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Parrot would say that everything is going great recently. She’s got nice friends at school and an amazing boyfriend that loves her. There wasn’t anything more that she could possibly ask for. Her life is basically perfect, well, except for some minor things but it’s not that big of a deal really!
Sometimes she’d walk into hallways and notice people whispering and giggling among themselves. At first, she thought it had nothing to do with her but as time went on, it became more obvious that it did and also, harder to ignore.
She still tried her best though, after all, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. If people wanted to make fun of her, then she really can’t stop them from doing so, it doesn’t affect her that much!
Currently, Parrot had to make a quick trip to her locker to put some books in. She told the two friends she was with, Wemmbu and Wato, that she’d be right back before she head off.
As she made her way to her locker, she couldn’t help but spot two people who she didn’t know standing nearby. Usually this wasn’t a cause for concern but she has been the subject of gossip lately, and something in her gut told her that these two weren’t friendly. She hopes that she could sneak past them and leave before they can say anything.
Parrot was able to achieve her aim of putting her books into her locket but her luck would soon run out. She closed the door and locked it with her key, however, as she turned around to leave, she made eye contact with the people she was trying to avoid.
“Hey! Aren’t you that weird gay guy everyone’s been talking about?”
She did have a suspicion that those two weren’t nice people, and she was right! However, she just wasn’t in the mood to deal with these types of people, but honestly, there isn’t actually a day where she is in the mood for it. Not wanting to cause a scene, she made the decision to walk away quickly in hopes that she could go back to her friends and, just maybe, they’d leave her alone.
“Don’t just leave! That’s kinda rude, don’t you think?” One of them called out.
Parrot kept walking anyway. If she could just make it back to her friends-
The other one of the two grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back. She should’ve ran instead, would’ve been embarrassing but at least it might have been more effective.
She glared at the guy who just had his hand on her. “What the fuck was that for?”
“We were going to talk to you but you just left. It wasn’t very nice of you.” His tone was condescending in a way that it made Parrot want to punch him. Sadly, she won’t be able to get away with it without getting herself into trouble.
“And I’m pretty sure by leaving, I made it clear that I didn’t want to talk.” She didn’t bother to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “Now, can you let me go? I’ve got somewhere to be.”
The two snickered. One of them moved closer to Parrot which caused her to back away instantly. For goodness sake, whatever happened to personal space?
“Chill out you gay freak, no need to be in such a hurry.”
Wow, what an original insult, she has never heard that one before. She kept her composure and calmly spoke. She wasn’t about to get visibly upset and give them that satisfaction. “Can you please move out of my way? I have somewhere that I need to be right now.”
The pair still didn’t budge. She really didn’t know what else to do. Again, she didn’t want to cause a scene.
“You’re wearing a skirt to school, basically asking for it.”
Oh, so that was what it was? She had started dressing more femininely recently since practically her entire friend group now knows. Although, it’s not like the other people at school are aware, it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to be aware anyway. Some students here really don’t know how to mind their business, besides, why do they care anyway?
“Can you fuck off and leave my friend alone?” A new voice suddenly emerged, a familiar one.
Parrot breathed a sigh of relief when she realised who it was, Wemmbu.
“Calling your boyfriends for help now? You’re actually pathetic.”
“Don’t you have something better to do with your time? Whatever she’s wearing doesn’t affect you in the slightest.” Wato chimed in.
“Guys, let’s just go. I did what I needed to do anyway. This isn’t worth it.” Parrot urged her friends. She had a suspicion if they were to stay and argue, this would go on for a long time. Something that she’d like to avoid.
Parrot began to walk away and gestured to Wemmbu and Wato to follow her, which they did. Luckily, the other two didn’t go after them, it likely wouldn’t have ended well for them if they did.
“Parrot, are you okay?” Wato asks. It’s clear that she is worried about her.
Parrot nods. “I’m fine.”
“I really hope they don’t try to bother you anymore. If something like this happens again, tell us okay?” Wato placed a hand on Parrot’s shoulder to reassure her.
