Content warning: gender dysphoria

It happened again. That weird, look of discomfort, whenever Ariel wore a dress. This time, it was during prom. Guys asked her to dance. She turned them away. It was like she’d been hurt deeply. Ryan couldn’t comprehend why.

At first, he figured she simply hated dancing. But then, she asked Ryan to dance. And Ryan—although he did not understand one bit, what the source of her pain was—had a hunch.

He grabbed his jacket. He gave it to Ariel, who willingly took the piece of clothing, and let it drape over her shoulders. “Thank you, Ryan.”

She’d been working out lately. And while all the other girls in her class got into make-up, or softer sports, Ariel took up boxing. She said, that it made her feel alive. She wouldn’t have minded, if she’d gotten her nose broken, despite what her relatives had warned her about.

At this moment in time, Ryan couldn’t pinpoint why it was that he found this detail about Ariel odd. Women are allowed to practice more extreme sports in general. It was not that strange. Yet… it was as if there was something more to it. And Ryan clung to these visions. In particular, to the one of Ariel being pissed off, because she could not join the men’s team six months later.

She quit after that. He had never seen her cry before then.

When he asked her, “Why? What’s wrong with the woman’s team?” Ariel merely shook her head.

“You wouldn’t understand.”