Things had mostly calmed down at school. Even though El had started deliberately wearing girl clothes, their fear of Carla seemed to keep them at bay. The worst he got, most days, was a few nasty glares. Even Leon didn’t stop to give him more than a snide comment.

Nobody would really talk to him either, though. El hadn’t had many friends, but people always recognized and talked to him. That was one of the perks of being part of the Boys. Now he felt invisible. If it weren’t for April’s lunch friends whom he got to see in the halls sometime, El would be completely alone.

“Scrawny!”

El groaned and started walking faster. Of course there’d be one idiot who didn’t follow everyone else’s lead. He didn’t get far before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Jimmy asked, “Your queer sister’s not here to protect you.”

“She’s straight, Jimmy,” El protested weakly.

He was swung around to face the taller boy, but refused to look up at him.

“You gonna grow your hair out so you can hide behind it?” Jimmy asked, adjusting his square-rimmed glasses.

“Carla’s expecting me,” El insisted, “She’ll come looking in a moment.”

Jimmy faltered, but then his expression hardened. He took a step forward and El shrank a little. The bell rang, and El realized that the hallway was empty except for the two of them.

“Pathetic, you know that? Are you really going to hide behind that bitch forever, Eli? I knew that you were always really a coward; just can’t believe it took everyone else this long to figure it out.”

El’s eyes stung. He blinked but that just made his cry. Jimmy smirked and placed a hand on El’s shoulder.

He wasn’t going to go away on his own. The only way El would be free is if he stood up for himself.

His breathing was weak, but he managed to choke out, “I swear to God, Jimmy, that I will end you if I have to.”

Jimmy stopped smirking. El continued, more confident.

“Just because I’m sick of you doesn’t mean that I can’t take care of myself, moron. If it takes throwing you down the staircase to show you just how much I hate you, I’ll do it. Get out of my face, because I am done with you.”

For a moment, they held still. El flared his nostrils, and Jimmy let go of his shoulder. Smirking himself now, El turned to walk away.

Then Jimmy grabbed his arm tightly, and El cringed.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he asked, spinning El around again.

El opened his mouth to protest, but Jimmy pulled him over and pinned him up against the wall.

Leaning in so that El could smell his breath, he whispered, “Maybe I need to teach you a lesson, huh? I bet nobody’s really made you feel like a girl yet. You’re probably craving cock now, you fag, and we’ve been such good friends for so long that I’d be happy to oblige.”

El gulped but it didn’t clear his throat or make it any easier to breathe. His vision was all blurry too. The last thing he needed was to cry in front of this asshole.

Jimmy seemed satisfied, because he removed his arm. El was trembling, but even though his legs were weak he didn’t collapse to the ground. He thought that through the pounding in his ears he could hear Jimmy mutter something like “thought so,” as he was walking away.

It took a moment for El to catch his breath. When he could stand easy again, El noticed a teacher he didn’t know standing at the end of the hall. The adult turned and started walking away as soon as he saw El spot him, but El wasn’t having any of that.

“Hey!” he cried out, his voice cracking, “Come back here!”

El started running after him. Once it became clear that he wouldn’t get away, the teacher sighed and turned around. He was scowling.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, young… man.”

“What was that?” El demanded, “You saw what he was doing. Why didn’t you stop him?”

The teacher broke eye contact.

“Frankly,” he said, “I don’t think students should expect teachers to hold their hands. You should be able to defend yourself if you get into a fight. Or just don’t provoke guys like that.”

El could feel his face burning, but wasn’t sure if it was from shame or anger. Who did this guy think he was? El had spent years defending himself, and all it had gotten him were enemies. He would be better off today if he’d always had people like his sister and April to rely on. After all, he certainly couldn’t count on responsible adults.

The teacher turned and started walking away, simply calling back to him, “Get to class, kid.”

El felt his hands curl into fists. He wasn’t really going to lash out at a teacher, was he? It wouldn’t change anything, and he’d just get detention. Nobody would ever believe him over an adult.

