “When she suddenly vanished yesterday. Obviously not doing any ‘gardening’.”

“She doesn’t strike me as a ‘garden’ person,” Jamie laughed. “But- but I’m glad you and Stephanie are getting on now.”

“Really?” Nikki asked. “Because I kinda worried that because we went behind your back-“

“Oh please,” Jamie sighed. “I’m 24, I’m not some teenager who gets mad every time- uh, no offence at that ‘teenager’ remark…”

“None taken,” Nikki said. “And you’re 25, it’s, um, it’s quarter past twelve. Happy- happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” Jamie said with a tired grin. “Doubt anyone will be up for partying after tonight, though.”

“I thought all old people just celebrated with a quiet night in anyway?” Nikki asked, earning a playful shove from her mentor.

“Don’t push it,” Jamie teased. “There are some things I WON’T forgive.”

“But Stephanie’s something you CAN forgive?” Nikki asked.

“…Yeah,” Jamie said with a smile as she and Nikki returned to the waiting area, where several of the women were already beginning to doze off.

Jamie had also drifted off to sleep at some point, as she found herself being shaken out of her slumber by Charlotte, who pointed to the entrance of the waiting area where a tall, exhausted-looking Dan Carter was stood with a wide grin on his face.

“My friends,” Dan said with a breathless voice. “It is my pleasure to announce the birth of Natasha Mary Carter at quarter past two this morning. Weight: seven pounds, twelve ounces.” The entire waiting area cheered happily at the news as everyone rose from their seat to congratulate Dan individually.

“Make sure she takes after her mother,” Jamie cautioned Dan when it was her turn to shake his hand and give the tall, athletic man a gentle hug.

“Like I have a say in it,” Dan retorted. “And happy birthday to you too! Hope you don’t mind if Mary and I skip your… What is it again, 41st, 43rd and 46th birthdays?”

“Like you have a say in it,” Jamie giggled. “And thanks. I’ll let Stuart know when I see him, surprised he didn’t make it in time.”

“Sure,” Dan laughed as Jamie made way for more well-wishers.

The ‘party’ soon dispersed to the hospital’s car park, where Jamie got into her car with Charlotte and took a deep breath before starting the engine and driving back to their vast home.

“You know,” Charlotte said, stifling a yawn. “I really am proud of you, Jamie, the way you acted tonight.”

“Umm… Okay?” Jamie replied.

“You sat opposite Stephanie for hours without a problem,” Charlotte explained. “This time last week you probably wouldn’t have lasted a minute.”

“You’re probably right,” Jamie laughed. “But- you know? It’s, like, a new day. Things are finally starting to look up.”

“Finally,” Charlotte whispered.

A short while later, the car arrived back at the vast house, where Charlotte and Jamie wasted no time in heading toward their beds, where Jamie found her fiancé already fast asleep.

“Seven pounds, twelve ounces,” Jamie whispered in Stuart’s unhearing ear, before gently kissing him on the back of the neck. “Night, sexy!” Jamie laid her head down on her pillow and was almost immediately asleep.

Jamie grunted the following morning as her phone bleeped to inform her of a new text message and woke her from her dreamless slumber. After rolling over to discover that Stuart was already awake, Jamie giggled tiredly as she reached for her phone.

“Can’t wait to tell me happy birthday in person?” Jamie rhetorically asked as she checked her phone, but her giggles soon stopped and her smile faded when she read the text message.

‘Need u all in 2day at 9,’ the message- which was from Jonathan- read. ‘All other appts and meets cancelled.’ Jamie took a deep breath after reading the message, trying not to work herself into a panic by speculating about what Jonathan’s news might be. She knew that Joshua wouldn’t be out of hospital already, and if the worst had happened, Jonathan would call people personally, rather than call them in for a meeting. Jamie came to the conclusion that it was a surprise birthday party for her- and, technically, for Natasha as well- but when she walked into her kitchen, the frown on her fiancé’s face hinted that whatever the meeting was, she wouldn’t be enjoying it.

“Hey babe,” Stuart said, forcing a smile on his face as he kissed Jamie. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks,” Jamie said.

“Got a huge pile of presents in the living room,” Stuart explained. “Probably won’t get them all opened before we have to go, though…”

“Yeah,” Jamie whispered. “I got Jon’s text. Stu, what- what’s this all about? Is it good news?”

“No,” Stuart said with a dark voice. “Far, far from it…”

----------

Stephanie adjusted the waistband of her tights and straightened her plain, chic burgundy pencil skirt as she stepped out of the taxi and walked the short distance to the front door of her agency, trying not to smirk at the sound of her heels clicking on the hard pavement. As had been the case weeks earlier when Joshua had shown the announcement of Constellation, the agency was packed- so packed, in fact, that Stephanie struggled to find her bandmates in the crowd.

“Hey,” Becca whispered as she walked over to Stephanie, hers and Adeola’s strides shortened by their smart pencil skirts. “Have you heard what this is about?”

“…You mean you don’t know?” Stephanie asked, before turning to Adeola. “I figured you of all people-“

“I’ve got no idea,” Adeola said, her long legs jiggling nervously on her heels. “Just got the same text from Jon that you all did… Where are Lauren and Kayla?”

“They’ll be here soon,” Stephanie shrugged. Mere seconds later, Jonathan appeared at the top of the stairs, stepping out of his uncle’s office wearing a pained expression on his face. Silently, he led the crowd into the same studio where they had watched the Constellation announcement video, before putting a DVD in the laptop that had been set up and waiting for him. Immediately as the video began playing, the entire crowd gasped in shock.

“No!” Stephanie cried out as she saw the familiar face appear on the screen.

“Hi,” The face said with a wide, smug grin. “I’m Lauren McTavish, I’m 19, and I’m one of the stars in the new Constellation!”

“I- I-“ Adeola stammered as her former bandmate continued talking.

“Singing is my passion,” Lauren said in her thick Highland accent. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve been in choirs, I’ve taken part in singing competitions, I’ve always wanted to be able to sing professionally.”

“You got that chance, you traitorous cunt!” Adeola snapped.

“My main inspirations are bands like Atomic Kitten and the Sugababes,” Lauren continued. “I’m really looking forward to getting the opportunity to form a band with the other girls in Constellation. I really do believe that this will be my chance to break into the music industry.”

“You bitch,” Becca breathed. “You total fucking bitch…”

“I’m Lauren McTavish,” the Scottish girl concluded, “and this is my Constellation!” The entire room remained silent as Jonathan ejected the DVD from the laptop, before petulantly throwing it to the floor and stamping on it.

“I got that DVD by courier last night,” Jonathan explained, barely containing his anger. “Just after 10pm, while you were all at the hospital.”

“When- just- just- when!?” Adeola pleaded, tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Best I can tell, Thursday,” Jonathan sighed. “Lauren apparently contacted their agents, asked for an interview, got one… Yeah.”

“How- how could you let this happen?” Kayla- who Stephanie hadn’t seen at the front of the crowd- pleased.

“What!?” Krystie asked the tiny blonde girl. “You fucking well live with her! How could YOU let this happen?”

“Do we share a fucking bed? No!” Kayla retorted.

“Don’t you fucking well talk to me like that!” Krystie growled.

“You leave her alone!” Stephanie growled, standing between Kayla and Krystie.

“Oh, I think we all know now why Lauren defected,” Jamie sneered. “Maybe if her old band hadn’t been flying apart at the seams, she’d have stuck around?”

“You were just waiting for this, weren’t you?” Stephanie growled as she squared up to Jamie. “Anything bad happens in the agency and it’s automatically my fault? I bet you were the one who gave Lauren Spencer and Hall’s number!”

“You total, total cunt!” Jamie screeched, slapping Stephanie across the face hard enough to draw a trickle of blood in the corner of her mouth.

The entire room froze in a state of shock as Stephanie touched her lip and stared at the droplet of red liquid on her finger, before her face contorted into a look of pure fury and she threw herself at Jamie, tackling the woman to the ground and breaking the heels off of both of her shoes in the process. With a balled fist, Stephanie threw a punch at the supine Jamie, who blocked it with her arm before punching Stephanie hard in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of the brown-haired woman.

“THIS STOPS NOW!” Jonathan screamed roughly pulling the two women apart and shoving them away from each other, causing Jamie to again stumble to the ground on her destroyed shoes. “I didn’t call you here so you could tear each other to fucking pieces!”

“Then why did you call us here, Jonathan?” Stephanie snapped as she tried to get her breath back. “’Cause I thought Out of Heaven and the Angels weren’t supposed to be talking to each other and you put us in the same room to give us bad news?”

“Hey!” Adeola shouted at her bandmate. “You leave him alone, he’s doing a stressful job and doesn’t need you bitching at him!”

“Am I wrong?” Stephanie asked.

“I dunno, you’re not usually truthful!” Jamie spat, causing Stephanie to approach her again with a raised fist, only to be stopped by Jonathan.

“OUT!” Jonathan barked. “Everyone, out! Now! Any news, I’ll text you. Just get!”

Silently, the assembled women all filed out of the room, Stephanie holding a tissue to her still-bleeding mouth and Jamie carrying her broken shoes in one hand and clinging to Krystie’s supportive arm with the other. Without prompting, the crowd dispersed as soon as they left the agency, and when she was alone with Kayla, Stephanie let out a long, pained sigh.

“…Really?” Stephanie asked her petite friend. “You really didn’t know?”

“Really?” Kayla retorted. “You really just got in an actual fight with Jamie?”

“I- ugh,” Stephanie sighed, looking at the blood on her tissue. “She hit me first? And I- I just saw red, god, I’m- I’m still all over the place…” Kayla sighed sympathetically, reaching into her handbag for a fresh tissue which she handed to Stephanie.

“And no, I didn’t know,” Kayla sighed. “She didn’t come home last night, I thought she was delayed coming home from Scotland. Heh, she probably wasn’t in Scotland at all over the weekend.”

“…But she might be home now?” Stephanie asked.

“That’s a point,” Kayla mumbled. “She’s probably not going to be living there anymore, she’d need to move out her stuff…” Kayla looked at Stephanie, who nodded in understanding.

After flagging down a taxi, Kayla and Stephanie soon found themselves outside the large London flat where the tiny blonde girl resided, and gasped at the sight of several uniformed men removing items from the flat.

“What- what the fuck is this!?” Kayla screeched at the removal men. “Where’s Lauren?”

“I dunno, love,” one of them men, who was loading the items onto a nearby van, replied. “We just got given a key and a list of items and told to come down here and haul them out.”

“I want to see that list,” Kayla demanded.

“No can do,” the loading man said.

“I live here!” Kayla screeched.

“What, you the flatmate?” The loading man asked.

“Yes!” Kayla hissed.

“Huh, okay,” the man shrugged. “We should be out of your hair in about half an hour. If you want to go up, that’s fine.” Kayla scowled at the removal men, before shooting a foul look at Stephanie and heading up the stairs into her flat. Despite the anger in Kayla’s eyes, Stephanie followed as fast as her tight skirt and high heels would let her, and sighed as she saw Kayla slumped over her kitchen table, moaning softly into her suit sleeves.

“Kayla…” Stephanie whispered.

“I can’t believe any of this is happening,” Kayla moaned. “I- I just wanted to be a singer…”

“I know,” Stephanie mumbled. “And I- I’m sorry, Kayla. I feel… I feel like this is my fault, somehow.”

“I feel that way too,” Kayla said in a cold voice. “About me, I mean, not you…”

“Kayla,” Stephanie whispered. “If- if Spencer and Hall had offered you-“

“But they didn’t offer, did they?” Kayla moaned. “Lauren went to them, she stabbed us in the back… I thought we meant more to her?”

“Some people are only interested in fame,” Stephanie sighed. “And there’s still four of us… Ugh. Guess I’d better apologise to Adeola too for what I said.”

“Yeah, guess you’d better,” Kayla said bluntly.

“Can- can you come-“ Stephanie stammered.

“Take at least SOME fucking responsibility for your actions,” Kayla scoffed. “I- I just want to be alone right now.”

“Okay,” Stephanie whispered. “If- if you need-“

“Goodbye, Steph,” Kayla sighed, before slumping over her table yet again.

----------

Jamie let out a long sigh as she sat down in the driver’s seat of her car, before slumping over her steering wheel and bursting into a flood of tears. She’d seen red for just one brief moment of madness, but that one moment had undone all the progress toward healing that Jamie had accomplished over the previous days, and she believed, deep down, that the rift between her and Stephanie would never be healed.

“So much for the truce,” Charlotte said bluntly, making Jamie cry even harder.

“So much for being a BFF,” Jamie spat. “Twisting the knife on my birthday…”

“Obviously you’re angry,” Charlotte said.

“What was your first clue?” Jamie snapped sarcastically.

“…You acting like a violent thug,” Charlotte said, earning a look of pure fury from her BFF.

“Seriously, Charlie?” Jamie asked. “Do you remember when I nearly signed for Spencer and Hall three years ago? Do you remember how a certain someone reacted to that? By hurling me to the ground and trying to claw my eyes out?”

“I remember that person being a lot younger than she is today,” Charlotte spat. “And I remember her not having any commitments, not having a family. The way you acted today… Maybe it’s for the best that you can’t have any kids.”

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY CAR!” Jamie screeched, glaring at Charlotte with tear-streaked eyes until she acquiesced and left Jamie alone, sobbing in her vehicle.

After she’d had the chance to calm herself down, Jamie started her engine and drove away. Rather than head back to her home, and another confrontation with Charlotte, Jamie instead headed to the one place where she’d hoped she’d receive a warm, forgiving welcome.

“Jamie!” The transgendered woman’s mother said as she opened her front door. “Happy birthday… Is- is everything okay? Jamie, have- have you been crying?” Without saying a word, Jamie nodded and was instantly wrapped in a tight hug by her mother, who allowed her to cry her eyes out onto her shoulder. “Come in, come in… Where are your shoes? You didn’t drive here barefoot- well, in stocking feet- did you?”

“Long story,” Jamie moaned. “You- you know about Constellation?”

“The Angels rip-off you told us about?” Jamie’s mother asked. “Yes…”

“One of the girls from out of Heaven just defected to them,” Jamie sighed.

“Oh god, that’s just what you need,” Mrs. Travis spat. “Was it Stephanie?”

“No,” Jamie sighed. “Though that didn’t stop me from blaming her for it.”

“Oh- what?” Jamie’s mother asked. “Jamie… Have- have you been in a fight?” The middle-aged woman tutted disapprovingly as her daughter nodded, before bursting into yet another flood of tears. “I’d hoped when you’d, well, ‘changed’, that it’d mean you’d actually grow a bit of sense…”

“I just- I just-“ Jamie sobbed.

“I hope this fight was at least behind closed doors,” Mrs. Travis tutted. “Don’t want a repeat of what happened with Charlotte three years ago.”

“…I’ve fallen out with her too,” Jamie moaned, making her mother sit down next to her and give her another tight hug.

“You can’t afford to throw away the best friends you ever had,” Jamie’s mother sighed.

“I know, I know!” Jamie moaned. “I just- I just wish, you know? I wish things wouldn’t- wouldn’t suck so much… Last year’s birthday was bad enough as it is…”

“But things will get better soon,” Mrs. Travis urged her daughter. “Your boss will be out of hospital before you know it, your friend Mary will be giving birth soon-“

“She, umm, already has,” Jamie said with a chuckle. “Two this morning. Weight seven pounds… Some ounces, I can’t remember.”

“Well, perfect!” Mrs. Travis said. “A little honorary niece, or goddaughter who shares your birthday!”

“I’m not godmother, not this time around,” Jamie sighed. “After today I’d be amazed if Mary, or Charlotte for that matter, still wanted me to be godparents to the kids I already am for…”

“You’re not going to do anyone any good by feeling sorry for yourself, either,” Mrs. Travis sighed. “Have you opened any of your presents yet?”

“They’re all back at Charlotte’s,” Jamie sighed. “Can’t show my face back there, not right away, anyway.”

“Well we’ll just have to celebrate your birthday here, then!” Jamie’s mother said. “Is Stuart still at work?”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed. “Because of that girl who left the band, he’s going to be doing ridiculous overtime the next few weeks. I’ll barely get to see him…”

“So make the most of it when you do,” Mrs. Travis urged. “God knows there were times when I barely saw your dad due to his work, so I made the most of every second we had together.”

“Yeah,” Jamie sniffled. “Where is dad, anyway? Don’t tell me he’s finally got a part-time job?”

“If by ‘job’ you mean ‘playing golf with his friends’, then yes,” Jamie’s mother said, making the twenty-five year old woman laugh. “I swear he’s working harder in his retirement than he did when he was at work, heh.”

“Well if he takes overtime on the course,” Jamie said, “let me know and I’ll pull strings, try to have him ‘fired’.” Jamie’s mother let out a light chuckle as she embraced her daughter, before heading through to the kitchen to prepare a special birthday dinner for her.

Three hours later, the front door of the family home opened and Jamie’s fiancé walked through it with a tired-looking expression on his face, which only slightly improved when Jamie greeted him with a long kiss.

“Hey,” Stuart said in as enthusiastic a voice as he can. “Happy birthday!”

“You’ve already said that,” Jamie said with a tired giggle. “But thanks anyway!”

“Hi Stuart!” Mrs. Travis yelled from the kitchen. “I hear you’re busy at work?”

“To put it mildly,” Stuart replied, before collapsing onto the sofa with his fiancée. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to stick around long, only barely persuaded Jon to let me head here for lunch. Why aren’t you at home? Charlotte’s home, I mean.”

“Ugh,” Jamie moaned, resting her head on Stuart’s firm chest. “Big, massive argument… I’m fine, by the way, after my fight?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Stuart sighed. “That was obviously all Steph’s fault, though.”

“…Are you just saying that to make me feel better because it’s my birthday?” Jamie asked, her lips involuntarily forming a pout.

“…Maybe,” Stuart mumbled, making Jamie groan with frustration.

“You too?” Jamie whined.

“If you’re going to hate someone, hate Lauren,” Stuart spat. “Steph doesn’t deserve all the shit you’ve thrown at her these last few months, she never did.”

“And what about the shit she’s thrown at me?” Jamie asked.

“Well obviously, that’s not deserved either,” Stuart said. “But you were in such a good place, you and her. Don’t just throw it away now.”

“Bit late for that,” Jamie sighed. “Guessing she didn’t leave a birthday card with you?”

“It would be a bit of a stretch,” Stuart sighed, giving his fiancée a comforting kiss on her forehead even as she felt herself grow more and more miserable. Facing the judgement of her friends had been bad, her mother’s disapproval had been terrible, but Stuart’s disappointment was intolerable to Jamie. And yet, as the family tucked into a hearty lunch, Jamie knew that Stuart was right. Jamie had taken a bad situation and made it infinitely worse with just one word and one action, and not just made it worse for herself, but for all her friends as well- and she knew that if someone had done to her what she did to Stephanie, she would find it almost impossible to ever forgive them.

----------

Stephanie grimaced as she touched her sore lip and inspected her finger for blood. It had long since stopped bleeding, but was still sore, and worse yet, had begun to swell. Stephanie could hide any discolouration on her skin with make-up, but swelling would be harder to disguise.

As she laid on her sofa feeling sorry for herself, Stephanie mused on how Jamie's open-handed slap could have packed such impact, even considering that Jamie had once been a man, just as Stephanie had been- or, in the eyes of some narrow-minded people, still was. Stephanie's thoughts turned to her Scottish former bandmate and how she could have so wantonly sold out the band she'd claimed to love. She wondered if there really was something she could have done, something she could have said to Lauren to convince her that she truly was her friend, but nothing came to mind. It was Lauren who had kicked Stephanie out of the flat that they used to share, it was Lauren who had distanced herself- but, as Stephanie was forced to concede, it was solely due to her actions.

Stephanie's self-pity was broken by an urgent-sounding knock at her door. After standing up and straightening her tights and the loose dress she'd changed into upon her return from the agency, Stephanie hurried to the front door, opening it to receive the shock of her life.

"Hi Steph," Lauren said in her unmistakable Highland accent. "Can I come in?"

"L- Lauren?" Stephanie stammered. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here on behalf of my new employers," Lauren said with a wide, confident grin. "They asked me if I knew anyone who'd fit in well in Constellation's band, and you were the first to spring to mind. There's a car waiting to take you to their offices right now. So what do you say... Partner?”

"How- what- why-" Stephanie stammered as the flame-haired Scottish girl looked at her expectantly.

"I think you might need to sit down," Lauren giggled. "As I said, I've got a car waiting..."

"Umm, okay," Stephanie said, following Lauren to her car in a state of near-shock. "Why- why did you-"

"Why did I take the option that was best for my career?" Lauren asked. "Kinda answered your own question there, didn't you? Steph... We've gone as far as we can with out of Heaven. And sure, we've got fans. We've got rich. I'll always be grateful to Joshua for the opportunities he's given me. But The Angels have been cancelled, his projects with the 'Teen Angels' and the 'Sky Angels' were failures and if we don't act soon, we'll be next for the scrapheap."

"How- how did you even sign with Spencer and Hall?" Stephanie asked, barely able to process what Lauren was telling her.

"I gave them a call," Lauren shrugged. "All of our contracts have buy-out clauses in them, they decided I was worth the money, so here I am! I've already had a rehearsal session with Saraya and Niamh, I'm sure when you meet them you'll love them as much as I already do."

"You- you turned your back on people you said were friends," Stephanie mumbled.

"The same friends who gave you that fat lip?" Lauren asked, pointing to Stephanie's bruised mouth. "Yeah, that's a friendship we both need, isn't it? Look, Steph... It wasn't an easy choice. As I said, I'm really, really grateful to Joshua for getting my foot on the ladder. But he can only get me- get US- so far up the ladder." Lauren's speech was interrupted by the sudden bleeping of Stephanie's phone, informing her of a new text message.

"...Sorry," Stephanie grimaced.

"S'okay," Lauren shrugged. "We won't be at the agency for another ten minutes or so, you know how traffic is in the city centre."

"...I grew up in London," Stephanie said bluntly. "You grew up on a farm, like, beyond the wall."

"Just- read your text," Lauren said, giggling at her friend's teasing. Stephanie snorted with laughter, before trying to suppress her conflicted emotions as she read the text message.

'Hi Steph, thanks for your message,' the text- which was from Stephanie's friend Janet- read. 'Good to see you're making new friends. Since leaving the hospital I've been trying to get out more and meet new friends too. I've joined a support group for LGBT people where I've met another transwoman called Debbie. She's a bit younger than me but she's been very supportive. She's even helped me look for work, no luck yet but I'm getting very positive vibes from the interviews I've attended! Hope to talk to you soon. Janet x.' Stephanie blinked back a tear as she scrolled up to read the message she'd originally sent to Janet, attached to which was the photograph of her, Kayla, Nikki and Sarah dressed in their fancy gowns- a memory that Stephanie would always treasure.

"Lauren," Stephanie whispered. "If- if we'd, you know, 'included' you more-"

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Lauren said. "In our career we can always, ALWAYS make new friends. But our career won't last forever. We have to take make the most of what we've got while we can."

"You're absolutely, absolutely right," Stephanie said.

"So you'll sign?" Lauren asked expectantly.

"No," Stephanie replied. "Take me home, now." Stephanie allowed herself a smug smirk as Lauren's jaw dropped and her face screwed up in confusion.

"Umm, why, exactly?" The Scottish girl asked.

"I'm guessing you had to ask permission from Spencer and Hall to be here?" Stephanie asked.

"Well, yes," Lauren replied. "They're not going to just let their assets go randomly roaming around the streets."

"Even to see people they claim are their friends?" Stephanie retorted.

"We ARE friends," Lauren pleaded. "I told you, I recommended you above all the other girls, even Kayla!"

"Really, Lauren?" Stephanie asked. "After the way you've shunned me and sneered at me ever since the truth about me came out? What I think happened was that Spencer and Hall tried to smear me- and through me, Joshua- with what Dannii knew, and when that didn't work, they decided to use you to try to get to me. No. I'm not working for some place that only sees me as an 'asset'. Take me home."

"Fine, your loss," Lauren shrugged. "I'll just ask Kayla to see whether or not she wants a contract."

"Huh, good luck with that!" Stephanie snorted as the car turned around and headed back toward her house.

"You really think Kayla will put friendship before her career?" Lauren sneered.

"She knows what's most important," Stephanie retorted.

"Yeah, yeah she does," Lauren spat as the car pulled up outside Stephanie's house. "See you round, Steph. Maybe at the awards ceremonies, where we're winning them and you're stuck at a table at the back near the toilets."

"Fuck you, Lauren," Stephanie spat as the car sped away, taking her former friend with it.

The second she re-entered her home, Stephanie got out her phone and hit the speed dial button for Kayla's number, smiling as the phone was answered within two rings.

"What is it, Steph?" Kayla sighed.

"Just a heads up," Stephanie said, ignoring Kayla's negative attitude. "Our former bandmate Miss McTavish is on her way round to you with the offer of a contract."

"Huh," Kayla replied. "Wonder what makes her think I'll be so responsive second time around."

"S- second?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah," Kayla said. "She was just here half an hour ago, trying to persuade me to jump over to Spencer and Hall. Wait, wait, has she just talked to you?"

"Yeah..." Stephanie replied. "Kinda hinted that when I turned her down, she was going to try to persuade you to go over to them. Also hinted that I was the first member of the band that she'd seen..."

"And- and you turned them down, right?" Kayla asked.

"Of course," Stephanie replied. "I dunno if you realise this, Kayla, but... You're probably the closest- no, scratch that, you ARE the best friend I've ever had. Sure, I lived with Lauren for months, but- but I just feel closer to you, you know?"

"...Thanks," Kayla mumbled.

"And you- you also turned Lauren down?" Stephanie asked.

"If by 'turned her down' you mean 'slammed the door in her face', then yes," Kayla said, making Stephanie giggle. "Steph, I- I'm sorry the way I snapped at you, okay? I'm just stressed out, the band's the most important thing in my life right now, and to see it fall apart..."

"Except it hasn't," Stephanie said confidently. "Adeola will never betray her uncle, Becca will never betray Adeola or her brother, and you and I are still loyal. Loads of bands have gone from a 5 piece to a 4 piece and survived. Take That, One Direction..."

"Umm, Steph, they're- they're both kinda boy band..." Kayla said.

"Meh, then we'll just be the first all-girl band to do it," Stephanie shrugged. "The first ALL GIRL band, right?"

"You said it, sister!" Kayla laughed. "Though, umm, I think Addie might still be a little pissed off at you..."

"Then I'll apologise," Stephanie said. "Text Addie and ask to meet up tomorrow, I'll go along, show I'm not too big to get down on my hands and knees."

"I will," Kayla said, before taking a deep breath. "...And there's still the Jamie matter-"

"If that cunt wants to apologise to me, she knows where I am," Stephanie said darkly as she ran her tongue over the bruise on her mouth. "I'll grovel to Adeola. I am NOT grovelling to her."

"...Okay," Kayla whispered. "I'll text Addie and call you back soon, okay?"

"Okay," Stephanie said as she ended the call.

As she laid back down on the sofa, however, Stephanie wondered whether she'd made the right decision in declining Lauren's offer. The Scottish girl had made a lot of valid points- Spencer and Hall were always a much bigger agency than Heavenly Talent, and almost certainly wouldn't shout at their employees, as Joshua had done to Kayla, or demonstrate incompetence in their management decision as Jonathan had done by calling the morning's 'assembly'.

However, unlike Lauren or Kayla, Stephanie hadn't auditioned for the band in an attempt to find fame and fortune. Sure, she wanted fame and fortune, but her primary motivations for auditioning were to prove to herself that she could successfully pass herself off as a woman and find work as 'Stephanie'- and that goal had been achieved a long time ago. Stephanie was entitled to want more, but every time her ambitions threatened to get the better of her, she was ironically reminded of the words of her nemesis, Jamie-Lee Burke- it's better to want what you have, rather than have what you want.

----------

As Stephanie was musing on Jamie's words of wisdom, Jamie herself was sulking as she laid on her sofa at her parents' home, musing on how terrible her birthday had been up to that point. With her fiancé having to work overtime and her best friend not talking to her, the only people Jamie had for company were her parents, and their company wasn't thrilling the twenty-give year old transwoman.

"Cheer up," Jamie's father urged as he walked through the living room. "Anyone would think it was your birthday or something!"

"Hilarious," Jamie grunted.

"Well your day won't improve if you just lay there all the time feeling sorry for yourself," Mr. Travis snorted. "You know you'll apologise to Charlotte eventually, so-"

"Tomorrow," Jamie interrupted. "I- I can't face her today. I'll go tomorrow. Huh, I was going to apologise to Stephanie tomorrow, no chance of THAT happening now..."

"Because you don't want to apologise, or you think she wouldn't accept it even if you did?" Jamie's father asked.

"Both," Jamie sighed.

"Well what about your other friends?" Mr. Travis asked. "Give them a call, get them round here to cheer you up."

"Mary's still in hospital," Jamie explained. "Krystie will be with her, Hannah and Viks are both at work, Nikki's gone with Hannah today, Sarah's on Stephanie's side... Yeah. No fiancé, no BFF, no friends today."

"Stuart will be back in a few hours," Mr. Travis said. "They can't detain him at his studio overnight. In the meantime, I guess I'LL have to try to cheer you up!"

"You really don't have to," Jamie said.

"You want to be left on the sofa to stew?" Mr. Travis asked.

"I want- ugh," Jamie spat. "I don't know what I want. This for all to be over? This to have never happened in the first place? Next thing I know, one of the Angels will defect to Spencer and Hall, and- I genuinely don't know what'll happen if that happens."

"Then stop worrying about it," Mr. Travis said, giving his daughter's shoulder a gentle squeeze. And get up and get some shoes on. I know exactly how to cheer you up."

"This should be good," Jamie said as she slipped on a pair of flats.

"Oh, it will be," Mr. Travis said, smiling smugly as he handed his groaning daughter a golf putter.

"Oh, come on, dad..." Jamie moaned. "I sucked at it before, I'll suck now... And is golf really your answer to everything?"

"Not 'everything'," Mr. Travis chuckled as he headed out to the makeshift putting range in his back garden. "But I refuse to let you sulk for one more second, okay?"

"Okay," Jamie sighed as she gripped her putter, getting the sudden feeling that her day HAD just got worse.

----------

"Well, today was interesting," Nikki quipped, making Hannah giggle as the two of them drove home from a long day at work. “Kinda don’t know who or what to believe anymore. I mean, Jamie? And Steph? Actually FIGHTING? I am DREADING tomorrow, working with Jamie…”

“Tell me about it,” Hannah sighed. “Have you heard anything from either of them? I mean, you’re close to both, right? Because, well, you know…”

“Not a peep from either of them,” Nikki said. “Which is odd, as, you know, it’s Jamie’s birthday, you’d have thought you’d have seen at least an Instagram post or something, showing off her presents, or something at least from Stuart, but nothing. Is- is Jonathan ordering radio silence or something?”

“Jonathan isn’t ordering anything at the moment,” Hannah replied. “He- well, Viks says… Viks says he’s having a REALLY hard time coping. But you are NOT to tell anyone else this, okay?”

“Of course,” Nikki whispered. “Hope I don’t need to polish my CV…”

“Never heard it called THAT before!” Hannah laughed, making Nikki groan with embarrassment. “Sorry, sorry, I know that’s still a sensitive area for you…”

“…Another joke?” Nikki asked.

“Wish I could say yes,” Hannah laughed. “Seriously, though… You’ve got to try to keep your pec- umm, I mean, you’ve got to try to smile, haven’t you? A few months from now, we’ll probably look back at this and laugh. I hope we will, anyway…”

“Doubt Steph will,” Nikki mused. “Or any of the other members of the band.”

“Not immediately,” Hannah said, leading to an awkward silence in the car.

“What- what have you got planned for tonight?” Nikki asked.

“Well the plan WAS going to Jamie’s birthday party,” Hannah sighed. “That’s obviously not happening now.”

“Yeah, I got that text from Charlotte too,” Nikki whispered. “I’m probably just gonna spend the night with Sarah and the girls, assuming they’re not too busy doing uni reading or something.”

“Are Jacinta and Ophelia back from Brighton yet?” Hannah asked, impressing Nikki with her knowledge of her two friends.

“This weekend coming,” Nikki said. “So just the four of us tonight.”

“FIVE of us,” Hannah said with a smug grin.

“…Really?” Nikki asked. “You want to spend the evening in a cramped, two bedroom student flat?”

“It’ll only be ‘cramped’ because there’ll be other people there,” Hannah said. “And I’d rather spend the evening being ‘cramped’ with my friends than alone in my flat.”

“But your flat is GORGEOUS,” Nikki said as she remembered the rare occasions when she was invited into the lavish four-bedroom apartment.

“True,” Hannah said with a smug grin. “But it doesn’t have you girls in it!”

“Aww,” Nikki cooed. “Okay, Katie & Lauren’s it is, then!” Hannah giggled excitedly as Nikki reprogrammed her satnav to take them to the small two bedroom flat, where they spent the rest of the evening gossiping about their lives, their work and their studies, and made a point of avoiding any talk of the rifts that threatened to irreparably split their ‘extended family’ apart.

Despite Hannah’s reassurances, Nikki remained worried about both her future and her friends’ futures. With Sarah’s help, she’d bonded with Stephanie in a way she’d never managed before, and she’d truly hoped that with her in the middle, she’d be able to bring Jamie and Stephanie back together. After witnessing the two women fighting, however, Nikki believed that nothing would be able to bring them together, and that very soon, one or more of the women would permanently cease to be her colleague- or worse yet, permanently cease to be her friend.

As she fell asleep later in the evening, wrapped in her fiancée’s loving embrace, Nikki tried to focus on the positives in her life, specifically the biggest positive of all- her love for Sarah, which had not waned one bit. By trusting in Sarah's judgement, she had regained Stephanie as a close friend, and she was sure that no matter what happened, she would always have Sarah- and that was truly all that she needed.

----------

“Worst. Birthday. Ever,” Jamie moaned and she rolled over in bed, barely cracking a smile at the feeling of her fiancé encircling her waist from behind.

“Worst WEEK ever,” Stuart sighed tiredly. “It’s going to take ages to remix all the tracks on the album, and I do have to remix ALL of them.” Jamie sighed as she listened to Stuart’s woes- the last thing she wanted was to be burdened with Stuart’s problems as well as her own, but she knew how much of a burden she had been to him over the past few days, so listening to Stuart talk was the least she could do. However, every time Stuart mentioned Stephanie’s name, Jamie grew more and more tense, until her body felt like it was about to explode.

“…Jamie?” Stuart asked as he felt Jamie’s tension through his embrace. “Are- are you okay?”

“No, no I’m not okay!” Jamie whined, tears forming in her eyes. “My career’s in pieces, my friends all hate me, I spent all day today-my birthday- playing fucking golf with dad instead of partying with my friends…”

“I still love you,” Stuart whispers, tightening his embrace. “And your friends don’t hate you. You’ll be seeing Charlotte tomorrow, right?”

“Well- I guess,” Jamie sniffled. “After work, anyway…”

“Which shows that your career isn’t completely in pieces,” Stuart said. “And she WILL forgive you, and you WILL have the party you deserve.”

“I just- I just wish I didn’t NEED forgiving,” Jamie moaned.

“Well, short of hijacking a TARDIS, there’s nothing I can do about that, I’m afraid,” Stuart said, making his fiancée snort at him.

“Don’t try to make me laugh,” Jamie sighed.

“Well I’m not going to make you more miserable, am I?” Stuart asked, eliciting a chuckle from Jamie. “Was that a laugh I just heard?”

“…Yes,” Jamie sighed.

“What are you doing at work tomorrow, anyway?” Stuart asked. “Been so wrapped up in my own work worries, hardly fair to dump them all on you…”

“Endorsing a new brand of fashion tights,” Jamie replied. “Just various brands and patterns on people’s legs.”

“I’ll- I’ll just lay here and nod, pretending I know what you’re talking about,” Stuart laughed. “Even I did spend a lot of my teenage years trying to avoid my sister’s attempts to inflict her sense of fashion- which included her love of colourful tights- on me.”

“…Becca or Emma?” Jamie asked.

“Emma, believe it or not,” Stuart laughed. “Yes, the same Emma who spends all day nowadays wearing very serious skirt suits and only wears tights that are a shade of black.”

“You know,” Jamie teased, “if you DID want to try on some of the tights I bring home tomorrow, I wouldn’t object…”

“Get some sleep, babe,” Stuart ordered, making Jamie giggle as she rolled over. Like Nikki, she had her worries, but she knew that she’d always have the support of the person she loved, no matter what happened.

When Jamie woke up the following morning, her anxieties hadn’t miraculously vanished overnight, but that didn’t stop her from wearing a smile on her face as she showered, applied her make-up and dressed in a short, long-sleeved black minidress along with a pair of the fashionable tights she was endorsing, a teal pair with small cat face silhouettes sewn throughout the fabric.

“Me-ow!” Stuart teased, laughing as Jamie threw a pillow at his naked body. “People seriously wear those on their legs?”

“They will after I endorse them,” Jamie said smugly. “Celebrity power, after all…”

“And you are, of course, wearing them for the money?” Stuart asked.

“Well duh,” Jamie laughed. “Really think I’d wear THESE otherwise?”

“Good point,” Stuart laughed. “When’s Nikki getting here to pick you up?”

“About 45 minutes,” Jamie said. “Want a lift to the studio?”

“Please,” Stuart laughed, before making Jamie sigh as he pulled on his loudest pair of psychedelic socks, followed by his trademark look of a pair of tatty, black jeans and an old t-shirt with the image of a rock band on the front.

“Morning Jamie, hi Stu!” Nikki said with a grin as the couple climbed onto the back seat of her car. “Does this mean I get to claim extra petrol expenses today?”

“It does indeed,” Stuart laughed. “If you could drop me at the agency, please.”

“Can do,” Nikki said. “While it’s still there, anyway…”

“Enough pessimism!” Jamie chastised her protégé. “You’ve got work every day this week, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Nikki sighed. “Actually would’ve liked to have spent some of it with Sarah before she gets back to uni, but, you know, money…” Jamie and Stuart both laughed as the car headed through the packed London streets, eventually dropping Stuart off at his place of work before reaching the TV studio where Jamie would be working. After touching up her make-up in her carefully prepared dressing room, Jamie rendezvoused with Nikki at the edge of the set, along with four tall models, each of whom were wearing a pair of multi-coloured tights underneath plain black leotards.

“Ahh,” Nikki giggled. “You know, one of these days, you WILL need someone to fill in for one of the models… Kinda feel underdressed wearing black tights, heh.”

“Underdressed, maybe,” Jamie teased. “But girly and gorgeous? Always. I’m surprised we didn’t call on you, anyway, normally when I’m reviewing legwear Dannii’s our chief model, but I guess we’ll have to make do without her.”

“Ella’s much better in that role anyway,” Nikki said, making the eighteen year old Australian model blush as she playfully patted her on the shoulder. “Frankly, I reckon we’re better off without Dannii.”

“Meh, you would, given what she did,” Jamie shrugged.

“…Umm, what is THAT supposed to mean?” Nikki asked.

“Umm, what is THAT supposed to mean?” Jamie asked. “That accusation? What, you think I like Dannii more than you? Kinda like the way you now like Steph more than me?”

“I didn’t say that,” Nikki sighed as the troupe of models began to fidget uncomfortably. “Why are you being so paranoid, anyway?”

“Go- go and wait in reception,” Jamie growled. “If I want you, I’ll send for you.”

“…Yes, ma’am!” Nikki snorted, grabbing her tote bag and leaving the set. Jamie took a deep breath to calm her nerves as the crew began to leave the set.

“You saw none of that, okay?” Jamie asked the four models, who all nodded nervously. The twenty five year old transwoman forced a smile on her face as the show’s host greeted her with a gentle hug, before leading her and the four models onto the set.

“We’re just going to talking about your new tights today,” Kate- the presenter- explained. “But if there’s time at the end, is it okay if we ask a few questions about your recent life as well? I think it was your birthday yesterday, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Jamie said with a giggle.

“Oh, happy birthday!” Kate laughed. “Well, we’ll talk more during the interview, okay?”

“Okay,” Jamie said, feeling relaxed despite her latest argument as the cameras pointed at her and she began to be broadcast live across the whole of Europe...

----------

“Steph!” Mrs. Abbott yelled, waking her daughter from her slumber. “Stephanie! Get down here! Your breakfast’s getting cold!”

“I’ll be there in a bit,” Stephanie grunted as she woke up and the events of the previous day came flooding back to her- the fight, her arguments with Adeola and Kayla and her rejection of Lauren’s offer.

“No, you’ll be here in the next ten seconds!” Mrs. Abbott shouted, making Stephanie roll her eyes as she threw her covers back, pulled on a light pink dressing gown and padded down the stairs, gasping at the unexpected sight that greeted her as she entered the living room.

“Hi Steph,” Adeola said with a stoic voice as she, Becca and Kayla fixed the transwoman with a firm stare.

“Hi- ugh,” Stephanie spat, before letting out a long sigh. “Addie… I’m sorry for what I said yesterday, I’m sorry for criticising Jonathan, I know he’s got a hard job, I certainly wouldn’t be able to do it… I was wrong.” Stephanie smiled as Adeola let out a quiet giggle, before jumping up and wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Apology accepted,” Adeola said with a warm, wide grin. “And thank you. Kayla told me about what Lauren said and did yesterday… I’ll be honest, there’s a part of me that thought you would actually have gone.”

“And a part of me that’s jealous that I wasn’t asked,” Becca quipped, prompting giggles from the other girls.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Stephanie asked. “Reckoning that I’m, you know, a splitter?”

“I guess,” Kayla said, “because I think if I were in your position, I don’t know if I’d be able to stick around people who I thought wanted me gone.”

“And in fairness, we can’t afford to lose ANOTHER member of the band,” Becca said.

“And in fairness, Jonathan really did screw up yesterday by getting us all in to watch Lauren’s vid,” Adeola conceded. “Uncle Joshua wouldn’t have done that.”

“Umm, he did for Constellation, didn’t he?” Kayla asked.

“Well, yeah,” Adeola said, “but Constellation affects the whole agency. Lauren splitting just affects us four, so we’re the only ones who should have known. Well, we’re the first who should’ve known, anyway. Would’ve avoided… Well, yeah.”

