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Not Your Average Teen Pop Star (DarkDreamer9110 x MsBloom)

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Cassie certainly recognized X's passion. She'd seen Ellie like that many times. That was a good sign, and Cassie knew Ellie would also have seen it.

When Master and Servant started, Cassie noticed Ember eyeing her up, and held out a hand. "May I have this dance?" She asked in a sultry voice. Ember chuckled, taking the hand and leading Cassie out to an open spot on the floor. As they danced, what started as fairly casual but somewhat intimate dancing evolved into grinding and groping and twisting, Cassie very clearly and exaggeratedly worshipping Ember, lavishing her with attention, culminating in Cassie on her knees looking up adoringly at Ember as she ran her hands up Ember's legs to her ass before squeezing the ample posterior.

Their eyes locked, and Ember put her fingers under Cassie's chin, pushing upwards and encouraging Cassie to rise. Cassie did so slowly, maintaining the eye contact, and slipped her arms around Ember as they drew level with each other. Ember's arms moved, one to Cassie's lower back, the other to the back of her neck, pulling her close. Ember's gaze bored into Cassie, the tension and intensity like lightning, their faces mere inches apart. And then Ember began pushing on the back of her neck as the cis girl brought their mouths closer.

Cassie felt her dick hardening a bit, pushing against her panties and pressing into Ember's thigh. As a look of confusion started to make it's way across Ember's face, Cassie realized Ember could definitely feel it. The trans girl blushed, pulling away with a mumbled "sorry."

While she was doing that, Dusty had gravitated towards Léon, and André and Mel had seemingly started talking to and bonding with Adri.


The meeting went well enough. It surprised Cassie that Criss had seen the livestream Q&A, but she nodded. "Yeah. Glad you liked them. I just spoke from the heart." She said.
 
Whether Ellie or Adri noticed the way Cassie acted around Ember neither of them brought it up but rather waited for Cassie to let them know if it was anything other than a bit of playful fun. There was after all nothing in their polycule agreement about the three of them being exclusive and if Cassie wanted to explore with Ember then she was certainly free to do so as long as she communicated about it with her other partners.

With Adri having been pulled into a conversation with André and it's partner, Dusty and Léon huddling closer and closer together talking in hushed whispers until they were suddenly just gone and Cassie still busy with Ember, Ellie had been left with Andi and the two of them soon fell into talking about music, to some extent already planning Funhouse Sweethearts' next studio session which they scheduled a week later.

The evening ended without anyone knowing where Dusty and Léon had disappeared to even if the common theory was that they had probably headed back to the apartment the twins shared with Ember, for a bit of privacy.

Two days later Ellie was back in the studio with Andi and Criss watching the latter of the two work their magic. The result came out harder, harsher but still with the core of the songs (and for the most part Cassie's vocals) relatively intact. Ellie sucked up every little trick like a sponge and probably asked a few too many questions but when Criss was done, having done individual remixes of the four songs and one long mix where the songs all blended together into one long sequence, the way a DJ might have played them at a night club, the two of them ended up having coffee and talking more in depth.

Another two days later the band convened at Dusty's for rehearsals and to work out NYATG and Out of the Closet and Onto the Battlefield, something Ellie had been looking forward to now that they were a full band. She could barely wait to see what Léon and André would come up with.
 
Cassie wasn't sure herself yet what the situation between her and Ember was. The chemistry was undeniable, sure, and it was absolutely fun, but Cassie wasn't sure if this was just admiration, a crush, or something else. She didn't even know if Ember was into women. Or if she'd be okay with dating someone who had other partners.

All of this came out in her next therapy session with Sabrina, on the same day Ellie was in the studio with Criss.

"So, Cassie, what I'm hearing is you're wondering if you like Ember or if you like Ember, would that be accurate?"

Cassie sighed. "I mean ... I get butterflies in my stomach when we're in the same room. I feel electricity when we're close to each other. When we were in the studio, singing ... Her voice did something to me. I wanted to shower her with love, worship her for the beauty in herself she couldn't see. I mean, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. And at the club, the whole dancing together to Master & Servant thing ... We almost kissed. We probably would have, if I hadn't ... Gotten aroused and embarrassed. And she definitely knew."

Sabrina nodded. "Did she seem as into everything as you were?"

"Oh, I asked for the dance, but she led.and yeah, she definitely seemed into it. She's the one who almost made us kiss."

"So it seems likely she at least enjoys your company deeply. You know what I'm going to say, right?"

Cassie nodded. "That I need to have an open, honest discussion about it with her about how I feel."

"Exactly."

"But what if she doesn't want to date me because I'm polyamorous? What if she doesn't like dick, trans or not? What if she—"

"Cassie, stop. You don't have to ask her out. Just discuss your feelings. "Hey, Ember, I really like you. I think I might have a crush on you. I wanted to see if you felt anything similar." Something like that. No need to pressure for an immediate upgrade to going on a date together, you know?

Cassie sighed. "Yeah, that makes sense." She agreed.

"And remember, you don't have to rush this. You can talk to her when you're ready, on your time."
Cassie was looking forward to the next rehearsal session. They were going to start working on her babies, NYATG and Out Of The Closet, Onto The Battlefield. And hopefully Ember would be there as well. Cassie wasn't sure if she would talk to the cis girl about her feelings just yet, but she was happy to spend more time with her. Maybe that would help settle things, help Cassie decide how she actually felt and if she wanted to explore more with Ember.

They arrived at Dusty's, and as they were unpacking their equipment, the twins and Ember pulled up in one of their own cars. Dusty smiled brightly at Léon, walking over to take Léon's hand with a smile. "Hey there, handsome." He said with a grin, leaning in to give Léon a peck on the cheek.

Cassie and Ember managed to exchange pleasantries without either girl to bring into an awkward mess, and once everyone was ready, Cassie queued up NYATG for everyone to listen to. As they'd done for their first sessions together, Cassie had removed the keyboard and bass tracks so André and Léon could freely decide what they felt worked for it.
 
Before they started working on what Ellie had begun to refer to as The Long Ones she had played the remixes to the band and gotten their approval to make them their next release. She had then set up her laptop to record their rehearsals, partly to monitor the progress of the songs but also because she knew they would need to add tracks that perhaps none of them would be able to play, horn sections and strings mainly. First though they ran through the songs a few times to let André and Léon get the feel for them, add their own flavour to them. When they got to the section of Out of the Closet that was intended for the solo André surprised Ellie by mentioning it also played the saxophone and perhaps could add some to the solo. Ellie almost jumped with joy at the idea and as they rand through it again the two of them traded solos back and forth rather than a single solo as had been intended. This made the song quite a bit longer and it was now without question well into double digits in length. This expanded even more the next time they ran through it when André decided to switch between saxophone and keyboards during the solo section, with Léon doing a rather complex bridge on the bass before they got to the last verse and chorus.

Dusty was given the chance to show of his skills on the drums during in NYATG where he got to do a little solo in the middle before Ellie took over and this time it was Léon's turn to surprise her by making a quick run to the car to retrieve an electric viola which added an eerie atmosphere to the song and adding to the solo section as he did this all pushed NYATG close to the ten minute mark as well.

The songs were certainly coming together well and Ellie had no doubts whatsoever that by their next studio session they would be ready to put it all down and have the songs ready for release before she and Cassie headed off to her dad and his new family.

