An Unexpected Fate

A Dark Street

CW: Transphobia, Assault, Homophobia, Stabbing

The next two weeks went by pretty quickly. School was starting to get more and more intense as they were gearing up for their prelims. Ellie had started hanging out with Patrick and Steven a bit more again, having lunch with them once a week. Her and Freya also continued to have their weekly lunch dates on Wednesday, as well as spending most of their weekends together.

Although it would take a while for any real effects, Ellie did notice some small changes to her body after she had started on her patches. Mostly, her skin felt smoother and she didn't seem to have as much trouble down in the groin area. They were small things, but to her, it was everything.

Exams weren't the only thing on her mind though. Over the last two weeks, she had been working with Brittany and managed to get the cheer squad a place in a local competition at the end of January. This meant that practice had gotten more intense. Brittany had also started to privately coach Ellie during lunches on Mondays to help teach her the basic moves so that should could help coach the team. It was a lot of work, but Ellie was really enjoying it.

She was still struggling a little bit more in ballet, but with a firm grip on the basics, she was quickly progressing. She was over the moon when she found out she'd be able to perform in the show at the end of February. All in all, her life was going really well.

That all changed, though, one Friday afternoon. Usually, on Fridays, she would walk home with Freya. However tonight, Freya had to stay late for a study group for one of her classes. It was mid-November and by the time they finished school, it was already dark. Ellie was walking down the street, her earphones plugged in and listening to music whilst lost in thought. She could see a group of people standing near a bus stop. She didn't really think much of it, it was a bus stop after all.

As she got closer, though, she realized who it was. It was Charlie, Harvey, and Molly. The three of them had still continued to mock her and try to rile her up over the last few weeks. She had gotten good at ignoring them, but she was usually always with someone. This would be her first time trying to deal with them alone. They seemed to be talking away to each other and Ellie was praying they didn't notice her.

As she got closer, Charlie looked over towards her. "Look who it is, the little faggot." Harvey and Molly laughed. "All alone? I guess your little faggot friends stopped caring about you."

"Leave me alone, Charlie." Ellie said as she tried to step around him. He blocked her path.

"Not until you say sorry to Molly." He said with an evil grin.

Ellie looked at Molly, who pretended to cry as she grinned, then back to Charlie. "I didn't do anything to her."

"You and your friends called me fat." Molly said as she walked over to Ellie. "Said I had thunder thighs."

Ellie could feel her heart throbbing in her chest. She was terrified, her legs were shaking and she felt like they were about to give way. She didn't know what to do or what to say.

"Say sorry, faggot." Charlie said. Ellie didn't say anything, she couldn't find any words. "I said, say sorry." Charlie spat as a fist came flying towards her. It struck her in the jaw, knocking her straight onto the floor. She recoiled in horror as she spat out a little bit of blood onto the pavement.

She felt Harvey grab her and pull her back to her feet, holding her arms behind her back. She tried to struggle, but Harvey was stronger than she was. Charlie punched her in the stomach. She suddenly felt all of the wind being blown from inside of her as she tried to double over in pain, but Harvey held her in place. Before she could fully process the impact of the hit, she felt another fist slam into her stomach. This time, Harvey let go as she collapsed onto the ground, coughing and spitting more blood.

She started trying to crawl away, but Molly used her boot to squash her hand. She felt several of her fingers get crushed under the weight as she screamed in pain, tears now rolling down her face. Before she could do anything, Molly swung her foot, kicking Ellie right in the face and knocking her onto her side. She tried to curl up into a ball as Charlie, Harvey, and Molly delivered a barrage of kicks and punches, all over her body. All she could do was cry as she took them.

The assault lasted for only a minute, but it felt like it lasted forever. When they let up, Ellie could barely move. She was in agony. She was bleeding from her nose and mouth. Her arms and legs were covered in cuts and bruises. Her uniform was ripped to shreds and she could see thick gnashes on her legs and arms. She felt someone grab her and pick her up. She could barely see through the tears and blood. But then she saw the reflection of something catch the light.

"Maybe this'll teach you to have better manners, faggot." She heard Charlie say. Then she felt something plunge through her stomach as she tried to gasp for air, but it was no use. She felt whoever was holding her let go as crumpled to the ground. This was it, she thought, This is how I die...

She thought of her friends. Patrick, Steven, Annabeth, Gwen, Maple. She thought of her mum, her dad, Abbie. How much she would miss them all. How much they would miss her. Then she thought of Freya. Freya, the most wonderful person she had ever met. The person she had fallen in love with. Everything around her went dark as she tried to picture Freya's face one last time...