Sixteen: Prom (Part Two)
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Content warning:

Spoiler

(Involuntary) misgendering, slurs (based on sexuality and gender presentation), fighting, use of alcohol, drunkenness.

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I took my boyfriend by the hand, and guided him across the room, towards Nick and Mark. I could see they’d gone all out: they were both wearing tuxedos, and they were matching, at that.

“Word of warning,” I said in a low voice as we approached, “I don’t know how they will react. They never saw me en femme.”

Josh turned his head to look at me. “But they do know you’re a girl, right?”

“They do,” I replied. “They’re the only ones in my class who know, actually, besides Aggie. And you are the only one who knows and is not in my class.”

Josh nodded in acknowledgement. “Tonight will probably be quite a bit stressful for you,” he said.

“Right,” I said. “So let’s start with the easy part, and bring some allies over to my side.” Then I raised my voice: “Hey there Mark! Nick! How are you?”

The two of them stopped talking to each other, and they both turned to me, giving me identical puzzled stares – who is this girl? – before they blinked, and recognition sparked in their eyes.

“Holy shit,” Nick said. “Wilson?”

“Emily,” I nodded. “It’s nice to meet you again.”

“Wow. Actually… Wow,” Mark said. “It’s amazing, really. So that’s what you were hiding under that hoodie.” He paused. “How long have you been on hormones again?”

“A bit over a year and a half,” I replied. “Or more than that, maybe?” I paused, doing some mental math. “No, it’s a year and nine months actually.”

“Well then, that explains…” Nick said, and made a gesture with his hands, tracing the shape of an hourglass through the air. “I can’t believe you managed to keep it hidden for so long. I mean… Jesus Christ, girl.”

I laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I replied. “Have you two met Josh? My boyfriend.”

I stepped a bit to the side, and gestured to Josh, who extended his hand towards them.

“Nice to meet you guys, I’ve heard lots about you from Emily,” Josh said.

Nick laughed as he shook Josh’s hand. “Only good things, I hope,” he said.

“Depends on whether ‘terminally online’ is a good thing to you,” Josh smirked, shaking Mark’s hand.

Nick pursed his lips and sniffed haughtily. “Excuse me, I’m not terminally online, I’m a scholar of the interwebs, thank you very much.”

“You’re a nerd, that’s what you are,” Mark said, punching his boyfriend in the shoulder. “You’re lucky I like you this way.”

Nick hmpf-ed in reply, but I could see he was smiling.

“By the way, have you two seen Aggie?” I asked. “I thought she would be here already.”

“She is,” Nick nodded. “She went to the toilet just a few minutes before you arrived, she should be back soon.”

“I’m here, actually,” I heard Aggie’s voice from behind me; I turned around, and took in her appearance.

I could see she’d carefully done her make-up; and her hair, which was normally in a ponytail, was cascading freely down to her shoulders. She’d even exchanged the glasses she usually wore for contacts. And, of course, her red dress had been adjusted to fit perfectly – like mine, actually – and carefully hugged her every curve.

“Wow, you look stunning,” I said, smiling at her. “This dress is just so you.”

“Thank you, Emily,” she smiled back. “This way at least I’ll make an impression, even though I’m going stag.”

“Oh, you can absolutely say that,” Josh said from beside me. “Every guy would be lucky to be your date.”

“Or girl,” Aggie replied. “But maybe next year. You’re Josh, right? Nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” Josh said, shaking Aggie’s hand. “Though we’d already kinda met? That time I came to your classroom to show Emily the grade I’d gotten on my chemistry test.”

“Oh, right, I remember,” Aggie nodded. “And I remember Emily blushing furiously when you hugged her. I didn’t know what to make of it at the time, but now I do.”

She gave me a cheeky grin, and I stuck out my tongue at her.

“By the way, since we’re all here, I wanted to ask,” I said. “How do you think I should come out to the whole school?”

Josh gave me a curious look. “You haven’t thought about that?”

