Secrets and School

Chapter 15

I felt really bad leaving you guys on a cliff hanger yesterday. But luckily I finished my revision earlier than anticipated today. So I have written another chapter. It's not a long chapter, so don't get too excited. (This one doesn't end on a cliff hanger. I promise)

Zoe didn't look too surprised, when I saw her expression. In fact, she didn't look surprised at all. "I know." She said. "Well I didn't know, but I had made an assumption."

"Wait, what?" I looked at her with a shocked expression. She laughed a little. "How did you make this assumption, exactly?"

"Well...when you first arrived, and I made guesses about why you had moved here." She said, slowly, thinking about her words and how to phrase things. "When I was making guesses you looked a little stressed and concerned that I was gonna guess correctly. Then when I told you I was pansexual, you didn't seem as stressed or concerned. Maybe cause you realized that I am more open minded than you originally thought. But only you know that for sure, like I said before...assumptions."

I nodded listening closely.

"When we left English to go to Miss Smith. You two used a code word...situation, I think...and automatically I started looking out for the smallest of characteristics. When we left her office you went to the toilet. When you left you had a huge grin on your face, like you had achieved a life long goal, or something."

I was shocked about every little detail she had noticed.

"When I came over to work on that annoyingly difficult code, you looked in a lot of discomfort...agony in fact. You kept rubbing your chest and back. One of the issues with wearing your binder too long you idiot." She said, pulling a funny face.

I laughed.

"When you took your dad away from the dinning room table I knew something was up, for sure. Maybe you had a chest infection or something but I felt like there was more to it. When you got punched in the chest and passed out in pain, I knew for sure it wasn't a bloody chest infection. But didn't know 100% what had caused so much pain...other than the punch."

Wow...she really pays attention to things.

"Then I caught you coming out of the disabled toilets, when getting changed for PE. I wondered why you weren't comfortable enough to get changed in the male changing rooms. And came up with millions of assumptions. But when I linked everything together, you being trans was the most...likely... of them all. Obviously, I waited for you to come to me about it cause that's your business to tell people if you want."

I just looked at her in shock.

"Don't worry, I haven't told anyone about these assumptions." She said, heading over to her school bag, that I hadn't realized she had brought with her, next to my door. "Here's some school work by the way." She said, pulling out some paperwork from her bag and placing it on my desk. "And here's a little 'get well' gift I got for you." Handing me a little box. "Open it."

I removed the lid and looked at what was inside. It was a dog tag. I picked it up looking at it closer. One side of the tag said 'world's greatest friend' the other side said, 'world's greatest brother'. I smiled. "Let me put it on you," she said, taking it from my hand a placing it around my neck and doing up the clasp. "Your sister wanted something to say thank you for sticking up for her, and I wanted to say thank you for sticking up for me. So I took her shopping quickly yesterday after school. And we both decided on that for you." She explained.

I couldn't have been happier in that moment. I hugged her as tight as I could, without causing me too much pain. She hugged back. I would thank my sister when I next saw her.

Somehow we ended up laying on my bed talking about...well everything and nothing. "Can I ask a question?" She said.

"You just did." I said with a grin. She gave me that 'Jake...seriously?' look. "Sure go ahead."

"Are you wearing your binder right now? Cause you're wearing a really baggy jumper so I am assuming not." She said, slowly.

"Once again your assumptions are correct. It causes me too much pain to wear it right now. It might not be too bad tomorrow, but I guess we will just wait and find out. Normally I hate not wearing a binder around others but...I don't feel like that around you anymore...now you know about me that is. When you came over for that computing task you obviously didn't know at the time hence I wasn't willing to take it off but now I don't feel bothered." I said.

Zoe looked at her watch. "I gotta go or my parents will kill me. Oh I got stuck on another computing task, can I come over and we can work on it together?" She asked, collecting her bag.

I groaned in annoyance...bloody computing. She laughed. "I take it that's a yes." She said.

"You're brilliant at accurate assumptions." I said. "Come over in the morning as we don't have school tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me." She said, before giving me a hug. We walked downstairs and I showed her out. I couldn't have been happier that she finally knew...and accepted me.