___________________ ღღ ___________________
Ellie
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ •.¸ ¸.• ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[ - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 2:19am - El Juan’s Taqueria - ]
Dawn and I pull into the tiny parking lot beside the taco joint just ahead of Derek. We’ve been going over the meeting with Spar, Leah, and Anialah in more detail on the way here, and Dawn is incredibly curious about it all. Now we’ve lapsed into a companionable silence, and the closing notes to Alec Lambert’s Joyride play out as we find a spot and park.
“You planning on getting anything to eat?” I ask Dawn.
She shakes her head. “Nah, you?”
I shrug. “I’ll see where the fates take me.”
Dawn shuts off the engine with a final twist and pull of her keys, then she pockets them in one fluid movement. The motion is so smooth that I find myself blushing.
Fuck I love her, I think.
You don’t say, Maddie thinks sardonically from their position standing in front of the viewing screen.
You can fuck right off, I think back affectionately.
It’s cute how much you love her, Maddie thinks bemusedly, I love seeing you two together.
I find myself smiling as I get out of the car. I love seeing you with her too, you know, I think.
Maddie blushes as they watch through my eyes. Fair enough, they reply.
I follow Dawn over to where Derek’s parked, and we move to greet the newly aware girl as she gets out of her car.
“Hey Dee,” Dawn says casually.
The three of us stand in a little circle, and I watch as something shorts out in Derek’s mind: her left eye twitches, the right corner of her mouth quirks up, and her gaze snaps to Dawn’s face, searching for something.
“Dee?” she asks questioningly.
Dawn looks a bit abashed. “Sorry to spring that one on you,” she says, “but I’m curious if you like it? Ellie went with E for a while before she chose her name. Nothing’s wrong with sticking with Derek of course, either way you’re cute.”
The girl in question blushes profusely, though she manages to frown. She seems to consider Dawn’s words for a moment, glancing down at the ground.
“Dee’s not bad,” she says, “though I’m not sure I’m going to pick a ‘D’ name? I’ve been thinking about it pretty much nonstop since Ellie asked me about my name.”
“You definitely don’t have to pick a D name!” Dawn assures, holding up both hands.
“Yeah and there’s no rush at all to choose a name, you’ve got all the time in the world to figure this out,” I add.
She frowns again, and crosses her arms. “I don’t though, do I? I did a lot of digging into that subreddit you sent me. Lots of girls there wish they could’ve transitioned sooner.”
“Well that’s generally in relation to physical transition, which Ellie and I are gonna be figuring out right alongside you,” Dawn says, “The clock’s sorta ticking on that, that’s true, but everything else you can take at your own pace. Name, presentation, social transition, all that stuff can move at whatever speed is most comfortable for you.”
“I guess that’s true... Well, for now, you two can call me Vee. Maybe short for Violet, maybe not, depends on how it feels I guess,” Vee says.
Dawn does a little curtsy. “An honor to meet you, Vee,” she says.
I roll my eyes and grin. “What she said,” I say.
Vee laughs a little nervously. “Um, can we go inside? I don’t like talking about this in the open just now.”
“Of course,” Dawn says, spinning on her heel, “Let’s go.”
We walk the short distance to the glass doors of the restaurant, and Dawn holds one open for Vee and I. We walk in and follow our usual routine, going straight to the counter to order some chips, salsa, guacamole, and any other food and drinks we want to talk over.
Fate ends up taking me to a burrito after Vee orders a delicious-sounding quesadilla. It isn’t long before we’re filling up our waters at the soda machine and looking for a place to sit. We’re friendly with the wait staff, but we rarely get to talk with them outside of short customer service interactions.
The three of us find a quiet corner table where we can hopefully talk without being overheard. I sit in the back left seat, Dawn settles down beside me, and Vee takes the seat across from me.
“I assume you already know this but... please don’t tell anyone else about me, yet?” Vee asks quietly.
“Of course we won’t,” I assure her, leaning my chin forward onto my clasped hands supported by my elbows on the table.
“Our lips are sealed,” Dawn says.
“Thanks guy- er, girls,” Vee says, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, “I appreciate it.”
I grin at her. “Think nothing of it,” I say.
“Cool,” Vee says, sighing with relief.
“Yeah everything we talk about here stays between the three of us,” Dawn says firmly.
“Great because uh, my parents are pretty religious and they can not find out I’m questioning my gender. Not for a loooong while,” Vee says.
