Lights, Camera, Action! Chapter 2

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Lights, Camera, Action!
A Magic of the Kingdom Tale
©2015 Dark Kitten & Zoe Taylor

12 year old Mark O’Malley had been practically typecast as the dopey sidekick because of his role in the runaway hit Disney production, “My Brother Mark”. But while on the set of his older sister Krissy’s much darker sci-fi movie production, a misheard comment leads to a whole new branch in his career, and in his life.

Some time during the night either Tina or Krissy must have come in to check on them because Megan stirred slowly to find both herself and Juliette cuddling under a soft, downy fleece blanket. She yawned quietly and rubbed her eyes. Was yesterday just a dream?

The sun was shining through the living room curtains enough for her to see her nails were still painted. She slid a hand under the blanket to confirm she still had on a dress.

“Mmmm,” Juliette moaned quietly as she snuggled closer to Megan and squeezed her hand. “Hi,” she mumbled, blushing softly.

“Hey,” Megan giggled.

“Sorry...” Juliette said as she sat up. “I...”

Megan smiled and squeezed her hand back. “It’s okay. We were both tired.”

Juliette giggled. “I guess we both got the couch last night huh? When did you get up to get a blanket though?”

“I didn’t,” Megan answered with a small shrug. “I figured you did, or Tina and Krissy came by to check on us after we passed out. We did fall asleep pretty early.”

Juliette yawned again and stretched, “What time is it?”

“Umm,” Megan answered and glanced down at the Barbie pink and purple digital watch Juliette picked out for her yesterday. “Bloody ‘ell it’s ‘alf past time for me ta tickle you!” she teased, lightly goosing Juliette’s sides and causing her to squeal. “It’s 8:30,” she added with a giggle.

Juliette laughed. “Well then, if you let me pee first I’ll let you shower first.”

“Race you for it,” Megan teased as she stood. Juliette giggled.

“Sure!” Juliette managed to get out between giggles.

~oOo~

Unlike most girls their age, Juliette was quite used to wearing makeup already outside of the studio due to being such a public face, and she was more than happy to help Megan in the arts of looking beautiful without looking like a certain type of circus performer that often carries a horn.

Megan, dressed in a pair of capri shorts and a dark pink glittery tank top over a loose, white sleeveless top and neon green crocs, sat patiently still, trying to commit everything Juliette told her to memory, but she wasn’t ready to try this herself yet.

“Thanks so much,” Megan sighed. “I promise not to make you do this every day.”

Juliette giggled as someone knocked on the front door. “It’s cool. I’ve had a lot of practice with Kelly, our old makeup artist. If she had known you were really a girl too she would’ve done the same for you,” she said as she started on her own makeup, while Megan went to answer the door.

Mark’s personal assistant Brianna - a pretty young woman with medium length reddish blonde hair was standing on the other side, dressed in a white silk blouse and gray pencil skirt, her favorite sunglasses resting on the top of her head. She smiled. “Hi Megan. Sorry to bug you so early.”

“Oh, um, hi Brianna,” Megan blushed a little. She had worked with Brianna quite a bit before, as she was her mother’s personal assistant, but ‘Megan’ was before Brianna’s time.

“You look super cute by the way,” she said casually before continuing. “I just wanted to touch base with you about how you want to handle the Disney AU interviews. If you want to go as Mark or Megan, so I know what to tell the producers to expect.”

“Oh God, I forgot about the interview,” Megan groaned and rolled her eyes at herself. “I’ll have to get Mom on the phone and talk to her about it. Come on in Brianna. I’ll put her on speaker so you can be in on the call too.”

“Wow,” Brianna said, trying not to giggle as she stepped inside. “Juliette? Is that you?”

Juliette had her glasses on, with what hair she hadn’t hacked off put up in a small ponytail. She hadn’t gone full pixie cut, but going from completely down her back to where it was now was pretty drastic.

Juliette grinned, waving her mascara brush. “Hey Brianna,” she said, as Brianna and Megan sat down, and Megan dialed her Mom’s number.

“Janet O’Malley’s office, Lydia speaking.” a young woman’s voice answered.

“Oh, hey Lydia, it’s Meg-I mean Mark. Could you have Mom contact me whenever she’s available so we can talk about the Disney 365 AU interviews?”

“Oh hold on, she just walked into the office Megan.” Lydia bubbled. Megan could almost picture the grin just based on her tone. There was some background noise and some talking before the phone was handed over.

“Hello Princess.” Janet giggled softly.