“Yeah. I’ll beat their asses if they do.” Wemmbu adds. Parrot doesn’t doubt him in the slightest, he can be quite scary. Now that she thinks about it, it would be kinda funny if he did.
She smiles. “Thanks.”
—
Today was Wednesday, which meant that Parrot had archery practice. She hopes that no one will bother her on the way to the courtyard.
“I can walk you there if you want, considering what happened last time.” Wato offers.
“What happened last time?” Wifies asks. Parrot just realised that she never told him, well, not anyone else in fact.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.” She declines the offer while also deliberately dodging Wifies’s question. She’d rather not have him fuss over her about this.
Wato didn’t seem entirely convinced but decided to not press on. “If you insist… but if something happens, just tell us.”
“I will, please don’t worry about me too much.” Parrot lets out a small smile. “I’m gonna go now, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She waves before heading off.
Wifies turns his head to Wato. “Can you explain to me what happened? Was it bad?”
Wato thought for a moment whether they should say anything, since Parrot clearly didn’t. Although, Wifies is Parrot’s boyfriend, so maybe they should let him know. He worries that there may be a bigger issue below the surface, Parrot does have a reputation in not telling her friends things after all.
“Basically, some assholes came up to her the other day and started harassing her. I don’t want her to be alone just in case it happens again, I know she can defend herself but it’s still worrying.”
Wifies frowned. He really wished that Parrot understood that she could tell him anything, even the bad things. It doesn’t make her a burden to him at all for doing so.
“I’ll go check up on her.” That was all he said before he walked off.
—
Unfortunately for Parrot, it seemed like she didn’t hope hard enough because certain people really couldn’t find it in themselves to stop being annoying. Seriously, can people just not mind their business? Still, she tried to not let it get to her head. After all, what others think shouldn’t be important to her, she’s happy as herself and that’s what truly matters.
Parrot was just about to make it to the courtyard before she heard someone shout, it was a voice that she recognised, however, it wasn’t one that she was exactly fond of, if anything, it filled her with dread. She turned around to see who it was and sure enough, it was someone she grew a heavy disdain for.
“I wasn’t done with you last time. I didn’t appreciate the fact you walked off.” It was one of the guys from before, the one who grabbed her shoulder. At least, he had the courtesy to not yank her back this time.
“Dude, leave me alone. I don’t know you at all, and I need to get to practice.”
He smirked. “Always in a hurry, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, to get away from you.” Parrot honestly had no idea what she could possibly do to get this guy to not be a nuisance.
He tried to pull her closer to him but she immediately slapped his hand and shoved him away. “Touch me again and I’ll punch you.” Parrot threatens, there was a part of her that actually meant it, however, she also didn’t want to get into a physical fight.
“Getting violent now? It doesn’t fit you considering you’re cosplaying as a girl.”
After hearing what he had just said, Parrot had an even bigger urge to hit this guy now but she held herself back. It’s not worth getting herself injured over this.
“Fuck off, don’t you have something better to do?”
“You’re the gay freak who’s pretending to be a girl. You want men to notice you this badly?”
This was going to go on forever unless she found a way to get him to leave. She needed to get to practice but remembering what happened before, she wouldn’t be able to just walk away. But, that was when something clicked in her mind. Chances are, her archery teacher is probably nearby, she could just go to her and her problem is solved, a teacher could deal with this guy more effectively than her.
“Where the fuck are you going?” He began to follow behind.
“Didn’t I already say this? Away from you.” Upon seeing her teacher, Parrot picked up her pace.
Parrot breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her destination. She gently tapped her teacher on the shoulder and gave her a small wave. “Hey, Miss Fern.”
Miss Fern grinned at her. “You’re later than usual.”
Parrot looked over and realised that the guy had caught up to her. This was her chance, she can finally have peace after this.
“Yeah, that’s because this guy, who I don’t know, wouldn't leave me alone. Can you please tell him to go away?” She gestures at the source of her current trouble, her tone may have been more smug than it should’ve been but at this rate, she could not care less about how much she was pissing this guy off.