“How- how is your mouth, Steph?” Becca asked cautiously.

“Sore,” Stephanie sighed. “Lauren of course pounced on that the second she saw it.”

“She couldn’t know that it was Jamie who did it though, surely?” Becca asked.

“Who else was it going to be?” Stephanie shrugged. “Either her or someone else at the agency… I will admit, I WAS briefly tempted by what Lauren was offering.”

“Me too,” Kayla whispered.

“Hell, I think any of us would’ve been,” Becca mumbled. “But you know what? In a way… I’m actually kinda glad that Lauren’s gone. And not just because it means that my brother’s going to be swamped with work for the next few weeks, heh.”

“Why glad?” Adeola asked her best friend.

“…Because what Jamie said was right,” Becca sighed. “When we started the band it was always us-“ Becca gestured to herself and Adeola- “and them.”

“We did- we did feel a bit, you know, ‘excluded’ at the start,” Kayla mumbled. “And not just because I was only seventeen at the time. We- I mean, me and Lauren- we always got the impression that you wanted a band to be like the Angels, like, ‘true friends’, but- you know- we never got treated that way.”

“And that was 100% our fault,” Adeola sighed. “We should’ve made more of an effort. Point is, though, you three did kinda outnumber us two…”

“Well that’s your fault for not being more people, isn’t it?” Stephanie retorted, making Adeola roar with laughter.

“Ahh… That’s exactly the sort of thing my uncle would say,” The dark-skinned girl chuckled.

“How is he, anyway?” Kayla asked.

“A LOT better,” Adeola said with a happy grin. “Went to see him before coming here, he was actually sat up in bed, heh. Umm… Didn’t tell him about Lauren, though, figured that was the LAST thing he needed right now…”

“Well when he gets out,” Stephanie said with a confident grin, “he needs to know that, four or five, his band is waiting for him, right?”

“Hell yeah!” Becca giggled, holding her hand in front of her. “Out. Of. Heaven.”

“Out of Heaven!” Adeola cheered, clamping her hand on top of Becca’s.

“Out of Heaven!” Kayla laughed, adding her hand to the pile.

“Out of…” Stephanie said as she placed her immaculately manicured hand on the top of the pile.

“Heaven!” All four girls cheered simultaneously, before Stephanie flopped dramatically onto her sofa.

A mere twenty-four hours earlier, she’d worried that she’d irreparably alienated herself from her band, but with their visit to her home and their acceptance of her, Stephanie had never felt more loved. What Becca had said struck a chord with Stephanie- ever since she’d revealed the truth to Lauren, the Scottish girl had grown distant, even shunned Stephanie at times. Now that she was gone from the band, it meant that the only people left were all genuine, close friends of Out of Heaven.

Lauren had undoubtedly tried to split Out of Heaven apart with her actions, but Stephanie was determined that the band would be stronger than ever- and a quick look at her bandmates convinced her that they felt the same way too.

----------

“This pair, modelled by the lovely Ella,” Jamie said as the Australian girl stepped in front of the camera and playfully kicked her legs, showing off the pattern on the tights, “is what I like to call the ‘spider web’, if you see, the tiny threads woven throughout are actually threads, rather than dye.”

“They look so cool!” Kate gushed as Ella did a twirl before returning to where the other models were lined up.

“They are!” Jamie giggled. “Colourful tights like this are a great way for a girl to express her individuality. Of course, there’s nothing stopping any boys from using them to express their individuality, either!”

“Ah, of course!” Kate laughed. “I bet you wished you had funky tights like this when you were fifteen, am I right?”

“Heh, of course!” Jamie giggled as she crossed one brightly-coloured leg over the other.

“Which was, of course, ten years ago yesterday, am I right?” Kate teased, making Jamie giggle bashfully.

“It might have been, yes!” Jamie squeaked. “Didn’t have as big a party as previous years, just celebrated with my family and my fiancé, all the people I REALLY need with me.”

“This wouldn’t be because of the new ‘Constellation’ modelling group, would it?” Kate asked, momentarily making Jamie’s smile fall.

“No, no, we’re not worried about them,” Jamie said dismissively. “In fact, I’m actually happy for Dannii, she’s been a friend of mine for a long time and I’m happy to see that she’s doing well.”

“So the Angels aren’t afraid of the competition?” Kate asked.

“Not at all,” Jamie said with a cool smile.

“Well we’ll get the chance to hear their side tomorrow,” Kate said, turning her attention to the camera, “when we’ll be joined by Constellation members Jade and Mia Cooke, as well as fashion & beauty blogger Bella Brittain and rising YouTube star Zelda Malik, so make sure you tune in, same time, same place!” Jamie forced a smile on her face as she waved goodbye to the camera, but the second she was off the air, she turned to the host of the show with a deep frown on her face.

“…Sorry,” Kate cringed. “Orders from my producer, they wanted to get a soundbite from you about Constellation. You know, a lot of news outlets are calling this whole thing ‘The War of the Angels’ or ‘The War in Heaven… ly talent’.”

“Yeah, well that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Jamie laughed. “If there really was a war, I wouldn’t here shilling tights, would I? It’d be Kelly or whatever her name is.”

“Meh, you’re a household name, she isn’t yet,” Kate shrugged. “Anyway, I promise next time, no talk of the enemy, okay?”

“…Okay,” Jamie laughed, giving Kate a hug before leading the four models off the set. “You did good out there, Ella. Wouldn’t have thought it was your TV debut!”

“Thanks!” Ella laughed. “God, need to call my friends, need to call my grandma… Hope Kayleigh-Ann was able to watch this…”

“Heh,” Jamie chuckled as she left the models to change, before returning to her dressing room to find Nikki waiting outside with a frown on her face. “Here to apologise?” Jamie coldly asked as she walked past Nikki without breaking her stride.

“…Seriously?” Nikki retorted. “After the way you spoke to me?”

“Umm,” Jamie retorted. “Which one of us is the employer and which one is the employee again?”

“I’m not apologising for calling you paranoid,” Nikki said as Jamie exchanged her multi-coloured tights for a plain black pair. “These last few days… Jamie, seriously, you need help. When was the last time you talked to Sarah’s mum?”

“I don’t need a counsellor,” Jamie spat. “I’ve finished my transition, you don’t see Doctor Williamson anymore, do you?”

“I would if I was feeling down,” Nikki argued. “Please, Jamie…”

“One more word that isn’t an apology, and you’re fired, okay?” Jamie said sternly, silencing the tearful teenager.

“I’m- I’m sorry,” Nikki whispered.

“Wasn’t so hard, was it?” Jamie asked, oblivious to how upset she’d made her protégé. “Now I guess it’s my tur-“ Jamie was interrupted mid-sentence by the ringing of her telephone.

“…Your mum?” Nikki asked. “She usually calls after-“

“It’s the agency,” Jamie mumbled as she answered the phone. “Hi, Jonathan!”

“Jamie,” Jonathan said from the other side of the phone, “what the hell was that!?”

“Umm… It was a review of a new brand of tights,” Jamie replied, confused by Jonathan’s hostile attitude.

“You know what I mean,” Jonathan growled.

“Umm… I really don’t,” Jamie said, her own hostility growing.

“Acknowledging Constellation?” Jonathan said. “Saying you ‘wish Dannii well’?”

“Well what was I supposed to do?” Jamie spat. “Pretend they didn’t exist? Spit on their name? Funny, I seem to recall you breaking up a fight yesterday, I’d have thought you’d be happy that I was being more mature!”

“That’s not-“ Jonathan began, but he was not given the opportunity to finish his sentence.

“And what’s more, they brought it up!” Jamie shouted. “And just for the record, your uncle would NEVER have called up one of his talents- especially one of his biggest talents- just to yell at them, especially after ruining their birthday the previous day! Frankly, Jonathan, I’ve only had my degree for less than a week and I could a much better job than you of running this agency, because the way you’re going, by the time Joshua gets out of hospital, there won’t even BE an agency left for him to run!”

“Fuck you!” Jonathan yelled, slamming the phone down and leaving Jamie fuming.

“J- Jamie?” Nikki whispered in a scared, timid voice.

“Shit!” Jamie yelled, hurling her phone into the dressing room’s sofa.

“I- I’m sorry,” Nikki mumbled, earning a long sigh from the blonde transwoman.

“No, I’m sorry, Nikki,” Jamie sighed. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you, DEFINITELY shouldn’t have threatened to fire you… God knows none of the Angels would get anything done without you, heh.”

“Apology accepted,” Nikki whispered, exchanging an awkward hug with her mentor. “What- what did Jonathan say?”

“Ugh,” Jamie spat. “Basically accused me of promoting Constellation in the interview I just gave.”

“Oh- what?” Nikki replied. “Hardly ‘promoting’…”

“EXACTLY,” Jamie snorted, before sighing as her phone bleeped yet again, this time to inform her of a new text message.

“…Jonathan?” Nikki asked.

“No,” Jamie said, gasping at the identity of the message sender. “…It’s from Dannii.”

“D- Dannii!?” Nikki asked. “What… What does she want?”

“Thanks for the shout out,” Jamie read the message aloud. “Been a while since we last chatted, call me when you get the time, I might have something you’ll be interested in.”

“What does THAT mean?” Nikki asked.

“God knows,” Jamie sighed. “…Though I guess it couldn’t hurt to hear her out, right? Kinda understand why she split?”

“We KNOW why she split,” Nikki spat. “Fame and fortune over friendship. You- you’re not going to actually call her, are you?”

“…I dunno,” Jamie sighed. “Gotta speak to Charlotte first.”

“More petrol miles?” Nikki asked, earning a giggle from her mentor.

“Sure,” Jamie whispered. “And Nikki? Never think that we don’t appreciate you, okay?”

“Okay,” Nikki giggled as they headed back to her car, which soon whisked the two of them through the streets of London toward Charlotte’s vast, imposing house.

Jamie took a deep breath as she knocked on the front door. She still had her own key, of course, but following their last conversation, Jamie felt it best that she didn’t barge into Charlotte’s home unannounced.

“I’m coming,” Charlotte yelled from inside the building. As she opened the door, however, her face instantly fell. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Jamie whispered.

“Here for your birthday presents, I take it?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m here for you, Charlie,” Jamie whispered. “I- I’m sorry for what I said. I was out of line… I just want us to be friends.”

“Jonathan called about fifteen minutes ago,” Charlotte said coldly. “Told me what you said to him.”

“Did he tell you what he said to me?” Jamie retorted. “Did he tell you how he spoke to me?”

“He’s our boss,” Charlotte said.

“Joshua’s our boss,” Jamie said. “Jonathan’s just filling in for now. And not doing a good job of it either!”

“Funny you should mention Joshua,” Charlotte spat. “You had the time to give our opposition a shout-out on TV today but no time to give Joshua a ‘get well soon’? Or a mention of Mary’s new daughter?”

“It- it never came up!” Jamie pleaded. “They mentioned Constellation, I commented, they ended the show- what was I supposed to do?”

“Show some support to the only father, the only family I have anymore,” Charlotte whispered. “I- I don’t want to even look at you right now.”

“Then fine,” Jamie spat. “The feeling’s mutual. See you later, Charlie.” Jamie kept an angry pout on her face as Charlotte slammed the door, though the instant the door shut, Jamie’s face fell and tears began to freely flow from her eyes.

“Goddd…” Jamie sobbed as Nikki gave her another awkward hug. “Just- just take me home, please…” Nikki nodded as she helped Jamie into her car, and remained silent throughout the whole drive back to Jamie’s parents’ home, where the twenty-five year old woman flopped onto her sofa and let out a long, pained groan. She could handle having Stephanie as a ‘nemesis’, but to have her agency call her up just to criticise her, and even worse, to have Charlotte refuse her apology, was something Jamie simply couldn’t stand.

As Jamie played with her phone, it seemed as though there was only one person in the world who actually wanted her. Jamie paused before dialling the number on her screen, contemplating whether or not she would make her situation any better, or whether she would end up making it much, much worse.

“Hello?” The soft, feminine voice on the other end of the line asked.

“Hi Dannii,” Jamie said with a grin. “It’s Jamie, Jamie-Lee Burke.”

“Oh, hi Jamie!” Dannii squeaked excitedly. “It’s SO cool that you called, I almost expected Joshua- or whoever’s in charge- forcing you not to talk to any of us, heh.”

“Umm, you mean like your bosses have been doing?” Jamie asked.

“Huh?” Dannii replied. “Never mind, not important. I’m just going to come out and ask, Jamie- how would you like to be Constellation’s official mentor?”

“…I’m listening,” Jamie whispered as Dannii began talking in great length and at great speed about the new opportunities she had been offered.

----------

“No. Fucking. Way!” Sarah gasped as Nikki flopped onto the sofa next to her. “Jamie seriously forced you to apologise? Seriously threatened your job?”

“She apologised herself a little bit after, but yeah,” Nikki sighed. “I mean, I’ve seen her stressed before, but jeez…”

“That’s not just stress, she’s a fucking psycho,” Stephanie spat, leading to an awkward silence.

“I did- I did recommend that she call Beverly,” Nikki whispered. “Dunno whether or not she will.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Stephanie snorted. “People like her are just pure ego. And I have the scars to prove it.”

“Hardly a ‘scar’,” Kayla said, earning a disapproving stare from Stephanie. “Umm… You do have a point, though…”

“She wasn’t always like that, you know,” Nikki sighed. “When we first started working with her, she was always so sweet. It was just a few months after her SRS, it was like she wanted to help the entire world find out who they were. It was like she could actually do it, too.”

“She WAS cool,” Sarah sighed. “Maybe she’s just stressed? Maybe she’s jealous of all her friends having kids, I know she felt that ‘urge’ a while ago…”

“Either way,” Stephanie announced, “there’s no point in US worrying about it, right? I mean, Out of Heaven will go on, we’re all cool, right?”

“Those of us who don’t have to work with Jamie, anyway,” Nikki snorted.

“Well if the worst should happen,” Kayla said with a smug grin, “Out of Heaven will always need a good PA, especially now that we’re going to have to relaunch all our merchandise now that we’re a foursome…”

“You already have a PA!” Nikki laughed.

“No, we have PAs,” Kayla retorted. “More than one, we don’t have, like, one girl we can rely on for everything, like the Angels do with you.”

“You’re bigging me up a bit more than I deserve,” Nikki laughed.

“Hardly,” Sarah giggled, giving her fiancée a tight cuddle.

“And I know Becca and Adeola will go for the idea too,” Stephanie said. “If you’d like, I can talk to Adeola, maybe get her to talk to Jonathan when he’s free…”

“It would be good for your career,” Sarah said. “The Angels has been cancelled, so you won’t be getting as much work there, but like Kayla said, Out of Heaven are going to be really busy the next few months…”

“…Okay then,” Nikki giggled, earning cheers from the other three girls.

“This is going to be SO cool!” Stephanie squeaked as she gave Nikki a tight hug. “And, you know, when I start oestrogen…”

“With you every step of the way,” Nikki giggled. “Both of us are, right Sarah?”

“Of course!” Sarah laughed as she hugged Stephanie. “Who needs the Angels, anyway?”

----------

Jamie had a blank expression on her face as she strolled through the front door of the Krystie Fullerton School of Dance and took a seat in the reception area next to a small group of proud parents, who were watching the lesson on CCTV. Dannii’s offer had caught her by surprise, and it wasn’t something she could simply accept or decline without giving it a lot of thought. If she joined Spencer & Hall, the monetary benefit would be immense, and not just to her, but to Stuart as well. Dannii- speaking with the authority of her agency- had guaranteed him a high-paying job as well as her, and even though Jamie knew it would be a hard sell, separating Stuart from his sister, she also knew that he could be just as ambitious as she was when it came to his career.

However, if she left Heavenly Talent, it would affect more than just herself and Stuart. The Angels- regarded by many as the closest, most genuine and, most importantly, oldest group of its kind- would be no more. But then, this was the same group who were rejecting Jamie, who were treating her like a pariah for expressing her opinions and doing what she thought was right. Jonathan- the husband of one of the Angels- had treated her like she was a naughty schoolgirl, even though he was barely two years older than her. And Charlotte, Jamie’s supposed BFF, had looked down on her like she was something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe. Jamie asked herself: did she want the forgiveness and acceptance of people who would treat her like this, when she could get guaranteed acceptance and friendship elsewhere? People move on, it was a simple fact of life. Was this Jamie’s time to move on?

“Oh, hi Jamie!” Krystie giggled as she left her dance studio, several teenaged girls (and even a couple of teenaged boys) in tow. “Sorry, I’ve already been to see Mary today, think she and Natasha will be asleep by now.”

“That’s okay,” Jamie said with a tired grin. “It’s actually you I kinda want to talk to anyway.”

“Huh, okay,” Krystie said. “Ash, you go get ready, I’ll just be a minute, okay?”

“Okay,” one of the young male ballet dancers replied as Krystie led Jamie into her office.

“So… ‘Sup?” Krystie asked, sitting down behind her cluttered desk.

“It’s- ugh. I’m not sure how caught up you are…” Jamie moaned.

“After the fight yesterday, I’m trying to stay as non-caught up as possible,” Krystie said in a cold voice.

“Yeah… Sorry about that,” Jamie grimaced. “It’s just- I dunno. Stephanie just- she just winds me up, you know? The way she lied to get everything…”

“You’re not exactly the fountain of truth either,” Krystie reminded her friend. “Are you sure this isn’t about Stephanie not taking oestrogen?”

…Maybe, I dunno,” Jamie sighed. “And now I’ve fallen out with Charlotte as well, and Jonathan this afternoon…”

“He is NOT doing a good job, trying to fill his uncle’s shoes,” Krystie sighed.

“You try telling him that,” Jamie snorted.

“Well…” Krystie said. “I guess it IS a stressful job, especially with the wannabes breathing down our neck. Your neck, at any rate- I’ve always got this place to fall back on should my modelling work dry up.”

“Yeah, rub it in, why don’t you?” Jamie laughed. “I’m just glad I still have one friend who’ll talk to me.”

“Not just ONE friend,” Krystie said. “You’ve got your fiancé, your family…”

“Yeah, I guess…” Jamie mumbled. “Krys, I- I’m in a really, really difficult place.”

“Oh- Jamie?” Krystie asked, her voice softening as she saw tears form in the transgendered woman’s eyes. “What is it?”

“I got a call from Dannii today,” Jamie sighed. “She- she says that Spencer and Hall will offer me a job if I want it. In Constellation, I mean, as their ‘mentor’, their Charlie to the other girls’ Angels, pun not intended.”

“Are you going to accept it?” Krystie asked.

“…Really?” Jamie asked with a laugh. “No ‘how dare you’? No righteous indignation about betraying Joshua whilst he’s in a hospital bed?”

“It’s your life,” Krystie shrugged. “You have to do what you feel is best. Obviously, I’d prefer it if you remained with the Angels, but I’m not going to try to force you to make a decision.”

“Um, Krys,” Jamie said with a giggle. “Why exactly is it that the only one of the Angels with a pierced clitoris is also the most sensible of us all?”

“Oh, I had that taken out AGES ago,” Krystie laughed. “Kept getting caught in Mikey’s teeth…”

“Okay, maybe not the most sensible,” Jamie giggled.

“Meh, I’m the only one who’s a teacher, I have to be,” Krystie shrugged. “Speaking of, I have girls to go and teach, but I will just ask this- what do you want, really?”

“I- I just want things to go back to the way they were,” Jamie sighed as she followed Krystie back out to the reception area, where a group of young teenagers were sat waiting, all eight of whom were wearing the traditional ballet uniform of a pair of soft pink tights and a black leotard. Jamie scanned the faces of the star struck young women and allowed herself a wide grin when she realised that she’d met one of the girls before.

“Hi- Laura, isn’t it?” Jamie asked, making the fourteen year old girl giggle.

“Yep, ‘fraid so!” Laura replied, fidgeting excitedly.

“And…” Jamie said, racking her memory. “Megan, Nicole, Harriet, Priya, Suriya…”

“Mia,” one of the girls- a dark-haired girl with pale skin- said nervously.

“Ash- Ashley,” the final girl said whilst clearing her throat.

“Nice to meet you all again,” Jamie giggled. “You all getting extra tuition from Krys- sorry, from Miss Fullerton?”

“Yep!” Laura replied. “Well, our best girlie Ash is, anyway!” Jamie let out a good-natured giggle as Ashley’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“I really want to get all eight of them doing a routine together in our next show,” Krystie explained. “Eight’s a perfect number for choreography. Also, I think Nicole might be trying to show you something on her wrist…” Jamie laughed as she recognised the shiny blue wristband that the mousy-haired girl kept fiddling with, a wristband that she herself had worn in publicity photos for The Angels’ mystery boxes.

“Ah, yes,” Jamie giggled. “Was that in August or September’s box? We get these things so far in advance, you see."

“September,” Nicole replied.

“It’s also against the uniform code, isn’t it, Miss Wyatt?” Krystie asked, making Nicole blush as she removed the wristband and put it back in her bag.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you from your dancing,” Jamie said. “Thanks for the talk, Krys.”

“You know I’m free to talk anytime,” Krystie said with a warm grin. “Come on, girls.”

“Oh wait!” Jamie said, making the room pause before they re-entered the dance studio. “Umm, girls, umm… Are you following this, umm, this Constellation thing?”

“Ugh, bunch of wannabes,” one of the girls, a shorter Asian girl, replied with a light Indian accent.

“I kinda like them,” Laura shrugged. “Because they’ve got Dannii Samson, who used to be in Nikki Thomas’s Angels. Prefer the real thing, though.”

“They do have their own transgendered woman though, don’t they?” Another girl- a tall girl with glasses- asked.

“So?” Laura snorted. “She’s probably a wannabe too.”

“Just because she’s in a group that’s copying mine, doesn’t mean she doesn’t genuinely want to transition, same as either of us,” Jamie said.

“Well- yeah, I guess,” Laura mumbled. “I guess I could like her eventually.”

“And she is Asian,” the other Asian girl replied with a thicker accent than her sister. “Much as I like the Angels and the Teen Angels, you are all white.”

“That’s why Out of Heaven were cool, because of Adeola,” the first Asian girl said. “Well, and Steph, obviously!”

“Yeah!” Laura giggled.

“…Even after what came out last week?” Jamie asked. “About her, you know…”

“Meh,” Laura shrugged. “Made me a feel a little awkward at first. Then I realised that, like, I’m really, really lucky to be able to have hormones when I’m fourteen, even if it isn’t, like, PROPER hormones. And some people are lots, lots unluckier than me.”

“Yeah,” Ashley said in a nervous, quivering voice. “Stephanie- she’s- she’s, umm, really, umm, a real inspiration. Helps me, you know, feel that I can, umm, be me…”

“Wait…” Jamie said, staring at Ashley fidgeting nervously in her dancewear. “Are- are you also transgendered?”

“Aww!” Mia giggled as she gave Ashley a hug. “You passed, Ash!”

“I’m sure you’ve met Ashley at least once before,” Krystie said. “Though SHE was dressed quite differently.”

“Ashley isn’t out in public yet,” Laura explained. “She doesn't have a diagnosis yet, but she is out to her parents, thanks to Miss Fullerton, Mademoiselle Renou and Nikki Thomas!”

“…You didn’t think to ask me to help with the coming out?” Jamie asked.

“Didn’t want to trouble you,” Krystie shrugged. “You had enough on your plate.”

“And you didn’t?” Jamie retorted. “Sorry, sorry, I’m taking up valuable dancing time, I’ll see you tomo- huh, guess I WON’T see you tomorrow morning.”

“Well, whenever we see you, we’ll see you,” Krystie said, before bidding Jamie farewell with a tight hug.

“Bye, Krys,” Jamie whispered, holding onto her friend’s hug as long as she could before letting go.

As she drove home, Jamie mused on her encounter with Laura, Ashley and their gang and realised that if she did leave the Angels, it wouldn’t just be her friends and family that she’d affect, but her legions of fans as well. For better or worse, girls like Laura, who were well into her transition, and like Ashley, who had yet to begin her transition, looked up to her as a role model. Jamie could easily tell just how close the eight girls were with each other- possibly even closer than she and the Angels had been at the beginning of their fame. They had probably fallen out in the past, and would inevitably fall out again at some point in the future, but they always returned to each other, just the same way that Jamie had always found her way back to Charlotte in the past.

Jamie had difficulty sleeping that night, such was her anxiety about her decision. Her heart yearned to remain a part of the Angels, but her head knew that with Constellation, she would earn more money, she’d be given unconditional respect by her colleagues, all of whom were younger than her, and as her encounter with Krystie had proved, there was nothing that would stop her from informally remaining friends with the other girls if that was what they really wanted. However, the formal events she went to, the launches, the premieres that all six Angels attended would be a thing of the past- but as Jamie knew all too well, all good things must come to an end.

Jamie was already awake when her phone rang the following morning, breaking her concentration. Jamie forced a tired smile on her face when she saw the identity of the caller, before taking a deep breath and answering the call.

“Hey, sexy,” Jamie cooed.

“Hey, sexiER,” Stuart laughed. “Sorry I couldn’t make it back last night, was up until 2am trying to sort out this fucking album.”

“As long as you make it up to me later, you’re forgiven,” Jamie laughed. “Stu… There’s something I need to tell you, something that isn’t easy.”

“…It isn’t- it isn’t that you used to be a man, is it?” Stuart asked, making Jamie sigh loudly.

“Really?” Jamie asked.

“Sorry,” Stuart chuckled. “Had that one saved up for the ‘there’s something I have to tell you’ speech for a while now… Figure that you wouldn’t tell me you’re breaking up with me over the phone, so I’m kinda safe… Hope I’m kinda safe, anyway…”

“I- I’ve been speaking to Spencer and Hall,” Jamie whispered.

“…Oh,” Stuart said bluntly. “I see.”

“After yesterday, um, Dannii texted me,” Jamie explained. “I called her, we got chatting, she put me on to the management there, and they, umm… They arranged an interview for this morning at eleven.”

“Oh,” Stuart mumbled. “I-, umm, I…”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed. “Stu- ugh. Look, the Angels are pretty much on their last legs, Charlotte hates me, Jonathan hates me and he’ll be in charge of the agency for the foreseeable future… Spencer and Hall have offered me more fame, more money… I’d be stupid not to at least hear them out.”

“Well, obviously, I’ll support you no matter what you choose,” Stuart said. “I- no, I’m not going to say ‘I wish you’d spoken to me first’, I don’t want to be THAT type of man.”

“Thank you,” Jamie whispered. “No matter what, even if we work for different agencies-“

“Opposing agencies,” Stuart corrected his fiancée.

“-Opposing agencies,” Jamie continued, “even then, you’ll still be the most important person in my life. You’ll still be the man I love. After the interview, I want to see you, okay? Face to face, a lunch date, like we used to in the old days.”

“Umm… I kinda spend lunch breaks at the agency,” Stuart mumbled. “Umm… ‘inflated’, if you know what I mean…” Despite herself, Jamie giggled at Stuart, before sighing loudly.

“I’ll call you after the interview,” Jamie said. “I suppose I’d better start getting ready…”

“I’ll wait for your call,” Stuart whispered. “I love you, Jamie-Lee.”

“I love you, Stuart,” Jamie said, wiping away a single tear as she ended the call and headed into her shower, thoroughly cleansing her body and washing her long, sandy hair, treating it with every conditioner she had until it glistened in the morning sunlight.

After drying herself off, Jamie returned to her bedroom to get ready for the day, and it was only as she sat down at her dresser that she realised that she was in the exact same circumstances she was on the first day she became a woman- sat in a haze of femininity, preparing for a job interview with Spencer and Hall that would determine the future of more people than just her. The only difference was that this time, Spencer and Hall were interested in her, rather than Charlotte- and of course, her breasts and her genitals were real, flesh and blood, and not latex prosthetics.

The most important difference, though, was that this time, Jamie-Lee truly was a woman. When she’d woken up in Charlotte’s bedroom all those years ago, she’d never before imagined living her life as a girl. As she applied her subtle, professional-looking make-up, Jamie realised she couldn’t imagine not living life as a girl, not spraying on perfume, pushing expensive gold earrings through her lobes or pulling on a very smart black bra and thong set. She couldn't imagine not pulling on a short, tight skirt that exposed her nylon-covered legs, or buttoning up a smart white blouse that enhanced her feminine figure, or slipping her feet into a pair of high-heeled shoes that gave her three inches of extra height.

As she examined herself in her mirror, everything felt right to Jamie. Everything was as it should be- she was a picture of feminine beauty, a woman envied by other women and desired by men. And yet, she felt just as afraid as she had on her first morning in Charlotte’s house, and for the same reason- she was alone, taking a step into the unknown.

As she walked through the posh, modern reception area of Spencer and Hall, Jamie projected the image of a cool, confident young woman, ready to take on the world. Her look was immaculate, her face inscrutable and her stride confident, but with every step, Jamie felt more and more unsteady on her heels, and by the time she reached the reception desk, it was all she could do not to lean on it for support.

“Jamie-Lee Burke, here for my eleven o’clock meeting?” Jamie asked the receptionist, who pointed her toward the stairs. The blonde woman gripped the banister tightly for support as she climbed the stairs, and took a deep, nervous breath as she was confronted with a door emblazoned with the word ‘CONSTELLATION’ in big, bold letters. Clenching her hand into a fist, Jamie knocked on the door as gently as possible.

“Yes?” The serious, deep-voiced man behind the door barked.

“It- it’s Jamie-Lee Burke,” Jamie said.

“Come in,” the man ordered. “Please take a seat.” Jamie nodded as she sat down, taking care to keep her skirt smooth and wrinkle-free as she lowered herself into the chair and slowly crossed one leg over the other.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Burke,” the man said. “My name is Sawyer, Christopher Sawyer. This will just be an informal chat to answer any questions you may have about Constellation, and the end, I’ll also be asking you a few questions.”

“About- about what?” Jamie asked.

“Just about your ambitions,” Mr. Sawyer answered. “And about your time with Heavenly Talent.”

“I see,” Jamie whispered as she tried to get comfortable in her chair.

“As I’m sure you’re aware,” Mr. Sawyer began, “Constellation is marketing itself as the new number one modelling super group for the UK. Whilst the group bears similarities to your former group, the Angels, we’re not positioning Constellation to be a competitor, or even a replacement, but something entirely new.”

“But aimed at the same demographic?” Jamie asked.

“The target market for Constellation will be girls aged 13-19, yes,” Mr. Sawyer said. “The ITV2 television programme will be aimed at an older demographic, women aged 20-29.”

“I see,” Jamie said. “Dannii said- she said you were looking for a ‘mentor’ figure for the group?”

“Yes, that is the role we see you adopting,” Mr. Sawyer said. “Acting as an older, wiser, more experienced celebrity. The reality show wouldn’t focus on you, but would focus on the four women we see as the ‘core’ of Constellation- Miss Watson, Miss Cooke- the older Miss Cooke- Miss Witkowska and Miss Nichols.”

“But- but Dannii isn’t one of the core members?” Jamie asked.

“Miss Samson is more of a long-term project,” Mr. Sawyer clarified. “We hope to keep adding new members to Constellation and rotating the members of the core group. As Miss Samson is the youngest of the nine members, she will need to wait before becoming a member of the core group, as will the younger Miss Cooke.”

“I see,” Jamie whispered. “Will- will I get the chance to meet any of the members today?”

“Yes,” Mr. Sawyer said. “Miss Watson, Miss Witkowska, Miss Samson and Miss McTavish are in the agency today taking publicity shots.”

“Kelly’s here?” Jamie asked, prompting a smile from the otherwise stoic man.

“She is indeed,” Mr. Sawyer said. “When we told her we were interviewing you today, she was very eager to meet you.”

“I’m very eager to meet her,” Jamie said.

“Well, after this meeting, I’ll introduce the two of you,” Mr. Sawyer said with a friendly grin. Jamie smiled a genuine smile for the first time during the interview as the middle-aged man moved onto details or her pay- which, as promised, would be far higher than what she received from Joshua- her workload and what would be expected of her, how she would be expected to behave in public as a representative of the agency and, most crucially, limits on communicating with her existing friends, which Jamie was relieved to learn were not as restrictive as she had expected- she’d be allowed to socialise with any of the Angels anytime she wished, but forbidden from taking part in official Angel activities, such as the regular weekly parties or dance lessons. Jamie was forced to agree that it would be a small price to pay for the extra money she would be receiving.

Once the ‘informal chat’ had concluded, Mr. Sawyer led Jamie down to one of the small photography studios in the office complex, where Jamie watched as the four young women- Kelly, Katya, Dannii and Lauren- took turns getting publicity photos taken whilst wearing various different clothes and make-up styles. Jamie was forced to suppress a smirk when her eyes met Kelly’s, and the oriental transwoman immediately turned to Katya- who stood next to her- and excitedly whispered in her ear.

“I think our presence here has become known,” Mr. Sawyer said with a smile. “Come, I’ll introduce you.” Jamie smiled nervously as she followed the middle-aged man to where Kelly and Katya were stood, giggling nervously. “Kelly, Katya, I’d like you to meet Jamie-Lee Burke.”

“Oh my god!” Kelly squeaked as she excitedly shook Jamie’s hand. “I am SUCH a big fan of yours, I mean Dannii told me that you might be coming in today but I didn’t really believe it, I mean, I thought you and the Angels were so tight that you’d never even consider coming over to join Constellation but then I saw you on the other side of the studio and-“ A cough from Katya caused Kelly to stop in her tracks and blush at her unbridled enthusiasm. “…Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jamie giggled, giving the excited oriental girl a gentle hug.

“Hi, I’m Katya!” The brown-haired girl stood next to Kelly said in a light Eastern European accent. “I’ve been a fan of the Angels right from the start, never thought I’d get to actually meet one of you!” Jamie giggled as Katya and Kelly gushed over her, musing that the stories she was hearing from the two girls were very different from the stories she heard on their official introduction videos.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Jamie said, giving Katya a gentle hug. “Are- are you both professional models?”

“Yep!” Kelly said. “Since I graduated two years ago, I got signed to the agency a few months ago. I actually sent a portfolio to Joshua at the start of year, but didn’t get accepted.”

“Our- sorry, THEIR loss,” Jamie said with a smile.

“I’ve been modelling semi-professionally for five years,” Katya explained. “Up until signing with the agency six months ago I worked at the Playboy club in London.”

“As- as a bunny?” Jamie asked.

“Naturally,” Katya said with a smug grin.

“And yet she STILL won’t let me borrow her uniform,” Kelly playfully sighed.

“I told you, we’re not allowed to keep them,” Katya retorted with an air of frustration in her voice.

“…Anyway, we know what we’re doing for Katya’s birthday in December!” Kelly said excitedly. “Speaking of, Jamie, I didn’t see any photos from your birthday party on your Instagram?”

“Uhh… I kinda, kinda celebrated privately,” Jamie mumbled. “Just my parents, my fiancé…”

“You and Stuart are SUCH a cute couple,” Kelly sighed. “Me and Kurt are also okay, I guess… Kinda early days there, never really dated a transman before but I figure if anyone knows what our journey is like, right?”

“Actually I only started dating Stuart after my operation,” Jamie said. “We were friends beforehand, but not, you know, lovers.”

“I would LOVE to hear all about your transition,” Kelly sighed. “You know, girl to girl…”

“I’d love to hear all about yours!” Jamie laughed.

“Mr. Sawyer,” Katya said with a cheeky grin, “I think you might need to free up a private office…”

“That can be arranged,” the middle-aged man replied with a smirk as he led Jamie and Kelly to a small office down the corridor from the studio. “I’ll be in my office when you’re done, I’ll have a contract printed out for you to look over and sign, okay?”

“O-okay,” Jamie said. “A contract? Already?”

“I’ve already spoken to your manager at Heavenly Talent,” Mr. Sawyer said. “He’s agreed the terms to activate your buyout clause.”

“Wow,” Jamie sighed as she sat down opposite Kelly.

“First of all, I LOVE that suit,” Kelly giggled, seemingly unaware of Jamie’s shock. “Nothing says ‘feminine and strong’ like a pencil skirt, right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jamie laughed. “I- I like your dress, though.”

“Aww, thanks!” Kelly laughed, standing up and doing a twirl in her knee-length red cheongsam. “I’ve hardly ever worn traditional Chinese dress before, but the ‘bosses’ thought it’d be cool… And it IS pretty, you have to admit!”

“Definitely,” Jamie laughed. “You- you don’t have an accent, though.”

“…I did,” Kelly laughed. “Well, it’d probably be more accurate to say that Kevin had an accent. I’ve been speaking with this voice for over three years, though, I don’t know how to speak any other way, heh.”

“Have you had surgery on your vocal chords?” Jamie asked.

“No, thank GOD,” Kelly laughed. “Not really a fan of going under the knife, I’m lucky that my dad’s side of the family are all, well, ‘generous’ women so these are all real, heh.” Jamie smiled as Kelly pointed to her B-cup breasts.

“Surgery SUCKS,” Jamie snorted. “But it’s the only way you’ll, you know…”

“I know,” Kelly sighed. “But I am really, really looking forward to it… Is it, you know, really different?”

“At first,” Jamie said with a smile as she rubbed her nylon-covered thighs together. “After a few months though, you won’t even remember being any other way.”

“Is Nikki feeling the same way?” Kelly asked, making Jamie frown in confusion. “Nikki… Thomas? I think she’s three months today, isn’t she?”

“Umm, yeah…” Jamie replied. “You- you know Nikki?”

“I follow as many transgender blogs as I can,” Kelly said, her cheeks again flushing with embarrassment. “Dannii doesn’t talk about her much, which is kinda a shame.”

“Nikki’s cool,” Jamie whispered. “Really, really cool…”

“Yeah,” Kelly said. “And- and of course, I know Stephanie, I mean, Kurt talks about her a bit…”

“She’s less cool,” Jamie said coldly.

“Meh, I dunno,” Kelly shrugged. “I mean, she’s what, twenty? Same age I was when I started transitioning. I mean, when I was eighteen, I was obsessed with all things girly, and if you’d given me the chance to live full time as a woman, I’d have bitten your arm off, heh. But to actually take that step to say ‘I am a woman and that’s all I want to be’… Well, you know just how hard that is, especially when you have very traditional, conservative parents, heh.”

“…Actually, I don’t know that,” Jamie confessed, earning a small gasp of shock from Kelly. “When- when I started, you know, ‘being Jamie-Lee’… I was estranged from my parents, living by myself… Didn’t so much as own an item of female clothing. Couldn’t afford it, heh.”

“But- but your blog-“ Kelly pleaded.

“Doesn’t tell the full truth,” Jamie whispered. “Charlotte- Charlotte came to me, offered me the life of ‘Jamie’… I couldn’t resist.”

“Hell, who would?” Kelly laughed.

“I- I’m sorry if I misled you,” Jamie said. “With my blog, I mean.”

“It’s your life, it’s your decisions,” Kelly shrugged. “Same goes for Stephanie, I guess. She’ll find her own way eventually, anyone who was quote-unquote misled by her will get over it sooner or later. Heh, knowing celebrity life, probably sooner rather than later!”

“Yeah,” Jamie laughed as she contemplated her own behaviour toward Stephanie.

“And she’ll always have her friends, right?” Kelly asked. “I mean, Lauren doesn’t want anything to do with her, but I read Kayla- Kayla Ford? I follow her Instagram too, she and Steph seem SO tight. So do the other two left in the band. That’s what I never had at uni and always wanted, a proper, close, tight group of girl friends. My own ‘Angels’. I thought that with your show being broadcast during my last year, I’d be part of a copycat ‘Angel group’, but no joy.”

“Where did you go to university?” Jamie asked.

“UCL,” Kelly said. “So I lived at home with my parents, which helped, but I was studying politics, and most people on my course were these neoconservative morons who took one look at me and tutted throughout every lecture.”

“Hence why you went into modelling instead of politics?” Jamie asked.

“Yeah, kinda,” Kelly said. “And like I said before, I wanted that ‘clique’ of tight-knit friends… Figured that modelling was the best way to get it, and companies are always looking for models with a different, more ‘exotic’ look.”

“Well, looks like you’ve got your clique now!” Jamie laughed.

“Yeah,” Kelly laughed, before letting out a grimace. “Well… Ugh.”

“…Kelly?” Jamie asked.

“I mean, yes, I’m sure eventually Constellation WILL be like that second family to me,” Kelly sighed. “But- you know? It’s just ego after ego flying around everywhere. You saw the way Katya responded to just the tiniest teasing, it’s like any excuse she can get to score points, she takes. Dannii’s the same way, so are Jade and Mia… Don’t really know the other girls well enough yet. I- I guess that’s just the way it is, umm, were- were the Angels, you know, at the beginning?”

“Umm… No, actually,” Jamie whispered as she thought back three years to the birth of the Angels. “We- we were always tight, right from the start, we were friends long before we were ‘Angels’. I mean, Viks wasn’t even a model when we started hanging out with her, she was a size 12, we were size 8s, but we treated her all the same. We really were friends, not colleagues…” Jamie’s voice trailed off as she remembered back to the early days when she and the other five Angels all hung out together, before their work and their social lives began to blur together. She remembered the support they gave when she was recovering from her SRS, the way they would always be available to chat at any time of day, the way that when they were working, they’d show up unannounced to offer support…

“That sounds so amazing,” Kelly whispered. “You know, Jade and Mia actually have another sister who ISN’T a model? They barely talk about her, barely even acknowledge her.”

“What does she do?” Jamie asked.

“She’s an archaeologist,” Kelly answered.

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Jamie gushed. “My mum was into archaeology when she was younger. Well, she used to watch Time Team, anyway…”

“I love that show,” Kelly enthused. “Not officially, of course, doubt the agency would approve of us watching anything other than TOWIE of Made in Chelsea…”

“…Or the Angels?” Jamie asked.

“As if they’d let us,” Kelly snorted. “Even though I never miss an episode, heh.”

“Don’t want to promote the opposition?” Jamie asked. “Yeah, I get that…”

“But still,” Kelly said with a wide grin, hopefully with you on board, Constellation and the Angels can eventually be friends, rather than opponents… Assuming that Katya, Jade and everyone can actually get along, heh… Can I share- can I share a secret with you, please?”

“Well, I am supposed to be your mentor,” Jamie chuckled.

