Zoey walks into the kitchen and sits at the table directly across from her dad 

 

“So boy have you come to your senses?” her dad asked sternly.

 

“Yeah, I have” Zoey replied.

 

“That's good to hear, I can get you a haircut scheduled for tomorrow and have you looking like a boy before school on Monday” her dad replied with pride

 

“I never said I was a boy. I’m a girl and my name's Zoey!” She replied with anger.

 

“Then get out of my house you freak!” her dad said angrily.

 

“You can’t kick me out, I'll just be brought back here!” Zoey replied.

 

“That's why I took some preemptive measures,” her dad said, throwing a folder across the table. Zoey opened it and saw that it was all new forms of Identification that separated her from having any family.

 

“You officially have no family so get the fuck out of my house and on the street where you belong!” her dad said angrily.

 

“Why don’t you love me! What did I do for you to hate me so much!” Zoey said with tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

 

“You tore my family apart! You took away my son and my wife!” her dad said with even more anger in his voice.

 

“You did that to yourself, you drove your family away, at least mom loved me!”

 

“She didn’t give a damn about you! All she wanted was a daughter!” her dad said now fully shouting.

 

“Mom never abused me, she never brainwashed me into something I wasn’t, that's all you!” Zoey said shouting as tears streamed down her face.

 

“I did what was best for you! I did what I did because I loved you!” her dad shouted.

 

“Loved me! No, you loved your son, you never loved me!” Zoey said her eyes red from crying.

 

“You are my son! At least you were now you’re a freak and I want you out, leave your key on the table and pack a bag. You have five minutes then I’ll throw you out myself.” her dad said sternly.

 

Zoey picked up her girl clothes and some boy clothes which is all she had time to take, she looked back and saw her dad in the doorway of the kitchen with hatred in his eyes. She said nothing and just began walking not knowing who to turn to or where to go as she walked as storm clouds began to take over the sky and turn it from the overcast white to a dark grey.

 

 Before long rain began to fall but Zoey just kept walking but eventually, she collapsed in a puddle on the sidewalk from the exhaustion of walking in heels. Zoey pulled to a nearby tree where she just sat in the grass, brought her knees up to her chest, crossed her arms on top of her knees, buried her head in her arms, and just cried.

 

 Her mind began racing  ‘Where will I go? What will I do? I have nothing and no one I’m alone’ Zoey thought as tears ran down her cheeks the more she thought about her situation and the wetter she got from the rain the more she cried.

 

She was eventually blinded by the headlights of a car that stopped in front of her. Her thought began racing through all the worst possibilities, it was the cops and she’d be a ward of the state, or she could be killed for being trans, she began having the start of a panic attack.

 

“Zoey is that you?” a voice that was familiar to Zoey. she looked up and saw that it was Jess.

 

“J-Jess?” Zoey said through tear-soaked eyes that were beat red.

 

“Come on let's get you in the car and to my house where it’s warm. Jess said helping Zoey off the ground and into the back seat of her car.

 

“Hey, mom can you drive? I wanna sit in the back and make sure she’s okay.” Jess said.

 

“Sure thing dear, we can’t leave a beautiful girl like her out in the cold can we?” An older woman's voice said. 

 

“Just lay down and everything will be okay,” Jess said as she helped Zoey into the back seat and rested Zoey's head in her lap and rubbed her hand on her back in an attempt to calm her down, at some point she fell asleep.

 

Zoey was startled awake by Jess, “Hey we’re here come on let's get you inside” she said guiding Zoey inside.

 

“How are my favorite girls doing?” a man said running up and pulling both women into a hug.

 

“Paul, stop it,” Jess’s mom said giggling.

 

“Daddy stop, we have a guest” Jess said through giggles.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry hi, I'm Paul. Jess’s dad” Paul said.

 

“I’m Zoey, nice to meet you” she replied.

 

“Oh so you're the one who's been standing up for my little Jessie at school, it's a pleasure to finally meet you,” Paul said with a beaming smile.

 

“It’s nothing really,” Zoey said.

 

“Nonsense, anyone who would defend my little girl is someone special,” Paul said smiling.

 

“Thank you that means a lot,” Zoey said glumly.

 

“I guess I never introduced myself, my name's Diane,” Jess’s mom said.

 

“Nice to meet you,” Zoey replied.

 

“Now why is a pretty girl like you out in the rain late at night? Your parents must be worried sick.” Diane said in a motherly tone.