“Oof that’s right,” I say, recalling the variety of christian symbols displayed around Vee’s house, “so you don’t expect that coming out to go well?”
She shrugs. “It’s not impossible that they’ll be accepting, but let’s say I’m not holding my breath,” Vee replies.
“I understand, I’m in a similar boat with my folks,” I say.
“You’re both welcome to borrow my dads anytime you need,” Dawn says with a sad smile.
“Thanks Dawn,” Vee and I chorus.
There’s a pause in conversation, and it lasts until the chips and salsa are ready at the counter. Dawn goes and grabs them, and the three of us dig into the delicious pico de gallo.
“So how long have you two known about yourselves?” Vee asks curiously, in between chips.
I glance at Dawn and she meets my gaze, then nods and gestures for me to go first.
“I’ve known since last Friday,” I say, scooping some salsa and some guacamole onto my little plate. I grab a handful of chips too, to form my own private smorgasbord.
“Same with me,” Dawn says with a grin. “We helped each other figure it out.”
Vee smiles softly. “That’s really cute,” she says.
“Aw thanks,” I say with a wide smile, “just like you.”
Vee looks taken aback. “Thank you!” she says, blushing brightly.
“Of course hun,” I say kindly, “it’s the truth.”
Vee continues blushing, and shoves a chip full of salsa into her mouth.
“So how have things been with you lately?” Dawn asks Vee.
Vee holds up a finger, finishes chewing, and swallows.
“Uhm, things have been alright?” she says uncertainly. “School’s school, work’s work, and in between I’m just trying to get enough sleep and see all my friends.”
Huge mood, Maddie thinks.
The hugest, I agree.
Aloud I ask, “How’s your dog doing?”
[ - Content Warning: light mention of pet pain and medical procedures - ]
Last I heard she’d been in chronic pain and needed surgery.
Vee perks up a bit though. “She’s doing a lot better! The surgeries happened last week, and she’s been healing up nicely. Y’all should come over and see her sometime!”
[ - end cw - ]
Dawn grins. “We’ll have to do that!”
“How have things been with you two lately? Aside from, y’know, girly?” Vee asks with a smirk.
I laugh lightly. “Pretty good? I’ve been hanging out with Dawn and her family all weekend,” I admit.
“Yeah having Ellie around has been really nice,” Dawn says.
I feel heat rise to my cheeks, and they only get warmer when Vee says, “Aww, I’m glad you’ve been there for each other.”
“Yeah, it’s amazing getting to be Ellie around the Anderson house. I’m not looking forward to going back to my parents’ place,” I say.
Vee nods and has another salsa’d chip.
“I feel you there,” she says.
“You’re welcome over anytime yourself, Vee,” Dawn assures, “I know my dads and Sky won’t mind having another trans friend around.”
Vee’s eyes widen. “A-are you sure? I don’t want to impose...”
“One hundred percent sure,” Dawn says with a smile.
“Well, in that case sign me up. I trust your family not to out me to anyone else,” Vee says.
Just then our food orders are called, and Vee and I get up to grab our grub. We walk up to counter, take our steaming-hot plates of food, and grab a handful of napkins each before returning to the table. Dawn observes us idly while sipping at her water and savoring the chips and guac.
As soon as we sit back down, Dawn says, “Vee, just so you know I’m dead serious about you being welcome at my place. You can come over tomorrow after school if you’d like to meet everyone?”
Vee’s expression flickers from alarmed at being addressed to hopeful.
“Damn Dawn, thanks,” she says sincerely. “I’ll have to see how school tomorrow is, what with staying up so late and having all this life-altering information on trans people suddenly at my fingertips.”
“Yeah it can be a wild time,” I agree, “remembering back to last week feels like remembering stuff that happened years ago.”
“There’s no pressure to come over of course,” Dawn assures, “just wanted to make clear that it was a genuine offer.”
“Thank you, again,” Vee says, “I can only imagine how useful having a safe space like that is.”
“Extremely,” I say with a smile, grabbing Dawn’s hand under the table and giving it a loving squeeze.
She squeezes back, and then I let go to take hold of my burrito. While I chow down on that, Vee begins her assault on the quesadilla before her.
“I don’t know how you two are still so hungry, didn’t you have the pizza at David’s?” Dawn asks curiously.
“It’s a skill,” Vee says with a grin, taking another bite of her cooked cheese-and-chicken tortilla.