“…I always fantasised about- about being a member of the Angels,” Kelly mumbled. “I’m sorry, I know that sounds creepy…”

“Not at all,” Jamie laughed. “Just means we were doing our jobs right, heh.”

“After I came out,” Kelly continued, “I followed you and the Angels closely. Even joined a ballet class, always imagined one day I’d get invited to one of your Monday lessons, heh.”

“Oh, cool,” Jamie enthused. “Do you have pointe shoes?”

“Nah, I only went for a couple of months,” Kelly said. “Plus I hadn’t, well, ‘grown’ then, I kinda felt self-conscious in my leotard…”

“Did you go to Krystie’s class?” Jamie asked.

“Didn’t have the patience for the waiting list, heh!” Kelly laughed. “And if I went, I’d probably have spent my whole time gushing over Krystie, heh.”

“Trust me, she’s used to it,” Jamie laughed. “Though most of her students now just see her as ‘Miss Fullerton’.”

“Even Mary’s daughter?” Kelly asked, making Jamie laugh.

“Daughters, plural,” Jamie corrected Kelly, making the oriental girl laugh.

“Oh, so cute,” Kelly sighed. “Have you seen her yet?”

“Not yet,” Jamie sighed. “Think Mary’s still in hospital. Getting out today, actually.”

“Oh, you should definitely go see her once you’re done here!” Kelly laughed.

“Yeah,” Jamie said, before wondering how accepted she would be if she showed up to greet Mary, having torn the Angels apart.

As much as Jamie was frustrated by the fighting she had seen during the previous week, she did love all of the Angels as though they were her sisters. Families may argue, Jamie reasoned, but they were still families nonetheless, and Kelly’s words made it clear that no matter what Spencer and Hall wanted the world to believe, Constellation were not a family. What they were, however, were a new opportunity- and not just for more money. In just ten minutes, Jamie had formed more of a bond with Kelly than she had with Stephanie in the previous eighteen months. Jamie genuinely liked Kelly, and knew that if she rejected Spencer & Hall’s offer, she would be hurting her new friend- and, as Jamie was so fond of saying, you can never have too many friends. Either way, Jamie would have to hurt someone before the end of the day…

“I think- I think I’d better go and talk to Mr. Sawyer now,” Jamie said confidently.

----------

“Aww, she is SO cute!” Nikki squeaked as she cradled the two day old girl in her arms.

“Be careful with her head!” Mary urged.

“Umm, hello? Baby sister?” Nikki reminded the worried mother. “I know what I’m doing, don’t I, Natasha?”

“My turn!” Zoe pleaded, gently taking the tiny infant from Nikki’s arms. “Ahh, she is another little ballerina, just like her big sister, isn’t she, Kristina-Leigh?” The entire crowd cooed happily as the tutu-clad two year old girl nodded.

“Your whole family is just so cute,” Charlotte sighed as she pushed a trolley full of drinks through from her kitchen. “Kinda wish I had a second now.”

“Sure, you’re twenty-five, you got plenty of time,” Mary laughed.

“Ehh…” Charlotte grimaced. “No offence, Mary, but I kinda wouldn’t want to bring another kid into the world until I was sure about my own life. God knows I panic enough about little Keithy as it is…”

“You worked today, right?” Mary shrugged. “Jonathan’s promised me all the work I can handle, when I feel up to it.”

“…And we might be getting more work to share around us soon,” Krystie mumbled, darkening the mood in the room.

“I still can’t believe she did that,” Charlotte spat. “Stabbing Joshua in the back whilst he’s in a hospital bed.”

“She only said she was going for a meeting,” Krystie insisted. “It’s not like we’ll never see her again.”

“Why are you sticking up for her?” Charlotte asked.

“Because she’s my friend,” Krystie replied bluntly, silencing the entire room.

“We should- we should get-“ Nikki mumbled, before being interrupted by very phone in the room bleeping to notify their owners of a new text message.

“…Speak of the devil,” Hannah quipped as she read her text. “She- she wants to see us at the office… In an hour.”

“At- at the office?” Mary asked. “As in, Heavenly Talent’s office?”

“I’d assume so,” Hannah shrugged. “Doesn’t give us long to go home and get changed…”

“If this is what I think it is,” Charlotte whispered, “it wouldn’t matter WHAT we wear.” The men and women gathered in the vast room all grimaced, before heading toward the front door to answer Jamie’s invitation. As she sat down in her car alongside her fiancée, Nikki let out a long, frustrated groan.

“Don’t be worried,” Sarah whispered, supportively squeezing Nikki’s hand. “No matter what, you’ve still got your new job with Out of Heaven, right?”

“Yeah,” Nikki said with a smile. “And I am looking forward to it, it’s just… I dunno, I’ll miss her, you know? I’ll miss having a mentor…”

“There’s only so much any mentor can teach you,” Sarah said. “Certainly, when it comes to being a woman? You already know all there is to know.” Nikki smiled as Sarah gave her thigh a gentle squeeze, before allowing her fingers to explore underneath the hem of Nikki's short skirt. “Three months, Nikki. You know what THAT means, right?”

“…It means I have to check to see if I’m up to it,” Nikki grimaced. “I’m still kinda sore down there… And kinda swollen still…”

“I can wait,” Sarah shrugged. “I want your first time to be just as special as mine. God knows you deserve that much.” Nikki smiled as Sarah removed her hand from her thigh, though her heart continued to pound as she followed the convoy of cars to Heavenly Talent’s office in the centre of the city. She’d known Jamie for years, but over the prior few days, it was like she was a stranger- and as Nikki drove, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d never truly know her mentor ever again.

----------

“I’m glad we were able to work this through,” Jonathan whispered as he signed the document and handed it to Jamie. “I, um, I regret some of the things I said. I’m sorry if I hurt our friendship. I’m glad we can still be friends.”

“So am I,” Jamie mumbled. “I- I’m sorry too, sorry for the way I’ve acted the last few days. Friends?” Jamie extended her hand, which the dark-skinned man eagerly shook, a tired smile spreading across his face.

“Friends,” Jonathan said. “I, um, think everyone’s waiting for you downstairs.”

“I really hope this is the last time we have to use that damned studio for an announcement!” Jamie said, making Jonathan chuckle as he took her hand and kept her steady on her heels as they descended the stairs. “You know, Jon, people might say you’ve not quite got your uncle’s brains… You’ve definitely got his laugh, though!” Jamie smiled as Jonathan threw back his head and roared with laughter, a laugh that, while slightly higher-pitched than his uncle, nonetheless brought a smile to the face of everyone in the reception area who heard it.

“Come on,” Jonathan said, leading the blonde woman to the studio where she and her friends had received nothing but bad news during the preceding twelve days.

Jamie took a deep breath as she entered the studio and scanned the faces of everyone present. All of the Angels were there, as were their partners and their children. Jamie grinned as she saw Mary sat on the front row, cradling her newborn daughter in her arms whilst her first child- Jamie’s goddaughter- squirmed in her father’s lap. Jamie had hoped that the first time she saw baby Natasha would be under happier circumstances, but she was just happy to be able to see her at all.

Nikki and her friends were all present, as well, though Jamie found herself unable to return to stare of the woman who was now her former protégé. Krystie’s business partner Zoe was also present, as were three of her friends, women Jamie knew from the ‘Sky Angels’ reality show the agency had produced- and knew from having got to know them since their introduction to the ‘family’ many months beforehand. Ella, the same young woman Jamie had worked with the previous day, was present too, alongside her friend Abbey-Gayle and several other young women whom Jamie didn’t recognise.

Jamie gave Stuart’s hand a quick squeeze as she stepped past him toward the front of the room, though she couldn’t even bring herself to return his gaze, not least because he was stood next to the one person Jamie dreaded seeing the most.

Stephanie bit her lip as she saw Jamie coolly stride past her toward the front of the room and tried not to let the sight of the blonde haired transwoman get under her skin. She’d spent the whole morning in the recording studio with what remained of her band, re-recording tracks for their album, when they all received text messages ordering them to report to the adjacent studio to listen to Jamie’s announcement, even though Stephanie placed no value whatsoever on anything Jamie had to say. Like the other women in the room, Stephanie had heard the rumours that Jamie had had a meeting with the management team at Spencer and Hall, and she hoped that Jamie would announce her imminent departure to that agency and then leave, never to be seen again in the offices of Heavenly Talent.

“My friends,” Jamie announced, taking a deep breath to steady her considerable nerves. “The last two weeks have been hard for all of us. And I acknowledge that I am part of the reason why. My actions were selfish and immature, and for that, I apologise, I apologise fully and unreservedly. Nikki, what I said to you yesterday was wrong. Charlotte, what I said to you on Monday was unforgivable. And Stephanie… The way I’ve treated you over the last few months has been despicable.”

“Go on,” Stephanie said, frowning as Kayla reprimanded her with a light punch in the side.

“I’ve been where you are,” Jamie said. “I know what it’s like to feel like you have to hide who you truly are. I guess I just thought that as you and I are, well, the same, that meant I was entitled to know your secrets. I was wrong. And I apologise."

"...Apology accepted," Stephanie mumbled.

"Same here," Nikki said.

"And from me," Charlotte whispered, handing her son to her husband before approaching Jamie and giving her a long, tight hug. "So... Is this it, then? The end of the Angels as we know it?"

"...Ah, yes, the interview," Jamie said. "Yes, I did speak to Spencer and Hall earlier today. I met with management there, spoke to some of the members of Constellation, and they offered me a contract." Jamie grimaced as the assembled crowd let out a collective sigh.

"A contract..." Jamie said, taking a deep breath. "...That I turned down. Instead, I signed a new contract with Jonathan just a few minutes ago that will keep me at Heavenly Talent for the next TEN years."

"R-really?" Charlotte asked, her jaw dropping. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Jamie said with a warm smile. "This is my family. And yeah, we don't get along, and yeah, there are some people in here who I'll never be friends with, but you don't turn your back on family." Jamie giggled as Charlotte wrapped her body in a tight hug, before sighing contentedly as the rest of the crowd turned the embrace into a group hug.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down," Charlotte whispered in Jamie’s ear. "I'm sorry if- well, I'm sorry. I- I love you, Jamie."

"I love you, Charlotte," Jamie whispered, before grinning as she approached the chair where Mary was sat, cradling her newborn daughter. "Now, can I FINALLY please be introduced?"

"She's only been out of me two days!" Mary laughed. "Natasha, say hi to your auntie Jamie!"

"Hello, Natasha!" Jamie cooed at the tiny infant, giggling as she squirmed around in Mary's arms. "I suppose I'll have you to thank in future years when I get fewer birthday presents, heh."

"They're still wrapped up at home," Keith said. "Waiting for you..."

"That sounds like EVERYTHING I want to do right now," Jamie sighed. "Try and get back to normal... There's something I need to do first, though." Jamie bit her lip as she stared at Stephanie, then Nikki, before her gaze settled on Sarah.

"...Of course," Sarah whispered. "I'll- I'll text her now."

"Text who?" Charlotte asked.

"The person I should've spoken to right from the start," Jamie replied.

----------

Stephanie stretched her limbs as she exited the car, before straightening her short skirt and her dark tights. Behind her, Jamie-Lee Burke did the same, having travelled straight from the agency without even going home to change first. Stephanie regarded Jamie with a suspicious stare, but nodded at the twenty five year old woman as they walked together into the posh office. Her mouth still stung from where Jamie had struck it days earlier, and it had taken all of her willpower not to return the favour during the silent car ride, but Stephanie had managed to put her anger behind her for the duration of the ride.

Stephanie wasn't convinced that Jamie's idea would work, or even have any positive benefit at all, but she was at least willing to try to make it work- and she knew that the person that she and Jamie were going to see was the only person who could make it work.

"Hello Jamie, hello Stephanie," Dr Phillips said as the two young women walked into her office and sat down in separate seats, not looking at each other. "It was lucky I had a vacancy today to fit you both in. Sarah's filled me in about what's been happening, about the, um, fight... I want to hear from both of you first, what do you want to get out of this session?"

"I want us to not be enemies anymore," Jamie said. "Simple as that. I've grown tired of hating Stephanie... I want to try to understand her better."

"Stephanie?" Dr Phillips asked.

"I just want to be able to get on with my life without constantly having to check my behaviour around Jamie," Stephanie replied, fixing Jamie with an accusing stare that the blonde woman was unable to return.

"I want you two to begin by airing your grievances," Dr Phillips said. "This is the opportunity to get anything off your chest. I want the two of you to tell each other why you don't like each other, but I want you to begin every sentence with the word 'I'. Don't make accusations, don't use insulting language, just state, using your own words, why you dislike one another. Stephanie, you go first."

"Jamie, you-" Stephanie began, before withering as her counsellor fixed her with a stern stare. "Jamie, I- I feel like you think that I'm not good enough to be your friend. You- um, I mean, I feel like you only want me as, like, a 'mini-me', not a true friend. I, um, I feel like you don't WANT to trust me."

"Now you, Jamie," Dr Phillips said.

"Stephanie," Jamie whispered. "I- I, um, I feel like YOU don't want to trust ME. When you- uh, I mean, um, I felt, you know, betrayed when the truth came out about your transition. I felt like you thought I couldn't be trusted. I felt like you didn't- you couldn't see me as a true friend. I- I wanted to be a part of your life, but I felt like you only wanted to exclude me."

"Just because we're both transgendered, it doesn't mean we have to be best friends," Stephanie said bluntly. "I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoke-"

"No, it's okay," Dr Phillips said. "You're right in that not all transgendered people are the same, and not all transitions are the same. In fact, you'll never find two transitions that are alike. Stephanie, I want you to respond to what Jamie said. Again, use only sentences that begin with 'I'."

"I- um, I didn't know whether I could trust you," Stephanie said. "Because- umm, I mean, I was having difficulties coming to terms with my transition, and I, uh, I felt like if you knew the truth, you'd be offended... And you- uh, I mean, I feel like you were."

"Jamie, you respond to what Stephanie said," Dr Phillips instructed. "Same rules."

"I was only offended by the lies, not by your transition," Jamie said. "I was offended by the feeling that you thought- um, I mean, I feel like you thought I was unapproachable." An awkward silence filled the room as the two young women mused on what the other told them.

"This isn't going to be a quick process," Dr Phillips explained. "It won't change the nature of your relationship overnight. But over time, I'm sure the two of you can work out your differences. Eventually, you may even be able to call each other 'friend'. This is the first step. We will take ALL the steps together, if that's what you really want."

"It is," Jamie said, wiping a solitary tear from her eye.

"Stephanie?" Dr Phillips asked.

"...Yes, yes I'd like that," Stephanie whispered.

An hour later, Stephanie climbed into the waiting taxi and let out a long, tired sigh. The session had been mentally and emotionally draining, yet the young woman felt oddly refreshed, like a weight had been lifted from her. She and Jamie had finally cleared the air, and whilst she wasn't sure that she could ever call the blonde woman a 'friend', Stephanie was at least confident that she no longer had to worry about Jamie's disapproval of her life, and that she'd be able to live her life the way she wanted, without anything to hide anymore.

That night, Stephanie slept soundly in her bed for the first time in days.

----------

"It's so good to be back in this room," Stuart laughed as he stepped out of his jeans and dumped them on the chair at the end of Jamie's bed. "Girly as it is, of course..."

"And it's only ever going to get girlier," Jamie said, making her fiancé snort with laughter. "But yes, it is good to finally be home, under the same roof as- heh, as my sister."

"Do they do 'blood sisters' the same way they do 'blood brothers'?" Stuart asked.

"If they do, I'm sure as hell am not bleeding," Jamie laughed. "...Sorry, sometimes forget, 'bleeding's kinda a sensitive subject..."

"It's okay," Stuart whispered. "Been the better part of a decade since I last 'bled', heh. Do you- do you suppose they'll ever make it so, you know, transgendered girls like you can, well, 'bleed'?"

"A hundred years from now, who knows?" Jamie shrugged. "I mean let's face it, you're sat there right now with a raging hard-on, a hundred years ago THAT wouldn't have happened!"

"Very true," Stuart laughed as he stared at his penis, which had been made fully erect by the implant within it.

"And a hundred years from now," Jamie laughed, "maybe transgendered men like you will be able to shoot their load all over their girlfriends?"

"Now THAT would've been a birthday present to remember!" Stuart retorted. "Speaking of... Were- were you happy?"

"More today than on my actual birthday, yeah," Jamie laughed. "I mean, the dresses, the make-up, they're cool, but the best present of all is that our, well, our 'family' is back together."

"You DID spend your whole actual birthday with your actual family, you know?" Stuart reminded his fiancée.

"Well, I guess," Jamie mused. "And yes, it was fun, hanging out with dad... But what I have with Charlotte and the rest of the girls... That's- ugh, this'll sound silly..."

"It's closer than family?" Stuart asked. "Doesn't sound silly at all. I mean, think about it, Charlotte doesn't have any family, Mary's all live in Ireland, Hannah barely sees hers, you and Viks fell out with your families for prolonged periods... Seems like Krystie's the only Angel who has a healthy relationship with her family and she moved out at the age of 18 and only sees her parents once a week at most. It's only natural that you'd be closer than sisters. Take it from someone who has two sisters and used to be one himself."

"I guess," Jamie laughed. "Sisters AND cousins, I mean, if I'd fallen out permanently with Nikki I'd have been heartbroken, and Stephanie..."

"...Topic change?" Stuart asked.

"Nah," Jamie whispered. "If Steph and I never become friends... That's okay. Just as long as we don't become enemies ever again."

"Did kinda make my life extra awkward, having to work with her day in, day out," Stuart laughed.

"...Sorry," Jamie grimaced.

"It wasn't all your fault," Stuart said with a wide grin. "It isn't with Becca, either. I'll work on her, get her- well, you know..."

"No rush," Jamie laughed. "Pity that I had to let down another potential 'cousin' to stay in the family... You know, I was all so ready to hate Kelly, but she's cool, really cool."

"Because you took the time to get to know her?" Stuart asked.

"Yes, yes, point taken," Jamie sighed. "No prizes for guessing who you were talking about."

"Did you at least get Kelly's contact details?" Stuart asked. "A phone number, a Facebook friend request?"

"Yeah, we've been texting tonight," Jamie replied. "She's disappointed, obviously, but I think she gets why I turned down Spencer and Hall."

"Well, I'm just glad this whole thing is behind us and we can try to get back to normal," Stuart said. "Well, normal minus a member from my band, anyway. And our boss."

"And our TV show," Jamie sighed, giving her fiancé a kiss as he got into bed with her. "And our PA... Gonna be weird going into work, knowing that Nikki's now working with your band. But still, I guess at least we have still got work. And most importantly, we've still got each other."

"Always," Stuart whispered, returning Jamie's kiss before switching out the light and closing his eyes."

----------

"Mmph," Sarah moaned as Nikki's phone loudly chimed to inform her of a new text message. "Nikki, I get that you love your job, but seriously?"

"Ugh," Nikki moaned as she checked her phone. "It's from Jonathan. Viks's photoshoot today has been canned."

"Oh, what?" Sarah groaned. "Why? Is she laid up with morning sickness again?"

"No..." Nikki said, a wide grin spreading across her face. "It's for a good reason, this time."

Two hours later, Nikki's grin grew wider than ever as she stood outside the main office of Heavenly Talent, dressed in her smartest, tightest skirt suit, her favourite brand of barely black tights and her highest-heeled stiletto pumps. Beside her stood her fiancée, dressed equally smart, and surrounding them were the entire Heavenly Talent 'family', mere hours after their reconciliation. However, there was still one member missing from the 'family'.

"I think that's him!" Jonathan shouted as a black London taxi loomed into view. Less than a minute later, the taxi pulled up alongside the crowd, who all loudly cheered and applauded as Joshua Benedict stepped out of the taxi, accompanied by his wife Judith.

"Enough cheering!" Joshua laughed in a voice much tireder and quieter than his usual bombast. "You will give me another heart attack!"

"Don't say that!" Judith chastised her husband. "There, you've seen that the agency is still standing, now can we PLEASE so home and get you some rest?"

"In time!" Joshua boomed.

"Please, listen to Aunt Judith!" Jonathan pleaded. "I've got thing under control here. I have, honestly."

"He has, Joshua," Jamie said, exchanging a knowing smile with Jonathan.

"Really, he's been doing a great job," Stephanie insisted.

"Then where is Lauren McTavish?" Joshua asked, before sighing as his nephew stared guiltily at the floor. "It is alright, Jonathan. Something I learned a long time ago is that you cannot fight greed, you cannot fight ego. Her choices are her own and no longer any concern of ours. Now... I should head home to rest."

"Yes, you should!" Adeola chastised her uncle, who let out a good-natured chuckle at the young woman's defiance.

"I can rest easily, knowing that the agency is in good hands," Joshua said. "And you all, you ALL are supporting my nephew, right?"

"Of course," Jamie said, the whole crowd nodding in agreement.

"Then get back to work!" Joshua boomed as he climbed back in the taxi along with his wife.

"You heard the boss!" Jonathan yelled, smiling as the crowd dispersed. "Jamie... I could use some help. You know, in the office, getting things straight... Wanna put that new degree of yours to use?"

"I'd be happy to," Jamie said with a warm grin as she followed Jonathan back into the office, whilst the rest of the crowd returned to their homes.

Nikki smiled as she watched Jamie follow Jonathan into the office building. Joshua's words, 'you cannot fight ego', had resonated in her ears. Over the previous week, she'd seen her mentor's ego grow to the extent that she wondered if the Jamie that she'd known was gone forever. Her willingness to 'lower' herself to do admin work, however, reassured Nikki that the Jamie she knew, the Jamie she loved, was not only back, but she wouldn't be going anywhere for a long, long time.

----------

Kelly Watson fidgeted in her tight pencil skirt and her stiletto-heeled pumps as she stood in front of the imposing office building. Outwardly, she was prepared- she was wearing her most expensive suit, her most expensive designer shoes and her favourite jewellery, her make-up was immaculate and her shoulder-length jet black hair had been tied back into a very professional ponytail. She was the image of coolness, but inside, her heart was fluttering with nerves.

"May I help you?" The receptionist- whose nameplate read 'Ella'- asked as Kelly strode toward her desk.

"I'd like to speak to Mr. Benedict, please," Kelly replied with a quivering voice.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Benedict isn't available today," Ella replied. "If you'd like to submit a portfolio, I'll see to it that he or one of his agents receives it and reviews it."

"Tell him-" Kelly said, before biting her lip, aware of how diva-like she was about to behave. "Tell him that Kelly Watson would like to speak to him about a contract."

"...Right away, Miss Watson," Ella said as Kelly tried not to smile too smugly.

Ten minutes later, Kelly found herself sat opposite the young but imposing figure of Jonathan Benedict, trying not to squirm as he questioned her. To Kelly's relief, sat alongside Jonathan was Jamie-Lee Burke- who had greeted Kelly like an old friend the second she'd stepped through the office door.

"I'm gonna be honest," Jonathan chuckled. "This was the LAST thing I expected to happen, heh."

"I'm kinda surprised myself," Kelly laughed. "When I signed up for Constellation, I was expecting- heh, I don't know WHAT I was expecting. A family, maybe, a group of true friends... Sure, I was also expecting fame and fortune. I want to be famous, I want to travel the world, see all the most exotic places... But I- I don't want to do it alone."

"You wouldn't be alone in Constellation," Jonathan said.

"Wouldn't I?" Kelly sighed. "Those girls aren't my friends. They aren't anyone's friends. Each one of them is lining up to position themselves as the 'true' face of Constellation. That's not a 'family'. Well, unless you count the Lannisters..."

"I sympathise, I really do," Jonathan said. "But what you want- it's asking a lot. REALLY a lot. Buying your contract from Spencer and Hall... You know you'd be taking a huge pay cut, right?"

"I understand," Kelly said.

"And even though we get on, there's no guarantee you'll get on with the rest of the Angels," Jamie said. "I'll of course speak up for you, vouch for you-"

"I understand," Kelly repeated. "I told you yesterday that I always wanted to be a member of the Angels, I fantasised about it. I thought I'd have it with Constellation... I was wrong. Dead wrong."

"There's also the legal aspect," Jonathan sighed. "Spencer and Hall will NOT be happy about us poaching their 'star player'."

"They poached Lauren from Out of Heaven," Kelly retorted. "Call it tit for tat? Pun NOT intended, of course."

"And the cost of buying out your contract," Jonathan sighed. "It'll cost considerably more than Spencer and Hall paid us for Dannii and Lauren combined. And without the TV money from the Angels, that's gonna be a hard price to justify."

"I have contacts," Kelly shrugged. "When my dad moved back from Hong Kong he got a job working as a consultant for loads of different companies. I'm sure I can persuade him to whisper in a few ears."

"Yeah, well unless one of those ears belongs to Jeff Bezos, I'm gonna have a hard time justifying the cost to my uncle," Jonathan sighed, before looking on quizzically as Kelly relaxed back into her chair with a wide, smug grin on her face.

----------

"It's a gamble," Jamie said as Jonathan collected the multiple-page contract from his printer. "Are you sure about this?"

"No," Jonathan sighed. "But one of these days, one day soon, all this will be mine. Uncle Joshua's heart attack proved that that day might be sooner rather than later. I've got to prove to him that I can make these big decisions, you know?"

"If you don't mind me saying," Jamie mumbled, "it sounds more like you need to prove this to yourself."

"...You're probably right," Jonathan said with a heavy sigh. "You really sure you'll vouch for her?"

"100%," Jamie said with a warm grin. "Now come on, 'Simba'!"

"I'm gonna be a mighty king..." Jonathan playfully sang as he and Jamie returned to the office where Kelly was waiting. "Sorry for the delay."

"It's okay," Kelly said. "Is- is that it?"

"Yep," Jonathan said. "Just sign where I've marked, and you'll officially be an Angel."

"Oh my god, this is so cool," Kelly laughed as Jonathan handed her a pen.

"Cooler than signing for Spencer and Hall?" Jamie asked.

"A million times cooler," Kelly said as she signed her signature on the pages. "There, I was just getting a job. Here... I already feel like part of a family."

"Well just so you're aware, families do fall out from time to time," Jonathan said. "It's gonna take time for you to settle in. And I expect you to deliver on those promises, okay?"

"I'll start making calls the second I get home," Kelly laughed.

"You've got a mobile, start the second you leave the office," Jonathan teased, letting out a playful chuckle to let Kelly know he wasn't being entirely serious. "But I think that's all we need... Welcome to Heavenly Talent, Kelly Watson!"

"Thank you for having me!" Kelly laughed, before gasping at her double entendre. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Jonathan laughed. "Now you'll have to excuse me, I've got a lot of cheques to write... And a LOT of explaining to do to my uncle!"

"Want me to help?" Jamie asked.

"Nah, you go," Jonathan said. "Introduce Kelly to the rest of the girls. No offence, Kel, but I think we've spent enough time in massive conferences in the studios downstairs."

"Amen to that!" Jamie laughed. "Come on, Kelly, I'll introduce you to Charlotte. And the two Keiths, of course!"

"So cool," Kelly giggled as she and Jamie walked down the stairs and out the front door of the agency, where a taxi was already waiting for them. "You- you actually do live with Charlotte, then?"

"I actually do live with Charlotte!" Jamie giggled. "I spend some time at my parents, some at my fiancé’s house, but most of the time we stay at Charlotte's."

"Oh my god, that is SO cool," Kelly sighed. "Like, watching the Angels, I always thought that the house was, like, a set or something..."

"Nope!" Jamie laughed. "And yes, it really does contain a huge L-shaped function room with a bar at one end and a big-screen projector at the other! Think it used to be multiple living rooms or something, then Charlotte's father had it converted."

"Awesome," Kelly said. "And- and I'll be allowed to go to the parties? You know, the Saturday-"

"Allowed? Try OBLIGED," Jamie laughed. "And you'll be 'allowed' to get up to speed with ballet, if that's what you really want."

"Definitely," Kelly laughed. "Well, up until I go in for my op next year, anyway..."

"Ah, of course," Jamie grimaced.

"I'm still SO nervous about that," Kelly mumbled. "Would- would you mind, you know, if I picked your brains? Like, if I became, you know, an unofficial 'protégé'?"

"'Protégé'?" Jamie replied. "No. 'Partner', on the other hand..." Kelly grinned widely as the taxi made its way through the streets of London, eventually arriving at the vast house where Jamie lived. Jamie grinned as she took her key out of her handbag and let herself and Kelly in, and her grin only grew wider as she heard the unmistakable sounds of a baby's laughter coming from the living room.

"Charlotte?" Jamie called. "Charlie, you in?"

"No, just the two of us," Eilish replied as she emerged from the living room with Keith junior in her arms. "Ah... I see we've got a guest!"

"Yep!" Kelly giggled nervously. "I'm Kelly, Kelly Watson."

"Oh, believe me, EVERYONE who spends more than five seconds in this house knows who you are," the Irishwoman laughed. "Does this mean, then, that I'm not going to get to be the seventh Angel after all?"

"Well... Not the OFFICIAL seventh," Jamie laughed. "When will Charlotte and Keith get back?"

"About an hour, they just went out for a late lunch," Eilish replied. "Make yourself at home."

"...I live here," Jamie retorted in a blunt voice.

"I was talking to our guest," Eilish chuckled, earning a stuck-out tongue from Jamie in response.

Jamie and Kelly spent the next hour getting to know each other better, discussing their childhoods, their difficult school lives, their relationships and their families, before Charlotte and Keith arrived home just after half past three. As expected, Charlotte gasped when she saw Kelly sat on her sofa, but after thirty seconds of explanation from Jamie, Charlotte was embracing Kelly like she was a friend she'd known her whole life.

----------

"No matter how many times this happens, it never gets any easier," Mrs. Abbott said, wiping away a tear as Stephanie packed away her clothes into several large suitcases.

"I know," Stephanie sighed. "But it just makes sense this way. Besides, I'm twenty, I need my own space... And besides, the way Tom and Amanda are going, soon you may have grandchildren to lavish all your attention on!"

"I'm too young to be a granddad," Stephanie's father jokingly protested.

"You're 54," Stephanie reminded the balding man. "You're really not."

"Just- just get packed," Mr. Abbott chastised his giggling daughter.

"Don't rush her!" Mrs. Abbott snapped. "We've had twenty-nine years of nothing but boys under this roof... I'd like to enjoy the last few minutes of finally having a girl living here while they last." Stephanie blushed as her mother spoke- for all the months it took for her friends to accept her as a woman, her mother had always been a pillar of support, and she felt a pang of guilt at moving out of the house for the second time in as many years. However, she knew that the home she'd be moving into would support her just as much as the one she was leaving- a belief that was confirmed when she finished packing and handed the smallest of her many suitcases to the tiny blonde girl waiting outside the room.

"This is going to be BEYOND awesome," Kayla laughed as she hauled the suitcase downstairs. "We're going to have so much fun, staying awake all night watching TV, playing videogames..."

"Gossiping, painting each other's nails?" Stephanie concluded, making Kayla giggle as she made her way downstairs to the borrowed van with her own suitcase.

"Doing things we want to do because we are two independent women who AREN'T defined by any categories, gender or otherwise," Kayla said with a smug grin. "Okay boys, all yours." Stephanie and Kayla smiled as Stephanie's brother Danny, Becca's boyfriend Riley and Adeola's boyfriend Marco all entered the house, returning minutes later with several much, much larger suitcases.

"We are still going to subscribe to SOME gender stereotypes, right?" Stephanie asked.

"Oh, hell yeah," Kayla giggled. "Come on guys, keep it moving!"

"Make us all a cup of tea and we will!" Danny retorted, laughing as his sister gave him the finger.

"...Just a pity your other brother couldn't come," Kayla sighed.

"One step at a time," Stephanie whispered as the last of her belongings were loaded into the van. "One step at a time..."

"Well, that's that, then," Mrs. Abbott sniffled as she gave her daughter a long, tight hug. "You come back here anytime you want, okay? You keep your key, anytime you need to stay over, or even if you just want to raid the fridge. That goes for both of you, right?"

"Thanks," Kayla said as Mrs. Abbott gave her a long hug. "I'll take care of her, I promise."

"You'd better," Mrs. Abbott said, making Kayla giggle.

"Come on," Riley moaned. "Mikey wants his van back at some point today."

"BOY!" Stephanie and Kayla yelled simultaneously, making each other squeak with laughter.

Stephanie and Kayla whiled away the rest of the night helping Stephanie get settled in, before relaxing by, as promised, playing videogames and painting each other's nails. Despite it being her first night in an unusual bed, Stephanie slept soundly, knowing that she was under the same roof as not just her best friend, but the best friend she ever had, or, in all likelihood, ever would have.

----------

All the members of the Heavenly Talent family slept soundly throughout Thursday night, even the newest member of said family. Kelly's father had been concerned for his daughter when she'd told him about her change in job, and was irritated when he found out that she had made promises that he would have to keep, but he was happy to make said promises, and Kelly had a spring in her step as she entered the offices of her new agency on Friday morning, dressed in her second-most expensive skirt suit and heels.

Kelly's presence drew a lot of murmurs as she stepped into the studio where her friends had received so much bad news over the previous two weeks, but the smiles on Jamie's and Jonathan's faces reassured her, and the wide grin of Joshua Benedict- who was observing the meeting by webcam from his home- made her especially excited.

"My friends," Jonathan said, "you have my absolute, 100%, cast iron guarantee that this is the last time we will all be sat in this studio like this. Because after today there will be no more fighting, no more arguing and needing to apologise... And no more lies."

"You may have noticed that there's an extra face in the crowd today," Jamie said with a smug grin that unintentionally got under the skin of many in the crowd, including Stephanie. "I'd like you to all meet Kelly Watson, FORMERLY of Spencer and Hall... And now officially the seventh Angel!"

"Umm... No offence to anyone, but did we need a seventh Angel?" Mary asked, making Kelly bite her lip to keep herself from retorting.

"In fairness, we've had at least ten more unofficial Angels for the last couple of years," Jamie replied. "The only difference is that Kelly will be promoted alongside the six of us who are, you know, 'original Angels'."

"Promoted how?" Krystie asked. "We've, like, got no show, Constellation are going to eat up all our work... No offence, Kelly, but you may have swapped the winning side for the losing side."

"I'd rather quote-unquote lose with genuine people than 'win' with a bunch of phoneys," Kelly retorted. "Constellation are entirely artificial."

"You did hear what Laura and her friends said on Tuesday, at your class," Jamie reminded Krystie.

"Well- yeah, I guess," Krystie said. "And I guess if we're anything, we're, heh, 'genuine'..."

"I- I just want you to give me a chance," Kelly said.

"Well obviously we'll give you a chance," Hannah said. "But Krystie does have a point, we've got no show, I've only worked one day this week..."

"You will have a LOT more work coming your way soon," Jonathan said with a smug grin. "Not least filming for the FOURTH season of the Angels!"

"Wait- wait, what?" Charlotte asked. "ITV2 renewed us?"

"Nope!" Jonathan said, his grin growing wider. "Thanks to Miss Watson's contacts, I have secured for the six- sorry, the SEVEN of you a deal for two ten-episode seasons... On Amazon Prime."

"Amazon Prime!?" Krystie asked, her skepticism immediately replace by excitement.

"Does- does this mean that we-" Stuart asked before being interrupted.

"No, we can't have any crossovers with Clarkson, Hammond and May," Jonathan laughed. "Trust me, I've already asked. What we can have, though, is increased exposure for the Angels resulting in increased work- exposure and work that can easily be shared with the remaining members of the former Teen Angels and Out of Heaven."

"This is awesome," Becca breathed happily.

"Does this also mean that the ban on-" Krystie began, before being interrupted.

"Yes, regular parties and dance lessons are hereby reinstated," Jonathan said. "With one exception- we're having the party at Charlotte's house tonight instead of tomorrow. We've got a new member- no, TWO new members to welcome, after all!"

"If the second new member is Natasha, I hope you mean 'this afternoon' instead of 'tonight'!" Mary said.

"As long as you promise to give me a break six months from now!" Jonathan replied, whilst gently squeezing his pregnant wife's hand.

"...Deal," Mary said with a happy, contented smile.

"Excellent!" Joshua boomed from the laptop's monitor. "So stop sitting around in those hot, heavy suits, go home, get changed and have fun this weekend! Next week, you will all be back at work or university and working hard! So go home!"

"Yes, boss!" Jonathan laughed.

"Everyone apart from my nephew!" Joshua laughed as the rest of the crowd dispersed and headed back to their homes.

The whole 'family' spent the afternoon at Charlotte's house, spoiling Mary, her husband and both of her daughters with gifts and attention, before returning to their homes to change, the women into their chicest party dresses and the men into their smartest shirts and trousers. By 8:30pm, they were all- minus Mary and her newborn daughter- back at Charlotte's house, celebrating Kelly's arrival into the 'family'. The oriental girl felt embarrassed at the attention that was being lavished on her, but her embarrassment quickly faded and she soon felt like she'd been a part of the family her whole life.

At around 10pm, with the party in full swing, Kelly became aware of Jamie gesturing to her from near the bar. As Kelly approached, she quickly saw that Jamie was not alone, but was accompanied by Nikki and Stephanie.

"Hi Kelly!" Nikki giggled semi-drunkenly. "Welcome to T-girl corner!"

"Thanks," Kelly laughed nervously.

"Hi Kelly," Stephanie said, her mood and her demeanour much more sober than Nikki's. "Kurt not with you?"

"Umm, no, he's visiting his parents in Canada this weekend, probably boarding his plane right now," Kelly mumbled, acutely aware that her boyfriend used to be Stephanie's boyfriend.

"I think... We should go somewhere quieter," Jamie said, leading her three fellow transgendered women upstairs to her bedroom, where they all elegantly sat down on Jamie's bed or on one of her chairs.

"Frankly, I'm glad our family has another T-girl," Nikki said. "I mean, no offence to you, Jamie, and absolutely ZERO offence to you Steph, but I- I kinda wish I could be friends with all the T-girls in the country. Hope the Angels are still going in three years when Laura turns eighteen, she'd LOVE these parties."

"Well, the Angels ARE getting another two seasons," Jamie said smugly. "We do well enough, we might just get more..."

"Let's just concentrate on the first season first," Kelly said. "You know... When I first- when I first came out, I honestly thought I was alone. I mean, I have enough trouble fitting in as it is, I'm not quite Chinese, I'm not quite English, not quite oriental or Caucasian... I've spent most of my life being used to being alone, isolated because of who or what I am."

"Tell me about it," Nikki sighed. "I literally don't speak to anyone from my school anymore. I um, came out literally the day after I left school, the same day actually, after my last exam..."

"I know," Kelly said as her cheeks began to redden. "I, um, I kinda read your blog..."

"Oh- really?" Nikki asked. "So cool... Then you'll know that if it wasn't for Sarah, I- I wouldn't be here. And I don't just mean 'I wouldn't be sat here with a vagina wearing a dress'... I might not even be here at all." Nikki sighed happily as Jamie gave her a quick, gentle hug.

"Same for me and Charlotte," Jamie sighed. "She didn't just give me this life, she gave me A life."

"...I guess the same goes for me too," Stephanie said. "'Steve' was just some directionless, unemployed loser. 'Stephanie' is a winner in everything she does, and it's all thanks to this 'family' I've been adopted into. Well, maybe not a winner in EVERYTHING, but- I'd rather be sat here wearing this dress than wearing trousers. And I have no intention of letting 'Steve' back into my life. Ever."

"Atta girl!" Jamie giggled. "I know you'll get your hormones soon, I'm sure of it."

"Want me to pout at Sarah's mum for you a bit?" Nikki offered, making Stephanie snort with laughter.

"Appreciate the offer, but it'll happen when it happens," Stephanie replied.

"Oh, but I do a GOOD pout!" Nikki said, before pushing her lips forward and widening her eyes in the deepest pout she could manage- a feat that made Stephanie, Jamie and Kelly all giggle.

"Ooh, ooh, me next!" Kelly laughed, before matching Nikki's pout. Jamie and Stephanie both took their turns pouting, and by the end of the 'session', all four girls were having difficulty breathing, they were laughing so much.

"You know..." Kelly said. "Being sat here... It's not the dress, or the jewellery, or the hair or the make-up, or even the hormones that I'm most grateful for. It's this- the four of us. Whether we're real girls or transgendered girls or even not 'girls' at all... We're friends. And that's the greatest thing about being a girl- having girl friends. Umm, by which I of course mean-"

"To friendship," Jamie toasted. "The greatest thing about being a girl."

"To friendship," the other three women repeated as they clinked their glasses together.

The four women's lives weren't perfect by any measure. They'd all found out that people who were their friends would just as happily stab them in the back the first chance they'd get, but they also found that if they have someone wanting to be their friend a chance, they'd gain a friendship that could last the rest of their lives.

Nikki looked forward to her new job working with Stephanie and the band, Stephanie looked forward to her new life living with Kayla, Jamie looked forward to renewing and strengthening her relationships with her friends, and pledged to become more mature as she entered the second half of her twenties, and Kelly looked forward to several more parties like the one she was attending. But most of all, the four women looked forward to relaxing following the two hardest weeks of their lives.

Their lives weren't perfect, but they were still pretty amazing, and they were undoubtedly infinitely better than they would have been had they still been male. And Jamie, Nikki, Stephanie and Kelly wouldn't have it any other way.

"Girl life forever!" Nikki cheered as the clock struck midnight.

"Ahh, I am SO excited about this!" Krystie squeaked as the plane started to taxi down the runway at London's vast Heathrow airport.

"Never been to America before?" Viks asked.

"Nope!" Krystie giggled. "Never even been outside Europe before, and even then it was only for the other launches, heh."

"Didn't get much of a chance to honeymoon thanks to 'other considerations'," Mikey, Krystie's husband, chuckled as he tried to calm the squirming fifteen-month-old child in his lap.

"And we're technically not even now," Krystie sighed. "Gonna be so busy this coming week we'll barely get any time for any sightseeing, heh. But we are determined to make the most of what we can."

"And you've got to admit," the north-east accented voice of Alice Devry chimed in, "there aren't many jobs where an all-expenses paid week in America is gonna happen!"

"Oh, definitely not!" Viks giggled. "Where you headed again?"

