Transition (Rewrite)

I awoke the next morning when the sunlight stabbed me in the eyes. Goody. Gotta love the sun.

Alex was beside me, sleeping like a rock, with an arm wrapped around me as if it was shielding me from the world. He always tried to protect me, even from the moment I met him.

I was being bullied by some of the guys on the football team—a cliche that thankfully didn't extend to all of them—back when I had first come out as transgender. I had been dropped by my old friend group, and I felt helpless against the bullies. And then, a beacon of hope in the form of a blond-haired, blue-eyed Korean-American who stepped in, attempting to defuse the situation and taking all the hits for me when it didn't work. He even threw a few punches. He took two weeks of detention for a short queer kid he didn't even know, and he kept the others at bay ever since.

I carefully moved Alex's large arm, trying hard not to wake him, and sat up, grabbing my phone from the arm of the couch where it rested.

7:08 AM

Well fuck you too, sun.

I groaned, lamenting the lost hours of sleep that could've been, before playing games on my phone until Alexander woke up.

After a couple hours, Alex finally sat up and stretched, releasing a large yawn as he squinted his thin eyes from the searing sunlight.

"Morning, Sleepyhead," I teased, tossing my pillow at him. He chuckled as he caught the puffy, white rectangle easily. "You hungry? Dad made pancakes earlier. They're still warm." I stood, heading towards the kitchen—a room that was directly connected to the living room.

"Oh sweet!" Alex jumped up, following me as I picked out only the most perfect fluffy fried cake circles. The two of us shoveled pancakes in our mouthes, talking endlessly about anything and everything.

"You ready to go back to school tomorrow?" Alex asked after he had swallowed the last bite of his third serving.

I poked at my breakfast with my fork, suddenly less enthusiastic about the pile of supreme deliciousness. "I guess...I'm not looking forward to Evan Baxter, but I really need some normalcy right now."

Alex nodded. "I can see that. You've been through a lot recently. Something routine will probably do you some good." He placed his silverware on the plate in front of him and took a sip of water from his cup. "As for Evan, I've got your back, man."

"Thanks," I felt a bit comforted by his statement, but not much. Evan Baxter was the only person who was brave enough to try pestering me in school anymore after Alex started protecting me. The guy was huge compared to me, but so was a dwarf. Alex had a few inches on the guy, but Evan had the added bonus of having teachers wrapped around his pinkie. He was the only reason Alex ever ended up in detention anymore, seeing as Alex never backs down when he's protecting something and Evan can weasel his way out of trouble.

"Hey, Andrew. It's gonna be fine. I promise," Alex assured as he took his plate up to the sink, "Now, do you wanna play Mario?"

I nodded, letting my smile and love of video games push my anxiety about the following day to the side.