Chapter Text
August 16th, 200X
The small town had looked just as sad as Illi had expected. Old run-down buildings that no one visited, a weirdly modern mall that was the only place teens hung out at, and an out-of-place prep school. Safe to say, Illi wasn’t impressed. It was different, yet the same as it had been in her old town in New York.
The new house was smaller than their old one. Not that it mattered much to them. It was just weird that her parents slept in the basement now. It was older, too. Illi could practically see the ghosts of the 1950s nuclear family that used to live here.
“The house smells like shit,” she muttered under her breath as her dad handed them a box.
“Language, Gillian,” he huffed, harsh enough to be a warning, but not powerful enough to mean anything. “This is a fresh start away from everything. New town, new you. They won’t be able to even tell you used to be a boy.”
“I’m sure they won’t…” she sighed, but she was already in the house before their father could respond. The entryway to the house was a short, narrow hallway with a closet to the side, leading straight into the kitchen. Next to the kitchen was a small dining area and a living room, with old, yellow carpet that was definitely stained. The living room was connected to yet another hallway, which led to her and her brother’s, Matt’s, rooms.
Speaking of Matt, he was already in the kitchen, the coffee maker set up and running as he stared at it awkwardly.
Illi snorted, “It’s 2 in the afternoon, why do you already have the coffee maker set up?”
“Addiction comes with its price, dear sister, and sometimes that price is setting up the coffee maker at 2.”
Illi laughed and shook her head. “There’s no way you’ve finished unpacking.” She set her box down and jumped onto the counter, swinging her legs.
Matt hummed in acknowledgement. “I’ll do it later.”
“You’ll do it now,” their father grumbled as he walked into the house. Matt frowned and rolled his eyes before turning back to his coffee. “That means you, too, Illi Lilli, and get off the counter.”
“Fine, fine,” Illi sighed as she slid off the counter and picked the box back up. “Is that the last box?” Her dad grunted in response and set his box on the table.
“Now,” he said sternly, and Illi was down the hall to her room in an instant.
Her room was at the end of the hallway, across from her brothers, and next to the bathroom. A few weeks before she moved, they had ridden down to the house to do minor renovations. Part of that had included painting. Illi had her room painted a rich dark green, and she loved it. It gave just the right edgy vibe they had hoped for. It was pretty empty right now, aside from her bed, a bookshelf, and the boxes with all her stuff. She planned to hang up her posters as soon as possible. It was smaller than her previous room (nothing could top her old loft), but it was nice. Being on the first floor made it easier to sneak out at least.
She set her final box down on the floor before collapsing dramatically onto her bed. Banished to yet another small town in the buttfuck of nowhere. At least it was a fresh start. No longer would they be the weird crossdresser who would never be a real girl. Because here, she would be a real girl. She’ll prove all those jerks wrong. She got her fresh start, and by god, she was gonna use it. Okay, that sounded a lot more badass in her head…
August 18th, 200X
After unpacking everything and getting to relax FINALLY, their father had decided that Illi and Matt had been cooped up in the house too long, and kicked them out to explore the neighborhood. Or something. Ili wasn’t sure what her father was trying to accomplish by kicking them outside. They weren’t five. What were they going to do? Sit in the grass? In 80-degree weather? She’d rather not, thanks. However, that's the predicament Illi found herself in, sitting miserably on the barely shaded porch, angrily scribbling in her sketchbook, as her father stared out the window in the air-conditioned house watching them. Like a weirdo. I mean, she had to have gotten it from somewhere, right?
Matt had somehow gotten looped into helping their mom with gardening. Something about his eye for decorating or whatever: it was probably just an excuse to get him to do something. Unlike Illi, he hadn’t brought something to do outside with him, so he had kind of just been sitting there. It was kind of fun watching him being miserable. Illi made a face at him every time they looked at her. He didn’t seem to appreciate it.
Mom had somehow gotten sidetracked into talking to the next-door neighbors. They seemed nice. They had given them cookies the day they officially moved in. Illi had never tasted anything more heavenly. The woman her mom was talking to had neatly curled black hair that reached just above her shoulders, and a soft, square nose. She had that kind of smile that you couldn’t help but like. She also made really good cookies, apparently.