"For my solo appearance?" Alice asked, grinning as her brown-haired friend nodded. "Viva Las Vegas! Think they think that a red-haired girl from Teesside is the best bet out of all of us to be a showgirl, heh!"

"I'd definitely agree with them," Ricky, Alice's boyfriend, said as he gave the young woman's neck a playful nuzzle.

"Oh- shut up, you!" Alice chastised with a giggle. "Yesterday, right? His sister's seventeenth birthday. So what does he offer her? Tickets to see England play the USA at Wembley."

"...It's a night out, right?" Ricky shrugged.

"Uh-huh," Alice nodded. "That Heavenly Talent paid for and had spare tickets left over."

"Point being?" Ricky asked.

"Point being that maybe your sister had had enough of football growing up?" Jamie asked, silencing Ricky as the plane took off and bore its passengers westward.

As she sat back and listened to her friends' conversation, Jamie-Lee Milton knew better than most people on the plane why Ricky's sister wouldn't have appreciated the football tickets. She knew as well as Ricky himself did that for the first eleven and a half years of her life, his sister had been his brother. For over five years, Laura (as she was known after abandoning her birth name of 'Leon') had struggled with her transition from male to female, to become the girl she always wanted to be, the girl she had always been on the inside. Throughout most of her struggle, though, Laura had always had one source of comfort to fall back on- a group of models and reality TV called 'The Angels', the same group of which Jamie, Krystie, Viks, Alice and six other girls (all of whom were on the flight) were members. It was Jamie in particular that Laura, along with many other transgendered girls in the UK looked to for inspiration, because when Jamie had been born just over 27 years earlier, she had been a boy named 'James'.

A chance encounter seven and a half years earlier with an already-famous model named Charlotte Hutchinson, whom 'James' resembled despite being (outwardly) male, had seen Jamie's life take a path she never imagined possible. A skint, unemployed and virtually unemployable teenaged boy was transformed into a rich, famous and glamorous woman under the tutelage of both Charlotte and her agent, a very astute Nigerian-born man named Joshua Benedict. He had marketed Charlotte and Jamie, along with their friends Krystie, Mary, Hannah and Viks as a super-close modelling clique, and fans had lapped it up. And this was in no small part due to Jamie and the message she conveyed- that no matter what your circumstances were at birth, it shouldn't get in the way of your dreams, and most certainly shouldn't stop you from having them.

The other message that Jamie had tried, for the most part successfully to convey, was that one could never have too many friends. It was a message she took to heart, even during the occasions when events conspired to put her beliefs to the test.

In the five years that the Angels had existed, Jamie had interacted with and helped countless young girls throughout the UK and beyond, either through the occasional email or in a more hands-on way as an active mentor, as was the case with at least one other girl on the same flight. The more help she offered, the greater her fame grew, which gave her more scope to help other girls in need.

Jamie's path to fame hadn't been all smooth sailing, of course. Her initial coming out to the general public had been difficult (and had cost her her relationship with her then-boyfriend), and as the Angels grew in fame, there were always those critical of allowing a transgendered woman into an all-female clique, whether they were radical feminists who accused Jamie of 'misappropriating' her gender, or religious fanatics who used scripture to try to justify their bigotry. However, for every critical comment Jamie received either online or in the media, there were tens of fans willing to come to her aid.

The success of the Angels had led to them expanding, adding four new members (including Alice) and being signed to the ever-growing Amazon Prime Video lineup. The simplicity of the format (from both a marketing and production standpoint) quickly led to launches in other markets. Germany was first, followed by Italy, Australia and Ireland. Each new 'Angel group' had one thing in common- at least one member was (at time of joining) a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual. While Jamie initially worried about transgender issues being treated like a gimmick, her mind was set at ease upon meeting each girl and realising that their desire to be a role model was as genuine as her own.

Eventually, the time had come to launch the 'Angels' brand in the world's largest consumer market- the United States of America. Preparations for the launch had taken over eighteen months- since before even the launch of the German 'Angel group'- due to a mixture of licensing issues and the genuine desire to get the launch right. The British Angels had had limited success in some small pockets of America, but for the brand to truly take off, the nation needed its own girls to 'invest' in, just as Britain had with Jamie and her friends. Jamie was nervous about the upcoming launch, though, even though she would be there in person to assist with it, just as she had been in Germany, Italy, Ireland- and in Spain in the summer that had just gone.

However, during the launch of 'Bellezas', the Spanish 'Angel group', Jamie had felt like a fifth wheel for two very good reasons- she spoke very little Spanish, and for the first time, there would be no transgendered members of the group.

Jamie, along with Kelly, the other transgendered 'Angel', had briefly argued that the Bellezas group shouldn't be counted as a 'real' Angel group due to what they perceived as a slight, but their argument quickly petered out when they were reminded of Jamie's initial worries about her transgendered status- as well as that of Kelly, Melissa from the German group, Chiara from the Italian group, McKayla from the Australian group and Tanya from the Irish group- being seen as a 'gimmick'. The true 'gimmick' of all 'Angel groups', as Jamie was reminded, was that they had all been friends prior to the groups forming, and as Jamie herself often said, you can never have too many friends.

Two years earlier, a rival London-based talent agency had attempted to copy the success of the Angels by manufacturing their own group, known as 'Constellation', but despite early successes, they were soon eclipsed by the original Angels, helped in no small part by Kelly defecting from Constellation before the group had even made one public appearance together. All of the talent agencies promoting the international 'Angel groups' had taken this lesson to heart and made sure their girls had had months of interacting together before their public launch and tinkered with their line-ups to ensure the group had gelled perfectly- and nowhere was this more the case than with the two groups that were to launch in the United States over the subsequent few days.

And yet, Jamie still felt nervous about the launch, just as she had with Bellezas, because neither of the two groups contained any transgendered girls. Jamie understood the reason, which was the same as with the Spanish group- that they had to allow the groups to form naturally, and whether she liked it or not, no transgendered girls had naturally gravitated toward the groups. What made Jamie nervous was the fact that yet again, she would be flying into an unknown land and presenting herself as a girl, when there would be thousands, if not millions who would criticise her for doing so.

"Hey," Charlotte- Jamie's oldest and best friend- whispered to the young transgendered woman, derailing her train of thought. "You okay?"

"Hmm?" Jamie replied. "Umm, yeah, fine, why d'you ask?"

"'Cause after seven years, I like to think I know what that look means," Charlotte replied.
"...What 'look'?" Jamie asked.

"The 'I'm entering enemy territory' look," Charlotte replied.

"Umm, I've been to America before," Jamie retorted. "I think this'll be, like, my eighth trip? Second in the last six months, even."

"But first that won't be a holiday," Charlotte said. "And you're nervous about presenting yourself to a country where a good chunk of the population isn’t trans-friendly?"

"Umm, that describes EVERY country," Jamie retorted. "And this is the same country that launched RuPaul's Drag Race. Hell, if anything, America might be the most trans-friendly country in the world. Well, the north of it, anyway."

"Mmm," Charlotte mused. "But you're not a drag queen though, are you?"

"Well- no," Jamie sighed. "Which is part of the problem. There's a difference between a man pretending to be a woman for a job, and actually becoming a woman for life. And there are still some people who think the former's okay but the latter's some kind of weird perversion or something."

"Well then, who better to educate them?" Charlotte said with a grin. "And besides, like you said, there are huge chunks of America that ARE trans-friendly, so you don't need to be so nervous!"

"I know, I know," Jamie said, letting out a heavy, tired sigh. "It's just- ugh, I dunno. It feels like this whole trip is going to be, you know, 'make or break' for the Angels, you know? Either we keep flying high, or we- well, a plane isn't really the place for THAT metaphor..."

"Thank god these three are already asleep," Charlotte giggled, gesturing to the seat where her three-year-old son was sleeping, and to the laps or herself and her husband, where their months-old twin daughters were resting. "But yeah, I think I get what you mean. Joshua- well, everyone at the agency’s worked so hard to get this launch right. Now it’s our turn, heh.”

“Yeah,” Jamie chuckled. “But it’s not just Joshua who’s counting on us getting this launch right- well, not for me, anyway.”

“You will be FINE,” Charlotte insisted. “In a few weeks’ time you’ll be an icon and an inspiration to transgendered people on both sides of the Atlantic, I guarantee it. Hell, you already are for some people, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Jamie replied with a smile as she remembered all the friends she’d made on the Western side of the Atlantic Ocean. “Now we’ll be making it ‘official’, heh.”

“You make it sound almost like we’re getting married!” Hannah Dexter, one of the most high-profile of the ten Angels, teased.

“Meh, in a way, we kind of are,” Jamie replied.

“Well I really can’t wait to get there and get started!” Hannah giggled. “Yeah, it’ll be hard work, but no harder than being on Strictly, right?”

“Oh- you could at least have waited until we were out of British airspace before bringing THAT up!” Alice snorted as she and the other Angels began good-naturedly teasing their blonde friend. However, the mere mention of Strictly Come Dancing caused another of the flight’s passengers to start to tense up.

Like Jamie and Kelly, Stephanie Abbott was one of the most famous young women in the UK, albeit for her singing talent rather than for modelling, and like Jamie and Kelly, she had been born male, but had long since begun to transition to female. Unlike Jamie and Kelly, though, she hadn’t undergone gender confirmation surgery, but that didn’t stop her, any of her friends or any of her millions of fans from viewing her as a woman. Over the previous three and a half years, Stephanie and her bandmates had become just as famous and as loved as the Angels, and seen as role models to countless teenaged girls, but the road hadn’t always been smooth for her.

Stephanie’s struggles with juggling her transition and her fame had also resulted in struggles with anxiety, stress and depression, which had also resulted in her briefly running away from her life, her staying in a psychiatric hospital for a few days and conflict with her friends- including Jamie, with whom Stephanie had had a physical altercation. However, Stephanie hadn’t just survived, but had thrived, thanks to help from her family, her friends, her bandmates, and in particular her best friend.

Stephanie had met Kayla on the day they’d both auditioned for Out of Heaven and had immediately developed a liking for the petite girl. Just had Stephanie had grown during her time in the band, so had Kayla, developing from a nervous, shy seventeen-year-old girl into a confident and beautiful twenty-one-year-old woman. Over time, Stephanie's fondness for Kayla had grown into physical attraction, and eventually, the two had begun a loving, committed relationship. However, despite being together for over a year, Stephanie continued to be frustrated by Kayla’s reluctance to go public with their relationship, and Kayla’s appearance on the famous BBC dancing show had caused them to spend even less time together. The frustration even extended to the trip to America, as the last time Stephanie had visited the US, she had been on holiday with Kayla, celebrating the wedding of two close friends and spending time as a virtually incognito couple. During this trip, however, everyone would know who Stephanie was, and if they didn’t, an army of publicists would soon correct that. And worst of all, thanks to her Strictly commitments, Kayla had remained in England. However, as she was soon reminded, Stephanie was far from alone on the flight.

“You awake?” Becca, one of Stephanie’s bandmates, said, snapping the young transwoman out of her daydream.

“Hmm?” Stephanie replied. “Umm, yeah, just, you know, thinking…”

“Technically, I think it’s called ‘pining’,” Adeola, Stephanie’s other bandmate, teased with a wide grin on her dark-skinned features. “And believe me, I know the feeling. Pretty much everyone from Heavenly Talent is on this flight, but my fiancé? Nope, got to work all week back in England.”

“You know Jonathan did that deliberately,” Becca teased, referring to Adeola’s cousin, who was also the husband of one of the Angels and the general day-to-day manager of Heavenly Talent.

“No I didn’t!” Jonathan replied from his seat two rows in front of his cousin and her bandmates. “Wish I could take credit for it, though!”

“BOY,” Becca and Adeola retorted, earning giggles from many of the other women on the plane.

“No offence, Riley,” Stephanie said to Becca’s fiancé with a snort of laughter.

“Yeah, if I haven’t developed a thick skin by now, I never will,” Riley replied with a tired sigh, before grinning as Becca leaned into him for a cuddle.

“Ah, looks like it’ll be me and you keeping each other company!” Adeola teased Stephanie, who simply rolled her eyes and let out a small giggle in response.

“We’re NOT sharing a bed,” Stephanie replied, before sharing a louder giggle with her two bandmates.

“Ahh, no danger of THAT happening!” Adeola giggled. “Thank god we’ve got a great PA who’s got us great hotel rooms for our trip, eh?”

“A great PA who’s also gonna be sleeping alone tonight,” Becca said quietly as she gestured toward the back of the plane, where the PA in question sat by herself, staring intently at her iPad.

Nikki Phillips-Thomas wasn’t as famous as Jamie, Kelly or Stephanie. She had a significant online following, with over 100 000 followers on Instagram and over 10 000 subscribers on YouTube, and had briefly been a member of a group of ‘Angels’ aimed at a younger audience than Jamie’s group, but she wasn’t what you’d call a ‘celebrity’. However, this didn’t stop Jamie and the rest of the Angels from including not just Nikki but her friends as well in their lives as not just fans and colleagues, but genuine friends. Nikki had been a bridesmaid at Jamie’s wedding, and vice versa, and Nikki knew that she could always go to Jamie for help with any problems she might have. This was partly because Jamie believed in adhering to her most famous saying- that you can never have too many friends- but also because when Nikki was born, she was a boy named Nick.

Nikki’s transition officially started in 2013, when she began hormone replacement therapy, but it had truly begun two years earlier when she met her future wife, a girl named Sarah. Together, they had helped ‘Nick’ become ‘Nikki’, and over time, Nikki and Sarah had become the couple known to their friends as ‘Snikki’, as they were rarely seen apart. However, on this particular November morning, things were different. Nikki’s job as PA to the Angels required her to fly to America with them, whilst Sarah’s studies required her to stay in London, and even though they’d only been separated for a matter of hours, Nikki was already feeling bereft.

“Are you going to sulk for this whole trip?” Katie, Nikki’s friend and photographer for Heavenly Talent, asked.

“Oh- leave me alone,” Nikki pouted. “I’ve got a lot of work to do, got to make sure all the flights are booked, there are no delays…”

“Yeah, that’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Katie said with a tired sigh. “It’s not like you’re never gonna see her again, is it? Thought you’d got it out of you at the airport.”

“By now you should know that Nikki plus airports equals dehydration through the tear ducts!” Jacinta, a friend of Nikki’s and a fellow transwoman, teased, chuckling as Nikki rolled her eyes.

“Hilarious,” Nikki snorted. “The thanks I get for getting you an invite to this trip…”

“Oh- come on,” Jacinta said with an exaggerated sigh. “I am grateful, you know? The magazine will love the exclusives. And I’m definitely going to love getting to spend time with all of you, hehe!”

“Yeah,” Nikki sighed happily. “Dilating in an aeroplane toilet probably won’t-“

“That’s all I need to hear about THAT, thank you very much,” Katie protested, making her two friends smirk as she pressed the call button above her head. “If this is what we’re going to be talking about all trip, I am VERY glad I’m twenty-one!” Nikki and Jacinta smirked again as a smartly dressed stewardess approached their seats.

“Hi, how can I help?” The flight attendant asked with a professional smile.

“Glass of Bailey’s, please,” Katie replied.

“Make that two,” Jacinta said. “Nikki? You want one?”

“Ehh… Better not,” Nikki replied. “Need a clear head for all of this, heh.”

“Meh, don’t blame you,” Katie said, before thanking the flight attendant for her drink and relaxing back into her seat. “And who knows? Might be more trips across the Atlantic in years to come, if these new Angel groups take off. Pun intended, hehe!”

“Ooh, speaking of transatlantic trips,” Jacinta teased as a young, short-statured man with unruly ginger hair passed their aisle. “Hello, Kurt!”

“Oh, umm, hey,” Kurt replied in his soft Canadian accent. “Just, umm, going-“ Jacinta and Katie both giggled teasingly as Kurt gestured toward the toilet at the back of the plane.

“Don’t let us keep you,” Katie giggled. “Looking forward to getting closer to home?”

“A bit,” Kurt shrugged. “Me and Kelly are going to have a week in Winnipeg after the LA launch, we’ve already missed Thanksgiving and won’t be able to come over for Christmas so thought we should make an effort, heh.”

“ALREADY missed Thanksgiving?” Nikki asked with a look of panic in her eyes. “I- I thought-“

“Canadian Thanksgiving is at the start of October,” Kurt explained. “American Thanksgiving is next week. And I’m about to pee for about an hour, so please, for the love of god, excuse me!”

“You’re excused,” Katie said with a smug grin, before she was joined by her friends in a cry of one word: “BOY!”

“Thanks, and thanks,” Kurt said with a smug grin as he headed toward the plane’s small toilet.

“You know better than to try to use that as an insult,” Stuart Milton, Jamie’s husband, said with a grin from his seat directly in front of Nikki.

“Meh, that won’t stop us,” Katie said, smirking as Stuart chuckled and went back to cuddling his daughter.

Stuart and Kurt’s pride at being called ‘boys’ stemmed from the fact that at the beginning of their lives, they had been girls named ‘Claire’ and ‘Kate’ respectively. Like Jamie, Kelly, Stephanie, Nikki and Jacinta, they had struggled with their gender identities from early in their lives, and had taken steps, including undergoing surgery, to correct their gender to reflect who they truly were on the inside. And while the Angels as a brand was aimed at a mainly female demographic, both men found comfort in their message of unconditional acceptance.

When he was a little girl, Stuart never imagined that he would grow up to be a man, let alone a husband or father, and while the operations and the recovery periods he had to undergo to fulfil his wish were often painful, if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t change a thing.

“Weird to think this little one will have been to New York twice in six months,” Stuart mused as he and his wife cooed over their twenty-one-month old daughter. “That’s more times than I had before I was twenty-five!”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed happily as the plane carried on westward. Whatever happened over the following week in her professional life, at the end of the day, she would still be a wife and a mother, and would still have countless amazing friends on her life. Because, as she mused to herself, you can never have too many friends…

The plane landed at JFK airport a few hours later, and everyone on board let out a sigh of relief as they disembarked and were able to stretch their legs, though the excitement levels soon rose as they collected their bags, cleared customs and headed into main concourse of the busy airport.

“Okay,” Nikki said as she took charge of the large group. “Does everyone have their American SIM cards installed in their phones? Don’t want anyone getting massive phone bills when they get home…”

“Yes, MUM,” Krystie teasingly replied, giggling as the younger woman stuck her tongue out at her.

“Good,” Nikki replied, before checking her iPad once again. “Taxis should be outside in a few minutes, you can all get checked in to your hotel, drop your bags off, then I’ve got a restaurant booked for-“

“Nikki, honestly!” Jamie interrupted her young protégé, before stepping toward her to talk as quietly as the noisy surroundings would allow. “Take it easy, okay? We’ve got three days in one of the most iconic cities in the entire world, somewhere I know you’ve never been before, take some time to look around and enjoy the sights, okay?”

“Well, okay, but-“ Nikki said.

“No buts!” Jamie insisted, before sighing. “Okay, what’s the ‘but’?”

“…Jon’s said he’s going to look at giving me more responsibilities if the America tour goes well,” Nikki mumbled, blushing as Jamie’s jaw dropped.

“A promotion?” Jamie excitedly asked.

“Not a ‘promotion’,” Nikki replied. “Just extra responsibilities, maybe a raise… Okay, yeah, I suppose you could call that a promotion, hehe!”

“I get it, I understand,” Jamie giggled. “And I get that you probably want to keep yourself busy with a whole ocean between you and Sarah.”

“Just a bit, yeah,” Nikki said, sniffing and wiping a tear away from her eye.

“Well, I just have one word to say to you for that,” Jamie said, before whispering in her friend’s ear. “Girl!” Nikki and Jamie exchanged excited squeaks as Nikki composed herself, before smiling at the crowd and leading them to the airport’s exit, where several iconic yellow taxis were waiting to whisk them into the heart of the big apple.

As they drove through the metropolis toward their hotel, all the men and women- not to mention the children- were in awe of their surroundings. Most of them had lived their whole lives in London, which was hardly a small or quiet city, but they were unprepared for the sheer scale of New York- not just the size of the buildings, but the noise of the millions of citizens going about their daily lives.

“This is AWESOME,” Krystie gushed as she gazed out of the taxi window.

“It’s certainly a bit bigger than Nottingham, that’s for sure!” Mikey chuckled, referring to his home city. “Hard to imagine how cities get this big, heh.”

“I know,” Krystie sighed. “And- and I don’t mean this as, like, a boast, but- it’s weird to think that no one here knows who we are, you know? Can barely go anywhere in London without being stopped by fans, you know?”

“Well, enjoy it while it lasts,” Mikey advised his wife. “This time next week everyone on both sides of the Atlantic will know you are.”

“Yeah, hehe!” Krystie said with a giggle, before sighing as she thought of her transgendered friends. “I’m just worried that too many of the wrong people will also know WHAT some of us are…”

Jamie couldn’t help but smirk as she and her friends entered the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel and immediately drew the attention of everyone present- especially the young men who all stopped and gazed at the bevy of beautiful women. Jamie allowed her grin to widen as she waited in line to check in to her hotel suite- while she was a happily married woman, she always felt flattered whenever she drew men’s attention, especially when the men weren’t aware of her celebrity status. However, she also found herself wondering just how badly the men might react if they found out about her ‘other’ status…

“Nervous?” Kelly asked Jamie, derailing the blonde transwoman’s train of thought.

“Uhh, maybe a little,” Jamie replied with a quiet chuckle. “Always am when I come somewhere foreign, even if America is as close to Britain as you can get culture-wise. Well, apart from your other half's homeland, heh! And I mean, everyone at the actual launch itself will be here to see us, right? “

“Well let's face it, they’ll really be here for the American girls,” Kelly teased. “We’ll be second fiddle. AGAIN.”

“Speak for yourself,” a refined Dublin accent said from behind Jamie and Kelly, instantly increasing the two women’s excitement levels.

“Tanya?” Jamie squeaked as she exchanged a gentle hug with her Irish counterpart. “Oh my god! When did you get here?”

“A few hours ago,” Tanya replied. “We’ve all checked in, me and some of the girls are going out for dinner in a bit. We would invite you, but we kinda have a pre-booking, you know?”

“It’s okay,” Jamie replied with a grin. “You nervous about tomorrow?”

“A bit,” Tanya replied with a shrug. “Have you seen any of the buzz online about the launch?”

“I’ve tried to keep away from social media for the last few days,” Jamie replied.

“We all have,” Kelly explained. “Figured the best way to do this was to go into it and be ourselves, not trying to, you know, meet any expectations or anything like that.”

“You two talking about ‘being yourselves’ when you’re going to be turned into a cartoon next week,” Tanya teased, giggling as Jamie and Kelly blushed.

“Yeah, well we didn’t have any say in THAT,” Jamie chuckled. “Other than ‘saying’ as in ‘voicing the characters’, heh.”

“Though the scripts did look great,” Kelly said. “Can’t wait to see the first episode in full, hehe! But as you were saying, there’s online buzz about the launch?”

“LOADS,” Tanya replied. “The girls they’ve got, for the New York Angels, I mean, already have over a million Instagram followers EACH. So forming a supergroup like this, especially one with links to similar groups in Europe and Australia?”

“Yeah,” Jamie grimaced. “It- it’s those ‘links’ that are kinda worrying me.”

“Yeah… Me too,” Tanya quietly confessed as she remembered her childhood- a childhood spent growing up in Dublin, playing football, rugby and being a boy called ‘Thomas’. Then, at the age of nineteen, she'd seen a British TV show starring a transgendered woman- the same woman that Tanya now considered a close friend- and the rest was history. “I mean,” Tanya continued, “there’s been a LOT of support. Stonewall and other LGBT charities have been REALLY positive about it, and about 95% of all the comments since the announcement have been positive.”

"Stonewall of course taking its name from the riots that took place in this very city," Jamie said with a knowing smile.

"Exactly," Tanya said.

“But that leaves 5%, right?” Kelly asked.

“You get a few arseholes, yeah,” Tanya sighed. “But not really any more than you get in England or I get in Ireland. Ireland, I mean, come on, one of THE most Catholic countries in the world, in case you needed reminding. And even then, most dickheads like that just call me ‘Mrs. Brown’. We just need to accept that we’ll get this shit wherever we go no matter how famous we are.”

“Oh, we need to understand it, maybe, and prepare for it,” Jamie said. “But accept it? Hell no.”

“Too right!” Tanya cheered with a giggle. “Ahh… It will be an awesome week, I guarantee you that, hehe!”

“Where are you going on the tour?” Jamie asked.

“Boston, with Charlotte,” Tanya replied. “They reckon ‘cause of the large Irish population…”

“That’s kind why I’m going to San Francisco,” Kelly said. “Large Chinatown. Think most of the Spanish Angels are going to Florida or cities near the Mexican border, the Italian Angels are going to places like Philadelphia and Chicago.”

“In fairness, they want to sell the Angels ‘brand’,” Jamie said. “So, they need to put us where they think we’ll generate the most positive publicity.” Jamie maintained a neutral expression on her face as her two friends both nodded.

“…So who’s going to Washington DC, then?” Kelly asked, smirking as Jamie and Tanya both sighed and rolled their eyes.

“None of us ten, I know that much,” Jamie chuckled.

“Or any of us,” Tanya said. “Think a couple of the German girls might be going down there though, ones who speak fluent English anyway.”

“I would say ‘it’s a pity there are no Russian Angels’, but that might be getting a bit TOO political,” Kelly giggled.

“Just a bit!” Tanya laughed. “Think they want to keep the launch as non-political as possible, which is a pity as I was hoping they’d invite Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tomorrow, seeing as her borough’s around here.”

“Though she’s just as controversial as the orange idiot in the White House,” Kelly sighed. “It’s a pity, though, I always wanted to visit Washington, see all the sights, and I know there’ll be a lot of fans there who’ll be disappointed too.”

“It’s a big- well, huge country and there’s only so many of us to go around in very little time,” Jamie mused. “Someone’s inevitably going to end up being disappointed.”

“Well, we’ll just have to work extra hard this week, won’t we?” Tanya cheered, before giggling as Stuart approached carrying his daughter in one arm and a room key in the other.

“Speaking of working hard,” Stuart said with a mock tired sigh, “while you’ve been gossiping, I’ve been getting us checked into our suite upstairs. They’ll have the bags sent up to avoid overloading the weight limit of the lift.”

“BOY,” Tanya, Jamie and Kelly said simultaneously.

“Ah, but not you though, cutie!” Tanya cooed to the tiny infant in Stuart’s arms. “You’re going to be just as girly and gorgeous as your mother, aren’t you- oh, oh my god, Stuart, I- I’m sorry, I- I keep forgetting-“

“Don’t worry about it, honestly,” Stuart chuckled as he gave his daughter a gentle kiss on her head. “I was born the wrong gender, sure, but believe me when I say it’s VERY obvious that Olivia was born the right gender.”

“You should see her bedroom at home,” Jamie giggled. “You’d think it had a pink carpet. Nope, that’s just all her toys and her dolls.”

“Ah, SO jealous,” Tanya sighed happily. “there’s a part of me that’s desperate to become a mother, heh.”

“Well, out of all the many, many amazing things about being a woman,” Jamie said as she took Olivia into her arms, “being a mother is probably the best one.”

“Being a wife is also high on the list, right?” Stuart asked with a mock pout, before giggling as his wife fixed him with a withering stare.

“Come on,” Jamie giggled as she led her husband by the hand. “And it’s called an elevator, not a lift!” Stuart chuckled and rolled his eyes as he and his family headed up to the suite that would their home for the next few days.

After unpacking their bags and changing into smarter, more expensive outfits, Jamie and Stuart (and Olivia) headed down to the hotel lobby, where they met up with several other Angels and their families, and before long the group was settled into the back of yet more taxis, enjoying more sights and sounds of the big city en route to the restaurant that had been booked for them.

While the Angels enjoyed their meal, Nikki was sat cross-legged on her hotel bed reviewing the following day’s itinerary on her iPad while Jacinta and Katie lounged on the room’s sofa, trying to not get exasperated by their friend’s anxiety.

“Tell me,” Katie said with a sigh, “are you actually THAT worried about tomorrow, or are you trying to distract yourself from missing Sarah?”

“Think you know the answer to that already,” Nikki replied in a tired voice, prompting her two friends to roll their eyes and look at each other.

“Both,” Katie and Jacinta said simultaneously, before sharing a giggle.

“And it’s not like neither of you have work you can be doing,” Nikki said. “I saw you both taking hundreds of photos downstairs.”

“Can’t do anything with them until Riley gets back from dinner,” Katie retorted.

“Can’t do anything with them until I get home,” Jacinta said with a smug grin. “I could always take some more, though…” Nikki growled and raised her middle finger at the giggling Jacinta as the she took her phone out of her handbag and took several quick photos of the her.

“Send that photo to Sarah!” Katie teased, before giggling as Nikki hurled a pillow at her. “Ahh… Why ARE we in here anyway instead of hitting a bar or a club?”

“Two reasons,” Jacinta replied with a sad sigh. “Jet lag and work. It’s currently 7pm, which is midnight our time, so we wouldn’t be back until about 6am our time, and we have got a VERY busy today tomorrow.”

“Oh- okay,” Katie said, before chuckling with relief. “I was kinda worried that, you know, there was, like, another ‘issue’…”

“What, the fact that me and Nikki are, umm…” Jacinta said.

“Taller than average girls?” Nikki asked, before smirking. “I suppose I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about that. Same as anytime I go anywhere new.”

“Same here,” Jacinta said. “Even if we’ve been to America before, hehe! But, you know? Every time we visit Manchester, we only ever go out on Canal Street. Every time you guys come to Brighton, we- well, okay, bad example. But even there of all places I've had issues in the past. In hindsight it’s no wonder I can’t get a guy, heh. But anyway, a city like New York’s bound to have loads of LGBT friendly bars, right? It’s not like we’re in Alabama or anything.”

“And…” Nikki said with a grin, before showing Katie and Jacinta the map that she’d brought up on her iPad’s screen. “There IS an app for that, hehe!”

“Ah, cool!” Katie squeaked. “So… Is the headmistress saying we can bunk off early and go for a few drinks, then?”

“Only if you promise not to call me ‘headmistress’ ever again!” Nikki retorted, giggling as she put her iPad away and began rummaging through her bag for a fashionable dress to wear. “Besides, a very clever person did tell me earlier today to take it easy, to take some time to look around and see the sights..."

"And is 'the inside of a bar' one of these sights?" Katie asked with an excited grin.

“Hell yeah!” Jacinta giggled. “The only question is, will Miss Henderson be okay going to an LGBT bar and being hit on by all the girls in there?”

“As long as it’s not you two doing it, then yes!” Katie giggled as she headed back to her room to change.

The following morning, New York's newest residents rose from their beds early, eager to get stuck into the long day that lay ahead of them. As Stephanie headed down to breakfast by herself, she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of the three exhausted-looking young women that greeted her.

“Good morning, girlies!” Stephanie said a loud, eager voice that earned pained groans from Nikki, Jacinta and Katie. “I see someone FINALLY decided to loosen up and have some fun last night, then?”

“Ugh,” Nikki replied. “Kinda regretting it now, heh. Well… I am and I’m not, hehe!”

“It was a great night though,” Jacinta giggled despite her hangover. “Did you and the rest of the band enjoy your meal?”

“Well… Kinda,” Stephanie sighed as she sat down with her friends. “Did feel a bit like a third wheel even though Adeola’s fella wasn’t there either. Kinda wish I was out with you three last night, heh. Enjoy my last day of stateside anonymity while it lasts!”

“No one recognised you or the band yesterday, then?” Katie asked.

“Nah, the other people in the restaurant didn’t exactly strike me as girl band fans, heh!” Stephanie replied. “Some didn’t exactly strike me as, you know, ‘me’ fans either, heh.”

“Kinda why we were at a gay club last night,” Jacinta chuckled. “Though me or Nikki aren’t as famous as you are, heh.”

“Yeah, well, famous in Britain doesn’t mean I’m automatically gonna be famous in America,” Stephanie reminded her friends. “Okay, yes, we have a small US-based fan club, but it’s, you know, small?”

“Well,” Nikki said with a smug grin, “it’s a good job we’re doing a big launch event today, isn’t it?” Nikki’s question was answered by the excited squeaks of the other three women at the table.

After a quick breakfast, the four girls headed back to their rooms, where they quickly changed into their outfits for the day. Even though she wouldn't be the focus of the day, Stephanie wanted to make an impression, and smiled as she pulled a low-cut satin and lace top over her head, savouring the sensation as it clung to her narrowing waist, widening hips and ever-growing breasts. A pair of black pantyhose was next, followed by a tight leather pencil skirt and, as had become tradition for Stephanie, a pair of shiny black knee-high boots with a chunky 3-inch heel.

“Oh, hey Steph!” Jamie said with a nervous giggle as she encountered her fellow transwoman in the hallway. “All ready for today, then?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” Stephanie replied, fanning herself with her hands to try to remain calm. “I love that dress, by the way!”

“Thanks!” Jamie replied as she did a slow twirl to show off the delicate features of her slinky knee-length dark blue dress. “I love your boots, as usual, hehe!”

“Meh, figured I had to keep up appearances!” Stephanie replied with a giggle. “Have- have you heard anything about what we’re going to expect today?”

“I’ve deliberately kept myself away from social media,” Jamie replied with a nervous grimace. “Tanya- you know, from the Irish Angels? She’s been looking a lot, says we can expect a huge crowd today. Not that that should worry someone who’s sung in front of 30 000 people, right?”

“30 000 people who paid and knew exactly what they’d be getting for their money,” Stephanie said. “This is a voyage into the unknown. And besides, those 30 000-“ Stephanie trailed off as she remembered the concert that she and Jamie were referring to- the concert held just over a year earlier at the St Mary’s stadium in Southampton, the home town of the one member of Out of Heaven who was still on the other side of the Atlantic.

“…That was Kayla’s birthday concert, wasn’t it?” Jamie asked, smiling sympathetically as Stephanie nodded. “Can’t imagine how much you’re missing her. God knows I’d be a wreck if I didn’t have Stuart and Olivia with me, heh.”

“Speaking of, where are they?” Stephanie asked.

“Well, Eilish came over with us,” Jamie replied. “She and a few of the dads will be running a kind-of crèche today.”

“It’s called ‘daycare’ over here,” Stephanie teased, giggling as Jamie rolled her eyes. “And you know they’ll be sitting around playing videogames while Eilish does all the hard work, and we do all the REAL work.”

“They’d better not,” Jamie growled, before letting out a quiet giggle. “And don’t think of today as ‘work’. Like you said, 30 000 people paid to hear you sing last year. They didn’t pay just to hear Kayla Ford sing, the name on the posters outside said ‘Out of Heaven’. Just like today, the posters outside the venue will say ‘Angels launch event’.”

“Yeah, the New York Angels, though,” Stephanie reminded her friend. “Like I was telling the girls over breakfast, we’re foreigners here, no matter how close British and American culture might be.”

“Well then,” Jamie said with a shrug and a confident grin. “We’re just going to have to show these Yanks what they’ve been missing this whole time, aren’t we?” Stephanie smiled as her friend led her down to the hotel lobby, while Jamie mused on how just two years earlier, she'd have given anything to not be even in the same room as Stephanie Abbott, but was now deeply fond of her- proof that anyone and everyone has the potential to be a friend, if the circumstances were right, and Jamie crossed her fingers and prayed that the circumstances would be right that day.

Jamie marvelled at the sight that greeted her when she reached the lobby- it wasn’t just the Angels and the other members of Out of Heaven and Heavenly Talent who were assembled in the lobby, but members of Angel groups from around the world. Tanya and her friends from Ireland were present, as was Jamie’s friend (and fellow transwoman) Melissa and her friends from Germany, and many of their friends from Italy, Spain and Australia as well. Jamie felt herself getting giddy as she mingled with the crowd, knowing that each of the women was a friend of hers, and by the end of the day, she'd be making yet more friends- and as she reminded herself, you truly can never have too many.

“Hi Jamie!” The distinctive soft voice of Melissa Schubert called. “It has been a long time! But today is going to be exciting, isn’t it?”

“Hi Melissa!” Jamie giggled as she exchanged a hug with the German transwoman. “You look great! And you sound great too, your English has really improved this last year!”

“I thought I should put in an effort,” Melissa giggled. “Especially as I knew I would come here!”

“Well it’s great to have you here, hehe!” Jamie giggled. “How’ve you been, anyway? I mean, after the…”

“The operation?” Melissa asked, smiling as Jamie grimaced and nodded. “Everything is fine. I healed fast and the scars are fading. It is like I was always totally woman!”

“Because you were,” Jamie reassured her friend. “We all were, no matter what anyone else says. Have- has there been, you know…”

“I- I do not follow?” Melissa asked.

“Has anyone- have you had any abuse in Germany?” Jamie asked. “From transphobic people, I mean?”

“…A little bit,” Melissa said quietly. “It is the same everywhere, but in Germany it is punished more harshly, Berlin has anti-hate speech laws that punish it. I know America has freedom of speech but why should that mean freedom to abuse people?”

“Freedom of speech also means that you can tell them you are a rich, famous, beautiful and anatomical woman,” Jamie retorted. “And if they disagree, they’re objectively wrong and can shove it.” Despite her confusion, Melissa couldn’t help but giggle at the confident look on her friend’s face.

“I did not know what all of that means,” Melissa replied. “But I know what ‘shove it’ means and I agree!”

“Ah- sorry,” Jamie grimaced. “I’m still right, though.”

“Hell yes you are!” Melissa said. “And now we wait to see our fans, the only people with good opinions! Each fan is like a new friend, ja? And you know what they say about friends?”

“I definitely do,” Jamie replied with a warm smile.

The women didn’t have to wait long for their rides to arrive, and all of them squeaked with excitement when they saw that the yellow taxis that ferried them to the hotel yesterday had been replaced by a fleet of gleaming white stretch limousines. Jamie, Charlotte, Krystie and Mary took their seats in the rear of the first limo, and within seconds had popped open the complimentary bottle of champagne that had been provided for them.

“Just one glass each, okay?” Jamie said excitedly. “Don’t want to get squiffy before we even get there, hehe!”

“Well, make it zero glasses for me,” Charlotte said bashfully. “Kinda still got two babies to nurse when I get back to the hotel, and even though it’ll be hours-“

“One tonic water for Mrs. Hartley,” Krystie said with a smug grin as she opened a smaller, more non-descript bottle and poured it into her friend’s glass.

“And one for me too, please,” Mary said, blushing as her three friends’ jaws simultaneously dropped.

“Oh- oh my god, Mary?” Krystie squeaked, almost dropping the bottle of tonic water as she poured it into her best friend’s glass.

“Yes, yes, get it out of your systems now,” Mary said with a sigh, before giggling excitedly. “Me and Dan only found out a couple of days before we flew, we were planning to tell you girls- well, now, hehe!”

“Oh my god oh my god!” Jamie squeaked as she, Charlotte and Krystie took turns hugging the pregnant Irishwoman.

“Calm down, god!” Mary said, taking several deep breaths and fanning herself with her hands. “We won’t be due until next summer, and that’s ages away!”

“Summer?” Krystie asked excitedly. “Does this mean that Mrs. Milton won’t be the only birthday buddy to your kids?” Jamie giggled as she remembered that her 25th birthday was also the same day that Mary’s second daughter was born. Jamie didn’t hold many happy memories of the weeks surrounding that particular day, but she would always fondly remember the birth of another member of her ‘extended family’.

“Maybe, god, I don’t know!” Mary replied. “We think it’s due in July. God, you’d think this’d be easier the third time round…”

“You’ll be awesome, just like you were first and second times,” Charlotte assured. “And baby number 3 is going to be every bit as cute and clever as her older sisters, I guarantee that!”

“You can’t even guarantee that she’ll be a girl!” Mary retorted.

“Oh, but I can!” Krystie giggled as she gave Mary’s belly a playful rub. “Girl rays! Girl rays!”

“Sure, are you ever gonna let your brother forget he said that?” Mary asked.

“Think we all know the answer to THAT!” Charlotte giggled excitedly. “Ahh… I mean, I know we’re all mothers already, but the thought of yet another cousin for our kids to play with, you know?”

“Totally,” Jamie squeaked. “And I’ve already got loads of baby clothes Olivia’s grown out of, some that she never even wore, hehe!”

“Still a chance it could be a boy,” Mary reminded her friends.

“Nah, there isn’t,” Krystie said confidently. “Ahh, I can’t believe how excited I am! Are you going to tell anyone on the tour?”

“God no!” Mary replied. “It’s gonna be mad enough when we get home. Thank god we’re doing the animated series, though. You don’t get stretch marks on cartoons, hehe!”

“Ugh, tell me about it,” Krystie sighed. “Thank god I spend all day with my belly covered by a leotard, heh!”

“I’ve got you both beat,” Charlotte said defiantly. “Twins. Twice the babies, twice the stretch marks.” Krystie and Mary both giggled at Charlotte’s joke, though the laughter soon stopped when they saw the fourth woman in the limo biting her lip to try to stifle her tears.

“Jamie?” Krystie asked.

“…No stretch marks for me,” Jamie said with a sad sigh. “Never been pregnant, never will be.”

“Oh- god, jeez…” Mary grimaced. “I- I’m so sorry, Jam-“

“No, please, don’t be sorry!” Jamie said with a chuckle. “I should be sorry for being such a buzzkill, maybe I need another one of these!” Jamie forced a smile on her face as she poured herself another glass of champagne. “A toast- to Mary, who’s gonna be an amazing mother. AGAIN.”

“To Mary!” Charlotte, Jamie and Krystie cheered.

“Well I have another toast, then,” Mary said. “To Jamie, for proving that no matter how you were born, an amazing mother will always be an amazing mother.”

“And no less a REAL mother than any of us,” Krystie said as she gave the blonde-haired transwoman a gentle hug.

“Aww- you guys…” Jamie said, her voice filled with emotion.

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different,” Charlotte said softly.

“And god knows a few people have tried,” Jamie sighed. “People who say I shouldn’t even be in the same toilet as Olivia.”

“Bathroom,” Krystie corrected her friend, giggling as Jamie gave her a playful nudge with her elbow. “Ahh, you’re not wrong, though. Fortunately, none of those idiots will be here today.”

“How can you be so sure?” Jamie asked.