Neither of these two songs seemed to have much in common with the ones they had already released. The four on their eponymous first EP were relatively simple pop songs. These were monsters that had more in common with progressive rock. And yet ... the attentive listener would of course still recognise the core of what Funhouse Sweethearts were as a band. There were other songs in their repertoire that were different to both sets of songs but in other ways. After all who wanted a band to regurgitate the same thing over and over Ellie figured.
 
Being as sentimental as Cassie was about NYATG, it had been hard to cut out the bass and keyboard tracks she and Ellie had written for it. She wondered about discussing the idea of releasing a version of it that had the original music. But in any event, it had worked out. André and Léon were absolutely on their A-game. And they now had options for saxophone and viola sections in the band's music. Already Cassie could think of a few of their songs that could benefit from one or both instruments. Talking To The Moon was an obvious choice for a viola track; she'd have to talk to Léon about it later.

The expansion in length of the songs led to a quip from André that they basically had an EP in just the two songs. Cassie had realized that it had a point, and so she suggested they try to work a bridge between the two songs.

Ember spoke up. "Maybe something like We Will Rock You. A simple clap/stomp/chant beat, maybe something like 'c'mon, c'mon, Come out,' a capella style, maybe just a snazzy jazz riff on the sax."

Cassie stared at Ember unblinkingly for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, that could work. You want to lead us off?"

Ember shrugged. "Sure. Let's do this." She said.

A few minutes later, after playing around with the tempo and such, they had finally gotten something they all liked. With all six voices, it was difficult to distinguish any individual voice, but Ember's definitely rang through.
As they listened to the complete set, Cassie smiled at Ember as they got to the interlude piece, giving the other girl an admiring look.

"I could kiss you, you beautiful Ember of Inspiration." she said.

"Then why don't you?" The quip was out of Ember's mouth almost before Cassie had finished speaking.

Cassie chuckled. "Didn't want to presume consent."

"Well, it's given."

That was all it took. Cassie walked over to Ember, gently cradled the other girl's head with her hands, and pulled her into a kiss, which Ember reciprocated.

When they pulled apart, Cassie blushed, glancing at Ellie as she did so. "Fuck. That ..."

Ember nodded. "Fuck is right." She looked at Ellie, then back at Cassie. "I, uh, I don't want to cause trouble between you two. It was just a ... I mean, it didn't mean any ... I ... Fuck!"

Cassie sighed. "Maybe you should come to our place for dinner tonight. There's a lot to discuss, and I think the four of us, me, you, Ellie, and Adri, need to have a talk with mine and Ellie's moms and dad. They might have advice about this. But for now, let's just pretend nothing happened and get through the session. We'll figure this out when we're not emotionally reeling."

Ember nodded. "Good idea."
 
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Ellie couldn't help but smile when Ember made her suggestion. There was a brilliance to the simplicity to it the same way there was to Queen's We Will Rock You, except this one would have no verses, just a chanted chorus. She did however mute the strings on her guitar with one hand and tapped out the rhythm on its body while it was plugged in and then just as the saxophone solo was about to start she lifted her fingers of the strings for the final beat and let an open six string chord ring out, over which André then played his solo while the rest of the band kept the beat going. It added a little something to the song, at least in her mind and she suggested they'd do one more take with Léon doing the same on his bass.
"And maybe instead of stomping your feet ad clapping your hands," she said to dusty.
"you could use the bass drum and a rimshot."
She then turned to the rest of the band with a smile.
"Let's just try it shall we and if it doesn't work well do it without any instruments at all. OK?"

They did two more takes, one with Ellie's suggestions and one that was just the basic stomp and clap beat and when they were don Ellie suggested they should leave it to be decided later which version to use. They still had one day left in the studio for mixing and stuff.
"Let's all just get a rough mix of each version and vote on it tomorrow."

The kiss did of course not go unnoticed by anyone in the studio and Ellie returned Cassie's glance and gave a nod of approval she then stood up and walked up to Ember and with a subtle jerk of her head asked her to follow. Once they were outside the actual studio she smiled.
"We will all talk later tonight over dinner but I don't want you to worry yourself about any potential consequences. We don't just have an open relationship, Cassie and me, but as you already know we're in a polycule with Adri, whom you met at the club."
She tilted her head to one side and then continued.
"I mean seriously, had Cassie thought there would be trouble if she kissed you she wouldn't have done it right in front of the entire band like she did, right?"


Later that evening they had all gathered around the Clayton/Spencer parental unit's kitchen table to enjoy Eric's Moussaka and to talk, or rather explain the situation to Ember. Adri had already given their permission as well the moment Ellie had texted them about the kiss.

"Now just because you and Cassie may date or whatever you want to call it," Adri said while they waited for dessert.
"Doesn't mean you have to date me and/or Ellie too."
"That's right," Joan agreed.
"A polycule can have many branches, where on one end for instance, you and Cassie are a couple while at the same time Cassie is in a throuple with Ellie and Adri. Perhaps some day Ellie will meet a man she falls in love with and be a couple with him without him necessarily having to be involved with either one of the rest of you.
"Luckily," Adri said and chuckled.
"I'd hate having to date a man just because my girlfriend does."
 
As Ellie led Ember away to talk to her, André looked at Cassie with a grin. "Good on you for making the move. I hope it pays off for you both. Ember ... Hasn't really had a lot of dating experience. There was the one dude who had a bit of a fat fetish, but that only lasted for about a week before he called Léon a "sissy [F-slur]," the first time they met. She laid him out then and there. Beyond that, she hasn't really dated anyone. Gone on dates, yeah. Dated, no. And with her insecurities about her size, it's..."

Cassie nodded. "I promise I will do everything I can to avoid hurting her."

André nodded. "I know you will. Make her happy, treat her right. That's all I ask."


Ember had smiled as Ellie explained the situation and made it clear that Ember and Cassie dating wouldn't be a problem to Ellie or Adri. "That's good to know. I just ... This is a weird situation. I mean, I'd heard about polyamory and stuff, but it's not something I ever thought I'd ... Find myself in the middle of. I guess I'll see you all at dinner and we can ... Figure this out."


Madison nodded in agreement with Joan. "There's a reason the word 'polycule' works. Because, like the molecules they're named after, they can get complicated, different connections and bonds linking different people in it. In this case, with Cassie, Ellie, and Adri being in a triad, you'd be connected to Cassie romantically/sexually, and Cassie would be connected to Ellie and Adri romantically/sexually. The term metamour, or just meta, is used for people who share a common partner but are not themselves romantically/sexually involved. So Ellie and Adri would be your metamours, and you would be theirs. And there's no one way metamours have to interact. Some people practice parallel polyamory, where they keep their individual relationships separate from each other. Some practice KTP, or kitchen-table polyamory, where the various metamours interact as a sort of blended social unit, hang out together, are friends independently of the relationship, et cetera. Sometimes it's in-between those two. That's without getting into things like solo polyamory and relationship anarchy. How you four choose to navigate things is up to you. Only you can decide what works for your relationships."

Ember nodded. "I see. I ... I don't think I'm polyamorous. The idea of loving, being in a romantic relationship, with multiple people ... It doesn't make sense in my head. I don't get it. But I don't mind if Cassie is. I know if I asked her to choose me or Ellie and Adri, I'd lose her, and deserve it." She said, smiling at Cassie. "I want to be your girlfriend, and I accept that that means sharing you. I mean, you're amazing, and I see why these two," she gestured to Ellie and Adri, "fell in love with you. And that you can love them both."

