Sweetener.

The Party.

The Spring sun shone over the high street, highlighting all the cars that sped past and giving every passerby a warm glow to their face. Sasha and I beamed in this warm sunlight, taking every last drop of it in as we patiently waited for our bus to head down to the stables to sort out our horses.

Minutes passed by before the large, red bus screeched to stop in front of Sasha and I before we boarded. We instantly took our seats at the back of the bus, settled into our seats and prepared for our journey to the stables. General chat was shared between the two of us but the main conversation was about Sasha's party tonight. We discussed what we were going to wear, who was bringing alcohol and when we were going to meet up but the conversation quickly turned into a particular person Sasha had invited.

"Did I show you a picture of the boy I invited to tonight?" Sasha asked me with a small smile as she opened Instagram to find him.

"No, I don't think so." I responded, leaning over the back of my seat to peak at her phone.

"Him," she showed me her phone "his name's Mitch. He went to my school." She stated.

The picture showed a good looking boy, perked on the edge of a bar stool. He wore a cap, Adidas trainers and some casual clothes. His black hair peeked from under the cap and his golden skin glowed in the amazing lighting he had used in the photo.

"I'm going to try and get with him tonight." Sasha continued as she flicked through his photos.

"Go on girl!" I cheered, excited for my friend as she'd found a (hopefully) genuine boy.

-

After pulling up at our bus stop, we departed from the bus and made our way up the long lane to the stables. The stables was my safe haven. It was my second home. I had my friends up there and my absolute world, Kimmy. Kimmy was a 14.5hh Welsh/Cob crossbreed. He bore brown and white patches (skewbald) and had the purest white mane I'd ever laid my eyes on. Kimmy and I were inseparable and I couldn't ask for anything more in a horse.

Sasha and I finished up our jobs before having a quick ride on the horses. Obviously, I rode Kimmy and Sasha rode her pony, Destiny, a little grey Connemara pony. Our ride was only quick as we needed to rush home to get ready for the party.

As normal, my mother picked us up from the stables and brought us back to my house, which was luckily only a two minute walk from Sasha's. We gathered my clothing and ran round to Sasha's.

-

An hour had passed at Sasha's house and she still hadn't decided what to wear.

"Skirt or jeans?"

"Crop top or blouse?"

"Boots or trainers?"

"Hair curled or straight?"

I couldn't deal with these questions. She always looked great anyway.

Sasha was a very stunning girl. She had tawny brown hair that ended just at her shoulders, although she wasn't he skinniest girl in the world, she cared for her body and looked great anyway and knew exactly how to look good in whatever she wore. For this party, she curled her hair, dressed herself up in boots, a skirt and a crop top to fully show herself off before topping it off with some pink and gold make up that shimmered in every photo opportunity.

On the other hand, I had pulled on a pair of black jeans, my reflective Adidas fluxes and a Calvin Klein top to keep my look neutral. My hair was wavy as normal but kept to the side. My look was always very casual and calm. I hated overdressing.

-

At around 7:30, people started to turn up. The party had such a fun atmosphere. Drinks were going round, the music pumped through our systems and the energy of the conversations was so uplifting but where was this Mitch boy? I doubt I'd find him though because I was slightly tipsy.

Being the tipsy person I now was, I made my way to the back garden to get some fresh air. As I sat in the garden sipping my drink, I felt like something would go wrong soon and my god was I right. Sasha stormed out of her house and stood in front of me.

"Kara is getting off with Mitch." Sasha growled. "She knew tonight was my time to shine."

Kara was in Sasha's friendship group in school. There was a group of around 6 of them at Grace's school and they were all very close but Kara seemed to have taken advantage that night.

"What the fuck..." I replied, astonished at what I had just heard.

Sasha then dragged me into the house without hesitation to show me. At first I didn't see until I'd looked to the left of me where they were getting off on the sofa. I could feel Sasha's anger and disappointment as she gripped my hand in hers before storming out again. Naturally, I followed. She eventually stopped in the front garden before breaking down in tears and complaining about how unfair it was.

"Just talk to her tomorrow Sash." I suggested as I hugged her.

-

The night continued and although there was some mild tension in the air because of Kara and Sasha, the party had to go on and I'm glad it did because I managed to get a conversation with this Mitch kid. The first was in the back garden.

"You're Alex, right?" Mitch asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, Mitch?" I reasoned, dumbfounded.

"That's right," he replied with a charming smile "so you want me to call you Alex or Vic though?"

"Alex please..."

I'm transgender, female to male and Vic was my name from birth. I guess someone had told Mitch before I could properly explain...

"That's cool. Don't stress it." The smile he had then returned.

Smiling in return, I stepped out into the garden to speak with him and his friends, Robby and Sam. They were all so funny and very easy to get on with. My favourite conversation never failed to make me smile whenever I thought of it. We had all found a form of barbecue skewer on the ground in the garden and turned it into a competition of who could get the skewer the furthest into the ground. The four of us were in pieces from stomping this skewer into the ground. It should've never been hat funny but to four tipsy people who had just met, it couldn't have been more hilarious.

Around the end of our ordeal with the skewer, Mitch asked if I had Snapchat. Of course I did.

"Yes, here, scan my snapcode." I said as I pulled out my phone and opened Snapchat to reveal my code.

The boys all scanned it and said they'll message me at some point to show they have me. What great people.

-

The party eventually grew to a close and everyone began to say their goodbyes. I'd became quite good friends with the boys, considering I now had their Snapchat's. Kara said her farewell's to us as she got in the car with her father and her friend, Emily.

"Do you want us to walk you home?" Mitch asked me when I announced that I need to go soon.

"It's alright," I replied "I only live around the corner."

"Well then it's easier for us to go with you." And so we did.

Sasha, Mitch, Sam, Robby and a few other people all walked me home. It made me feel liked. I couldn't have asked for more.

When we reached the outside of my house, Mitch hugged me in the middle of the road

"I hope to meet you again soon. Don't forget to message me later." He said, hugging me.

"I won't forget and we probably will meet again, considering we both know Grace." I replied before ending the hug with a smile.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Mitch gave me one last hug before they all left and I made my way indoors with a warm flush on my face.

Who knew the way this night would change my life forever...

——

I hope you enjoyed this part! I'm sorry if it seems quite vague but I couldn't over complicate it as this part is so important.