A Happy Medium Ch. 02

This is Part 2 of 3. All three chapters are written and will be published in sequence.

Chapter 2: Prom Night Redux

They'd walked to the little general store in almost complete silence. Occasionally Madison would complain about her mother and Tessa would make an affirmative noise, but Madison could tell the other girl didn't mean it. Other times, Tessa would mention that she wanted to get back soon. Madison would simply ask "why?" and then they would lapse back into silence.

Still, they both admitted to themselves (if not each other) that the walk was, in some ways, pleasant. The forest road that they walked was well-shaded, even as the heat started to rise in the middle of the day. The scenery was beautiful, the birds were singling, and the sound of water gently lapping the banks of the lake in the near distance was soothing. It took a good deal of time to reach the little general store, but in some ways they were invigorated by the walk.

When they reached "town," such as it was, the place felt a bit like it was abandoned. There were a couple of boats bobbing along the docks, but no one seemed to be around. There were two pick up trucks in the parking lot, no one even at the pumps for gas. The only sound was the crunch of the gravel in the parking lot as the approached the store. It was a low-slung, single story cinderblock building with a faded sign. It had clearly seen better days. Or maybe it has always been sad. The two girls walked inside.

Madison blinked a few times when she entered the general store. She hadn't realized how bright the late-summer sun had been until she'd walked inside. Slowly, her eyes became used to the dim store and Madison realized it was little more than a glorified convenience store. There was an old lady behind the counter reading a romance novel. She didn't even look up as the girls entered. Madison turned and looked at Tessa and saw that she was also blinking.

"You go find marshmallows and any other stuff that will keep for awhile. I will get hotdogs, milk, and maybe some drinks or something," Madison instructed the older girl, "We can meet back at the register."

"Okay," Tessa said, and set off on her task. She was actually sort of thankful to be away from Madison. It wasn't that Madison had been rude or anything. It was just that Tessa had been feeling an unbearable obligation to...guide Madison in some way. And she kept coming up with absolutely nothing. It was frustrating and embarrassing and was causing an ever-increasing level of tension. A few minutes shopping was a break, at least.

Tessa wended her way slowly through the store. The floors were dingy and the food looked like it had been on the shelves for a couple of months too long. She wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to eat anything from that place. Still, she was here on a mission, she would get food, even if she wasn't going to eat it. She found the marshmallows, got some chocolate, some graham crackers, and some potato chips too. Anything she bought, she had to carry all the way back to the cabin, so she resisted getting anything more. She headed back up to the front of the store.

As she turned from the back of the store, Tessa could see that Madison was already there. She was talking to someone. Tessa assumed Madison was talking to the old lady at the counter. But as she approached, she saw something else. There were two men...well, guys in their early twenties, standing by the register. Madison was smiling broadly at them. Tessa saw that the guys were tall, had scraggly beards, confederate flag t-shirts, and worn out baseball caps. She felt her stomach churn for some reason.

"Yeah, staying at a cabin out on the lake a few days," Madison said, "Me and her," Madison said, gesturing towards Tessa. Tessa ignored her, grabbing the hot dogs and buns from Madison's hand and moving towards the register.

"You girls like fishing?" one of the dudes said.

"I might," Madison said, taking a bit of her hair and wrapping it around her finger. The guys weren't exactly good looking. But that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun talking to them. The taller guy was looking at her intently, but the other guy was following Tessa's body as she paid at the register. Madison could really use a assist with that guy. Madison saw Tessa out of the corner of her eye, ignoring them.

"You've never been fishing before?" The guy asked. Madison shook her head.

"Never been able to find a rod that worked for me, you know?" she teased. The old lady looked up from over her romance novel as she handed Tess back her change. Both men guffawed. Madison certainly had no intention of doing anything with either of these guys rods, but it was fun to tease a little bit.

"Well I've never had any..." The guy started to say. But just then, Madison felt a hand grab hers. She looked and saw that Tessa had grabbed her.

"The only thing you have to know about fishing," Tessa said, "Is that you throw back the little ones." And she started pulling Madison out of the store. Madison couldn't help but laugh, it was a solid joke. But she saw the guy looking pissed (his buddy was laughing at him). Madison knew that that bridge had been burned for sure. And for what? She was too confused by Tessa's actions, so Madison just let the older girl lead her back out into the sunlight. The guys didn't follow, Madison knew they wouldn't.