“I didn’t have much pizza,” I admit, “I was too busy focusing on the game and it was gone before I’d had three slices.”
“Okay fair,” Dawn says, sipping at her water.
“I have no excuse, just a bottomless stomach,” Vee adds.
“We should probably get going soon,” say, glancing at the clock on the wall that reads ‘2:34am’.
“Yeah but finish your food first cutie,” Dawn says with a grin.
I blush, but resolutely turn my attention back to my burrito. “Fine.”
Vee similarly returns her focus to her food, and for a short while we eat in silence.
How are you holding up? I ask Maddie as I chew.
Decent enough, they reply, though I wish we could just tell Vee the stuff I want to talk to Dawn about.
Fair, let’s talk to her and her dads about how they feel about us maybe adding some more allies to the fray, I say.
Good plan, Maddie agrees.
I get about halfway through my burrito before I feel full enough to stop.
“I’m gonna go get a box,” I announce. “Want one?” I ask Vee.
“Yes please, thank you Ellie!” she says with a smile.
I go up to the counter to grab the take-home containers and greet the cashier with a friendly nod.
[ - Content Warning: misgendering - ]
“Here you go sir,” he says after presenting the boxes to me.
I grimace, but take them from him. “Thanks,” I say sourly.
The guy clearly notices I’m upset, but I’ve got no spoons left to try and explain why, so I just leave and return to our table.
[ - end cw - ]
“Sorry hun,” Dawn says quietly as I sit down and pass one of the boxes to Vee.
“You heard that?” I ask softly.
“Yep,” she replies.
“Fuck,” is all I have to say.
“What happened?” Vee whispers.
“Got misgendered,” I say simply.
“Ah. I’m sorry,” Vee says.
“I’m not even dressing femme yet, so it’s not a big deal,” I say, trying very hard to actually make it feel like ‘not a big deal’.
“Yeah but it still sucks,” Dawn says, putting an arm around my shoulders and side hugging me close.
Vee finishes eating not long after that, and the three of us get ready to head out. I give a friendly wave to the cashier and cook as we leave, which they return. Then we’re back out in the chilly September air and walking to Vee’s car.
“Thanks a lot for talking with me this late,” Vee says, “I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime,” I say amicably, “us queers gotta stick together.”
Dawn raises an eyebrow. “I guess we are queer now, huh,” she says.
“Good night queer girls,” Vee says with a smile.
“Night Vee,” I say.
“Adíos amiga,” Dawn says.
Then Vee turns and climbs into her car, and Dawn and I continue walking towards her civic.
Would you like to take over? I ask Maddie.
Sure thing, they reply.
I focus and step backwards from the body, while I feel Maddie sliding forward into the space I’ve vacated.
“Hey Dawn,” Maddie says quietly, “Maddie here.”
“Hey Maddie,” Dawn says brightly, “what’s up?”
“Not much, just thought maybe we could continue our conversation from before on everything Spar and Leah said?” they say.
“Absolutely,” Dawn says. We reach her car and both she and Maddie slide into the front seats and buckle up.
“Was there something specific you wanted to start with?” Dawn asks.
“Yes as a matter of fact, what do you think about adding Vee to our ‘allies’?” Maddie uses both hands to do air quotes.
“Hmmm,” Dawn says, “She might be a great asset to the team, but we should probably talk to my dads first. They might have more insight than I do at the moment.”
“That’s what we thought too,” Maddie says, “glad we’re on the same page.”
“Yeah,” Dawn says as she starts the engine, “me too.”
We pull out of our parking spot and head for the open road. We drive in silence for a few minutes, the three of us lost in thought.
“Y’know,” Dawn says conversationally, breaking the quiet, “if you two start taking a martial art I am absolutely going to join you.”
“Oh be our guest, please!” Maddie replies. “We’re not looking forward to trying to navigate that world as an out trans woman.”
“Yeah I hear you there,” Dawn mutters. “Together it’ll be that much easier for both of us.”
“Heck yeah,” Maddie agrees.
We’re quiet for a bit as Dawn navigates a big intersection. Then she says, “If you don’t mind me asking, how are you two feeling about coming out and stuff now that you’ve gotten through the scariest part - starting?”
I raise an eyebrow from my seat on one of the viewing tree’s sofas.
Do you want to take this or should I? Maddie asks.
You’re welcome to, I reply.
Aloud, Maddie says, “We’re feeling about the same, cautious and scared of our parents, but eager to start coming out in all other areas of life I guess.”
