couldn't think of a good short story idea so have some backstory

Lewis's birth was, as they called it, probably one of the most interesting parts of their life. Starting with the fact that their biological mother was a sixteen-year-old who knew she wasn't ready to raise a child and adding them nearly dying... Well, it was an eventful night, to say the least.

Laura was exhausted in the end, but relieved, as she held the child in her arms. She wasn't going to raise them, she'd known that from the start, but abortion simply hadn't been her favorite option.

It did hurt to let Lewis go. She had done most of the legal stuff during her pregnancy, and she only had to clear out a few more things before Lewis was officially up for adoption. She visited them from time to time, though her schedule was full and she couldn't always come. But she didn't just want to leave them completely alone.

Two years went by like this, until one day, there was someone. A woman who had technically been planning to adopt a child with her ex-girlfriend, but didn't really want to cancel it. She'd most likely raise the kid on her own now, but she had been so close to achieving that dream of being a mother, she wasn't going to give up just because up a stupid break-up. She knew she could do it. She was prepared, she was determined, she was ready.

Anna was one of Lewis's first memories. Sure, they had some blurry images from the orphanage, but the way she looked at them for the first time was one of the clearest. The warm, welcoming smile, the eyes that filled with tears when she introduced herself. And that was who Lewis grew up with. They occasionally sent letters to Laura or received them from her, and the two met about once a year.

And as Lewis grew older, they started participating more and more in their new mother's Jewish prayers and traditions. She never forced them to, never told them they had to pray or made them celebrate any of the festivities; She simply showed them and they thought "Sure, why not?".

One day, Anna introduced Lewis to a woman she had met. A woman with short dark hair and a rebellious style that she almost seemed too old for, with a kind soul and a strong voice, a woman with a deep, loud laugh and a firm hug she gave to everybody she knew. Denise. They had fallen in love faster than Lewis could count to thirty – which, to be fair, wasn't very quickly at that time. And one afternoon, Denise came into Lewis's room and asked for their permission to propose to their mother.

They liked Denise, saw how happy they made Anna, and had absolutely no problem with her staying in their life, so they agreed. And that was how Lewis gained another mother.

When Lewis was around seven, they started experimenting more and more with self-expression. They'd had long hair for as long as they could remember, but the clothes they wore felt... Strange. Not like them. And so, they began to pick out dresses and skirts and trying them on and gasped the first time they looked into the mirror. It felt so right. So perfect. Lewis was a boy, no doubt, but Lewis also loved dresses and purple and pink and being just a little over-the-top.

Many of Lewis's classmates at the time found it weird as they first saw them like this. But Lewis didn't care, and majority of the children realized that what Lewis was wearing really didn't matter. Of course, there would be comments or teasing from some, especially the older kids, but that stopped bothering the boy after a while. The only real inconvenience was when a teacher tried to get CPS involved, believing that "Those lesbians indoctrinated him", but it passed by, nothing serious happened and they could soon laugh about it.

Lewis was perfectly capable of making friends, but as they reached a certain age, they learned to avoid certain types of people. The older they got, the more people started actually caring about how others looked.

So, when Lewis joined Wilston High School, they were looking to befriend at least one person as soon as possible. They hated loneliness. And as they looked around that schoolyard full of strangers, one person in particular caught their eye. Sitting on a table and drawing was someone with long, black hair and dark skin, feminine-presenting and tall and with the aesthetically prettiest eyes Lewis had ever seen. Dark brown and catching the light, they looked like honey in the sun and had something to them that just showed this person was so, so much more than what could be seen from the outside.

Cheeto was one of the best people Lewis had ever met, and the best friend they'd had so far. Of course, not every day was amazing, and many things that weighed zir down started affecting Lewis's mental health as well, but ze was an amazing friend and as the time went by, the pair grew closer until they would've trusted each other with their lives.

As Cheeto was finally able to begin experimenting with appearance like Lewis had so many years ago, they taught zir eyeliner and would randomly send style references from Pinterest in the middle of the night. And Lewis smiled as they watched Cheeto slowly become the person ze was meant to be.

And then, one day, there was someone else. A new student, someone in Cheeto's year who had just joined the school. Lewis immediately liked Jesse with her calm kindness and the way she smiled at little things and her eyes that resembled a mossy forest. And, well, you know the rest. Some of it, at least.

I hope you enjoyed their story.

happy birthgay my dude