Chapter Text
"Raymond?" called the substitute teacher. Rayanna shifted in her seat.
"Present…" she said weakly, her eyes downcast. She wasn't Raymond anymore—she hated when people called her that. Raymond is dead to her.
The substitute continued calling names, his voice flurrying with the students'. Rayanna's always hated when it's time to take attendance. Being deadnamed in front of the entire class is not a fun experience. She's always zoned out during these times, often coming up with guitar riffs in her head.
"Gerard?" the substitute teacher called. That caught her attention. She's never heard of a 'Gerard' before. Were they new?
"Present…" said a voice weaker than her own. When she turned her head to the source of the voice, her eyes widened.
What she saw was the most beautiful person on the planet. They had perfect black hair that reached their shoulders, the prettiest hazel eyes that changed colors depending on the light, and the cutest nose ever. They were perfect.
Rayanna noticed that they had a sketchbook in front of them. She could make out the word 'Lillian' written on the cover. That must be their name. She knew they weren't a 'Gerard.'
She soon realized that staring at Lillian for too long would make things weird. She reluctantly turned back to face the board.
Throughout the class, she didn't pay attention to the teacher at all. The substitute's words sounded like gibberish in her ears. She made a rhythm by tapping her fingertips on the wooden table. She quietly hummed a tune, quiet enough so no one else would be able to hear. She made a mental note to herself to convert the tune into a guitar riff when she's back home.
Her little jam was unfortunately cut short when she felt something light hit the back of her head. She frowned, looking down as the object hit the floor. It was a piece of paper, crumpled up into a ball. She sighed and picked it up. She held the spherical object in her hand for a few seconds before starting to uncrumple it. She anticipated what was written.
'TRANNY!!'
She wanted to throw the table right there. She clenched her jaw, gripping the paper so hard it almost ripped. She turned to look at the group of boys, who appeared to be holding back their laughs. In the centre of the group, she saw Ronnie—the school's #1 jock—and wanted to sob out of frustration.
She turned to Lillian, whose eyes were filled with sympathy. Rayanna's gaze softened at them, but then hardened again as she heard the smallest snicker from Ronnie. Her hands balled into fists.
"BOYS!" the substitute yelled. Rayanna flinched—not at the volume, but at the word 'boys'. "Raymond. Ronnie. I'm warning you two."
It didn't take a genius to know that Ronnie was the one who threw the paper at her.
"Heh, my bad, teach," Ronnie chuckled, leaning back in his chair. He had a wicked smirk on his face. "I'll stop."
Rayanna's eyebrows furrowed in anger. She knew Ronnie wouldn't stop. She's always hated Ronnie. He's the typical popular jock who always gets female attention. The entire school knew he had tattoos under his clothing. Not to mention, he’d already proven what kind of person he was—notes, slurs, laughter, all when teachers weren't listening. He even harassed Mikey McMillin—the nicest kid ever—just because he dated a guy.
Ronnie also has a group of wannabe cool kids who follow him around. It annoys Rayanna how much people worship him. He just wants to wipe that fuckass smirk off his face.
Rayanna clenched her fists tighter as she thought of Ronnie, but she kept her anger to herself as she didn't want to get in trouble. She took a deep breath, trying her best to listen to the teacher. She scribbled down lazy notes, her writing a jumbled mess of letters.
Before she knew it, the bell rang. It was a sound that made Rayanna relieved and stressed at the same time.
She saw Lillian from the corner of her eye. They were running—trying to get out of class as fast as possible. Rayanna wanted to catch up, ask if they were okay, but decided not to. She didn't want to scare them away.
Rayanna started to walk towards her next class, watching as Lillian walked to theirs. She was so caught up in watching Lillian, she accidentally bumped into someone—Mikey.
"Shit! Anne!" Mikey exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"
Before Rayanna could say anything else, Mikey got down to pick up his scattered books. She got down as well, helping Mikey while picking up her own books, too. Rayanna had always felt comfortable around Mikey. He supports her transition, after all.
"Don't apologize, Mikes. I'm the one who's sorry," she said, her eyes apologetic. Mikey waved her off.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We should get to class, we're gonna be late," Mikey smiled.
"Yeah… we should…" Rayanna nodded, heading over to her next class. Her thoughts were still filled with images of Lillian. Their eyes, their hair, their everything. They were so damn beautiful, and she hadn't even talked to them yet. She felt stupid, but she couldn't help it.
She entered her next class, sitting down on one of the chairs as the teacher started talking. She tried to pay attention—since she needed good grades—but she couldn't help but get bored and let her mind wander back to Lillian. She needed to make a plan to try and talk to them.