Chapter 7

“Oh, it’s such a wonderful day to be alive!” Henry exclaimed, and Julian raised his eyebrows in the brunette’s direction,

“... Anything in particular make it a wonderful day?” He enquired, Henry grinning,

“Nope! Everyday is wonderful!” He said, Julian shaking his head, amused,

“I should have guessed,” He replied, Henry sitting down on the kitchen island, intently watching Julian sip from his glass of water, while reading a newspaper article on his phone. After a few minutes of Henry’s staring, Julian turned his head towards him, Alexander turning on the sink in the background, to wash dishes.

“Uh, something up, Ry?” Julian asked, Henry beaming,

“I’m GLAD you asked!” He exclaimed, “Wanna go to the mall with me?!” Julian frowned,

“Um, no,” He replied, Henry dramatically flopping over the island,

“Why not?!” He demanded, Julian giving him a pointed look,

“The mall? You might as well call it capitalism headquarters!” He argued. 

“C’mon Juli! Mall!”

“Capitalism!”

“Mall!”

“Capitalism!”

“Mall!”

“Capitalism!”

“Mall!”

“Capitalism!”

“MALL!”

That last shout came from Alexander, who had apparently been listening in on their conversation. Both young men turned their attention to their elder brother, Alexander sighing,

“Just get out of the house, both of you, give me five minutes of peace and quiet. I haven’t gotten that since Julian was born. Go to the mall. And sell that ferret of yours, Henry, at the pet shop while you’re at it.” Alexander muttered, Mouse the cat giving out a meow of agreement from underneath the kitchen table, and

Henry letting out an offended gasp, “Rebel’s my friend!” he exclaimed.

Julian sighed, “Fine, fine, I’ll go,” He muttered, “But I refuse to buy anything, for the record.”

Henry rolled his eyes, “Alright, alright, c’mon Grumpy Gus.” The two men grabbed their jackets, before leaving the apartment, and finally the building. Henry stretched his arms out the second they stepped foot outside, grinning,

“Hello November!” He exclaimed, Julian, who was used to this sort of thing, not even noticing, “Hey Juli, the sky is shining!” Henry said.

Julian sighed, “That’s the sun, not the sky, Henry,” he replied.

Henry shrugged, “What difference does it make?!” They argued over what difference it did make until they reached the mall. That was basically Henry and Julian’s relationship. They argued and fought all the time, but if anyone tried to do anything to the other, they would murder them. Henry and Julian were true brothers. 

“I, uh, got a text from my father,” Henry murmured, as they entered the mall, the two boys sighing in relief as they were now out of the piercing cold.

Julian raised an eyebrow, “That why you were so mopey last night?”

Henry nodded glumly, “Um, yeah…” he replied.

“What did it say?” Julian asked, Henry heaving a sigh, and pulling out his phone, showing Julian.

Julian let out a small noise of sympathy, and slipped his hand into Henry’s in support.

Henry smiled, “You’re the best, Juli,” he said.

Julian smiled as well, “So are you.” As they continued to walk through the mall, the two picked up some interesting looks from the people they passed. Julian wanted a custom-made shirt that read, “WE’RE BROTHERS YOU FOOLS.” Though he had a feeling that the people staring at them wouldn’t approve of adopted brothers either.

“Look, they started putting up Christmas decorations already!” Henry pointed up at the ceiling, where multiple Christmas-themed flags were hanging down, then at the walls, which were littered with a variety of Christmas decorations.

“It’s not even Thanksgiving yet!” Julian protested, Henry grinning, amused,

“Mhm. Welcome to capitalism,” He replied, Julian sighing. Henry pointed off towards the pretzel shop around the corner,

“Imma go grab a pretzel, cause’ I’m hungry. Go look around, you never know, you might want to buy something!” Julian shook his head firmly,

“Don’t give in, Henry,” He said, grabbing Henry’s arm. Henry simply laughed, walking off towards the pretzel shop, leaving Julian alone. In the middle of a busy mall. Now, Julian was not exactly an adored member of Pine Forest. In fact, a good majority of the other citizens flat-out despised him. He was known as a rabble-rouser, constantly seeking trouble. And he was gay. That was even worse, in some of the townspeople's opinions. Sometimes, Julian wondered why he, Alexander, and Henry even bothered staying in this town. But he knew why. There were some with not enough money to remove themselves, such as Ella, Ava, and Matthew. And he would never abandon those three. Julian also held a firm belief that people could change. That perhaps, one day, the townspeople may see the error in their ways. And so, he stayed. Besides, all of his friends, everyone and everything that he loved, were located in this little town. 

