I Love You Just the Way You Are (Book 1- Rock Canyon Series)

Chapter 12 - Kellan

Chapter 12 – Kellan

"There he is! Look at him!" Big Rude squealed. I turned and saw Maddie at her locker. I felt a clutching in my chest and wheeled toward Big Rude.

"Dude, what is your problem? Just leave her alone. She doesn't need our shit," I said, glancing in her direction. Her hand was frozen on a book on the top shelf of her locker.

"What do you mean she? He's a guy," he said, the humor remaining in his voice.

"She's transgender, man. Just respect her space and let her be. She isn't hurting anybody and it's none of our business." A second glance at Maddie confirmed that she heard every word. She hadn't moved.

"Why are you taking up for her? What's in it for you?" he asked with a shit-eating grin.

"It's not about me. Or you. She's a human being, Paul," I said, jarring him a little with his real name. I doubt anyone's called him Paul since 6th grade. "How would you feel if we all made fun of you because you ate twice as much as the rest of us?"

I must have scratched past the surface because he traded the smile for a scowl.

"What the fuck is going on with you today dude? Kate didn't come over this morning and help you rise and shine?"

"I don't hang out with her anymore. Someone I met over the summer made me realize that she wasn't my type. But I'm serious about making fun of her. That ends. Now. We're better than that." I took a step forward, getting in his face. He took a step back and I breathed again. I really didn't want to get physical with him but I would've. 

"Man... I don't know what's got into you. This isn't the Kellan I know. I don't need this, I'm outta here," he said and stomped off.

Maddie was still a statue at her locker. I glanced at a few of my other teammates who had watched our interaction. I nodded at them and made my way toward my first-period class.

It felt like there was a magnetic charge trying to pull me back toward Maddie as I walked away. I resisted. It didn't feel like the right time, and I still didn't know what exactly I wanted with her.

It was, however, crystal clear what she wanted from me: nothing. The two times I had seen her in the hallway since the first day of school felt more like a hallucination than reality. 

I could understand why she was avoiding me. I had obviously crushed on her over the summer, and she must have assumed my feelings evaporated on the first day of school when I found out about her. Well, she'd be wrong.

It wasn't as easy to her let go as I first thought it would be. After being devastated that she wasn't really a girl, I thought that it might actually work in my favor. I didn't need to fall in love right now. I had two seasons of football left to cement my recruiting status. I would blast out of this town and never come back, headed to USC to become a star, no longer having to watch my mom slowly killing herself each morning. I didn't need to fall in love with somebody and be distracted.

When I reached the door to my class, I paused and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes.

But I couldn't lie to myself. Because I was totally distracted. I had been working around the clock on my manga book project. Maddie was still the main character, but I reworked the plot to include her as trans.

Evil aliens had twisted the minds of the students at North Rock Canyon High, making them fear and hate trans people. Maddie, with her ability to wrap a protective bubble around herself while skating, used her psychokinetic powers to fling the aliens into submission.