Crossdressing Club Part 7

This one is cute (IMO)
Tia and Heath go and see Rain, who's struggling at home. A Love triangle is forming....

Crossdressing Club Part 7
Pulling up outside Rain’s house, Tia, Heath, and Mom peer through the car windows. The place looks ordinary enough, but the garden is wild and overgrown, and there isn’t a single car on the drive or in the carport.

Heath, sitting in the back, is the first one to get out of the car. He stands at Tia’s door and waits.

“Tia,” her Mom says before she gets out. “I’ll come pick you up at nine, okay? Does your boyfriend need a lift home, too?”

“Mom!” Tia whines, glaring in her direction with one hand on the door handle. “He’s not my boyfriend!”

She chuckles to herself, smiling behind one hand. “He’s a boy and your friend. So…. boyfriend.”

“You’re so embarrassing!” Tia pouts, pushes open her door to talk to Heath. “My Mom wants to know if you want a lift home too.”

Heath leans forward to look into the car. “Would that be okay, Ma’am? I don’t want to put you out.”

Leaning across the car herself, Tia’s Mom smiles wide. “Yeah, I don’t mind. But can I ask you to look after my Tia? She can be a touch sensitive since starting her hormone therapy.”

Tia groans again, her cheeks burning. “Moooom,” she whines, shoving open the door and stepping out before her Mom can say anything else. Shen then sharply closes the door and stands beside Heath, arms folded, looking down at the floor,

“Bye, Ma’am,” Heath waves as Tia’s Mom drives away. Heath then puts his arm around Tia’s shoulder. “Your Mom is super nice, Tia. Is she single?” he asks with a cheeky smile tugging at his lips.

Tia thumps Heath in the chest with her palm. “Don’t you start,” she grumbles, unable to look him in the eye. “Otherwise, I’ll ditch you here and you’ll have to face Rain’s family on your own!”

“You wouldn’t….?” Heath takes his arm from her shoulder and gasps. “Club leader…. You meanie.”

Tia shoots Heath a glance and marches up the drive toward Rain’s house. She pauses to make sure he’s following, and soon they’re standing side by side at the door. They hesitate, unsure whether to knock or ring the bell. From inside, the sound of arguing filters through the windows.

“TYLER!” an angry voice shouts. “SHARE!”

Heath and Tia look at each other. “That’s Rain,” Heath smirks. “I know that tone all too well…”

Before either of them can react, the door swings open. A young boy stands there, tears streaming down his face. His eyes search past them, clearly expecting to see his Mom, but when he doesn’t, his expression crumples.

“You’re not my Mommy!” he screams, stamping his foot. “Go away!”

He then screams, turns, and runs back into the house, leaving the front door wide open.

Heath and Tia glance at each other, frozen in the doorway, unsure whether to step in or call out. They look inside the hallway entrance, and the floor is covered in discarded school bags, shoes, and coats.

“That was, Jamie,” Heath says, stepping one foot into the house. “That’s Rain’s youngest brother.”

“W-Wait.” Tia grabs Heath’s arm, and instantly, her cheeks erupt as he looks back at her.

“Y-Yeah…?”

She lets go of him and glances at the floor before looking past him and inside Rain’s home. “S-Should we wait or ring the doorbell or something. Wouldn’t it be rude to just step inside?”

“Well, yeah, usually…” Heath looks around, and there’s a hint of worry on his face as he looks at the mess around him. “I think Rain might need some help, and that’s what we are here to do, right?”

Heath steps into the house with Tia close behind and gently closes the door. In the living room, they find Tyler and River shouting at each other as they fight for the TV remote, while Jamie sits in the corner crying softly into his hands.

With the chaos unfolding in front of them, Heath and Tia just share a look of bemusement before River looks up to see them both standing in the living room doorway.

“HEATH!” River shouts, dropping the remote he’d been fighting for and sending his brother Tyler tumbling backward onto the floor.

“Hey, guys…” Heath steps confidently into the room, leaving Tia standing nervously in the doorway. “What’s going on? Where’s your sister?”