Julian walked past a few stores inside the mall, scoffing at the ones that had already put up Christmas decorations. He was glad that they weren’t celebrating Thanksgiving, though. Every Thanksgiving, Grant, who was a quarter Native American, would spend the entire day holed up in his apartment, not wanting to face the people celebrating the pilgrims. The pilgrims were not good news, to Grant’s people. Some of the first white people of many, to come into their land uninvited. Julian didn’t mind Christmas, though the capitalist aspect of it did tick him off, to a degree. It didn’t mean the same thing to him than it did to Alexander, who was a Christian. To Julian, Christmas was more of a celebration of family. Henry and Alexander were his family, and Christmas was always warm, happy, and safe with them. And his other friends, of course.

“Ey, you, girl,” An old man beckoned him over, and Julian gave him a polite smile,

“Yes, sir?” He enquired, “I’m a boy, by the way,” The man narrowed his eyes at him, his young, strong-looking, son smirking from beside him.

“Aren’t you that little girl who runs around with the rainbow flags and that gang?” He asked, Julian sighing,

“First off, I’m a boy, sir. Secondly, no, you must be thinking of someone else,” Julian quickly replied. Deny, deny, deny. By denying, he wouldn’t get hurt. The man nodded,

“Good… That little fella shot a bullet through my shed last year. Been looking for er’ ever since. If I found er’ now… Oh I’d take er’ out in the parking lot…. My son could punch the little smirk right of er’ face… She’s looked like a young thing too… Oh how I’d love to meet her again...” The old man snarled, he and his son parting ways with Julian, who was now trembling slightly from the ordeal. Of course, Julian had been at the receiving end of all sorts of threats before. He just never really did get used to it. He had shot a bullet through someone’s shed last year, but that had been on accident. Grant had knocked over a guy with a gun, after he’d tried to point it at Julian and Grant while they were walking to Johnson’s, and Julian had picked it up, accidentally pulling the trigger. He had been thankful that the bullet hadn’t gone through the window. Needless to say, Grant and Julian had gotten out of there quick. But not quick enough for the old man to see Julian, apparently. 

Julian continued walking through the stores, determined not to enter a single one. But something caught his eye. A women’s clothing store. He’d probably be able to fit in women's clothing, to be honest. It might even be a bit too big on him. When Julian had been a toddler, Jeanne Carter, Alexander’s mother, had taken special care to buy him clothing from the little girls section, as all of the little boy's clothing was too big for him. Julian ducked between clothing that was hanging on hangers, frowning, and not really sure why he had entered the shop in the first place. And then, something else caught his eye. A dress. It was a simple, pink dress. But something about it enthralled Julian. He stepped forward, checking the price tag. It was on sale. 10 dollars. Julian had that in his wallet. Julian pulled the money out, staring at it. Then back at the dress. He bit his lip. He knew plenty of men who wore dresses. That sort of came, with a friend group like his. Henry wore dresses, sometimes. And Henry was still awesome, and a dude. Julian had only worn a dress once in his life. And he still remembered that time very well.

“Mama, look!” A six-year-old Julian ran into his mother’s room. His parents had separate rooms. He was dressed in a white dress, along with a pink glittery tiara, that he wore proudly on his head. Ariana Ellis placed a hand over her mouth the second she saw her child. 

“Julian. Where did you get that?” She asked, her voice trembling at the end, and her eyes flitting back-and-forth towards her window, out of which the pitch-black sky littered with stars was visible, and Julian. Julian blinked,

“I got the dress from the attic, and Henry gave me the tiara today! We played warrior princesses! And Alexander was the prince that we needed to save from the dragon. Mrs. Carter was the dragon! It was so much fun, even if I fell down because Henry pushed me, but Alexander kissed me all-better!” He exclaimed. He rarely ever spoke with his mother, once he came back from Alexander’s. He rarely ever spoke with his mother, period. It felt good, to. Ariana gave him a frightened look,

“No, No, my Julian, you mustn't wear something so girlish, what if your father finds out?!” She exclaimed. Julian was confused. What was wrong with him wearing a dress? He thought it looked pretty. And so did the tiara, though he could do without the glitter on it. It was then, his father, who must have heard him and his mother talking, burst into the room. The second Philip Ellis caught sight of his son, he was livid.

