Breaking Up and Making Up

Starting to learn Juliet's lines, Danny discovered to his horror that she had double the lines he had already learnt for Mercutio. As well as learning the lines, he had to try on the costume for Juliet. He hated the idea of wearing a dress, so unlike the Mercutio costume, which he thought way cooler. So, he turned up for the first fitting for the dress in a foul mood, determined to hate the whole thing. He felt disconcerted to find out a woman from the local amateur dramatic society was going to do the fitting. She had volunteered to do it so she could begin his coaching for the role. It surprised even more to find out she was pretty and only about five or six years older than himself.

She introduced herself as Shirley and asked if he had ever played a girl's role before. When he said he hadn't, she cheerfully said that it wouldn't be a problem, with his figure she thought he would do fine. Shirley suggested he should try on the dress first as it would be easier for him to get used to the role in costume. She had him strip to his underpants, and his face burned to be like that in front of her, but she didn't seem to notice. He remembered the totally unexpected thrill which flooded through him as she dropped the dress over his head and laced him tightly into it. Shirley made him wear some white tights under the dress and he shivered as he felt his nylon clad legs rubbing against each other.

She sat him down and applied his stage makeup before styling his hair which he already wore long. She helped him into the shoes that came with the costume. They only had a small heel, but as he stood up, he felt how different it made him feel. His calves felt tighter, and his bottom stuck out a bit more, so he had to adjust his posture to compensate for the extra height. Shirley had him practise walking and moving in the dress which he found quite heavy and he had been exhausted by the time she called a halt.

'Danny,' she said, 'I'm surprised and really pleased. You seem to have taken to this much quicker than I imagined and you look so natural in that dress.' He remembered blushing at her words and the way they made him feel. He met with her a few more times to practise and she seemed happy with the progress he made. He found to his great surprise that he began looking forward to their sessions and he began to think that playing Juliet might not be such a bad deal after all. At the end of their last session, as he prepared to take off the dress, Shirley hugged him, wished him good luck and to his astonishment, she kissed him on the lips. He felt himself kissing her back for a few seconds before she broke the kiss.

'Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Danny I shouldn't have done that. You look so sweet and pretty. Please don't tell anyone, please?'

He shook his head, unable to say anything, but he knew he wouldn't tell anyone about the kiss. All he could think of the excitement he had felt to be kissed by her. They never met again, but he did spot her smiling up at him from the audience for one of the performances.

He recalled the way his body responded to the touch of the boy playing Romeo. The boy had done a double take when he first saw Danny in costume and thereafter took every opportunity to be alone with him as they rehearsed their scenes. He touched Danny more often than necessary, but Danny didn't mind, in fact he went out of his way to stand close to Romeo and when Romeo kissed him for the first time behind some of the scenery, he could remember the thrill that had flooded through his adolescent body. Danny knew that he felt attracted to Romeo only when he wore the dress, but wearing the costume and makeup for Juliet, he seemed to immerse himself so deeply into the role, it changed his whole personality.

Playing the role had brought to the surface emotions that he never imagined; he felt softer, gentler and yes, feminine. When they were in costume for the play, he could barely keep his hands off Romeo, even to the point of masturbating him once in a quiet moment during a dress rehearsal. Once the play had finished, and he had taken the dress off, he had felt no attraction for the boy playing Romeo. From that day until last night he had not told a single soul what had happened. Danny shuddered at what the others must have thought about his story. Well, he thought, Julia and Siobhan didn't matter, but he worried about how he could face Carl. Although Carl did share his own story, so if they both ignored each other's indiscretions, it might be OK.

He could hear Carl moving around outside the bedroom, so he decided he should also get up. Having freshened up in the bathroom, he got dressed and ventured out and into the kitchen. Carl had beaten him to it, already brewing the coffee and putting out some croissants on the table. 'Morning Danny, how you feeling?'

'Horrible, my head is throbbing and my tongue's stuck to the roof of my mouth. How about you?'

'About the same, there's some painkillers on the counter and water or some juice in the fridge if you want.'

Danny took a couple of tablets and swallowed them with water.

'Thanks Carl. Did I make a fool of myself last night?'

Carl looked up and smiled, 'No, no more than I did.'

'Thank God for that. Thanks again for letting me stay over, I really appreciate it.'