Cassie smiled back. "You're a beautiful woman, Ember, with the voice of an angel and the heart of a superhero. I'd be happy to have you as a girlfriend." She said, moving to kiss Ember, then Ellie, then Adri. "You're all amazing partners and people. I am so lucky to have you all."
 
After the dinner at The Clayton/Spencer parental unit Ellie and Adri withdrew back to their own house, a concept Ellie still couldn't really get her head around. She had of course lived there before as well, since she and Cassie had been in kindergarten together, since before Cassie came out of her egg. She had of course often referred to it as her house in the past but it had always meant, the house where I live. Now it was actually her house, co-owned with Cassie. It was weird in a way and weirder still that her mom no longer lived there, to ... keep an eye on her and Cassie.

They had left Cassie an Ember to do whatever they wanted to do after dinner, maybe go on a first official date, and if they were being honest they half didn't expect Cassie to come home that evening but rather spend it with Ember at her place. There were of course things they needed to talk to Cassie about with regards to any potential rules for her relationship with Ember but that could wait. There was no rush.


Over the next few weeks they released Not Your Average Teen Girl along with Out of the Closet and Ember's main contribution the short Come Out. The second Funhouse Sweetheart EP was titled Coming Out and like their first eponymous release it had a cover designed by Dusty showing the inside of a closet with the door ever so slightly ajar with the bands name and the title written in the narrow gap of light.

Dusty had also taken charge in filming videos for all the songs they had released so far.

The video for Out of the Closet showed Cassie, himself and André walking through doors, even Adri had made an appearance, and through a variety of rooms where the band played in the background. For the louder more chaotic sequences he had managed to get hold of footage from the attack on Cassie by Keith (who's face he after careful consideration and discussion with the band, had blurred).

For NYATG he had borrowed footage from Cassie's and Ellie's YouTube channel, using the video of Cassie officially coming out to the entire world complete with sound as an introduction before the music began. Included in the video was also a screenshot of Kim Petras comment on the Q&A sessions where he had also borrowed footage of Cassie and Ellie performing the song. Even if it was a very different version to the one released he had still managed to sync most of Cassie's vocals. The video ended with a freeze frame of Cassie coming out to her parents.

Talking to the Moon had Cassie sitting in her old bedroom window singing to the moon with silhouettes of Ellie behind drawn lace curtains in her bedroom. Down on Me was cut from a handful of different, staged, live performances, in the studio, on the Spencer/Clayton/Moore living room, at Eric's restaurant and on the sidewalk outside the school. Be My Baby had been done in the style of a 60s girl group with Ellie and Ember flanking Cassie. It had taken some persuasion for Ember to agree but after the entire band had love bombed her she had agreed, reluctantly at first but like she had in the studio she had soon gotten into it and made a stellar performance out of it. Heart of a dreamer had images of Cassie and Ellie walking hand in hand in various locations mixed with close ups of Cassie singing.

All of these videos were then one by one uploaded to an entirely new YouTube Channel, linked to the original channel, because Dusty had wanted it to be easier to find them even without searching specifically for each video.


Saturday, July 16 Ellie and Cassie were up early. It was the day they were leaving for Ellie's other family. Usually it had just been Ellie going but this year she had wanted to bring Cassie and make the introductions. The two of them had been discussion all week whether or not to also invite Adri along but in the end it was Adri who had said that perhaps one shock, in the form of a transgendered lesbian girlfriend, was enough for Ellie's second family.
"We can save the next shock of adding a masc-presenting non-binary partner with a female preference for Christmas," they had said with a chuckle.
"Just remember that our moms and dad are right next door in case you need anything at all, or just can't be bothered cooking. Don't be afraid to ask. You're family and they will treat you like it," Ellie had said after stuffing the last of her bags into Joan's station wagon and then kissed her partner with passion and even grabbed a grope or two.
 
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Cassie and Ember had been grateful for the opportunity to do their own thing, and indeed Ellie and Adri would get a text later that night saying that Cassie wouldn't be home until the morning.


In between releasing the new tracks and filming the videos, the four members of the polycule had managed to sit down and work out more of the guidelines and ethics of their relationship, the most significant of which was something they called the sanctity of the shared bed, an agreement that metamours would not be brought (in any capacity, even just sleeping) into the beds shared by their hinge (the partner they had in common) and another metamour. They further agreed that a hinge would not have sex with a given metamour in the home of a different metamour.

In the meantime, the Coming Out EP had again been pushed by Kim Petras, and NYATG was taking off as a single, having quickly hit several milestones for views and digital sales. They had even gotten offers from radio stations to play it, which Madison and Joan, in consultation with Andi, were making sure were fair deals.

In regards to her relationship with Ember, Cassie was spending at least two or three nights a week with her, and since Ember shared an apartment with André and Léon, and Léon was dating Dusty (the two had made it official not long after the meeting with X when they'd slipped back to the apartment), Cassie and Dusty were getting quite used to seeing each other in passing or even hanging out and double-dating.


It had been around a decade at least since Cassie had seen Luke and Gloria, Ellie's father and stepmother. They knew she was transgender, of course (Ellie couldn't very well hide that her best friend Austin was now Cassie), but the new development of hers and Ellie's relationship was probably something Luke and Gloria would need to get used to, especially since they hadn't been aware that Ellie was a lesbian.

Since Cassie would be gone with Ellie for a couple of weeks, she had spent the night before they were due to leave at Ember's, getting in plenty of intimacy and more.

Cassie took her turn to hug and kiss Adri and get in some gropes of her own before climbing into the car with Ellie and they headed out.


The drive would only take about 5 hours, and the girls would swap driving duties around halfway through, with Cassie taking the first shift. She wasn't necessarily nervous about seeing Luke and Gloria, but it was weird knowing that the man could have been her father and that she could have been the one making the yearly trip instead of, or possibly alongside, Ellie. The idea of Luke as her father also raised the question of how supportive he might have been of her transition. She wasn't aware of Luke and Gloria being transphobic, but it was still a possibility that, in some other world, some other life, she was suffering under unsupportive parents.

She decided to broach the subject with Ellie, just to pass the time and assuage her fears and worries.

Finally, they were pulling up into the driveway of Luke and Gloria's home. Cassie sighed, gazing at Ellie and taking her hand to give it a squeeze before she got out of the car.
 
Between the release of the NYATG ep and leaving for Ellie's other family she and Cassie had sat down for a meeting with their moms, both lawyers (even if they mostly handled divorce cases, prenups and estate inventories), and consulted them about the legal aspects of them now making real money from their music. This had then led to a meeting with the entire band and their moms where Joan Spencer and Madison Clayton officially became the bands financial managers. They would eventually need another manager, of course, to take care of things like bookings, travel and other more practical things but that was still some time away. The only thing they had booked so far was a small tour of Southern California which Andi had handled for them.

It was hard to believe, at least that's how Ellie felt, that they were actually booked for a tour (even if it was only four gigs, in San Diego, Long Beach, Anaheim and Pasadena (three of which they wouldn't really have to even book a hotel for). It was still a long way from playing Eric's restaurant, school events, and the occasional gig at various youth centers around the greater Los Angeles area.

NYATG had perhaps not been as much of a success as their self titled debut if you just looked at the numbers but it had solidified their reputation in the queer community which had become obvious by the number of new unique visitors to their YouTube channel, the comments and message left for them there, mostly on the video for NYATG but also on Out of the Closet. It was a veritable flood of comments from trans people, many who were still closeted, some that were on the verge of hatching, others that had come out and suffered similar abuse as Cassie had on the day that inspired Out of the Closet but on a larger scale and more regularly. They were making a difference.