“What. Are. You. Wearing,” He hissed, Julian giving him an innocent smile,

“A dress, papa. Isn’t it pretty?” Julian asked. Philip snorted, and took one step towards Julian, Ariana throwing herself onto the ground in between Julian and Philip, and bursting into tears,

“Please, Philip, he’s just a boy!” She begged, Philip sneering,

“Is he, though?” There was a slight slur to his words. He was most likely drunk. Ariana began sobbing loudly, and Philip effortlessly tossed her aside, before making his way towards Julian, tearing the dress off of his body, and smashing the tiara onto the ground, breaking it in half with his foot.

Ariana screamed louder than Julian, that night. And she wasn’t the one who was hit over every inch of his body. She wasn’t the one who blinked tearily up at the man who was supposed to love him. She wasn’t the one who’s innocence was permanently wiped away. That was the first night Julian’s father had taken a hand to the boy. Ariana had offered herself in his place before. But things only got worse for the child, from there on in.

Julian shuddered, as the memory tore through his head. He didn’t want to remember some things. He wasn’t with his father any more, though. He was with Henry, and Alexander, who he knew loved him no matter what. Still though, he knew he would keep the dress a secret, as he lifted it off of its rack. He made his way to the front desk, gasping, as he saw a familiar person.

“Anna!” He exclaimed, Anna smiling at him,

“Why, hello, young Julian,” She greeted. Julian was relieved to see a friendly face, “What brings you here?” Julian blushed,

“Um, I’m buying a gift for… Rose?” He tried, the old woman raising an eyebrow,

“It’s alright, Julian. This will stay between you and me, if you would like it to,” She said, as he handed her the ten dollars. Julian nodded, giving her a smile,

“Thanks,” He said, Anna nodding back,

“Of course, kiddo. Now go on, I’m sure you have important, world-changing stuff to do.” Julian waved at her, before exiting the shop, and running head-first into Henry. Henry smirked at him, seeing the dress, which was now in a shopping bag, and Julian went red. 

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mr. Don’t Give In, giving in himself,” Henry said, taking a bite out of the soft pretzel he was munching on, “interesting choice,” Henry commented, glancing at the bag again, and looking at the woman’s clothing store, which was behind Julian. Julian sighed,

“Please don’t tell Alexander,” He begged, Henry raising an eyebrow,

“Y’know he’s fine with me wearing dresses, right dude?” He countered, Julian shaking his head,

“I-I don’t want to risk it. I don’t know if he’ll understand,” He muttered. Henry nodded,

“Kay,” He promised, peeking through the window of the shop, and waving at Anna, “She’s nice. She’s one of Alexander’s old women friends, right?” Henry enquired,

“Stop saying ‘old woman friends,’ that sounds weird,” Julian replied, Henry giggling,

“Yeah, I can just call them friends. Because Alexander’s friends outside of the SFJ’s are only old women.” Julian hit his friend upside the head, to defend Alexander’s honor, before the two continued walking on, Henry offering Julian a pretzel,

“C’mon, I know you haven’t eaten since breakfast, and it’s nearly lunch!” Julian usually ignored lunchtime, but his stomach was growling at him, and he took the pretzel, sitting down with Henry on a short brick wall towards the end of the mall.

“So, guess what I’m doing,” Henry asked, Julian shrugging,

“What?” He replied, leaning against Henry’s side, tired of holding himself up. Thankfully, there were no other people in the area to give them weird looks. Or threats. Julian hated this town, sometimes. 

“I’m writing an article, for the newspaper, about how much the town sucks, and what it needs to do to improve, starting with the homophobes around here,” Julian nearly choked on his pretzel,

“Are you nuts?! The town’ll hate us even more if you publish that,” He exclaimed. Henry giving him an earnest look,

“I think an article like this one is long overdue…” He murmured,

“It is…” Julian agreed, “... It is….” They were silent, for a few seconds, before Henry spoke once more,

“Julian, something’s… Stirring. Can you feel it?” Julian’s piercing blue eyes met Henry’s soft brown,

“I can.”

