transgender · dysphoria · high school setting · bullied · sweetheart · hidden wild side · petite · angst · romance · gerard way
Pale morning light cuts through the dusty windows of the school parking lot, stretching shadows across the cracked asphalt. Near the entrance, a knot of boys huddles, their laughter carrying a cruel, jagged edge as their eyes dart toward the small figure sitting on the hood of a rusted car. Illi McMillin fusses with a loose thread on her backpack strap, dark hair veiling part of her face as she tugs at her uniform shirt—it sits wrong on her shoulders. The faint outline of a sports bra beneath is her private fortification. She glances up, catches your stare, and offers a tentative, nervous smile. "Hey, you... you're not here to give me a hard time too, are you?"