If They Only Knew...

Chapter 14- Valeria

 After we ate & cleaned up, we all reconvened in the living room. I had gathered my thoughts over the course of the meal, it was just a matter of... Saying them correctly. Of verbally puking them back up.

I sighed slowly, my eyes falling to the floor. My older brother Enrique placed his hand on my shoulder carefully.

"It's ok..." He smiled sadly. "Take your time."

I smiled slowly, staring at the ground for a minute, before looking back up at them each in turn, then back at the ground again. "I- met someone last night..."

My mom gasped, eyes lighting up. "Oh my gosh, mija, who is she? Do I know her? Can she come over?"

Lupe glared at my mom & she fell quiet again, though she still was jumping with energy. I smirked at her, but then became more serious again. "I- really like her..."

"-Oh my gosh, was that the girl you mentioned on the phone yesterday?" Mom bounced as she said this.

Celestina sighed heavily. "Mom-"

She waved my sister away with her hand. "Ok, ok. I'll be quiet now."

I sighed & kept going. "But... I knew her... From before... In elementary..."

My family gasps, my mother the loudest of all. Lupe touched my shoulder lightly, brows furrowed. "So... What are you going to do?"

I run my hands through my hair nervously. "I... don't know... I want to be with her... Like, romantically... But at the same time... I don't know if I'm ready to be out as trans yet..."

Lupe nodded. "That's... valid. I get that..."

I raised an eyebrow questioningly & she turned away. Celestina cleared her throat, eyes focusing on me. "So... what exactly makes coming out as trans to people so difficult for you? Not that I'm trying to disrespect you or anything..." She added quickly, hands waving at me frantically. "It's just... It's important that we understand these things so that we can help you... As best we can." She smiled softly & I returned it, sighing.

"It's just... Well, I mean, everyone already knows I'm a lesbian... Your friends... & I haven't exactly been private about that part of me... But what if... Nobody accepts that I'm trans? What if... They don't understand it? Or think I'm disgusting? Or don't want to be my friend?" I bite nervously at my lip, & Celestina puts her hand on my shoulder gently.

"Who exactly is the 'they' in this scenario?"

I sigh heavily, falling back onto the couch. "I don't know! Everybody! The whole school!"

Celestina's brows knit together & she frowns slightly. "The... whole school?" I nod. "You can't possibly value all of their opinions, can you?"

I think about it for a little bit. "I... don't know... Maybe not all of them... Just... your friends... & anyone who might bully me..."

Celestina frowns even more, pulling me into a hug before looking directly into my eyes. "Do you really think my friends would bully you for being trans? We- they're all on the LGBT spectrum somewhere... You couldn't possibly think that they'd judge you, can you?"

I frown a little. "No... not really... Anymore... If you say you guys are all on the spectrum... Wait... Does that mean you are too?" My eyes light up & she looks away, mouth opening & closing.

"Well- I... Yeah... I think... I might be bi? If that's ok?" She wrapped her arms around her chest insecurely & my family all smiled. I pulled her into a hug.

"Of course it's ok!" I beam, gently pulling back. "Hey, now we can talk about girls together!" We all laugh, Mamá smiling down on our tender moment.

Mamá clears her throat, smiling. "Now that that's over with, are there any other confessions anyone else would like to make as long as we're here? Just to get it out of the way?" She laughed & Enrique raised his hand. "Yes, mi corazón?"

He cleared his throat. "I don't think I'd... ever be interested in any kind of romantic relationship... I'd be fine with friends, of course... But... nothing else..."

My mom's eyebrows furrowed & she frowned slightly. "Well... Ok... If that's ok with you, then it's ok with me... I'd really like it if you found a partner at some point, so you could be happy... But if this makes you happy... Then I guess it's ok..."

He smiled slightly & nodded. "Ok."

My mom laughed. "Anyone else want to take advantage of this heart to heart?" Lupe raised her hand timidly. "Yes, amor?"

She looked down shyly, playing with her hands. "I... don't know how to explain this... But I think... I might not be a girl... Or a guy..."

My mom frowned slightly, brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, cariño?"

Lupe stuttered, frowning, & I tried to step in & help... them? "Do you mean... you're nonbinary?"

Lupe nodded, smiling slightly. "I think so..." They turned to Mamá, a bit more confident this time. "Nonbinary means... That I don't really feel like a guy or a girl... I don't really feel like anything, to be honest..."

Mamá scratched her head. "Ok, amor... I don't really... understand that... But I'll try to be supportive... I still love you... I don't really understand... But I'm here... For anything you need..."

Lupe smiled slowly. "Gracias, Mamá."

Mamá's brow creased suddenly, scratching her head again. "So then... What... pronombres would you use?"

Lupe nodded slowly. "Yeah... I've been thinking a lot about all this... & I'd like to be called 'they/them', or 'elle', in Spanish, if that's ok?"

My family nodded supportively & I smiled. "Yeah, that's ok! Is there any new name that you'd like to be called? I know that when I started realizing I was trans, I chose a different name..."

Lupe paused. "I... hadn't really thought about that... But I think... Maybe just 'Lupe' is ok? That's a unisex name..."

I nodded. "Ok! That's great that you figured that out about yourself!"

They smiled softly. "Thanks!"

"So... I guess we have a lot of LGBT people in our family then!" I chuckled. "Lupe's nonbinary, Celestina's bi, I'm trans, & Enrique's... asexual?" I looked over at him, & he shrugged & nodded slightly.

"Ace/aro, technically speaking, but yeah."

I smiled & laughed again. "Mom, I guess you're the designated straight then!" We all laughed & Mamá slapped my arm playfully.

"I guess." She chuckled. "Which, I guess I'm ok with... I'm just glad that we are united as a family, to be honest... Los amo muchísimo, mijos." She smiled warmly & we all hugged.

This chapter was so wholesome :3. I love including LGBT characters in my stories, so that's why I have a lot of them. & don't be saying "It's not realistic to have that many LGBT people in 1 place/family/etc" bc. I. Don't. Care.

Anyways, on another note, I love how supportive the Mom was throughout, even if she didn't exactly understand what was going on. Which is good. You can accept someone even if you don't entirely understand them. I also enjoyed how there was none of that heteronormative bs where the mom asks if the person Val met was a boy, bc she already knows that Val is a lesbian. & she's just as excited as if it were a boy, which is neat-o :3.

Well, that's all for now, folks. See you lates, & I will try to update when I can (when I don't have an enormous amount of school work to do :'D). Byeeeeeeee :3