________________________

Ella glared at Mike, as he entered her apartment. Esperanza had taken the kids, for a bit, and she didn’t have a shift, currently. So for once in her life, she was gifted with free time. Or, had been. There was the slight issue of Mike now.

“What do you want, Mike?” She asked, Mike not replying, and simply sitting next to her, on the faded green couch she and her siblings had pulled from a dumpster three years back. The apartment had three rooms. A kitchen, and a bathroom, and the living room. She and her siblings all squeezed together on the couch in the living room to go to sleep, somehow managing to fit themselves all under one blanket. They huddled together for warmth. Ella knew this wouldn’t last long, though. Both Ava and Matthew were growing quickly. 

Ella did her best to ignore Mike, her phone beeping, another strange text from August showing up. She had been getting quite a few of those, lately. She wasn’t sure what was up with him. 

“You know what I want…” Mike muttered, placing a hand on her thigh. Ella flinched. Thinking about Alexander. Mike ran the hand down her leg, Ella blinking up at him, suddenly feeling very small, as he pressed his lips against hers. The two had once dated in high school, before Ella had broken up with him, deciding that he was too much of a distraction from her brother and sister. They would occasionally… Pick things up. But now, there was Alexander. Ella felt something for him. She didn’t feel anything for Mike. But his body pressed against hers felt so warm, and safe…. And good...

This doesn’t mean anything… She told herself, as Mike’s hand stroked her side.

******************************

Chapter 8

Grant walked over to the large crib in Jamie’s room, lifting the wailing infant out of it, and kissing her head,

“Hi, Miss Jamie,” Grant cooed, Jamie staring up at him with her wide brown eyes, her sobbing ceasing as she realized that her father had come to rescue her from the apparently agonizing three minutes of being stuck in her crib after waking up from her nap. Grant smiled at Jamie, shifting her so that she was resting against his shoulder. His hand was bigger than her head, which wasn’t surprising, as Grant was a rather large man. He still had a small fear that he’d accidentally hurt the tiny baby. He carefully walked down the stairs, going into the kitchen of his house, and setting Jamie down in her high chair. He walked over to the living room couch, which William was curled up on, asleep, exhausted from staying up half the night with Jamie. Grant gave him a fond smile, gently running his fingers down William’s cheek,

“Hey, love, time to wake up. It’s 2:00,” He murmured gently, William opening his eyes, and groaning. Their cat, a huge orange animal, named Pumpkin Pie, sauntered into the room, jumping onto the couch, and sitting firmly on William’s chest. William made a few choking noises, pushing the heavy cat off. Pumpkin Pie was of the opinion that he was better than everyone else, and deserved to be constantly worshipped. Needless to say, he was not particularly impressed with Jamie, who had sucked up her father’s attentions from the moment they had held their baby in their arms. Pumpkin Pie didn’t like Grant either. He only liked William. He used to like them equally. However, one night, Grant got drunk, and thought that Pumpkin Pie needed to be an octopus, He had attached tentacles to Pumpkin Pie’s fur with duct tape, before dropping the poor cat in the toilet, so he could “swim.” Pumpkin Pie had never forgiven him for that. 

“Hello, Jamie,” William said, tapping his daughter on the head with a finger, Jamie squealing in delight, and bouncing her legs in the air. Grant walked over to the kitchen, grabbing his phone from the counter, William, now sitting up, watching from the couch. Grant turned on some sort of rock song, and began dancing. He wasn’t a very good dancer, but he always cracked William up. William gave his daughter and husband an amused look, as Jamie kicked her legs randomly from Grant arms, with a few happy babbles. She was still too young to comprehend dancing, but she knew that her father was moving, and she wanted to move too. Grant turned off the music after a second, before looking at Jamie,

“Next important order of business… Say papa, Jamie. Papa?” He tried, Jamie staring at him. 

William butted in, “No, say dadddddy,” He countered. 

“Papa.”

“Daddy.”

“Papa.”

“Daddy.” 