Tyler, from the floor, gets up and points towards the kitchen entrance at the back of the living room. He then gets to his feet and shoves his brother, sticking out his tongue. However, before Heath makes his way across the room, all three of the brothers stare in Tia’s direction, confused.

“Who the fuck is that?” Tyler asks rudely.

Neither Heath nor Tia is given a second to answer before River starts laughing. “Urgh… Heath! Is that your girlfriend? Eewwwww that’s gross! Heath has a girlfriend!”

Although Tia doesn’t want to be the center of attention, she looks at Heath to see his cheeks burn bright with embarrassment. He’s more awkward about this than she is.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” Tia blurts out, her voice a little louder than she means it to be. “Please, I’m way too pretty for a boy like him.”

“Ooooooo!” Tyler mocks and then laughs. “Heath, hear that? Not even your girlfriend wants to be your girlfriend! Always knew you were a bit of a loser. Hehehe!”

“Guys….Come on,” Heath looks away, biting his lip. “Where’s your sister. I’m here to see her.”

River shakes his head and tuts.

“That’s not a good idea, Heath. Rain’s already being a proper stress head. She ain't going to want to see you hanging around with your new girlfriend. That might send her over the edge, and we’ve already lost both our parents.”

“For the last time…” Heath raises his voice, getting all embarrassed. “Tia isn’t my girl—”

His words are interrupted as Jamie, on the floor, howls out like he’s been shot. “W-What!?” he cries. “We’ve lost Mommy and Daddy!?” Jamie jumps up, “Now we're all alone!”

All a little stunned but his outburst, they all stare at him, making him feel worse.

“Stop looking at me like that!” Jamie stamps his feet, wiping at the tears dribbling from his eyes. “It’s not my fault! It’s not….m-my fault!”

Storming off, Jamie pushes past Tia, who still stands in the doorway. Seconds later, doors are being slammed, and everyone still in the living room looks at each other in bemusement.

Tia points a thumb back over her shoulder. “Should I…?”

“Nah,” Tyler chuckles as he starts switching the TV channels. “Jamie’s a little crybaby. Just leave him.”

A moment passes before Tyler looks in Tia’s direction, like he’s only just really noticed what she looks like. “Erm….Heath?” he continues to glare, especially at Tia’s hair. “Why does your girlfriend look like a boy? Did she lose a fight with a lawn mower or something?”

The blood in Tia’s face starts draining away. She doesn’t know where to look.

“Honestly….” Heath lets out a long sigh. “Tyler, you’re just like your sister. So extremely blunt and frankly, unaware. Leave Tia alone. She’s a very pretty young lady….” Heath glares at both Tyler and River to pre-empt any more comments. “OKAY!?”

Tia’s breath catches in her throat. She glances at Heath before quickly looking away. A smile tugs at her lips.

“Right, behave yourselves, okay!” Heath commands, pointing a finger at both Tyler and River. “Or I’ll dunk your heads in the toilet, like last time, Got it!?”

The room falls silent as the boys nod once and get immediately distracted by the brainrot Tyler has put on. Heath then smiles at Tia and nods for her to follow him into the kitchen. As they do, they find a rather disheveled-looking Rain standing at the stove in baggy clothing, stirring a pot.

Heath walks in and leans on the kitchen counter beside her, making Rain jump at his sudden appearance.

“Alright.” Heath pokes her shoulder

“What the fuck, Heath!” Rain blurts out and then instantly covers her mouth. “What are you doing here!?”

“It’s not just me…” Heath points at Tia, who stands awkwardly at the threshold between the living room and kitchen. “Club leader is here too.”

“O-Oh…” She looks across the kitchen, flustered, trying to tuck messy hair from her eyes. “H-Hi, Tia.

Tia replies with a small wave and a wry smile.

“Wait…” Rain glances at Heath. “You two are hanging around outside of school now? Y-You came here together?”

“Yup.”

“T-That’s….great.” Rain stares down at the pot of pasta as she stirs it. She then tucks more away before speaking in a whisper. “T-That’s just great.”