“Take a look out of the window,” Krystie advised, directing Jamie’s attention to the venue they were quickly approaching…

At the back of the motorcade, Nikki stretched her muscles on the back seat of her yellow taxi to try to quell her nerves, which were increasing with every passing second. She’d worked extra hard over the previous weeks to ensure that the New York launch would be a success, but now that the day had arrived, she found herself mentally running through every element of the day in her head over and over again, certain that there was something she had missed somewhere. However, as she herself was forced to acknowledge, her obsession with her work was at least in part to distract her from the fact that her wife hadn’t texted her in over an hour…

“If you want to stretch out any more, I can always climb out the window and ride on the roof,” Katie said, earning a scowl from her friend. “Or the boot, I suppose…”

“It’s called a trunk over here,” Jacinta said, giggling as Katie rolled her eyes. “But Katie’s not wrong, stop panicking, for god’s sake! It’ll all be fine, and besides, you didn’t do all this single-handed, did you? If something does go wrong, there’ll be blame to share, right?” Jacinta’s smile fell as Katie and Nikki regarded her with angry stares.

“Not helping,” Katie mouthed at her roommate. “Besides, we know it’s all going to be fine, anyway.”

“How can you be sure?” Nikki asked.

“Well, THAT is a pretty good sign,” Jacinta said, gesturing out of the taxi window at the launch venue- or rather, at the massive lines that had formed outside it.

Jamie allowed herself a wide, toothy grin as she stepped out of the limousine and was immediately greeted by the blinding glare of the paparazzi’s flashbulbs and the deafening noise of the assembled fans. Glancing over the crowd, Jamie could tell from the t-shirts and the posters that were being held out that most of them were fans of the soon-to-be debuted New York Angels, but there were still plenty of people wearing the logo of the British Angels- and better still, plenty of people wearing the pink, blue and white of the transgender pride flag.

Jamie smiled professionally as she posed for the cameras and waved to her fans, before heading into the venue and making way for the next Angel to soak up the adoration of their fans. Once she was inside the venue, Jamie was escorted by a member of staff to the main reception area, where she gasped at the sight that greeted her.

Dozens of tables had been arranged around the room, many selling merchandise of not just the New York Angels, but all of the international groups and Out of Heaven too. Tables bearing flags of the countries with international 'Angel groups' had been set out in such a way to allow the Angels to interact with their fans, sign autographs and take selfies, and numerous other attractions had been laid on for the fans who would pass through the hall that day.

Jamie had only been able to explore a small part of the room before a very familiar, and very loud voice brought her back to reality.

“Jamie!” Joshua Benedict, the owner of Heavenly Talent, boomed in his hybrid African-London accent. “How are you enjoying New York, New York?”

“It’s a hell of a town,” Jamie replied with an excited squeak as she approached Joshua’s table, where Charlotte, Hannah, Viks and Alice were all already waiting. “And this venue is awesome! It must have cost a fortune…”

“Money well spent, going by the crowds outside!” Alice giggled.

“Money well invested!” Joshua corrected the red-haired woman.

“We are going to get absolute thousands of new social media followers from this tour,” Viks enthused. “New followers, new endorsements…”

“Bucketloads of money,” Jonathan said with a grin as he finished his wife’s sentence. Jamie giggled along with her friends at the prospect of increased wealth and fame, though secretly, she was hoping that she could use at least some of her increased wealth and fame to raise awareness of the struggle that many transgendered women like her faced on a daily basis. If she could help at least one person, Jamie reasoned to herself, the trip would have been worth it...

“Hey everyone!” Krystie cooed as she approached the Angels’ table, with Mary following closely behind.

“Hello my Angels!” Joshua boomed. “Are you keeping your adoring fans wanting more?”

“Sure, they’ll get more of us soon enough!” Mary giggled.

“You can say that again!” Charlotte teased, before biting her lip and giggling as Mary shot an angry glare at her. “I mean those who were lucky enough to get passes for this event, hehe!”

“Speaking of, when do the doors open?” Hannah asked.

“When everyone’s here,” Jonathan said. “Going to get photos taken first- well, when Katie gets here, anyway, then a Q&A in the main auditorium, then a meet and greet. And believe it or not, that’ll be the whole day, with how many people are out there!”

“I can believe it, I remember some meet and greets we did back in the UK,” Jamie said, before remembering a key element of many of those meet and greets. “Umm, speaking of which, back in the UK, on those meet and greets- umm…”

“I know, I know,” Joshua said softly. “You have my word that THAT topic will be treated with the same sensitivity here as it is in the UK and every other country we have visited. We are launching the American Angels, not the Russian Angels!”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Jamie chuckled. “It’s just always a worry, you know?”

“I know, and I remember how nervous you were in Spain,” Jonathan said. “But we’ve been proactive here, even invited a few local LGBT charities along to the launch just in case the message wasn’t loud and clear enough.”

“The message of course being ‘transwomen are women and transmen are men’?” Jamie asked with a grin.

“Aka ‘stating the bloody obvious’,” Hannah said with a supportive smile. “You might want to check out some of the booths, before it gets too crowded in here?”

“Sure,” Jamie said with a shrug. “Send Nikki over to get me when I’m needed, okay?”

“Sure,” Hannah said with a knowing smile that confused Jamie as she headed off to have a look around the hall.

When she reached the first charity’s booth, however, Jamie’s jaw dropped as she realised why Hannah was being so insistent about her checking out the booths.

“P- Paige?” Jamie asked, smiling as the dark-haired woman setting up the booth turned around and her mismatched blue and green eyes widened.

“Jamie?” Paige replied in her thick Scottish accent, before squeaking excitedly and giving Jamie a hug. “Oh my god! I didn’t even notice you come in! How have you been?”

“I’ve been good, thanks, but how have you been?” Jamie asked. “I was so gutted I didn’t get to see you and Jess off at Heathrow, but- oh my god, is Jess here too?”

“No, she’s still at home,” Paige said with a sad smile as she thought of her laid up wife. “Still on the mend from- well, you know, hehe!”

“Definitely,” Jamie sighed.

Like Jamie, Paige and Jessica were both transgendered women, and like Jamie, they had both had gender correction surgery. However, unlike Jamie, neither woman was a national celebrity. The two women had met when they were working as flight attendants for an airline based in Paris, and had fallen in love at first sight, and despite more than a few bumps in the road, had finally married in August that year. Despite the fact that she gained no fame or fortune from attending the ceremony, which was held on the shores of Loch Lomond, hundreds of mile from her home, Jamie had immediately accepted her invitation- after all, a friend was a friend, regardless of how famous they were, and as Jamie herself often said, you can never have too many friends.

“She might be along later,” Paige said. “She’s working on getting her strength up for travelling on Thursday.”

“Thursday?” Jamie asked. “Oh, right, Thanksgiving.”

“It’ll be the first time Jess has been home for Thanksgiving in years, so she’s really looking forward to it,” Paige said. “Especially after all the trouble she had when she first came out.”

“But everything’s fine now?” Jamie asked.

“Better than fine,” Paige replied, showing off the two rings on the third finger of her left hand. “Especially in this city, hehe! I’ve always, always dreamed about living and working in New York. And here I am! Dreams really do come true, heh!”

“And you’ve not had any, you know, ‘trouble’?” Jamie asked, biting her lip as Paige frowned.

“Not myself,” the Scotswoman replied. “But I hear about it all the time- well, at work, you know? Every day I hear some story about a kid who’s been kicked out by their parents… Lucky that we’re here to help, heh. And by ‘we’, I mean you too, Jamie.”

“Me?” Jamie asked, before smirking. “Well, I mean, I'll do what I can… It’d be better if there was, you know…”

“A ‘girl like us’ in the New York Angels?” Paige asked, smiling as Jamie nodded. “Yeah, but you can’t just shoehorn someone in if they don’t fit with the rest of the group. Luckily, Josh Benedict and the head of the NY Angels’s agency are HUGE LGBT rights champions. Just means we’re gonna work a bit harder this week, heh!”

“If you call standing still and having your photo taken ‘work’?” Jamie asked.

“No, I know how hard you work,” Paige giggled, before laughing even louder as she saw a familiar face approach Jamie. “Though not as hard as someone…”

“Hey Jamie,” Nikki said in an almost breathless voice. “Oh, hey Paige! Didn’t think I’d see you today, hehe!”

“Trust me, if I wasn’t here on business, I’d have bought a ticket!” The Scotswoman giggled. “How are you, Nikki?”

“Busy!” Nikki replied. “Believe me, I’d love to stay and chat, but Mrs. Milton here needs to get her butt in gear as it is very, very nearly showtime!”

“Okay, MUM,” Jamie teased back, before following her protégé to the centre of the room, where dozens of beautiful women were assembling.

Jamie took her place amongst her countrywomen and posed professionally as every other 'Angel group' assembled around them, including the newest group from the city they were in. As the women all took their place and posed for the group photos, Jamie mused on how if she hadn't known beforehand, she'd have struggled to realised that girls like Kelly, or Melissa or Tanya- or even Jamie herself- were not 'like' the other women in the group. However, she was also forced to acknowledge just how lucky she was that that was the case, especially as she thought about some of the women she'd helped who weren't lucky enough to be 5' 5" and have a naturally slender build...

After the photographs were taken, the assembled women began to disperse and mingle with each other, and before she could even compose herself, Jamie was all but dragged to another part of the room by her best friend.

“Jamie, I’d like you to meet Crystal and Monica,” Charlotte said, introducing Jamie to two unfamiliar women. “Crystal, Monica, THIS is the world-famous Jamie-Lee Burke, hehe!”

“Hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you!” Crystal said in a thick New Jersey accent as she exchanged a gentle hug with Jamie. “I have been following you online for SO long!”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you too!” Jamie replied with a polite giggle. “So, you’re America’s newest superstars, then?”

“Yep!” Monica said as she exchanged a gentle hug with the blonde transwoman. “We start recording in January, I can’t wait!”

“Cool!” Jamie squeaked. “I hope Charlotte has already welcomed you into the wider family?”

“Oh- totally,” Crystal replied.

“It’s so amazing to think there are already so many different groups around the world,” Monica enthused.

“It is,” Charlotte giggled. “All thanks to the amazing brain of Joshua Benedict!”

“More like all thanks to you guys!” Crystal said. “It’s amazing to think that you’ve been friends for so long, and can work together and still be friends, especially when-“ Jamie bit her lip as Crystal furtively glanced in her direction, before grimacing and glancing at her drink.

“It’s okay, honestly,” Jamie said with a sigh. “It’s the first thing people usually ask when they meet me, heh.”

“First thing they ask if they know ahead of time,” Charlotte corrected her BFF. “Because I mean, would you really be able to tell?”

“Hell no!” Monica giggled. “Hell, you know, you two- has anyone ever told you two that you look a little like each other?” Jamie and Charlotte both bit their lips to stifle a giggle as they recalled the circumstances of their first meeting.

“…Sometimes,” Charlotte replied. “And no, I don’t think of that as an insult at all, being told I look a little like someone who used to be- a long time ago- male.”

“Well, duh,” Crystal said. “Any woman with any sense would give anything to look like Jamie-Lee Burke!” Jamie giggled at her new friend’s compliment- even though it was more than a little sycophantic, she could tell that Crystal’s acceptance of her was genuine, as was Monica’s- and Jamie had no reason to believe that any of the other new Angels wouldn’t be genuine either.

Jamie, Charlotte and all the other Angels spent the next half an hour mingling with their international equivalents, and the more Jamie got to know her American counterparts, the more she got to like them. They were all very professional, of course- knowing exactly what to say and when to say it, leaving Jamie in little doubt that the New York Angels would be a great success, at least commercially. However, she was left with the nagging doubt at the back of her mind that without a 'girl like her' in the group, the group was missing a key element.

As the multi-national Angels mingled and posed for photos, Nikki took the opportunity to sit back and relax, happy that at the very least, the first part of the launch event had gone smoothly. As she waited for the next segment of the launch event to begin, Nikki distracted herself by sending text messages to her wife on her iPad, even though she knew that Sarah would likely be eating dinner with her mother and unable to reply. Nikki became so distracted that she failed to notice her friend sitting down next to her until she gave her a gentle nudge, causing Nikki to squeal with surprise and nearly drop her phone.

“Who- Steph, for god’s sake!” Nikki chastised her giggling friend. “Not got anything better to do?”

“Nope!” Stephanie replied with a smug grin. “Not going to be singing until later this evening. Texting Sarah?”

“Yeah,” Nikki sighed. “Always makes me feel less stressed, heh. You heard from Kayla today?” Nikki smiled sympathetically as her friend grimaced and shook her head.

“She’ll probably be getting ready for her dance, if she hasn’t already danced,” Stephanie replied. “Think I’ve got the time zones right there, heh. Though if they had to launch Angels in America, couldn’t they have done it in Florida in July instead of New York in November? It’s FREEZING outside…”

“It's not that bad, and it’ll be warmer when we get to California,” Nikki replied, sensing her friend’s need to change the topic and knowing and understanding why. Nikki knew how stressed Stephanie was about having to keep her relationship a secret from the world, and while she understood Kayla’s reason of having to maintain a public profile, Nikki still couldn’t help but feel sorry for her famous friend.

“You don’t feel like getting out there and hob-nobbing too, miss ‘former teen Angel’?” Stephanie teased, making her friend roll her eyes and giggle.

“Maybe if I didn’t have a million other things to do!” Nikki replied, showing Stephanie the to-do list on her iPad. “Looking forward to taking some time tomorrow to actually look around New York.”

“Even if you won’t be seeing it with the person you most wanted to see it with?” Stephanie asked, smiling sympathetically as Nikki nodded. “Yeah, I know the feeling. Still, I’ve got the feeling this won’t be the last we see of the big apple, hehe!”

“I hope not!” Nikki giggled along with her friend as the excitement levels in the room rose in anticipation of the venue being opened to the public.

Twenty minutes later, the front doors of the venue opened and thousands of excited fans poured in and began checking out the stalls, taking photos and buying merchandise as they waited to take their seats in the main auditorium. Eventually, all the fans were seated, and as the excitement level reached fever pitch, the house lights dimmed and the familiar strain of ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams filled the vast room.

“Showtime, girls!” Charlotte said with a wide grin as she led the other nine British Angels onto the stage in front of a backdrop of the Union Jack, where they eagerly soaked up the cheers and the camera flashes of the crowd. Once their ‘section’ was complete, the ten women stepped back to allow their German counterparts to take the limelight, followed by the Angels from Ireland, Italy, Australia and Spain. Once all of the existing Angel groups were assembled, the music stopped and was replaced by 'Empire State of Mind' by Alicia Keys, and the noise of the crowd, which was already high, somehow got even louder as one by one, the New York Angels took their place on the stage.

“Thank you, New York!” The de facto leader of the group, a tall blonde woman named Megan, shouted into her microphone. “It’s great to be here in front of you all!”

Jamie stood back and allowed herself to relax as the American women soaked up the admiration of the crowd, musing on how the launch of the British Angels had been a much more subdued affair, but how in recent times, their public appearances had been increasingly popular- though nowhere near the level that was playing out in front of her. After the introductions were completed, a brief video trailer of the New York Angels’ upcoming TV series played on the screen behind the women, before chairs were set up on the stage for the New York Angels to formally introduce themselves to the audience and answer their questions.

“Good start,” Hannah said to her friends, who nodded in agreement.

“The crowd obviously adores them,” Jamie commented.

“Us,” Charlotte corrected her friend. “The crowd loves us. We’re all part of the same family, and today, that family’s just got even bigger.”

“I suppose that’s the great thing about the show being broadcast over the internet,” Viks mused. “Everyone can watch, no matter where they live. The American Angels could end up getting just as many British fans as we have American fans.”

“As long as they share and don’t steal!” Alice said, earning giggles from her friends.

“Well,” Hannah said as the group emerged back into the venue’s reception area, “I don’t think sharing will be a problem…”

Jamie allowed herself a wide grin as she and her friends stared out at the area they’d been only a short while earlier, which was now packed with excited fans. The ten British Angels were escorted through the crowd to a long table that had been set out for them, where a long line immediately formed to get the famous women’s autographs and have selfies taken. Jamie couldn’t help but grin at the star-struck looks in the eyes of the fans as they took their selfies, especially the large group that had gathered around her end of the table.

After about half an hour of autographs and selfies, Jamie felt a tap on her shoulder from Nikki, who escorted her and two of the other British Angels back to the auditorium. As Jamie took her seat in the plush leather chair on the stage, she felt her nerves start to jangle. Posing for photos and taking selfies with fans was one thing, but answering questions in front of a packed crowd always caused Jamie to be anxious- especially crowds that weren’t there to see her, but to see a completely different group of Angels. Suddenly, Jamie felt like a very small fish in a very large pond.

“Hello Jamie!” The blonde transwoman heard a voice with a soft Italian accent say, distracting her from her anxiety and bringing a smile to her face.

“Oh, hi Chiara!” Jamie said. “You’re going to be- well, I was going to say ‘thrown to the lions’, but seeing as you actually do live in Rome…”

“Hehe!” Chiara replied as she elegantly lowered herself into one of the chairs. “I do not get ‘thrown to the lions’ but I assume it is to do with colosseum?”

“Ah- sorry, forgot you’re still learning English,” Jamie chuckled. “I’d have thought they’d have sent someone who was fluent in English to answer these questions?”

“I wanted to come on the stage,” Chiara said defiantly. “Not because to practice my English, but because- well, you most certainly know!”

“Yes, that’s true!” Jamie giggled. Chiara had been born in Rome at the start of 1993, but it wouldn't be until early 2014 that she took the name 'Chiara', having had to live the first 21 years of her life as a man named 'Riccardo'.

“I am hoping to change a few people’s thinking!” Chiara said with a nervous giggle. “Like you are, I think?”

“…I don’t think many people’s thinking needs to be changed,” Jamie said, before grinning as she took her phone out of her bag. “Want a crowd selfie?” Chiara giggled as she stood up and followed Jamie to the edge of their stage where they turned their back to the crowd, who immediately started cheering as Jamie lifted her phone for the selfie.

“Ah, haha, you are probably right!” Chiara giggled as she sat back down. “It- it is just difficult, sometimes. I remember in Madrid, I felt like I should not be there, because, umm…”

“Because there weren’t any ‘girls like us’ in that group?” Jamie asked. “Yeah, I know that feeling, heh. But let me guess- the rest of Bellezze told you that Angel groups aren’t just about transgendered girls, but about girls full stop, which we most definitely are?”

“…Yep,” Chiara replied with a giggle, which Jamie shared. "Which all of us are!"

"Gorgeous, successful girls!" Jamie giggled as Chiara returned to her seat.

Once all the women were seated, the emcee, a good-looking American man in his early thirties named Paul, returned to the stage to applause from the audience and introduced the panellists. Jamie smiled professionally at the loud cheer that greeted her own name, though it didn’t help to settle her nerves at speaking in front of a large crowd. When she was sixteen, she’d never dreamed that one day she’d be answering questions in front of an audience of thousands of fans, in New York City, wearing a designer dress and heels…

“So, ladies,” Paul said, “what do you think of the New York Angels?”

“They’re great girls,” Hannah Dexter replied first. “We had the chance to chat before the launch, I reckon they’ll be great additions to the family.” Jamie and the other ten women on stage murmured in agreement with Hannah.

“I definitely would like for them to come to Rome some day!” Chiara said with a giggle. “But they get on well and you can tell that they are real friends.”

“I can definitely see the New York Angels lasting a long, long time,” Cherelle, one of the Australian Angels, said to more general agreement.

“That brings me to a question I’d like to ask our English roses, if I may,” Paul said, making Jamie tense up- she doubted it was a coincidence that the question was prompted by Cherelle, who along with her fellow ‘Aussie Angel’ Alice Oliver, were the only ‘Angels’ anywhere in the world to be in a relationship with each other. Jamie knew that LGBT issues would be raised during the Q&A session, she’d just hoped that it would’ve been a little later…

“The British Angels have been running for five years now,” Paul said. “How much longer do you see the group lasting, especially now that half of you are parents?” Okay, Jamie thought to herself as she scrambled for her thoughts. Not the question I was expecting…

“For as long as we’re friends with each other,” Hannah replied bluntly. “For me and Viks, that’s been more than half our lives, and I can’t see us ever not being friends.”

“Same for me and Charlotte,” Jamie said firmly.

“Though the two of you have fought in the past, haven’t you?” Paul asked, making Jamie fidget uncomfortably in her seat.

“Well- I wouldn't say FIGHT,” Jamie replied, shifting uneasily in her seat at her white lie. “All friends fall out from time to time, me and Charlotte are no exception. But we’re still best friends and always will be, we’re godmothers to each other’s children…”

“There is already enough hostility in the world,” Helena, the youngest member of the German Angel group, said. “Sometimes it is good to show what is positive.”

“Many reality shows such as yours depend on drama and conflict to get ratings,” Paul said. “Why do you feel this positive message has been successful, and how successful do you think it will be in front of an American audience?”

“I think it’s because we’re not like other reality shows, that’s why we’re successful,” Cherelle said.

“A lot if it is also probably due to social media,” Hannah interjected. “Last few years, all the celebrities and role models have come from Instagram and YouTube instead of TV. People like watching real people in real situations, with us- with all of us, what you see is what you get.” Jamie tried not to grimace as she feared that Hannah had given the emcee the perfect opportunity to segue into some awkward questions…

“As for American audiences,” Claudia, a young Swiss woman who was a member of the German Angels, said, “you would need to ask them!” The twelve women on the stage grinned as Claudia gestured to the audience, who all cheered as one.

“We all have plenty of fans from around the world,” Cherelle said. “And Americans have great taste, so naturally we have plenty of fans from this country as well!” This earned another cheer from the audience, which in turn earned another grin from the women on the stage.

“I suppose that’s one of the great things about the internet,” Jamie mused. “It makes the world smaller, you know? Make us more, like, accessible…” And I’ve just opened the door myself, Jamie thought to herself.

“The internet can also be a source of conflict,” Paul stated. “And I know many of you have faced criticism and even online abuse from internet trolls. What’s it like, dealing with that when you’re famous?”

“Well, you hit the nail on the head when you said the word ‘troll’,” Hannah said. “There are people who get their kicks from sending online abuse, and those people have something seriously wrong with them.”

“They’re sociopaths, simple as that,” Saoirse, a member of the Irish ‘Angels’, said in a disgusted voice. “I mean, I hope they eventually grow up and realise that what they’re doing isn’t big, clever or funny, but while they do it- nope. Don’t deserve any of our time.” The twelve women all nodded in agreement as the audience applauded the young Irishwoman’s speech.

“It’s a question I’d particularly like to put to you, Jamie,” Paul said, making Jamie take a deep breath. Here we go, she thought to herself. Better to get it over with sooner rather than later.

“…Yes, I’ve had far more than my fair share of online hate,” Jamie confessed in a quiet voice. “And yes, most of it is for the ‘obvious’ reason. Even though I’ve been living 24/7 as a woman for seven and a half years, there are still people who can’t get over the fact that for the first nineteen years of my life, I was a man. WAS. That’s the distinction. Some people are born into the wrong gender, and the way a person needs- not chooses, NEEDS to live their life isn’t any business of anyone else.” Jamie allowed herself a smile as her speech earned a rapturous round of applause from the audience, many of whom also leapt to their feet. Before Jamie or Paul could speak again, however, they were interrupted by an unexpected source.

“It is difficult for someone born into the correct gender to understand what it is like to not be,” the soft, refined African accent of Malaika Okumu said. Malaika was the tenth member of the British Angels and the last one to have been added to the group, and as such was the one Jamie felt least close to. Jamie considered Malaika a friend, of course, but had struggled to get to know her at first, thanks in large part to Malaika having only lived in the UK for five years and English not being her first language. This had also resulted in Malaika being known as ‘the quiet Angel’, but on this occasion, Malaika clearly had no intention of being quiet- and the smile on Jamie’s face widened with every word her Kenyan friend said. The fact that Malaika had unquestionably accepted Jamie as a woman, when her home country had long been violently repressive toward LGBT people, didn't hurt Jamie's opinions of her.

“A lot of people dismiss transphobia as not important because it does not affect them,” Malaika said. “As though because they cannot understand it, it must not exist. I know firsthand what this can be like. I am fortunate that I am not transgender myself, but I have experienced more than my fair share of bigotry because of the colour of my skin and the way I speak. And I have known many white people who dismiss racism as not being a problem anymore because they do not see it in their day to day lives. But it is a problem, and so is transphobia, homophobia and every other form of bigotry. We need to live and let live. My being black does not hurt or inconvenience anyone else, and it had no effect on me being successful. The same applies to Jamie or Chiara being transgendered, or Cherelle being in a same-sex relationship. It doesn’t hurt anyone. So let us be.” Malaika bit her lip and blushed as almost everyone in the audience rose to their feet and applauded her speech, including the other eleven women on the stage.

“That was very profound,” Paul said. “I think everyone in here can agree with what you said, though my question was actually directed at you Jamie as you have a young child.” Sure it was, Jamie thought to herself. “You and the other Angels who have children have been including your children less and less in your social media accounts and onscreen in recent months.”

“We feel it’s not fair on them to force them into the limelight when they’re still very young,” Jamie replied in a matter of fact voice.

“Which we can definitely appreciate,” Paul said. “But it has led to speculation that it will lead to the eventual breakup of the Angels, as your family life takes time away from your careers.”

“I definitely consider myself a mother first and an Angel second,” Jamie said. “And maybe the day will come when I’m no longer able to be an Angel, I don’t know, nobody knows what the future might hold. But as long as I can be both, I will be both.”

“As will I,” Malaika said, flashing a supportive smile at her friend as every other woman on stage murmured in agreement.

The Q&A session lasted for another 45 minutes, during which time Jamie fielded questions from both the emcee and the audience about multiple topics, including about any advice she might have for transgendered girls embarking on their journey- advice Jamie was only too happy to give. After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, Jamie and the other women headed to the backstage area to catch their breath, though as they walked, there was only one thing on Jamie’s mind.

“Oh my god, Malaika!” Jamie squeaked, making her African friend giggle and blush. “What you said… Wow.”

“Seriously, wow!” Hannah gushed.

“It’s- it’s just something I have wanted to get off my chest for a while,” Malaika said in a quiet, demure voice.

“I never knew you’d had it THAT bad since you moved to England,” Hannah asked.

“It’s not been nearly as bad since I joined the Angels,” Malaika said. “But when I first moved to the UK and could barely speak the language… I wouldn’t treat an animal the way I was treated. It is perhaps why Joshua is fond of me, because he experienced the same when he moved to London in 1982.”

“And god knows he’s done well for himself in the 36 years since,” Jamie chuckled. “As will you.”

“And you!” Malaika giggled. “We have both had obstacles to overcome, obstacles put in our way. And we will rise above them. For do Angels not have wings?”

“Too right we do!” Hannah giggled as the three women returned to their table to continue meeting their fans.

Jamie had only been sat back down and meeting her fans for ten minutes when her table was approached by a nervous, almost tearful girl in her late teens.

“Hi!” Jamie said with a friendly smile. “Are you enjoying the event so far?”

“Oh my god, SO much!” The girl replied, her quavering New Jersey accent betraying her nerves. “I- I’m Sally, by the way.”

“Jamie,” the Englishwoman replied, holding out her hand, which Sally eagerly shook.

“I know!” Sally squeaked, fanning herself with her hands and sniffing back tears. “I- I heard what you said in there just now, and- oh my god, I sound SO dumb…”

“No, go on, please,” Jamie said.

“You- you’re just such an inspiration, you know?” Sally said, making Jamie giggle and blush. “What you said, about needing to be your own person, no matter what everyone else says…”

“Yeah…” Jamie said. “Sally, do- do you need to talk privately to me, or- or to someone?” Jamie smiled sympathetically as Sally began to sob, before leaping up from her seat and leading the distraught teenager to a quiet part of the hall.

“I’m sorry, I am SO sorry,” Sally blubbed as she and Jamie sat down away from the hustle and bustle.

“No, no need to be sorry,” Jamie said softly. “Sally, has- has something happened? I mean, I’m not a counsellor, but if you need to talk, I’m happy to listen.”

“But I’m taking you away from your event,” Sally moaned.

“They can carry on without me for a few minutes,” Jamie whispered. “Do you need me to call someone? The police, a parent-“

“No- no, not my parents,” Sally whispered. “You- you can probably tell by now…”

“’Tell’?” Jamie asked, before her eyes widened as she examined the young woman, who despite her young age, was almost 5’ 11” tall, had broader than average shoulders and, most notably, an Adam’s Apple…

“…Oh,” Jamie said. “And you- your parents…”

“Kicked me out when I told them,” Sally blubbed. “That was four months ago, and I- I-“

“It’s okay,” Jamie said, giving Sally’s hands a gentle squeeze. “You’re my friend now, and that means I’m going to help you. Like I said, I’m not a counsellor, I don’t even live in New York- or even America- so I can’t give you any, you know, practical help… But I know someone who can.”

Jamie kept a determined smile on her face as she led Sally by the hand through the crowd. It would’ve been easy for Jamie to simply dismiss Sally as an overeager fan, or to just give her directions to get to where she was taking her, but that wasn’t in Jamie’s character. She knew what it was like to be young and have no support from anyone, but Jamie also knew that it was important to never lose hope. When she was 19, Jamie was lost, with no family, no friends and no direction in life. Thanks to her best friend, a year later she had a job, wealth and had begun to recover her relationship with her parents. And now, at the age of 27, she was able to help a girl who had been just like Jamie was ten years earlier.

“Oh, hi Jamie!” Paige said as the famous transwoman approached her booth with Sally in tow. “You got some time away from the fans, then?”

“Sort of,” Jamie replied. “Paige, this is my friend Sally. Sally, this is my friend Paige. She and her wife are girls like you and me, and they work for a charity that’s set up to help girls like you and me.”

“Hi Sally, it’s nice to meet you!” Paige said, greeting the teenager with a gentle hug.

“Hi,” Sally replied with a nervous giggle. “I- I love your accent, hehe!”

“Thanks!” Paige replied in her distinctive Scottish twang. “I can take it from here Jamie, thanks.”

“Thanks Paige,” Jamie said with a smile. “And Sally? Keep in touch, okay?”

“W- will do!” Sally said with a nervous giggle as Jamie headed back to her table, barely taking five steps before being intercepted by her PA and protege.

“Hey Jamie,” Nikki said. “Did you need a bathroom break?”

“No,” Jamie replied with a cool smile. “Just needed to help out a friend.”

“Ah,” Nikki replied. “An old friend or a new friend?”

“Does it matter?” Jamie asked, sharing a giggle with her young protégé. “It’s been a great day today, Nikki. You definitely deserve a pat on the back.”

“Thanks,” Nikki said with a shy smile.

“So, are you feeling a little less stressed, then?” Jamie asked.

“Definitely,” Nikki replied, though the reason for her relaxation was less due to the success of the day, and more because she had an unread text message from her wife waiting on her phone…

The event continued into the late evening, with the line to meet the Angels not dwindling until the very last minutes of the event. Eventually, the time came for the Angels to grab their coats and head out to the limousines that were waiting to ferry them back to their hotel. Once they arrived, the women all headed back to their suites to change into more comfortable (but still stylish) clothes, and once they were changed, five of the ten women headed to a different suite in the hotel, where there were several younger people eagerly awaiting their return.

“Mummy!” Olivia squeaked, reaching for Jamie the second the blonde woman entered the room. Jamie was, of course, only too happy to reach down and take her daughter into her arms, gently cuddling her as she giggled contentedly.

“Hey there, cutie!” Jamie giggled, giving Olivia a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Has she been too fussy today, then?”

“She’s been good as gold,” Eilish replied. “Went down for her nap, ate all her supper… I was gonna put her in her cot but figured you’d want to see her first before she went to sleep. God knows she wanted to see you, hehe!”

“Yes, and yes!” Jamie said, before giggling and rolling her eyes as her husband entered the room.

“Daddy!” Olivia squeaked, wriggling around in Jamie’s arms before being handed over to her father.

“Hello baby girl!” Stuart cooed, giving his daughter a kiss in the same spot that Jamie had. “Have you been a good girl for Auntie Eilish?” Jamie and Stuart both giggled happily as their infant daughter grinned and nodded excitedly.

“Daddy’s girl,” Jamie said, sharing a giggle with her Irish childminder before flopping down onto one of the room’s sofas.

“Well,” Charlotte announced as she sat down next to Jamie with one of her twin daughters in her arms, “I think we can officially call today a success!”

“It was,” Viks said with a happy sigh as the five non-parent members of the Angels entered the room. “And from what I hear, the day’s ‘MVP’- well, ‘MVA’ was none other than Miss Malaika Okumu!”

“Oh- don’t,” Malaika said, blushing as she slumped into one of the room’s sofas. “We all played a part today. Not just us, but all of the other Angels from around the world, and Out of Heaven, Nikki and Katie too…”

“It was most definitely a team effort,” Charlotte said with a nod. “Think we gave the New York Angels the launch they deserve, hehe!”

“Did anyone get to talk much to them today, though?” Kelly asked. “I noticed each country’s Angels seemed to stay mostly to themselves. I get that for some of us, there’s a language barrier, but still, who knows when every Angel in the world will be in the same place again?”

“Umm… next Saturday, AngelCon in LA,” Hannah replied. “But I kinda get what you mean, it’d have been nice to talk to them more. But we were VERY busy today.”

“Hell, how often do the ten of us get the chance to just get together and talk like this?” Abbey-Gayle asked to murmurs of agreement from the room.

“That was one of the questions we were asked, actually,” Jamie sighed. “How long can the Angels, as an organisation, continue the way we are? I mean, half of us have extra ‘responsibilities’ now…”

“We go on for as long as we can, and as long as our fans want us,” Charlotte said firmly. “But ‘Angel’ is just a label, a brand. Take that brand away, and the ten of us will still always be friends, right?”

“Right!” the other nine women said confidently, while Jamie relaxed back into the sofa, as contented as she had ever felt. Even though she was in a foreign land and had a lot of work ahead of her, she was surrounded by her friends and her family. Jamie had rarely if ever felt a more powerful sense of belonging- and the comfortable skirt and clingy sweater she wore only enhanced that feeling.

The following morning, Jamie woke up just after 7:30am and made no effort to get out of bed. Her husband had already risen early to give their daughter her breakfast and change her nappy, and she had nothing planned that day other than to see the sights that the Big Apple had to offer. As she tried to drift off, though, her mind kept being brought back to the young woman she’d met the previous day. Jamie had helped countless young transgendered women during her life, including several from outside the UK (including America), but there was something about Sally that stuck with her.

Unable to drift back to sleep, Jamie reached for her phone and logged in to Facebook, quickly composing a private message that she hoped would ease her mind.

‘Hey Paige,’ Jamie typed. ‘Are you up yet?’ Jamie set down her phone, reasoning that as the Scottish woman had also had a long day the previous day, she would also be enjoying a lie in, but within seconds, Jamie’s phone pinged to inform her that she’d received a reply to her message.

‘Hi Jamie!’ Paige replied. ‘Great day yesterday!’

‘It was!’ Jamie typed. ‘How did you get on with Sally in the end?’

‘We got on fine,’ Paige replied. ‘She told me about her history with her parents, I got her referred to a support group that’s going to get her an apartment, help her finish school, hopefully get into college.’

‘That’s great!’ Jamie replied.

‘It’s what we do,’ Paige typed with a ‘smiling’ emoji. ‘Why did you need to follow up, though? You’ll probably never even see Sally again.’

‘I know,’ Jamie typed. ‘I dunno, maybe I just feel responsible in a way. Here I am, going up on stage, being treated like royalty, when there are girls like us who have nothing, simply because they need to be girls like us.’

‘With great power comes great responsibility?’ Paige asked.

‘Something like that,’ Jamie replied. ‘Keep me informed about Sally, please? And make sure she knows she can friend me on here too.’ Jamie signed off her message with a smiling emoji, before relaxing back onto her plush bed. Even if Sally turned out to be the only person she helped during the trip, it would’ve worth it.

“Not suffering as much this morning, then?” Stephanie asked as she entered the hotel’s restaurant to find Nikki, Katie and Jacinta eagerly tucking into their morning meal.

“Like we were going to go out again after yesterday,” Nikki snorted. “Got back to the hotel room, collapsed on my bed and that’s about all I had the energy for. Especially as I’m going to spend most of today making sure the Angels all have their plane tickets in order.”

“Still going to Chicago with Jamie?” Stephanie asked.

“Philadelphia with Mary first,” Nikki replied. “Then Chicago with Jamie on Tuesday.”

“I’m heading to Philadelphia tomorrow as well,” Katie said. “Dan wants me to video him running up the Rocky steps, whatever that means. Where are you heading, Steph?”

“Straight to LA,” Stephanie replied. “Might make a stop off in San Francisco first, introduce Becca and Adeola to the fan club we met there in July.”

“Kelly’s going to San Francisco,” Nikki said. “Think she’s looking for company on the flight, heh.”

“Cool,” Stephanie said. “But I really, really want to see more of New York before I leave, hehe! Dunno when I’m gonna be back here again…”

“Same here,” Nikki said with a sigh. “Though…”

“She wishes she could see it with Sarah,” Jacinta and Katie said simultaneously, making their friend roll her eyes.

“Well,” Stephanie sighed as she thought about her lover, who was also still in London, “I can definitely sympathise with that…”

Despite missing their other halves, Stephanie and Nikki joined the rest of the Angels after breakfast as they embarked on their sightseeing tour of New York City. The women gasped in awe at the historic Chrysler and Empire State buildings, skyscrapers far taller than any building in London, before heading through Times Square, Wall Street and Broadway and paying their respects at the World Trade Center memorial.

The women's final stop was a trip to see the Statue of Liberty up close, a monument both Nikki and Stephanie were eager to have their photo taken in front of- photos that were immediately sent to Sarah and Kayla. As they took the ferry back to the Whitehall terminal, Nikki and Stephanie took the opportunity to relax and reflect on both their experiences of the day, and their relationships as well.

“So,” Nikki asked hesitantly. “Have- have you talked to Kayla yet today?” Stephanie frowned as she fidgeted uncomfortably at the mention of her girlfriend’s name.

“I texted her,” Stephanie mumbled in reply. “Waiting for her to get back to me. She’s probably, you know, tired after yesterday, heh.”

“She’s done really well to get this far in Strictly,” Nikki mused.

“Hmm,” Stephanie mumbled in agreement. “Doubt I’d have done as well, heh.”

“Have you seen last night’s show yet?” Nikki asked.

“Ehh… No,” Stephanie replied, her cheeks flushing with her confession. “I, umm, know she’s back next week as I read a spoiler online but, umm, no.”

“I get that this is gonna be tough,” Nikki sighed. “Especially when you’re not at home as well. Heh, can’t believe I’m feeling homesick already…”

“Well, ‘Sarahsick’, anyway?” Stephanie teased her friend, who rolled her eyes and smiled sadly.

“I guess,” Nikki sighed. “As long as you admit to being ‘Kaylasick’ too?”

“Obviously,” Stephanie said. “And this week shouldn’t be THAT tough, I mean, I’ve had three months to get used to missing her…”

“But you’re still together, and that’s the important thing,” Nikki said softly. “If she didn’t feel about you the same way you feel about her, well, you know, right?”

“I guess,” Stephanie said, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. “And it’s not like we can’t come back to New York at some point in the future. While we’re still relatively unknown in New York, anyway.”

“I was about to say,” Nikki chuckled. “Normally you’d be clamping your hand over my mouth the second I started talking about ‘Stayla’!”

“If only to stop you using that horrible couple’s name!” Stephanie replied, her smile widening. “Seriously, you need to think of a better name than ‘Stayla’, Mrs. ‘taller half of Snikki’!”

“Meh, I used to hate ‘Snikki’ at first,” Nikki shrugged. “Now I love it. Want to know why?”

“Because by merging your name with Sarah’s, it in some way merges you with her?” Stephanie asked.

“Bingo,” Nikki said with a grin that was shared by her friends as the ferry docked.

As Nikki had an early flight the following day, she and Stephanie agreed to head back to the hotel and to flag down a taxi once they were out of the ferry dock. Before they were able to get 10 yards, however, both women became aware of several pairs of eyes staring at them- eyes belonging to a group of six teenaged girls, whose excitement level increased when Stephanie looked back at them.

It was a situation Stephanie was familiar with, of course- back in London, she would regularly be stopped by teenaged fans eager to get a selfie with a singer from their favourite band. However, she had also experienced situations where the ‘fans’ hadn’t been fans at all, but had openly sneered at her to her face, had called her a 'fag', a 'queer' or words even worse than that. Such occasions were few and far between, enough to reassure Stephanie that most of the time, she could safely let a fan approach her, but that was in London, where everyone knew her, where most of her fans lived and where she had a support network that would instantly come to her aid if she needed it. But in New York, Stephanie was unknown- and even a skinny 5’ 6” transwoman who’d been taking oestrogen for over two years would still stand out in a crowd if the first thing you noticed about them was their Adam’s Apple…

“Should- should we talk to them?” Nikki whispered, making Stephanie bite her lip as she considered her response. The whole purpose of the trip to America was to engage with new fans, after all, and even though the day was designated for rest, Stephanie had standing orders to interact with as many fans as possible… But she had a superseding standing order to keep herself safe. The trips to New York and Los Angeles were designed to keep her and the Angels as far away as possible from the less salubrious parts of the cities, and a group of teenaged girls hardly posed a major physical threat, but there were more types of harm than just physical harm…

“Let’s do this,” Stephanie said, forcing a professional smile on her face as she approached the giggling teenagers, whose excitement levels increased with every Step Stephanie took closer to them.

“Oh- oh my god,” the apparent leader of the girls said as Nikki and Stephanie stood mere feet away from them. “Are- are you-“ Here it comes, Stephanie thought to herself. “…Stephanie Abbott?”

“Yep, that’s me!” Stephanie replied with a giggle, grinning widely as the girls all squeaked with excitement.

“We are SUCH huge fans of yours!” The lead girl squeaked. “Can- can we get a selfie with you?”

“Of course!” Stephanie replied with a smile. “Nikki, d’you want to do the honours?”

“Sure!” Nikki said, smiling knowingly at her friend as she took the photo with one of the girls’ phones. “Were you girls at the Angels launch yesterday?”