 

“Actually it’s just my dad and he doesn’t care in the slightest. He actually kicked me out and disowned me so I have nothing.” Zoey said, starting to cry again.

 

“Dear don’t cry, you can stay here as long as you need it, isn’t that right honey,” Diane said, turning to Pual.

 

“Absolutely, any friend of Jessie can stay as long as they need,” Paul replied.

 

“But I’m a stranger, why are you being so nice to me?” Zoey asks.

 

“Because right now I see a sad girl who needs comfort and I can’t let you be out in the cold rain” Diane replied.

 

“I agree, now Jess why don’t you help her get cleaned up,” Paul said.

 

“Okay, dad. Come on Zoey I’ll show you where the bathroom is.” Jess said, taking Zoey’s hand and guiding her upstairs towards the bathroom.

 

“Okay here's the bathroom, you can use my soaps and hair stuff,” Jess said. 

 

“Thanks” Zoey replied glumly.

 

“You wanna use the black bottle first then you use the white bottle and wrap your hair in a towel, there should be a purple bathrobe hanging on the bathroom door,” Jess explained.

 

“Thank you” Zoey replied before walking into the bathroom. 

 

She stripped off her mud-covered clothes and left them on the floor, she looked down at her body, it was filthy, the bandages on her arms were a deep brown from the mud. Her legs in a similar state along with the part of her stomach that was exposed. She peels off the dirty bandages and turns on the water and stepped into the shower. 

 

She cleaned out the stitched up cuts on her arm so they wouldn’t get infected and cleaned the mud off her body dirtying the shower to a dark brown. She moved on to her hair and squirted the black shampoo bottle into her hand and ran it through her hair, the smell of strawberries filling her nostrils as she ran it through her hair followed by the conditioner also smelling of strawberries. Lastly, she used the orange body that smelled like peaches to get clean. 

 

Once she finished she grabbed the purple robe on the bathroom door and wrapped her hair like she was instructed to and walked out of the bathroom. She handed her dirty clothes to Jess and she took them to the laundry room. 

 

“There now you’re all clean, do you have anything you can sleep in?” Jess asked.

 

“In my bag, I have some baggy shorts and a shirt I can wear,” Zoey replied.

 

“Awesome, I’ll go get your bag, just walk down the hall and my room is the one on the left.” Jess said before running downstairs to get Zoeys bag.

 

Zoey walked into Jess’s room and saw that it was starkly different than hers, the bedroom was a baby blue with a tan trim along the floor, a seashell-shaped vanity mirror, a bed with a beach-themed comforter, and palm trees on different parts of the wall.

 

“Hey I got your bag you can change in here I’ll wait in the hall then mom and dad want to talk to you,” Jess said.

 

“I- um- I like your room,” Zoey said nervously.

 

“Thanks I am kinda obsessed with the beach and wanted it to be themed like it,” Jess said happily.

 

“Can I change now?” Zoey asked. 

 

“Oh yeah sorry to keep you waiting,” Jess said.

 

Jess left Zoey alone in the room and she put on the old gym shorts and baggy t-shirt she had and walked out of the room.

 

“Perfect now let's go see what my parents want,” Jess replied happily.

 

The two girls walked back downstairs and sat at the dining room table where Paul and Diane were waiting.

 

“ Zoey dear, we honestly don’t mean to pry and want you to be as comfortable as possible but what happened between you and your dad that you were outside at night in the rain,” Diane asked.

 

“I attempted suicide and when I was released from the hospital and sent home my dad and I got into an argument and he said he that, I wasn’t his daughter but his son and blamed me for the divorce when I was younger and even for my mom's death,” Zoey said trying not to cry.

 

“Oh poor baby, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that horrible person,” Diane said lovingly.

 

“It’s fine h-he never loved me anyway, not really,” Zoey said glumly.

 

“That's awful, you didn’t tell me it was that bad,” Jess said shocked.

 

“He thought the clothes were for a girlfriend so he didn’t know until I was in the hospital,” Zoey replied coldly.

 

“Well no one here will treat you like that and like we said you can stay as long as you need it. A young girl like you has no place on the streets” Paul said happily.

 

“That means a lot thank you, I am actually pretty tired where am I able to sleep tonight?” Zoey asked.

 

“You can sleep in the guest room next to Jess’s room,” Diane said cheerfully.

 

“Thank you all for taking me in but I had a long day and I want to rest good night” Zoey replied trying to keep herself together and not fall apart again. 