Tessa was at least as annoyed as the guys. She hadn't really been trying to insult him. Not really. She just didn't want to talk to them anymore. The point of this weekend was for the girls to talk right? Not to hook up with scuzzy-looking rednecks. Tessa didn't allow the fact that she had absolutely no interest in "girl talk" or that the guys could take Madison off her hands interrupt her umbrage. In a matter of minutes, she had angry walked all the way out of town, dragging Madison with her.

They were a few hundred yards from the last boat in the dock, when Madison finally gained her bearings. She pulled herself out of Tessa's grip and came to a stop in the middle of the road. For a moment, Tessa kept walking. She was out of the store, it didn't matter what Madison did.

"What's your deal?"Madison yelled, "You can't just grab me away from people I am talking to! What do you think I am a little kid who couldn't handle those guys?" Madison had figured that Tessa was, once again, condescending to her, "I am not 8. You aren't 10. I am an adult too!" Tessa came to a stop in the road and turned around.

"What?" she asked. She had absolutely no idea what Madison was talking about.

"I know you are like, annoyed to have to be with me because you still think I am a kid. But feel free to just ignore me. You don't have to embarrass me in front of people." Tessa was even more taken aback than before. It took her a moment to compose herself enough to respond. She was still vibrating with discomfort from the store. And now, realizing why she'd been uncomfortable. She felt her cheeks get red as she got embarrassed.

"It isn't like that at all" Tessa said, hoping that was enough.

"Then what was it like?" Madison asked, growing more annoyed because it seemed like Tessa didn't feel like she needed to explain why she was rude.

"I really wasn't trying to embarrass you. I wasn't. And I am not trying to treat you like a child I wasn't even thinking about anything like that. If you want to go talk to those guys, go back. It wasn't about you."

"You made it a little about me!" Madison shot back. Now she walked quickly, closing the distance between her and Tessa. "I really, seriously doubt those guys want to talk to me now. I just wanted us to flirt with them a little."

"Well I didn't want to flirt," Tessa said quietly. Tessa's heart was suddenly racing. She did not want to talk about this. Madison was still angry, but she looked at Tessa. She wasn't reacting the way Madison had expected. Tessa really seemed apologetic. And nervous. Madison's voice softened.

"Why didn't you?"

"I have to want to flirt with people?" Tessa asked. Madison shrugged.

"No, but...like that wasn't just not being interested. You booked us out of there," Madison responded. Tessa realized that there was no way of getting out of this. She just had to explain herself. As quickly and painlessly as possible.

"I just... I don't really feel comfortable...talking to guys like that. I didn't want you to like...set anything up...a date or something...I don't want that," Tessa explained. Any residual anger melted from Madison. Tessa was definitely not being condescending. And Madison didn't have any intention of making Tessa uncomfortable. Madison started walking down the street again, thinking things over. Tessa started walking too, hoping that meant this fight was over.

"I wasn't trying to set up dates with those guys," Madison said after a long pause, "They were just boys, so I thought it would be fun to talk to them. I wouldn't have obligated you to anything without talking to you first. I was just flirting. Don't you ever just flirt with boys for fun?" Tessa kept walking, but crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Not really," Tessa said in a way that clearly meant, 'No.' Madison was a little taken aback.

"How do you hook up and stuff then?" Madison said after another long pause. Tessa sighed, and turned her head to the side. She didn't want to look at Madison. She just felt too uncomfortable talking about this kind of stuff. But she could feel Madison looking at her. Not mean. Just curious. And Tessa couldn't take the long silence.

"I guess I don't," Tessa said, finally. And kept walking. Madison's eyes grew wide.

"But you're in college!" she said incredulously. Tessa raised her shoulders barely a shrug.

"I don't," Tessa said. For a moment, Madison was confused. Then she smiled and bumped her forehead with the heel of her palm.

"Oh, you're gay right? That totally makes sense! You don't have to be all shy about it, its not 1995 or something. You don't want to flirt with boys because you..."