And on top of that, (and to Cassie's great delight), Kim Petras had begun to communicate with them on an almost regular basis.


As far as the new relationship she found herself in after Cassie had announced her romantic interest in Ember and the four of them had sat down to draw up guidelines for how the expanded polycule should work Ellie found it difficult to have to share Cassie with Ember, not because Cassie had a partner they didn't share, it had nothing to do with jealousy, but because Cassie spending time with Ember, sometimes sleeping at her place meant that she saw less of the love of her life. There were days, and nights, when, despite Adri, missed Cassie so much that she almost began to regret the idea of involving Adri in their relationship, and thus opening the door for Cassie's relationship with Ember, but at the same time she did love Adri so much she couldn't imagine her life without them. And in the end she wouldn't trade her relationship with Adri for sole custody of Cassie.

She had talked to Cassie and Adri about this and they had both understood. It was in a way only natural that Ellie felt emotionally closer to Cassie than to almost any other person in the world. They had after all known each other since they were born (give or take a week) and until the moment they fell in love grown up side by side, almost like sisters. There had not been any jealousy or hurt feelings from Adri because they understood this and knew that Ellie loved them too, just in a different (and perhaps more carnal) way than she loved Cassie.

So when the time came for her annual trip to Modesto, to visit her father and her half sisters, and Gloria, her ... stepmom ... whom he would never refer to as anything but Gloria (despite Gloria's early attempts to get her to call her mom). Ellie had only been 8 when she explained to her father's second wife that she already had two moms, Joan and Madison, and that she didn't need a third. It had perhaps hurt Gloria's feelings who at the time had been very sincere in her attempts at forming some sort of emotional bond with her husband's daughter from his previous marriage. After that Gloria had given up and whether it was just Ellie's imagination or not she had seemed colder, more distant, towards her stepdaughter. There were no more attempts at bonding, at least none that were serious.


The drive took about five hours and Ellie and Cassie took turns driving. For most of the first half of the drive Ellie acted as dj, streaming her and Cassie's favourite music, which of course included Coconuts by Kim Petras (to which they both sang along). It might at a first listen seem like a rather simple, chewing gum pop song with a hint of objectification of women and their anatomy, and perhaps it would have been had it been performed by a cis woman. As it was it became an almost political statement, a statement of validation of herself as a woman, herself and any other transwoman, a validation that Ellie had long ago realised that she, nor any other cis woman, could ever fully understand (except maybe on a strictly intellectual level), or feel the need for.

After they had stopped for a late breakfast at In-N-Out Burger just South of Fresno where Ellie had a cheese burger with fries and a strawberry milkshake, which made her think of another song about boobs, and with a giggle she imagined Cassie and Kim performing it side by side as if it really was a contest to determine who had the best milkshake. Perhaps there would have to be a few changes to the words. Cassie would for instance never sing that her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard. It was a simple enough rewrite. She shared those thoughts with Cassie as she played her the song on her phone.

When they got back into the car with Ellie now behind the wheel they instead turned the radio on and just as they exited Fresno it happened. The radio started playing Down On Me. A huge smile spread across Ellie's face and she started to giggle. It was the first time either of them had heard themselves on the radio. It was almost as if, in that moment, it all became real. They were about to become pop stars. What made it even better was that Down On Me was followed by Coconuts, and once again they both sang along with it.


As she pulled into the driveway of 1020 Carolyn Avenue and parked the car outside the double carport she took a deep breath and reached for Cassie's hand.
"Unless Alice has told them Dad and Gloria doesn't know about us, as Us. I was thinking maybe we should break it to them gently, like over lunch."
Just as she had finished speaking her oldest sister came running out of the house toward the car with her two years younger sister not far behind.. Ellie got out and with a smile caught Alice, and then Kate, in her arms. This was one of the best parts of these weeks she spent with her other family, her sisters.
"Guess what?" Alice said and looked like she was about to burst if she didn't tell Ellie whatever it was.
"I just heard you on the radio."
She jumped excitedly and started to sing Down On Me which had Ellie smiling and wondering if her sister knew what the song was really about.
 
The thought that Funhouse Sweethearts was now actually on their way to making a name for themselves as a band (especially in terms of queer rep since none of them were cishet) was both exciting and nerve-wracking. That they were going to be going on a tour and playing in proper venues (admittedly three of which were at most around an hour away (and the Pasadena one was basically in their backyards)) was a lot. But regardless of that, Cassie loved every comment from the queer community they were getting. It was a reassurance that they were making a difference. It felt like everything she had gone through was worth it. Because through her own pain and struggle, she could now reach others who were struggling. She could help. She was making a difference. She had always known that if they achieved any degree of acclaim, she would be seen as a representative of the trans community, a voice in the spotlight. She had to be a good representative, had to be strong and brave and stand up and use her voice. She could inspire people, she could be a voice for her community. She could fight for her people.


Cassie knew that Ellie was struggling sometimes with the newfound separation between them. The girls had practically been joined at the hip for their entire lives. In fact, the only times they had ever really been apart were Ellie's yearly trips to Modesto. And now, on top of the girls having Adri in their lives and spending time together as a throuple, Cassie was spending more time with Ember, and so there was even less time for just the two of them. And that was part of why, on this year's trip to Ellie's other family, Cassie was going with her; to let the two of them have time with just each other again.

They had all talked about it, with each other, with the Spencer-Clayton parents, and with Sabrina, and the overwhelming consensus was that, while it would be a huge adjustment, they would find their way with it. It might even be healthy for Ellie and Cassie to learn to have space and boundaries with each other.


To Cassie, Coconuts was a song about empowerment. For a woman to take pride in her tits for her own satisfaction, to not be ashamed of them, to celebrate them for their own sake rather than the attention they drew from men ... It was defiance against the patriarchal objectification and dehumanisation of women. And especially for a trans woman, to simply be reveling in and embracing and celebrating such an oversexualized part of being a woman (having tits) was even more empowering.

Cassie had smiled at the song Ellie showed her and the idea of doing her own cut of it. Naturally, it would have to be tweaked to reflect Cassie's sexuality, but that would be simple. And then she had the idea of trying to figure out if they could make a mashup of Milkshake and Coconuts work. Admittedly the two songs were largely very different, but there were a few points where she could see considerable similarities.

It was an amazing experience to hear one of their songs on the radio, and Cassie happily texted the other band members to see if it was playing for them as well.


Cassie smiled at Ellie, nodding at the idea of breaking it to her father and stepmother slowly. "That's fair." She said as Alice and Kate came running out. She got out and smiled at them and then at Ellie as Alice started singing. "You're pretty good, Alice. Quite a voice on you. Could have a future in the industry." She said, looking back at Ellie as she finished speaking. "So, uh, let's go inside, shall we?"
 
