“Eli, wake up Eli, it’s time for breakfast.”

  Warmth surrounded Eli like it was gently cradling him, soothing his soul. He didn’t want to wake up. He just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, he only got halfway through the process before two rather rge objects made themselves known.

  “Morning sleepy.”

  With a shriek, Eli tried to jump away from Amy, but her arms and wings were still wrapped around him. Being as weak as he was, Eli did not, in fact, go anywhere. Amy was ughing at this point as Eli struggled to escape from Amy’s embrace, but she just ughed and held him tighter. Amy continued to giggle as Eli squirmed before finally giving up.

  “Good morning Eli. How are you feeling?”

  “I am feeling a lot better, thank you. However, I definitely did not need that to be the first thing to happen to me this morning.” Eli was still blushing while trying to look away from Amy. Unfortunately, when you are being held close by someone a whole foot taller than you, you really couldn’t look anywhere other than at them, so Eli settled on the less awkward option and looked into Amy’s eyes.

  “You know you are welcome to look. I don’t mind.”

  “Well, I mind. Why are you acting like this? You barely know me.”

  “Do I need a reason to like you?”

  “Yes! How can you be this affectionate with me when I have done nothing to earn it from you, as far as I can tell the only thing I have been so far is an utter nuisance forcing you to go out of your way to help me because I can’t deal with my own problems. It’s just like my father said, no matter what I do I am always just being a burden on others.”

  “Alright, enough of that. You do not need to earn my affection; it is something that people choose to give. The fact that your parents would deprive you of it speaks volumes as to their character. You have not been a nuisance so far. I want to help you, Eli. I can tell that there are things that you’re struggling with, and I want to help. Plus, you're really cute when you start blushing.”

  Eli was once more left blushing while trying to find somewhere else to look, but he was still stuck in Amy's embrace. So he examined her wings while mumbling, “I’m not cute.”

  “Oh, but you are. You should see the look on your face.”

  “Please stop, it’s embarrassing, guys aren’t cute, they can’t be cute, Oaky.” Eli grew even more embarrassed as he stumbled over his words at the end.

  “You know you keep saying that, but femboys are still a thing.”

  “?”

  “Oh, right, Sheltered upbringing. Femboys are guys that enjoy dressing in more feminine coded clothing, like dresses, skirts, stuff like that.”

  “That’s a thing?”

  “God, you really need to get on the Internet. Rachel texted you a bunch of stuff to look into the other day.”

  “Yeah, I kinda forgot with the whole not sleeping thing. I don’t even remember most of the st few days. I don’t remember Rachel texting me, but I also haven’t checked my phone in a few days so I should probably do that.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

  “...”

  “...”

  “Amy you know you need to let go of me if I am to check my phone.”

  “Aww, but you are so fun to cuddle with. Can’t you wait a few more minutes?”

  “I still have csses today, remember? I don’t even know what time it is.”

  “Fine”

  With that, Amy finally let go of Eli while unfurling her wings to allow Eli to escape. It took a few minutes of shimmying as Amy showed no intention of getting off his bed to make this easier. Once Eli had finally extricated himself from the bed, he walked over to his desk to check his phone. Lo and behold, over twenty-five texts were waiting for his attention. A few were from Rachel, and most of them were from Amy. However, one stood out from the rest. A text from his little sister, Elizabeth. His parents were fond of names with El in the name. His older brother Elijah rounded out this pattern.

  ‘We need to talk’

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  After sorting through the various texts that Amy had sent him over the st couple of days and thanking Rachel for the resources she had sent him, Eli finally addressed the text he had received from his sister.

  ‘Hey Lizzy, sorry for the dey. I've been dealing with some stuff. Are you avaible to talk tonight?’

  After waiting for a few minutes without a response, Eli decided that she would probably get back to him at some point today. After gathering his things, Eli headed out to his least favourite css. Well, at least Rachel would be there.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  As Eli walked into css, it was the same as st week, with Eli and Rachel being early. He quickly took his seat.