“Fucking bitch.” Parrot hears a faint mutter under his breath, yep, he's definitely mad.
“Louis, you’re on the verge of another suspension right now, just a few more and you’d be permanently excluded. Surely, you don’t want that? I’d suggest you leave and I better not hear any more complaints about you.” That seemed to scare him a bit, Parrot wasn’t surprised in the slightest that he was one of those people that constantly got into trouble.
He only glared at Parrot before storming off, she’s glad that he didn’t try to argue back at all. It would have been pointless if he did.
“Thanks, Miss.”
“Of course, if he’s annoying you again, tell me, okay?”
Parrot nods. She’s heard that phrase way too many times now.
“Hey.” Another familiar voice, except this time, it was one she is fond of.
Parrot couldn’t help but smile when she realised who it was. “Wifies? I thought you went home.”
“What, I can’t go see my beautiful girlfriend while she practices?”
“Flattering.” The compliment made Parrot blush. She rolled her eyes but kept a smile. However, she had a suspicion that it wasn’t the only reason why he was here, Wato probably told him.
Wifies stayed with her the whole time. She didn’t complain though, his presence was comforting.
After a while, she was done. Not many people showed up to practice today, it was just Parrot. But again, not many people did archery in this school. Usually it was just her and maybe like two or three other people.
“Good job, you did well today.” Miss Fern praised Parrot as she handed the bow to her and took off the quiver from her back.
“Thank you, I’ll see you next Wednesday.”
—
Wifies thought back to what Wato said to him, the main reason why he decided to go after Parrot instead of going home. He genuinely hopes that the harassment that they mentioned isn’t a constant thing, in fact, it’d be better if it never happens at all.
He hesitated but he also felt that it was important to ask. “Did anyone.. try to harass you recently? Like, does it happen frequently?”
Parrot looked at him. She was right, that was why he came to see her rather than going home after a long day of classes, he was worried.
“Wato told you?” Her response was quite vague, but it did answer Wifies’s question.
“Yeah. Do you need me to report someone for you or?”
Parrot shakes her head. “No need, I’ve basically just done that.”
However, Wifies still seemed concerned. “You’re okay.. right?”
“Wifies, I’m fine. I’ll say something, I promise.” Parrot lightly caressed his cheek and kissed the other that she didn’t have her hand on. She pulled back afterwards.
“Besides, I’ve been pretty open about things lately, haven’t I? Plus, I’m not gonna let some guy who can’t mind his business get into my head.” She continued, hopefully this will reassure him.
It’s sweet that Wifies cares about her this much and she is grateful for that, however, the last thing she’d want is for him to stress out over something minor. She knows how protective he can get at times.
“I just really hate the fact that people are horrible to you just because they can. You don’t deserve any of that.”
“Thanks.. I appreciate it.”
Wifies pulled her in for a hug. “Anytime.”
—
Parrot waited outside the classroom with her friends, the teacher was taking an abnormally long time to arrive. She mostly tuned out the bickering of Wemmbu, Spoke and Mapicc, with Eggchan occasionally joining in their arguments. She opted to lean on Wifies’s shoulder instead, he didn’t say anything, he just smiled and gently patted her head. Clown had his own conversation with Ferre and Branzy, talking about Minecraft pvp or something, Parrot wasn’t paying attention.
However, Parrot noticed two girls from across the hallway staring at her, she instantly recognised them as the one of the popular kids of the school, one of them muttered something to her friend, while pointing at Parrot. They weren’t subtle about it at all, in fact it was the most obvious thing in the world. The friend giggled in response, Parrot was able to make out what the two were saying with ease. Do they know that she can hear them? Honestly now, Parrot wished she wasn’t able to, her mood was bad enough already, hearing someone call her a mentally ill freak definitely doesn’t help. At least, they didn’t say it to her face, she supposes.
