Tw: drug abuse, alcohol, abuse, homophobia, transphobia, sex scenes not in detail, depression, anorexia, and suicide
Ethan Riggs was known as the outcast because he was a Trans male. Everyone knew he was Trans; a lot of people despised him for it except his mom who supported him and loved him unconditionally, but his dad wasn't in the picture. Ethan was in therapy to help him manage his depression and ADHD. Some of his depressive episodes were caused by him getting bullied at school, so therapy helped him deal with that. His mom showed her support by buying him binders; he wasn't able to start testosterone though because they didn't have enough money for it and healthcare didn't cover it. He did decent in school; he didn't become valedictorian or anything, but he made C's. He wanted to do something with his life; he wanted his life to have meaning.
Valerie, she prefers to go by Val, Reyes was the popular girl in school, but she wasn't the stereotypical mean girl; she was nice. Val made sure to never hurt anyone. She knew she was popular, but she didn't really show it. She was used to bullying, so she made sure to be kind. She didn't get bullied at school, but she got verbally and physically abused at home by her mom and dad. She didn't let it show, but she was slowly dying inside. She always had a smile on her face at school, but it was very rarely real. She had learned how to hide her emotions and turn them off at a young age. Her mother would body shame her ever since she was ten years old, so she developed anorexia. She had no escape other than school. No one knew what hid behind the curtains at her home; everyone assumed her life was perfect, but it was far from that. When her parents were out of town, which was often, she threw parties at her house. Almost everyone attended the parties.
It was March 26th, 2004 and Val's parents were out of town for the weekend, so she threw a party. There was lots and lots of alcohol along with some drugs. Val's friend, Evie, went up to her, she was clearly crossfaded, drunk and high, and yelled, "This is the party of the year Valerie!" Val smiled gently and just walked away to the drink table. She poured herself a cup of vodka mixed with sprite and chugged it before just drinking straight up vodka from the bottle.
Ethan was in the living room smoking from a bong and drinking rum mixed with coke. He was already pretty high from before the party when he got high with his friends that went to different schools. Val went into the living room, now very drunk, and she sat beside Ethan.
Ethan looked at her and said, "Hey you're kinda hot."
Val looked at him and couldn't help but smile, so she responded with, "You're not too bad yourself."
They talked for a little and one thing led to another and they began to make out on the couch. They went up to the bedroom. As the clothes came off, the door shut. Mid-way through the clothes coming off, Val began to have a panic attack, so Ethan stopped what he was doing and asked her, "Are you okay?"
Val shook her head, "No. Can we stop?"
"Yeah, of course," Ethan responded.
They put their clothes back on and sat on the bed. Once Val was calmed down, Ethan looked at her, "Do you wanna talk about what happened?"
"I don't even know. I just freaked out. I'm sorry for ruining your night," Val said, looking down.
Ethan lifted Val's chin to make her look at him, "You didn't ruin my night. If you're not comfortable with something, I'd rather stop than get trauma over it."
Val looked at him with teary eyes, "Thank you. Fuck. I don't even know your name.."
"You're welcome, and that's okay. It's Ethan Riggs."
Val smiled a little, "I'm Val, well Valerie, but I prefer to be called Val, but no one calls me that because they like to make it known that they know me which is stupid because sometimes I don't even want to be popular. Like goddamn. Give me my space or at least make sure you know what name I want you to call me, you know?"
"Yeah I get it honestly. A lot of people still call me by my deadname and I hate it. I just want to punch those bastards in the face," Ethan responded.
"Wait you're Trans?" Val asked. She looked shocked. "Wait shit is that bad to say? Fuck I'm sorry."
"Yeah I'm Trans. Am I passing that well?" Ethan asked looking over happy.
Val looked him up and down before nodding, "Yeah, I mean I never would've even thought you were Trans if you didn't say you were. You're very handsome."
That caused Ethan to smile a lot more, "Well thank you. I take that as a complement."
They ended up talking for the rest of the night; they talked until the sun came up. Val fell asleep first. Val fell asleep, and Ethan held her in his arms to comfort her because it seemed like she was having a nightmare.
They hung out all that weekend at Val's house. He helped her clean up the house before her parents arrived back home.
That Monday at school, for the first time, Ethan wasn't dreading it because he got to see Val. Val ditched her "friends" at lunch to hide out in the bathroom with Ethan. They talked all through lunch. Ethan got high in the bathroom as Val rambled on and on about how handsome he was. He returned the favor by rambling about how beautiful she was. They weren't dating, but they had a connection that they felt no one could understand.
After school that day, Val brought Ethan home with her. With all the happiness she had felt that day, she forgot her parents were home. When they walked through the front door, they were both greeted by yelling. Ethan got hit by a huge wave of nostalgia kind of; it reminded him of before his father left for heroin. Val took Ethan's hand and rushed him into her room; she could tell he was upset now. Once the door was shut and locked, she looked at him and said, "Shit. I'm so sorry. I forgot they were back. I should've never brought you here. I am so sorry, Ethan."
"No. You have no reason to apologize, Val. You can't control what your parents do, I learned that years ago when my father left me and my mom, so he could do heroin whenever and wherever he wanted. I've never told anyone that, but I saw your home kind of, so I want you to understand mine too."
Val just wrapped her arms around him into a giant hug. "I won't tell anyone and I won't judge you."
"How did a one night stand turn into this?" Ethan laughed.
Val just laughed and let go of him, "I guess we both have fucked up lives that are drawn to each other."
"I'm glad it was you and not some asshole," Ethan said.
Val was about to speak when there was a banging on her door, "Valerie Reyes! Open this goddamn door right now!"
Val went wide eyed and practically pushed Ethan into the closet. She then went to the door and opened it. She saw it was her dad and fear washed over her, "What?"
"You had a fucking party?!" He yelled.
Val looked at him in horror.
"What? Now you're fucking silent? You got a noise complaint from the neighbors!"
"Maybe it was you and mom arguing all the time," Val mumbled. She didn't even realize she had said something until she did. She hoped he didn't hear her.
"The fuck did you say?!" He yelled.
"Nothing!" Val cried. She knew what was about to come, but she hoped that it wouldn't happen this time.
"I wish your mother aborted you when she had the chance," he said before balling his fist up, "You're a pathetic, worthless, piece of shit!" BAM! He punched her right in the face. Tears welled up in her eyes and he walked out, slamming the door shut. "I fucking hate you!" Val screamed through cries as she locked the door. Ethan came out of the closet and immediately hugged her tightly. "Shhh. It's okay. You're okay. I'm here. You're not pathetic, you're not worthless, and you're not a piece of shit. You are caring, kind, sweet, amazing, and really beautiful. You care more about people than anyone I've ever met."
Val cried in his arms, unable to speak.