“Gillian!” her mother called, and Illi snapped out of her thoughts to turn towards her. Her mother was beckoning her over with a smile. Illi grimaced slightly, but obliged as they slowly shuffled over. Illi said she looked nice, not that they wanted to talk to her, okay?
Her mother smiled as she got closer and wrapped her arm around her. She was sweaty, and the sensation made Illi’s skin crawl. “This is my daughter, Gillian! She’s a little bit of an artist if I do say so myself,” she chuckled. “She gets it from me.” She did not.
“It’s nice to meet you, Gillian! I’m Miranda,” the lady smiled, sticking her hand out to shake.
“Just Illi is fine,” they smiled and reached out to take her hand. It was sticky with sweat, too. Ew.
“Just Illi. I got it,” Miranda hummed.
Illi’s mother started to ramble about who knows what to Miranda. At least she was making a friend. She was slowly starting to make her escape, slipping away from her mother's hold, and back to the porch where her sketchbook was, when Miranda spoke up again.
“Illi, how old are you?” She asked, turning her attention back to Illi. So much for sneaking away.
“17…” she blurted out, starting absent-mindedly twirling her hair around her finger. Please go back to ignoring her, please go back to ignoring her, please go back to ignoring he-.
Miranda’s face lit up, and she raised her hands slightly. ”Oh, that’s wonderful! My son is 16! You two could be friends!” Illi felt all the blood drain from her face. Miranda kept talking about how her son only had one friend, and how he never went outside, and how much of a troublemaker he was, but Illi could only think about what would happen if he found out. Her old neighbor was how she had been outed in her old town. What if it happened again?
Despite this, Illi held her tongue and nodded, “Uh-huh.
Miranda’s face lit up, and she brushed her bangs out of her face, “In fact, I’ll go get him now! It’ll be good to have at least one friend before you start school!” And before Illi could interject, she was already making her way to the house.
Illi’s mom turned to her and smiled, “Wow! Two days here, and you already have a friend!”
“Uh huh, yeah…” she hummed. Dread was already pooling in her stomach. Maybe the guy was cool? Miranda had said that he only had one friend, and that seemed like classic weird kid behavior for a small town. Or maybe that’s because he was a freak, and not the good kind…
Illi’s mom sighed and turned to face her fully, “Illi, can you just try for me? You don’t have to talk to him ever again after this if you don’t want to. I’ll even let you drag Matt with you to talk to him,” she said.
“Hey! Why are you dragging me into this??” Matt protested from where he sat in the dirt.
“It’s either that, or you continue working in the garden,” their mother spat back, and her brother promptly shut up.
She hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Okay…"
Miranda exited her house a minute or 2 later, and a scrappy kid followed shortly behind her. The first thing Illi noticed is that he looked a lot like his mom, same nose and everything. His hair was a clean shade of black, and he had a cool lip piercing. So far, so good; at least he didn't look like a total asshole.
“This is my son Franklin,” she chuckled, placing her hand on the boy's shoulder.
“Just Frank is fine,” he muttered, moving to pick at his face slightly. “I uh, like your shirt.”
Illi blinked slightly before casting a glance down at her Misfits shirt, and looking back up excitedly, “You like the Misfits too!?”
“Uh yeah… they’re the ones that inspired me to start playing guitar-”
“YOU PLAY GUITAR?!?!” Illi was about to jump out of her skin. No way her neighbor was THIS cool. “Are you in a band?”
Frank nodded, slowly returning her enthusiasm, “Yeah- well, kind of? I’m in a band with my friend Robbie, you’d like him, but we both only play guitar.”
“My brother plays bass! We could totally join your band!! Only if you want, of course…” she explained, and her mother chuckled softly.
“ILLI I DIDN’T AGREE TO SHIT!” Matt called from the garage (when did he get in there??), and Illi cackled.
Frank hummed in thought, “We’ll consider it…”
Illi hummed in understanding before lighting up again, “You wanna come see my CD collection? I just got a new Misfits CD! Well, it’s not really new, but you get the point.”
Frank smiled and nodded, “Sure, why not?”