Parrot looked up at Wifies, she saw a scowl on his face as he looked across. For a split second, she thought it was directed at her, maybe she had somehow annoyed him. Wifies by some means, observed her panic and silently reassured her that it was not the case at all. Now that Parrot thinks about it, he probably overheard the two popular girls’s gossip. It would make sense why he glanced at them with a grimace. They weren’t exactly the most quiet.
Time and time again, she told herself that it doesn’t matter what people think of her because she’s herself and that’s what truly matters. But she can only repeat that mantra for so long until she stops believing in it. As much as Parrot would hate to admit, some of the words said to her do hurt. She’d say to herself to just ignore it but it’s getting increasingly more difficult when it’s a constant thing she has to listen to. She tries to not let it get to her head but how can she not when the words frequently echo in her mind? Of course, this wasn’t something that she’d admit to out loud though, no way. After all, it’s not worth troubling her friends over something that seems so insignificant.
If anything, part of her feels selfish for even being upset. She’s surrounded by amazing, plus supportive friends so she really has nothing to complain about. There are people out there who have it way worse than her, technically, she is considered one of the lucky ones.
A soft tap on the shoulder shook Parrot out of her thoughts. Concern was written all over Wifies’s expression. A common theme over the past few days.
“You okay?”
Parrot nods. “Yeah.” She looked around and realised people were starting to go into the room. “Is the teacher here?”
“Kinda, we have a substitute.” Last period on a Friday too, an actual blessing.
“Ohh! I hope he doesn’t check the seating plan!” The excitement was clear in Spoke’s voice.
“Don’t say that so loudly! Now he’ll definitely check since you reminded him to.” Mapicc hushes him.
Luckily for them, this substitute was one of those who would just sit on their laptops without a care of what the students were doing. Unless they were doing something illegal, of course. This also meant that the sub didn’t check the seating plan, something Spoke was very happy about.
They sat at the back corner, no one in their group, or for a matter of fact, anyone in the class, did any work, Parrot didn’t either, she had absolutely no energy to. She watched Spoke and Mapicc stack up glue sticks to see whose tower would fall first. Mapicc’s tower fell first, then Wemmbu knocked over Spoke’s just to mess with him.
Parrot honestly wasn’t sure why she was in such a bad mood today. This morning, she woke up and just felt overall terrible. She tried to not let it show but her sudden seemingly lack of interest in everything made it quite obvious. Her friends took note of this, they didn’t try to involve her in their shenanigans as much, instead giving her space so she could rest up. Wifies would occasionally check up on her in a way that was subtle, flashing her a smile every now and then.
—
The bell finally rang and everyone in class quickly packed up to leave. A week before, Wifies had invited her to stay at his house for the weekend. He called it a “weekend sleepover”. Parrot accepted the invitation without any hesitation, it was her lovely boyfriend offering after all. She wanted to head to his house right after school since she was too lazy to go back and forth from her house to his, so she packed anything she would need when she was staying over in another bag, she then put it in her locker in the morning so she wouldn’t need to carry an extra bag around during the day.
“Wifies, I need to go to my locker to get something real quick. I won’t take long, I’ll meet you at the school entrance.”
“I can go with you.” Wifies quickly says.
Parrot shakes her head. “No it’s fine, save yourself the trouble.”
Wifies didn’t seem entirely convinced but let her go regardless. He had taken note of his girlfriend’s horrid mood today, and the way some people outside their friend group treated her, leaving her alone just seemed like a bad idea, at the same time, Parrot could be terribly stubborn in wanting to be alone. He didn’t want to push.
“If you’re that worried, I can go after her just in case something happens.” Wemmbu offers.
“Yeah, that’d be nice. Thank you. Sorry, it’s just.. She’s been acting quite off these days and the people at this school are so..”
“Bro, why are you even apologising? She’s my friend as well, I’ve seen people harass her for no apparent reason before and it’ll probably happen again. Go wait for her at the school entrance.”
With that, Wemmbu went after Parrot to her locker. Whoa, déjà vu.
Last time Parrot made a supposedly quick trip to her locker, she ended up (almost) cornered by two guys that she didn’t know. If that were to happen again, she may actually need to make a run for it this time.