Megan blushed, and Brianna tried hard not to crack a smile as Megan answered. “Hi Mom. I’m here with Brianna, and we were wondering what you think I should do for the 365 interview. I really feel like I should go as Mark just to play things safe, but you being my manager and all, I wanted to get your input as well.”

“Well it’s really up to you. Disney AU is a lot more open than Disney here, even, which is saying something.” Janet stated.

“Yeah, but if I go as Megan I’ll have to spill on the new movie, and lose my incognito status too...”

“The reading is before your interview right?”

“Yes, Juliette said the reading is next week, and the first of the two 365 interviews is ...” she trailed off, and Brianna chimed in.

“Next Wednesday morning.”

“What she said,” Megan giggled.

“Yeah, well if you do your reading first, you can just tell 365 it’s for an upcoming movie and you can’t give details yet.” She changed the subject casually, at that. “Also, Brianna, you need to take Megan to see Doctor Miller today. I forwarded the details to your phone.”

“But I’m not sick,” Megan said, confused. Janet laughed softly.

“No no, Doctor Miller is a therapist specializing in gender identity. I thought since you’ll be living in a different role for awhile, effectively experiencing what it’s like to have GID from the opposite end of the spectrum, that her advice and counseling would help you deal with whatever struggles come up.”

“Oh, um, good idea,” Megan said sheepishly, looking down at her hands.

“Now, as for your question whether to go as Mark or Megan, you could always take a page from the Hannah Montana playbook and do both. Go to the studio as Megan, dress down for the interview, and then change back afterwards - but as I said, it’s all up to you sweetie.”

“Oh, that’s a really good idea especially if word gets out that Megan Stuart has a walk-on role on Dark Days. Thanks Mom,” Megan bubbled.

“You’re welcome sweetie. I’ll be in the office for another hour if you need anything else. Your Dad’s working late to finish the last scenes on his project, so it’s just me, Lydia, and a few other friends tonight - girls’ night out,” she laughed.

“Nah, you go have fun,” Megan giggled again. “You’ve earned the night off,” she said, and then hung up the phone. “Well, that takes care of that.”

“Looks like your appointment is for 2:30,” Brianna said looking at her smartphone. “Your sister has the next two days off, so I assume you’ll want to spend as much time with her - and without me - as possible,” she teased, winking at the girls. “So I’ll stop by around 2:00 to pick you up for your appointment.”

“Thanks Brianna,” Megan said, adding, “You don’t have to leave though. I just figured you’d want to relax and enjoy Sydney instead of hanging around with a couple of kids and my dorky sister all day,” she teased.

“I’m 19 you know.” Brianna giggled, “Still a kid myself.” she teased. “I bet you didn’t know I’m Tina’s cousin, either?” she laughed softly. “Tina recommended me to your mom. I’m technically still interning. Like Tina I’m doing the online classes thing, but I’ve learned a ton from Janet, so she trusted me to fly solo while we’re here.”

“Oh! Sorry. It’s just I only ever see you in those business outfits,” Megan said sheepishly. Brianna laughed, nodding.

“I know. Tina gives me crap about it, but I’m more self conscious than she is. I mean she’s been dating Krissy for over a year now. She can get away with shorts and flip flops on set.”

“Are you doing a business major too?” Juliette asked.

Brianna smiled and nodded, “Yup. Tina’s mom is in the business too you know? She’s really awesome. Oh and Tina and Krissy set me up in the Bungalow right next to yours so if you need me for anything I’ll be right there.”

“Cool!” Megan said cheerfully.

“So I hear that some of this new role you're going to be playing is going to be partly filmed in the outback?” Brianna asked.

“I still need to read through the script some more, but from what I saw it looks like it’s going to be pretty deep stuff,” Megan answered.

“And I get to play your supportive sister. No more of that comedy shtick where I drop a bucket of Syrup on you and stuff,” Juliette laughed.

“No more frogs in your sock drawer,” Megan giggled. “You know I never told anyone this, but I had way more trouble with that scene than you did. I hate frogs.”

“I know,” Juliette giggled. “You kept staring at the prop frog stand-in like it was diseased.”

“At least I only had to touch the real one once,” Megan shivered. “Hey, Brianna, want to help us with line reading?”

“Yes, please,” Juliette chimed in. “We could use someone to play our characters’ Mom in the dramatic coming out scene.”

“Really?” Brianna said hesitantly, but smiled. “Sure, I guess I can help. But just remember I’m no actress, so don’t laugh too hard,” she teased.

