"Are you sure about me wearing this?" Angel asked nervously as they reached the porch of Collins' house. She had been worried about meeting Collins' parents in drag, though he had persuaded her to. She was wearing her usual bright colours and high heels, but her fingers kept smoothing down the fabric and fiddling with her wig showing how agitated she was.

"I'm sure. I want my parents to meet the real Angel Dumott Schunard." Collins assured her. He loved Angel for who she was and didn't want to introduce his parents to some watered down version of her. "Why are you so worried about them anyway? They're just my parents."

"Because they can take you away from me." She answered in a small voice.

Collins took her face in both his hands and looking her straight in the eye said forcefully "Nobody's ever going to take you away from me. I mean it Angel. You're my life and nothing's ever going to come between us: I love you." He then moved his lips to hers in a tender kiss which conveyed as much of his love as his words. As they broke apart Angel whispered back "I love you too." Collins opened the door while she quickly wiped her eyes which were now slightly damp.

"We're home." He called.

Tamara came through the kitchen door and seeing Angel's wild outfit muttered a quiet "oh dear God" which was loud enough for the two to hear.

"Thank you for having me over Mrs Collins" Angel responded politely handing her a bunch of flowers.

"Oh…thank you" Tamara replied slightly off balance. She hadn't been expecting such a nice act from a drag queen. It made her slightly reconsider her thoughts.

"So you must be Angel" William said joining the others in the sitting room.

"It's nice to meet you Mr Collins" Angel said as they shook hands.

"Please call me William" he replied.

"Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you show your guest to the dining room Thomas?" Tamara said as she went back into the kitchen.

As they walked through holding hands Angel couldn't suppress a smile.

"What is it?" Collins asked amused.

"I can't get used to you being called 'Thomas'". She giggled. "Maybe I should start calling you that."

"Don't you dare" he threatened dropping her hand. She tried to take it back, so he held both his hands above his head making her reach up to try and grab them back.

"Careful of the food" William warned as he carried a serving dish in. Collins and Angel took their seats opposite each other with Collins' parents sitting at each head of the table. During dinner the parents made small talk aimed at finding out more about Angel. They discovered which subjects Angel liked best at school, what she wanted to do when she was older and what her hobbies were. Though the questions were asked politely she couldn't help but feel like she was at an interview where they wanted her to fail. When she mentioned that she hoped to be a drummer she was sure she saw a glimmer of disappointment in Tamara's eyes. Obviously she couldn't compare to the academic brilliance of their son.

"Angel's an amazing drummer." Collins added also noticing this. "She's very talented." Angel gave him a grateful smile.

Once they got onto dessert Tamara finally addressed the subject that they had been skirting around all evening.

"I hope you don't mind me asking" she started in a tone which suggested she'd ask either way "but I was wondering why you dress as a girl."

"These are the clothes I feel most comfortable in" She replied steadily.

"It seems rather unusual for a boy." Tamara remarked. Collins rubbed his foot against Angel's wanting to show her his support.

"I only look like a boy. Inside I'm a girl."

"You make a very good girl." William told her kindly making her smile.

"Thank you" she said gratefully.

"What do your parents think of it?" Tamara continued. Angel looked down at her plate.

"They don't know." Collins answered for her.

"Why ever not?" Tamara asked surprised.

"You haven't met my father." Angel mumbled still not looking up.

"I take it he wouldn't be happy" William guessed gently.

"Not exactly." She almost whispered. It wasn't that she didn't want Collins' parents to know- in fact it felt like a relief each time a new person found out and shared her burden with her. The problem was getting her voice to produce the words to tell them. It made it so much worse having to put her experiences into words. She looked over to Collins for help. The bond between them was so strong that he knew what she was feeling. He reached over the table to take her hand in his.

"He used to beat Angel when she was younger for not being masculine enough. He wasn't the only one either. It's why she had to change schools." He explained.

"I'm so sorry" Tamara said from the heart.

"Do you mind if I take a moment?" Angel muttered and without waiting for a reply went outside.

"I'm so sorry" his mother repeated seeming too shocked to say anything else. "I had no idea."

"No you didn't" Collins agreed. "You had no idea what it can be like for someone born into the wrong gender, but you judged her just like the rest of them." Tamara blushed.

"I didn't think about it." she stammered. "I thought it was just some weird thing he liked to do, but he's so normal. He's just like a girl."

"He is a girl." her husband pointed out. "And a good one too. You've done well there son." William was quite sparing with his compliments so Collins knew that this was good praise for his girlfriend.

"Thomas, I hope you accept my apologies for my behaviour earlier." His mother's words shocked him. She hated to admit she was wrong and as he saw her blush deepen he knew what an effort it was for her.

"Told you so." He responded repeating his mother's words from their first conversation about Angel. They both smiled awkwardly.

"She's seems a lovely girl Thomas, I hope you're happy together."

"You only need to look at them to see that they are" her husband pointed out.

Collins then went looking for Angel and found her outside in the front garden. Moving behind her he wrapped his arms around her and she turned to press her face against his chest. Her face was damp against his shirt and he saw that she had been crying, so he gently kissed the tears away.

"You okay honey?" He asked. Usually she'd be the one to say it to him, but right now he wanted to comfort her.

"Sometimes it's hard to think about things too much" she replied her voice slightly muffled by his chest. "I try to forget the past and the future, but I can't keep it up."

Gently Collins stroked her back and kissed the top of her head through her wig. "I'll always be there and I'll cover you." He murmured.

"Whenever, whatever" She replied "I'll be there and I'll cover you too." They stayed in each other's arms for a while longer before she whispered "we should head back, I feel bad for making a scene."

"You didn't" he assured her. "And my parents have already said how much they like you."

The rest of the evening went well with Tamara being as kind as possible to make up for her earlier views. Meeting Angel had been a real wake up call for her, realising that she was born that way and was an altogether lovely girl. Earlier she had been thinking about the shame of her neighbours finding out who her son was dating, but now she felt proud. She doubted any of their sons would find a girl as wonderful as Angel. She had even offered to help with the washing up saying "I do not take no".

As Angel left, Tamara gave her a warm hug saying "If ever things get tough I want you to know that William and myself will be there for you" Angel gave a heartfelt "thank you" moved by these words. She had a feeling she needed all the support she could get.

Please review this chapter! Next will be the class trip.