I shook my head. “To be honest, no. I didn’t make any real plans beyond ‘show up at prom in a dress,’ but I guess I should have, right?”

“Well… Yeah,” my boyfriend said; Mark, Nick, and Aggie nodded in agreement.

“It’s kinda the whole point, isn’t it? To let everyone know you’re a girl,” Aggie added.

Josh smiled. “My girlfriend can be quite clueless sometimes, don’t you agree? Well, we’ll think of something. And we’ll see if we can do it before McPearson gets here.” He paused. “Crap. Speak of the devil.”

Speak of the devil indeed: I turned around, and saw Troy make his entrance into the gym.

I could see he’d cleaned up significantly from his usual standards: he’d swapped his pretentious leather trench coat for a suit, which actually fit right. Also, his hair had been carefully combed, and wasn’t as greasy as it normally was. Still, apparently he was going stag like Aggie, since he was alone, no date to be seen.

He stopped right inside the entrance, looked around at the crowd of people – which was steadily increasing in size, it was just about time for prom to begin – and sneered as he spotted Josh. Glaring at my boyfriend, Troy made his way over to us.

“Well well, I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight, Woods,” he said when he reached us. “You’re a bit too young for this party, aren’t you? Where did you sneak in from?”

“Oh, I didn’t sneak in,” Josh answered. “I walked right through the front door. I’m with someone who’s old enough, you see.”

Troy’s eyes flickered across our group, from me to Aggie to Nick to Mark, without stopping on anyone; apparently, he hadn’t recognised me.

“And what about your boyfriend?” Troy said, the final word dripping with barely-concealed contempt. “What will Wilson say about you leaving him alone and going to prom with someone else?”

“But I didn’t,” Josh answered. “I came here with Wilson, actually.”

Troy frowned, and looked around, clearly trying to spot me – or, rather, someone who fit the picture he had of me in his mind. It was so funny, I couldn’t help but giggle.

“I’m right here, buddy,” I said.

Troy’s head snapped around, and his eyes landed on me. His frown deepened as he gave me a long hard stare. “You…” he said.

I gave him a sweet smile. “Hello, McPearson. Fancy meeting you here.”

Troy blinked. Once, then twice, and then he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, opened them again, and gave me another look: he clearly couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Then he smirked. “Huh, fancy that,” he said. “Guess you’ve decided to crossdress for tonight like the sissy faggot you are. I’m surprised the teachers let you in to pull this prank.”

I shook my head. “This isn’t crossdressing. This is me.”

Troy blinked again. “What?”

This is me,” I repeated, more forcefully. “This is who I really am. I’m a girl, you idiot.”

His eyes widened. He searched my face for any hint that this was a joke I was playing on him, but found none. “You’re…?”

“A girl, yes,” I nodded. “My name is Emily. Miss Wilson to you, though.” I paused, and put my finger to my chin. “You know, it’s kinda funny. You’ve been trying to get one up on me for a long time, and found some stuff you thought you could use against me – like the fact that Josh and I are dating – but didn’t manage to uncover this. The one thing I actually cared about keeping secret, the one thing you could’ve used to blackmail me. Not until it was too late.”

Troy was still staring at me wide-eyed in clear disbelief. His mouth opened and closed a few times, which meant his brain was looking for some words to say to me, but coming up empty.

“You’re… A trans woman?” he said finally.

I looked at him in surprise. Of all the things I’d thought he would call me, ‘trans woman’ was very low on the list: I expected him to repeat what he’d said before, that I was a sissy and a faggot, or even use a heavier slur, one beginning with T. For him to actually use those two words was seriously unexpected.

Still, I nodded again. “Yes, I am. What are ya gonna do it about it?” I said in a tone of challenge.

And then Troy did something even more unexpected: he looked at me for a moment, then he just turned around, without saying anything, and walked away. He strode away from us, not giving us another glance, and marched right out of the gym.

I just stood there, frozen in surprise, for a few moments; then I turned and looked at Josh. “Huh,” I said.