“We wanted to be,” one of the other girls replied. “But we couldn’t get tickets.”

“Huh, didn’t realise we’d sold out,” Nikki said as she returned the girl’s phone.

“I didn’t realise we had fans in New York!” Stephanie giggled.

“Oh- totally,” the lead girl said. “We’d kill to go to one of your concerts, if you ever do one in New York!”

“Well, I think I can suggest it to my bosses, hehe!” Stephanie said. “You girls take care, okay? And keep listening to Out of Heaven!”

“We will!” The lead girl giggled as she and her friends headed toward the nearby subway station while Stephanie and Nikki headed toward a nearby taxi that had pulled up.

“We are SUCH huge fans of yours!” Nikki teased her famous friend once the girls were out of earshot.

“Oh- shut up,” Stephanie replied. “It’s nothing I don’t hear on a daily basis in London anyway.”

“Yeah, but it’s exciting to hear it from American fans, surely?” Nikki asked.

“Definitely,” Stephanie replied, though deep down, she felt regret about the loss of her anonymity, effectively ruining her chances of a romantic trip to New York with Kayla, and she also regretted that Kayla herself wasn’t able to meet the fans that she just had…

As the sun began to set, Nikki and Stephanie returned to their hotel rooms to prepare for the following week. Nikki checked and rechecked the Angels’ schedules, making sure everything was planned down to the tiniest detail and nothing was left to chance. Before she went to bed, Nikki checked her phone for any messages from her wife- however, as it was after 2am in London and the following day was a Monday, no new messages had reached Nikki’s phone in hours and Sarah was showing as offline on all of her social media accounts. Nikki tried to put her misery at being alone in bed to the back of her mind as she drifted off to sleep- she had a long week ahead of her, after all…

The following morning, Nikki, Katie and all the Angels and their families rendezvoused in the hotel lobby for a quick goodbye before splitting up ahead of their separate nationwide trips. Nikki and the Carters headed to LaGuardia airport, where the atmosphere became more energised as each flight was called one by one, and the energy levels remained high for Nikki as she (along with Mary, her husband and her children) headed west, deeper into the United States of America. However, Nikki remained nervous about the other nine Angels' trips- even though other PAs would be taking care of them, Nikki had been responsible for writing a lot of the itineraries for the week, and hoped she hadn't made a mistake somewhere that could cost her company dearly...

Just over an hour later, the plane landed at Philadelphia International airport, where Nikki and the Carters were whisked to a nearby television studio for Mary’s sit-down interview in front of a live audience. After the interview, Mary and several of the Italian Angels headed to the studio's reception area, which had been set aside for a meet and greet session. Mary, Nikki and the others remained in the studio until late into the evening signing autographs, selling merchandise and taking selfies with a seemingly never-ending stream of fans. Eventually, the fans began to dissipate, and Nikki let out a loud sigh of relief as she and Mary took a taxi back to the hotel.

“Why were you so panicky?” Mary teased her young friend. “We’re the ones who have to go up on stage, you know? And that was after mixing a bumpy plane ride with morning sickness too!”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Nikki replied with a tired giggle. “Ah… I just want everything this week to be perfect, you know? And…”

“…And?” Mary asked.

“And you get to go back to your hotel and cuddle up next to your hubby while I get to sleep alone,” Nikki sighed. “Not that I want to cuddle up next to Dan, god no, but-“

“Yeah, I get it,” Mary chuckled. “Sure, we’d better hope you can hold out until you see Sarah again or you won’t need a plane to fly back home, heh!”

“I guess,” Nikki giggled.

“And just for the record, any woman would be lucky to be able to cuddle up next to Dan Carter,” Mary said defensively. “Well, any heterosexual woman, anyway. Which I suppose you’re not. Heterosexual, that is.”

“I guessed,” Nikki said with a giggle as she crossed one leg over the other, smiling at the sensation of her nylon-covered legs gliding over each other with nothing between her legs to 'get in the way'.

"Though I suppose I'm going to get plenty of home time when this little one comes along, heh!" Mary giggled as she patted her midsection. "Ah... You know, we were talking last night about how long the Angels can go on, you know?"

"Really?" Nikki asked. "Is this a subtle way of telling me to look for another job?"

"Oh, god no, you are doing a more than brilliant job, believe me!" Mary said. "It's just, you know, our lives are all so busy, those of us who have kids, and I haven't been back to Belfast in months... Malaika was saying she was homesick too, you know?"

"All good things must come to an end?" Nikki asked with a sad smile on her face.

"Eventually," Mary said. "But- but never mind that for now. This week, we make America OURS!"

"Hell yeah!" Nikki cheered as she mused on Mary's words. Her potential promotion at Heavenly Talent made Nikki less nervous about the prospect of the Angels potentially disbanding, but didn't prevent her from wondering what the future held. All she knew was that wherever her life would take her, she would always have the love of her wife and her friends- and she would always be the woman she always was inside."

After another early night spent re-reading her messages from Sarah (who had again gone to bed long before Nikki), Nikki woke up early for her flight to Chicago. As she checked in at the airport, Nikki couldn’t help but muse on how alone she suddenly felt. She’d never flown alone before- previous occasions had either been with family, with Sarah or with other friends, such as the previous day’s flight. Even though she was able to exchange text messages with her wife while waiting to board her flight, which calmed her nerves, Nikki couldn’t help but feel increasingly anxious as the plane delivered her westward. She was in a foreign land, and even though she'd been to America multiple times beforehand, travelling away from home always brought her anxiety- especially about the possibility of being 'found out'...

Nikki’s anxiety lessened, however, when she landed and was greeted in the airport concourse by the smiling face of (and a friendly hug from) her mentor.

“Hey Nikki!” Jamie giggled as she escorted the twenty-one-year-old woman to their waiting taxi. “Did you have fun in Philadelphia?”

“Yep!” Nikki replied. “Mary’s show went REALLY well, heh! Loads of people at the meet and greet afterwards, too."

"That's good to hear," Jamie said. "So... Are we feeling any less panicky yet?"

"A bit, yeah," Nikki confessed. "I heard everything went great in Boston and Atlanta as well. Is Stu back at the hotel?"

"Well, you just mentioned Atlanta, where Krystie was, right?" Jamie asked.

"Umm, right...?" Nikki asked.

"Which is also where Mikey WASN'T," Jamie explained. "Him and Stuart stopped off in Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll hall of Fame."

"Okay, well, they're both musicians, I guess?" Nikki said.

"And they're both fathers who left me and Krystie literally holding the baby," Jamie said in a mock angry voice, before giggling and shaking her head. "I dunno. I suppose I can allow them ONE day. But they know they're going to pay for it in the long run. On three, okay?" Jamie giggled as her protege nodded in the affirmative. "One, two, three..."

"BOYS," Nikki and Jamie said simultaneously, giggling as they headed toward their waiting taxi.

After checking Nikki into the hotel and ensuring that Olivia was settled with the Heavenly Talent PA who was doubling as childminder for the day, the two transwomen headed to the venue that had been booked for the launch. The venue's manager, a short, scruffy-looking man named Kovlachek, warmly greeted the two women and escorted Jamie to her dressing room, while Nikki inspected the area that had been set aside for the meet and greet after Jamie's on-stage interview.

"Is everything set up fine?" The manager asked, breaking Nikki's concentration as he approached.

"Hmm? Umm, yeah, it's perfect," Nikki replied with a grin. "I think we're just about ready to get going!"

"Yep!" Mr. Kovlachek replied. "Just as soon as the others get here."

"Umm, well Carla from the New York Angels and Serena and Caterina from the Italian group got here a while-" Nikki said.

"No, no, no, not them," Mr. Kovlachek said. "The others, you know, Charlotte, Hannah, those girls?"

"Umm," Nikki said, her heart beginning to race as she wondered whether she'd forgotten something. "No, the deal was for one of the British Angels to visit each city, aside from the launches in New York and Los-"

"WHAT!?" The unkempt manager yelled, startling the young woman into silence. "You mean I'm only getting ONE Angel?"

"Th- that was the deal," Nikki said as her teeth started to chatter with nerves.

"Well I've got a marquee on the front of this building that says 'Come and meet the Angels'," Mr. Kovlachek yelled. "What am I meant to do, go out there with a can of paint and cross out the 'S'?"

"Mr. Kovlachek," Nikki pleaded. "The deal said-"

"No, you listen to me!" The manager yelled. "YOU fucked up! You promised me ten Angels and you've delivered only one! Now I've got to go on stage and look like an idiot because of YOU! We should've let the Germans bomb the shit out of you people!"

Nikki felt her stomach churn as the angry man stormed away, while she dropped into the nearest seat out of fear that her legs would give way right there in the middle of the hall. In the hallway behind her, Nikki could hear the muffled sounds of a loud argument between a man and a woman- no doubt Mr. Kovlachek arguing with Jamie about the situation. As the sounds grew louder, Nikki's future flashed before her tear-filled eyes- her promotion would be toast, closely followed by her job, her independence...

Nikki's distressed state meant she didn't hear the argument come to an end, or the sound of footsteps approaching her. She was only brought back to reality by a comforting arm being wrapped around her shoulders, and the last voice she expected to hear.

"Don't worry, Nikki," the voice said. "It'll be okay. I had a few words with that fat bastard, and I told him that was NO way to talk to a woman."

"Huh- Alexa?" Nikki asked. "Wh- what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" The Minnesota native replied with a sympathetic smile. "I'm helping my sister."

“Well- well you look amazing,” Nikki giggled, composing herself as she and her friend exchanged a warm, friendly hug. “When did you get here? I didn’t think I was going to see you until Thanksgiving?”

“Did you really think we were going to miss this?” Alexa asked. “The closest Angel launch event to Minnesota, AND it’s Jamie? Of course we’re going to be here!”

“Well I am seriously glad you are!” Nikki giggled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Ugh, my mascara’s probably wreck- wait, you said ‘we’? So Jenny’s here too?”

“Did you really think she was going to miss this either?” Alexa replied with a smart Alek grin that widened as her wife approached and gave her a gentle kiss, before greeting their English friend with a hug.

“Hey Nikki!” Jenny squeaked, bouncing up and down with excitement as she hugged her friend.

“Hey Jen!” Nikki giggled happily. “Ugh, did- you didn’t hear what happened just now, did you?”

“Who d’you think was doing most of the shouting?” Alexa asked, causing her wife to briefly pout before giggling.

“Well- well I’m glad you’re both here, I really am,” Nikki said. “I have been so stressed about this week, you really have no idea.”

“Well… Your mascara does kinda give me a clue,” Alexa said, making her British friend moan and roll her eyes as she wiped some of the smeared make-up off her face. “Bathroom break?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Nikki giggled as she and her two friends headed toward the backstage area. “So when did you two get into Chicago?”

“This morning,” Jenny replied. “We’re flying back tomorrow. We were going to do some sightseeing, but SOMEONE decided she’d rather come straight here. And to be fair, she was right, hehe!”

“I’d say so!” Nikki giggled as Alexa and Jenny shared another kiss.

“It was tough trying to get to get leave from the foundation, seeing as I’ve only been working there a few months,” Alexa said. “Fortunately, SOMEONE has some sway with the owner!” Nikki giggled as this time, it was Jenny’s turn to pout, which was only ended by another kiss between the two wives.

“We’d have been in New York too, if we could’ve got more time off,” Jenny explained as the trio entered the bathroom and Nikki began repairing her make-up. “The launch looked amazing! Lex of course couldn’t wait to add all the New York Angels on Instagram.”

“They all look really cool,” Alexa said as she gave her lipstick a quick touch-up. “Bit surprised there are no, you know, transgendered girls in the group…”

“Yeah, Jamie was surprised as we-“ Nikki said, before pausing. “Wait, have you seen Jamie yet?”

“What, here?” Jenny asked. “No, we thought she’d be along later?”

“No, she’s here already,” Nikki explained. “Getting changed now. Do you two want to go meet up with her?” The excited squeaks from the married couple were all the answer Nikki needed, and after her make-up was once again immaculate, she led her friends back through the corridors of the venue toward her mentor’s dressing room. Before they had got ten yards, though, the three women froze when they saw the venue’s manager walking toward them.

“Hello- umm, hello,” Mr. Kovlachek mumbled in a quiet, cowed voice. “I, umm, I want- I want to apologise for my behaviour just now. I’ve re-read the contract your company sent, and it does say that only one member of the Angels will be present today. So again, umm, I’m, umm, sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Nikki said in a quiet voice as the scruffy man scuttled away, before breaking into a fit of giggles with her friends once he was outside earshot.

“He’ll know better than to shout at my sister next time!” Alexa said with a proud grin as she wrapped a comforting arm around her British friend’s shoulder.

“Girl power?” Nikki asked with a smug grin.

“You said it, girlie!” Jenny giggled as the trio approached Jamie’s dressing room door, which Nikki playfully knocked on.

“Come in,” Jamie said from the other side of the door, smiling as Nikki let herself into the room before giggling excitedly as she was followed by their American friends. “Alexa! Jenny! Hey you two!” The married couple collectively known as ‘Jexy’ both squeaked as Jamie greeted them with a gentle hug each, before directing them and Nikki to the dressing room’s plush sofa. “So how are you two enjoying married life, then?”

“It- it’s great,” Jenny replied as her fingers instinctively interlocked with her wife’s. “I’ve genuinely never been happier.”

“Me either,” Alexa said.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Jamie said with a wide, genuine smile.

The four women relaxed and chatted for the next fifteen minutes about their lives, the tour and their plans for the future, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. The conversation was only interrupted when a knock came from the dressing room door, notifying Jamie that she was due on stage promptly.

“Looks like it’s show time,” Jamie said with a grin as she escorted her friends out of the dressing room.

“I should probably get back to doing actual work as well, heh,” Nikki said as she grabbed her iPad.

“Luckily you’ve got a boss who’ll count ‘chatting’ as ‘working’ on your timesheet, eh?” Jamie teased as her protégé blushed, before turning to talk to her American friends. “And as for you two, normally I’d suggest getting a drink or two after the show, but I’ve got a 21 month old waiting in my hotel suite and I know that where you guys are concerned, ‘drink or two’ doesn’t usually stop at just two drinks!” Alexa, Jenny and Nikki all pouted in mock offence, before giggling and blushing as they were forced to concede that their friend was right.

“…We’re not THAT bad,” Jenny feebly mumbled.

“What was it your friend Katie called you?” Jamie asked. “The fearsome foursome?” The blonde Englishwoman smiled smugly as her friends all blushed deeper shades of red, before breaking down in a fit of giggles herself. “Ah, I’m just teasing, heh. God knows me and Charlotte had a few nights to forget before we had ‘other responsibilities’. Just have fun, and take care, okay?”

“We will,” Jenny said with a smile as she and her wife headed back to the main auditorium. “Oh, Jamie?”

“Yes…?” Jamie asked.

“What- what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Jenny asked.

“Umm, I’m not sure,” Jamie replied. “I know we have to fly early on Friday to get to LA, so we’ll probably eat at the hotel.”

“Why don’t you come and have Thanksgiving dinner with us?” Jenny asked “You, Stuart and Olivia.”

“Y-yeah,” Alexa agreed

“Oh- I couldn’t, really,” Jamie said as her own cheeks started to flush. “I mean, it’s a family thing…”

“Nonsense, you ARE family,” Jenny insisted. “There'll be plenty of food, so don't worry about imposing.”

“And besides, Nikki’ll be there too,” Alexa said, flashing a smart Alek grin at her British counterpart that earned her a playful shove.

“…I’ll ask Stuart,” Jamie said, grinning as her American friends squeaked excitedly. “And I’ll see you there if I don’t see you after the show. And if I don’t, try not to have TOO much fun, okay?”

“We will,” Jenny replied, before letting out another squeak as Jamie made her way to the stage. “This is so exciting! I’ve got to call daddy, let him know he’ll have to set out three extra places! Are any of the other Angels free? Maybe we could-“

“Whoa, slow down a bit!” Alexa said, before biting her lip and grinning. “Nikki…?”

“…All of the other Angels are either at their individual appearances or already in LA,” Nikki replied with a giggle of her own. “Out of Heaven are still in New York, Jamie’s probably the only one close enough to fly last minute.” Nikki suppressed a grin as Jenny pouted, before shrugging her shoulders and smiling.

“It’s probably for the best,” the blonde woman said. "We don't want daddy thinking we've turned his home into a guest house, heh" Nikki smiled as the married couple shared a giggle, before looking at her iPad and sighing.

“I’d better get back to work now too,” Nikki said.

“But we’re still getting a couple of drinks after the show, right?” Alexa asked with pleading eyes that made her English counterpart giggle.

“…A couple,” Nikki said, flashing a sad smile that Alexa and Jenny immediately saw through.

“Nikki, is- is everything okay?” Alexa asked.

“Yeah,” Nikki sighed. “I- I’m just missing Sarah a bit, that’s all. Jamie called us ‘the fearsome foursome’ but I’m only counting three of us.”

“She couldn’t get any time away from her course?” Alexa asked, smiling sympathetically as Nikki shook her head.

“You know what a workaholic she is,” Nikki said. “And this course seems about ten times more intense than her degree. Ugh, god, I dunno…”

“How about,” Alexa said, “we keep your mind off your ‘withdrawal symptoms’ for the rest of your stay in the States?”

“Well- that’d be nice,” Nikki chuckled. “Kinda gonna have to do it long range when we’re in LA, though I can sorta drag Jacinta and Katie- well, Hendo, heh.”

“And us too,” Alexa said smugly. “What, first ever ‘AngelCon’, did you really think we WOULDN’T be there?”

“…You guys are the BEST,” Nikki said as she shared a group hug with her friends before heading to her designated backstage spot. “See you after!”

“See you!” Jenny said as she and Alexa headed back to the main auditorium. “Jacinta and Hendo are here too!?”

Despite Nikki’s reservations, the event went off without a hitch. Jamie and her Italian friends entertained the audiences with tales of their lives, answered the audience's questions and posed for a seemingly endless number of selfies. When she left the auditorium, Jamie was equal parts exhausted and exhilarated from her time in front of her fans.

“Great show, yet again!” Nikki squeaked as she escorted Jamie back to her dressing room. “And… That’s you done until Friday, if I’ve got my charts right!”

“Which you always have,” Jamie replied, causing Nikki to smile and blush. “Nikki, I- I heard about the little, umm, ‘confrontation’. One of the staff- well, you know…”

“Yeah,” Nikki whispered. “Lucky I had my- well, A guardian angel, hehe!”

“It’s just a pity they live so far away from New York or Los Angeles,” Jamie said. “Alexa and Jenny would make perfect, you know, ‘proper’ Angels.”

“Well, if memory serves, Chicago IS the third largest city in America,” Nikki teased, giggling as Jamie rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you dare get their hopes up like that,” Jamie said. “It was enough of a legal nightmare getting together the two groups that we have! But they’ll always be-“

“Friends?” Nikki said with a grin.

“You can never have too many,” Jamie said, giving her protégé a gentle hug as she entered her dressing room to get changed back into the comfortable (but still stylish) white turtleneck and black dress she wore to pick Nikki up from the airport.

After escorting Jamie to the taxi that took her back to their hotel, Nikki returned to the reception area to find it nearly deserted save for two fans, whose wide grins mirrored Nikki's own.

“That was so cool!” Alexa gushed. "Jamie looked SO cool up there, and those Italian girls seemed so nice too!"

“Even if you didn’t get to ask your question?” Jenny teased her wife, who rolled her eyes and pouted until Jenny made it up to her with a gentle kiss. “Ah, but there were so many people who asked questions, if Jamie tried to answer them all we’d still be here at Christmas, let alone Thanksgiving!”

“I kinda expected more questions about, you know…” Alexa trailed off as she gestured to herself and Nikki.

“I think Jamie might’ve done too,” Nikki said quietly. “But it just shows that the Angels- all of them- have really cool fans, hehe!”

“Yep!” Alexa giggled.

“Have- have you, you know,” Nikki asked, “had any more, like, ‘problems’?”

“Way to bring the mood down, Nikki!” Alexa teased, earning an eye roll from her British counterpart. “But sometimes, yeah. Now that I work at the foundation there’s no one who really knew ‘Alex’, so I haven’t had any issues there.”

“And they know they’d have hell to pay from dad and grandma if they did!” Jenny said, wrapping a protective arm around her wife.

“It’s when we’re out that it can be a problem,” Alexa said, returning her wife’s gesture. “There are still some people who see a same-sex couple and HAVE to tell us that they think we’re- well, you of all people should know, right?”

“Ugh, yep,” Nikki spat.

“And it always hurts me more to see Jenny be on the receiving end of it,” Alexa sighed sadly as she held her wife tighter.

“Yeah, I know that feeling too,” Nikki sighed. "I don't keep in touch with anyone I knew from second- high school, I never really had any friends there and I'm not interested in any opinions they might have. Though I kinda feel guilty for Sarah sometimes. She only joined the school in year 10- umm, whatever that would be in America, when you're, like, 14?"

"Ninth grade," Alexa clarified.

"Right," Nikki said. "So she's only at the school two years but makes a lot of friends- besides me, I mean, girl friends- well, friends who were girls at the time."

"I still can't believe that you were ever anything other than a girl," Jenny said, giggling as a proud smile spread across her friend's face. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"So, I come out, Sarah basically declares that now that I'm a girl, she's a lesbian," Nikki continued. "None of her friends support her. Literally none. Sarah says she's absolute fine with this- I mean, we met Katie- our Katie, that is- and Lauren on our first day of college, then Jacinta and Ophelia when Sarah went to uni, and loads more from the LGBT society, 'cause Sarah really threw herself into that. But- ugh, I dunno."

"I think I can guess," Alexa said with a proud grin. "If Sarah were here, she'd say 'stop moping and go out and have some fun with your friends who you barely ever get to spend time with'?"

"...She'd probably say 'whinging' instead of 'moping'," Nikki said, giggling as her American counterpart stuck her tongue out at her. "But yeah, now that I have ID confirming that I am 21, and more importantly, legally female, I think we should have some fun, hehe!"

"So does that mean you're buying the drinks then?" Alexa teased as the trio set off in search of an LGBT-friendly bar.

Nikki woke up the following morning grunting in pain at the familiar throb in her head, before letting out a louder, more pained moan as she rolled over to yet again find herself alone in bed. Before even shaking the cobwebs out of her head, Nikki reached for her phone to check for any messages from her wife. As with the previous few mornings, there were several messages from Sarah telling Nikki how much she loved her, and several more 'intimate' photos that had been taken shortly after Sarah had got out of bed. However, when Nikki went to reply, she let out a sigh as she saw that her wife's status was offline, despite it only being mid-afternoon in England.

With a loud sigh, Nikki padded through to the shower, and when she was done cleansing herself, returned to her room to dress for the day in a casual thick grey turtleneck and a short pleather skirt with warm black tights underneath. As she was applying her make-up for the day, Nikki’s phoned bleeped to inform her of a new message. Nikki’s heart sank when she saw that the message wasn’t from her soul mate, but she quickly perked up again when she realised it was from the airline confirming her flight later that morning from Chicago to Minneapolis, especially as it meant that a few rooms away, her friends would be waking up with the same hangover as her.

When Nikki headed down to breakfast, however, the only friends that she could see were English.

“Hey guys!” Nikki said as she got her fruit and cereal and sat down with the young family. “Hey Olivia!” Nikki giggled as the infant girl squeaked at the sudden attention she was given.

“You’re not suffering too much this morning, then?” Stuart teased his young friend, who let out a sarcastic laugh in reply. “I saw who you were out with last night, you’re all over Facebook again!” Nikki’s eyes widened and her panic levels rose as she reached for her phone, only to be stopped by her mentor.

“Relax, relax!” Jamie reassured Nikki. “You three were good last night, it's just that some BOY thinks it’s funny to play a practical joke on a hungover girl!” Nikki and Jamie both scowled as Stuart shrugged and beamed a smart Alek grin at them.

“…And I was going to ask you if you had fun in Cleveland,” Nikki said, before giggling and shaking her head.

“It was great!” Stuart replied. “Definitely something off the bucket list. Just wished I could’ve gone with my family but, well, there’s always time for that later.”

“And me and especially Olivia would’ve been bored to tears,” Jamie said. “And yes, yes, I know I’ve dragged you to things you’ve found boring.”

“Every single shopping trip, for starters,” Stuart said.

“BOY,” Jamie and Nikki replied, sharing a giggle and a knowing look.

“So,” Nikki said, her mood quickly brightening, “have you told the BOY about the plans for tomorrow?”

“Yes, by text,” Stuart replied, before smirking. “Though I was never going to turn down the invitation.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jenny said as she and her wife approached, exchanging hugs with all the adults at the table and gentle cuddles with Olivia.

“Well, you two are definitely perkier than I’d expect for first thing in the morning!” Jamie teased as her American friends simultaneously blushed.

“We knew we had an early flight today, so we weren’t out late,” Jenny mumbled.

“And we made sure we’d switched our phones OFF,” Alexa said, earning a giggle from both her wife and Nikki. “Besides, it wasn’t the same with just the three of us there.”

“You can say that again,” Nikki sighed sadly.

“Well, you’re going to be seeing Sarah soon, right?” Stuart asked. “You’re in an amazing part of the world, just, you know, try to enjoy the experience. I know I’d have enjoyed Cleveland yesterday much more if Jamie and Olivia were with me, and I missed them like mad when I was there.”

“I’ve got him well trained,” Jamie said with a smug smile.

“But I thought to myself ‘I’m here, this is great, make the most of it’,” Stuart shrugged. “And knowing you- all four of you- you’re definitely gonna be back over here at least once in the next twelve months, right?”

“…Next two months,” Nikki mumbled, before giggling and letting out a sigh. “You know, you can be pretty wise for a BOY sometimes?”

“Well, I support Chelsea, so you’re not wrong,” Stuart replied with a smug grin.

“Annnnd normal service is resumed,” Jamie said, smirking as her husband rolled his eyes. “What time’s our flight, Nikki?”

“11:45, so we should get moving pretty soon,” Nikki replied, before grinning as Alexa and Jenny squeaked excitedly. “Looks like it won’t just be the four of us on the flight, hehe!”

“Just as long as you three behave,” Jamie giggled as she helped her daughter finish her breakfast and gently wiped her face with a napkin.

The three young women indeed behaved themselves during the short flight north, as did the young family, though when the time came to disembark the plane, the English passengers were in for an unpleasant surprise.

“Okay, bit colder than the last time we were here!” Jamie said as she hastily zipped up her daughter’s winter coat and pulled a beanie hat over her head.

“I swear I will never complain about British weather again,” Stuart concurred. “Except for when it rains, of course.”

"It's barely below freezing," Alexa said with a giggle. "You should come here in January when the temperature gets below zero."

"Freezing IS below zero," Stuart said, before sighing and nodding. "You mean below zero Fahrenheit, right? I think I'll take a pass on that if you don't mind."

“Fortunately, the house is always nice and warm,” Jenny said as the small group grabbed their cases and headed toward the parking lot.

Just under an hour later, the travellers pulled up outside the vast family home of the Thompson family and the six travellers piled out of the taxi, eager to get into the warmth of the house.

“Just drop your bags in the cloakroom,” Jenny instructed before heading into the kitchen.

“So,” Alexa said to her British friends with a wide grin, “are you looking forward to your first proper American Thanksgiving?”

“Oh- definitely, yeah,” Jamie replied. “I’m just wondering if there’s anything, you know, we should do? Like, do you exchange cards and gifts, or decorate the house?”

“All I really know about Thanksgiving I learned from repeats of Friends,” Stuart said with a chuckle. “Sorry- I mean ‘reruns’.” Alexa giggled at her friends’ confusion, and Nikki couldn’t help but notice that her friend was more excitable than usual- though she quickly put this down to anticipation of the coming holiday.

"We don't really exchange gifts, or cards," Alexa explained. “Some families do, but the main thing is spending time with friends and family and enjoying the meal. It’s kind of a time to be thankful for what you have in your life… And god knows I’ve had a lot to be thankful for this year, heh. Though it’s not unheard of for there to be, well, a surprise or two…” Nikki gasped as a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes, before her heart began to race as a familiar scent filled her nostrils and a familiar voice announced her arrival.

“Miss me?” Sarah whispered in her wife’s ear, who replied with a tender kiss and a long, tight hug.

“I missed you so much,” Nikki whispered in her wife’s ear as tears trickled down her cheeks.

“I missed you too,” Sarah sniffled, not letting go of her soul mate as their friends looked on. As they embraced, Nikki looked over at her American counterpart, who had a wide, proud grin on her face.

“Thank you,” Nikki mouthed, the look of genuine gratitude on her face bringing a tear to Alexa’s eye.

After the young couple had finally broken their embrace, the three families headed to the living room, where they relaxed on the warm, plush sofas. Nikki, however, had a question she needed to ask.

“Go on,” Nikki said with a sigh as she and her wife cuddled together on the sofa. “How long did you have this planned?”

“Since you told us you were coming out here by yourself,” Jenny replied with a smug grin. “I called Sarah, she said she’d planned to meet you in LA, and everything kinda fell into place from there.”

“Well- I appreciate it, I really do,” Nikki sighed happily.

“Hopefully now you’ll be a little less stressed out,” Stuart teased.

“BOY,” the five adult women in the room replied, making the lone man chuckle and shake his head.

“And hopefully even though the four of you are reunited, you won’t go TOO mad tonight!” Jamie cautioned as she gestured to the infant girl in her lap.

“No guarantees,” Alexa said with a devilish grin as her wife nervously fidgeted in her chair.

“And I’m hoping for an early night anyway,” Sarah said. “Still on London time, heh.”

“That, and you’ve got a lot of catching up to do?” Stuart asked, flinching as his wife shot a quick elbow at him before playfully covering their daughter’s ears.

“BOY,” the five women said once again, before giggling as the door to the kitchen opened and a distinguished-looking older gentleman came walking through.

“Daddy!” Jenny said, smiling as she and Alexa jumped up to greet the older man with hugs.

“Hi Mr. Thompson!” Nikki said as she and her English friends exchanged polite handshakes with the man.

“Hello everyone,” Marty said with a smile. "Glad you made it back safely from Chicago."

“Thanks for inviting us for Thanksgiving dinner,” Jamie said politely.

“You’re welcome, but it wasn’t me who did the inviting,” Marty said as he stared at his daughter, who blushed and smiled bashfully. “Still, it is their home now too, and since they will be doing most of the cooking tomorrow..." The older man allowed a grin to creep across his face as Alexa shared in her wife’s blushes.

“Don’t worry too much,” Sarah reassured her friends. “Alexa is an excellent cook. Jenny, on the other hand…” Sarah giggled as Jenny shot a stealthy kick toward her shins.

“…I think I’m going to need a drink,” Marty said with a tired laugh. “I think I’m going to need several drinks over the next few days!”

“Daddy…” Jenny protested.

“I’ll leave you all to it,” Marty said. “What time will your friend Hayley be here?”

“We’re picking her up from campus tomorrow morning,” Alexa replied, before exchanging another hug with the older man as he left the room.

“Who’s Hayley?” Jamie asked as the group sat back down.

“A freshman at the university,” Alexa replied. “We’ve been kinda acting as, you know, ‘surrogate big sisters’ to her as she’s living away from home for the first time.”

“Ah,” Jamie said. “So- so is she, you know…?”

“Oh- oh, no, she’s not, umm, like us,” Alexa said as she fidgeted in her seat.

“Oh- oh god, I’m sorry,” Jamie said with a grimace. “I just, you know, assume, since you mentioned it…”

“She’s Jessica’s sister,” Jenny interjected. “You know, from London, works for the airline? So you’re not, you know, completely wrong to assume…”

“Ah, right,” Jamie said. "Well- that's still cool. Even if she's not, you know, like us', there's still a lot she can learn from you, Alexa."

“Thanks,” Alexa said, sniffing back another tear. “Also, Hayley’s a good friend, and I don’t need to tell you the old saying about how many friends you can have, do I?”

“Indeed you don’t!” Jamie replied as her daughter began to squirm in her lap. “Ah… Think someone really needs a nap, heh! And no, I don’t mean Sarah.” The occupants of the room giggled as Sarah stuck her tongue out at Jamie.

“I’ll show you to your room,” Jenny said as she escorted the mother and her daughter up to one of the guest rooms.

“Thank you so much for letting us stay,” Jamie said with a wide, genuine grin.

“What are friends for?” Jenny replied with a giggle. “I knew daddy wouldn’t mind, really. Besides, he’s probably going to spend all his time fussing over Olivia anyway, and then spend the next 6 months pestering me and Lex about grandchildren.”

“Well Olivia COULD use an American cousin…” Jamie said, before giggling as Jenny shot her an angry glare. “I’m kidding, really! Though if I could ask one favour… Can you give me the Wi-Fi password, please? Kinda need to Skype the other Angels, let them know the new plans.”

“Sure,” Jenny said. “Is it, you know, going to be a work call? Confidential, I mean?”

“No, just catching up, seeing how everyone is,” Jamie replied, before rolling her eyes and giggling. “…Yes, you and Alexa can sit on it if you want.” Jamie smiled as her American friend let out an excited squeak at the prospect.

After Sarah finished hooking up her laptop to the living room's widescreen TV, Jamie logged into her Skype account and smirked when she saw that a chat was already in progress- a chat she was immediately invited to.

“Hey girls!” Jamie said with an excited squeak as Krystie, Mary, Hannah, Viks, Alice, Kelly and Malaika’s images appeared on-screen.

“Hey Jamie!” The seven women replied simultaneously.

“Ooh, and hello to the chat’s special guest stars!” Krystie teased, making the two married couples on the sofa next to Jamie blush. “Don’t need to ask if you’re still in Chicago then, do I?”

“I got a very generous offer that I couldn’t refuse,” Jamie replied with a giggle. “Stu’s here too, he’s just seeing to Olivia right now. Did Mikey get to you safely?”

“Yep, and he’s on a short leash for the rest of the week,” Krystie said with a sly grin. “And babysitting duties too, hehe!”

“Glad to hear it,” Mary chuckled as her husband mock pouted in the background, before cheerfully going back to playing with his daughter.

“How’s everyone been, anyway?” Jamie asked.

“Great!” Hannah replied. “Even if I did spend a good chunk of the day dressed as a cheerleader, what with being in Dallas and all that.”

“Try spending all day dressed as a showgirl!” Alice scoffed. “Think my make-up weighed more than my costume!”

“Make us jealous, why don’t you?” Nikki said, earning teasing jeers from the other women on the screen.

“I think someone’s just picked the theme for their birthday party!” Hannah teased, making Nikki giggle and blush.

“Oh- shut up…” Nikki mumbled. “Besides, wasn’t that the theme for our hen night?”

“And Katie and Jacinta’s birthdays are before then anyway,” Sarah interjected.

“And yours is next Tuesday!” Viks reminded the soon-to-be 22-year-old woman, who shared her wife’s blushes. “Though you’ve got a point, especially about Jacinta… Shall we get her in on the call?” The Minnesota-based women all grinned as the other Angels murmured in agreement, and after a quick text message from Nikki, the grinning faces of Jacinta and Katie Henderson appeared on the big screen, while Alexa sent a sneaky text message of her own.

“Hey girlies!” Jacinta squeaked. “How’s everyone?”

“SO great,” Hannah replied. “How are you two, are you still in New York?”

“Nope!” Katie replied. “Followed Kelly to San Francisco, heading down to LA tomorrow to get ready for Saturday’s launch.”

“…And I kinda tagged along,” Jacinta giggled.

“They’re at a different hotel to me and Kurt, that’s why they’re not on my side of the call,” Kelly explained.

“They’re at the Hilton, of course,” Katie teased, giggling as the Chinese transwoman sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Did you three enjoy San Francisco then?” Jamie asked.

“Oh- totally,” Kelly replied. “Chinatown was amazing, of course, but it was surprising how many- well, you of all people should know what I’m gonna say next, right?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “Had a few questions like that in Chicago, not quite as many as I expected though.”

“We’ve been getting a few, you know, ‘questions’ as well,” Viks said hesitantly. “You know, along the lines of ‘what’s it like being friends with someone who hasn’t always been a woman’, that sort-of thing.”

“…And?” Jamie asked nervously. “How- how do you answer these questions?”

“By telling whoever answered it that Jamie-Lee Burke is every bit the woman that we are,” Mary replied in a defiant voice. “That who she was in the past doesn’t stop her from being our friend, from being a wife, a mother, and a role model for girls- ALL girls- around the world.”

“And the same goes for Kelly Watson,” Krystie said. “And Nikki, and Jacinta, and Alexa, and Stephanie, and anyone else you’d care to name.”

“Aww- you guys…” Jamie sniffed as tears formed in the eyes of everyone on the call.

“After seven and a half years, right?” Krystie asked with a warm smile. “The world will get it eventually.”

“Even if we have to educate them one person at a time,” Viks said.

“Which we’re more than happy to do,” Malaika interjected. “I mean, ten years ago this country put a man with the same ethnicity as me in the White House. How long before there is a transgendered president?”

“What do you say, Alexa?” Jacinta asked, causing the Minnesota native’s eyes to widen.

“Oh- I, umm, I dunno…” Alexa stammered as Jacinta burst into a fit of laughter. “He- hey, not fair…”

“I’d vote for you, babe,” Jenny said as she soothed her wife with a gentle, loving kiss.

“Hell, I think we all would,” Katie said. “God knows you’d be an improvement over the current president.”

“No offence intended,” Viks hastily interjected.

“Ugh, believe me, none taken!” Alexa said. “Good job Paige isn’t on the call, heh!”

“Well, why not see if she’s available?” Alice asked. “The more the merrier, right? Or to put it another way, you can never have too many friends, right?”

“Too right,” Jamie giggled as she sent a text message to the Scottish woman and her wife, before pausing. “I’m gonna invite Steph and the rest of Out of Heaven as well. As you really can never have too many friends, hehe!”

“Right then,” Krystie said, “if that’s the case, I’m going to invite Zoe and Nat too! Think Zoe should be back from our adult class by now.”

“Absolutely!” Jamie giggled as Stephanie’s face appeared on the screen. “Hey Steph!”

“Hey Jamie!” Stephanie giggled. “Ah, hello Out of Heaven tribute act! Are we going to be treated to a Skype concert, then?” Stephanie let out a cheeky grin as her question was answered by four stealthy middle fingers.

“Olivia’s upstairs,” Jamie explained. “So they know they have to behave themselves.”

“Not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved,” Stephanie giggled. “So what’s up? Is this, like, just a general chat? Where are Charlotte and Abbey-Gayle?”

“A-G’s still onstage in Florida,” Hannah explained. “’Cause she’s in the half of us that doesn’t have a family, she’s actually doing some work, heh. Charlotte’s in a conference call with some other international Angels, doing a formal interview, she should be free in a bit.”

“Tell her to bring all of the international girls with her!” Stephanie said.

“So where are you, Steph?” Alice asked. “Still in New York?”

“Umm, no, flew to LA earlier today,” Stephanie replied.] “Going to get a late lunch with Becca and Adeola in a bit.”

“Why not get them on the call while you wait?” Jamie shrugged.

“Are we stress testing Skype or something?” Alice giggled.

“Ooh, can we invite Ophelia and Lauren too, then?” Jacinta asked excitedly.

“Why not?” Jamie giggled as Jessica, Paige, Natalie and Zoe all joined the call. “Hey girls!”

“Hi Jamie! Hi everyone!” Jessica giggled. “Ah… SO sorry I couldn’t be there on Saturday, but, you know, still kinda having trouble getting around, hehe!”

“It’ll get better,” Jamie reassured her American friend. “Are you two still in New York?”

“Nope,” Paige replied. “Flew to Baltimore yesterday evening.”

“Ravens flock!” Jessica cheered, smirking as the two American women sat next to Jamie sighed and rolled their eyes.

“For the record,” Paige says, “when she’s off the painkillers she’ll have to take a drink every time she says that to someone who ISN’T a Ravens fan. If I have to drink every time someone mentions the orange-“

“Drink!” A large number of the women, including all of those in Minnesota, shouted at the Scottish woman, who grinned and took a sip of her wine.

“See you haven’t gone native yet, then,” Natalie teased her friend and former colleague.

“Give it time,” Jessica said with a proud grin as she cuddled her wife close to her, before turning back to the screen. "What time's Hayley getting there tomorrow?"

"She has to take a drink every time she asks about her sister as well," Paige whispered, making Alexa and Jenny giggle while Jessica rolled her eyes.

"We're picking her up tomorrow morning," Alexa replied. "And yes, we have been looking after her the past few months, and no, we haven't got her into any trouble."

"And we're not going to," Jenny said. "Even if her sister is over a thousand miles away and not able to travel long distances right now!"

"You'd better not," Jessica said, before giggling and shaking her head. “So, how’s everyone liking America, then? Those of us who don’t live here, anyway?”

“Really loving it,” Kelly replied. "Everyone's so friendly, and there's a lot of excitement about the brand as well."

"I doubt this'll be the last time all of us are on this side of the Atlantic," Viks concurred.

“Glad to hear it,” Jessica chuckled.

“Alice, I’ve lost your car at the craps table,” a deep, Yorkshire accent shouted from behind the red-haired Angel, who rolled her eyes and groaned loudly.

“We didn’t rent a car, you pillock!” Alice retorted as Ricky sat down next to her. “Girls, say hi to Ricky, for those who haven’t met him yet he’s my boyfriend and a total moron.”

“BOY,” most of the women yelled at Ricky, who smiled smugly.

“And the only one on this call, apparently,” Ricky said. “Kinda feel like Hugh Hefner, being in Las Vegas and all.”

“What, old, shrivelled up and perverted?” Hannah asked, making the other women on the call laugh and Ricky roll his eyes.

“Guess what theme I’m having for my birthday party, then?” Ricky asked to more eye-rolling.

“Your birthday’s not until June,” Alice reminded her boyfriend. “I’ll think of something else to distract him by then.”

“I’ll just have the Playboy party in 2020, then,” Ricky said smugly.

“By which point your sister will be eighteen…” Krystie retorted.

“You wouldn’t dare invite her along,” Ricky snorted. “You used to be her teacher, for god’s sake!”

“Just try us,” Zoe said in her refined southern French accent as Jamie and her friends sat back and giggled.

“Ah…” Jamie giggled, before lowering her voice so the microphone wouldn’t pick it up as easily. “You sure you two still want to be in on this call?”