“Gotcha, that’s totally fair,” Dawn says.
“How about you?” Maddie asks, “Are you still feeling good about everything so far?”
“Oh yeah,” Dawn replies, “I’m loving getting to be myself around people. And once I start to dress femme? Oh, it’s over for this town.”
Maddie and I both grin.
“We’re so glad you feel that way,” Maddie says happily, “It’s beautiful seeing you get to be yourself.”
Now it’s Dawn’s turn to blush profusely and sputter a bit. “I- you- thank you! You too! I love watching both of you be yourselves!”
We laugh. “Thank you cutie,” Maddie says with a grin.
“You’re welcome,” Dawn says, smiling widely.
We cross the train tracks and make it to Dawn’s subdivision shortly thereafter.
“We’re not looking forward to getting up in five hours,” Maddie says with a sigh.
“Me neither,” Dawn agrees.
We pull into her driveway a few minutes later. Dawn kills the engine quickly, and the two of us gather up our backpacks and exit the vehicle without saying much else.
All the lights are off in the house, which comes as no surprise considering it’s close to three am, and we try to be as quiet as possible as we walk across the gravel path that connects the driveway to the front door.
Dawn unlocks the door and lets us in quietly. I turn on the flashlight on my phone and point it at the ground. Together, we go through the familiar motions of taking off our backpacks, shoes, and coats in the front hallway and stowing them away.
The both of us are exhausted, so we make our way upstairs and quickly set about getting ready for bed. We brush our teeth and put on pajamas, get the air mattress and couch set up for sleeping, and finally turn in just as the clock strikes 3:15 am.
“Good night Dawn,” we say quietly.
“Good night Ellie, good night Maddie,” Dawn replies, then she adds sappily, “I love you both.”
“We love you too,” we say with a huge smile on our face.
And then, we drift off to sleep.
KristenOfTheCoven
Hello dear readers!
Thank you all so much for your kind comments! Each and every one truly brightens our day and we treasure them all.
We're twenty five chapters down now, with perhaps another twenty five at least before the end of book 1 ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). We're planning for the pace to pick up a bit in the coming chapters, and we're excited to share the next arc with you all!
We sincerely hope you all have fantastic days!
- The Coven System
___________________ ღღ ___________________
Ellie
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ •.¸ ¸.• ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[ - Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 2:19am - El Juan’s Taqueria - ]
Dawn and I pull into the tiny parking lot beside the taco joint just ahead of Derek. We’ve been going over the meeting with Spar, Leah, and Anialah in more detail on the way here, and Dawn is incredibly curious about it all. Now we’ve lapsed into a companionable silence, and the closing notes to Alec Lambert’s Joyride play out as we find a spot and park.
“You planning on getting anything to eat?” I ask Dawn.
She shakes her head. “Nah, you?”
I shrug. “I’ll see where the fates take me.”
Dawn shuts off the engine with a final twist and pull of her keys, then she pockets them in one fluid movement. The motion is so smooth that I find myself blushing.
Fuck I love her, I think.
You don’t say, Maddie thinks sardonically from their position standing in front of the viewing screen.
You can fuck right off, I think back affectionately.
It’s cute how much you love her, Maddie thinks bemusedly, I love seeing you two together.
I find myself smiling as I get out of the car. I love seeing you with her too, you know, I think.
Maddie blushes as they watch through my eyes. Fair enough, they reply.
I follow Dawn over to where Derek’s parked, and we move to greet the newly aware girl as she gets out of her car.
“Hey Dee,” Dawn says casually.
The three of us stand in a little circle, and I watch as something shorts out in Derek’s mind: her left eye twitches, the right corner of her mouth quirks up, and her gaze snaps to Dawn’s face, searching for something.
“Dee?” she asks questioningly.
Dawn looks a bit abashed. “Sorry to spring that one on you,” she says, “but I’m curious if you like it? Ellie went with E for a while before she chose her name. Nothing’s wrong with sticking with Derek of course, either way you’re cute.”
The girl in question blushes profusely, though she manages to frown. She seems to consider Dawn’s words for a moment, glancing down at the ground.
“Dee’s not bad,” she says, “though I’m not sure I’m going to pick a ‘D’ name? I’ve been thinking about it pretty much nonstop since Ellie asked me about my name.”
“You definitely don’t have to pick a D name!” Dawn assures, holding up both hands.
“Yeah and there’s no rush at all to choose a name, you’ve got all the time in the world to figure this out,” I add.