'You're welcome, mate.'

Carl's headache eased off with the painkillers, but as he sat there drinking his coffee, he couldn't stop himself stealing looks at Danny. Every time Danny looked up, Carl could see those same clear blue eyes that had appeared in his dream. Carl uttered a little moan as he tried to force himself not to look.

'Carl, you OK? not feeling so good?' Danny asked. He kept catching Carl stealing little glances at him. Was he thinking of that stupid story Danny had told everyone last night? Was Carl going to tell him that he didn't want to see him again because of it?

'No, I'm good thanks, Danny. Anything you fancy doing today?'

'No, I guess I should be heading off home soon. What about you?'

Danny felt relieved. If Carl wanted to do something together, then he might not be so upset with him.

The front door bell rang, making them both jump. 'Oh, fuck, who's that?'

said Carl. He walked out of the kitchen and Danny heard him open the front door and then he walked back into the kitchen followed by Siobhan.

'Hello boys, how are you this morning? Feeling grand are we?' Her Irish lilt a little more prominent this morning.

'Apart from a banging hangover, fine, thank you,' said Danny, marvelling at how fresh Siobhan looked. 'How are you?'

'Top of the morning, thanks, Danny.'

'How can you be so cheerful? You had as much to drink as we did.'

'It's a Celtic secret, Danny. You benighted English wouldn't understand. Anyway, do you fancy coming to the show tonight? It's a charity thing so there's plenty of space for you to come along if you want to. It'll be fun, and there will be a free bar we can get you into.'

Carl looked across to Danny and said, 'I'm up for it. Danny, what about you?'

Danny said, 'Great, I'm good too. Sounds like it should be fun.'

'That's grand, it starts at eight o'clock, over in Docklands. We have to be up there early, but you can share our ride back afterwards if you wait a little for us. I'll put your names on the door and here are the passes for the bar.' She gave each of them a plastic card and said, 'I should be able to come out and find you when you arrive. Text me when you get there.'

She looked at Danny and said, 'Mother of God, your eyes are striking, Danny. I wish you would let me get to work on you, your own mother wouldn't recognise you.'

Danny wished she wouldn't keep saying things like that, because every time she did, a ripple of excitement ran through him; he hated it, yet loved it at the same time.

Danny blushed and Siobhan laughed. 'See you tonight boys.' Carl let her out of the front door and returned to the kitchen.

Carl said, 'She normally gets her way, you know.'

'What do you mean?'

Carl smiled, 'You'll find out, I'm sure.'

Danny shrugged, he wasn't up for playing games, his head still throbbed too badly.

Carl picked up his coffee and stood by the window looking out into the garden. He thought for a few minutes about whether he should ask Danny about the idea which had been churning away in his mind. He turned to look at Danny, checking emails on his phone and decided to go ahead. 'Danny, can I ask you a question?'

'Sure, fire away.'

'You said last night the work search isn't going too well, is that right?'

Danny put his phone down, 'Yes, it's taking longer to build up the freelance work than I imagined and full times jobs don't come up often.'

'You told me a couple of weeks ago, the lease is up on your flat soon, right?'

Danny was puzzled; where was Carl going with this?

'Yes, and the landlord is making noises about a rent increase, which would be a problem for me right now.'

Carl paused, 'I don't know if this would help, or even if you would want to, but I have the spare room here, and if it helped out, you could move in here.'

Danny had been so surprised he wasn't sure he had heard Carl properly.

'Sorry, did you just say I could move in here?'

'Yes, if it would help you out, that is. The room is here and there's plenty of space here for us not to be on top of each other.'

'But, Carl, if I can't afford my current place, I couldn't afford to live here.'

Carl laughed, 'No you idiot, I wouldn't want rent, I own the place outright. A share of the running costs would be enough, food and bills and stuff like that.'

Danny thought quickly. On one hand it would solve a lot of his problems until the work built up, but on the other hand it would put him under a big obligation to Carl. He liked Carl, so he didn't think there would be a big personality clash. There was enough space here for sure, all he needed would be somewhere to set up his computer, but apart from that, he didn't need much. As if reading his mind, Carl said, 'There's a space off the kitchen that's a storeroom at the moment, we could clear that out for you to work in.'

'Carl, are you serious? That's a big step for you to have someone else sharing your place.'