It was always a strange feeling to walk into the house at 1020 Carolyn avenue, up the stairs to the guest room that was Ellie's room whenever she visited. She was a guest there. There was no question about it. It had never and would never feel like home, not even a secondary home. Part of the reason for this was that while Luke might indeed be Ellie's father he was not and probably never really had been her dad. He had of course tried from time to time. There was almost always some attempt at father/daughter bonding whenever she visited. Sometimes as simple as the two of them going to the movies to see some recently released popular film and then burgers or pizza on their way home, sometimes he had taken her to a concert but he had never understood his daughter's taste in music (which in his ears was all over the place and didn't seem to be bound by any specific genres or even time). The previous summer she had asked him to take her to see some prog rock dinosaur on their last tour in Concord because she would miss their Los Angeles show since that year she had not come to visit until late July early August, just before it was time to go back to school. He had not understood the music nor had he understood his daughter's fascination with it, but he had paid for the tickets and driven for a little over an hour just to spend a few hours alone with her. Other times (the ones he felt they had perhaps both enjoyed the most) were the simple ones, like when he took her on an overnight camping trip to the Yosemite National park when she was 13. And yet, even when he had felt they had both enjoyed their father/daughter bonding attempts, he always felt that he could never truly compete with Eric, the man who could just as easily have been her father, whom he knew she called dad, (she had never called him dad, at least not after he had divorced Joan and married Gloria. To her he was Luke and nothing more than that, which he tried to pretend didn't hurt his feelings because on some level he understood why. He had just never really been there to be her dad while Eric had. He also understood that this had caused a certain rift between them that he could never bridge from afar and in less than a month of the year.

This year when Cassie had come with her Ellie knew it would probably be the last time she visited her other family for more than perhaps a day or two (to spend time with her sisters). She was an adult now and neither she nor Luke had any more obligations towards each other. She also hoped that since Cassie had come along this year would be one without awkward attempts at bonding. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate him trying in the little time they had together but she had also always felt that it had been too little and too far apart, and for the last few years also too late.

It was early afternoon by the time Ellie and Cassie had arrived and put their bags in the guest room (which only had a single bed in it not a double but Ellie figured they'd still manage, at least for a month). It was too late for even a late lunch and there was apparently nothing special planned for dinner. Gloria was going out to a meeting with some charity committee and Luke had some work to do in his home office. This basically meant that there was no other welcoming committee than Alice and Megan which somehow both bothered Ellie and not. It was after all her sisters she came to visit, not Luke or his wife.
"How about the four of us go out for dinner," she asked her sisters.
"Anywhere you like, and if your dad says it is ok we can perhaps even catch a movie first."
Alice nodded and Megan clapped her hands.

About two hours after their arrival Ellie and Cassie were headed for downtown Modesto with Alice and Megan in the backseat for some sisterly bonding, (an activity that was, and had always been, a lot more successful than Luke's attempts at bonding with his firstborn child). They first saw Raya and the Last Dragon (which had a touch of LGBTQ subtext in the subtle romantic tension between the two leading characters, Raya and Namaari. They then went to have dinner at the Grub Hub which was a gathering of food trucks that had a little bit of everything from hamburgers to Japanese food, where they all ordered something different and then sat in the car eating and talking about the movie, with Alice asking her older sister all kinds of questions about the undercurrent of lesbian romance in the movie, or rather continued the line of questioning she had begun during the Q&A stream about kissing girls.

This all had Ellie smiling as she was beginning to realise that there was perhaps more than just an academic curiousity behind her sister's interest in romance between two girls and so she turned to face Alice and said that there was really only one way for her to find out for herself.
"Certain feelings just can't be explained with words, kissing i one of them, whether it is kissing a boy or a girl. The two are different for sure but still I can't explain the feeling."
She paused and took a bite out of her taco.
"Is there someone special you are curious about kissing?"
Alice only responded by blushing and focusing on her fries.
"Just follow your heart," Ellie said and almost reached out to ruffle her sister's hair.
 
There was no denying that even Ellie was no more than a guest here. The guest room was bare, nothing of Ellie's claiming it as hers. There were a few token photos of her in the living room and hallway, most of those few of her and her sisters, a couple of her and her father, none of her with Gloria. Cassie knew the relationship between Luke and Ellie was civil, but there was none of the expected father-daughter closeness. The distance between them was more than physical. And while Ellie may have had it in her to love two moms, Joan and Madison, that was almost certainly because both moms were present in her life. As far as dads went, Ellie had only really had one who ever acted the part. Eric had filled the void that Luke had left in Ellie's when he left. Eric had always treated Ellie as his daughter, had always been there for her, had helped raise her.

Cassie didn't think Ellie would be coming back to 1020 Carolyn Avenue for anything more than a brief visit to see her sisters after this year. Ellie wanting Cassie to come had felt like an acknowledgement that Ellie would need Cassie's support, like things were going to change between Ellie and her other family, or at least her father and stepmother, forever.

Cassie had been quite cool about meeting Alice and Megan properly, and was excited to go see the movie with them. The aftermath, with Alice locking onto the lesbian subtext of the movie and continuing her line of questioning from the Q&A, definitely had Cassie feeling that Alice was signposting that she was close to a personal realization about her own orientation. She nodded in agreement with Ellie. "Alice, I was your age when I first realized I was a lesbian. I noticed other girls getting into boys. I didn't get why. Not really. Sure, I understood on an intellectual level that those girls were attracted to boys. But I didn't see it. I couldn't understand what the hell was so attractive about the male sex. I just felt ... Nothing. I looked at boys, I tried to get into them, tried to understand what I was doing wrong that I wasn't fawning over them. But what I did notice was, the way girls described being into boys was the same way I was feeling about girls. Well, mainly one girl." She glanced at Ellie. "So, from a lesbian, I never had to kiss a boy to know I didn't like them. I didn't need to kiss a girl to know I liked them. Like Ellie said, listen to your heart. We're here for you no matter what." She said, ruffling Alice's hair. "I'll be sure to get you my phone number and you can call or text me any time."

When they got home, and Luke and Gloria were both free, the two parents had announced that they were planning to have a barbecue the next day and inviting some of the neighbors as a sort of belated welcoming party for the two older girls. Cassie wasn't sure, but she thought she'd heard a moment's hesitation in Gloria's voice before the older woman said "girls." She opted to let it go, though, since she wasn't sure and didn't want to make a fuss.


The next afternoon, Cassie had opted to wear the dress she'd worn for her birthday for the barbecue. The trans flag pattern of the dress, coupled with the lesbian pride pin she added, would be a sign to anyone who was part of the alphabet mafia that might be attending that she was safe.

Was it just her, or did she catch Gloria giving her attire a long look with a difficult-to-read expression? However, soon after, people started arriving for the gathering, and Cassie was distracted from her train of thought by introductions. Cassie wondered just how many people were going to be there. It seemed like mainly a mix of couples and families. Most of the kids were younger, but a few were closer to Cassie and Ellie's age.

As Luke tended to the barbecue, stoking the fire, the backyard filled with people. A radio and speakers had been set up, and as Cassie took a drink from her soda, she heard the familiar opening notes of Not Your Average Teen Girl start up. It seemed Alice had noticed, too, as the younger girl walked over to her and said, "I wonder if any of these people would realize it's your voice if you sang along."

Cassie chuckled, handing the soda to Alice and catching Ellie's eye with a smile and nod. She walked over to get some distance from the speakers, and as the lyrics started, she sang along with them. The people between Cassie and the speakers took a few moments to realize that the voice coming from the other direction across from the speakers was live, and a few seconds longer to start to realize the voices were the same.

Cassie sang with abandon, her body naturally moving with the music until she was practically dancing across the yard, plucking her soda can from Alice's hands and singing into it like a microphone. All the while, Gloria's expression darkened, unbeknownst to the girl singing her heart out.