“Are you kidding?” Alexa replied. “I LOVE this.”

“Me too,” Jenny said with a happy, contented grin. “I mean, I’ve watched every episode of the Angels, but this is, like, a real reality show, if that makes sense?”

“Kinda,” Jamie said with a smile. Alexa and Jenny both giggled happily, before their smiles widened as the living room door opened and Stuart entered, followed by two other familiar faces.

“Danny!” Alexa giggled as she jumped up from the sofa and gave her brother a tight hug.

“Oh- for god's sake, Alexa,” Danny grumbled as he tried to wriggle free of the embrace, before sighing and surrendering as Jenny joined in the hug. “Hi Jamie, Nikki, Sarah.”

“Hi Danny,” Jamie said with a giggle at the siblings’ antics. “Alexa was telling me earlier you’ve been up here a lot recently?”

“Yeah,” Danny said with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "These two are moving back here after Christmas and they wanted the place modernizing a bit, and they decided I should do the job. And they decided they should 'help' me every free moment they get."

“Aww, that’s cute, you getting to spend so much time together,” Nikki teased.

“When they’re not trying to kill each other, anyway,” Katie- Danny’s fiancée- said as she greeted the five women with a gentle hug each. “What’s everyone- woah.” Katie froze as she gazed at the room’s widescreen television, and the cavalcade of faces on the screen.

“Katie!” The English Katie, who consented to be known by the nickname ‘Hendo’ in these situations, exclaimed when she saw her American namesake.

“Katie!” The American Katie replied with a nervous giggle.

“Jeez- how many people have you invited to Thanksgiving, you two?” Danny asked his sisters, who immediately blushed.

“Ah, this- this was my idea,” Jamie said. “I wanted to have a group chat with the other Angels, and things have kinda got out of hand!” Jamie giggled as she gestured at the faces on the screen, which now included Lauren Burnett, Ophelia Love, Ricky’s sister Laura and her friends Ashley and Megan.

“Hey ‘new’ girls!” Nikki teasingly said with a wave, which the five additional young women eagerly returned.

“Hi Stuart,” Ricky defiantly said. “Hi other guy.”

“BOY,” at least eight of the women said simultaneously, including all the women in the living room.

“Hi Rick,” Stuart said with a tired sigh. “Ricky White, meet Danny Quinn, Danny, this is Ricky, Alice’s boyfriend and sister of Laura, who’s the young girl in the top-right corner there. She and Ashley are in the fellowship with me, Jamie and Nikki and- and this is where it starts to get a little complicated.”

“Starting with what the ‘fellowship’ is,” Danny said. “I mean, I’ve seen Lord of the Rings…”

“You may want to sit down,” Jamie chuckled.

“Especially as I explained the ‘fellowship’ to you at the wedding,” Alexa said in a low, tired voice, earning an eye roll from her brother.

“Maybe it’d be easier if us guys had a separate chat?” Stuart suggested.

“Oh- no, really,” Hannah said. “Just ‘cause you’re guys, it doesn’t mean you can’t be part of, you know, ‘the family’.”

“Even guys who, for some reason, actually enjoy being guys,” Nikki teased.

“Okay,” Ricky said. “So could the rest of you get your husbands in on the chat then, please?”

“Of course,” Krystie said as she, Viks, Mary, Lauren & Ophelia called for their other halves before returning to the screen. “You do realise then even with all the other BOYS on the call, you’re still not going to get a word in, right?”

“What else is new?” Stuart asked as he sent a text message.

“BOY!” The women all shouted at once.

“Who are you inviting?” Jamie asked her husband. “I am right in assuming you’re inviting someone else into the chat, right?”

“Ian,” Stuart replied. “Only one of the ‘fellowship’ not in the call yet. Assuming you’re okay with another BOY on the call?”

“You can never have too many friends,” Jamie reminded her husband as she pressed the ‘send message’ button for him.

The group, who were soon joined by Ian and his friends Lee and Ellie, spent the next two hours chatting non-stop. People came and went throughout the chat- Ashley only stayed for a few minutes, citing homework as her reason, though Jamie and Nikki couldn’t help but observe some awkwardness between her and Laura, who also left a few minutes afterward. Becca and Adeola from Out of Heaven also briefly joined the chat, though Kayla was unable to do so- something that prompted Stephanie’s departure from the chat a short while later. Eventually, as early afternoon turned into late afternoon in America and evening in Britain gave way to night, the chat dwindled until it was just Jamie, Mary and Krystie- though they were soon joined by one other Angel.

“Hey girls!” Charlotte said as her image appeared onscreen. “Just us tonight, then?”

“Oh- you have NO idea,” Krystie chuckled. “About an hour ago there were, like, twenty people on the chat. Seriously.”

“Let me guess- Mrs. Milton invited her entire ‘fellowship’ around?” Charlotte teased as Jamie blushed and giggled.

“She did, and it was AWESOME,” Krystie said. “We really should have more chats like that.”

“Speaking of which, how was the interview?” Mary asked.

“Great!” Charlotte said. “Really got the brand promoted well, the other girls were all fine too, though they did only send along the English speakers.”

“So no Melissa or Chiara?” Jamie asked.

“No,” Charlotte replied, immediately sensing what her BFF implied by her question. “But McKayla from the Australian Angels was there, and she was- well, just as good as you’d have been if you were there.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jamie said with a grin. “Ahh… I am looking forward to LA more and more, hehe!”

“Same here,” Charlotte replied. “God, who’d have thought seven years ago that we’d be right here, right now? About to have our own convention, millions of followers on social media…”

“Wives and mothers?” Jamie asked as she gazed down at her own slender, feminine body. “God knows I wouldn’t have done. Especially after- well, you of all people should know.”

“Really?” Mary asked. “’Cause I never doubted it. Everything we are, we deserve, we have earned.”

“Especially you, MRS Milton,” Krystie said.

“Aww- guys…” Jamie sniffed as tears started to form in her eyes. “What- what are you all doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow?”

“Oh, get you, desperately changing the subject!” Krystie teased. “But, if you want to know, I’ll be flying out to LA tomorrow afternoon with my family. Well, my husband and daughter, anyway. The rest of my family is who I spent the last couple of hours talking with.”

“Same here,” Mary said. “Speaking of which, there are two little girls who need their dinners, so I’d better love you and leave you, heh!”

“See you Friday!” The other girls said as Mary dropped out of the chat.

“Same here,” Krystie sighed. “Maria’s become such a fussy eater lately. See you two in LA!”

“Bye!” Jamie and Charlotte replied, before each letting out a deep sigh as they were left by themselves.

“I’d better go too,” Charlotte said. “Got as many little mouths to feed as those two put together, and two of them aren’t even close to weaned yet, heh. But I really did need to check that you were okay.”

“Me?” Jamie asked. “Yeah, I’m fine, why d’you ask?”

“Because EIGHT years ago, you must’ve had some very different dreams about your future!” Charlotte said.

“Honestly? I don’t even think about that anymore,” Jamie said. “THIS is my life. Mary was right, it’s who I was meant to be all along. And none of this would’ve happened without you. No wonder they wanted to call the show ‘Charlotte’s Angels’ when it launched.”

“Thank god I talked Joshua out of that,” Charlotte giggled. “Because this is 100% a team effort. No- a family effort. Even if the Angels as a brand does eventually come to an end, we’ll still be friends, right?”

“Friends?” Jamie replied. “Try ‘family’.”

“Can’t think of anyone who’d make a better sister than you,” Charlotte said, before sighing. “I’d better get going. Send my love to Stuart and Olivia.”

“Will do,” Jamie replied. “As long as you send my love to my brother-in-law, nephew and nieces, hehe!”

“Will do,” Charlotte said with a wink as she ended the call and left Jamie by herself on the sofa- though the excited sounds coming from the kitchen reassured Jamie that she wouldn’t be alone for long.

Nikki couldn’t help but giggle as she entered the kitchen and found her American counterpart in an almost trance-like state, fixated on her pots and pans.

“Just stick it on the counter, babe,” Alexa said, not looking up from her cooking.

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” Nikki replied in an exaggerated American accent, before giggling as Alexa turned around with an angry look in her eyes.

“Oh- shut up,” Alexa grumbled as she threw a tea towel at her laughing British friend. “I thought you were Jenny…”

“Yeah, I hope you did!” Nikki teased. “Think she’s getting some wine from the cellar. Dinner smells delicious, though!”

“Thanks!” Alexa said with a proud grin. “This is nothing compared to tomorrow, though.”

“Oh- yeah, believe me, been there, done that!” Nikki chuckled. “Has Sarah ever told you about the time we hosted Christmas dinner?”

“No,” Alexa replied. “But I’ve been in your kitchen, cooking dinner for the nine of us when we were over was- huh.” Nikki frowned as Alexa paused and a wistful look came over her face.

“…Alexa?” Nikki asked.

“Oh- nothing, it’s just-“ Alexa said, before blushing and mumbling. “The nine of US. Sometimes I forget that ‘us’ includes me, heh. Like, I am just ‘one of the girls’.”

“’One of the girls’?” Nikki retorted. “Absolutely. ‘Just’ one of the girls? Nuh-uh. This world, this whole universe even, it just wouldn’t be complete without you in it.”

“Oh- oh for god’s sake…” Alexa said with a tired chuckle as tears formed in her eyes, before reaching out for a warm, friendly hug with her British friend.

“I leave you alone for ten seconds are you start bawling like a baby,” Jenny teased her wife as she returned to the kitchen with the wine in hand.

“It’s Nikki’s fault, you know she sets me off,” Alexa retorted, grinning as her British friend’s jaw dropped.

“Oh- you!” Nikki snorted as her friends giggled.

“Oh god,” Katie sighed as she entered the kitchen and found her three friends bickering. “Am I going to have to play referee for you all holiday?”

“I’m sure you know the answer to that by now, ‘sensible big sister’!” Alexa teased, giggling as Katie rolled her eyes and reached into a cupboard for some wine glasses.

“Better get that bottle open quick,” Katie said. “It’s going to be a long few days…”

The whole household sat down to dinner a short while later, after which they returned to the living room to relax while Stuart entertained everyone with a medley of songs on the piano. Eventually, evening made way for night and the residents of the house all headed to bed, none more eagerly than Nikki and Sarah, who wasted no time in enjoying each other's company the second they climbed into bed.

Nikki’s arms were still wrapped around her wife’s sleeping form when the sun rose the following morning, but it wasn’t the light streaming through the curtains that woke Nikki from her slumber.

“Mmph,” Nikki grunted as she felt her body rocked from side to side, before yelping with panic as a hand pinched her nose shut. “I- who- Alexa!” Nikki growled at the American transwoman, who wore a look of smug triumph on her face.

“I figured I owe you for all the times you were my ‘alarm clock’,” Alexa said, her grin widening.

“Mm,” Sarah lazily moaned as the noise woke her up. “Nikki? What time is it?”

“Time you were both getting up,” Alexa ordered. “I’m gonna need your help all day in the kitchen.”

“Oh- come on,” Sarah moaned. “I’m still jet-lagged…”

“It’s 1:45pm London time,” Alexa retorted as she motioned to remove the bedcovers, only to be stopped by Nikki wrapping them tightly around herself and her wife.

“And we’re naked under here and it’s cold out there,” Nikki said. “We’ll be down in a bit…”

“We’ve saved some hot water for you in the shower,” Alexa said smugly. “But I think there’s only enough water for one shower…” Alexa giggled as Nikki replied by throwing her pillow at her, before sighing and leaning back into her wife.

“We probably should get up,” Nikki mumbled to her wife, who moaned in reply and cuddled the sheets closer to her. “We have got a long flight later…”

“All the more reason to get more sleep now,” Sarah protested.

“…And Alexa probably isn’t going to leave us alone until we do get up,” Nikki sighed.

“Nope,” Alexa confirmed with her arms folded over her shapely chest.

“Ugh, FINE,” Sarah groaned. “But we’re NOT getting out of bed naked while you’re standing there!” Alexa giggled as she left the couple to slowly extract themselves from their sheets.

A short while later, with their long hair still damp from the shower, Nikki and Sarah padded downstairs hand in hand, dressed in warm sweaters, thick tights and knee-length skater skirts.

“Ah, good morning girls!” Marty said as the English couple entered the kitchen. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

“Happy Thanksgiving!” Nikki and Sarah replied simultaneously.

“Where are Alexa and Jenny?” Nikki asked.

“Alexa had to run to the store to pick up a few things,” Marty explained. “Jenny’s having breakfast with her grandmother. So I’m afraid you’re stuck with me this morning, at least until your other friends from London get up.”

“I think I heard Olivia earlier this morning,” Sarah said with a tired smile.

“Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve had anyone that young in this house,” Marty said, a sad smile creeping across his face. “Anyway, what do you two have planned for today? Do you need the living room for any more video conferences?”

“No, we’ve all got today free,” Nikki replied. “Well, up until we fly later this evening, anyway.”

“Pity, really,” Sarah said. “Flying AWAY from the biggest mall in America the day before the biggest shopping day of the year.”

“Well, I know my credit card’s breathing a sigh of relief that Alexa and Jenny will be flying that particular day,” Marty chuckled. “Even if the house will seem a lot emptier than it is today.”

"Kinda reminds me of what Alexa said yesterday about Thanksgiving," Nikki said. "About being thankful for the people you have in your life."

"Don't you have any similar celebrations in the UK?" Marty asked.

"Only Christmas," Sarah replied. "You could also include Mother's Day and Father's Day, but nothing like this. And I really hope this isn't the last Thanksgiving we celebrate over here."

"So do I," Marty said, smiling as both Englishwomen suddenly developed tears in their eyes. "A couple of years ago I had only one daughter. Now it feels like I have four- five if you include Alexa and Jenny's friend Hayley. Which I fully intend to today."

"Thanks," Nikki whispered with a happy smile on her face.

“Hey girlies!” Jenny said as she walked through the kitchen door, taking off her coat, hat and gloves before exchanging a hug with Nikki and Sarah and leading them through to the living room. “What were you three talking about?”

“Your dad wants grandchildren,” Sarah bluntly replied, making Nikki giggle and Jenny roll her eyes.

“What else is new?” The blonde American woman said with a giggle as she and her friends waited for her wife to return with their 'fifth sister'.

The three women didn’t have long to wait, and the rest of the morning was spent preparing a feast fit for a king. Roast turkey with all the trimmings, as well as two different types of stuffing, pillowy mounds of mashed potato, sweet potatoes, turkey gravy, vegetables and cranberry sauce. Alexa even went out of her way to ensure that Olivia had food to eat, having baked a tiny turkey meatloaf for her and cut it into fun shapes. After the meal, all the four English men and women, as well as a very tired Olivia, wanted to do was relax and digest their meal, but they had flights to catch, and after an hour long car ride, they were in the concourse of Minneapolis-St. Paul airport bidding farewell to their hosts for the previous two days.

“Ugh, why am I crying so much, we’re going to see each other in 24 hours anyway?” Nikki sniffled as she exchanged a hug with her American counterpart.

“Eh, just practice for Sunday, I guess,” Alexa sighed. “God, I wish you guys, you know, lived in America, or at least closer than 6000 miles away…”

“I know what you mean,” Nikki sighed, before exchanging a hug with Alexa’s wife. "However long we get is never enough."

"Jamie likes to say you can never have too many friends," Sarah said as she hugged Alexa. "She should actually say you can never have enough time with your friends. So treasure the time you do have."

"Absolutely," Jenny said with tear-streaked eyes as she hugged Sarah.

“We’ll see you two tomorrow, okay?” Nikki asked as she grabbed her luggage and waited for her friends.

“We’ll see you,” Jenny said, wiping a tear from her eye before bidding farewell to Jamie, Stuart and Olivia.

A short while later, the English men and women's plane took to the air, heading south-west to the final destination of the Angels’ tour. Nikki and Sarah took the opportunity to sleep off their large meal, while Jamie and Stuart took turns watching over their tired daughter for the duration of the four-hour long flight.

Eventually, the plane touched down at LAX airport and the tired group disembarked, grabbed their luggage and flagged down a taxi to take them to their fancy Hollywood hotel, where they all let out tired chuckles at the sight that greeted them in the hotel lobby.

“Flashbacks to New York,” Stuart whispered to his wife as they joined the check-in line and were immediately drawn into the conversation in front of them.

“Oh, hey Jamie!” Saoirse, one of the Irish Angels, said with a grin. “I was just telling Helena about the cartoon, we’re really excited to watch it tomorrow!”

“For sure!” Helena replied in her refined Berlin accent. “I just hope they make one with us in it as well, or we can be guests in the next season!”

“Think we need to get the first season out of the way before we think about the second season,” Jamie nervously chuckled.

“We said that about the live-action Angels show, though,” Viks said as she joined the conversation and greeted each woman with a gentle hug.

“We said that about the first EPISODE,” Jamie reminded her friend.

“And look where we are now,” Viks said with a grin. “About to film our sixth season?”

“Even if it will be a lot different than the previous five,” Jamie said. “What with the live studio audience and all…”

“Why are they doing that, anyway?” Saoirse asked.

“Probably because of the Grand Tour abandoning the studio format,” Viks shrugged. “They want something they can sell tickets to, and this way we can have celebrity guests as well.”

“AngelCon is pretty much the same idea,” Jamie said. “I know James Corden’s going to be there, as well as Seth MacFarlane, Ariana Grande...”

“But each extra celebrity we interact with raises our profile,” Viks said, making Jamie smile and nod, as every time the Angels’ profile was raised, so was awareness of the message Jamie wished to spread.

“So, have you guys already had dinner?” Jamie asked. “I mean, like, a real Thanksgiving dinner, rather than an aeroplane meal?”

“No, and thanks for showing off that you have contacts here in America,” Saoirse teased, making Jamie giggle and blush.

“We all ate on the plane,” Helena explained. “It is probably too late now to find a restaurant. But one year for sure I would love to have a real American Thanksgiving. Maybe this weekend I can get a contact here?”

“I wouldn’t say they’re ‘contacts’ exactly,” Jamie said. “The word I’d use is- heh. The word I’d use is ‘friends’. And I think we all know what saying comes next, right?” The cheers from her multinational friends were all the confirmation that Jamie needed.

The men and women in the lobby opted for an early night, wanting to be fresh for the long weekend ahead of them. However, Jamie still felt fatigued when she woke up the following morning, which didn’t alleviate when she headed down to breakfast to find many familiar faces already sat and eating.

“Hi Jamie!” The tall, elegant figure of Ella Henry said in her distinctive Australian accent as she approached Jamie in the line for the food.

“Oh, hey Ella!” Jamie replied. “Long time no talk, heh! I was hoping I’d get to chat to you this week, how’ve you been?”

“Great!” Ella replied. “SO happy to be living back in Melbourne, I can’t wait to get back there, heh. Not that I haven’t loved America- Florida was amazing, especially Universal Studios with Abbey-Gayle. Kinda like the old days, heh, when me, Abbey-Gayle and the girls would plan all the trips we’d take when we were famous… Almost hard to believe that, you know, me and Abbey-Gayle made it. Even harder to believe than- umm, never mind…” Jamie smiled sympathetically, knowing exactly how Ella was going to finish her sentence.

“Harder to believe than one of the girls not being a girl anymore?” Jamie asked, smiling again as Ella blushed and nodded. “It’s okay. And I doubt Ian would be that offended either.”

“’Kayleigh-Ann’ would’ve made a great Angel,” Ella mumbled, before letting out a sad sigh.

“Maybe,” Jamie said. “But HE had to follow his own dreams, and I know he’s a lot happier now where he is. I actually spoke to him yesterday, he said as much.”

“That’s good to hear,” Ella chuckled. “What time are we heading to the convention centre?”

“Early afternoon, I think,” Jamie replied. “They’ll still be setting things up, but we’ll have a private room to watch the cartoon, maybe a few photos as well. Nikki’s got all the details, she should be down in a bit.”

“Ah, the REAL boss of the Angels!” Ella teased as Jamie sighed and shook her head. “God knows where we’d be if we didn’t have Shae, our PA, on hand whenever we need her. Where is Nikki, anyway?”

“Probably enjoying the lie in she didn’t get to have yesterday,” Jamie replied with a smirk as she thought of her PA and protégé, who was indeed still in bed, but was far from asleep, and nor was her wife...

Eventually, Nikki was able to tear herself out of bed and away from Sarah, and after a quick shower, she headed down to the hotel restaurant to find it virtually deserted, save for a handful of people- one of whom she instantly gravitated toward after getting her meal.

“Hey Steph!” Nikki said as she sat down.

“Hey Nikki,” Stephanie replied with a barely suppressed yawn. “Ugh, sorry, still a bit jet laggy, heh.”

“I thought you didn’t get jet lag?” Nikki asked. “Not as bad as Kayla, anyway?”

“…Yeah,” Stephanie sighed as she lowered her head.

“St- Steph?” Nikki asked quietly. “Is everything okay?”

“As okay as things have been lately,” Stephanie said, before sighing. “I- I’m sorry, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate with this tour, you don’t want to hear-“

“I’m all ears,” Nikki said softly. “Seriously. A friend in need, right?”

“Yeah, but- ugh, I guess you’re right,” Stephanie sighed. “God knows Becca and Adeola have babysat me enough this week, heh.”

“Did you speak to Kayla last night?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah,” Stephanie replied. “We FaceTimed a bit, the time difference kinda helps as when she’s done with rehearsals her time, it’s, like, late morning over here.”

“Yeah, it was the same with me and Sarah, with her uni,” Nikki said. “Still, this time on Monday, we’ll either be back in London or on our way back, heh.”

“You sound almost disappointed?” Stephanie asked.

“Meh,” Nikki shrugged. “I mean, I did miss London, but now that Sarah’s here… Heh, guess I missed Sarah more than I missed England. And I’m going to miss Jexy when we go back too.”

“Yeah, I saw the Instagram posts yesterday,” Stephanie said. “Wish I’d known about that in advance.”

“What, Thanksgiving?” Nikki teased, making Stephanie roll her eyes.

“You know what I mean,” the famous singer retorted. “Probably wouldn’t have been enough room for me there anyway.”

“Oh- believe me, Jenny would’ve made the space,” Nikki giggled. “You should’ve been there when she invited Jamie, if every Angel in this hotel had been present she’d probably have invited them too, hehe!”

“Yeah,” Stephanie sighed sadly. “Ah well. Next time, maybe.”

“Well- well me and Sarah are going to spend New Year with Jexy in Florida,” Nikki said. “Since there’s not going to be a party at Charlotte’s because of the twins… You and Kayla could, you know, tag along?”

“If we’re not busy,” Stephanie replied. “And- and obviously I’d need to clear it with Kayla first. Heh, when we get back to England, anyway…” Nikki smiled sympathetically as her friend continued nibbling at her breakfast.

After all the guests had eaten their breakfast and changed into their most chic, fashionable clothes, a fleet of taxis arrived to deliver them to the nearby convention centre, where Jamie and the rest of the Angels were ushered into a large conference room that had been temporarily repurposed as a small cinema.

“God, I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” Hannah said as she sat down next to Jamie. “I mean, we’ve seen previews of this, right?”

“True,” Jamie said.

“But, like, it was months since we recorded our lines for it,” Hannah said.

“You’ll be great,” Charlotte reassured her friend. “We ALL will. We’re all gorgeous, successful women, and that’ll come across even if you can only hear our voices. Right?”

“Right,” Jamie said in her effortlessly feminine voice. “Ooh, it’s starting…”

“Well,” Jamie said as the end credits rolled on the cartoon. “That was - that was different.”

“Yeah,” Charlotte concurred. “I mean, I’m used to seeing myself on TV, but - yeah. Not too sure about that.”

“But I’m sure the kids will love it,” Hannah said. “And there’s no arguing with the message, right?”

“Definitely,” Jamie said. “If we help only one person with this cartoon, it’ll be worth it.” Much like the main Angels show, Jamie thought to herself as she and her friends filed out of the makeshift cinema.

“Oh - absolutely,” Alice said. “So then, what are we doing for the rest of the day?”

“Whatever we’re told to,” Charlotte said with a giggle as she gestured behind her to where the Angels’ PA was standing, checking her iPad.

“Hmm?” Nikki said, looking up with a puzzled look on her face. “Oh - believe me, I’m not in charge today, hehe!” Nikki cast a glance to the side of the auditorium, where a familiar tall, dark-skinned man was approaching the group.

“My superstars!” Joshua boomed across the room. “As beautiful in ink as in the flesh!”

“Actually, I think that cartoon was computer animated,” Hannah teased, earning a loud chuckle from her boss.

“Well, whether it’s ink or pixels, you are all still magnificent!” Joshua “Did you all enjoy your grand tour of America?”

“Definitely,” Abbey-Gayle gushed. “Florida was AMAZING, I can’t wait to get back there!”

“In time, in time!” Joshua said, before letting out a tired sigh.

“Joshua?” Jamie asked, a look of concern spreading across her face. “Are you okay?”

“I am just a little tired, that’s all,” Joshua replied, before beaming a trademark wide smile. “My heart is fine, seriously! I had a checkup just last month. I am as strong as an ox! But we have all worked hard this week. We will definitely have earned a break when we get back to London!”

“We just have to get through the busiest day of the whole week first, heh!” Hannah said with a tired sigh of her own.

“One final push!” Joshua said. “And do not worry, I will make sure that next year’s AngelCon will be in London. The same hard work but at least you will be able to sleep in your own beds.”
“And in our own time zone!” Kelly said with a giggle and a yawn.

“AngelCon 2020 will be in Rome, so you need not worry about that for at least three years!” Joshua chuckled. “Though it would be good to be back in America for 2021, especially if the two new groups take off.”

“Hmm,” Jamie mused. “I might have an idea about that, actually, can we go somewhere to talk?”

“Of course,” Joshua replied. “The rest of you need to stick around for a bit, the Californiangels will be arriving shortly for a private introduction.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Charlotte said as the ten women began to disperse, while some of the other women who had watched the cartoon headed to one of the venue’s many drinks machines to quench their thirst.

“I kinda liked that,” Becca said as she and her two bandmates helped themselves to hot cappuccinos. “It was different, you know? And we’re gonna get royalties every time they play ‘Stronger’, hehe!”

“Maybe we should ask Uncle Joshua if we can have our own cartoon?” Adeola said with a smug grin on her face.

“If any of us has a chance of getting that to happen, surely it’s you?” Becca teased her best friend.

“Uh- no,” Adeola giggled. “Not since last March when Uncle Joshua because GREAT Uncle Joshua, hehe!”

“Meh,” Becca shrugged. “We’re still filthy rich and world-famous, that’ll do for me, hehe! Especially if our American fan club shows up tomorrow, right Steph?”

“Hmm?” Stephanie asked, having been lost in thought. “Sorry, Becca?”

“Our fan club?” Becca asked. “You know, the girls you met when you were over here in the summer? Think they’re based in LA, aren’t they?”

“Oh - oh, yeah,” Stephanie replied. “San Francisco, actually, but I’ve looked on their Facebook and they said they’d be along tomorrow. One of these days, they might actually meet the whole band at the same time, heh.” Becca and Adeola both smiled sympathetically, quickly realising the real reason for their friend’s distraction.

“Well, they can come to London anytime we have a show there,” Adeola shrugged. “And we’ll be back over here again next year, I can guarantee that.”

“Assuming none of us are on Strictly next year?” Becca asked, biting her lip as Stephanie frowned yet again. “Anyway, I think we’re supposed to hang around for a bit, I’m going to see if there’s any, umm, food…”

“I’ll go with you,” Adeola said, before grimacing and pausing. “Steph? You hungry?”

“Ah - no, I’m okay, thanks,” Stephanie replied, before sighing as her bandmates walked away. Stephanie had enjoyed a brief webchat with Kayla when she woke up that morning, but it was cut short when Kayla had to go to the BBC studios for her final rehearsal, and even though it was lunchtime in California, it was late evening in London. Stephanie instinctively knew that Kayla would be getting an early night ahead of her show the following day.

With a heavy sigh, Stephanie returned to the main auditorium to drink her coffee, before sighing again when she saw that her confidante from that morning was sitting eating lunch with her wife.

“Hey, you two,” Stephanie said with as wide a smile as she could force onto her face. “Mind if I sit?”

“Go right ahead,” Sarah replied with a smile. “I was beginning to think I wouldn’t get to see you this week- well, not not on a screen, anyway!”

“Yeah,” Stephanie chuckled. “How was Minnesota? I really hope Alexa and Jenny will be here tomorrow so I can chat with them properly…”

“Oh - they’ll be here,” Nikki giggled. “I Think they’ve already booked flights to London for 2020, hehe!”

“Cool,” Stephanie said. “Annnnd we’ll be on our flights to London on Monday, heh. Back just in time for your birthday, hehe!”

“Yep!” Sarah said with a quiet giggle.

“You sound almost like you can’t wait to get home,” Nikki said.

“You mean you can?” Stephanie retorted.

“Well l - now I can, heh,” Nikki replied as she exchanged a gentle kiss with her wife, before letting out a soft sigh. “But I get why you’d be eager to get home. And it sucks that Kayla has to miss this, she’d love all the - umm, attention…” Nikki blushed as she realised she’d inadvertently insulted the absent woman.

“Oh - definitely,” Stephanie agreed. “There’s plenty enough to go around though, hehe!” The three women shared an excited giggle, which only stopped when they were approached by a slender, nervous-looking dark-haired young woman holding an iPad.

“H- hi,” the young woman said. “Are you Nikki?”

“Yep, that’s me!” Nikki replied, standing up and exchanging a gentle handshake with the newcomer.

“Hi!” The dark-haired woman nervously giggled. “I - I’m Jenna Da Silva, I’m the PA for the Californiangels, your boss said I should speak to you about arranging for the Angels to meet our group?”

“Yep, I can sort that!” Nikki said, before turning to her wife and her friend with a tired smile. “Duty calls, heh!”

“See you in a bit,” Sarah whispered as she pressed her hand into Nikki’s in the special way they’d been doing for as long as they’d known each other.

“So,” Nikki asked as she escorted Jenna back to where the Angels were sitting, “how d’you come to be working for the new Angels?”

“Oh - umm, Christina - one of the Californiangels?” Jenna replied. “She’s my cousin, my dad’s her manager, so we kinda have a family business, heh.”

“Oh - Heavenly Talent is TOTALLY like that,” Nikki giggled. “Let’s see… Viks is married to Jonathan, who’s the nephew of Joshua, who is also the uncle of Adeola, whose best friend Becca is engaged to the brother of Krystie, whose husband Mikey is the best friend of Stuart, who in addition to being Jamie’s husband is also Becca’s brother and godfather to Mary’s oldest daughter and Charlotte’s son, whose father is Keith, whose younger brother Reuben is engaged to Abbey-Gayle, and believe it or not, I COULD go on.”

“Uh - no, you kinda lost me very quick there, heh!” Jenna said. “Though it’s cool that it’s like that, you’re all, like, one big family.”

“WE are all one big family,” Nikki said with a giggle. “You and the other new Angels are.”

“Well - they might be, I guess,” Jenna said. “I’m just, like, the PA…”

“Don’t say JUST the PA,” Nikki said. “’Cause what we do is important. Sure, we might not get the fame or the money.”

“…But?” Jenna asked.

“Oh, there - there’s no but,” Nikki said quietly, before sharing a giggle with her new friend. “Ahh… Job’s still great though.”

“Totally,” Jenna said, before grimacing. “Nikki, you - you said - you mentioned Stuart earlier, he’s Jamie’s husband, right?”

“Yes…” Nikki replied.

“But he - he used to be, umm, a woman, didn’t he?” Jenna hesitantly asked.

“Erm, yes…” Nikki said. “But believe me, there is NOTHING even remotely feminine about him. Jenna, umm, if - if you have a problem with this - this, you know, thing, you...“

“Oh - no, believe me, I don’t!” Jenna giggled.

“That’s probably for the best,” Nikki said. “Even though there aren’t any transgendered Angels in either of the American groups, I would’ve hoped that it’s common enough knowledge that the other groups, well, you know…”

“Yeah,” Jenna said. “That - that’s kinda how I learned about the group, even before Christina signed up for the Californiangels. Well, I learned about Out of Heaven first after watching a YouTube documentary about them, where...“

“Where you watched an interview with Stuart and learned about his history, I see,” Nikki said.

“And like you said, everyone’s linked, so I learned about Jamie and the other Angels,” Jenna explained. “And so did Christina, so when they were advertising for LA-based models for a group over here, she jumped at the chance.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Nikki giggled. “Surprised you didn’t make more of a fuss of Stephanie when you saw us sitting with her.”

“Oh - I wanted to, believe me,” Jenna sighed. “But like you said, we have a job to do, heh!”

“Very true!” Nikki giggled as the two women approached a group of eight young women in their early twenties, all of whom were immaculately made-up and dressed in expensive designer clothes.

“Hey Jen!” One of the women, who Nikki immediately assumed to be Jenna’s cousin based on her resemblance to her, said as she greeted Jenna with a gentle hug. “Who’s your new friend?”

“Hi, you must be Christina, I’m Nikki, the Angels’ - well, the UK Angels’ PA,” Nikki introduced herself. “Jen says you haven’t met the UK Angels yet?”

“No, and we’re really looking forward to it!” Another of the American women said.

“We’ve been fans of the show for, like, years,” another Californiangel said.

“Well - no time like the present!” Nikki giggled as she led the group toward where the UK Angels were gathered.

“Hey, Nikki!” Charlotte said with a smile that widened when she saw that her PA was not alone. “Ah, and you must be the newest members of our family, hehe!”

“Hi, yes!” Christina said as the two groups of Angels began to mingle, exchanging handshakes and gentle hugs before eagerly getting to know each other.

Nikki and Jenna stood back with proud smiles on their faces as the eighteen young women got to know each other, exchanging contact details and taking what seemed like hundreds of selfies. Jenna’s eyes widened, though, when one of the English women split off from the group and headed over toward her.

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet?” Jamie said with a warm, friendly smile. “I’m Jamie-Lee Milton, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Oh, I - I’m not one of the Californiangels,” Jenna stammered as Jamie extended her hand. “I’m - I’m just...“ Jenna sighed, before exchanging a knowing look with Nikki. “I AM the PA for the Californiangels.”

“Well it’s still nice to meet you,” Jamie said. “…Can I - can I know your name?”

“Oh - god, sorry,” the dark-haired woman gasped. “I’m Jenna, Jenna Da Silva.”

“Oh - any relation to Christina?” Jamie asked.

“We’re cousins,” Jenna replied with a nervous giggle.

“Cool!” Jamie giggled. “It’s great to be able to work with family, I know Stuart - my husband- loves that he gets to work so closely with his sister. She’s not as keen on it though, hehe!”

“Heh,” Jenna chuckled. “Your husband’s sister is Becca, right? From Out of Heaven?”

“We’ve got ourselves a fangirl here,” Nikki whispered to her mentor, who smiled sympathetically as Jenna blushed.

“The best kind of girl,” Jamie giggled. “And even though you’re NOT ‘just’ a PA, you can still come and meet the girls, hehe!” Jenna squeaked as Jamie and Nikki escorted her to where the other Angels were standing, who all greeted the young woman as a new friend.

After everyone had been introduced, and the Californiangels (and Jenna) had been introduced to the other international Angel groups, the women all found themselves at a loose end. Rather than stick around the venue, the group opted instead to head out and explore Los Angeles, particularly the ostentatious part of Hollywood surrounding their hotel. Hundreds of photos were taken in front of the famous Hollywood sign and on the Walk of Fame, as well as countless other sights that the famous city had to offer.

As afternoon turned into evening, the many Angels began to disperse and head to nearby restaurants for dinner, while Nikki and Sarah hailed a cab to take them to LAX airport to greet their Minnesotan friends. However, much to the couple’s surprise, they found that they wouldn’t be travelling alone.

“Hey,” Jenna said as she approached the young couple. “Where you headed now?”

“Umm, back to the airport, picking up a couple of friends of ours,” Nikki replied.

“Hoping to show them a little of LA before the big event tomorrow,” Sarah said.

“Cool!” Jenna enthused. “So, umm, so you - so you need a tour guide?”

“I’m actually pretty familiar with LA,” Sarah said. “My mum’s cousin lives out here, we used to visit her every summer holiday while I was still in school. Jenna, do - do you want to hang out with us? ‘Cause we’d both be okay with that, right Nikki?”

“Oh - definitely,” Nikki said. “Why wouldn’t you want to hang out with your cousin and her friends, though?”

“Meh, I can hang out with them any day,” Jenna replied. “I’ve made some great new friends, and I want to spend time with them while they’re in LA. And you can never have too many friends, right?”

“Very true!” Sarah giggled. “Jamie will be happy to hear that catchphrase has crossed eight time zones, hehe!” Nikki smiled and nodded in agreement with her wife as the three women climbed into the back of the cab, though Nikki couldn’t help but wonder whether there was something Jenna wasn't telling her.

Just under an hour later, the three women were standing in the concourse of LAX airport, and as had become tradition, Nikki and Sarah let out near-deafening squeals of excitement when they saw their American counterparts approaching. Their squeals intensified, however, when they saw that Alexa and Jenny hadn’t travelled alone.

“Hi girlies!” Katie squeaked as she let go of her fiancé’s hand and greeted her British friends with tight, friendly hugs.

“Oh my god!” Nikki squeaked. “I didn’t know you were coming too!”

“Like I’d miss it?” Katie retorted.

“Do we get hugs too?” Alexa asked with a mock pout, which turned into a wide grin when Nikki and Sarah exchanged hugs with her and her wife.

“Do I?” Danny asked, before yelping with alarm as five young women immediately pounced on him and wrapped him in a group hug. “Okay, okay, sorry for asking!” Nikki allowed herself a devilish laugh at the young man’s expense, before smirking as she spotted her newest friend stood off to one side with a bemused look on her face.

“Girls - and Danny,” Nikki said as she dragged Jenna toward the impromptu huddle. “This is Jenna, she’s the PA for the new California Angels group - basically the ‘LA me’, hehe! Jenna, this is Alexa, Jenny, Katie and Danny, friends of ours from Minnesota.”

“Ah, well, welcome to the Golden State,” Jenna said with a grin as she exchanged polite handshakes with the four Minnesotans.

“Thanks,” Alexa replied with a grin. “We’ve only ever been to California once before but never to LA, we’re really excited to have a look around after the event tomorrow.”

“When she says ‘look around’, she really means Disneyland,” Jenny whispered, giggling as her wife gave her a playful nudge with her elbow.

“Oh - I totally get that,” Jenna giggled as the group made their way toward the airport’s main entrance. “Dad used to take us to Disneyland every summer, before - well, umm, we haven’t been in a while.” Jenna bit her lip as an awkward silence fell over the group.

“So, Jenna,” Danny said. “Rams or Chargers?”

“BOY,” Alexa and Jenny replied, pre-empting Nikki and Sarah and triggering a large giggling fit among all six women.

“I’m not really a football fan,” Jenna replied. “Well, not what we’d call football, anyway, those two - maybe.” Nikki and Sarah both giggled and blushed as Jenna gestured toward them. “My brothers are huge LA Galaxy fans, and I liked them when Beckham played for them, and now that Zlatan's here, well, hehe!”

“…Okay, you don’t get a ‘BOY’ for that, hehe!” Nikki giggled, earning a confused look from her wife.

“So you’re looking at footballers now, are you?” Sarah asked, making her wife’s cheeks flush as the Americans giggled at her expense.

“Katie - Hendo, that is - had posters of Beckham on her bedroom wall,” Nikki sighed. “As you already know.”

“…Yeah, I know,” Sarah said, making it up to her wife with a gentle cuddle.

“Oh - knock it off, you two,” Katie sighed. “I had to put up with these two on the plane for the last four hours.”

“Us!?” Jenny protested. “And you were snuggled how far into Danny?” the women all giggled as Katie blushed while her fiancé rolled his eyes, though Nikki couldn’t help but notice that her newest friend had a faraway look in her eyes.

“Jenna?” Nikki asked. “You okay?”

“Hmm?” Jenna replied. “Umm, yeah, I’m fine, it’s just...“

“Feeling a bit like a ‘seventh wheel’ among three other couples?” Sarah asked with a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay, I get it. Last few days in London hanging out with my friends Lauren and Ophelia and their other halves weren’t fun, heh. Even though I’ve known them for more than a few hours, I can get why this might be a little overwhelming!”

“Do - do you have a boyfriend, Jenna?” Nikki asked. “Or a girlfriend, of course?”

“Kinda between relationships right now,” Jenna replied. “So busy with work, especially this weekend, heh!”

“Yeah, I can definitely appreciate that!” Nikki giggled as they arrived at the taxi stand. “So… How are we going to do this? All seven of us aren’t gonna fit in one taxi…”

“Especially not with all the luggage SOMEONE brought along,” Katie teased her two best friends, who stuck their tongues out in response.

“Danny can take the roof,” Alexa suggested, earnings giggles from the women and an eye roll from her brother.

“Only if you go in the trunk,” Danny retorted.

“Tell you what,” Katie said, “how about you four take one taxi, and Jenna can come with us in the next one so she doesn’t pick up too many bad habits from you?”

“Bad habits?” Alexa asked. “Us?” The couples known as ‘Jexy’ and ‘Snikki’ pouted at their friends, before giggling and loading their luggage into the first taxi while the other three loaded their luggage into the second one.

“It’d probably be too confusing having two ‘Jen’s in one car anyway,” Sarah said, earning a giggle from her newest friend as the taxi set off.

The seven people arrived back at the hotel late in the evening, their excitement levels still high after their trip through the glistening city. As they waited in line to check in, though, the Minnesotans’ excitement levels rose even further when a familiar face approached them and immediately wrapped the newly married couple in a tight hug.

“Hey you two!” Stephanie happily squeaked. “I was hoping I’d get to see you this weekend!”

“Hey Steph!” Alexa said with a happy giggle. “SO wish you could’ve made it to Thanksgiving…”

“If I’d known in advance that was an option, believe me, I’d have gone,” Stephanie said with a sad sigh.

“Well, consider yourself permanently invited from now on,” Jenny said with a grin. “You AND Kayla.”

“Ah, the popular half of the band,” a refined London accent said from behind the group, making Stephanie roll her eyes and causing Alexa and Jenny’s excitement levels to rise even further.

