“Luna sweetie, are you sure you don’t want to stay with us? It’s only an hour drive. The commute may sound excessive, but I’m sure it’s worth it.” My dad tried not for the first time in the day to convince me to stay with him instead of living on the campus of my new university. I respected his dedication to keeping me safe, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Not that I particularly wanted to live with my parents for my first semester in college. I loved them, but they got a bit overbearing at times.

“I’m sure, Dad. And besides, you heard the guy from the tour. Until I’ve got 45 credits I have to live on campus.” It was an unfortunate rule that existed to ensure newer students didn’t get into too much trouble for their first two years. I understood why it existed, but it was a direct problem for students like me, students who didn’t fit the university’s definition of “female” despite being legally a woman and one summer away from being all but the most dedicated transphobe’s definition of a woman. 

Why did I choose this particular university above the two public universities in my state also offering my degree? Simple, scholarships and my best friend. Chris had spent his fall semester attending the school while I worked until I had my own car, and when I had a choice of school his was obvious. Since the school was unwilling to let me dorm with women until after my surgery it meant I had a constant safe place to go on the same floor as I was staying. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was a decent one.

My dad, of course, wouldn’t hear the end of it. He ranted and raved about how the school was one assault away from one hell of a lawsuit, and did everything in his power to ensure that I wasn’t stuck living with a strange and potentially dangerous man who had constant access to my living space. All of his efforts failed, but that wasn’t exactly too surprising. Private universities didn’t have to follow certain guidelines as strictly as public ones did, and that included guidelines on how to handle trans students.

Dad stopped arguing after my final answer to his request, and in silence we finished packing up my belongings. I didn’t want to bring too much with me but between clothes, toiletries, a laptop, a microwave, and school supplies I had four boxes and two backpacks full of stuff. I worried my roommate might have brought their own supplies for keeping the bathroom clean, but worst case scenario we just had two separate sets of supplies.

An hour later I set off, giving one last goodbye to both of my dads before I left. Before I was even a handful of miles away I felt a pain in my heart thinking of how long it would be before I saw them again. But hey, at least I had Chris. Or at least I would if he answered his damn messages. He stopped streaming or answering private messages almost immediately after his initial stream, but I wasn’t too worried about him. He occasionally went into radio silence for mental health breaks, though those had stopped happening after he first left for school. Maybe he hadn’t been prepared for the community to be so ready for him to come back.

Some of the community were already betting that he’d finally hatched, but I was cutting those conversations short where and when I could see them. At least half of the community was convinced he was trans, but discussing it so flagrantly on his server during his radio silence was just insensitive. Primarily because if he was trans and finally realized it he’d need support, not a group of insensitive jerks patting themselves on the back for realizing it before him.

Unlike most I had every doubt that he was trans. He and I had that conversation before, and he was confident he was a cis guy. He might show a few signs here or there, but if he was sure I was sure. Poking fun at him for playing exclusively women characters was just fun and games, his character preference didn’t have to be hidden evidence of his ‘true identity’.

 

*****

 

The drive to my new home away from home felt surprisingly short. Before I knew it I had passed the large billboard marking the entrance to the town housing the university, and minutes later I was in front of Granite House, the dorm for academic scholarship based students in their first and second years. It was an incredibly intimidating building due to how large it was. From what I could tell it had a whole fifteen floors or so, way more than I’d ever seen outside of actual cities. 

Luckily for my heart I was only on floor four, so it wasn’t high up enough that a glimpse outside would cause me to freeze up. I was hopeful that it wouldn’t, at least. I would be avoiding the windows regardless. 

Less luckily was that I would be stuck on a ‘men’s’ floor, and Chris didn’t even know I was here yet. I had planned to surprise him at some point after arriving, but the closer I walked to the elevator the more anxious I felt about being alone. My roommate had to be a good one, right? The school wouldn’t room me with just anyone, they’d have to at least be a little considerate, right?

That optimism lasted approximately six steps. The moment I stepped into the busy lounging area outside of the elevator I felt every eye watching me. It reminded me of one of those horror films where the weird villagers stare at the main family to show the audience how creepy they are. I hurried my pace, heavy box in my hands, wondering how I was going to handle those guys staring at me six times in a row. 

I nearly made it to the hallway leading to my room when I heard a concerned voice from behind me. “Hey, you sure you’re on the right floor?” The voice sounded surprisingly feminine, and I turned around to see a gorgeous blue haired girl with almost a foot of height over me standing just behind me. I had to suck in a breath as my heart stopped just looking at her. She looked like a demigoddess in gym clothes, and I immediately found myself getting lost staring up into her bright green eyes. Fuck, like I needed more reminders that I still had the wrong parts. 

