"This dates way back, to before I started my transition. And why my parents got a divorce." I said, "oh. I get if you don't wanna talk about it then." Chloe said, "well I did say you could ask questions about 'it' when I told you. That's because I feel comfortable around you, I feel like I don't have to pretend to be this person I've made myself out to be at school, I mean you saw the way your sister was acting." I said, "when'd you know?" Chloe asked, "um, well after my mom passed, I took some time to discover myself, question who I was or who I thought I was, my childhood best friend played a big role in, this." I motioned towards my body, "he was the first person I told, and he encouraged a name change." I said, "what was it before if you don't mind me asking." Chloe asked, "Rebeca, but I went with Beca. My mom wanted my name to just be, Beca, hence why my name now starts with a 'B' and not 'R', my dad said it should be, Rebeca, Beca for short. I never like my full name anyways. I kept the same middle name, it was a family name, and obviously kept the same last name." I said, "that's sweet, keeping something from your mom. What else happened before you came here?" Chloe asked. I told her about everything, from Sheila to Luke's death.
"...and then I moved to Georgia, met a crazy redhead, an even crazier blond, and a crazy hot brunette." I ended, "ha! So you admit it, you do like Stacie." Chloe said, "yeah, I do, and every day the feelings grow, with every word she says, every look that lingers, and every touch she makes on my body." I sighed dreamily, "ok loverboy, calm down before you have to take a cold shower. But just so you know, Stacie def likes you too, and you should ask her out, probably to homecoming, it's next month." Chloe said, "how do you know?" I asked, "because, I'm on the student council, that's why I had to be at school so early this morning, we were planning." Chloe said, "oh." I nodded, I looked at my phone and saw that it was nearing 11 pm. "Well I better get home, I got places to be tomorrow." I said, "what where? I know we don't have plans." Chloe looked shocked, "you, Stacie, and Aubrey aren't my only friends ya know." I said as I exited the room, Chloe close behind, "well who else is there?" Chloe scoffed, "buh bye Chlo, good night." I said leaving the house, walking down the driveway, "BUT WHO IS IT?" Chloe shouted, only to be ignored.
When I got up to my room I faceplanted on my bed, I was already in sweats, no point in changing. I plugged my phone up and instantly fell asleep.
I woke up a little after ten, and went through my socials, I had gained quite a few followers over the weeks, so I posted something at least once a day to keep them intrigued. I looked at the time and seen it was about 11 and I had to meet Ryder at 12, so I got up, showered, and put on some clothes. I wore a yellow almost goldish t-shirt, some ripped black skinny jeans, and my university gold 12's, paired with my iconic leather jacket. I went downstairs where my dad was sitting at the island drinking some coffee, "morning dad." I said, "morning kiddo, where you headed?" he asked, "um meeting up with some friends, can I borrow the jeep?" I asked, "yeah, but be back by five, you have your doctor's appointment." my dad reminded me, "right, thanks, see you soon." I said, grabbing the keys, "five!" my dad yelled one last time.
I pulled out of the driveway and headed to Benny's, I don't really know what Ryder wants to talk about, but he said it was important, and after I meet up with him, me Kyle and Jordy are gonna hang out, so I was pretty busy today. I was pulling into the parking lot of Benny's when I saw Ryder's car, I got out and went in, seeing him at a table in the back, I walked over to him and said hey, "thought you'd never show." Ryder chuckled, before offering me a seat, "so, what did you want to talk about." I asked, "well you hate Tom, I hate Tom, and so many other kids on the team do too, but as long as he's on the team, he's gonna have power, and before you came along, no one ever dared to mess with him or Chicago. Now though, now that you're here, you can take him and his goons down." Ryder told me, "why haven't you done it already, I thought you were the one no one wanted to mess with." I asked, "exactly! No one wants to mess with me, which means no one's gonna trust me enough to go through with the plan. Except for you." he said, "so what makes you think I'd trust you if a whole school of people won't." I questioned, "because, as I said, we have a common enemy, Tom Kennedy." I thought about what Ryder had said for a moment.