"No, I like boys. I guess. And I like girls," Tessa said. Now Madison was confused again. She couldn't wait to go to college and have a good excuse to sleep around a little bit. A little bit more than she already did. Tessa, for her part, wanted desperately for this conversation to end. Madison wasn't angry anymore, why did she keep picking at this?

"You like them..." Madison said, "But have you...ever slept with them?" This was the question that Tessa was dreading. She supposed she could lie. There really wasn't anything Madison could do to prove it was a lie. But Tessa never felt comfortable lying and she was bad at it. Maybe telling the truth would end this interrogation.

"No," she said. And nothing more. She was a virgin.

"You're hot! It's so easy, trust me. If you make the move you can basically get any guy you want!" Madison said and Tessa felt her cheeks get red, both because of the nature of the conversation, and the sort-of compliment she'd been paid. Tessa looked around, making sure that no one was around.

"I am not like other girls, you know that," Tessa said. Of course, Madison knew that Tessa was trans. That's how they knew one another. But she didn't see that as a huge issue. It might, in some ways, be an asset. But Tessa didn't like thinking about the fact that there was a cock between her legs. She knew those boys at the general store would have looked at her differently, if they knew. That was her first thought anytime someone approached her.

"I'd rather just hang out with my mom than have a date that I know isn't going anywhere," Tessa said, as a final explanation. Tessa knew that sounded like a lame justification, but it was true. Why go through the anxiety, and the risk, of an unsure social situation, when she could have more fun watching Friends reruns with her mom? Madison let out a sharp laugh. That made less sense to her than anything else. Not having sex to hang out with mom. Madison believed that was the definition of hell. Not even understanding how to respond to that, she shifted gears.

"Not even at prom?" She asked, "I mean...I thought everyone who didn't lose their virginity before that lost it at senior prom. I took Craig's virginity after prom." Tessa couldn't believe she was talking about this. It was like there was nothing that she could say that would stop Madison.

"I didn't got to prom," she answered honestly. Madison stopped in her tracks.

"You didn't go to senior prom?" she asked. Tessa sighed and shook her head. "No, No, No," Madison said, shaking her head, "Absolutely not!" Now it was Madison's turn to grab Tessa hand. Tessa was completely at a loss to explain Madison's response. But Madison started pulling her arm, and Tessa followed, too cowed to do anything else.

Madison led Tessa off the road. Madison wasn't really sure what she was looking for, but about forty feet into the woods, she found it. A low, flat clearing with somewhat short grass. The sun was beating down on the open spot, which was about ten feet in diameter. Madison reached into her back pocket and found her phone. She Googled "cheesy slow prom songs" and started a playlist. The first song was "Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie. Old might actually be better, Madison thought. She set it to play and dropped the phone onto the ground.

Madison was still holding Tessa's hand, and Tessa was following around dumbly. He had no idea what Madison was doing, and didn't think she cared. But then she felt a slight jerk and she felt herself spinning around. In a moment, he was facing Madison. Madison reached down and grabbed Tessa's hands. Madison lifted Tessa's hands up and then draped them on her own shoulders. The music was starting. Then Madison dropped her own hands down to Tessa's waist, holding onto her gently. And she started swaying slowly to the beat of the song. For a moment, Tessa just stood still, wondering if Madison was crazy or if she was being teased in some way.

"What're you doing," Tessa asked, finally.

No one should miss prom. It is dumb, but you have to do it," Madison explained. Tessa, despite herself, laughed a little bit.

"I didn't have to," Tessa said.

"You did have to! You just didn't. And that sucks. I mean you missed out on so much and it is driving me crazy I can't fix it!" Madison was totally in earnest. She was shocked that Tessa hadn't even gone to prom, let alone lost her virginity. "I mean, you have to spend way too much time getting you hair done and then hating it anyway. And we can't do that. You need to spend way too much money on a dress that you only wear the one time. And we can't do that. You have to get a limo and get drunk. And we can't do that. The only thing that I can give back to you is a terrible, shuffling slow dance to a lame oldie song that makes your mom wet!" Madison said and now Tessa laughed louder. A little bit of the tension slipped away. She'd clearly triggered something in Madison, something that had made Madison reach out to her. Tessa felt that Madison's overreaction was both humorously dramatic and surprisingly sweet. Despite herself, Tessa found herself swaying to the music.

