Vanishing Acts

~One~

So. I'm Kieran. I'm eighteen, I'm a broke feral trans college student. I don't know you and you don't know me yet. Luckily, character development is a thing.

The story begins with me getting my phone stolen. Don't feel sorry. It was a prank. But I freaked out. I've got nudes on that thing and no password.

Nobody needs to see my ass. Except my boyfriend.

Yes, I'm pansexual. I don't have sex with pans. I have sex with him. His name is Jackson.

Everyone gets told to avoid boys with J, but he treats me really well. He spoils me. I love him, not just for that reason.
I love the way he smiles at me when I wake up, after staying in bed so he wouldn't disturb me. I love the smell of his lemon and lime body wash. I love his soft hair. I love how gently he holds me. I love his nicknames for me. I love how protective he is. I don't care if it's cheesy. I love him and I'm gonna marry this man.

We live together in a small apartment. We want a dog but we don't have enough money to look after one.

We have snails.

Don't laugh. Snails are adorable. There's Gerard and Frank. Whenever we have eggs I use the shells to give them calcium. Sometimes I get cuttlebone, but only when I have money. They eat small bits of fruit and vegetables.

I read about snail care in a book. I read a lot of books. I know about stuff from snails to sailing to the Stonewall Riots. I read fiction too. Stephen King is my favourite author. I liked Lemony Snicket when I was younger. I heard they made the books into a series on Netflix, but Jack and I haven't got around to watching it. Too many assignments.

I listen to music whilst doing assignments, but often find myself writing song lyrics instead of psychology, which is what I'm studying. I've written "shut up and let me see your jazzhands" more times than I can count. The fact that I live with my boyfriend is another thing that can distract me from work. I'm not gonna go into too much detail-

Okay, I want to go into detail.

We'd be sitting on the bed working, and catch each other's eye. Jack would give me the look. I'd shake my head. He'd smirk. I'd blush.

"Fine." I'd mumble, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down on top of me.

Now no more detail.

So, I went off topic. I got my phone stolen. I was walking home from college after handing in a project. Jackson was working an afternoon shift. He'd been working more lately, because my birthday was near and he kept saying how he wanted to do something really nice.

I was on my way home from college. I was a "essential worker" for putting some cans on shelves, and I had stopped off on the way home to get the last of my belongings from my locker. I was using my phone's flashlight. I always felt paranoid in the dark. Because I had my phone out, it was easy for someone to run past and snatch it.

I ran after them, but they quite literally leaped over the fence at the end of an alleyway. I swore to myself, turning back to go home. I had another phone, but it barely worked and only had the numbers of my middle school friends, and Jack's parents. It was a BlackBerry. Wasn't convenient, but it would do.

I sighed as I walked into our apartment. I dug through an old box finding the phone and putting Jack's number in it. I knew it by heart. I texted him.