“O-oh yeah! I’m, I’m fine. Floor four, AMAB people, yeah?” Stop stammering you idiot! Yes she’s beautiful but you’ve seen beautiful before! Also don’t be a moron, she’s probably dating a guy on this floor which would mean she has no idea what AMAB—

“Oh good, another girl this school fucked over. Where’s your room? I’ve met a few of the guys on this floor, I might be able to tell you if you need to talk to Alec about getting a new roommate or not. Alec is the resident assistant for this floor, if you didn't know.” Without missing a beat my new bodyguard promised me aid and gendered me correctly. I would have kissed her in that moment if I wasn’t so much smaller that it would take a clumsy jump from me to manage it. I would say I was sure she was straight, too, but my heart was optimistic.

She stared at me with a half smile that made my heart do backflips until I realized she was waiting on me. Luna, fuck’s sake, be better! “Oh, uhhh, room 424B? Why is there a B?” I asked aloud, not really expecting much of an answer. 

“424… Oh, cool, my girlfriend and her roommate are across the hall from you in 425. Don’t know the name of who lives at 424, though, but he’s given Erica no problems in the few days since she came out. And the B means the room within the room that you get. Each dorm has a living room and two bedrooms, A and B. Your keycard will open both the main room and your bedroom, but not your roommate’s room.” As this strange hero woman continued her explanation I found myself both disappointed and overjoyed by her casually mention of a girlfriend. On the one hand I had a fellow trans girl nearby, but on the other hand my savior wasn’t single and I wasn’t poly. 

Speaking of my guide, I still didn’t know her name. Needed to rectify that while resisting the urge to offer her my number. Don’t be thirsty, Luna, she’s taken. “Thank you so much for all of your help! I, uh, actually never got your name. I’m Luna.” My introduction was as clumsy as the rest of me, and I was increasingly surprised by this woman not getting annoyed with my whole presence.

“Aubrey. And Luna, huh? Cute name.” She winked at me, causing my brain to cease function and require a reset after a few moments. “If you need help moving in boxes then my girlfriend, her roommate, and I can help. Her roommate is almost as small as you but Erica and I are pretty useful. Kara is at least cute to look at, and single last I checked.” 

Was Aubrey trying to set me up with a complete stranger? I wasn’t exactly opposed, as whoever it was had to be both allegedly into girls and not shit by Aubrey’s probably amazing standards. Wait, didn’t this mean… “How obviously into you was I?” 

“I knew from the first second.”

“Of course you did.” I let out a resigned sigh. I really needed to work on that. Sometimes I just couldn’t help it! Girls were just so… girls. It was hard not to collapse into a mess at the sight of the especially beautiful ones. 

I heard Aubrey speak up again before too much time passed. “So I’ll grab the others, we meet in the hall?”

I didn’t recall agreeing to her offer, but I had doubts she would take no for an answer. “Uh, I only have like, five more things to grab so it shouldn’t take long. Oh! Also! Do you know if a guy named Chris Haystrom lives on this floor? He said he lived in this building but never mentioned the floor number.” I figured if I was about to reject her offer I could at least get more info out of her. Hopefully she knew of him, he was a pretty open ally. 

I was flabbergasted when she looked shocked and almost offended before finally nodding her head. Did I say something wrong? Did Chris do something wrong? That didn’t sound at all like him. “Yeah, I do. I, um, I’ll go get Erica. ” Aubrey rushed away so fast I didn’t even have time to reject her offer.

I found my room by following the almost blur that Aubrey became in her haste, and opened the main door to see a fairly plain room. There was a clean coffee table, a Tv on a stand, a small black fridge, and a new looking grey couch, but otherwise the room was empty. There was no sign of personality to be found. Luckily I had a strawberry scented candle to at least add some color to the dim looking room.

My bedroom was completely empty save for a bed without any sheets and a desk with a stool, and it looked barely large enough to contain that. Just to the side was a tiny closet that looked like it might have been able to hold all of my clothes if I organized things flawlessly. All in all it was a not fantastic place to live for several months, but I’d have to get used to it. 

I set the box down on my bed and let my arms rest a second before moving again. The box wasn’t too heavy but it had taken a toll on me with how long I’d been holding it. Once I finished I gave the living room another once over, checked the attached bathroom to make sure it had toilet paper (I was paranoid that I forgot to buy some, and guys had a tendency to not notice if they did), and headed outside to meet the others.