'Danny, I am totally serious. I have shared before, and we get on well, so why not? I would enjoy the company to be honest.'

'Carl, that's the most generous thing anyone's done for me. If you're OK with it, I would love to take you up on it.'

Carl beamed, 'That's great Danny, I'm so pleased. When do you think you would need to move?'

'I know the landlord is keen to get more for the place so I don't think there would be any problem. I need to talk to him, but would next weekend be too soon.'

'No, that's perfect, I'll get the storeroom sorted, do you need anything special for your work?'

'Not much, I do everything on the mac, so fast broadband is all I need.'

'No problem then, Danny, I've got the fastest package I could get already installed.'

Danny's head started to whirl, he hadn't expected anything like this and he needed to sort his thoughts out.

'Carl, in that case, I'll shoot off home and get started on organising stuff. I don't have much as the flat came furnished. I can put some of it into storage, so I'll only bring across what I need.'

They agreed to meet later that afternoon before heading off together to Julia's show. Danny walked back to his flat to help clear his head, and it gave him time to think about what had happened this morning. He hoped he was doing the right thing; he and Carl were good friends, but sharing the apartment would be different. Still, it would be a lifesaver for him at the moment. His business had been growing, but more slowly than he could afford. Danny reassured himself that it wouldn't be for long as he would be able to move out again when business picked up.

Carl felt pleased that Danny had accepted his offer to share. He missed having someone around now that Simone had moved out; he had never enjoyed his own company much, so having Danny around would be nice. It would mean a few changes, but that wouldn't be a problem. He had made a promise, and he intended to keep it.

Chapter Four

Later in the afternoon, Danny walked across to Carl's and they headed out to Docklands from there. The show was in the ExCel centre in Docklands, and Danny suggested they catch the cable car across the river. Carl agreed straight away as he had been keen to use it for some time. It had been built for the London Olympics, but had turned into an expensive white elephant afterwards. It only took ten minutes to make the crossing, and it delighted Danny to see his friend so excited by the trip.

They arrived at the ExCel in good spirits and set about looking for the show. There seemed to be a lot of flamboyantly dressed people milling around as was to be expected, they assumed, at a fashion show. Carl started to text Siobhan to let her know they were here when Danny nudged him and pointed to a huge banner hung above their heads.

'Did you know about this,' Danny hissed at Carl.

'No, I had no idea, she never said anything to me.'

At that moment, Siobhan arrived, looking like she had stepped out of a Rossetti painting. Her hair flowed around her shoulders and heads turned as she moved through the crowd and greeted both of them with a cheek kiss.

'Hello you two, I'm glad you could make it. What do you think?' Her eyes were twinkling as she spoke.

Danny looked up at the banner over their heads and said, 'Er, TransDress 2016?'

Siobhan tilted her head, smiled and said, 'I told you, didn't I?'

'No, actually, you didn't,' said Carl.

'Ach well, it's for a charity that helps provide dressing advice and support for transgender teenagers. It's terribly difficult for them to get help when they need it. It's a great cause.'

'I thought you said Julia would be in the show,' said Carl.

'Well no, I'm sure I didn't say that. She is the producer and coach to the models tonight. They're all transgender girls and she volunteered to produce the show and I'm supervising the makeup and wardrobe.'

Danny looked around a little more closely at the people in the crowd and he suddenly realised most of them were dressed either in an androgynous way or cross-dressed completely. His eyes widened as a beautifully made up boy walked past wearing heels, a mini skirt and a transparent silk blouse, and who turned his head to smile at Danny and gave him a slow wink.

Siobhan giggled as she saw Danny's face and said, 'Come on boys, let's get you a drink, I think you need one.' They followed her through the crowd, their eyes flicking from one side to the other as they took in the sights around them. The music and colour and atmosphere reminded Carl of the time he had been to carnival in Rio. all around them were young people dressed in every style you could imagine; boys wearing skirts and see-through blouses, and girls wearing tuxedos, and a million styles in between. It was loud and brash, and to Carl exhilaratingly naughty. His eyes kept focusing on some of the boys dressed as girls. He felt his heart run a little faster as he watched a boy who had the face of an angel, stop Carl in his tracks as he turned and smile at him, He felt his face flush and he hurried to catch up with Siobhan and Danny. Siobhan ushered them into a private VIP room saying, 'Have a few drinks and enjoy yourselves. I've got to supervise the makeup, but I'll come back for you later on.' She blew them a kiss and disappeared. They looked at each other, both unsure of what to do next.