As this happens, Tia looks around the kitchen. Dirty plates, old pizza boxes, piles of laundry, and general clutter litter the room. The dining table is completely covered and unusable.

“I-I hope it’s okay that we are here,” Tia says, beginning to clean up some of the mess. “Me and Heath are worried about you, Rain. So we’ve come to help!” Tia stops, pizza boxes in hand, and glares at Heath in an attempt to make him do something. “Isn’t that right, Heath. Here to help…”

“Y-Yeah…” Heath instantly moves once he catches sight of Tia’s stern look. “Here to help in any way we can!”

“Guys….” Rain wipes at her eyes. “Thank you. That’s really cute, but you don’t have to. I’ve got this all under control.”

Both Tia and Heath stop what they are doing and give each other a sly look.

“Y-Yeah… you have,” Tia eventually replies. “But we want to help you. So, here we are. Now, other than a bit of tidying, what needs to be done?”

Rain looks over her shoulder at Tia. “Well, if you could go find both my parents, bash their heads together, and force them to stop being stupid and talk to each other, that would be grand.”

“Erm….” Tia continues to tidy, knowing she's just joking. “As soon as I’ve taken out your bins, yeah, maybe I’ll get right on that.”

As Heath and Tia clean, Rain continues to cook. Eventually, she pours out three plates of plain pasta and splatters some ketchup on the side of each plate. She lets out a long, frustrated breath as she throws the saucepan into the pile of dirty dishes gathering in the sink.

“I-Is this enough…?” she asks them both, pointing at the food she’s made for her brothers. “I couldn’t think of anything else to cook that my brothers all like. I’ve been really struggling with little Jamie. He’s not eating anything.”

“Slap some butter toast on that and you’ve got yourself a banquet,” Heath says with a supportive thumbs up.

Tia gives Heath an exhausted look before turning her attention to Rain’s tired demeanor.

“Hey, Rain,” she says, stepping closer. “A-Are you doing okay?”

Silence for a moment as Rain just stares at the three plates of pasta. Eventually, she looks up at Tia and forces a smile.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I just wanna make sure I’m taking care of my brothers. I’m sure one of my parents will be back soon. They have arguments and storm off like this all the time.”

Another awkward silence before Heath speaks softly. “Y-Yeah, but Rain. How often are they gone for days?”

“They’ll be back,” Rain snaps in Heath’s direction. “Okay!?” She then shouts the house down, “BOYS! DINNER! NOW! COME GET IT!”

Heath sticks a finger in one ear and wiggles it. “Easy, Rain. You’ll burst a blood vessel.”

As Tyler and River appear from the other room and then instantly start moaning about the food that’s been prepared, Rain puts her hands on her hips and lets her head drop. The two boys take the food into the living room, leaving Jamie’s plate getting cold.

“Ah man.” Rain rubs her neck. “Is Jamie crying again?” She glares at Heath, who instantly throws his hands up in surrender. “Did you wind him up again, Heath? You know he doesn’t like it when you pick him up and spin him around.”

“I didn’t! Tia, tell her!”

Rain bites her bottom lip as she throws Tia a glance. “Oh course, Tia’s going to stand up for you, Heath. You’re such good friends now….”

The tension in the room explodes. Tia doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but she instantly feels like it’s all her fault. Rubbing her arm, she looks back at the door and her escape.

“Erm…” She lets out a breath. “D-Do you want me to go and see if Jamie’s okay? I-I…I don’t mind, and maybe you two can talk without me in the way.”

Not giving them a moment to answer, Tia spins on one foot and heads back into the hallway. Scratching her face as she thinks about how awkward that just was, she looks up the staircase and wonders which one is Jamie’s room.

Dodging random boxes of stuff littering the staircase, she walks back several rooms. One door has a little heart with the word "Rain" on it. Another has Tyler and River with a keep out sign, and at the end of the corridor, a tank with the name ‘Jamie.’

Not really knowing what to do, Tia can hear Jamie sobbing away in his bedroom alone.

For a moment, Tia steadies herself.