“Huh is right,” Josh replied. “What was that even about?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “This wasn’t like him.”

My boyfriend shrugged. “Whatever. I’m not complaining. Saved us having to deal with him.” He paused, and then continued, “So we’re back to what we were discussing before: how does Emily come out to everyone?”

Right at that moment, the lights in the gym dimmed; the stage lit up brightly, and a student – a senior, by the looks of it – walked onto it, a microphone in his hands. “Alright, testing, testing,” he said into the mic. “Welcome, everyone! Welcome to prom! I’m Chris Landis, I’m the head of the organisation committee, and I’ll be your emcee for tonight!”

“Hmmm… I think I have an idea,” Aggie said, grabbing my hand. “Come with me.”

Puzzled, I let Aggie lead me through the crowd, towards the stage, where Chris was continuing his introduction, explaining various things; it was relatively brief, and it ended with him thanking the school administration and Principal Carlson. “And now, without further ado… Let’s get ready to party!” he exclaimed.

He raised his hand towards the ceiling, and everyone in the crowd cheered; everyone except Aggie, that is.

“Excuse me!” Aggie called out. “Excuse me! Wait a second!”

“Aggie, what are you doing?” I hissed.

“Just let me handle this,” she whispered back. “Emcee! Mr. Landis! Chris! Over here!”

Chris looked around, puzzled, but then his gaze landed on the two of us. “Oho, what is this?” he said, his words resounding through the gym. “It looks like someone has something to say before we start, do I have that right?”

“Right!” Aggie said, clambering up the stairs to the stage with me in tow. “There’s an important announcement I have to make!”

“Well, by all means, be my guest!” Chris replied. “The stage is yours.”

He handed the microphone to Aggie, who stood tall under the spotlight, facing the crowd. “Uh… Hello!” she said. “I’ll be really brief. My name is Agatha Claes, and I’m a junior. I’m up here on stage tonight, because there’s someone I want to introduce to you all.”

I blinked. “Aggie…” I said.

My friend stepped to the side, and held out her hand towards me.

“This right here is Emily Wilson, and she’s a girl!”

There was a general murmur through the crowd. Something like: yes, and? After all, most people in school didn’t know who I was; several people did, however, and I could see several faces in the crowd looking at me in puzzlement.

“That’s right, my friends, up until now everyone thought Emily was a boy, but she’s really not!” Aggie continued. “I do have to tell you, I was really surprised when I first learned of it, but she’s really nice! Let’s give her a big round of applause!”

The murmur grew louder, and several people began pointing at the two of us, standing up there on stage. A tentative smatter of applause ran throughout the room – Mark and Nick, however, started hooting and hollering, with Josh joining in a moment later.

“Do you want to say something, Emily?” Aggie asked.

I glared at her as I took the mic she offered me. “I’m going to kill you, Aggie,” I whispered; she just winked at me. Then I took a deep breath and, into the microphone, I said: “Yes, hello. Um… I really don’t have anything to add. I was coming to school as a boy until now, but I’m really a girl.” I paused. “No, this is not a joke, this is for real. So please use my real name, Emily, from now on. Thank you.”

I turned towards the emcee, who took the microphone from me. “Well, this is a surprise! I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before. Has it, Mr. Carlson?” he asked.

“No, it hasn’t!” Principal Carlson shouted back from his spot beside the doors. “This is the first time someone has come out at prom!”

“Well then, let’s bring our hands together and congratulate Emily for her courage in doing so!” Chris said; applause started sounding through the room, and I glared at Aggie, who gave me an innocent smile.

“Does anyone have anything else to say?” Chris asked; when no one replied, he continued, “Alright, so… Let’s get this party started!”

On that cue, pop music started playing from the gym’s PA system, and the stage lights blinked off; Chris put down the microphone and shook my and Aggie’s hands without another word, and we climbed down the stage.

“Congratulations, Emily,” Josh said, meeting us at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “Even though it wasn’t exactly like I’d imagined it, thanks to Aggie.” I reached over and punched her in the shoulder. “I swear I’ll get back at you for this somehow.”