 Jamie blinked, sticking her fist in her mouth, before speaking,

“AlalalalalalaLA,” She argued, both William and Grant laughing. They were all silent for a moment, after that, and Wiliam sighed, breaking it,

“Went down to Carmenville with Julian and Rose, the other day, to try and help their activists. Their leader’s in the hospital, you know. She was severely injured by an officer at their last protest. The group’s struggling,” William reported, sitting down at the kitchen bar, and rubbing a hand over his face. Grant bit his lip, setting Jamie back down in her highchair.

“Ah. I’ll take some food down to her wife later. I doubt she’s left her side,” He offered, William nodding, and sighing once more,

“Yep. The officer’s ‘temporarily suspended.’ He almost freaking KILLED the women, and he’s only suspended,” He muttered. Grant stared out the window, taking Jamie from her high chair, as the baby began to cry at the indignity of being left alone for 4 seconds,

“Speaking of troublesome officer’s, look,” Grant pointed out the window, William doing so as well. Officer Jared White, out on patrol. William instinctively took a few steps backwards placing a hand on Jamie’s head, Grant holding Jamie closer to his chest. Jared White looked up towards the window, and for a moment, his eyes connected with the small family. He glared at them, before walking away. 

“Someday, we’re going to catch that git in action, and he’ll go to jail,” William swore, Grant snorting,

“Hah. If he hasn’t already gotten in trouble for breaking Alexander’s arm, and causing Christopher to go to the hospital for stitches, I doubt he ever will,” He replied. 

“It’s an unjust world,” William said,

“It’s an unjust world,” Grant agreed.

“And we’re going to fix it,” William said,

“And we’re going to fix it,” Grant repeated.

“Ba,” Jamie added.

________________________

“Streamers, streamers, streamers… Check!” Julian took his pencil, crossing “Streamers,” off of his list. He looked down at the list again. It looked like everything was under control, but it wouldn’t hurt to double-check.

Alexander’s Birthday:

Banner ✓

All presents ✓

Ingredients for dinner ✓

August to cook the dinner (We are not food-poisoning anyone tomorrow) ✓

His parents ✓ (On their way)

Distraction ✓ (Henry and I)

Balloons ✓

Alexander’s 27th birthday was coming up tomorrow, on November 10th. Julian was both excited, and nervous. He loved Alexander, and wanted the day to be perfect. His phone suddenly beeped from beside him, and Julian picked it up. Henry had lured Alexander out of the house with him to get pizza for dinner, leaving Julian to put together the last things they needed for the surprise party for tomorrow. They really had everything done already, and all that was left to do was to double-check everything. Julian looked down at his phone, reading the text he had just received. 

Jeanne and Paul, Alexander’s parents, were coming over tonight to surprise Alexander for his birthday. They were staying the entire week too. He had already set up his own bedroom for them, and he would sleep on the couch. He looked through the list one more time, something at the bottom catching his eyes,

Cake

Cake. Just cake. No check. How the hay had he forgotten the cake?! That was almost the most important part! Luckily, he knew exactly who to contact to get the cake. He pulled out his phone again.

Cake ✓

Julian let out a sigh of relief. There, everything would be perfect for Alexander, now. Julian made his way to the couch, after hiding the list, turning on a documentary about the American Revolution that he had gotten into a few months ago, and never finished. Then, there was a knock on the door. Julian stood up, stretching, before making his way over, and opening it. 

“Oh, Julian!” Jeanne pulled Julian into a crushing hug, Paul, who was besides her, patting Julian’s shoulder,

“Hello, son,” He greeted. Once Jeanne had let go of Julian, and Julian had closed the door, he led Alexander’s parents into the living room,

“I’ve missed you!” He exclaimed, hugging Jeanne again. Jeanne scanned him over from head-to-toe, giving him a teasing look,

“You’re even skinnier than the last time I saw you! One of these days, you’re going to completely waste away, boy,” She scolded, Julian just blushing, and turning towards Paul,

“You need any help with the bags?” He asked, Paul shaking his head,

“I’ve got em’, kiddo. Missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Julian said, as Paul left the apartment, to go collect his and Jeanne’s bags from the car. Jeanne sat next to Julian on the couch, placing her hands atop of his,

“So, are all the preparations ready for Alex’s party?” She enquired, Julian nodding,

“Yep, was just double-checking everything,” He reported, nodding towards the drawer where he’d hidden the list, “I’m having August bring a cake by tomorrow. Everything should be perfect.”