She frowns again, and crosses her arms. “I don’t though, do I? I did a lot of digging into that subreddit you sent me. Lots of girls there wish they could’ve transitioned sooner.”
“Well that’s generally in relation to physical transition, which Ellie and I are gonna be figuring out right alongside you,” Dawn says, “The clock’s sorta ticking on that, that’s true, but everything else you can take at your own pace. Name, presentation, social transition, all that stuff can move at whatever speed is most comfortable for you.”
“I guess that’s true... Well, for now, you two can call me Vee. Maybe short for Violet, maybe not, depends on how it feels I guess,” Vee says.
Dawn does a little curtsy. “An honor to meet you, Vee,” she says.
I roll my eyes and grin. “What she said,” I say.
Vee laughs a little nervously. “Um, can we go inside? I don’t like talking about this in the open just now.”
“Of course,” Dawn says, spinning on her heel, “Let’s go.”
We walk the short distance to the glass doors of the restaurant, and Dawn holds one open for Vee and I. We walk in and follow our usual routine, going straight to the counter to order some chips, salsa, guacamole, and any other food and drinks we want to talk over.
Fate ends up taking me to a burrito after Vee orders a delicious-sounding quesadilla. It isn’t long before we’re filling up our waters at the soda machine and looking for a place to sit. We’re friendly with the wait staff, but we rarely get to talk with them outside of short customer service interactions.
The three of us find a quiet corner table where we can hopefully talk without being overheard. I sit in the back left seat, Dawn settles down beside me, and Vee takes the seat across from me.
“I assume you already know this but... please don’t tell anyone else about me, yet?” Vee asks quietly.
“Of course we won’t,” I assure her, leaning my chin forward onto my clasped hands supported by my elbows on the table.
“Our lips are sealed,” Dawn says.
“Thanks guy- er, girls,” Vee says, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, “I appreciate it.”
I grin at her. “Think nothing of it,” I say.
“Cool,” Vee says, sighing with relief.
“Yeah everything we talk about here stays between the three of us,” Dawn says firmly.
“Great because uh, my parents are pretty religious and they can not find out I’m questioning my gender. Not for a loooong while,” Vee says.
“Oof that’s right,” I say, recalling the variety of christian symbols displayed around Vee’s house, “so you don’t expect that coming out to go well?”
She shrugs. “It’s not impossible that they’ll be accepting, but let’s say I’m not holding my breath,” Vee replies.
“I understand, I’m in a similar boat with my folks,” I say.
“You’re both welcome to borrow my dads anytime you need,” Dawn says with a sad smile.
“Thanks Dawn,” Vee and I chorus.
There’s a pause in conversation, and it lasts until the chips and salsa are ready at the counter. Dawn goes and grabs them, and the three of us dig into the delicious pico de gallo.
“So how long have you two known about yourselves?” Vee asks curiously, in between chips.
I glance at Dawn and she meets my gaze, then nods and gestures for me to go first.
“I’ve known since last Friday,” I say, scooping some salsa and some guacamole onto my little plate. I grab a handful of chips too, to form my own private smorgasbord.
“Same with me,” Dawn says with a grin. “We helped each other figure it out.”
Vee smiles softly. “That’s really cute,” she says.
“Aw thanks,” I say with a wide smile, “just like you.”
Vee looks taken aback. “Thank you!” she says, blushing brightly.
“Of course hun,” I say kindly, “it’s the truth.”
Vee continues blushing, and shoves a chip full of salsa into her mouth.
“So how have things been with you lately?” Dawn asks Vee.
Vee holds up a finger, finishes chewing, and swallows.
“Uhm, things have been alright?” she says uncertainly. “School’s school, work’s work, and in between I’m just trying to get enough sleep and see all my friends.”
Huge mood, Maddie thinks.
The hugest, I agree.
Aloud I ask, “How’s your dog doing?”
[ - Content Warning: light mention of pet pain and medical procedures - ]
Last I heard she’d been in chronic pain and needed surgery.
Vee perks up a bit though. “She’s doing a lot better! The surgeries happened last week, and she’s been healing up nicely. Y’all should come over and see her sometime!”
[ - end cw - ]
Dawn grins. “We’ll have to do that!”
“How have things been with you two lately? Aside from, y’know, girly?” Vee asks with a smirk.
I laugh lightly. “Pretty good? I’ve been hanging out with Dawn and her family all weekend,” I admit.