As the song finished, applause rang out among the attendees, and Cassie curtsied. "Thank you all so much. I'm glad you enjoyed that. The band's Funhouse Sweethearts, we have two EPs out now, and we're the queerest band in California. I'm Cassie Clayton, lead singer. My wonderful girlfriend, Ellie," she nodded in Ellie's direction, "is guitar. We wrote that song together."

"So you're that trans singer my daughter's told me about?" One of the people there asked.

Cassie nodded. "I am. Tell you what, how would your daughter like an autograph? Anyone got a pen and paper?"

As that was taken care of, Cassie happened to notice Gloria glowering at her. She frowned. Was Gloria's look because Cassie had stolen the show? Was it because she didn't like the music? Cassie's growing fame? Or ... Fuck. If Gloria was about to have a problem with Cassie openly owning being trans ...
 
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Ellie had dressed a lot less conspicuously for the barbecue, jeans shorts and a white spaghetti strap top, but she of course loved Cassie's flair even if it did worry her slightly as well, mostly with regards to how Gloria might react to it. It had been years of course now since she had last mentioned anything about Cassie being trans. It had been one of those moments that was stuck in Ellie's mind, how Gloria, the summer after Austin became Cassandra, had made a negative comment about how this tranny thing was spreading like a pandemic across the nation over one of their last bonding lunches. She had used that exact word, tranny, and Ellie had corrected her that the word was transgender, or just trans if she couldn't be bothered with such a long word and added that tranny was considered a slur, like calling a homosexual boy a faggot or a homosexual girl a dyke, or even to call a person f colour a nigger. Gloria had scoffed and shrugged as if neither of those really bothered her and they had finished their lunch in silence since Ellie had not felt it would make any difference to argue about it. And that had been the status quo between them ever since as far as the topic of non-cishet people was concerned.

As NYATG came on the radio and Cassie pulled away from the crowd of neighbours, colleagues and friends of the Spencer family to then draw attention to herself by singing along with it, making a performance of it when the guests started to realise that the woman singing on the radio was the same one who was singing and dancing at the far end of the garden, Ellie smiled and nodded her head in time with the music, made discreet hand signs to signal the changes in tempo, intensity and where the solos began and where the chorus came back in again. She was quite proud of the song and a bit surprised that there was a radiostation out there who had not only chosen NYATG over Down on Me but also played the entire nine minutes thirty seven seconds of it. In a way that feeling surpassed having heard Down on Me on the radio on their way there because of what NYATG meant to both her and to Cassie.

Still though when Cassie mentioned her as being part of the band and co-creator of the son she blushed and smiled shyly and was quite happy to let Cassie draw all of the attention, signing a few autographs for parents and kids alike. She stood to the side with Alice and watched when Andrew (openly gay for as long as Ellie could remember and her only friend in Modesto) came up beside her.
"I suppose congratulations are in order," he said and touched his bottle of beer to Ellie's.
"Not just your career starting to take off but finally realising that you and Cass were made for each other."
Ellie playfully stuck her elbow in his ribs and told him to shut up, but he was of course right.

It was then it happened. The crowd surrounding Cassie had begun to scatter again when Gloria walked up to Cassie who was all smiles and laughter by then.
"So you're that tranny singer my daughter keeps raving on about!" she said in a calm but derisive voice when she was less than two feet from Cassie.
Ellie could feel her blood literally turn to ice at the words. It was exactly this she had feared when she saw Cassie walk out of the house in her birthday dress, so filled with meaning to those in the know (not that she for a moment thought that Gloria (her so-called step-mom) would know what it meant).

Ellie looked at Cassie, then at Luke, and time seemed to have stopped dead in its tracks. And then, before Cassie (or anyone else for that matter) had time to do anything she walked up to Gloria, grabbed her by the arm and spun her around before slapping her face so hard the sound of her palm against Gloria's cheek could be heard over the music.
"Are you going to let her talk to my girlfriend like that," she then said to Luke who had looked up from the grill.
"Are you fucking going to let your bitch wife talk to my girlfriend like that," she asked again and drilled her eyes into Luke's who seemed lost for what to say or do.
It was probably not because he shared his wife's views on non-cishet people but because he was quite literally stunned by the very fact that his oldest daughter (usually a quiet, if perhaps rather grumpy teenager) had just struck his wife. Gloria was equally stunned and just stood there holding her face where Ellie had struck her. And everyone around them stopped what they were doing as well and the conversations died down to a curious mumble.
"And you ..."
Ellie now turned her eyes back to Gloria.
"You are a FART and probably proud to be."
Then, realising that while Gloria must have known it was an insult she probably didn't understand the acronym, Ellie explained.
"A Feminism Appropriating Reactionary Transphobe."

Just as Gloria was about to speak Ellie shook her head and looking around the crowd, all of whom were watching her and Gloria, walked over to Luke by the grill.
"Really?" she asked again, this time with less anger and more disappointment in her voice, as if she had expected him to take her side and say something to Gloria about the inappropriateness of what she had said and the way she had said it.
"I wonder what your dear FART wife would think if she knew about you, Mom, Madison ... and Eric ..." she whispered and smiled at him to let him know that she knew the truth of what kind of relationship he had had with her mom and with Cassie's parents.
The look on his face had been exactly what she had hoped for, a mix of shock and fear of his deepest secret being revealed.
"You're not going to do anything?" Ellie then added louder and took out her phone.
Once again she looked around at the people watching, most of whom seemed to agree that Gloria had been out of line saying what she had said to Cassie but also seemed to think that they should not get involved. Some had even begun to leave. Alice and Andrew had walked over to Cassie and stood by her side to comfort her though Gloria did try to pull her daughter away.

"Take Cassie upstairs and grab out stuff," Ellie called to her sister and Andrew.
"We're leaving."
She then gave Luke a long look before throwing her phone into the grill.
"That's just so you can never contact me ever again. If you can't even stand up like a man and defend your daughter's girlfriend from being verbally attacked by your transphobic, and probably all other non-cishetphobic as well, bitch of a wife then I want nothing more to do with you. You might have donated the seed that impregnated Mom but you were never, NEVER, my dad."
She then turned around and huffed and puffed her way through the crowd that mostly just stood there watching. The woman who had first spoken to Cassie after the performance (a neighbour from two houses down the block) reached out and touched her shoulder though: "Well done," she whispered but Ellie only just barely registered it. She was trying so hard not to start crying in front of Luke, Gloria and a crowd of people she barely knew.

Just as she reached Joan's station wagon and managed to get the passenger door open Alice, Cassie and Andrew came out of the house. They packed the bags into the back.
"You mind if I come along for a little bit," Andrew asked Cassie.
It was written all over his face how worried he was about Ellie and from everything Ellie had told Cassie about him over the last few summers she would know that he was an ally.
"I want to come too," Alice said but by then Luke and Gloria had both approached the car.
Luke in some futile attempt to find a way to make his daughter stay so he could talk to her after she had calmed down, maybe apologise and try to make Gloria do the same. Gloria just grabbed Alice by the arm and said that she wasn't going anywhere and then marched her back into the house.
 
Cassie had tried to ignore Gloria's look. She had continued the positive interactions she was getting, smiling, laughing. And then, as the group was dispersing, Gloria walked up to her. Cassie wasn't sure what she'd expected, maybe something a bit provocative, but certainly not for the slur to come out of Gloria's mouth. Cassie froze, and time seemed to stop. Cassie's eyes darted to Ellie. It felt like slow-motion but couldn't have been more than a few seconds as Ellie stormed up to Gloria. The crack of Ellie's hand striking Gloria's face was like a bullet, and Cassie couldn't help it. She burst out laughing ... And crying.