  “Hey, are you feeling alright? You looked really terrible on Thursday, and I heard from Amy that you were having trouble with some stuff.”

  “It’s fine. I was having recurring nightmares that progressively got worse. Apparently, that was my Xenos gene manifesting, though if it was, we are still waiting on the blood test to come back…… which I totally forgot to go get on Friday. Looks like I am going to have to make a call.”

  “Well, congratutions are in order. Soon, you will join the vaulted halls of 80 percent of the popution.”

  “Wooh, I get sick new powers and can never return home. How great.”

  “Wait what?”

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have dumped that on you. My parents are really Xenophobic, and if I end up manifesting a really visual power, there’s no way I will be able to hide it from them long term.”

  “How long until you are 18? After that point, they can’t really touch you.”

  “Not until the end of next summer.”

  “Wait, so you turned 17 this year?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How did you graduate a year early?”

  “When I was younger, I was able to skip a grade, so I entered grade 9 a year early.”

  “What stopped you from continuing to skip?”

  “I don’t know. Once I hit 13, everything just kind of slowed down. I got more and more depressed, and I don’t know why. I just felt so… I don’t know. It’s almost like I didn’t fit in my own skin. After that, I have just been plugging along, my parents growing more and more disappointed in me. I tried my best to get good grades, but it kind of felt pointless, you know?”

  “No, I don’t know. Eli that is not a healthy state of mind to have.”

  “Trust me, I know.”

  “Have you thought about therapy?”

  “I mean, I asked my parents once, and they just kind of ughed at me, one of the few times my mother actually acknowledged me.”

  “Well, one of the counselors on campus helps with this kind of stuff. I am sure that Amy has their number or at least knows how to get you set up with them. She is working towards being a counsellor after all.”

  “Thanks Rachel.”

  After that, the conversation seemed to lull. Eli didn’t know what to say. He knew that he wanted to ask Rachel how she met Amy, but he didn’t want to sound rude, and it was bugging him. The more he tried not to think about asking the question, the more he wanted to. He couldn’t take it. Theories started swirling around in his head, some more extravagant than others.

  “Hey Rachel…… do you mind if I ask you a question?”

  “You just did.”

  “Sorry, do you mind if I ask another?”

  “Eli”

  “Sorry”

  “What is it? I can assure you that I am not going to take offence, and if it’s too personal or something, I will say something. I am not going to be mad at you.”

  “Okay… how did… you and Amy meet?”

  “Oh, is that all? It’s an anticlimatic answer, we were room mates in first year and since then we have been really good friends, gal pals even.”

  “Oh, okay, thanks Rachel.”

  “Haaah, you are to precious Eli.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll find out when you are older.”

  During the rest of css, Eli would occasionally bug Rachel, but he still couldn’t figure out what she meant earlier. How was he precious? What was she talking about?

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  The csses for the rest of the day were the same: boring and devoid of meaning. Eli walked through the door into his apartment to see Amy smiling.

  “So I heard from Rachel that you were going to therapy now.”

  “What? I never said that. Besides, I don’t need therapy. I have gotten this far in life, and I am sure that I will be fine for a few more years.” Eli felt guilty. Once more, he took advantage of a friend instead of dealing with his problems. Why could he never do anything right?

  “Eli, what do you mean a few more years? You are only 17. You make it sound like you don’t pn on living much longer.”

  “Oh, nothing as morbid as that. It’s just that when I try to imagine myself in a couple of years, say 25, I can’t picture it. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to be able to imagine myself any older than 20.”

  “Eli, do you realize how terrible that sounds? I can put you in touch with the school counsellor. They are really kind and understanding. Trust me, once you have someone who you can talk with this stuff about, you will begin to feel better.”

  “I’m fine Amy.”

  As Eli said this, his phone started ringing. A quick check revealed that it was the hospital calling.