“Yeah having Ellie around has been really nice,” Dawn says.
I feel heat rise to my cheeks, and they only get warmer when Vee says, “Aww, I’m glad you’ve been there for each other.”
“Yeah, it’s amazing getting to be Ellie around the Anderson house. I’m not looking forward to going back to my parents’ place,” I say.
Vee nods and has another salsa’d chip.
“I feel you there,” she says.
“You’re welcome over anytime yourself, Vee,” Dawn assures, “I know my dads and Sky won’t mind having another trans friend around.”
Vee’s eyes widen. “A-are you sure? I don’t want to impose...”
“One hundred percent sure,” Dawn says with a smile.
“Well, in that case sign me up. I trust your family not to out me to anyone else,” Vee says.
Just then our food orders are called, and Vee and I get up to grab our grub. We walk up to counter, take our steaming-hot plates of food, and grab a handful of napkins each before returning to the table. Dawn observes us idly while sipping at her water and savoring the chips and guac.
As soon as we sit back down, Dawn says, “Vee, just so you know I’m dead serious about you being welcome at my place. You can come over tomorrow after school if you’d like to meet everyone?”
Vee’s expression flickers from alarmed at being addressed to hopeful.
“Damn Dawn, thanks,” she says sincerely. “I’ll have to see how school tomorrow is, what with staying up so late and having all this life-altering information on trans people suddenly at my fingertips.”
“Yeah it can be a wild time,” I agree, “remembering back to last week feels like remembering stuff that happened years ago.”
“There’s no pressure to come over of course,” Dawn assures, “just wanted to make clear that it was a genuine offer.”
“Thank you, again,” Vee says, “I can only imagine how useful having a safe space like that is.”
“Extremely,” I say with a smile, grabbing Dawn’s hand under the table and giving it a loving squeeze.
She squeezes back, and then I let go to take hold of my burrito. While I chow down on that, Vee begins her assault on the quesadilla before her.
“I don’t know how you two are still so hungry, didn’t you have the pizza at David’s?” Dawn asks curiously.
“It’s a skill,” Vee says with a grin, taking another bite of her cooked cheese-and-chicken tortilla.
“I didn’t have much pizza,” I admit, “I was too busy focusing on the game and it was gone before I’d had three slices.”
“Okay fair,” Dawn says, sipping at her water.
“I have no excuse, just a bottomless stomach,” Vee adds.
“We should probably get going soon,” say, glancing at the clock on the wall that reads ‘2:34am’.
“Yeah but finish your food first cutie,” Dawn says with a grin.
I blush, but resolutely turn my attention back to my burrito. “Fine.”
Vee similarly returns her focus to her food, and for a short while we eat in silence.
How are you holding up? I ask Maddie as I chew.
Decent enough, they reply, though I wish we could just tell Vee the stuff I want to talk to Dawn about.
Fair, let’s talk to her and her dads about how they feel about us maybe adding some more allies to the fray, I say.
Good plan, Maddie agrees.
I get about halfway through my burrito before I feel full enough to stop.
“I’m gonna go get a box,” I announce. “Want one?” I ask Vee.
“Yes please, thank you Ellie!” she says with a smile.
I go up to the counter to grab the take-home containers and greet the cashier with a friendly nod.
[ - Content Warning: misgendering - ]
“Here you go sir,” he says after presenting the boxes to me.
I grimace, but take them from him. “Thanks,” I say sourly.
The guy clearly notices I’m upset, but I’ve got no spoons left to try and explain why, so I just leave and return to our table.
[ - end cw - ]
“Sorry hun,” Dawn says quietly as I sit down and pass one of the boxes to Vee.
“You heard that?” I ask softly.
“Yep,” she replies.
“Fuck,” is all I have to say.
“What happened?” Vee whispers.
“Got misgendered,” I say simply.
“Ah. I’m sorry,” Vee says.
“I’m not even dressing femme yet, so it’s not a big deal,” I say, trying very hard to actually make it feel like ‘not a big deal’.
“Yeah but it still sucks,” Dawn says, putting an arm around my shoulders and side hugging me close.
Vee finishes eating not long after that, and the three of us get ready to head out. I give a friendly wave to the cashier and cook as we leave, which they return. Then we’re back out in the chilly September air and walking to Vee’s car.
“Thanks a lot for talking with me this late,” Vee says, “I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime,” I say amicably, “us queers gotta stick together.”