“Just like I used to…” she mutters. “Least, my Mom would always bring me a hot chocolate to cheer me up…”

Tia puts her hand on the door handle

“M-Mommy…?” Jamie’s voice squeaks from the other side.

Opening the door, Tia sees Jamie sitting at the end of his bed. His hopeful smile is crushed when he sees it’s not his Mom at all. Quickly, he folds his arms and turns away in a huff.

Nervous, but determined to help Rain, Tia steps into the room and looks around. It’s clean, tidy, and well-organized. All Jamie’s little figures are neatly lined up facing towards the door. The figures with guns are pointing, ready to fire.

Tia smiles. She used to play with toy soldiers when she was young.

“Oh wow,” she says, looking at each one, resisting the urge to pick them up. “I like these soldiers. Are these yours, Jamie?”

“Uh-huh.” Jamie sniffs back.

“I like this one…” Tia turns, smiles, and points at what she thinks is the leader. “Is he pointing his gun at the door to defend your room?”

Jamie nods. “Uh-huh. They protect me from the bad things outside.” He then wipes at both his eyes with his sleeve. “Y-You’re a girl. You shouldn’t like those. Girls like makeup and stuff.”

“Oh yeah…?” Tia softly smiles and gets down onto her knees to sit beside Jamie. “So, I’m not allowed to like these things?”

“I-I… never said you weren’t allowed,” Jamie backpeddles, making Tia smile at his innocence. “It’s just….” he looks at her and wipes away the remaining tears in his eyes. “Rain no longer wants to play them with me.”

“She doesn’t, huh?”

Jamie shakes his head and his lips wobble, like he’s about to cry again.

Tia looks back at the figures standing guard. “Do you want me to play soldiers with you?”

“R-Really?” Jamie’s smile brightens the room, before he looks at Tia, confused. “So… do girls like soldiers then?”

With a soft smile and a slight chuckle, Tia rubs her chin. “I’m erm…. kinda a special kind of girl.”

Jamie looks even more confused. He tilts his head and stares, waiting for Tia to explain what she means.

Feeling a little awkward, Tia stands, grabs hold of two of Jamie’s soldiers, and sits back down next to him. She passes him one and holds onto the other. She points the soldier's gun in Jamie’s direction.

“Y’know, when I was a boy, I used to play with my soldiers for hours.” Tia brushes some hair from her eyes as she makes her figure kneel. “I used to pretend my soldiers were coming home from war and that their wives were happy to see them.”

“Used to be a boy?” Jamie questions, getting off the bed to kneel with Tia on the floor. “Can we just decide to be something else…cos, I don’t wanna be a girl.”

A light smile tugs at Tia’s lips as Jamie starts pretending to wrestle with her figure. However, Jamie continues to talk as they play. “I don’t think I’d want to be a girl right now. If Mommy or Daddy came home, they wouldn’t recognize me, and that would make me sad.”

Jamie's lips begin to wobble again, like even thinking about it is making him upset.

“You don’t have to worry, Jamie,” Tia explains, making bang bang noises between talking. “Let me ask you. Would being a girl make you unhappy?”

He stops, looks away in thought before nodding. “Yeah, I think it would. I wouldn’t want to wear dresses and stuff. That’s icky.”

“Well…” Tia grins, smiling at his innocence. “With me, being a boy made me feel unhappy.”

“Really?” he replies, again, wrestling with Tia’s figure with his own soldier. “So you like dresses and things? That’s weird.”

“Well, yeah, I do,” Tia replies, making her figure play dead. She then thinks about it for a moment and then asks. “Jamie, do you want to be something when you grow up?”

“Uh-huh,” she looks up with a bright smile. “I want to be a soldier!”

“Oh, cool,” Tia then looks into his bright eyes. “How would you feel if I told you, no matter how much you wanted it, you could only be a nurse?”

He stops play, looks at Tia, and frowns. “Well, that wouldn’t be very nice. I’d wanna cry.”

“Would be rubbish, huh?”

“Yeah…” Jamie nods several times.