 

Zoey walked upstairs and opened the door that was right next to Jess’s room, it was a plain white room with a dresser, some shelves, and a few family pictures. Zoey crawled into bed and as she lay in the dark she was left alone with her thoughts and as she looked back on the day she cried until she was asleep.

 

Zoey found herself in the all too familiar white void only this time she was alone, no other version of her no dad, not even a trace of Jess or Aunt Jessie for that matter it was just Zoey. She collapsed to her knees and began crying and when she did this the white void shifted into a replica of her dads house.

 

“Stop crying right now! You’re a man, you don't cry!” her dad snarled.

 

“I'm not a man tho, I’m your daughter,” Zoey replied sobbing.

 

“No, you aren’t! Get the fuck out freak!” Her dad replies back kicking her out the door into the rain. 

 

Zoey laid there and just let herself be soaked by the rain but then someone came over and put an umbrella over her shielding her from the rain. She looked up and it was Jess and her family, they helped her up and pulled her into a hug and she felt warm. 

 

Zoey was awakened from this by a sudden shaking, Zoey looked around the darkroom and noticed the person who woke her was Jess.

 

“Why did you wake me?” Zoey asked in a sleepy tone.

 

“You were, I heard you yelling through my wall and wanted to make sure you were okay” Jess replied.

 

“Oh yeah, just a nightmare thanks for checking on me though,” Zoey replied with a smile.

 

“No problem you’ve had a rough couple of weeks it's understandable to have nightmares. I’ll always be here if you ever need to talk” Jess said compassionately before leaving the room so Zoey could sleep some more.

 

Zoey woke up the next more to the smell of bacon being cooked, she walked downstairs and saw Diane cooking in the kitchen.

 

“Hey there Zoey, you want some breakfast?” Diane asked as she moved the bacon onto a plate.

 

“Sure, I’d love some” Zoey replied.

 

She sat down and was given a plate with two pancakes, three pieces of bacon, and some hash browns. 

 

“So Zoey, how long have you been transitioning?” Paul asked.

 

“Dad!” Jess said embarrassed.

 

“What? I just want to try and help any way possible” Paul replied.

 

“That's so insensitive,” Jess said.

 

“It’s okay Jess, I haven’t really started yet. I actually just recently realized I was trans, turns out I always was but my dad controlled me and brainwashed me.” Zoey replied.

 

“Ya Know I was able to pay for Jess’s Body reformation and if we aren’t hurting for money, I could help you skip the hormones,” Paul said.

 

“I-I could never ask that of you. That's so much money” Zoey said, shocked.

 

“Nonsense, I want to help anyone so they don’t suffer like Jess, and plus I want to stick it to your asshole father, he stopped talking to me once I let Jess be herself,” Paul said happily.

 

“A-are you sure?” Zoey replied.

 

“Positive, plus I know a guy who owes me a favor,” Paul replied with a smile.

 

“I-I-I don’t know what to say,” Zoey said as tears filled her eyes.

 

“When does she go in to get her ideal body computerized and they start building it.” Jess asked.

 

“We can go into the clinic Monday and her body should be done by Friday, so the transfer process takes three days.” Paul said.

 

“What do you say, Zoey?” Diane asked.

 

“I can’t. I just can’t let you do that,” Zoey replied.

 

“Consider it a gift for standing up for my little girl, I'm not taking no for an answer,” Paul replied.

 

“Fine, if I can't deny it,” Zoey said. 

 

“I’m so happy for you! Once you get your new body we are going clothes shopping immediately.” Jess said happily.

 

“With what money, I’m broke,” Zoey replied.

 

“We’ll figure something out,” Jess said.

 

Zoey continued to eat her breakfast and talk with Jess and her parents about various things such as her likes and dislikes. After she finished eating she and Jess moved over to the couch to watch so m tv and chat.

 

“Hey you know what I realized, you never got to have a real sleepover did you?” Jess said.

 

“No, the only one I went to was when I was really young. I got scared and had to be taken home. That was right before my dad got custody of me.” Zoey said sadly.

 

“We'll know what? We’ll just have to have one of our own.” Jess says happily.

 

“I don’t know the first thing about sleepovers,” Zoey replied.

 

“Well it’s a good thing that I’m here,” Jess said with a smile.

 

“I just can’t do any makeup stuff because I’m still not out to anyone at school,” Zoey replied.

