At the last possible moment… I got this chapter out in time for pride month! I bet you never thought this character was coming back lol. Or that this character would be redeemed…

While Luca sorted out his feelings with some help from Uncle Khary, Reese decided to sort out a different sort of problem- Charlotte.

She felt bad for the way things had ended with Charlotte, even worse when Charlotte had texted the basketball group chat to say she wouldn't be on the team next semester.

Reese had texted her separately to figure out why.

R: Are you moving?

C: No

R: Is this because of Addison?

C: No

R: Is this because of Luca? Bc he's sorry and he forgives you

C: It's not really about him

R: I'm sorry too, jsyk. I don't want you to feel like you have to quit the basketball team just bc there was bad blood between us

C: I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at any of you. I just can't be on the girls basketball team anymore

R: Why not?

C: Because

R: Because why

C: Because I don't feel like a girl anymore.

Reese hesitated only a moment before responding.

R: Cool

C: What. You're not mad at me?

Now Reese had to laugh out loud, grabbing her phone and leaving the bedroom.

"Mom, can I go visit a friend?"

"Yes, but be back by dinner! And be safe!"

"I'm always safe."

Then she texted her teammate.

R: I'm coming over. It sounds like you need someone to talk to

C: Wtf you don't know my address

R: Yes I do my mom picked you up for basketball practice that one time

C: Damn and you remembered that?

C: I guess you can come over

Reese was used to being slightly underestimated, used to people thinking she was the dumb twin (which wasn't a thing because they were both academic trainwrecks), but she had a good memory when things were important to her. And, until now, she hadn't thought that this random address was important to her. But everything serves a purpose eventually.

It wasn't long, by way of bicycle, before Reese arrived at the front door. She hesitated just a moment before knocking.

"So, what do you want to be called?"

"Shh! My parents will hear you. We can talk in the backyard. We'll pretend to shoot hoops or something."

"Or we could actually shoot hoops, while we talked. But don't your parents know?"

"All they know is that I don't want to be on the girls' basketball team. They don't know that I don't think of myself as a girl."

"How long have you felt that way? What name do you want to use? What are your pronouns?" With each question, Reese dribbled the basketball.

"One at a time, please?"

"Okay, let's start with name and pronouns."

"He/him, I think? And I like… Callum."

"Callum is nice. You could go by Cal, for short. I always wanted a nickname…" Reese passed Callum the ball, he caught it and made the shot.

"Cal's not bad. I just… I can't be Charlotte anymore."

"I get that. It's okay. There's nothing wrong with being trans. How long have you felt this way?"

"Oh… I don't know, for a long time, I think. My aunt is a transgender woman, and when she came out it was the first time that I realized you didn't have to be what people said you were. But my parents were so weird towards her, that I realized pretty quickly that I couldn't possibly be trans because I didn't want to deal with the backlash. I pushed that deep down inside and tried to be just girly enough to keep my parents happy. I think part of the reason I was so mean to Nova was that I resented them for having supportive family and friends."

"Well, you have supportive friends, Cal. I'm sorry about your family, though. I understand why you don't want to tell them."

"Yeah, but if I want to go on puberty blockers and stuff I'm going to have to tell them… It's okay, though. If they don't support me, I know my Aunt Olive will take me in. I've been talking to her about it."

Realization dawned on Reese, "Am I the second person you've told?"

"Yeah, well… I thought you'd be safe."

"I am safe. I won't tell anyone unless you wanted me to. And I could talk to Nova, and see if they had any suggestions on how to help you transition. Also…"

Reese room a deep breath, "I think I'm queer."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me at all. For Kiss, Marry, Kill you picked a teenage mutant ninja turtle."

Reese laughed.

"Yeah, well. I've been giving it a lot of thought and I think I'm ace. And maybe also a lesbian? I don't know. I know I'd never want to date a guy. Unless it was Han Solo or Donatello the ninja turtle. But I think about girls, sometimes…" Reese shrugged and hugged the basketball. It wasn't any less awkward talking about it with Cal than it was with Zayne, but Reese had been thinking about it a lot since then.

"I guess I'm gay, then. If I'm a guy. I really did like your brother, but I'm over that now. I'm over a lot of things. I'm finally starting to feel like myself."

"I think, if your parents truly love you, they'd accept that. And if not, you'll always have your aunt and your friends."

"I'm pretty sure you're my only friend, Reese."

"Oh."

"And… If I had to move in with my aunt, I'd be moving away from San Fransokyo. Which sucks, because trans health care is apparently great here."

"Hey, Callum, listen to me. If you moved away I promise we'd keep in touch. I don't make friends so easily so it really means a lot to me that you're giving me a second chance after all that happened."

"It means a lot to me that you're giving me a second chance."

"Well, you're not the person I thought you were. And I'd say that's a pretty good thing."

"Me too."

"Hey," Reese said after a moment, "I just realized something. You're like, officially my best guy friend."

Cal grinned, looking a little flustered, "Really?"

"Really. I mean, Scout and Zayne are fine, and obviously, Luca is my best best friend and Sara is my best girl friend, er, friend who is a girl, but you're like, my best guy friend who is my friend instead of Luca's friend. That's pretty cool."

Cal had to laugh at the in-depth explanation.

"It is pretty cool. Thank you, Reese, for being here for me. I thought you would be mad after what I said about Nova, I thought you would think I was a hypocrite, but you've been really supportive."

"Nova would understand if you talked to them. Luca would too."

"I don't know if I'm ready to talk to either of them, but I'll keep that in mind. I guess I'll see how things go with my parents."

"I'm glad you have a backup plan, but if you ever need anywhere to stay in San Fransokyo, my family is pretty good at taking in strays."

Callum laughed a little, a bit shakily.

"Thank you…"

"I'll text you my address, okay? And if you ever want to hang out, or go shopping for more masculine clothing, or go get a haircut or whatever, I've got your back. I bet Sara and Addison would too if you talked to them. But you don't have to come out to anyone before you're ready. Just know that you already have people in your corner, okay?"

"Okay. I'll probably take you up on that offer… Though I never took you for the type of person who enjoyed shopping."

Reese laughed, "Then I think we both misjudged each other."

Reese stayed a little longer, helping set Cal's mind at ease before heading back home, feeling pretty good about how things were going. Mostly, it felt good to have another friend. And Cal felt the exact same.