Little Things

Fynn coming out to Rome

-Context: Fynn(16), a trans guy, is coming out to his cis male friend Rome(17) as transgender.
-Content Warning: anxiety.

Fynn's POV
My stomach was in knots. I couldn't focus on what Rome was saying, no matter how hard I tried. Rome's room suddenly felt small and cramped. A stabbing pain slowly rose up my arm, and I realized I had been digging my nails into the side of my wrist. I relaxed my muscles and lightly rubbed the small indents, but my head was buzzing with anxiety.
Rome bumped me with his arm. "You ok?" He had this worried expression on his face.
"Um..." I needed to tell him. I should have said something the first time we hung out, all those months ago. "I-I need to tell you something." My voice felt tiny and weak, but Rome waited patiently. "I, uh..."
"Do I need to turn around?" Rome asks.
I'm silent for a moment. I meet his eyes with a confused look. "What?"
"When someone has something difficult or important to say, being back-to-back helps. There's no eye contact, but you know they're still there and listening." He sat there, staring at me. "When I was little and I got in trouble, my mother and I would do that so it was easier for me to tell her what I had done." He added quietly.
"Oh." I said. "Yeah, I think that could help." I shift on the bed so my back is facing him. Rome turns around too. He leans towards me, his back touching mine.
"Take your time, too. There's no need to rush." Rome says.
I take a deep breath and release it a second later. The buzzing still roars. I look down at my hands, and say it. "I'm trans."
Silence immediately fills in the space around us. For a moment, I feel the enormous weight lift off my shoulders. It feels like I can breathe freely for the first time in forever. But the happy feelings pass, and I realize that Rome hasn't said or done anything yet. My heart starts to drop.
I want to turn around, but the anxiety is at full blast again and I'm stuck. No one talks or moves. No cars pass in the alley next to the house, the dog across the street has stopped barking; the only thing I can hear is my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
I made a mistake. This was all a fucking mistake. I just outed myself to the one person I thought I could trust, but he's not responding and the room is too quiet and the silence is getting louder and louder and I can't fucking take it—
Rome breaks the silence. "Ok. Uh, I'm not too educated on that sort of stuff, so can you explain what that means? I think I know what you're talking about though."
I try to gather myself before I speak. I take another deep breath. "It means that, um, I was born a girl. But, now, I'm a boy. I didn't like being a girl and being called "ma'am" and "Ms." by people, so I changed how I look and now identify as a boy."
"Ohh, ok. Yeah, I know what you're talking about!" He turns and looks at me with a smile. "I know some people at the skatepark, and this one kid's sister is trans. She came with her roller skates one time so I was able to meet her. She was really nice." He sits there with that big smile on his face.
I smile a little too, turning back around so we're facing each other again. "That's really cool." I say. "Does that mean...you accept me too? If you liked the kid's sister?" I ask, carefully.
"Duh." Rome says. "It'd be shitty to accept only one trans person and no one else."
"There's a lot of people in the world who are like that. I didn't want to assume that you were the same, so that's why I asked."
"Well, those people need to learn to not be dicks."
"Agreed." I say, chuckling.