text: Possible TW: Description of dysphoria. Ruby stared at her reflection in the floor length mirror. She saw so many things wrong with the way she looked. Her hair was way too short. Her shoulders were too broad. She was about six inches too tall, her voice was three octaves too deep, her chest was about two cups too flat. At least, she thought. She didn’t know much about cup sizes. But the worst of all of her flaws was the fact that her body was biologically male. She didn’t understand why she had been born that way. Ruby could go on and on for hours about the things that she disliked about the face she saw staring back at her, but she didn’t exactly have the time for proper self loathing. She had to get ready for the big day she had ahead of her. She slowly and painfully adjusted the grey duct tape that she had stuck to her inner thighs, changing the position of the tape so that it curved around her pelvic bones and up towards her belly button. She then pulled on a pair of small tighty-whities, getting dressed in a pair of ripped skinny jeans and an oversized, light purple sweatshirt. Finally, she slipped into a pair of black and white checkered Vans, and brushed out her ear length brown hair. Pretty much the second that Ruby was done getting herself ready, she heard a loud, obnoxious knock on the front door. She tensed up, startled by the noise, and then she hurried down the stairs to open the door. She quickly swung it open, and there on the porch stood her two best (and only) friends Finley and Klaus. Finley smiled brightly as she opened the door. “Hi, Charlie!” Ruby winced slightly at her deadname, but she managed to hide it from her friends. “Hey, guys, come on upstairs,” She greeted them quietly. Klaus and Finley followed behind Ruby all up the stairs to her room, kicking off their shoes at the doorway. The three teenagers got comfortable laying on Ruby’s soft bed, and Klaus and Finley turned themselves around to face their friend. “So, why’d you ask us to come over here to see you, Charlie-Boy? We don’t hang out here much.” Klaus enquired, tilting his head. This time, Ruby wasn’t able to hide her wince at the awful name. The two boys sitting in front of her immediately looked worried. “What’s wrong, babes?” Klaus asked her gently. He always called his friends pet names when he was worried about them. Ruby took a deep, slow breath, gearing herself up for the rejection she was sure to receive. “I have something to tell you guys, something kind of important.” Klaus and Finley looked at her intently; they were both confused, and slightly worried about her. “I’m transgender.” She blurted out quickly. She watched as Finley and Klaus’s eyebrows raised a tiny bit in surprise, and she could see the gears in their brains turning. She immediately began to ramble on, trying to explain herself to them. “So, uh, that means that I’m a girl. My name is Ruby Elizabeth Clare, because I couldn’t pick just one middle name, and my pronouns are she/her and I’m not named Charlie anymore. I never was really. I understand if you don’t wanna be friends with me anymore after knowing this, ‘cause it’s really weird to be honest and a lot of people think it’s gross and wrong, and that I’m gonna go to Hell because of it and I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought that too because it’s against Christianity, and-” “Ruby.” Finley interrupted her quietly. Ruby’s heart fluttered from hearing him use her proper name. “Yes?” “I’m trans too.” Klaus and Ruby’s heads both snapped towards him in surprise. “You are?” She asked. “Yeah. I’m a trans guy, have you not seen any of the pictures in my house? You’re safe with me, I promise.” Ruby teared up. She couldn’t believe that her best friend was just like her. Finley saw the tears in her eyes, and he held his arms open. Ruby launched herself into them, and he wrapped her up, holding her tightly to his chest. “I promise, Ruby, it’s okay to be trans. I love you so much, and I’m so proud of you for feeling brave enough to tell me and Klaus this. This is so important.” “I’m proud of you too, and I love you,” Ruby whispered, holding onto Finley like he was her lifeline. After a few seconds, the two friends pulled away from each other and turned to look at Klaus. Suddenly, Ruby’s heart was full of fear again. “Klaus..?” Finley’s voice shook a bit. “How are you processing all of this?” Klaus shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed. “I’m fine with all of it. I have nine siblings, you really think that every single one of them are cisgender and straight? Henrie is a trans boy, and Jemm is genderfluid. Besides, even if I didn’t have trans siblings, I’m attracted to men. I’m gay. Why would I not support all of the LGBTQ+ community?” Ruby was silent for a moment, but then she let out a loud, teary laugh. Her friends looked at her curiously. “I can’t believe I was so scared to tell you guys this! You’re so freakin’ accepting, I should’ve known!” Finley and Klaus laughed along with her, and Klaus stepped towards the other two teenagers. “Can I join the hug?” He held out his arms, and Ruby and Finley wrapped around him. The three friends stayed in their group hug for several moments, before reluctantly pulling away from each other. Ruby looked at her two best friends. “I love you guys so much.” The boys smiled back at her. “I love you too, Ruby,” They responded in unison. Ruby beamed at her real name, and then sat back down on her bed. She kicked her legs up and turned on her TV. “So.. You guys wanna play Mario Kart together?”