And that smug bastard was counting on it.

“Asshole!” El cried, almost screaming, “How is anybody suppose to feel safe around here if the people in charge just keep sticking their heads in the sand?!”

The teacher spun around, seething with anger.

“Listen to me, kid,” he warned darkly, “I’ve been teaching in this school for over ten years, and I have never been so disrespected. If you don’t learn to act like a mature adult, I could very well have you expelled.”

He took a few steps toward El, who faltered and raised his arms to block the teacher.

“If I’m being honest,” he continued, “You’re problems are your own fault. People would leave you alone if you stopped trying to get their attention. Cut your hair, put on some goddamn normal clothes, and act like a boy your age already. Do I make myself clear?”

El didn’t respond. The teacher snorted, then turned and walked away. El listened to the sound of footsteps retreating down the hall, then lowered his head and started walking.

As soon as he found the nearest restroom, El locked himself in a stall and sat down on the toilet to cry. He’d never felt so alone. Eventually he ran out of tears, then pulled his legs up and hugged his knees to his chest to wait out the rest of the class period.

When the bell finally rang, El wiped his cheeks clean and stood up. Determined to face the rest of the day, he shook his head and unlocked the door. Some assholes weren’t going to ruin his entire day.

It was easy for El to disappear into the crowds. But by the time he reached the hall where his next class was, it had already thinned out. El felt exposed.

“Look here, girls.”

Dammit.

He wanted to turn and run, but his class was past the Girls. Abby, leader of the debate team, was in front. Tamara was behind her, along with Khloe who was wearing her volleyball uniform. El was going to have to go through them.

“Hey girls,” he muttered, “Can I get through…?”

“What’s with your hair?” Tamara demanded.

El grabbed at his hair subconsciously. It had gotten much thicker over the past week, and since he started using April’s conditioner it had a nice sheen to it. He’d actually been pretty proud of how it looked… until now.

“Aww,” Abby cooed, “He thinks it’s cute.”

“It looks like he’s going through puberty backwards,” Khloe muttered, “Look at that hair on his face.”

She was talking about the thin, sparse facial hair that still clung to El’s chin. Part of him just wanted it to be gone so he didn’t look like a thirteen-year-old-boy, but he didn’t need to look any more like a girl than he already did.

After the day he was having, El was on the verge of tears. He wasn’t even angry at them for mocking him. It didn’t really surprise him at all.

“Abby, Tammy, Khloe,” he said, sniffling, “I know we don’t know each other very well, but you’ve always been nice to me. For what it’s worth, I always considered you guys to be my friends, since you didn’t fight with me like the Boys did. I get that this is weird for everyone; it’s weird for me. But I don’t understand why we can’t still be friends.”

Tamara’s expression softened, and Khloe bit her lip. But they looked to Abby, who just rolled her eyes and snorted. Following her lead, the two other girls folded their arms and scowled at El.

“You really don’t get it, Eli,” Abby said, “Just because we hung in the same circles doesn’t mean that we were friends. Girls and boys can’t just be friends, moron. And now you’re a freak, and we’d never hang around a freak.”

El hung his head and bit his tongue, trying not to cry. After a moment, he felt someone push him to the side. When he opened his eyes again, the Girls were gone, and people were watching him with apprehension. He just scowled and continued walking, refusing to look any of them in the eye.

El made it to his chemistry class without having to talk to anyone, and sat down next to Cole’s empty desk. Mr. Stevens had insisted that Cole sit far away from El, which he appreciated. But after the encounter he had earlier that day, El was worried that Mr. Steven’s sympathy was also a limited resource. How much longer before he too left El to fend for himself.

The sound of a notification broke El’s train of thought. He pulled out his phone and silenced it. But his heart sank when he saw the message from Sue.