This time, she wasn’t even able to achieve her goal before she was slammed against the wall by a face she knew all too well by now. It was so quick that she couldn’t even run away like she internally advised herself to. Just her luck, huh. She’s starting to regret telling Wifies to wait for her at the school entrance when he offered to go with her, maybe this guy wouldn’t have been so bold.
Parrot was so tired. Why now? He could’ve at least picked a time where she had the energy to fight back.
“What did I even do to you? I’m just trying to get something from my locker.”
“You fucking snitched, that’s what you did.” He snarls.
Realistically, in this situation, what was the best course of action that she could take without getting herself bruised everywhere? She didn’t want to fight him, the last thing she’d want is her perfect good student record be ruined because of him of all people, it wasn’t worth the risk. Although, she does wholeheartedly believe that she could win a fight against him, but again, she’s doesn’t think it’s worth it to test the theory,
“I mean, you started it- Ow.” That earned her a kick in the ankle. Parrot could only hope that he didn’t sprain it. It was a dumb thing to say to someone who is already agitated at her to be fair.
“Okay, I’m sorry.” She didn’t mean her apology in the slightest bit but if she sounds sincere enough, this may work.
He punched her in the stomach this time. Honestly, what more could he possibly want? She already said sorry and she sure as hell isn’t about to get on her knees and beg for forgiveness, fuck no. She was never even in the wrong in the first place.
“You better be. Be grateful I didn’t go for your pretty little face.” Actually for once, she’d agree with him. She rather not have to explain to Wifies about how she got a black eye.
“I told you to fuck off and leave my friend alone last time, what part of that did you not get?” Parrot was able to discern that voice as Wemmbu’s. Oh thank god, she’s saved.
However, there was also a new fear. The whole reason why she got jumped was because she told on this guy. She’s still vulnerable right now.
Parrot was about to brace herself for another hit but it never came. She heard a loud bang and she opened her eyes to see her attacker on the ground.
“Go get the stuff you need to get from your locker and find Wifies. I’ll take care of him.”
She takes the bag from her locker. “Thank you, Wemmbu.”
Wemmbu looked up for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it.” After replying to Parrot, he immediately goes back to beating him up.
Parrot hopes that Wemmbu doesn’t accidentally kill him, that’d be a hassle to deal with but again, it’d also get rid of one of her major problems. Oh and her ankle kinda hurts, she’s still able to walk so perhaps it’s not that bad. It could’ve been worse, she only took two hits!
—
“Hi Wifies.” Parrot wondered whether it was a good idea to tell her already worried boyfriend what had just happened.
“Hey, should we go?” He takes her free hand and holds it.
“Yeah. Sorry for taking so long by the way.” Great, she’s got a stomachache too now. Probably from being punched earlier.
“Did something happen?”
The last thing Parrot wants to do is to lie to Wifies, but she also doesn’t want him to freak out. “Can I tell you later? I rather not talk about it now.”
“Sure.”
Wifies started to ramble on about escape rooms, presumably to light up the mood. Parrot didn’t say much, she listened and nodded along. Parts of her body still ached, but she doubts that she sustained any serious injuries, maybe just a small bruise.
This is the second time Parrot has been at Wifies’s house. The first time being over a year ago when she came over for a group project. She barely remembers how his house looked, there’s probably some changes since last time. He leads her upstairs to his bedroom.
She sets down her stuff on the floor. She opens the bag to find a towel and her pajamas.
“Where’s the bathroom? I wanna take a shower, if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah okay, follow me.”
—
Parrot closed the door behind her. She turned her head and her reflection stared back at her. It was one of those days, where everything about her felt wrong but she can’t do anything to fix it.
Time to get this over with, she supposes. Just stop staring at the reflection and she’d be fine. She turned away from the mirror and closed her eyes as she undressed herself. She regretted jumping straight into the shower right after arriving, if it was later the room could be dark enough, then she wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of herself.