Standing outside was Aubrey and a smaller girl holding tightly to her hand. The girl was several inches shorter than Aubrey, with her brown hair in a braid and light blue framed glasses on her face. She looked like she was trying to hide in an oversized hoodie representing the university and some plain jeans. God only knew why, she was gorgeous. I already knew just from a quick look that her smile was one that would make people weak in the knees, and the sprinkle of freckles spread around her nose made her just that much more adorable. 

I really needed to get my emotions in check, or girls needed to stop being so pretty. Since the latter was impossible it made me responsible for the former, and I hated being responsible. Speaking of responsible, wasn’t Aubrey supposed to bring the other girl, Kara, along? It was probably a smart idea to ask. “Hey, so, not trying to sound ungrateful, but didn’t you mention the other girl? Kara?” That name alone was quickly growing on me. It made me immediately think of Chris’s Mass Effect Shep, which was a fantastic connection to make. I adored femshep. 

Aubrey shuffled awkwardly and Erica jumped to her assistance, taking charge of the social situation immediately. “Oh, she’s just feeling kind of ill. You know how anxiety and stuff can be.” She had a sweet, singsong voice I felt like I could listen to forever. It was a bit different from Aubrey’s voice that made her sound like someone who could take charge in a second.

I nodded, feeling empathy for the poor girl. Anxiety was hard, especially if she was still new to being trans. Hell I transitioned before I was a teenager and was still a little anxious about being outed and hurt. I was much better than I had been in high school, but anxiety spikes were still threats. “That’s okay, I can meet her later. Let’s get my stuff moved up and maybe I can buy the two of you lunch as thanks?” The offer was genuine, but it was really just an excuse to talk to them longer and learn more about Chris. Something must have happened and I was getting more worried by the minute.

“Of course! That sounds wonderful!” Erica spoke up far more quickly than Aubrey, and from the look on Aubrey’s face it seemed they were not in agreement. 

I went ahead and took the acceptance from one as an acceptance from both, and moved the conversation forward as we quickly moved my things over. Between our numbers it only ended up taking only one trip, and before I knew it we were off to a local mom and pop diner for lunch.

Thanks to Aubrey’s excellent navigation I was able to make it to Renee’s without getting lost more than twice. How did I manage to get lost in a town with only two main streets not associated with the university? You tell me.

Aubrey and I got out in a rush, and after a minute Erica followed close behind. She looked terrified, for some reason. No, not just some reason. I spoke up as soon as I had a guess as to why she was so afraid. “Erica, this your first time out as you?” 

“Oh, uhhh Aubrey’s taken me to some restaurants where we could order from the car but yeah… I figured I could get over my anxiety but I haven’t. I haven’t even gone shopping for better fitting clothes because I feel like everyone knows. Knows the truth, I mean. About what I am.” Oh shit, this poor girl. I was glad I didn’t have any plans for my last weekend before school, because I already knew what we’d be doing. Thank goodness for my savings.

“Well you’ve got me now, and I can help you get used to being out as a girl by Monday since, well, your clinic visits and hormones have definitely done the job well.” I did my best to be encouraging without devolving into swarming her with every compliment my brain could come up with, but it was a titanic effort. I also didn’t want to say that going back to pretending to be a boy would be impossible for her with her current looks, but I had no idea how she was going to manage to pull that off if she tried. 

“Thank you. I, uh, did my best?” She still looked nearly petrified with fright, but at least I had her confidence a little bit boosted. Getting her new clothes wasn’t going to be easy, I could already tell, but I was Lunette Fuckin’ Attlee, I could do anything when cute girls were involved.

“Anytime. How about I take you shopping, maybe with Aubrey and Kara if she feels up to it, and we get you a neat little wardrobe before school starts? I’ve even got a few places in mind if you’re up for sticking with me through an hour drive.” My hometown wasn’t some massive city, but it had a nice shopping center with plenty to find. With luck she could get a brand new wardrobe over the course of just a few hours. I had doubts that she’d have any real style so early, but she had time to grow into her whatever it was she wanted to wear. Imagining her trying on a variety of new clothes in various styles almost made another hour long drive so soon sound worthwhile.

“Oh! Uh, sure? When? And would you mind if we stuck to thrift stores? I don’t have a whole lot of money…” Did she think she was paying? No honey, that wasn’t how that worked. 

Before I could make a promise of payment Aubrey cleared her throat, reminding us that we were standing outside of a restaurant having this conversation. Right. Good job Luna.

I stuck to the back of our three person group as we were seated in the small, dimly lit restaurant. There weren’t even windows outside of the ones by the front door, so our only real lighting was from the cheap light fixtures spread across the ceiling. Seriously people, brighter and more energy efficient lights had been a thing for decades so why not use them?

