Tug of War 52.4 (Patreon)

"Wow, isn't Ti-Ti getting out of the pool the sexiest thing ever?"

"You girls are, like, really determined to mess with me today, aren't you?" Timothy asked, annoyed, as he used a fluffy towel to dry his body. 

"There's no boy around, Ti-Ti. You don't need to keep pretending to be that innocent and naive just to receive even more compliments" Alyssa said, and the other girls giggled. "You know very well how attractive you look, honey. Incredibly attractive… That's why we were talking about something while you were swimming..." 

"T-talking about what?" Timothy asked, having a feeling he wouldn't like what he was about to hear.  

"You remember Vanessa and Laura, the twins? We heard they aren't going back to school after the Easter break. Seems like their father was transferred to other state or whatever, which means that now there are two free spots in the cheerleader squad. We think you definitely should take part in the tryouts."

"What? Me, a cheerleader?! No way, Lyss! You guys have lost your minds!" 

"C'mon, Ti-Ti!" Gabriella said, approaching the feminized boy and taking the towel from his hands to help him dry his back. "Don't tell me you never thought about being a cheerleader, hon."  

Timothy immediately remembered his first date with Matt, when the guy said: I think someone as beautiful as you would be an amazing cheerleader! I'd really love to have a girl like you cheering for me at my games...

Timothy felt another chill going through his body. He tried to picture himself wearing a tiny miniskirt and a low-cut top that showed a lot of his big boobs, as he shook his pom-poms and cried out in a shrill and excited voice: Go, Matt! You're the best! Nobody can stop you, Matt!

He shook his head, horrified. He couldn't understand why he kept having such thoughts. They even seemed to be getting worryingly stronger and more frequent now. Could it be that he had crossed some kind of line and his mind would never be the same again, so conditioned it was to think like a super girly girl? 

Stop being silly, Tiff, he anxiously told himself. Matt and I don't even go to the same school. You could never cheer for him… Wait, that's not the point, girl! The thing is that I don't want to be a cheerleader! Like, not now or ever! 

"The answer is no!" he stated, stomping his foot. "You guys can't force me!" 

"Force you?" Chloe raised her eyebrows. "What kind of monster do you think we are, Ti-Ti?" she asked, comically pretending to be offended, and approached the feminized boy, too. "That would never work, anyway. You would need to learn some routines for the tryouts, and that's kind of hard to force someone to learn jumps and dance steps, don't you think?" 

"G-good, 'cos..."

"However…" Chloe interrupted him, whispering in his ear. "You know you're being totally dumb and coward for not even trying, right?"

"That's so true" Gabriella said in his other ear. Timothy felt like a helpless puppy surrounded by them. "It's obvious you'd totally love to be a cheerleader. You're just afraid to admit it because you think people still see you as a boy. But let's face the truth, Ti-Ti. You were never a boy… not a real one. I bet most people have, like, even forgotten that you used to go to school wearing men's clothes. They just see what you really are… a flirty blondie who loves miniskirts and high heels" Gabriella giggled. "Girl, don't you see it? Everyone expects you to be a cheerleader! That totally is the most natural thing in the world."

Timothy knew Gabriella was exaggerating. He doubted most people at school had forgotten he had been born a boy. They probably still thought he was a freak for going to school dressed as a girl. But despite all that, Gabriella's words had hit him hard one more time. You have never been a boy. I mean, not a real one… They just see what you really are… a flirty blondie who loves miniskirts and high heels…

What if she's right? He wondered. What if I am never taken seriously as a male again... not even by myself? Gosh, am I a lost cause already? Have I messed up my mind so much that I'll be forced to hear skirts and high heels for the rest of my life? 

"Why do you girl want to turn me into a cheerleader so badly, anyway?" Timothy asked, trying to ward off those dismal thoughts. 

"For many reasons" Alyssa said, smiling. "First of all…" she continued, counting on her slender fingers, "…'cause you're going to love this, just like Ella said. Second, because it will be soo good for your reputation, which means it'll be good for our group's reputation as a whole. Third, for political reasons…" Alyssa stated, as seriously as if she were talking about an embargo on some enemy country. "I need more girls loyal to me in the cheerleader squad."

Taking advantage that Alyssa phone rang at that exact moment, Ella whispered hastily in Timothy's ear, "Lyss lost the post of cheerleader captain last semester. You know Abigail Smith? That bitch bribed and blackmailed many girls to steal Lyss' role. Of course, the fact that her uncle is a school employee helped, like, a lot, too. Mr. Smith... Do you remember him, right? Of course you do... He used to be your basketball coach. Oh, Ti-Ti, I still can't believe that someone as delicate and frail as you used to play basketball with the boys! Gosh, I bet it was soo funny to watch!"  

"Yeah... I'm sure Ti-Ti joined the team just to see all the guys naked in the locker room" Chloe said, smirking. "Maybe Ti-Ti isn't as airheaded as she looks… In any case, this situation with Abigail was a hard blow for Lyss, so…" Chloe stopped talking suddenly when Alyssa finished her call. The girl threw the phone aside, and sighed dramatically. 

"Geez, how great it must be to have a day of peace!" she exclaimed, frustrated. 

"Who were you talking to, Lyss?" Gabriella asked, wide-eyed. "What happened?" 