Aggie flashed me a cheeky grin. “Ah, you know you love me.”

“I do, actually,” I said, smiling at her. “Thank you for being my friend.”

She smiled back.

“So,” Josh said after a moment, pointing at the dance floor, which was starting to get crowded. “Since the party’s getting started… Shall we go have some fun?”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

-----

The rest of the night was wonderful. I had lots of fun talking – mostly with Josh but also with Aggie and Nick and Mark – and just generally hanging around with my friends and boyfriend.

Several people, most of them from my class, approached me during prom, to ask if I really meant it when I said my coming out wasn’t a joke, to which I always responded by saying “Would you really do this as a joke?” while gesturing at myself; that was enough to convince them.

I also noticed a few people giving me glances, which sometimes were glares, but I paid them no mind: after all, I had the support of the school’s administration, so if they tried to give me trouble I could always complain to Principal Carlson. That or, if need be, fight back: my parents had paid for me to take self-defence classes, and I fully intended to put them to good use if someone tried to start something with me.

As the night was winding down, I found myself slow-dancing with Josh, and it was the highlight of prom. I really couldn’t believe how things had gone since I’d been accidentally outed to him: over the course of just six months, I’d managed to come out to everyone, and I was ready to start my new life as a girl, with a wonderful boyfriend by my side.

As Josh hugged me tight, I sighed contentedly. Then, gathering my courage and biting my lip nervously, I managed to say the words I hadn’t said to Josh yet:

“I love you.”

It was amazing when his mouth drew back into a smile, and he whispered back, “I love you too.”

I really felt like I was the luckiest girl in the world.

-----

The dim lights in the gym slowly brightened up, and the music dropped in volume as the emcee, Chris Landis, took the stage again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my friends, I hope you had a wonderful night!” he called out. “Unfortunately our time is running out, but before we bid goodnight, there is one last thing left to do: elect the King and Queen of Prom!”

Several people, including me, cheered loudly.

“Now, I hope you remembered to cast your votes, because if you haven't… Too bad! Too late! The deadline was half an hour ago, and the prom committee has been very busy tallying the votes up since then,” Chris continued. “In fact… The results are in!”

With a flourish, he pulled out a sheet of paper, and held it up for all to see.

“Now, if I may call Principal Carlson to the stage, he will be the one to crown our King and Queen! Let’s all give him a big round of applause!”

Among a smattering of applause, Mr. Carlson made his way through the crowd, smiling sheepishly, and he climbed onto the stage.

“And now, for the results!” Landis said into the microphone. “For King of Prom, we have… James Collins! James, please come up here!”

A boy I didn’t know, a senior by the looks of it, climbed on stage too, and stood beside Principal Carlson.

“And for Queen of Prom… Oh, this is a surprise,” Chris said. “For Queen of Prom, Agatha Claes!”

Aggie, who was standing a short distance from me, blinked in surprise. “Uh? What? Me?” she said.

“Yes, you!” the emcee called. “Come on, get over here!”

I cheered loudly as Aggie, puzzlement clear on her face, made her way to the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, bring your hands together for our King and Queen! Now, Principal Carlson, if you would--”

“Wilson!”

That shout made me turn around, as did many other people: standing just inside the doors to the gym was Troy McPearson.

He looked much worse for the wear than when I’d seen him earlier that night: his suit jacket was missing, his hair was messy, and his face was completely flushed. Also, he was swaying a bit, as if he was having trouble keeping his balance.

“Wilson!” Troy bellowed again, as he started walking unsteadily but purposefully towards me. “You bitch!”

The crowd parted in front of him to let him through, and closed again behind him; several people had had their phones out to snap pictures and take videos of the King and Queen, but now they turned them towards Troy and me.

I gulped, stepped out of my shoes, and swept them off to the side with my foot: if things came to a head and I had to fight, I didn’t want to have to do so while wearing heels. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Josh begin to move, as if to try and step between Troy and me, but I held out my arm, and he stopped. “I can handle this,” I muttered; Josh nodded, but I could see he was worried.