The menus were simple, exactly the kind of stuff you’d expect to see in a mom & pop diner. Aubrey, Erica, and I made small talk as our waiter handled our orders. They were surprisingly quick to get our food out to us, I didn’t even have time to approach the subject of Chris before my soup was sitting in front of me. Erica couldn’t hide the smile on her face as our waiter handed us our food and called us ‘ladies’. I knew that feeling, even after years of being out I still felt a small shot of euphoric joy every time a stranger gendered me correctly. 

“She’s so adorable, isn’t she?” I asked Aubrey, reveling in the cute shade of red Erica’s face was becoming. God, she was so cute.

“You know it. I’ve got such a precious girlfriend.” Aubrey grinned before planting a kiss on Erica’s glowing cheek, causing her to collapse into an even more adorable mess. 

I had to wait for her to recover for the next part of the conversation to be brought up, so I silently ate my soup while I waited. It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t expect them to be able to screw up chicken tortilla soup. It was a good way to test a restaurant without ever spending too much money, because if they messed up a basic soup it was probably a sign that you shouldn’t return to that place.

I was nearly finished with my bowl by the time Erica seemed to calm down. She had nearly recovered a bit earlier but the waiter called her ‘miss’ and her recovery program had to be reset. The show was definitely worth the wait, especially when Aubrey gushed. I almost didn’t want to spoil the mood by bringing Chris up, but I wanted to know where my friend was. He didn’t even know I was in town, yet. 

Oh, wow, how was I ever going to surprise visit him without asking him where he lived? This ‘surprise him’ plan really was poorly thought out. Suddenly I felt like a bit of a shortsighted idiot. If I hadn’t run into Aubrey I might have spent the entire semester flailing around by myself. 

Whatever! Put internal thoughts and self deprecation aside, where was Chris? “So earlier Aubrey I mentioned a friend of mine, Chris. And your reaction wasn’t the best. Is he okay? He didn’t, like, turn into an asshole while off in school, did he?” I had every doubt that him turning into a piece of garbage was even possible, but people could change. It was possible, if incredibly unlikely, that the persona he shared with his stream was an act.

Aubrey and Erica seemed incredibly uncomfortable with the subject, and a part of me wanted to apologize for putting them on the spot. However, this was my best friend and I was worried about his radio silence.

I gave them time to answer, and it was Aubrey who spoke first. “K-Chris is fine. Not a bad person. Just going through some stuff. Alone. Said no more streams for a bit.” Aubrey looked like she was struggling to carefully pick out every word that came out of her mouth, and it showed. Why was she dancing around the subject so much? For that matter how was she so familiar with Chris? Did they share a lot of classes?

It was suspicious, but I was going to keep those thoughts to myself. Aubrey was probably just super talkative with him like she seemed to be with me. Whatever. “Alright, thanks. If you could, please don’t tell him I’m in town? I decided to start school instead of working for another semester, I want to surprise him.” If Chris was out of commission for a bit I could at least hope his friends wouldn’t tell him I was around yet. I still had the surprise, I was going to use it.

Erica and Aubrey shared an obvious grimace before they both nodded. Was surprising him really that bad? I wasn’t going to do it until after he was better, jeez. “That’s fine, neither of us will tell Chris you’re here.” Aubrey’s voice sounded uncharacteristically flat as she gave me her answer. It was emotionless, unlike any way I’d heard her speak in the short time since I met her. Was I really asking that much?

I didn’t bother discussing Chris any further. He was obviously a subject they were uncomfortable with bringing up for some reason, so bringing him up would just cause issues. Instead Aubrey, Erica, and I discussed what we thought Erica would be most comfortable wearing for her first day of school. She was still sticking to her oversized old clothes and sports bras, so Aubrey and I agreed to slowly ease her into things with feminine hoodies, jeans, and actual underwear. We were sticking with just that for the moment, at least.

I wasn’t about to push her too far. I also hid inside of hoodies until I realized how perfect skirts were, and from then on I refused to wear anything but skirts or dresses. Plus wearing skirts had the added benefit of making my X chromosome donor uncomfortable when I saw her, which was always fun. 

Lunch was over before I knew it, and after a drive back that involved only getting lost once we were back at Granite. We walked and talked all the way back to our rooms, and stopped for goodbyes right outside of our doors. We established our plans to leave for my hometown at ten in the morning and I gave them both quick hugs.

I turned to insert my keycard into my door, but stopped as I heard a familiar, if more feminine, voice speak up from behind me.

“Eri, Aubrey, how was the new friend? Did you…” The mystery girl stopped speaking as I turned around, and we froze as our eyes met. 

Staring straight at me was my best friend.