She steps out of the shower and grabs her towel frantically. She relaxes ever so slightly when her clothes are on again, the uneasy feeling was still gnawing at her though but she did like the fact she was unable to look at her body anymore.
Wifies decided to also go take a shower, he went right after her, which meant that Parrot was left alone with her thoughts. Not a good thing to be honest, especially with her current mindset. She kept thinking back to what someone said to her. “The freak who’s pretending to be a girl” huh.. It lingered in her mind, refusing to leave no matter how hard she tried to think about something else. She wasn’t sure why it’s sticking with her so much right now, maybe it’s because the same guy who said it had attempted to beat her up today. The pain from it had more so subsided now, there was a faint bruise on her stomach, other than that, nothing major.
She didn’t notice that Wifies was done until she felt a peck on her cheek. She found herself smiling on instinct, and turned to him. As she moved closer to him, a hand reached her face and tilted her chin towards him, Wifies leaned forward and their lips met. They pulled away but still stayed close to each other. They stayed like this for a while, in a comforting silence.
“Are you feeling better now? You seemed pretty upset today..”
Parrot nods. “Yeah, thanks. Sorry, I just.. I don’t know. There’s a lot..”
Wifies frowns. “You know you can tell me anything that’s bothering you right? Like I know I’ve said this before but I’ll keep reminding you. I love and care about you, I don’t want you to suffer in silence.” His tone was soft.
Parrot moved closer towards him. “It stupid, like I feel like I’m childish for even being upset.”
“You’re not though.” Wifies says immediately. Parrot hated how her gloominess affected him too.
She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, she couldn’t find the right words. She opted to not say anything.
“I’ve seen the way people whisper about you in the corridors, I’ve even heard some of the stuff they’ve said. Some people even go as far as to harass you, I don’t know how frequently that happens but what I do know is that it’s completely valid for you to be upset over it. I would be too.”
“The harassment is mostly by the same guy. I actually told on him, which he wasn’t very happy about. He tried to beat me up today for doing that, that’s why my supposedly quick trip to my locker took so long by the way.” Parrot quietly mumbles.
“What the fuck? Are you okay? Are you injured? Did he-” Wifies asks, frantically.
“I’m fine.” Parrot cuts him off. “He landed like- what? Two hits? Wemmbu stopped him quickly, I don’t think he’ll try anything again. Wemmbu probably scared him off with the way he hit the guy.”
“I should’ve gone with you.” She could sense the guilt on his face and the tone of his voice.
Parrot sighed. “Please don’t start blaming yourself. I was the one who told you to wait outside, Wemmbu ended up saving me anyway.”
“You’re doing okay right?” Wifies ran his hand through her hair.
“I just told you I was fine.”
“No, I meant if there was something else that was also bothering you. You said there was a lot.” Nothing escapes him, huh.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s a feeling that I’ve had since I was really young. Obviously now, I know it’s because I’m trans. Some days, it’s not really prevalent but recently it’s gotten so much worse. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I’m constantly hearing people insult me in the corridors. I’m always telling myself to just ignore it but it’s so hard to.”
Wifies only nodded in acknowledgement. His gaze was soft.
“Being called a freak who’s pretending to be a girl hurts way more than it should’ve. I don’t even know why.” Parrot could feel the tears starting to stream down her face, she couldn’t be bothered trying to keep her composure anymore.
Wifies pulled her in for a hug, that’s when she broke.
“I- I can’t even look at mirrors.” She sobbed. “Everytime I do, it reminds me and I hate it so much.” She buried herself into him, probably making his shirt wet in the process.
Wifies just held her, rubbing circles at her back to soothe her.
And he let her cry. Letting her release all the pent up emotions that she had all at once. She continued to sob as Wifies tightened his grip, not tight enough that he’d be squeezing her though.
Parrot moved her head away. “Sorry, your shirt is probably soaked by now.”
“Don’t apologise.” Wifies used his thumb to wipe the tears from her face. “You’re more important, I can always change into a new one.” He kept his hands there and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
Maybe this week has been terrible for Parrot but part of her also believes that everything will be okay in the end.