“Where are Alexander and Henry right now?” Jeanne asked, her eyes darting around the living room, taking in every detail, and most likely taking note of every small change the trio had made since she had last seen them three months ago.

“They’re getting dinner. They should be back soon. Alexander obviously doesn’t know you two are here, if he did, he’d definitely be cooking. Henry and I figured he could enjoy a small break from cooking tonight,” Julian explained. Jeanne laughed,

“You and Henry still can’t cook, hm?”

“Yep,” Julian confirmed, “Alexander gave up one us, because we’re, and I quote, hopeless cases,” Julian said. Jeanne chuckled,

“One time, when you and Henry were two, and you were both waiting for Alexander, who was 8 or 9, to get back from school, I was watching you. I decided to make cookies, and Henry demanded to help. So I had you and Henry be my ‘helpers.’ Really all you two did was dump the chocolate chips into the batter, but you both seemed satisfied with that. You were supposed to yell ‘surprise,’ when Alexander entered the house, and saw the cookies, but you decided that you didn’t want to and simply stared at him, and Henry couldn’t pronounce surprise yet, and instead yelled ‘PRISE!’ You two were the cutest little things,” Jeanne said, smiling fondly at the memory. Julian found himself blushing for the second time that hour. Paul walked back into the apartment, setting down the last of the bags on the floor, and closing the door. 

“So, Julian, how’s everything been?” Jeanne asked, Julian rolling his eyes,

“As if you don’t already know. You call us all like, twice a day,” He pointed out, Jeanne waving him off,

“I just want to stay connected with you boys,” She said, Julian thinking for a second,

“Things have been… Weird, I guess. The town isn’t very happy with us,” He admitted. Jeanne sighed,

“This is why I always told you three to stay in Lakestone. Pine Forest ain't’ gonna change, honey. You’re putting yourselves at risk,” She murmured. It was Julian’s turn to sigh,

“I know it probably won’t. But we have to try. Our entire lives are built here now. Besides, there are others who don’t have enough money to leave. We need to stay, and fight for them” He defended. Jeanne put a gentle hand on his shoulder,

“I know, Julian. I just don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to one of you,” She whispered. 

“Do you… Think about it, often?” Julian asked, Jeanne giving him a small smile,

“Everyday,” She replied. They were silent, for a moment, before Paul, who wasn’t one for emotional talk, broke the silence.

“I think I see Alex’s car,” He commented. Jeanne and Julian hurried to the window, Jeanne bouncing lightly on her toes, in a way that mirrored Henry in every way. Paul was correct. Julian could spot Alexander and Henry coming out of the car, Alexander carrying two boxes of pizza. A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Henry and Alexander walked in. Alexander froze, as he saw his parents, his eyes shifting over towards Henry, who gave him a smirk in response. Alexander then shoved the pizza boxes into Henry’s arms, running towards his parents.

“MUM! DAD!” He exclaimed, embracing them. 

“Oh, my baby boy,” Jeanne whispered, pulling away from her son, and placing her hands on his shoulders. Alexander blinked,

“So... Why exactly are you two here?” Alexander asked, Jeanne placing her hands on her hips,

“Boy, do you honestly think I’d miss my son’s birthday?” Jeanne enquired, Alexander running his his hands through his hair, blushing,

“Oh, right, that,” He replied, Henry suddenly barreling into him for a hug. This was rather normal Henry behaviour. Alexander thought for a second, before his eyes widened, “Oh, you two are here for dinner… We shouldn’t have gotten pizza, I can cook something!” Alexander, who was of the opinion that anything that he didn’t cook wasn’t proper food, exclaimed. 

“Pizza,” Julian said firmly, taking Alexander's hand for a second. Henry tapped Julian’s shoulder,

“Pst,” He whispered, pulling Julian into Julian’s bedroom. 