'Hi, I'm Trixie, what can I get you two girls to drink?'

They turned to find a boy made up as a Goth looking expectantly at them. Danny's eyes widened as he took in the black leather hot pants, fishnets and the cropped mesh t-shirt, together with a belly ring which looked like a snake glittering from a bare midriff.

'Well, girls? I haven't got all day.' Trixie laid a hand with black painted nails on Carl's arm and said, 'I've got white wine, red wine and pink wine. Well it's rosé really, but it's so much nicer to call it pink don't you think? It's a bit mixed up, like me. So what'll it be, butch red, femme white or bi pink?'

Danny started to giggle and Trixie pouted. 'So, that's white for you, you naughty girl, and I think pink for your lovely friend here. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back.' Rubbing Carl's arm Trixie smiled at Carl, then turned and headed for the bar. Carl giggled nervously, 'My God, what have we let ourselves in for?'

'I don't know but I need that drink.' replied Danny, watching Trixie's bum wiggle provocatively across to the bar. Trixie looked back and smiled at Carl before winking at him. Carl blushed a deep red and Danny giggled at his friend's embarrassment.

'Hi, I'm Peta, who are you?' A woman wearing a badge with the Charity logo and carrying an iPad and a walkie talkie approached them, smiling broadly.

'Uh, we're with Siobhan.' said Carl.

She looked down at the iPad. 'Ah, you're Danny and Carl, right? Siobhan put your names down on the list. Welcome to TransDress, it's great to have you here. Like I said, I'm Peta and I do the PR for the charity. Are you friends of Siobhan?'

'Yes, we live downstairs from Siobhan and Julia.' said Carl.

'That's wonderful, Siobhan and Julia have been fantastic supporters of the charity, we couldn't have put this on without their help. Any friends of theirs are friends of ours, for sure. Do you know anything about the charity? Do you have an interest in the TG community?'

At that moment Trixie returned and Peta paused as Trixie gave Danny and Carl their drinks.

'That's a femmy white for you, and a lovely bi pink for you, sweetie.' Trixie winked at Carl once again as he took his drink.

'Is Trixie looking after you?' said Peta, smiling.

Trixie giggled, 'I'd like to look after this one if he'd let me.' Trixie's tongue slipped out between black lips and Carl blushed pink again.

'Now, now, Trixie, I'm sure there are others who need a drink.'

Trixie pouted and turned away. 'I'll be back, don't worry,'

Peta grinned broadly, 'Don't worry about Trixie, ze is harmless. Ze likes to flirt.'

'I'm sorry, did you say, ze?' said Danny, looking puzzled.

Peta smiled. 'Ze? It's a gender neutral pronoun.'

Danny still looked puzzled.

'A lot of non binary people feel alienated if people use he, or she, if it doesn't fit their gender identity. Ze is a neutral pronoun. It doesn't reflect any specific gender identity. There's a section on our website which explains it all. Look, I'm sorry I have to do the rounds, it's great to have you here. Enjoy the show. I'll try to catch you later with Siobhan, if I can.' She flashed a smile and moved off to talk to someone else.

Carl whistled softly, 'Wow, it's a completely different world.'

Danny grinned, 'Well, you've made a conquest, Carl. Ze is hot for you.'

Carl spluttered as he had taken a sip of his wine, then laughed at his own embarrassment. Before long, they were chatting to others in the VIP room. Some were journalists, some supporters of the charity and some friends and relatives of those in the show. Trixie kept them topped up with drinks and quite soon Danny felt a little buzzed. He hadn't eaten anything except for some crisps and his glass had been topped up whenever it got even half way empty. Trixie seemed to be staying close to Carl, who, to Danny's eyes at least, didn't seem to mind the attention too much.

Peta stood up on a chair and made a short speech, thanking everyone for coming to support the charity. She said that the show would be starting in a few minutes and she hoped everyone would enjoy themselves. People began to file through the door and Danny and Carl moved with them.

'Danny, Danny.' He heard Peta's voice, and he looked around as she pushed her way through to him.