I DO NOT OWN STARGIRL. SHOUTOUT TO ANIMALCRUNCH12 FOR ALL IF THEIR SUPPORT WITH THIS STORY.

Downtown Blue Valley, later that day.

True to her word, once school let out for the day, Courtney took Zach to the shopping section of Blue Valley to get some masculine clothes.

"Trust me, Zach, you're going to look so freaking manly when I get done with you!" Courtney insisted as they entered a store.

"I sure hope so," Zach replied nervously, following his new friend inside. After going through a parade of clothes that felt fit for a montage in a teen coming-of-age flick, Courtney had put together an outfit for him. Sitting before a mirror in the dressing room, Zach surveyed Courtney's choices. An ivory, slim-fit t-shirt, a navy zip-up hoodie, dark-washed jeans, and a pair of red sneakers. Very patriotic in her color scheme, Zach had to say.

"So... What do you think?" Courtney asked, her tone full of hopefulness and enthusiasm. Zach remained silent for a moment, glancing himself up and down in the mirror. These clothes...They felt right. They felt like him. Since moving to Blue Valley, Zach Bogumill can finally see who he is. It was a pretty incredible feeling. His shoulders relaxed as Zach shared the first genuine smile that Courtney has seen from him.

"It looks exactly like... me," Zach breathed, feeling lighter than usual. "Thank you."

Courtney squeezed his shoulder shoulders affectionately. "That's what I was hoping for!"


Whitmore Family Home.

After purchasing Zach's clothes, Courtney invited Zach back to her house. As the two teenagers went into the house and set their stuff down, Zach noticed a middle-aged blonde woman who looked like Courtney's spitting image sitting in their living room.

"I'm home, mom!" Courtney shouted. Her mother stood up from their couch, arms already open to embrace her daughter. Zach repressed the forlorn feeling in him, saddened by the fact he'll never get to hug his mom again.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" Mrs. Whitmore asked, giving Courtney a good squeeze.

"It was good." As they parted, Ms. Whitmore turned to Zach, greeting him with a friendly smile.

"Who's your new friend?"

"This is Zach Bogumill." Courtney turned to Zach. "Zach, this is my mom, Barbara."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Whitmore."

"It's nice to meet you too, Zach." She paused, glancing over Zach's long, fiery hair. "For a boy, you have sure do have some girly hair," Barbara laughed lightly. There was no malice to her words, just an unfortunate choice of them. The comment stung, and Zach had to ignore the wave of indignation wanting to wash over him, but Courtney had reached for Zach's hand, giving him a supportive squeeze.

"Trust me, we're gonna fix that," she said eagerly. Courtney then led him upstairs to her bedroom. Sneaking glance backward, Zach could see the curious glint in Mrs. Whitmore's eyes. He could tell Barbara knew something was up, but if she suspected the actual truth, she didn't give him any real indication of it.

Once in the safety of Courtney's room, she sat Zach down in front of her vanity mirror, pulling out a pair of scissors from its drawers. Zach flared his eyes at the sight of the shears in her hands.

"You have cut hair before, right?" he asked, swallowing nervously. Courtney slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Trust me, Zach. I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, Miss Whitmore," Zach teased, nodding with the go-ahead, allowing her to get work on cutting off his long, red curls. As she chopped off inches from his head, Zach had to admit he kind of liked the feeling of her hands running through his hair.

"So, Zach, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you known you were trans?" Courtney inquired, careful with her tone.

Zach could feel the ends of his freshly cut hair tickling his skin, meeting Courtney's kind gaze through the mirror. "I think a part of me had always known," he confessed softly. "... but I didn't come out until a few weeks ago to my parents." Courtney frowned gravely, her next question clear to see, but she bit back her tongue to be respectful.

"You can ask," Zach whispered with permission. He wanted her to know. He trusted her to know. Courtney's mouth twitched upward, the sadness felt for him still present in her gaze.

"What happened to them?" Zach grew morose at the thought of the tragedy that had befallen him.

"They died in a car accident," he revealed quietly. "They were hit by a semi-truck, and the whole car just burst right into flames. My mom... she was burnt so bad that they could only ID her by her teeth. They didn't even find my dad. The fire," Zach swallowed the rock in his throat, blinking through wetness in his eyes, "it turned him into pure ash." Courtney dropped her scissors, wrapping Zach in a tight hug.

"I'm so, so sorry," she murmured into his head, and Zach found the nerve to hold her too.


Bogumill Family Home.

Around four in the afternoon, Zach finally went home. His hair short and straight, almost a buzzcut, no longer long and flowing. Unfortunately, as Zach entered the house, he was seen immediately by his family.

"What in the Hell is this?" Uncle Bob asked angrily.

"I got a haircut and a change of clothes," Zach shrugged, full of snark. "It's no big deal."

"You don't talk back to your uncle, you little piece of shit!" Aunt Tonya exclaimed furiously. Bob inspected him with a fire in his eyes perfectly fit for a witch hunt.

"Boy clothes... boy haircut... Who told you to meddle with such foolishness, little girl?" Bob yelled. "Who told you?"

"I ain't telling you shit!" Zach exclaimed. The boy had seen it coming from the corner of his eyes but was too slow to react as Tonya struck him across the face. His cheek burned, his eyes widening when seeing Bob had grabbed his belt. Zach wasn't going to submit. He could handle a beating rather than betray Courtney.

"I'll teach you to disrespect me again, you fucker!" Mr. Bogumill roared, restraining Zach and lashing his ass with his belt's leather skin and silver buckle. Zach fought back the tears stinging his eyes, drowning out the vicious words Bob had to say to him with each painful blow. All while Jacob and Mrs. Bogumill just observed Zach receive strike after strike with any lack of emotion to spare.

HOW WILL ZACH SURVIVE? LET'S SEE SOME REVIEWS PEOPLE, COME ON!