 

“Zoey, I don’t want to pressure you but you need to come out and people will find out next week,” Jess said.

 

“I know but, I just don’t want to lose my friends on the team.” Zoey replied.

 

“I get that but you know how they are, it's either lose them sooner or lose them later,” Jess said.

 

“I know, it’s just hard,” Zoey replied.

 

“I know that all too well, but you have me and Avalia,” Jess said with a grin.

 

“Yeah that's tr- wait what? How do you know about Avalia?” 

 

“I’m Sasha, our full game name is Sashanjessenda but Sasha for short,” Jess replied.

 

“You'll never guess who Avalia actually is” Zoey.

 

“Who, spill. You two are cute together.” Jess said.

 

“Alice, I left Avalia a message in-game, and when Alice heard people talking at school and she ran to the hospital to see me,” Zoey replied.

 

“That's honestly adorable!” Jess squealed in delight.

 

“I can’t even log in because I forgot my rig at my old house,” Zoey replied.

 

“We'll let Alice over for our sleepover, it’ll give you two more time to talk,” Jess said with a smile.

 

“I hate knowing it's her because now she won’t see me as Zoey,” Zoey replied.

 

“She’ll love you regardless, trust me I can tell she’s crazy for you,” Jess said.

 

She unlocked her phone and texted Alice.

 

Jess: hey Avalia, Zoey is here and we are having a sleepover wanna join?

 

Alice: Who? You do know this is Alice right?

 

Jess: Zoey let it slip that you were Avalia, now do you want to see your girlfriend.

 

Alice: She isn’t my girlfriend but I would love to see her, I’ve been worried.

 

Jess: Then come over and see her and she isn’t your girlfriend yet you mean.

 

Alice: I’ll be over can’t wait.

 

Jess: we can’t either and you owe me an explanation as to why you hid your in-game Identity.

 

“She is coming over, hope you are ready to see your girlfriend” Jess said teasingly.

 

“We aren’t even officially dating yet” Zoey replies.

 

“Exactly, YET!” Jess replies cheekily.

 

The two girls sat on the couch and waited for Alice to come over. Alice arrived around 430 pm and the three girls changed into their pajamas and sat on the floor of Jess’s room. 

 

“So first things first, why didn’t tell me you Played WoR?” Jess asked looking at Alice.

 

“I wanted it to be an escape. My parents are kinda jerks and I didn’t wanna let it slip so I kept it hidden.” Alice replied.

 

“I can understand that but I’m your best friend and you never mentioned it. Though I can’t be too mad I am Sasha.” Jess said.

 

“Why didn't you tell me!” Alice says.

 

“I didn’t know it was you until recently” Jess replies. 

 

“Hey, Alice did I tell you the news?” Zoey says nervously.

 

“What news? Are you coming out on Monday?” Alice asked.

 

“No, not yet I don’t think, but Monday I am going to get a scan of my ideal female body and by next week I’ll be a girl,” Zoey said.

 

“You are a girl!” Jess says.

 

“And a pretty one at that,” Alice said blushing.

 

“Just date already!” Jess says annoyed.

 

“What are you talking about?” Zoey said blushing.

 

“You are both obviously crazy about each other and I am tired of both of you being too shy,” Jess said.

 

The other two girls blushed a deep red trading glance at each other. 

 

“I just don’t want to be with her when I don’t look like myself,” Zoey said look at the floor.

 

“Zoey, I find you beautiful no matter what you look like. To me you are always going to be the beautiful girl who I ran into the forest” Alice said, taking hold of Zoey’s hand.

 

“Aww, that's adorable,” Jess said.

 

“Do- do you really mean that?” Zoey said. 

 

“Yes! I don’t care what you look like as long as it's you” Alice said squeezing Zoeys.

 

“Then I want to be your girlfriend,” Zoey says.

 

“Yay! I am so happy for you two!” Jess squealed as she watched the two girls hug.

 

The rest of the night went about without much happening, Zoey and Alice cuddling together and being inseparable as the trio watched movies together and played board games and laughed. Eventually, they laid down for bed and as Zoey and Alice laid together Zoey spoke up.

 

“I think I’m going to show up to school on Monday dressed as a girl,” Zoey said.

 

“I am proud of you babes, if you need me I’ll kick someone's ass,” Alice said comforting Zoey.

 

“Thank you, I really appreciate that. I love you” Zoey said snuggling into Alice's arms and drifting off to sleep.