“So that’s how I feel about being a boy. It made me want to cry. So I asked my Mom, really nicely, if she could help me be who I really am. A girl who still likes playing soldiers. Does that make sense?”

Instantly, Jamie begins to tear up. He drops his soldier and turns away, sniffing. “Y-Y-Your Mommy sounds really nice….” Tears dribble from his eyes and down his cheek. “M-My Mommy doesn’t like me anymore.”

“Oh no….” Tia shuffles up to sit beside him. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is!” Jamie howls, crying into his arm. “E-Everyone shouts at me all the time! T-They call me a crybaby! I-I…I want to be strong, but I’m not. I’m not strong, and that’s why Mommy and Daddy have gone away!”

Sitting beside him as he cries, tears roll down Tia’s face. She knows all too well the feelings behind his words. Not sure what to say, she picks up the soldiers and begins to play, letting tearful Jamie watch.

“Can I tell you something, Jamie?”

Still crying, he nods.

“At my school,” Tia begins to explain, acting out her words with the soldiers. “There’s a boy who doesn’t like me much. In fact, he bullies me and says mean things about me because he doesn’t think I should be able to be happy.”

Tia makes one of the figures stand over the other, pretending to make it laugh like a bully.

“I used to think I wasn’t strong enough either. I used to think I was a crybaby that no one wanted to speak to.”

Tia looks at Jamie, hoping he’s following alone. Please, he looks up at her with wide, curious but misty eyes.

“It used to make me very sad,” Tia explains, smiling down at him. “That’s until someone came and helped me and made me see how strong I really am.”

“A superhero?” Jamie asks, pretending his hand is Superman as he knocks away the bully figure from Tia’s hand.

“Well, kinda,” Tia giggles. “You’re sister rescued me. She protected me from my awful bully like a superhero would. She’s very brave!”

“Big Sis?” Jamie asks curiously. “She’s your superhero.”

“Yup.” Tia leans in to whisper. “Can I tell you another secret?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I think your big sis is sad. Right now, she needs a superhero of her own.”

Jamie gasps and leans back with tears welling up in his eyes once more. “I-I…did see her crying this morning before school. I-I wanted to give her a hug, but she shouted at me and said I wouldn’t understand.”

“Do you want to be her superhero, Jamie?” Tia leans back, looks away, and although she’s smiling, a tear runs down one cheek

“I do!” Jamie replies with excitement. “I really do!”

Tia scoops up the two soldiers and sets them back in place, aiming their guns toward the door. She takes a deep breath, forces a big smile, and turns back to Jamie.

“Well, I think you can be. We should go downstairs, eat our dinner right up, and then help out with the chores. That way, you can be her superhero until your Mommy and Daddy get back. What do you think?”

Jamie doesn’t say anything more. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve, gets up, and runs out of the bedroom. Tia can only smile as she hears him running down the stairs calling for his sister.

A sense of relief washes over Tia as she lets out a long breath and a single tear. She wipes it away and heads back downstairs.

Feeling more at home, Tia sits in the living room with the boys. She sits beside Jamie, who is slowly but surely eating his way through his pasta. They play together with cars and other toys Jamie has in the living room.

Standing together, Heath and Rain watch on.

A single tear dribbles down Rain’s cheek. “Oh, thank god,” she lets out a breath. “Jamie’s finally eating something.”

“Seems Tia’s being more of a help than me, huh?” Heath begrudgingly admits

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Rain chuckles and nudges him with an elbow. “She’s not emotionally stunted like you are.”

“Hey—” Heath raises his voice in protest, then accepts it. “Ah, whatever….”

“Still, look at them playing cars together. Tia’s pretty cool, isn’t she?”

“Y-yeah….” Rain bites her lip, but forces a smile.

“Ima….” Heath points, steps forward, and nervously looks back in Rain’s direction. “Ima a play cars with them, okay?”

“Okay, fine,” Rain folds her arms and turns up her nose as Heath joins them, but as she does, Rain watches on and lets out a quiet sigh. “And….that’s why you're falling for her and not me…..”