My Mistakes: A BxB Story

West Side Story Switcheroo

Chapter Four: West Side Story Switcheroo

Dane walked with Jude to rehearsal after school. His friend was quietly humming, their gait slow and languid, which worked for Dane. Jude hated to rush just as much as Dane did, and although the pianist's backside felt better, he was appreciative of Jude's mellow pace.

He glanced at the tall person next to him, thinking of how he first met Jude at the LGBTQ library club. That was the same day he'd met the rest of his friends, his crew of people. His little family. Lisa, their sponsor at the library, was still a part of their lives, still offered support and connections to counseling to activism to book clubs. She was a busy woman, but Dane appreciated that she never lost touch with their group. They still met once a month, and Harrison talked about including some of the Yreka crew, at the very least Ted and Riley. He wasn't quite sure how that would go down with Jamie and Noah, if they invited Luke and Taylor, but...that was a problem for another day.

Jude was still pretty quiet, and Dane only knew them as much as the special person allowed. They kept almost everyone at a bit of a distance. Dane observed, as he always did, that Harrison didn't spend as much time with his best friend once he got a boyfriend. Jude did go through a period where they and Lynne hung out quite a bit, but then Lynne started dating some guy on the swim team sophomore year, he became her focus. Jude never voiced any frustration or loneliness, but Dane wondered. Wondered if they felt badly that a lot of their friends partnered up, and they were still alone.

So when Jude approached Dane and asked for his help with the musical, he'd said yes immediately even if musical theater and specifically West Side Story, weren't his favorite things. Dane recognized that it was the first time Jude had ever asked him for anything, and Dane was hoping he could get to know them a little better. He knew Jude was a Kpop devotee, that they were pretty clutzy, that they loved makeup and brand name clothes. That Jude never really pulled any punches, always speaking their truth, even if the truth came without a measure of tact.

He really couldn't imagine what it was like for Jude. Dane had talked to Alyisha over and over about her experiences, being born male but knowing it was some kind of mistake. How difficult it had been for her to share her thoughts with her very Catholic Filipino family, how overjoyed she was when they were one hundred percent supportive. Allowing her to legally change her name from Elijah to Alyisha, grow her hair out, and even allow her to start hormone therapy early when she was thirteen years old.

But for her, things might be easier. She was born with a very slender, delicate body frame, with soft features that belied her birth gender. Most people when they met her, really had no idea she was trans. The transition, although never never easy, and much worse when she was younger, was still less challenging than maybe it was for some. As a lesbian, she'd seriously dated Beth, Lynne's sister, in an on again off again relationship. Dane knew she felt confident about who she was, and with her family and friends support, she felt comfortable in her own skin and assured  about her future.

Jude, though, defied categorization. They were born male, but were very comfortable embracing aspects of each gender and shared, at their library group, that they were attracted to both genders. They loved beautiful clothes no matter what gender they were originally intended for. They were tall, with platinum blonde hair that fell, these days, to just past their shoulder blades. They were drop dead gorgeous with and without makeup, and stunned people when they were first introduced, truly, with their beauty. But there was always an edge of unease that strangers expressed around Jude, because they really couldn't put them in a convenient box. And people tend to be afraid of what they don't understand.

As the two really only single people in their group, it made sense for them to consider dating each other at least hypothetically. But Dane wasn't attracted to Jude, not because they weren't physically attractive, but because their personalities really didn't mesh for a relationship. Jude was, not to put too fine a point on it, kind of spacey, lost in their own head a lot, while Dane considered himself super practical. He liked Jude as a friend, but really couldn't imagine how they could be together without any resemblance of common interests.