Spencer walked into the cafeteria with his sister and her friends, laughing as they strolled toward the lunch line. His eyes scanned the room, and the moment they spotted the noteworthy blue hair of Zora, his smile faltered. Sitting at a table alone with Tyler, she twirled her blue locks around her finger as she giggled at whatever he said.
It was difficult to admit how sweet they looked together. Every word that spewed from Zora's mouth Tyler hung on to. The man even went so far as to hold her hand gently in his own, to which she intertwined their fingers together. A blush coated her cheeks as she ducked her head, prompting him to lift her chin to gaze to stare into his gleaming eyes.
A pang struck Spencer's heart. Despite how painful it was to watch, he could not look away.
Kendall spotted what Spencer was staring at, and she crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. "Those two need to get a room."
"I know you're bitter, but you don't have to be rude," Cassidy scolded.
"No, I agree with Kendall," Spencer said, and the two high fived without looking away from the pair.
Rolling her eyes, Denise and Cassidy dragged them into the lunch line. "I don't get what you are so worried about," Denise said. "They're only friends. Anyone can see that."
"They were holding hands," Spencer argued.
"They were flirting," Kendall added. "He even did the same thing to you. Remember that? He just blatantly flirted with you and then with two other people the next day. Zora deserves better than that."
"Oh, please," Cassidy scoffed. "Tyler acts like that with all the girls who have low self-esteem." Everyone stared at her in concern, but she merely shrugged at her friends. "What? I may love myself now, but I didn't for quite some time. He helped me. He made me see the beauty in myself.
"After all the bullying Zora had to go through in Georgia, why wouldn't she feel insecure? I mean, the bathroom girl and then the locker room debacle. There is quite the possibility that she may not feel very welcomed here. Even if it isn't as bad as it was back at her old school, it's still bad in its own way. She may desperately need some encouragement and support from someone who knows how to make a woman feel special and good about herself. I don't see anything wrong with that," she explained as she pointed at the two, and everyone watch them.
Zora continued to twirl her hair around her finger and giggle with Tyler. "This feels so surreal."
"Why's that?"
"I couldn't even do something as simple as this in Georgia," she replied as she held their hands up. "No one wanted to touch me. They were afraid they would catch the contagious disease of being transgender.
"I couldn't even twirl my hair like this if I wanted to," she added as she dropped her finger. "Someone would always be waiting nearby to spill a sticky drink on my head, and I couldn't even use the women's bathroom to wash off. And since no men wanted me in their bathroom, not that I wanted to go in there anyway, I would have to go to the sinks outside by the baseball field. It sucked on particularly windy days."
"Then keep twirling your hair," he encouraged as he lifted Zora's hand up to her hair, and she began to play with her blue locks again. "I want you to feel comfortable around me. You can do what you want or need to do, and I will not judge you. If someone makes fun of you for being yourself, I'll make sure they regret it."
"Everyone has been saying that lately."
"If you're going to be a dick to someone, they should expect to be treated that way right back at them."
Giggling softly at his words, Zora stared up at him from under her eyelashes. "I'm glad we're partners. But what exactly do I have to do? I mean, are we allowed to compete with me being trans?"
"Of course," he encouraged. "That is not what the judges are judging. They are judging our chemistry, how well we move together, our skills as dancers."
"But since the pairs need to be boy-girl, won't they find a way to turn it on us?"
"Absolutely not. You are a woman. You identify as a woman. You compete as a woman," he replied with a smile.
"As long as they don't judge," she whispered.
"I mean, they are. It's their job," he smirked, earning a playful eye roll from her. "But no, our gender is not what they're judging. You have nothing to worry about. We are going to be amazing up there. The two bestest of friends who have the bestest of chemistry."
"That's not even a word," she laughed, causing him to laugh with her.
"Yeah, but I like it. And since you laughed instead of being a smart alec, that means we are going to become great friends."
"Just...promise me we won't...you know?" she mumbled, to which he slowly nodded at as he pulled away. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings, but she had to be honest with him, so she kept rambling. "It's not that I don't like you-"
"You don't have to worry about salvaging my feelings," Tyler promised. "I get it. I feel the same way. You're not my type."
"Oh," Zora whispered, causing her to feel insecure once again.
"Now your brother on the other hand." Tyler moaned softly. He smirked at Zora's surprised face. "He is my type. All man, not all woman like you."
"I'm not-"
"All woman...like you," Tyler stated, leaving no room for discussion.
Zora didn't want to discuss it anyways. After all the times she had been called a man, even by her own brother, it was reassuring to be called a woman. Even if people didn't consider her to be an actual woman, she was. And she knew it. To have another person view her the same way was enough reassurance for the time being. She looked forward to working with him even more than before.
Zora sat upright and smiled. "I'm glad I agreed to be your dance partner."
"Me too. We will need to work out a routine schedule. I know studying and work come first to you. Speaking of, where do you work?"
Zora shrugged. "I don't know yet. I haven't even applied anywhere."
Glancing at the tables around them, Tyler's face lit up as he spotted Spencer exiting the cafeteria line with his friends. Waving to him, he called out, "Spencer, over here!"
When he saw Tyler wave him over, Spencer whispered to his sister, "Should I trust him?"
"He's been talking with Zora this whole time. It might be good news. Go find out," she urged.
As Spencer stumbled over to the pair, he dropped his tray on the table and smiled shyly at the two. When she locked her eyes on him, Zora blushed and stared down at the table before glancing at him from under her eyelashes. "Hi, Spencer."
"H-hey, Zora," he exhaled with a smile.
"Spencer, your family owns that bookstore by Sonic, right?" Tyler asked as he took a bite of the fries on his tray.
"Yeah, why?"
"Your parents own a bookstore?" Zora excitedly asked.
Nodding slowly, Spencer rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. It's mainly used books and old textbooks, but we do get some new ones as well."
"That's so cool."
Looking between the two of them with a smirk, Tyler perched his chin on the back of his hand and asked, "Are they hiring over there?"
"We tend to keep it a family business."
"Even if it's a close friend who desperately needed a part time job?" he urged.
"Don't you work at the dance studio with the kindergarteners?"
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Not for me, for her," he emphasized as he pointed at Zora. "She needs a part time job. I can ask the studio, but..."
"I get it," Zora assured with a smile. "As long as we can still practice there."
"Definitely."
"Practice?" Spencer nervously asked.
"Yeah. I agreed to be his dance partner," Zora answered with a smile.
"You dance?" Kendall asked as she sat down at the table with Cassidy and Denise.
"Have been for years."
As the girls began to talk, Tyler leaned over to Spencer and whispered, "You're welcome," and winked. As Tyler joined in on the girl's conversation, Spencer was left staring at Tyler in awe. Who knew he would be such a great wingman?