Alice and Andrew were there, Andrew interposing himself between Gloria and the two girls as he stared Gloria down when Gloria tried to pull Alice away. Cassie smirked as she heard Ellie start questioning Luke about how he was going to respond to his wife's transphobia. By the looks of things, Luke was about to fail the final test that could have salvaged some semblance of a relationship with Ellie. As Cassie was led into the house, she noticed Megan with her phone out, filming, and vaguely recalled that Megan had pulled it out at the beginning of the song.

They gathered Cassie and Ellie's things, and headed to the car. Cassie smiled and nodded at Andrew's request. "Sure. Here, go ahead and get it started." She said as she handed Andrew the keys, then turned her attention to Luke.

"You spineless, impotent, sniveling coward. What kind of father are you? What kind of dad are you? Would you just stand there and let her insult me if I had been your child? What if Alice or Megan turn out gay? Are you gonna let that phobic bitch treat them like shit?"

Luke stood there, speechless, and Cassie smirked. She saw that Alice was still fighting Gloria, resisting being dragged inside. She heard Andrew start the car, and she opened the rear driver's side door before calling out loudly to Gloria.

"Hey, bitch, did Luke ever tell you he could have been my father and that my dad fucked him?"

With that, Cassie ducked into the car, slammed the door shut, and barked a quick "Drive!" at Andrew before she rolled down the window, stuck her head and arm out, and flipped the bird at Luke and an obviously incensed Gloria. "Fuck you, and your FART wife too!" She screamed as she pulled out of the driveway and they took off.

As she rolled the window up, she started cackling. "Oh my god the look on their faces!"

She pulled out her phone. "Guess we'd better let the family know we're coming home a lot earlier than expected. And that you're gonna need a new phone." She said as she pulled up the group chat she and Ellie shared with their parents and Adri.

Cassie: Hey. We're coming back home. Gloria crossed a line. She called me the t-slur. To my face. Around company. Ellie slapped her. Luke didn't do anything to rein in or reprimand Gloria for her transphobia. So Ellie torched her phone and told Luke off. Then we left. Oh, and I may have told Gloria that I could have been Luke's daughter and that he and Dad screwed. So if Joan hears from Luke about Ellie's behavior, Ellie was provoked.

Eric: Gloria did WHAT?!?!
Madison: That fucking bitch!
Eric: Are you girls okay?
 
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Joan: So that's why Ellie isn't answering her phone. I tried to call but it went straight to voicemail.
Adri: How bad is she?

If Cassie would have held up her phone from the backseat and aimed it at the front passenger seat it would have shown Ellie crying hysterically with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, rocking slightly back and forth. Her hair was hanging down over her face but the loud sobs would have been evidence enough of just how bad she was.

Just a few minutes later Andrew pulled into the parking lot of The Sandwich Shop near the on ramp to Golden State Highway off Needham Street and put his arm around Ellie, pulling her towards him while signalling to Cassie to replace him. When she did he told her to wait while he went and got them something to eat.
"We kinda missed dinner after all," he said and about fifteen minutes later he came back with three large Roast Beef and Cheese sandwiches and a tray with three paper cups of Pepsi.

By then Ellie had at least stopped sobbing but her face was still firmly pressed against Cassie's chest and every once in a while her body trembled as if she was about to start sobbing again.
"I hope Alice and Megan are alright," he said.
"Maybe I should call Mom and check."
He then took out his phone and leaving Ellie and Cassie to straighten themselves out a little he called his mom and asked about Ellie's half-sisters.
"Alice is pissed off talking about not wanting to go back home and Megan apparently caught it all on video. She's wondering where she can put it up and if she should," he reported back another few minutes later.
 
When Cassie showed the group just how bad Ellie was, the reactions from Madison and Eric were swift and clear.

Madison: Oh, fuck. Give her all the hugs from me. We love you, Ellie.

Eric: Luke is a spineless fucking coward who could never be bothered to step up to the plate, Ellie. I know it hurts right now. I know you're feeling let down and betrayed. But Luke has never been there for you. He has never treated you as his daughter. Not really, not in any of the ways that matters. I have always been and always will be there for you. He may have been your father, but I'm your Dad. I have always been your Dad. Then and now, forever and always, in all the ways that count. You are my daughter. I love you so much, and I am so proud of you for taking a stand for Cassie. No matter what happens, I love you. I will always love you. I am here for you, no matter what. Don't give those bastards another thought. They aren't worth it. I'm here. I've got you. And I know Cassie is going to be right there comforting you for all of us.

Cassie had pulled Ellie against her, stroking her hair and uttering soothing words. She looked at Andrew as he related that Megan was asking about what to do with the video. "Okay, first off, tell her to send it to me. Alice has my number. Second, she can post it every goddamn place she wants. Just make sure she tags us. I want those motherfuckers put on blast for the whole goddamn world to see for how they hurt my girlfriend." She said.
 
At this point Andrew gave both girls a comforting hug, briefly making a threeway out of the embrace in which Cassie already held Ellie. She had always been a dear friend to him and before he left he promised that next summer he would make the journey down to visit her instead. He also told Cassie, as if in passing that he had always been a fan and that the latest release from Funhouse Sweethearts were among the bravest songs he had heard.
"So real ... so important," he said and with one last glance over his shoulder walked to the nearest bus stop to go back home.

Hours later the two young lovers and best friends pulled up onto the driveway outside their house, the house that had once belonged to Ellie's mom, and found their entire extended family waiting for them to offer support and comfort. Joan informed her daughter that she had called Luke and told him what a pathetic excuse of a father he was. Adri closed their arms tightly around Ellie and just held her as if they never wanted to let go and then after a few minutes they whispered into their girlfriend's ear: "Good riddance I say."
Adri had been briefed by Ellie's and Cassie's mums and dad about Luke and Gloria and Ellie's already shaky relationship with her biological father in the hours it had taken for the girls to get back home.
"He never deserved a daughter like you," they added and then kissed Ellie.

Later that evening, as Ellie was lying in bed between her two partners, she checked her phone for messages and any potential updates on social media. She found Megan's video posted as a reply to the video for NYATG on their YouTube channel. It seemed to be unedited and it was brutal. It had gotten quite a few following comments (mostly supportive, mostly from LBTQIA+ people) one from as far away as Sweden. It also brought back the tears. She also found a message from Alice that she and Megan were staying with Andrew's family, at least for the night, because Luke and Gloria were fighting really bad.
"I think she is going to leave him, or maybe throw him out," she ended the rather long message.
"If she does ... can we come live with you?" came the next message only seconds later.
This put a smile on Ellie's face and she wiped away the tears. If she had thought for a moment there was any realistic chance of the state allowing Alice and Megan to come live with her even while their parents were still actually alive she would have loved to have them. But no, it wasn't realistic to consider it. She would however demand of Luke that he would allow them to visit her every summer the same way she had visited them.
 
Cassie was delighted to hear Andrew's words of support about Funhouse Sweethearts, promising him tickets to any of their upcoming shows on the mini-tour he wanted.