“Ah, heh,” Stephanie giggled as the owner of the voice and her best friend approached the huddle. “Becca, Adeola, let me introduce Alexa and Jenny Quinn-Thompson. Alexa, Jenny, let me -“

“Yeah, we - we know who they are!” Jenny said nervously as she exchanged polite handshakes with the two singers, before giggling as they eschewed the handshakes in favour of gentle, friendly hugs.

“I was hoping we’d get to meet you properly,” Becca giggled. “My moron older brother’s always going on about our ‘American fan club’, heh!”

“Yeah,” Alexa giggled. “Speaking of moron older brothers, this is my brother Danny and his fiancée Katie.”

“Nice to meet you!” Adeola said as she and Becca exchanged hugs with the engaged couple.

“Is your brother feeling alright?” Becca asked. “He’s looking kinda flushed…”

“It might have something to do with the fact he’s surrounded by nine gorgeous women,” Alexa teased, giggling as her brother began to sweat even more.

“Eight,” Danny protested. “You’re my sister, you don’t count.”

“ONE,” Katie said firmly. “I’m your fiancée, I’m the ONLY one that counts.”

“BOY,” the nine women said simultaneously.

“Now we’re just being cruel,” Stephanie said with a giggle and a roll of her eyes. “The other BOYS are up in one of the rooms babysitting. Well I say ‘babysitting’, what they’re actually doing is playing video games while keeping one eye on the kids. I’ll get Stuart to text you which room they’re in. Assuming you don’t mind playing FIFA instead of Madden?”

“Uh, I - yeah, thanks,” Danny said, scuttling off seconds later as his phone beeped.

“Ahh...” Becca sighed happily. “Older brothers are FUN, hehe!”

“Is your Danny here this week, Steph?” Jenny asked as she and her wife received their room keys.

“No, he’s too busy with the pub,” Stephanie sighed. “Well, that and wedding prep. And prep for his fiancée’s birthday, which is next Thursday. So, kinda bad timing all around for him, heh. God…”

“Steph?” Alexa asked with a look of concern on her face.

“Oh, it - it’s nothing,” Stephanie sighed. “I’m just thinking - ‘cause I said I’d drop in and see him at the pub when I get back, just how weird it’ll be to get back to reality, heh.”

“And back to Kayla?” Alexa whispered, smiling sympathetically as Stephanie nodded.

“Anyway, I um, I should let you two couples get checked in,” Stephanie said, exchanging another hug with each of her friends. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” Alexa replied with a friendly smile.

“Come on,” Nikki said as she escorted her American friends to the elevator. “I’ll show you where the FUN party room is, hehe!”

“I’ll text Jacinta and other Katie to let them know we’re on our way,” Sarah said, prompting an excited look from one of her friends.

“Hendo’s here?” Katie asked excitedly as the elevator doors closed.

“Meanwhile,” Stephanie said to her two bandmates as she glanced to one of the lobby’s many chairs and the young woman that occupied it, “I thought I saw a familiar face hiding herself away! Becca, Adeola, this is Jenna Da Silva, PA for the Californiangels. Jenna- Jenna?”

“Hmm?” Jenna asked, suddenly distracted from her phone. “Oh, umm, sorry Steph, was kinda - never mind.” The smile quickly returned to the American girl’s face as she stood up to greet Stephanie’s bandmates. “Nice to meet you!”

“Likewise!” Becca said with a genuine smile.

“Take it my uncle and your bosses are keeping you busy ahead of tomorrow?” Adeola asked.

“Actually, everything’s just about ready,” Jenna replied. “Just need to start the show now, heh! You guys are performing tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Only a couple of songs,” Becca replied. “The band just isn’t complete when there’s only three of us.” Stephanie suppressed a sad frown as she nodded in agreement.

“Though singing in front of an American crowd will be REALLY fun,” Adeola said. “Are we - are we, you know, popular over here?”

“Well - you’ve definitely got a lot of fans, that's for sure” Jenna giggled.

“The three women who just left, for starters,” Stephanie said to her bandmates, who beamed proud grins.

“And the woman you’re talking to now!” Jenna said. “I must’ve listened to your first album a million times when I was taking my SATs.”

“Glad we could help,” Adeola said. “Anyway, me, Bex and Riley are about to head out for a late drink - you two are welcome to come if you want?”

“I, umm, I’d better not - I’m still only 20,” Jenna replied.

“Ah - shit, forgot about that,” Adeola grimaced. “Legal drinking age in England is 18, you see.”

“Yeah, I - umm, I know, heh,” Jenna replied as her cheeks started to redden.

“I’d better - take a rain check? Is that how you say it over here?” Stephanie asked, smiling as Jenna nodded. “It’s, like, almost morning in England and I’m STILL struggling with these time zones, heh.”

“Okay,” Becca shrugged. “Well - see you tomorrow!”

“See you!” Stephanie giggled, waving after her bandmates as they left the hotel. “So, Jenna, what’ve you got planned now?”

“Umm, early night, probably,” the American woman replied.

“Don’t blame you,” Stephanie chuckled. “I’m probably going to head up to the party with Nikki and the others for a bit then get some kip myself.”

“Oh - okay,” Jenna said, a disappointed look spread across her face.

“…Though I suppose the party isn’t going anywhere,” Stephanie said with a soft smile. “Do - do you want to get a non-alcoholic drink?”

“Sounds good,” Jenna replied with a grin as the two women went to get a drink from a nearby vending machine, before returning to the lobby’s comfortable chairs.

“So then,” Stephanie asked as she took a sip of her Diet Coke, “nervous for tomorrow?”

“A little,” Jenna replied.

“More nervous for your cousin, though?” Stephanie asked.

“Well - kinda, I suppose,” Jenna said. “She’s been a model since she was fourteen, though, and I haven’t even been - umm…” Stephanie frowned in confusion as Jenna’s face began to redden.

“Je- Jenna?” Stephanie asked. “You’ve never been… What? A model? Me either, not professionally, I mean, I’ve posed for album covers and the odd promotional event, but - Jenna?” Stephanie paused as tears started to stream from her new friend’s eyes.

“I - I’m sorry,” Jenna sniffled. “I - I shouldn’t - ugh, talking to you, of all people…”

“Umm, what do you mean, ‘me of all people’?” Stephanie asked. “Jenna, if something’s wrong, please, I’d like to hel-“

“I’m transgendered,” Jenna suddenly blurted, stunning Stephanie into silence. “I - umm, I should - I need to go…”

“W- wait, Jenna, wait!” Stephanie said, chasing after the American woman as she raced to the elevator. “Please!” Stephanie groaned with frustration as the elevator doors closed, separating the two women and leaving Stephanie in a state of near panic.

It had never occurred to Stephanie that Jenna might be transgendered - she was barely taller than Stephanie herself, had a slender waist, well-defined curves and breasts even larger than her own. And yet, as Stephanie thought back, she realised that Jenna's nervousness wasn't just that of a mere fan - she'd obviously had something she'd wanted to tell Stephanie, a secret she didn't want to hide anymore. Stephanie grimaced as she remembered the start of her own transition, and realised that it was a feeling she was all too familiar with.

After taking a deep breath to compose herself, Stephanie reached for her phone and fired off a quick text message to Nikki, fidgeting nervously as she awaited her friend’s reply.

‘Hey Steph,’ Nikki’s message read. ‘Can pop out to chat for a bit, what’s up?’

‘Will explain when I see you,’ Stephanie said as she took the elevator to the floor her friends were gathered on and met her friend outside her room.

“What’s up?” Nikki asked with a concerned look on her face as she rendezvoused with Stephanie in the hotel corridor.

“Umm, uh,” Stephanie mumbled as she wondered how to sensitively word her concerns. “How - how much do you know about Jenna?”

“Jenna?” Nikki replied. “Hardly anything, I know she’s from here, from LA, her cousin’s one of the new Angels…”

“Did -“ Stephanie asked, before lowering her voice to a quiet whisper. “Did you know that she was, you know, umm… ‘Like us’?”

“Like u-“ Nikki said, before her eyes widened in shock. “You - you’re kidding, right? How did - how did you find out?”

“She told me,” Stephanie replied. “We were chatting about tomorrow, I asked her if she was nervous and she just blurted it out. Then she ran off before I could talk to her further about it. Do you have her number, have you got her on Facebook maybe?”

“Umm, I sent her a request, don’t think she’s replied yet,” Nikki replied. “Steph, I - I honestly wouldn’t have guessed, you know? Though… When you think about it, does it really matter? All the new friends we’ve made this week, hell, all we’ve experienced over the last few years…. I feel - I feel more ‘girl’ than ‘T-girl’, if that makes sense?”

“Perfect sense,” Stephanie replied. “I feel the same way, even if I haven’t had SRS.”

“Ooh, has - has Jenna...“ Nikki asked cautiously.

“Don’t know, didn’t ask,” Stephanie said. “Didn’t even think about that, if I’m honest. Guess that doesn’t matter either, heh.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Nikki said with a sympathetic smile. “So- so where do you think she is now?”

“Ugh, no idea, that’s why I was asking you,” Stephanie sighed. “Maybe with her cousin?”

“I haven’t got contact details for any of the Californiangels either,” Nikki sighed. “Ironically, if I needed to get in touch with one of them, I’d seek out Jenna, but as I haven’t got her on Facebook yet either, well, yeah. Ooh, but I know who might have some contact details- Jamie.”

“Right,” Stephanie said. “Where’s she right now?”

“Ah - out to dinner with some of the other Angels,” Nikki replied with a tired sigh.

“Oh - hey Steph!” Alexa said, interrupting the conversation as she approached. “Nikki, the film’s about to start, thought you’d want to know.”

“Thanks, I’ll be there in a bit,” Nikki replied with a grin. “We’re watching La La Land, heh. Felt it was appropriate given what city we’re in!”

“Yeah, Kayla loves that film,” Stephanie said with a sigh. “Alexa, do you, umm, do you have Jenna’s contact details by any chance?”

“Yeah, I got her number,” Alexa replied, earning a confused look from Nikki. “We swapped numbers while we were in the bathroom at the airport, why do you need it, weren’t you two just in the lobby?”

“There - there’s been a bit of a development,” Nikki said. “Turns out the three of us have more in common with Jenna than we thought.”

“Wh- wait, what?” Alexa said, her jaw dropping. “Really?”

“That’s what she said,” Stephanie replied. “Right before running off to god knows where. It’s like she told me, then just freaked out, and now - now I’m kinda worried.”

“Just a sec,” Alexa said, dashing back into the hotel room and emerging seconds later with her phone already pressed to her face. “It’s ringing. Hi, Jenna? It’s Alexa here, I’ve got Steph and Nikki with me, they’re kinda...“ Alexa paused, and bit her lip as she listened to her phone. “Jenna - Jenna, please, we’re concerned, and we...“ Alexa paused again and began to fidget, her knees gently trembling. “Just - just we know where you are. Please.” Alexa blinked back tears as she nodded and made a mental note of what she was told. “Okay. We’ll see you in a bit.” Alexa ended the call and took a deep breath, before grunting and stumbling forward only to be caught by her two British friends.

“Easy, easy,” Nikki said softly. “You did well, that is NOT a call I’d like to have made."

“Where is she?” Stephanie gently asked.

“In her room,” Alexa replied, taking several deep breaths to compose herself. “She sounded - she sounded like a mess, all panicky…”

“What number room is she in?” Nikki asked.

“622,” Alexa replied. “I - I’m, umm… I want to go too. I’ll let Jenny, Sarah and the others know we might be a minute.”

“Are you sure?” Nikki asked softly.

“I’m sure,” Alexa said, before letting out a quiet chuckle. “I mean, all the help you’ve given me, it’s the least I can do, right?”

“Only if you’re sure,” Nikki said, before grinning as her American counterpart nodded. “Alright then!”

“I’ll get the elevator,” Stephanie said as Alexa returned to their hotel room, only to emerge seconds later with a wide grin on her face.

“Everyone okay?” Nikki asked.

“Better than okay,” Alexa giggled. “I said that something came up and we’d be a few minutes, and everyone in there volunteered to come with us. Though I thought that Jenna might not want an entire army comforting her.”

“They’re all that concerned about her?” Nikki asked.

“Nope, didn’t mention Jenna by name,” Alexa said with a proud grin. “Just said that WE needed to do something, and everyone jumped up to help.” Nikki sighed happily as she wiped a solitary tear from her eye.

“We have the best family ever,” Nikki giggled as she and her two friends, or as she considered them, her sisters entered the elevator.

A short while later, the trio were standing outside room 622, where Stephanie took the lead and gently knocked on her new friend’s door.

“Hello?” Stephanie asked. “Jenna, are you there?”

“I - I’m here,” Jenna said in a tiny, emotional voice as she unlocked the door and allowed her friends in. “I’m sure you’ve got, like, a MILLION questions…”

“Just one,” Stephanie whispered. “Are - are you okay?” The three guests in the room all sighed softly as Jenna tearfully shook her head.

“Come on, sit down, take a deep breath,” Nikki said softly as she escorted Jenna back to her bed.

“Would you like something to drink?” Stephanie asked as she made her way to the room’s Keurig machine. “Umm… Alexa? Can you give me a hand with this thing?”

“I’m okay, thanks,” Jenna whispered.

“Do you mind if we have something?” Stephanie asked, smiling as Jenna shook her head. “I’ve got to admit, I - I was surprised when you told me what you told me. Not - not shocked, I mean, just - you know, surprised, it was kinda unexpected…”

“And we definitely mean that as a compliment,” Nikki said, giving her newest friend’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Honestly, none of us would’ve guessed,” Alexa said softly.

“Thanks,” Jenna said with a tired chuckle. “I - I’m guessing you want the whole story, then?”

“Only if you want to tell it,” Nikki replied.

"I do," Jenna said, before taking a deep breath to compose herself.

The three guests sat and listened intently as Jenna described her early life - how her parents had rarely been around, how she'd been raised mostly by aunts and uncles and how they had been the only ones to support her when she had come out, and how she'd struggled to afford HRT until she began working for her cousin. After Jenna was finished explaining her story, Nikki asked a question that had been burning in the back of her mind.

“Do the other Californiangels know?” Nikki asked. “I mean, I’m guessing your cousin does, right?”

“They all know,” Jenna said. “But that’s as far as it goes, the public doesn’t know that their PA used to be a boy, god knows what they’d think if they did.”

“They’d wonder why you weren’t an Angel too?” Nikki asked, frowning as Jenna scoffed. “I’m serious, Jenna.”

“They’re all beautiful, successful, popular women,” Jenna retorted.

“As are you,” Stephanie said softly. “All four of those things.”

“I’m not a model, though,” Jenna protested.

“Neither was Viks when she joined the Angels,” Nikki retorted.

“And I’m only twenty,” Jenna said.

“So’s Abbey-Gayle,” Stephanie said. “Jenna, do - I mean, would you want to be an Angel?”

“…More than anything,” Jenna confessed with a sad sigh.

“Then why don’t you ask to join them?” Alexa asked.

“Because the Californiangels is a group of EIGHT women,” Jenna replied. “Because they’ve made all the promotional material, the merchandise…”

“All of that stuff can be replaced very cheaply,” Nikki assured her friend. “Besides, your bosses would love an excuse to pump out more merchandise.”

“Most of the stuff that was made when Out of Heaven had five members are now collector’s items,” Stephanie said.

“…But would I be accepted?” Jenna asked in a quiet, timid voice.

“You’re friends with all the Californiangels, aren’t you?” Nikki asked.

“Oh - I’m not worried about THEM,” Jenna said. “I mean - I mean, you know…”

“You’re worried the American public isn’t ready for a transgendered ‘Angel’?” Alexa asked. “Trust me when I say that WE are. More than ready, in fact.”

“You only regret the things that you DON’T do,” Stephanie said softly. “I think all four of us can speak from experience there.”

“Definitely,” Nikki and Alexa said simultaneously as they contemplated their lives - specifically, the rings on their left hands.

“…I’ll have a word with Christina tomorrow,” Jenna sighed. “But if they say no...“

“Then you’ll still be a beautiful, successful and popular woman,” Stephanie said. “You don’t need to be an Angel to be THAT.”

“Says the world-famous singer,” Nikki teased, giggling as Stephanie gave her a playful nudge. “She’s right, though.”

“Th- thanks,” Jenna said softly. “And - and I’m sorry for taking you away from...“

“Don’t apologise, seriously!” Nikki giggled. “That’s what friends - no, that’s what SISTERS are for.”

“Thanks,” Jenna whispered. "You guys are the REAL angels, heh!"

"Well - I won't argue," Nikki said with a proud giggle.

"Me either," Alexa said. "I mean, you don't need to be from Britain to be an Angel anymore, do you?"

"Hmm... Nope!" Jenna said with a quiet giggle.

“Are - are you going to be okay by yourself this evening?” Stephanie asked, before shaking her head. “Actually, scratch that, the rest of the girlies are going to watch La-La Land.”

“And there’s always room for one more,” Alexa said.

“…Sounds great,” Jenna said, giggling happily as her new friends escorted her out of her room and toward where the rest of their friends were gathered.

“You took your time,” Jenny teased her wife as she and her friends re-entered the room. “Is everything okay?” Alexa smiled as she stared back at her three friends, all of whom had happy smiles on their faces.

“…Yeah,” Alexa said. “I think everything’s going to be okay.”

“We invited Steph and Jenna to watch the film with us,” Nikki explained. “Guessing that’s not a problem?”

“Well that depends on one thing,” Sarah said. “Can you have too many friends?”

“No!” Everyone in the room cheered simultaneously.

After watching the film (and an ill-advised attempt by a tipsy Nikki, Sarah, Alexa and Jenny to recreate some of the dance sequences), the young women each decided to get an early night, eager to hit the ground running for what would be the busiest day of the entire trip.

Despite their sore heads, Nikki and Sarah woke up at 7:30am, and despite their overwhelming urge to remain in bed with each other, they immediately got up; and after showering and dressing for the day in short but smart dresses light-coloured tights, they headed down to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. As they sat down to eat, Nikki smiled with relief when she saw that Jenna was sitting with several of the other Californiangels, and, dressed in her clingy top and designer black skirt, she would never have guessed that Jenna wasn’t a member of the group - or indeed that she had ever been anything other than 100% female. The smile that Jenna flashed Nikki as she passed by was also reassurance for Nikki that everything was going to be okay.

“Think she’ll be okay?” Sarah asked quietly as she and her wife picked at their meals.

“Yeah,” Nikki replied with a grin.

“Think she’ll ever be an Angel?” Sarah asked in an even quieter voice, which made her wife pause to think.

“…I hope so,” Nikki replied. “Even if she isn’t, she’ll be alright.”

“Well, we’ll find out in July, at least,” Sarah said, prompting a confused look. “At AngelCon 2019? In London?”

“Assuming this year’s AngelCon is a success,” Nikki retorted.

“I’ve got a feeling it might just be,” Sarah said with a smug grin.

Sarah’s suspicions were proved correct a short while later when the taxi ferrying herself, Nikki, Hendo and Jacinta arrived at the venue to discover a crowd outside that put even the New York crowds to shame, both in terms of size and the noise that was being generated.

“…Wow,” Jacinta breathed.

“Tell me about it,” Nikki said as she stared at the excited crowds, among whom were many girls wearing t-shirts bearing the logo of the UK Angels.

“What a way to end the week, eh?” Hendo asked with a giggle. “Gonna be a bit of a downer when we get back to London…”

“Until AngelCon next year, anyway,” Sarah said. “Which I think we can say will DEFINITELY be going ahead, hehe!”

“Hell yeah!” The four women cheered as their taxi pulled into the venue, where many of their friends were already gathered.

"...Sounds like you did great," Jamie said softly, bringing a smile to Stephanie's face.

"I guess," the young singer sighed. "But, I - you know? I replay it in my mind, and..."

"Don't dwell on it too much," Jamie advised. "You did what you thought was best, and looking at Jenna now - I'd say you can be proud of yourself."

"Yeah, but..." Stephanie said, before sighing and blushing. "I - I wish you'd been there, you know? You're better at this sort of thing than I am..."

"Well, I can't be everywhere," Jamie chuckled. "Though it's good to know that even if I'm not, the job of 'guardian angel' is in good hands, heh!"

"Yeah," Stephanie said, before giggling and sighing as she and Jamie exchanged a gentle hug.

"If you weren't in Out of heaven," Jamie said, "you'd make a DAMN good Angel. But as it is, you definitely make an awesome friend."

"Thanks," Stephanie said with a happy, tired smile, which turned into an excited grin as she saw activity in the backstage area reach fever pitch. "Ooh, looks like it's almost showtime..."

"See you on the other side," Jamie said with a wink as she skipped over to the where the other Angels were standing, ready to go on stage.

Jamie allowed herself a moment to try to relax as she and the other Angels awaited their introduction to the LA crowds. Like Nikki, Stephanie and all of her friends, she had had a long, tiring week, made all the more exhausting by having to care for a young child as well. However, Jamie knew that she would come to look back on the tour with only fond memories. The places she’d seen, the fans she’d met and the friends she’d made would hold a special place in her heart for the rest of her life. And as she looked around her at the numerous other Angels from around the world, she knew that wherever she went, she'd always be surrounded by friends.

“I think it’s showtime!” Krystie giggled to her friends as the noise in the auditorium reached fever pitch and a familiar large-framed man walked out onto the stage. Jamie took a moment to adjust her form-fitting designer dress, before smiling as that familiar large-framed man strode out onto the stage.

“Hello Los Angeles!” The always ebullient voice of James Corden reverberated through the auditorium, drowned out only by the noise of the crowd.

Jamie found herself only partially paying attention to the famous MC's introduction, before the familiar strains of 'Angels' by Robbie Williams filled the arena and she and her nine colleagues strode out onto the stage.

“What’s up, LA?” Jamie yelled into her microphone, whipping the crowd into an even greater frenzy. Jamie didn't doubt that many of the crowd knew the 'truth' about her, but if they did, they certainly didn't seem to care, which made Jamie all the happier to be in front of them. Jamie also knew the same was true for all of the other transgendered Angels as the other international groups were introduced to the LA crowd.

“And now,” James announced into his microphone, “give it up for LA’s very own: The Californiangels!”

Jamie stood back and grinned as the eight young women walked into centre stage and soaked up the adoration from their fans. Jamie didn’t mind playing second fiddle on this occasion, and neither did any of the other Angels - after all, the Californiangels were their friends, and Jamie was happy for them to have their time in the spotlight. Besides, in eight months’ time it would be time for the second AngelCon from London, when Jamie, Charlotte and the other Angels WOULD take centre stage.

However, Jamie still couldn’t get out of mind the niggling thought that there were still no transgendered Angels in the US…

“Alright!” James cheered as he retook the stage and stood among the Californiangels. “Come on, gather round, gather round. So, how does it feel to officially be Angels!”

“It feels amazing!” Nikita, one of the Californiangels, replied.

“Being here, on stage, with so many amazing women is just incredible,” Christina enthused. “We really have been made to feel like we’re part of the family.”

“And so are all of you!” Nikita yelled, earning loud cheers from the crowd.

“We’ve got a short clip from the premiere of your show,” James announced. “After that, think you can stick around and answer a few questions?”

“I think we can, yep!” Nikita replied with a giggle as the auditorium lights dimmed and a TV clip played on the big screen.

After the clip played, the eight Californiangels were given comfortable chairs to sit in and answer questions, while Jamie and the other international Angels retreated to the backstage area to watch. Jamie found her attention wandering as questions were asked about the Californiangels’ lives, their relationships, fashion choices, likes and dislikes, but her attention was brought straight back when the one question she was anticipating was asked.

“A lot of the other Angels from around the world have transgendered girls in them,” the audience member asked. “A lot of fans were disappointed when neither the New York nor California Angels had trans girls in them. Was this a deliberate choice?”

“Not at all,” Christina immediately replied. “We were chosen to be part of the group as we’ve all worked with at least two other girls from the group in the past, so we all know each other. But that doesn’t mean that this group is fixed, never gonna change - the English girls added new members a few years ago, and we’ll probably do the same in the future. Maybe the next girl we add to the group will be transgendered - after all, there’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t.” The applause that reverberated through the arena brought a smile to Jamie’s face, but it was the knowing look on Christina’s face that made Nikki grin- a grin that was reflected on Jenna’s face, who knew exactly what her cousin was implying.

After the Q&A session ended, Jamie and the rest of the Angels were escorted back to the arena concourse, where they spent the rest of the day meeting their fans, signing autographs, taking selfies and answering the fans’ many questions. Unlike in New York, Jamie didn’t return to the stage to answer any questions, but she didn’t mind - interacting with the fans one to one was just as satisfying for Jamie, especially the fans who told her how inspired they'd been by her. Jamie didn't ask what any of the fans had meant by that, but she didn't need to. All she needed to know was that there were girls out there who she had helped, and that there were still many more who she could help.

The arena was buzzing for the rest of the afternoon as thousands of fans lined up for autographs and selfies, as well as at the many merchandise stands and the other attractions that had been laid on, including karaoke machines, costume competitions and much more.

As the day drew to an end and the crowds began to thin, all the people in the arena - fans, Angels and PAs alike - returned to the auditorium where the MC had once again taken to the stage.

“Has everyone had a great time?” James yelled to the crowd, who all replied with excited, albeit tired cheers. “Before we go we’ve got one last treat for you all! Singing a song I’m sure you all know, give it up for Out of Heaven!” The crowd applauded as Stephanie, Becca and Adeola took to the stage, microphones in hand.

"Hello Los Angeles!" Becca yelled to the delight of the crowd. "We want you ALL singing along to this one."

"'Cause as far as we're concerned," Adeola said, "you're ALL our friends."

"When you're down and troubled,
And you need a helping hand,
And nothing, nothing is going right,
Close your eyes and think of me,
And soon I will be there,
To brighten up even your darkest night.

You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am,
I'll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall,
All you've got to do is call,
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah,
You've got a friend..."

As the song reached its climax and the crowd screamed, Stephanie couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions, even as she exchanged a hug with her bandmates. On the one hand, she’d just sung in front of a massive crowd in one of the biggest cities in the world, but on the other hand, Kayla wasn’t there to share it with her. Stephanie knew just how much of a kick Kayla would’ve got out of singing in front of such a huge crowd

As the venue slowly emptied, Jamie, Nikki and Stephanie found themselves sitting together, watching with melancholy looks as the venue staff stripped the decorations away.

“Kinda feel, you know, deflated now,” Nikki mused as she slumped back in her chair. “We’ve been planning for this for so long, and now that it’s over, you know?”

“Oh - definitely,” Jamie said. “Jonathan and Joshua are really happy, they say our profile’s, like, exploded in America, but - dunno.”

“I know what you mean,” Stephanie said. “I mean, singing on stage in Hollywood should be a highlight of my career, but now that I’ve done it - you know?”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed. “And - I guess, I - I just hope we’ve done some good. Like, we’ve accomplished something other than just making money, or fame, that we’ve been able to help someone, you know?”

“I think we can say ‘mission accomplished’ there,” Nikki giggled as she watched Jenna walk past, deep in conversation with her cousin. “I reckon both groups of American Angels are going to work out fine. Both official groups, anyway - the unofficial American Angels have of course been doing great for years!”

“Speaking of, where are Jexy?” Stephanie asked.

“Heading back to the hotel,” Nikki replied. “They’ve decided - or rather, Alexa decided and Jenny agreed - to spend a day at Disneyland tomorrow. Kinda wish I was going with them, heh. But, you know, duty calls.”

“Especially now that someone’s received the promotion they deserve!” Stephanie teased, making her young friend giggle and blush.

“Seriously,” Jamie concurred. “This tour wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without the work you put in. Both of you.”

“If you can call being adored by thousands of fans ‘work’!” Stephanie giggled. “Ahh… Though I guess it would’ve been if we’d gone to any of the, you know, bible belt states?”

“Well - you can only educate people one at a time,” Jamie said. “And god - heh, irony - knows there are millions of Brits who could use a better education. The real ‘work’, heh.”

“Well, we’re leaving America in capable hands, at least,” Nikki chuckled. “At least the next two, France and Holland, will be less than eight time zones away!”

“I’m already looking forward to it!” Jamie giggled. “But I’m looking forward to getting home first. Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed, heh.”

“Same here,” Stephanie sighed. “But we are totally coming back to America, aren’t we?”

“Oh, hell yes!” Jamie cheered, before leading her friends to a nearby refreshments table and grabbing three drinks. “I think this calls for a toast - to the United States of America - the perfect host for the last week, and home to millions of new friends!”

“The USA!” Nikki and Stephanie both cheered with wide grins on their faces.

All of the many men and women who flew home the following day were exhausted following their long week, and looking forward to returning to their London homes, but all of them found that a part of them longed to be back on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean in the nation that was their home for a week. They’d worked hard, entertained their fans, raised their public profile and even, in a limited way, raised awareness of the struggles many girls and boys go through on a daily basis, simply because their bodies don’t match their true selves.

But what the men and women thought most about were the many friends, old and new, that they’d met during their trip. Friends who would always hold a special place in their hearts, no matter how many miles separated them, because of the one simple truth - you can never have too many friends.

Angels assemble!

Charlotte: the leader, dedicated to using her wealth and fame to help those less fortunate.

Jamie: the social media star, dedicated to proving that anyone can be the person they were born to be, regardless of how they were born.

Hannah: the supermodel from the lower-class background, dedicated to proving that a person is worth more than their background.

Krystie: the dance teacher, dedicated to bringing out the inner beauty in everyone.

Mary: the mother of the group, dedicated to protecting those who struggle to protect themselves.

Viks: the genius, dedicated to proving that anyone can have beauty and brains.

Kelly: the beauty from China, dedicated to bringing together people of all nations.

Alice: the strong northern woman, dedicated to showing that anybody can succeed at what they put their mind to, no matter their gender.

Abbey-Gayle: the youngest of the group, dedicated to proving that age need not prevent someone from reaching their potential.

Malaika: the heart of the group from the heart of Africa, dedicated to showing that there is strength in diversity.

A group of ten young women from all four corners of the world, brought together to fight injustice and promote the ideals of peace and friendship for all people.

Somewhere in England...

“Oh look,” the tall, imposing bully sneered as the young girl walked through the school gate. “It’s the boy who thinks he’s a girl!”

“Leave me alone,” the frightened young girl whimpered, before trembling with fear as she was surrounded by the bully and his three minions.

“What are you wearing a skirt for, BOY?” One of the minions shouted as the other bullies laughed.

“I’m not a boy, I’m a girl!” The group’s victim pleaded.

“Oh yeah?” The lead bully sneered. “Then why don’t you lift your skirt up and show us?”

“Just leave me alone!” The girl wailed as tears started to stream from her eyes.

“Oh look! Look everyone! The BOY’s crying!” One of the minions yelled, attracting the attention of the entire school, who all turned and laughed at the distraught girl.

“Just- just leave me alone!” The girl screamed.

“Skirt boy! Skirt boy!” The children chanted as the tearful girl ran into the school and straight to the girls’ toilets, where she sat down in a stall and took her phone out of her bag.

“Hello Angels,” the girl said into the phone with a shaky voice. “I need your help…”

Meanwhile, at Angel HQ…

“Good morning, Angels!” Charlotte said as she walked into the vast, clean conference room where the other nine Angels were waiting.

“Good morning, Charlotte!” The Angels replied in unison.

“What do we have on the agenda for today?” Charlotte asked as she took her seat at the head of the conference table.

"I've finished tuning up the AngelMobile," Alice replied, spinning one of her many spanners in her fingers. "You won't need to take it to the garage after all! Gonna fix the AngelCopter next!"

"My class has got an exam later tonight," Krystie said, stretching her leg high above her head. "They don't think they're ready yet, but I know that if they dance to the best of their ability, they'll pass."

"And I'm going to be tutoring a class later," Viks said, putting away a heavy textbook. "They're struggling with their calculus, but they're all smarter than they give themselves credit for."

"So... Quiet day, then?" Charlotte asked with a grin.

“Angels!” Mary interrupted, pointing to the flashing red light next to the big screen in the conference room. “We’re getting a message through on the AngelComputer!”

“Show us!” Charlotte said, turning around to watch as the message filled the screen.

“Hello Angels,” the schoolgirl with the tear-streaked face said. “I need your help. My name is Naomi Travis, I’m fourteen years old, and I- I’m transgender. I came out about six months ago and have been living as a girl 24/7 since then, but everyone at school still sees me as a boy. They call me names like ‘skirt boy’, they throw things at me, sometimes they even hit me… I tell my teachers and my parents about this, but all they say is that I should ignore it, but I- I don’t know how much more of it I can take… Please, please I need help…” The ten Angels watched intently as Naomi bared her soul, and as the video finished. Charlotte turned back to them with a determined look on her face.

“Angels,” Charlotte said. “This sounds like a job for us.”

“Agreed,” Jamie said. “We need to teach these bullies a lesson they won’t forget.”

“I’m with you,” Kelly said.

“Us too,” Hannah and Abbey-Gayle concurred.

“Then it’s settled,” Jamie said, standing up dramatically with her hands on her hips. “Angels- to the AngelMobile!” Jamie led her three friends as she ran down the corridor from the conference room to the Angel HQ’s garage, where a large, pink, convertible roadster was waiting for them. The four women jumped into the car and were soon speeding off down the road.

“I know you find it tough at school,” Naomi’s mother said soothingly as the young girl sat slumped on her sofa. “But sulking about it isn’t going to help. If you just ignore the bullies, eventually they’ll get bored and leave you alone.”

“But they won’t,” Naomi pouted.

“You don’t know that for sure,” Naomi’s father said. “When you chose to make this- this change, we said we’d support you, and we will, but we can’t watch over you 24 hours a day. Your mother’s right- ignoring bullies is always the best way of dealing with them.”

“But they- they-“ Naomi stammered, before leaning forward and weeping into her hands.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Naomi’s mother said as she gave the distraught girl a tight hug. “You won’t be at school forever. In the meantime, you could always, maybe, compromise?”

“Compromise?” Naomi asked.

“Maybe go into school wearing trousers, instead of a skirt?” Naomi’s mother suggested. “Then you can wear what you want when you get home.”

“But I want to wear this to school,” Naomi moaned as she gestured to her uniform.

“But it makes the other kids angry,” Naomi’s father said.

“But isn’t that their problem?” Naomi pleaded.

“If they’re teasing you, it makes it your problem as well,” Naomi’s father replied. Moments later, the whole family rushed to the window with shocked expressions on their face as the whole house began to shake. There, on the road outside the house, was the giant pink roadster containing the four Angels, who all elegantly jumped out of the car and approached the house.

“Who- who are these people?” Naomi’s mother asked, frowning with confusion as a wide smile spread across her daughter’s face.

“They’re the Angels…” Naomi said with awe.

“Hello, you must be Mr. Travis,” Jamie said as she entered the house. “My name is Jamie-Lee Burke, and these are my friends Hannah, Kelly and Abbey-Gayle. Your daughter asked for our help with the problems she’s having at school.”

“Oh my god,” Naomi exclaimed. “I can’t believe you actually came!”

“We never ignore a cry for help from someone who really needs it,” Kelly assured the young woman.

“Well I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted trip,” Naomi’s father said. “Naomi has been exaggerating the problems she’s having at school.”

“That’s not what the video message we received said,” Abbey-Gayle said defiantly.

“What video message?” Naomi’s father scoffed. “I want to see it!”

“Naomi, would it be okay if we showed your message to your parents?” Jamie asked, smiling as the girl nervously nodded. With a smile, Kelly pushed a button on her phone, and as if by magic, Naomi’s face filled the TV.

“Hello Angels,” Naomi’s tear-streaked image said. “I need your help. My name is Naomi Travis, I’m fourteen years old, and I- I’m transgender. I came out about six months ago and have been living as a girl 24/7 since then, but everyone at school still sees me as a boy. They call me names like ‘skirt boy’, they throw things at me, sometimes they even hit me… I tell my teachers and my parents about this, but all they say is that I should ignore it, but I- I don’t know how much more of it I can take… Please, please I need help…”

“…Yes, well, Naomi does sometimes exaggerate,” Naomi’s father mumbled.

“You must’ve believed she wasn’t exaggerating when she said she was a girl,” Kelly retorted.

“Well- no,” Naomi’s mother said. “But we took her to a counsellor, who said that this was best for her.”

“And if they can’t help her with this bullying problem, I’m not sure what you can do either,” Naomi’s father scoffed.

“We have a few extra tricks up our sleeve,” Hannah said.

“Naomi, what advice did your counsellor give you to cope with the bullying?” Jamie asked softly.

“She said I should ignore it,” Naomi mumbled in reply. “Like the bullies will just get bored eventually.”

“That’s terrible advice,” Jamie said as Naomi’s parents’ faces reddened. “Teasing someone because of a shirt they wear, or because of a haircut, that’s the sort of thing that will eventually go away if you ignore it. But being transgendered isn’t something people will overlook as easily, even kids.”

"People like that need to feel that they're better than someone else," Kelly explained. "So rather than try to make themselves better, they try to put other people down, not just individuals, but whole groups of people."

"Your bullies torment you because they don't know any other way to make them feel better about themselves," Abbey-Gayle explained. "You could even say you should feel sorry for them, even if they don't feel sorry for the way they treated you."

So how do I beat the bullies?” Naomi asked.

“By being proud of who you are,” Jamie replied. “Who you are is nothing to be ashamed of, and the bullies need to realise that.”

“You enjoy being a girl, right?” Kelly asked.

“More than anything,” Naomi replied.

“Then have we got a treat for you!” Abbey-Gayle said, unfolding her bag to reveal an entire make-up kit, complete with mirrors and a chair that Naomi was immediately sat on.

“Hey- hey wait just a minute-“ Naomi’s father protested.

“Can you make us a cup of tea?” Hannah asked with a sweet smile as she ushered the two parents into their kitchen. “Thanks!”

“We- we can’t really wear make-up at school,” Naomi protested.

“Don’t worry!” Abbey-Gayle said as she picked up a make-up brush and a palette filled with different-coloured blush. “And anyway, the best make-up makes you look like you’re not wearing any at all!”

“Well- okay…” Naomi nervously said as the four Angels descended upon her, make-up brushes in hand…

Half an hour later…

“And… done!” Abbey-Gayle announced, putting down her make-up brushes as she spun Naomi around in the chair. “Well? What do you think of your new look?”

“I- I look exactly the same as I did before!” Naomi said as she stared at her unchanged reflection in the mirror.

“Exactly,” Hannah said. “True beauty comes from the inside. Hiding yourself away behind make-up isn’t the solution.”

“Bullies want to make you feel ashamed for being who you are,” Jamie explained. “But you have nothing to be ashamed about. Tell me, how did you feel when we were putting the make-up on?”

“…Stronger,” Naomi said. “More confident.”

“And would you feel more confident or less confident if we had smeared your face with lots of make-up?” Kelly asked.

“The same,” Naomi sighed. “But the other kids at school won’t see it that way.”

“So make them,” Jamie said. “I know, I know, that sounds easier said than done. But you have nothing to be ashamed of. How do you normally get to school in the morning?”

“We take her,” Naomi’s father replied from the seat he and his wife were squashed into.

“Tomorrow, we’ll give you a lift,” Abbey-Gayle said.

“If that’s okay with you, of course?” Kelly asked Naomi’s parents, who grumbled and nodded.

“In the meantime,” Hannah said as she produced a smartphone, “how about a selfie with us?” The four Angels grinned as Naomi eagerly nodded and posed for the photograph with them.

The following morning…

the teenagers all walked through the school gate, some chatting with each other, others engrossed in their phones, but all paused as a low rumble approached the school building.

“What- what the hell is that?” The teenaged boy asked as the sound of loud music caused the entire building to shake.

All the children in the school turned and watched as the pink convertible car pulled up outside, the song ‘Stronger’ by Out of Heaven blasting from its stereo. In the back seat, dressed in her school uniform, a pair of designer sunglasses and wearing a wide, confident smile on her face, was Naomi Travis.

Naomi strode coolly toward the school gate, escorted by Jamie and Kelly on either side of her, but as she reached the gate, she paused, her legs visibly trembling as she caught sight of her bully.

“I- I can’t do this,” Naomi whispered.

“It’s okay, I know it’s scary,” Jamie whispered in reply. “Things aren’t going to change overnight. But you’re going to leave a lasting impression, the way you arrived at school today.”

“The bullies will only win if you let them win,” Kelly said. “The important thing is that you asked for help, and you got help. And they know that as well.”

“We can’t come to school with you every day,” Jamie said, “but we’ll always have come with you this day. So you go in, and don’t be ashamed of who you are.”

“I won’t,” Naomi said, strolling into school confidently only for her stride to falter when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, skirt boy!” Naomi’s bully yelled. “Who are your friends?” Naomi took a deep breath to calm her nerves, before turning and facing her tormentor, placing one hand on her hip and posing just as she’d seen the Angels do countless times on TV.

“Why are you always so obsessed with my skirt?” Naomi asked bluntly. “Are you jealous of it or something?” Naomi smiled and turned her back on the bully as the other children pointed and laughed at his embarrassment.

“Remember,” Naomi remembered the words she’d been told the previous day. “Don’t fight them, don’t sink to their level, rise above, and let them know you won’t be pushed around.” Naomi smiled confidently and winked back at her Angel friends as she headed to her first class of the day.

Back at Angel HQ…

“Welcome back, you four,” Charlotte said as Jamie, Kelly, Hannah and Abbey-Gayle returned to Angel HQ and sat down at the conference table. “Did you have a good trip?”

“It went great,” Jamie replied. “I reckon things are going to go a lot better for Naomi from now on.”

“Though that’s never guaranteed,” Kelly said. “That’s one of many horrible things about bullying- there’s no guaranteed cure for it.”

"And it could get worse before it gets better," Hannah sighed.

"But it was better for her today," Abbey-Gayle said. "We did all that we could to make her life better, if only for today."

“And Naomi knows she now has friends she can call on if she needs us,” Jamie said. “No one should ever be afraid to ask for help if they really need it.”

“I just wish we could help more people when they need it,” Krystie said with a sigh.

“We do what we can,” Charlotte said. “Because that’s what Angels do. Right?”

“Right!” The other nine women all simultaneously cheered.