We could overthrow Tom and rule the school, it's what I wanted...right, to be the kid that everyone worshipped. "If I do this, I'm not gonna harm anybody that doesn't deserve it, I don't want people to fear me like they do Tom, I wanna be the opposite of him, everything he did wrong, I wanna do right." I said, "so does that mean you're in?" Ryder asked, "as long as my friends don't get involved...let's take this scum down." I shook Ryder's hand. "So what's the plan?" I asked, "we'll take about the plan later, what works well for you?" Ryder asked, "I'm hanging with some other people after this, so how about four?" I suggested, "great." me and Ryder settled it and exchanged numbers before I made a leave.
I got into my car and texted the other group chat.
Beck(1:23 pm): where'd you guys wanna meet up at again
Kyle(1:25): my car is in the shop sorry
Jordy(1:26): and he was my ride guess I'm out too sorry dude
Beck(1:28): I could pick you up I'm driving my dad's jeep today
Jordy(1:28): sweet I'm back in
Kyle(1:30): sure guess I'm in again too
They sent me their address and I headed their way, Jordy was closer so I got him first, and then we pulled up to Kyle's place, "dude, his house is huge!" I said shocked at the size, it was like two of my houses put together and our place was fairly big, "I know, Kyle's parents are loaded, but he keeps it on the DL, says he wants a girl that wants him for him and not his wallet." Jordy said, "I get it. I mean I'm not on his level, but I got quite a few bucks in my account, and I'd want a girl that was in it for me not my cash." I said, "for sure. I mean Kami doesn't ask me for money or for gifts, she just takes what I give her, but to be fair I do give her a lot." Jordy said and I chuckled, I think he and Kameron make a good couple. Kyle came out of his house and hopped in the backseat, "so, where to first?" I asked, after a while of debates we settled on getting something to eat, then go to the mall and look around.
We chose Chick-fil-A because there was one in the mall and that would limit the trips we had to make. After we ate we went into a few stores to look around, and somewhere along the way made up a game, called the catch-a-number game, where we seen how many girls' numbers we could get, the only thing was, we couldn't choose the girl, one of the others had to, so like Kyle had to choose for me and vice versa, you get it. So now it was my turn, and Jordy told me to try to get one from a girl in a lingerie store, we had seen her from the window but only half of her face, "bet, I'm sure I could get it, I've already gotten three numbers, what's one more." I walked into the store and over to the woman.
"Hey." I tapped her shoulder, "do you think I could get your number?" when she turned around my jaw dropped, it was Quinn, "oh hey Beck, I haven't seen you since Friday." she ran her hand up and down my arm, "that's to be expected, we go to the same school but don't hang out with the same people." I stiffened, Quinn laughed and pulled out her phone, "here silly." she gave me her phone and I put my number in it, she then texted me to be sure it wasn't a fake number, "run along before I change my mind." Quinn said, kissing the corner of my mouth. I walked out of the store and over to my friends, too stunned to speak, they high-fived me and chattered away, "you good dude?" Kyle asked when he noticed I was still stunned, "y-yeah! I don't know what she just did to me, but I kinda liked it." I blinked, and it was true, whatever happened from the point where I gave her my number and she kissed me, my body went crazy. "Oh no, he's been infected by the Quinn effect," Jordy said, as we started walking again.
"The what effect?" I asked, "the Quinn effect!" both said at the same time, "it's when Quinn does the cutesiest little girly things and boys can't help but fall for her, she gets real close-but then! She pulls away, leaving her victim in a haze all fuzzy-brained, and the only thing they can think is. Quinn and when can we do it." Kyle said, as Jordy nodded, "well not me, I'm not like other guys." I said confidently, "well that's stage one. Denial, you're denying your feelings for her. Stage two. Lust, you're gonna be all 'Quinn this and Quinn that', and no matter how dumb she gets you're only gonna think she's the most perfect person. Stage three. Attention, you're gonna try and get her attention, even though you already have it, but you won't realize. And finally, stage four. Chess, you'll be playing chess, thinking of strategies to get her to be all yours, but she's playing checkers, and just stole your last piece." Jordy said.
"So what you're saying is, Quinn is playing a whole different game, and it's all a trap?" I asked and they nodded, "if your other friends are good friends, then they probably already told you that Quinn rips out the hearts of young unexpecting men." Kyle said, "yep, they did. And here I am, falling for the she-devil herself. Did she do it to you two?" I asked, "yeah, we weren't strong enough to resist her, but with our help, you'll be able to resist." Kyle said, "sweet. Now back to our little game. I won, I got four, Kyle got two and Jordy never got one." I said, "I wasn't even playing bro, I have a girlfriend, and what would she say if I had five girls' numbers." Jordy said, "yeah yeah, you told us, even when that hot girl from the shoe store couldn't keep her eyes off you." I said, "I'm pretty sure she goes to our school." Kyle said, "if so I have to get her number." I smirked.