  “Hello, Eli speaking.”

  “Ah, perfect. Hello Eli, this is Dr. Waltz. I am just calling because you failed to show up for your bloodwork appointment on Friday.”

  “You didn’t show up for your bloodwork!” Amy turned her gaze towards Eli

  “I mean, I was feeling fine. It’s not like there is a point anyway. Either I manifest a visible power and can never go home, or I don’t and can live at home for a few more years before they inevitably find out and throw me out.” Eli visibly shrunk under the intensity of Amy’s gaze

  “While I understand that you’re feeling quite hesitant about your gene manifestation, I can assure you that there are a number of tests done so that we can figure out as much as we can about your powers in case you need special accommodations due to any complications from your Xenos gene manifesting. We just don’t know what could be happening inside your body, and we want to ensure that you are getting the care you need.” The doctor’s voice radiated concern

  “Haaaah fine. I’ll go get the test done next week.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t condone.” The doctor hadn’t finished his sentence before he was interrupted

  “Don’t worry, doctor Eli will be getting his bloodwork done tomorrow. You can count on me to make sure he’s there.” Amy now had one hand firmly pnted on Eli’s shoulder

  “Thank you miss, I really must state how important this is.”

  “No worries, I’ll make sure there’s a foot in his ass.”

  “Alright. Well that was all I called for, have a nice day you two.”

  As Eli hung up the phone, Amy gred at Eli as her eyes burned with intensity as they glowed slightly, her displeasure was visible on her face.

  “So you’re fine, you say. So what was that then.”

  “It was not.”

  “It was not nothing. It was a pin-as-day example of you not taking enough care of yourself. Eli, there can be serious consequences to avoiding getting your bloodwork done.”

  “Fine I’ll get the stupid bloodwork done.”

  “Oh no, you don’t have a choice now, you are going to that appointment, and I will drag you there if I have to.”

  “Oh yeah, well i’d like to see you try.”

  As Eli moved to turn around, he hadn’t taken a single step before Amy had grabbed him from behind and hoisted him up into a bridal carry.

  “You were saying?”

  Eli could do nothing but blush. After all, he had brought this upon himself, but why was he enjoying it so much? Maybe he should bother Amy more often. Of course, after thinking this, he began blushing even harder, leaving Eli as red as a tomato while Amy gazed down into his eyes.

  “Um… I said…. Uh”

  “Shush,” Amy said while pcing a single finger over the top of Eli’s lips. “You are going and that’s final. Okay”

  “...”

  “I said okay.”

  “Oaky”

  Amy finally lowered Eli to the ground, though his legs turned into jelly the second he touched the floor, causing him to fall over, only to be lifted by Amy once again. “Jeez you really are like a princess sometimes.”

  At this point, Eli’s brain short-circuited as images of him attending a royal ball with a long blue ballgown and pictures of Amy walking down the steps dressed in a pressed suit, just waiting to take his hand. Eli was sporting a dopy smile when Amy id him on his bed.

  “Well gd to see someone’s feeling better.”

  Eli was quickly dragged out of his revelry, and images of him as a princess dancing with a prince gave way to Amy standing above him. “Um… ah…”

  “Take your time.”

  Once again, their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Eli’s phone, the ringtone the opening theme to a popur show about a mad scientist girl turning her older brother into her younger sister. Eli quickly tried to answer the phone but fumbled it and sent it across the room. Amy was ughing off to the side at the site of this as Eli desperately scrambled for his phone.

  “Hello, Eli speaking.”

  “Hey Eli, how’s it going?”

  “Lizzy, it’s so good to hear your voice. How’s everything going at home.”

  “Well, things were going great until Sunday.”

  “Who’s this?” Amy said while peeking over Eli’s shoulder.

  “My sister,” Eli was quick to reply

  “So what hap.”

  “Wait, was that a girl's voice?!”

  “um... Yeah, that’s Amy. My roommate.”