“Mr. McPearson! What are you doing?” Principal Carlson called from the stage, but Troy paid him no mind: he kept walking until he reached me, and he stopped right in front of me. I could see his eyes were wet and unfocused, he was having trouble keeping his gaze on me. And the smell on his breath…

“McPearson, have you been drinking?” I asked.

“Fuck you!” he screamed in response: his words were quite a bit slurred. He lifted his arms and made a grab for me, but I stepped back, and he grasped nothing but air.

“McPearson! Stop!” I heard Carlson’s voice again; I spotted some teachers trying to push through the crowd towards us, but they were still too far away to intervene directly.

“Whoa!” I said, holding my hands up in a calming gesture. “Hold on, I don’t wanna fight.”

“Well I do! I wanna fight! Fuck you! Fight me!” Troy shouted. “How dare you! How fucking dare you!”

I tilted my head to the side. “How dare I do… what, exactly?”

“How dare you look like this!” he screamed, and lunged forward. He was clearly drunk, though, and there was no way he could be a threat to me in the sorry state he was in: I just stepped off to the side and held out my leg, and he tumbled to the ground. He groaned, and started trying to get up.

“Mr. McPearson, stop this right now!” Mr. Carlson said, stepping over to Troy. “What is the matter with you?”

“She… Why. Fuck,” Troy said; he staggered to his feet, and tried to move towards me again.

“No you don’t,” Mr. Carlson said, placing a hand on Troy’s shoulder. “I think this is quite enough for tonight.”

Troy turned his head to look at him and held his gaze for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped. I let out a sigh, turned my back on the two of them, and walked to Josh, who stepped forward to meet me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I took a deep breath, and nodded in response. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Good. Then…”

He was cut off by an incoherent scream. I whipped around as quick as I could, and saw that McPearson had shrugged off Mr. Carlson’s attempt to calm him down, and was running towards me as fast as his legs could carry him. I instinctively started to fall into a defensive stance…

…And then Josh stepped between me and Troy, meeting his advance with a carefully-aimed punch to the jaw.

Troy crumpled to the ground, not out cold but clearly dazed, as my boyfriend shook his hand. “Ow, that hurt,” he complained.

“Josh, are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He paused. “Sorry.”

One of my eyebrows lifted in puzzlement. “Sorry for what?”

“Well… You said you could handle it, and I still stepped in for you,” he replied, and gave me a sheepish smile. “I know you can hold your own, Emily, but I was worried. My body just moved on its own. Sorry.”

I looked at him for a moment, and then I smiled. “Thank you for worrying, you big dork,” I said, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Mr. McPearson? Are you okay?” I heard Principal Carlson say; I looked over to them, and saw that the principal was crouched over Troy’s fallen body, checking on him.

“Mr. Carlson…” I began.

He waved a hand dismissively at me and Josh. “Don’t worry, you two, what you did was clearly self-defence. But I think it’s better if Mr. McPearson gets a check-up, I’ll have someone bring him to the hospital.” He sighed. “After I call his father, I guess.”

I looked at Troy, just lying there; he looked really pathetic, a far cry from the menacing bully I was used to facing. Weirdly, I could see that his shoulders were shaking slightly.

“Mr. Ortega, give me a hand here,” the principal said, waving another teacher over. “Let’s get him back on his feet and into a car.”

When Mr. Ortega had reached them he and Mr. Carlson carefully lifted Troy back to his feet. For a moment, Troy turned to face me, and I saw his face was streaked with tears.

I felt my eyes widen in surprise.

Was… Was Troy McPearson crying?

Then the moment was over, and Mr. Ortega and Principal Carlson helped Troy away from the group and out of the gym, leaving me standing there with Josh, wondering what that all had been about.

 

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Yes, what was that about? 🤔 Ah well, I guess we'll find out next time. Or the following one. It can't be too long, the story is almost over anyway.

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