We left the mall at about 3:30, so that gave me time to get the two home, and over to Ryder's place, we agreed to meet up there because no one would be listening. I dropped of Jordy and Kyle and got to Ryder's right at about four. I got out of my car and went up to the door, ringing the bell, "sup dude." Ryder said, as he opened the door, "sup." I said, "mi casa es su casa. Make yourself feel at home." Ryder said, walking towards the living room, "move your ass Isaiah, go play with your friends or something." Ryder said to a younger boy sitting on the couch, "que te jodan a ti y a tu pequeña perra." he muttered, "saca tu trasero de mi cara antes de que te dé una bofetada." Ryder said pointing towards the stairs, the young boy went upstairs and Ryder sat in a chair adjacent to the couch I was sitting on. "Sorry about that, I have to babysit for the night, my parents are on date night." he rolled his eyes, "it's cool, take your time," I said. I wasn't fluent in Spanish, but I knew enough to translate some of that, and basically, the little boy just called me a bitch and Ryder threatened to slap him, but I'm not gonna question it, it's not my place.
"Alright, so here's my plan." Ryder started, "throw it at me." I said, preparing myself for whatever he had, "well since people trust you more, you could get a whole bunch of people that also hate Tom to band together and make some sort of gang, bigger than Tom and his four little bitches who follow him around everywhere. But those four dudes will stop at nothing to be popular, so next step, you become a starter. Trust me, they won't be caught dead standing next to a bench warmer, they're that fake. They'll have no choice but to join you, and now Tom has no one so he is close to being no one, but the girls are still gonna want him, so we have to take away what all high school girls want from a high schoolboy. His popularity, and without that, he is just another guy that walks the halls of Barden high." Ryder finished, "and how do we take his popularity?" I asked, "well what else would we do. We get him kicked off the team." Ryder said, "this is like some mean girls type shit. Take his goons, Take the girls, take the popularity. What next, we push him in front of a bus?" I chuckled, "no, but I can make that happen." Ryder said, "uh, I was joking." I said, "oh well if you change your mind I know a guy. Anyways, how's the plan sound?" Ryder asked, "good, first we get people who will stand behind me. How do we do that?" I asked.
"Well a few guys on the team will for sure stand with you, and I know a few kids around school who've had enough of Tom. We'll start first things Monday." Ryder told me, "got it." I looked at my watch and saw it was close to five when I remembered my appointment, "shit, I have to go I'm late. Talk later?" I asked, "sure." Ryder said, and I made my way towards the door and into my jeep.
Right as I pulled into the driveway of my house it was turning 5:06, I got out of the car and rushed inside, "you're late." my dad said, as he crossed his arms, getting up from the couch, "I know, and I'm sorry...there was bad traffic from where I was." I don't know why I lied, my dad's a reasonable guy, "mhm, well we better get going, the appointment is at 5:30, and we don't wanna be even later." my dad said, walking out of the house.
We were going to the doctors to see if I could get approved for top surgery, exciting right. But the process was rigorous, first, you had to prove that you had gender and body dysphoria which meant lots of consults with a therapist, then had to get consent forms from various doctors that had to be signed by your parents -if you weren't in charge of your medical stuff- and signed by other doctors. It could all take up to six to eight weeks maybe more. Then you had to get a couple more consults and after that schedule the surgery. It was currently the first week of September, and it was looking like the surgery could happen in late December or early January. And that's why it's important for me to be on time because scheduling consults could take a while.
We luckily made it to the consult with barely any time to spare, and it all went great, well as great as it could. The whole time I could tell my dad was still pissed that I was late, so when we finally got back in the car I asked him, "are you mad that I was late?" he looked over at me and shook his head, "no, but I am disappointed, I thought I could trust you, trust that you'd be responsible. I've been giving you lots of leeway lately, with your curfew with your chores and all, do you know why?" my dad asked, as he started to drive. "No, not really." I said, "because, you're growing up, becoming a man, physically, mentally, and emotionally. And I don't want to coddle you, I've never been a coddler and you know that, but now it's different, and I still love you that will never change I'll always treat you the same because you're the same kid I've always been the father of no matter the gender. So when I let you go off and grow up, I expect you to do what you're supposed to do, on top of what you want to do. You have great grades and are really talented, but now you have to be responsible, you're a teenager Beck." my dad said. I nodded as I looked out the window, my dad was disappointed in me, it's not like this was the first time but this felt different, heavier, like with as this change I'm forgetting that some things need to remain the same, like my responsibilities and duties around the house.