Dawn raises an eyebrow. “I guess we are queer now, huh,” she says.
“Good night queer girls,” Vee says with a smile.
“Night Vee,” I say.
“Adíos amiga,” Dawn says.
Then Vee turns and climbs into her car, and Dawn and I continue walking towards her civic.
Would you like to take over? I ask Maddie.
Sure thing, they reply.
I focus and step backwards from the body, while I feel Maddie sliding forward into the space I’ve vacated.
“Hey Dawn,” Maddie says quietly, “Maddie here.”
“Hey Maddie,” Dawn says brightly, “what’s up?”
“Not much, just thought maybe we could continue our conversation from before on everything Spar and Leah said?” they say.
“Absolutely,” Dawn says. We reach her car and both she and Maddie slide into the front seats and buckle up.
“Was there something specific you wanted to start with?” Dawn asks.
“Yes as a matter of fact, what do you think about adding Vee to our ‘allies’?” Maddie uses both hands to do air quotes.
“Hmmm,” Dawn says, “She might be a great asset to the team, but we should probably talk to my dads first. They might have more insight than I do at the moment.”
“That’s what we thought too,” Maddie says, “glad we’re on the same page.”
“Yeah,” Dawn says as she starts the engine, “me too.”
We pull out of our parking spot and head for the open road. We drive in silence for a few minutes, the three of us lost in thought.
“Y’know,” Dawn says conversationally, breaking the quiet, “if you two start taking a martial art I am absolutely going to join you.”
“Oh be our guest, please!” Maddie replies. “We’re not looking forward to trying to navigate that world as an out trans woman.”
“Yeah I hear you there,” Dawn mutters. “Together it’ll be that much easier for both of us.”
“Heck yeah,” Maddie agrees.
We’re quiet for a bit as Dawn navigates a big intersection. Then she says, “If you don’t mind me asking, how are you two feeling about coming out and stuff now that you’ve gotten through the scariest part - starting?”
I raise an eyebrow from my seat on one of the viewing tree’s sofas.
Do you want to take this or should I? Maddie asks.
You’re welcome to, I reply.
Aloud, Maddie says, “We’re feeling about the same, cautious and scared of our parents, but eager to start coming out in all other areas of life I guess.”
“Gotcha, that’s totally fair,” Dawn says.
“How about you?” Maddie asks, “Are you still feeling good about everything so far?”
“Oh yeah,” Dawn replies, “I’m loving getting to be myself around people. And once I start to dress femme? Oh, it’s over for this town.”
Maddie and I both grin.
“We’re so glad you feel that way,” Maddie says happily, “It’s beautiful seeing you get to be yourself.”
Now it’s Dawn’s turn to blush profusely and sputter a bit. “I- you- thank you! You too! I love watching both of you be yourselves!”
We laugh. “Thank you cutie,” Maddie says with a grin.
“You’re welcome,” Dawn says, smiling widely.
We cross the train tracks and make it to Dawn’s subdivision shortly thereafter.
“We’re not looking forward to getting up in five hours,” Maddie says with a sigh.
“Me neither,” Dawn agrees.
We pull into her driveway a few minutes later. Dawn kills the engine quickly, and the two of us gather up our backpacks and exit the vehicle without saying much else.
All the lights are off in the house, which comes as no surprise considering it’s close to three am, and we try to be as quiet as possible as we walk across the gravel path that connects the driveway to the front door.
Dawn unlocks the door and lets us in quietly. I turn on the flashlight on my phone and point it at the ground. Together, we go through the familiar motions of taking off our backpacks, shoes, and coats in the front hallway and stowing them away.
The both of us are exhausted, so we make our way upstairs and quickly set about getting ready for bed. We brush our teeth and put on pajamas, get the air mattress and couch set up for sleeping, and finally turn in just as the clock strikes 3:15 am.
“Good night Dawn,” we say quietly.
“Good night Ellie, good night Maddie,” Dawn replies, then she adds sappily, “I love you both.”
“We love you too,” we say with a huge smile on our face.
And then, we drift off to sleep.
KristenOfTheCoven
Hello dear readers!
Thank you all so much for your kind comments! Each and every one truly brightens our day and we treasure them all.
We're twenty five chapters down now, with perhaps another twenty five at least before the end of book 1 ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). We're planning for the pace to pick up a bit in the coming chapters, and we're excited to share the next arc with you all!
We sincerely hope you all have fantastic days!
- The Coven System
