Page 6 of Stars Like Confetti

“There’s no need to thank me, Shea. If you need anything else, my number’s on that sheet.”

I nodded, and they left. I stayed frozen in place long after they’d gone, almost wanting to sprint after them.

But I couldn’t do that. That was way too desperate. Theo helping me clean up after an accident was one thing, but I had no idea if they’d want me back. It had been so long, and neither of us were the same person we’d been back then.

Pushing a hand through my hair, I let out a long breath and gathered another clean set of clothes. There were three beds in this room, all King-sized with themed bedsheets to match the name of the cabin—Snoopy, Charlie, and one with all the characters. Bright reds and yellows bounced off the cotton, the classic thick black lines the only contrast against the vibrant colors. One of the beds sat empty, and the other looked to have been claimed already. A sippy cup sat on one side, and some medication.

There were two doors: one on the far wall of the cabin, and one on the right-hand wall. They both stood open, letting me see inside each space. I poked my head into the one on my right, finding a full changing-slash-feeding room, with a change table and a recliner, along with a mini fridge, all in soothing pastel colors with soft white walls.

With my clothes and my towel, I moved for the other door—the bathroom. A row of sinks sat to my left, opposite a handful of toilet stalls. There were showers to my right, and a large bathtub clearly designed for two. There was also a changing table there, along with storage underneath.

I shoved away all thoughts of Theo giving me a bath and sat my things on the bench outside the showers. With the heat outside, I kept the water cool, letting it bring me back down to earth as it sluiced over my body. My hands followed the path, body tingling with the memory of Theo cleaning me. My chest lurched so violently that I nearly felt sick. Tears sprang to my eyes.

Fuck, I’d missed them so much. The memory of our last night was so vivid in my mind that I could practically taste their coconut lip balm. I hated coconut but on them? It was intoxicating. It was like it mixed with their natural taste to create a new flavor that was so uniquely… “Theo…”.

I was my parents’ golden child. The youngest, and the only girl—the perfect, blonde-haired and blue-eyed southern belle that they’d always wanted. For as long as I could remember, my life had been a series of the most feminine things possible: dance, etiquette classes, and even pageants. But some of my earliest memories had been fighting against everything deemed refined and modest. I didn’t want to wear the tight leotards and the frilly dresses. I didn’t want to know which fork was for salad and which spoon was for tea—I didn’t even like hot tea.

The only thing I wanted to do was be allowed to roll around in the mud like my brothers. I craved the coverage of jeans, instead of feeling too exposed in a dress. Washing and styling my hair became too much to handle, the stress of it often leading me into a mental breakdown.

Then I met Theo, and nothing else mattered anymore. Even pre-transition they presented more masculine, and happily began letting me borrow clothes out of my parents’ eyesight. I fell—hard, and it had only taken one instance of their hand in my pants for me to grow sloppy, and we got caught.

Moving had been beyond my control. Despite being sixteen and so close to graduation, my parents ripped me away. My entire life, my friends, my school, my job—Theo—had been in Georgia. But in my parents’ eyes, I was headed down a dark path. One filled with sin, and they just couldn’t have that in their perfect daughter.

I fought the move tooth and nail, even threatening to run away—more than once. They retaliated.

Big time.

Shaking those particular memories away, I turned off the shower and blindly snatched for my towel to dry off and get dressed. With a sigh, I stared at my boxer briefs. Everything said not to bring diapers or training pants—it was easier to keep things private if the camp provided them. I eyed the changing table in the corner, knowing that no one would bat an eye if I was padded, but if I wet…

I cleared the thoughts from my head and stepped into my underwear. Wet pants were never a good feeling, not for me anyway. It was only made worse when I was wet and Little, without the brain bandwidth to change myself. That was a caregiver’s job, and I’d never had one of those. At least, not one that stayed around longer than a single scene.

I tugged on a pair of thin linen shorts and a T-shirt, scrubbing my hair dry as I left the bathroom.

“Hi!”

“Oh, fuck!” My heart leapt into my throat and I whirled toward the noise, my towel falling to the floor. A person stood there, and he was precious, with dark ringlet curls and bright brown eyes that watched me with curiosity. I rushed to apologize. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone else was here.”

“That’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he laughed, approaching me with his hand extended. “I’m Tyler. I just checked in.”

“Shea.” I slipped my hand into his. It was warm and soft. “Are you here with anyone?”

Tyler shook his head, bouncy curls bobbing around his face. “No. I’m sort of hoping to meet someone more long term here. You?”

“Same. I’m a Little.” The words came out hushed, like I was afraid the walls would tell on me.

Tyler’s smile only brightened, dimples popping in both cheeks. “Me too.” Then he blushed, and seemed almost as bashful as I was. “I’m… also a full time Little. I’m usually diapered more often than not but if it makes you uncomfortable⁠—”

“It’s fine. Honestly, I admire your confidence. I… haven’t quite gotten there myself.”

With a grateful smile, Tyler shrugged. “You will if that’s something you want. I’m heading to the dining hall for the welcome meeting. Did you want to walk with me?”

“That’d be great.” The tension in my chest released, and I bent to retrieve my towel from the floor and return it to the bathroom. As I returned to the main area of the cabin, my heart thundered in my chest. Tyler had been fully transparent with me, and it only seemed right to do the same with him. After all, he would realize that I may not be like him the second he saw me with my shirt off, whether that be at the lake or in the showers. But I hadn’t had much practice in disclosing my gender. I hadn’t had any, really. Sophie had been the first person to ask me my name and pronouns, so I took my chance. And Theo… Theo just knew. Even before I was out, Theo knew that my deadname and old pronouns were just for show.

Tyler held the screen door open for me, and I took a deep breath as we descended the stairs. “Since you were so honest with me, I’m...” The words stuck in my throat. Tyler waited expectantly, but patiently. I picked at my fingers. “I’m trans.”

“Okay.”

The single word shocked me so much that my feet faltered mid-step. “That’s it?”