"Well, to be honest," Tessa said, "I was supposed to go to prom. I was going to go senior year,"she said, thinking back to that. Her mother had been so nervous about it, because she couldn't be there. Truth be told, Tessa was nervous about that too. But was more excited than nervous. The two girls were now swaying to the music in the woods.

"Why didn't you?" Madison asked.

"My date and I were just going as friends. A whole group of us were going together, but we'd paired off. And a couple days before prom, my date got a real date. So I didn't have anyone to go with anymore."

"What a fucking dick!" Madison said, vehemently.

"That's what I thought!" Tessa said dredging up the feelings, "But everyone else was like 'those two are perfect together, you have to let them go out' and everything like that. So I just stood aside."

"Your friends sucked," Madison said, "A prom date is a prom date, whatever the reason. You can't drop someone that close to the day. I don't care if the fucking pope asks you out!" Tessa laughed louder now. She felt the warmth of Madison's righteous indignation like a soothing balm on some feelings that were still a little raw. Madison and Tessa kept swaying to the music. Tessa felt more relaxed than she had all day and she closed her eyes while she swayed. Madison felt better too, she liked taking care of people. And Madison felt bad that she had thought Tessa was stuck up or something. Clearly, she was going through some stuff.

"My group of friends, they knew that I am trans. I always wondered if that was why my date found someone else," Tessa said, and cast her eyes down. She hadn't really been planning on sharing that with anyone. She had never said anything about it to anyone, not even her mother. Tessa was afraid her mother would have totally overcompensated. But, for some reason, Tessa felt that Madison would understand.

Madison's reaction proved that Tessa was right. She didn't start apologizing on behalf of all cis people, the way that her mother would have. She didn't ask for names for retribution. She didn't say anything stupid. Or anything at all. Instead, Madison simply wrapped her arms more tightly around Tessa's waist. The distance between the zipped shut. Tessa felt Madison's hips against hers, felt Madison's breasts press on top of her. Tessa wrapped her arms more closely around Madison's neck, resting her head against Madison's cheek. Tessa felt her shoulders sag as the tension drained from her. That little hug, a moment of knowing social acceptance from someone her own age, was worth far more than any apology from Tessa's mother. The two girls continued to sway to the slow music, dancing and hugging together as one song faded into another.

The two girls danced the entire second song in complete silence. The leaves and branches crunched under their feet. The sun warmed their skin and a gentle breeze ran through their hair. Tessa eyes remained closed, she didn't need to see to sense Madison's body against her. Madison's hair draped over Tessa's arms and she smelled the scent of the Madison's shampoo and her floral perfume. Madison was acutely aware of Tessa as well, the gentle curves of Tessa's petite body pressed against her, the warm of Tessa's breath against her cheek. They both sensed an unexpected intimacy take hold in the moment, but neither of them felt the need to mention it. They just enjoyed the dance.

As the song ended and a third started, Madison gently pushed back on Tessa's hips and the two girls moved apart. Tessa's eyes opened as Madison held her at arms length. The two girls looked up at each other, smiling awkwardly and basking in the afterglow of their dance. They both sensed the electricity running between them, a sort of vibration that was bouncing back and forth. To Tessa, it was a strangely familiar but unplaceable, like deja vu. To Madison, the feeling was much clearer. Madison giggled a little, closed her eyes, and tilted her head to the side.

Tessa kept her eyes opened as Madison leaned in towards her. Tessa felt her heart rise into her throat, her stomach buzzing. Tessa knew what was coming, but she could hardly believe it. Her nose was once again filled with the scent of Madison's perfume. And then Tessa felt it. The soft, fullness of Madison's lips pressing against her own. Tessa's eyes rolled back and then closed as Madison's lips melted into her own. Tessa's body stopped responding to her as the electrical tension between the two girls burst apart in a million different pieces. She moaned slightly, her mouth opening.

Madison had felt Tessa's lips tense as their kiss first joined. She'd also felt Tessa's grow rigid and hold her breath. For a brief moment, she was afraid she'd misread the moment. That Tessa hadn't been feeling the same urge that she'd felt overwhelming her. But then Tessa moaned, and Madison smiled and opened her mouth as well.