“What’s going on?” she asked, “People are telling me that you’re wearing girl clothes? Aren’t you supposed to be fixing yourself? I have enough problems without Abby and her cronies rubbing your condition in my nose.”

His condition.

El groaned. What was he supposed to say to her? Was he going to honestly tell her that he was more comfortable this way? Even if it was just the magic, she wasn’t going to understand his feelings. He’d have to lie. He’d have to make up some excuse to keep her happy. Accuse April’s parents of pushing him into it or something.

No, El couldn’t do that. He couldn’t lie about April’s parents after all they’d done for him. And he couldn’t lie to Sue. He owed her too much after all she did to stand by him, before and during this whole mess.

“It’s true,” he texted back, “They fit me better, and it’s more comfortable. It’s just going to be temporary, until I get back to normal. Tbh, it’s a little embarrassing being seen like this.”

He put his phone away, his stomach still turning.

Mr. Stevens was still getting set up when El got a message back.

“Wtf Eli?” it read, “Why did you think this was a good idea? You know that the other girls think that I have something to do with this, right? They keep treating me like shit because of you. You have to be more careful. Your actions have consequences, you know.”

El didn’t know what he could say to her to make her understand.

“Eli, I don’t allow phones in my class.”

“Sorry, Mr. Stevens,” El replied in the smallest voice he could, stuffing his phone into his bag.

Mr. Stevens nodded and started his lesson, but Cole had turned around in his seat to glare at El. El just sank in his seat and wished that the day would be over already.

When class finally got out, El was able to dart out of there with the crowd and avoid having to talk to Cole. It didn’t really matter, though. Even in a crowd, he felt alone.

“Eli?” someone asked, laying a warm hand on El’s shoulder.

El turned around, and whined when he saw that it was Anton who had found him.

“What do you want?” he asked, “Can’t you see that I’m miserable enough because of you and your friends?”

“Me and… what are you talking about, Eli?” Anton asked, then shook his head. “Never mind. Look, I wanted to apologize for… you know, how I reacted. I had no idea what was going on and I wasn’t sure how to react.”

“That makes everything better, huh?” El asked, turning and walking away.

“Hey, I was going to apologize sooner,” Anton insisted, following him, “But you’re always surrounded by people.”

“Yeah,” El said, picking up his pace and raising his voice, “So people like you can’t get close to me.”

“Can’t you just listen to me for one moment?” Anton asked.

People were staring. El could feel himself sweating through his outfit. Where were the people who were supposed to be helping protect him? Why was he always alone?

“Eli!” Anton cried, grabbing his arm tightly enough to make El wince.

“Let go of me, Anton!” El said, struggling.

“Not until we’ve actually talked,” Anton insisted, before muttering, “Wow, you’ve actually gotten shorter, dude.”

“Hey!”

The new voice got both their attention. El’s face lit up when he recognized one of April’s lunch friends storming toward them. Several other girls he didn’t recognize were following her.

Anton let go of El’s arm, and El dashed to April’s friend and embraced her in a tight hug.

While she patted El on the back, the girl asked Anton, “Do you always harass people when they’re alone like this?”

The other girls with her got between them and Anton, who had started to shirk away.

“Dammit Eli!” Anton cried, “I just want to talk!”

“I have nothing to say to you!” El cried, turning to face him, “And that’s not my name! It’s just El.”

“I’m trying to apologize,” Anton said weakly, struggling to look El in the eye through the girls between them.

“Just go, Anton.”

Anton scowled and, after a moment, turned to walk away.

El told her friend, “Thank you. You don’t know how much it means to me that you came to my rescue.”

“Anything for April’s precious little brother,” she replied, smirking.

El giggled, but replied, “I’m a year older than her.”

“Nonetheless, we girls gotta look out for each other, even if you are, technically, a boy. Have you met Sophie and Erin yet?”

She gestured at the two girls with her, who smiled and waved at El.

“Thank you,” El said, “All of you. I don’t know what I’d do without friends like you guys.”