When we got home I went to my room and decided to work on some extra credit work for school, because like my dad said, my grades were good and I didn't want them going under. Some time had passed and I decided to text my friends to see what they were up to.
Beckett(7:38 pm): what're you guys doing
Aubrey(7:39): extra credit work
Stacie(7:39): just got out of the shower
Chloe(7:40): eating dinner while my sister annoys me
Beckett(7:41): how was your day
Chloe(7:41): ignoring your question for a sec. But who was it that you met up with you still never told me
Aubrey(7:42): you have other friends?
Beckett(7:43): yeah why so shocked
Stacie(7:43): you can't trust the kids that go to our school ya know
Chloe(7:44):Stace is right. Anyways WHO WAS IT!
Beckett(7:45): maybe it's yall I can't trust ever think about that
Aubrey(7:46): and what makes you say that
Stacie(7:46): we're like some of the most trustable kids at our school
Beckett(7:47): remember Kyle and Jordy
Chloe(7:47): the two from the diner right
Beckett(7:47):yeah
Stacie(7:48): what about them
Aubrey(7:48):relevance?
Beckett(7:50): I got better acquainted with them at basketball tryouts and we hung out today because they are actually really cool
Chloe(7:51): they are bad news you can't hang out with them
Beckett(7:52): you're wrong and to have the audacity to tell me who can and can't be my friend whatever. Night
I turned my phone off despite the constant alerts, like who are they to tell me who I can associate with, I'm my own person and can make my own decisions.
Monday arrived quickly and I did my whole routine, I hadn't talked to Chloe since that night so it would be interesting to see what happens today. Chloe was like my best friend and not talking to her hurt a little, but she hadn't made an effort to talk to me or apologize so until then, my lips were sealed. I had however talked to the other two and we were on good terms currently. I put on a black long-sleeved nick toons shirt with some white jeans and a pair of Jordans shadow 2.0. After I finished eating breakfast I went outside and climbed on my bike, I put on my helmet and started the engine, heading to school.
I parked in my normal spot and started to make my way to the school, until I was stopped by a girl standing in front of me, "ooh uh, h-hey." I cleared my throat, "hey Beck. After what happened during the weekend I couldn't stop thinking about you." Quinn said as she put a hand on my arm, "uhh look I don't know how to say this but-" I started until I was interrupted by kids shouting, "what's going on?" I thought aloud, "oh it's the official basketball roster, for the kids who don't already know who's made the team. I saw that you did though, I think that's really hot." Quinn said as she bit her lip a little. I swallowed hard and nodded, "so, what did you want to say?" she asked softly, I stuttered a little before I caved, "not much, nothing at all really." I ran my hand through my hair, "good, see ya round." she ran her hand all the way down my arm until we held hands for a second until she released it and walked off.
"So that's who you're hanging out with now?" I heard from behind me, "oh uh, hey Stace." I smiled, "don't 'hey Stace me' why are you still not talking to Chloe?" Stacie asked, "because, she hasn't apologized or at least admitted she was wrong, and that I can do what I want." I shrugged, "but she's your best friend, you have to talk to her. I mean don't you think this is a little immature?" Stacie quirked an eyebrow at me, "look Stacie, until she says something to me, I'm standing my ground." I said and she just nodded. I didn't have time for this, if she wanted to be petty fine, but I'm gonna do me, and part of doing me is hanging with dudes, dudes who are actually pretty cool.
A/N: Hi I'm back in a decent amount of time, I think maybe...ok it may have been a month but, yay an update! Also to anyone who didn't translate the part in Spanish, I got you.
Ryder: move your ass Isaiah, go play with your friends or something
Isaiah: fuck you and your little bitch
Ryder: get your ass out of my face before I slap you
That's a full translation, fairly accurate for someone not fluent. IDK when the next update will be, but I'll try on it and get it out soonish.