I'm not going to say what this story is about at the start. You can figure it out for yourself while reading. Enjoy!

Danny Mainwaring walked down the streets and stopped in front of a shop window, staring at his reflection. Oh how he hated the person in the reflection.

He glanced around and saw a group of young women walking past. He noted down all the things that they had that he didn't. High pitched voices, long hair, he had to keep his hair short because of stupid ward rules, the ability to wear dresses and skirts, and, some people might call him weird for wanting this, the chest of a female.

He glanced down at his own chest and once again thought about how much easier it would be if he was a girl. He would finally be able to join in with the girls' conversations at the ward without him being seen as weird and a "freak," as some had called him. He could talk to Jenny fine, she was nice and accepting to everyone, but he didn't know how to tell her he wanted to be a girl. He had tried telling her that he wanted to be like her, but Jenny just thought he meant he wanted to be like her personality wise, and hugged him saying thank you.

So Danny had eventually given up on trying to tell her what he wanted through code.

He walked back down the street back into the ward, the ward where he would be bullied by the girls for wanting to talk to them, and rejected by most of the boys for liking more feminine things.

The only people that accepted him was George, someone who was also bullied for being quiet and slightly different from the other boys, Jenny of course, who loved everyone, Horace, who even though he would sometimes be mean and sometimes even cruel to other ward mates, would also be nice towards Danny all the time, and Will, another one of the really nice, really accepting ward mates. Also the kid that would normally be the main target for Horace's cruelty.

He walked into the building where all the ward kids beds were and walked into the room he shared with George, Horace and above all, Will. The fact that they shared a room, is what brought them together as a friend group, apart from Will and Horace, and then Jenny ended up joining them with her open and friendly nature.

At the moment, the only other person in the room was Will. Good, Danny thought. Will was sitting cross legged on his bed, reading through something they had been given for homework. He had always secretly liked Will, and apparently it showed sometimes, causing Danny to be bullied even further. Will was oblivious to it all though.

Will walked up now as Danny walked in, 'Hey Dan,' he said. Danny inwardly winced as Will said that dreaded name but put on a fake smile nonetheless.

'Hi Will.'

Will could tell there was something wrong. He had noticed that something was wrong for a long time now actually. Something had always been there, but now as they started hitting teenage years, started showing a lot more and a lot stronger. 'What's wrong?' he asked.

'Nothing,' Danny replied quickly, a bit too quickly. Will didn't buy it for a second.

'Well that's a lie if I've ever heard one,' he said wryly, 'Come on, I know you Dan, I can tell when something is bothering you. You know you can tell me anything right? I won't judge you.'

Danny sighed. 'I know, it's just, this is different,' he started. 'I don't know if this is something I can talk to you about or you'll understand. Or anyone for that matter.'

Will patted the space next to him for Danny to sit down. 'Try me,' he said.

Danny sighed again but sat down anyway. After gathering his thoughts, he started talking. 'Have you ever felt like you're not yourself? Like your trapped in you're body and can't get out. Like you want to be someone else, or look like someone else. Maybe even a different gender?'

Will considered this for a second. 'Not really,' he answered. 'What do you mean different gender? What are you trying to tell me Dan?'

Danny took a deep breath before talking. 'I'm saying, I don't want to be a boy anymore. I want to be a girl. And I don't just mean I want to wear dresses and like the things girls are "supposed" to like. I mean I generally want to be a girl. I don't feel like a boy. I feel more at home and more like myself when I think of myself as a girl, not a boy. Do you understand?'

'I don't understand what you mean personally,' Will said carefully, 'But I understand what your trying to tell me, and what you mean. Is this what you're afraid to talk about? That you're not happy?' Danny nodded. 'You should have said something sooner!' Will exclaimed. 'I want to try and help you.'

'It's been hard since all the girls make fun of me for wanting to hang out with them and be like them, except Jenny of course. I didn't feel like you would care. That you would think I was some sort of freak.'

'Don't you dare say that,' Will said forcefully. "You are NOT a freak. Never was, never will be. I don't care if you want to be a girl. You're still the same person, and we're still friends.'

Danny wiped some tears away from his eyes that he didn't know were there until just then. 'Thanks Will. That means a lot.'

'So do you want me to call you a she and her. And actually refer to you as a girl?' Will asked, making sure he got it right.

Danny nodded. 'Yes please.'

'Then she and her you will be,' Will said, in a theatrical type of way, making the girl sitting next to him laugh slightly. 'And do you want a name you want me to call you instead of Danny?'

'Yes actually,' she said, 'I've been thinking about it for a while and I think I really like the name Alyss. I've always thought it was a pretty name, and it's not similar to Danny, which I like.'

Will nodded his head several times. 'That's a good name. It suits you. Are you going to tell anyone else about this?' He asked.

'Probably only our friends at the moment. So George, Horace and Jenny.'

'And if they don't accept or love you the same way then you can just forget about them. Are you going to tell them soon?'

'As soon as I can,' she said, 'Now that I've told you, it feels good to have it off my chest. I should feel even better and confident when I tell a few more of our friends.'

Will nodded again, silently agreeing with her. Just then the door opened and the three friends they had just been discussing walked in, laughing and joking with each other.

'Hi you two,' Jenny said smiling at them, 'We were wondering where you were. We were going to ask if you wanted to come down to the gardens with us.'

Will nodded and stood up, but the person next to him stopped them all for a second.

'First of all before we go, I would like to introduce you to someone.'

'Who would that be?' George asked, in his normal formal manner. Will hid a smile, knowing what was going to be said.

'Your new and improved friend, Alyss Mainwaring.'

We support Trans Alyss. So some of y'all may know that there is a headcanon that Alyss is trans. There's also one that Halt is trans, and Will is trans and basically every character in the entire series is trans. But let's not get into that right now.

This was honestly fun to write because I got to talk about them queers! Yeah! And also, with the coming out part, I could take from my own experiences of coming out to my parents as non binary. It was a mess. I picked the completely wrong time to do it. But I did get more confident afterwards so that's why I mentioned that in this.

I was originally going to have Jenny and Will help Alyss with looks that made her feel more comfortable, like wearing dresses, and standing up against the transphobic bitches also known as the ward people. (But not Arald and Sandra, obviously, and not all of the leaders and teachers.) But I got lazy and ended up not writing that so you can leave that to your own imagination.

Anyway, support trans rights people. Because trans people are people too. People.

Please feedback.

-That One Enby Ranger-

Song litsening to when published: Don't Try So Hard by Queen