“...What?” Julian asked, Henry sitting on Julian’s bed, smoothing his hands over the red comforter,

“So, for the party tomorrow, try to wear something pretty. Not just a hoodie,” Henry said. Julian frowned. He wasn’t very good at dressing like what other people thought “pretty” was. Henry exited the room, and Julian began to think. Almost all of the clothes he owned were simple. Except… He peeked his head down under the bed, pulling out a white box. He placed it on the bed, opening it, and staring at the pink dress that it contained. He slipped it on over his current red hoodie and black sweatpants, looking at himself in the mirror he kept in the corner of his room (He always needed to see if his hair looked okay). He thought it looked nice. But he knew he didn’t have the guts to wear it in front of everyone. Just as he was about to take it off, the door opened. And his eyes suddenly met Alexander’s. They both stared at each other, for a second, before Alexander stepped into the room, slowly closing the door behind him, before calmly saying,

“Julian Philip-Charles Ellis, what on God’s green Earth on you wearing?” Julian sat down on the bed, going extremely white, and sucking in a breath. His arms trembled, and he was frozen to the spot. Alexander stepped forward, and Julian instinctively moved back, pulling his arms around his body. Alexander sat on the bed, frowning, and narrowing his eyes, scanning Julian over, before his eyes widened,

“Julian,” He whispered, placing a hand on Julian’s legs, having recognized the pure look of terror on his friend’s face, “It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe.” Julian forced his erratic breathing to slow, and he let himself melt into Alexander’s arms. Alexander knew.

Ariana dragged her son to Alexander’s house by the hand, ignoring his tiny gasps as he put his injured foot on the ground, and his increasingly pained cries. She had to get him to Alexander’s. She had to get him to safety. Alexander’s house was just next door, but Julian was in pain, and didn’t want to move. And he was a very stubborn six-year-old.

“Mama, it hurts,” Julian whispered. Ariana knelt down, placing her hands on her son’s cheeks,

“I know, I know my darling, but we need to keep walking. You’re going to see Alexander soon. He’s going to make you all-better, okay, baby?” She said, lifting him into her arms. Julian sniffled,

“Kay,” He whispered. Ariana felt her son’s pain. She had experienced her son’s pain before, in his place. Finally, they reached Alexander’s house, Julian still in Ariana’s arms. She knocked on the door, and within a few seconds, Alexander opened it, Henry, who had apparently already been dropped off, beside him.

“Hiiii!” Henry exclaimed, Ariana setting Julian down. Julian instantly burst into tears, running into Alexander’s arms, the twelve-year-old of which giving Ariana an alarmed look, as he saw the cuts and bruises on Julian’s face alone. He lifted Julian up, balancing the extremely small boy on his hip, before turning around,

“Mum!” He called, and Jeanne quickly entered the room, Ariana staring down at her own feet. Jeanne caught one sight of Julian, before narrowing her eyes in Ariana’s direction,

“What happened?!” She demanded. She knew. Ariana knew. But neither could say it. Both feared Philip.

“He… Fell down the stairs, and landed on the cat,” Ariana lied. Jeanne simply sighed, turning to her own son,

“Alexander, tell your father to watch Henry, and take Julian to the bathroom. Clean him up, I’ll come in after, see if he needs a doctor or not,” Alexander nodded, taking Julian and Henry away. Jeanne turned to Ariana. The only thing she said, before closing the door, was this,

“Tell Philip to watch his back.”

Alexander rubbed Julian’s back, the feeling reassuring to him, as he finally caught his breath,

“I’m sorry,” Julian whispered, Alexander frowning, and pushing one of Julian’s blonde curls behind his ear,

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” He said, “You didn’t do anything.” Julian frowned as well,

“B-But you were so surprised when you saw me like… This,” He motioned up and down across his body. 

“I’ve barely ever seen you in a dress before,” Alexander said, “I do have a question, however. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. But have you ever considered…” Alexander’s voice trailed off,

“That maybe I’m a girl? Yeah,” Julian confirmed, “I never really fit in with the other guys, and everyone always thought I was a girl anyways. Sometimes I thought that if whoever’s or whatever’s up there made me look like this, maybe they intended for me to be a girl. I dunno, though. I really don’t,” He murmured. Alexander slowly nodded. Light from the window trickled across their bodies, making their outline seem fuzzy, and golden, every particle of dust in the air visible. The sun would set soon, the sky, which was starting to become orange tinted, told. Alexander took Julian’s hand, lifting it up slightly, before pressing his lips to it,

“Julian, you are my dearest friend,” He whispered, “And I will support you no matter what. You don’t need to figure this all out right now. Gender is… A journey. It could take a while until you’re really sure. Or maybe just a few months. Whatever it is, I am right here beside you. Always,” Alexander swore,