By the time they got home, Cassie had let the rest of the band know they were back ahead of schedule, sharing the gist of what had happened. Ember had come over to meet them, offering Ellie her condolences and promising to do terrible things to Luke and Gloria if she ever encountered them before she gave Cassie a hug and said she understood if Cassie needed to be with Ellie and Adri for a while.

The next day, Cassie was in touch with Kim, and as the subject of the tour came up, Kim mentioned that she was looking at doing her own tour and was wondering if Funhouse Sweethearts would be happy being the opening band. Cassie's squeal of excitement hit frequencies that normally only dogs could hear, and she told Kim that, while she'd have to check with the rest of the band, it was definitely an exciting opportunity and she was very interested.
 
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Feeling all the love from her real family Ellie felt warm and comforted and even if the incident with Gloria and Luke would always be a scar on her soul she soon recovered from it and began focusing on the upcoming mini tour Andi had helped set up, which it now seemed would now conclude with opening for Kim Petras.

They had had a very excited band meeting about it at which it had mostly been Cassie talking at high speed and with an excitedly high pitch but everyone agreed that it was certainly an opportunity they couldn't really afford to miss out on and so it was decided. It had also been decided when Cassie called Kim Petras back to confirm that there was a possibility for Kim to join them for their last number before going into her own show.
"Let's see if we can't get my sisters, or at least Alice, to attend. Not sure how yet but maybe Andrew could help out with that. Let's at least send him three tickets," Ellie said later that night as she lay in bed between her two partners, having just made love to them both.
 
Cassie had been easily the most excited member of the band about the chance to do some work with Kim, although, surprisingly, André had been a close second. When Cassie had given it a look of surprise, it had shrugged with a wry grin. "What? Her music slaps. It's bold, unapologetic, sexy." It had said matter-of-factly.

With the details to be decided, but the general idea worked out, the band had work to do. Marketing and promoting the tour, interviews, working on more songs/finalizing the set list ... It promised to be a busy few weeks ahead.

Cassie nodded at Ellie's suggestion that evening. "To any or all of the shows, depending. We'll definitely do everything we can to make it happen." She said. "You know, I still can't believe Andrew's a fan of our band, that he sees how important the Coming Out suite is. Weird for a cis guy to be that kind of a trans ally, regardless of gayness or straightness." She said. "But depending on how Alice turns out, she's gonna need a fellow gay local to support her, and I can't think of a better choice than Andrew." She added.

That weekend, the band was once again gathered at Eric's restaurant. The plan was for a livestream of the band in a fairly informal setting. Since they hadn't done anything like this since before the band had grown to their current full roster, it seemed important to have something to introduce the new band members, especially with the tour in the works. Some structured question segments were planned, but the bulk of the livestream was meant to be the band just chatting. Ember and Adri would be managing the questions, with Joan and Madison taking turns on camera duty and Mel managing the tech side of things. Andi was also present, being the band's studio manager. The band also had their instruments set up and ready, the plan being to end the livestream with the first live performance of the Coming Out songs.
 
It had been decided that the live stream to introduce the new members of Funhouse Sweethearts would be filmed before a live audience as it were with the restaurant open for regular guests and the band in a reserved booth at the back of the restaurant. It would be filmed and partly moderated by Adri and Ember who would ask a few leading questions to get the band talking and to steer them in certain directions. The opening of it was however quite staged with the camera focused on Ellie and Cassie who both smiled at the camera and first shared the news of their invitation to open for Kim Petras at the end of their mini tour of Southern California.
"But that is not why we are here. We are here because as we began recording our songs in a professional studio we realised that we needed a full band. The first to join us was Dusty ..." Ellie began.
Adri now panned the camera away from Ellie and Cassie towards the door where Dusty walked in and waved at the camera. He was quite casually dressed in baggy black jeans and an oversized deep red hoodie with a serpent-like creature forming a circle by biting its own tail printed in black across the front.
"Dusty is our drummer," Ellie continued as the camera followed him from the door to the booth.
"And he quickly became an important part of the band as having a live drummer changed the way we played our songs."
"Hello," Dusty said as he walked in behind, and stood between, Ellie and Cassie.
"I'm Dusty; AFAB Transmale, he/him ... and as Ellie said I play the drums. Someone has to keep her musical madness in line, right?"
He then took a seat in the booth as Cassie introduced their next new band member.
 
Cassie nodded as Ellie introduced Dusty. "Some of you may remember Dusty from our last livestream here, when he came out. That was before he was part of the band, and the start of our expansion. Totally changed everything." She said.

"Our next band member is André, who joined us along with its twin brother. It plays piano/keyboard and saxophone. Mainly piano."

As André walked out, Cassie continued, "André showed us that there were things it could do with the piano and keyboard that are like some kind of witchcraft."

As André sat down, it smiled at the camera. "Yeah. I'm André. Mad wizard of a pianist. AMAB and agender. I prefer it/its pronouns, but will reluctantly accept they/them."

Cassie smiled, nodding along. "And we have one more core band member to introduce you all to." She said, nodding to Ellie to take over the next introduction.
 
"Last up is André's twin Leon the bass player I never thought I needed but he completes me as a guitar player in a way that has given our music completely new dimensions."
Once again the camera panned to show Leon's entrance and once he had introduced himself as AMAB with he/him as his preferred pronouns, despite wearing a very feminine burgundy blouse and cut off black jeans shorts that were almost like a skirt, and had sat down with the other three Ellie and Cassie joined them and Ember's voice was heard off camera.
"So. A few questions I am sure your fans want to know the answers to. Firstly, André; It? isn't that a bit dehumanising? Usually the it pronoun refers to objects and animals."
 
André nodded as Ember asked the question, which had been one of several decided upon in advance.

It took a breath before speaking. "So, while you're right that 'it' as a pronoun is typically used for objects or animals, and used as a dehumanizing term, in my case, calling me 'it' is actually affirming to me. I am agender. I do not feel any attachment to gender of any sort. Masculine, feminine, or anything like that. The very concept of gender is anathema to my sense of self. And so much of modern society is built around gendering. So I feel a disconnect there. Even gender-neutral pronouns like 'they/them' are still linked to gendering in the sense of being used in contexts where gender is an unknown quantity. But 'it' is a genderless term. It distances itself from gender because it's used for things that do not have genders, are not close to the human concept of gender. To call me 'it' is to respect that I do not wish to be associated with a gender, or indeed with the spectrum of gender."

"Now, it is important to remember that, because of how that pronoun has been used, as you say, to dehumanize people, the only time it is acceptable to use for someone is if that person specifically says to use it. Like me. But if you called Léon, or Dusty, or Ellie, or Cassie 'it,' you would absolutely be disrespecting and misgendering them. Now, as I mentioned, I will accept they/them pronouns for simplicity, because let's be real, 'it' can play havoc with grammar and sentence structure, but that doesn't mean I am okay with people just not even trying to use the appropriate pronouns for me."

It nodded. "I think that covers everything."

Ember nodded. "Thank you for that very informative explanation."

Adri panned the camera to Léon. "So, the next big question is for you, Léon. You identified yourself as AMAB with he/him pronouns, so forgive me if this is presumptuous and you're actually nonbinary, but if you're a cis man ... Why are you dressed in a fit that most people would call very feminine? In fact, I'm pretty sure you stole that top from Cassie's wardrobe."

The last line was said very lightly, obviously a joke, and Cassie chuckled. "He wears it better than me."

Adri chuckled. "Anyways, back to the question. Why dress so feminine if you're a man?"
 
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