"Just my mom... Even on vacation, she calls me at least twenty times a day with instructions to make sure that I will win 'Miss Charming Beauty' again. Oh, she thinks she's, like, soo smart and stuff. You need to listen to me Alyssa…Remember that I won the contest three times in a row, the only one in history who achieved such a feat!" Alyssa continued, in a cynical imitation of her mother. "It doesn't matter if you've won the Miss Charming Beauty two times already…You are my daughter and I accept no less than three victories… at the very least! You should be taking care of your body and practicing makeup! Don't be so lazy, there is no time to lose! Oh, it's, like, so hard being me!" Alyssa finished, leaning back in her beach chair under the worried eyes of Chloe and Gabriella. 

Timothy had the good sense not to ask what this Miss Charming Beauty thing was exactly because he knew it would make the girl even angrier – It was the kind of stuff that Alyssa found outrageous that anyone around her didn't know about. Timothy had just a vague idea it was some kind of local beauty pageant. Yes, now that he was thinking about that, he could remember someone saying that Alyssa had already won many of those contests. What he didn't know before was how important it was for the girl, and even more to her mother, apparently. 

The boy found the whole thing kind of amusing, but part of him sympathized with Alyssa. Now he was aware of all the sacrifices girls had to make in order to look at their best, after all. Not only that, but he also knew what it was like to have a demanding mom always telling her daughter to take care of her looks. Could it be that Alyssa's story – apart from the feminization part, of course – was similar to his? Could it be that her mother's crazy demands had turned her into that fashion-crazy-girly-girl?

No way, this is, like, totally absurd, Tiff! Anyone looking at Lyss can see that she is naturally a frivolous girl! Gosh, this is not something that can be changed… It's just who she is… Timothy thought, but then he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized that people who didn't know better should think the very same thing when they saw him. After all, just like Alyssa, he always wore fashionable clothes and high heels; his hair was always immaculately styled; he checked his make up every five minutes, even during his classes, and his lipstick always matched his nail polish; he could repeat by heart the main articles from the last five issues of Seventeen, Teen Vogue and Girls' Life, and could sing most of the songs in Billboard's hot 100, from Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande to BTS and Blackpink. 

That was it. In the past, when Timothy was just an ordinary guy, always wearing faded jeans with his hair untidy and playing old songs on his guitar, it would be easy for him to believe that there couldn't be a person more different from him than Alyssa Taylor, the popular cheerleader who always paraded around school dressed as if she were on a fashion show. Now, however, it was difficult to point out any difference between them, and Timothy felt bad for what he had thought just an instant before…

Anyone looking at Lyss can see that she is naturally a frivolous girl! Gosh, this is not something that can be changed… It's just who she is…

He became fully aware of how unfair it was. How could anyone judge another person without knowing their entire story? Before Timothy realized what he was doing, he went to Alyssa and hugged her. 

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lyss. My mom can be, like, soo annoying sometimes, as well. Hope I could do something to cheer you up… anything!" 

For a moment, Alyssa seemed so stunned by that display of affection that she couldn't say anything. However, she soon regained her usual confident and sassy attitude. "Interesting choice of words Ti-Ti" she smirked. "But you already know perfectly well what you can do to cheer me up…"  

"N-no" Timothy stammered. "Not that, Lyss!"

"Oh, you fake bitch! Weren't you saying right now you could do anything for me?" Alyssa smiled. "Just think about the idea, okay? I know you're gonna love being a cheerleader sooo much! Do you promise me you will think about it?" she asked, looking deep into Timothy's eyes.

"O-okay... I promise" Timothy lied, just because he didn't want to make Alyssa even sadder. In truth, he was convinced there was no way in hell he was going to change his mind about the matter. But is it right to lie to a friend? Even if it is for a greater good? He wondered, confused. Wait a minute... Oh my gosh! Since when do I think of Alyssa as a real friend? But it seemed inevitable now. The realization that they were so alike, all thanks to a silly phone call that hadn't lasted more than a minute, changed something inside him.

For the rest of that afternoon, he was even able to giggle at the girls' jokes and interact with them as an equal, feeling more at ease than he had even been with them. He knew it was something very dangerous and stupid to do… something that could push him even further into womanhood. But he just couldn't resist it. After living under tension all the time for so long, it was good to have a moment of relaxation with his besties. The girls also noticed Tiffany's change in attitude, and they were delighted with that. In their mind, it was like Tiffany was finally getting comfortable in the role of the blondie girly girl she had always wanted so badly to be.

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"Mommy, I'm home!" Timothy announced in a melodic, high-pitched tone, clearly in a good mood. It was early evening and he had finally left Alyssa's house. 

"It was about time, princess!" said a deep, husky voice from someone in the living room who was evidently not Susan. Even with the lights off, Timothy could recognize the contours of his father sitting in his favorite armchair. 

"Daddy? What are you doing here in the dark?"

"Oh, I was just waiting for you, sweetheart" Richard said, lighting a lamp on the corner table beside him. When Timothy saw his father's diabolical smile, the feminized boy felt his happiness deflating like a balloon losing air. "I want to say that I'm deeply sorry for my behavior from yesterday. I wasn't fair to you and I see it now, doll. To make up for that, I have a surprise to you… Something I know you're going to like pretty much…"