  “Oh my god, I knew you were kind of feminine at times but i didn’t think they would shove you in the girl's dorms. Have Mom and Dad found out yet?”

  “Wha… What…no,” Eli sputters as he tries to put the words together before the girl standing behind him neatly lifts the phone out of his hands.

  “Hello Lizzy, this is Amy I’m Eli’s roommate and yes he is here in the girls dorms, you should have seen him on the second day we had him dressed up in skirts and makeup, the whole shebang,” Eli was hopping back and forth as he was desperately trying to get the phone out of Amy’s hands.

  “I knew it! I knew Eli was a.”

  Eli could finally swipe the phone back from Amy after jumping off the bed to reach her height. Eli seized it before immediately hanging up.

  Eli looked up from the floor, his phone clutched tightly. As tears started to leak from his eyes, he aggressively tried to wipe them away.

  “Why would you say that? Why would you tell her that? What if my parents had been listening? If they had they would be here by tomorrow to retrieve me and then ship me off somewhere to have me ‘fixed’”

  “Oh my god, I am so sorry, Eli. I didn’t realize it was that bad. If I had known, I would’ve never.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. Please leave.”

  “Eli, I’m.”

  “Please just go.” Eli didn’t even look at Amy at this point. He just stared vacantly at the wall as tears freely streamed down his face. “I want to be alone now.”

  “Alright, I’m so sorry Eli.” Amy quickly backed out of the room before quietly shutting the door behind her.

  After this, Eli just id down and cried.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  It felt like he had been crying for hours when his phone finally rang again. Eli checked the number and saw that it was his sister. He didn’t want to pick up the phone, but his sister had always been his biggest supporter. How could he not answer the phone? With a sigh, he raised the phone and answered it.

  “Hey Lizzy.”

  “What’s wrong Eli, you sound terrible, have you been crying?”

  “No”

  “Come on Eli, I know you, i can tell you’ve been crying, what’s bugging you?”

  “It’s just what Amy did earlier, what if mom and dad had been listening, you know hwat they would do. Why did she joke like that? I don’t understand i thought she was nice.”

  “Hey now, no need to get yourself all worked up, of course i made sure mom and dad weren’t around before calling. I get that made you upset but she doesn’t know our situation, what she did was mean but she was just building of the joke i made at the start, if anything you should be bming me not her. I can promise if you just talk this out tomorrow everything will be just fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes I’m sure, trust me, most people aren’t like our parents. If you set boundaries with them, they will respect them. At least anyone worth associating with will.”

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “You called earlier and said everything was fine until Sunday. What happened.”

  “Are you really worrying about me right now while you are still sniffling?”

  “Yeah, of course I’m worried, you’re all i have.”

  “Aww, thank you Eli. It’s nothing to serious everything was fine until Sunday because I met this girl and now i don’t know what to do. She gave me her number and i want to call her but i don’t know if calling her soon will seem to forward and maybe it was only because she wanted to be friends, she said that we should go on a date sometime but is it a date date or is it a friend date.”

  “Hahaha seems you overthink these things just as much as i do.”

  “Hey, i take offence to that, nobody overthinks things like you do.”

  “Well, these are first time jitters. What was the exact wording that she used.”

  “She said Call me for a date sometime.”

  “That sounds pretty cut and dry to me. How about this think of it the other way round if you walked up to someone handed them your number and asked them to go on a date with you sometime do you think that the other person would interpret that as a date date or a friend date?”

  “A date date.”

  “Well there you go. That’s your answer then. Also congrats on finding someone Lizzy.”

  “Hey we haven’t even gone on the date yet.”

  “I know, but i also know that you are an amazing person and anyone to turn you down would be missing out.”

  “Aww thanks Eli.”

  “No worries Liz..”

  The two continued long into the evening, discussing everything from the past week. It had only been a week, but it felt like a month for them, and Eli was happy to have someone familiar to talk to.