“Always,” Julian repeated, embracing his elder brother, before raising an eyebrow, “When did you get so good at this anyways?” He asked. Alexander chuckled,

“I guided Henry through high school. That prepared me for every single emotion that could ever appear,” Alexander replied. Julian laughed. Henry had been a mess in high school. But towards the end, he had truly found himself. And that was worth all of the tears, and yelling. And, Henry had started going out with Esperanza, a level-headed counter to his spontaneous personality. They were perfect for each other. Alexander and Julian walked out of the room, as they knew the others were probably wondering what was taking them so long. And the reason Alexander had come into the bedroom in the first place was to call Julian to dinner. When Henry saw Julian in the dress, he cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Jeanne just smiled,

“You look lovely, darling,” She said, Julian smiling back. Paul examined him for a moment, before declaring,

“Well, we have another official weirdo here.” He defensively put his hands up after the look Jeanne shot him, “That’s a compliment, kiddo. We’re all weirdos here, ain’t’ we? Much more fun than fitting in.” Julian grinned,

“Yeah. Fitting in is for losers,” He agreed, as Alexander put pizza slices onto plates, along with a salad that he had quickly made because, “You can’t eat pizza without a salad,” apparently. 

“So,” Henry said, as they all began to eat, “My article, the one I was working on about the town’s flaws? It got rejected,” He reported. Julian narrowed his eyes,

“Of course it did. They only want articles that praise this place. If people knew what it was really like, they wouldn’t ever come,” He growled. Henry snorted,

“Oh, no, people would come. Conservatives would flock here by the hundreds,” Julian groaned,

“Great, just what we need… More bigots.” Jeanne and Paul looked alarmed to see their boys talking casually about such a matter, as if they were used to it. They were. 

“Just stay safe, boys,” Jeanne pleaded, “Stay safe.”

________________________

Ella made her way up to August’s apartment. She simply needed to ask him a slight favor, as she needed a few of Matthew’s shirts to be sewn together, to create a new shirt, that would fit the growing boy. Ella was horrible at sewing, but August was a master. Ella knocked on the door, placing her hands on her hips, and waiting for August to answer. He didn’t. Ella frowned, knocking again, this time louder. Still no response. Maybe he was just at the store, or something. Ella took the key to the apartment out of her pocket, unlocking the door, and opening it, closing it behind her, and firmly locking it again. August’s apartment was the sort of one where you always wanted to keep your door locked. So was Ella’s. 

“August?” Ella called. Again, no response. He wasn’t in the living room. She made her way into the kitchen. Ah, there he was, “August, didn’t you hear me?” Ella asked. August simply gave her a laugh, and Ella took in his appearance. There were shadows under his eyes, which were bloodshot. His hair was a mess. And he smelled like… Ella froze,

“You’ve been drinking,” She whispered, her hand instinctively going towards the knife she always carried around, tied to her waist. She had already used it three times the last month on various drunk men. August rolled his eyes slowly,

“Yeah… So…” He muttered, his words slurring together. 

“You said you wouldn’t anymore!” Ella exclaimed, her voice’s pitch growing higher, “Why are you even -” Ella froze, “Mike.” She whispered. August sighed,

“Don’t tell anyone, please,” He begged, gripping onto her shirt. Ella stepped backwards. And he still clung on. Her hand reached for the knife, and August thankfully was sensible enough to let go. 

“Why shouldn’t I?” Ella challenged. August, who was now kneeling on the ground, gave her a pathetic look,

“Please… I’ll fix it…. I… I… I… I will,” He slurred, leaning his head against the cabinet. Ella took a few shaky breaths,

“You said you would stop, August. You stopped, and I stopped, and we got out of that town together,” She whispered. He had broken her trust. August gave her a dark chuckle,

“Like here’s any better?!” He asked, laughing hysterically, “Yeah, here you won’t get killed for bein’ gay, just MORTALLY WOUNDED SO MUCH BETTER!” He yelled. Ella shook her head,

“I won’t tell, August. But you need to fix this. FIX IT,” She yelled. August gave her a desperate look, as she walked towards the door, and the only thing she said before leaving was this,

“You disgust me.”