Megan giggled, “Well as my assistant, you know it's your job to help me read lines.” she teased back.

“Sure, but you’ve never actually asked before,” Brianna giggled.

“Never need it before, this is a movie. It’s much different than a comedy sitcom.” Megan injected.

“It’s a lot easier to flub a line and make it look intentional in a comedy,” Juliette giggled.

~oOo~

Megan and Juliette sat in the waiting room of Doctor Miller’s office with Krissy. Brianna had decided to wait back at the Bungalows and catch some sun with Tina. Megan wanted to dress nicely for the doctor’s office, putting on a black skirt and dark stockings with a cap sleeve wine colored blouse, and somewhat dressy flat shoes. She had a pair of shorts waiting for her in the limo, however.

“Megan Stuart?” a young woman called out from the doorway.

“Want me to come too?” Krissy asked.

“Nah, unless she wants you to.” Megan said. Two days and she had already begun to pick up on Krissy’s accent. Though in fairness their dad’s was fairly heavy too. “I think I can handle this.”

“Go get em tiger,” Juliette giggled, causing Megan to laugh as she approached the woman.

“Doctor Miller will be right in,” she said, showing Megan to a spacious, well lit office, and a comfortable chair with a tablet PC sitting next to it. “In the meantime, she wants you to fill out a quick questionnaire.” She picked up the tablet, handing it to Megan. “Just press ‘send’ at the end when you’re finished sweetie.”

“Sure, no problem,” Megan answered, smiling up at the woman as she sat down and started on the questionnaire. She was only about five questions in when another young woman - somewhere in her mid-20s if Megan had to guess, stepped through the door. Like the other woman she had a noticeably heavy, but more British sounding accent.

“Hi Megan,” she said cheerfully. “Sorry for making you wait.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Megan said. “I’m still answering these questions.”

“Oh good,” the woman said. “This is so I know where to start. I hear you’re going to be playing Samantha Snow in a Lifetime movie?”

“Yeah, it’s not exactly big screen, but it’s a big step forward away from derpy comedy,” Megan giggled, swiping her finger to get to the next question set. “I got a bit role in Dark Days as Alessa’s young self too.”

“Everyone has to start somewhere right? The woman replied.

“Hmm...” Megan said, contemplating the next question a moment before punching in her answer.

“Don’t think too hard on answering them. It’s just to get to know you,” the woman half-lied. It was in fact a gender evaluation test..

“Oh no, I just thought I’d answered this one already,” Megan laughed. “I’m super excited about the role though. Especially since we’ll be filming locally so I’ll get to see more of Australia.”

“Well at least you’ll be starring in the movie with someone you know right?” she asked.

“That helps a lot yeah. Juliette and I grew inseparable on My Brother Mark. Getting to do a dramatic role with her is going to be incredible,” she said as she tried not to focus too much on the questions. “I wouldn’t mind doing another Disney show though. Just not as Mark,” she let slip out.

She couldn’t help feeling that Doctor Miller was distracting her intentionally for that very reason, and decided to roll with it. “Was Samantha a real person? I haven’t read through the script yet - just a couple of parts since I only got it last night, and some line reading with Juliette.”

“She is,” Doctor Miller said cheerfully. “She lives and works right here in Sydney. You should really go meet her if you’re going to be playing her.”

“I’d love that. I’ll ask my personal assistant if we can set something up with her.”

“So, tell me about the episode in ‘My Brother Mark’ where you had to play Juliette’s character for the entire episode.”

“Well, there’s not a whole lot to tell really,” Megan giggled. “There were actually two episodes, but the big one, the filming took about a day longer than usual, but that’s nothing abnormal. I had to play Michelle to fool a really nearsighted old crone of a substitute teacher played by Debby Ryan. It was great.”

“How did it make you feel being dressed up as a girl?” Doctor Miller was really trying to keep her mind off the test on the tablet as she answered the questions. “And was it the first time you ever dressed as a girl?”

“It’s hard to explain,” Megan answered. “I felt... I don’t know, more open maybe? I mean it was an over-exaggerated ‘girl costume’ for comedic effect, but I feel like between takes, when I wasn’t being Mark Gilbert being Michelle Gilbert, like...” he shook his head. “Different. I’m actually really self-conscious normally. I usually hide it behind acting overconfident, you know?”

“So you’d say you felt more at ease dressed as “Megan”?”

“Yeah!” Megan nodded. “Like, during lunch I had to stay dressed because we do lunch and then go right into filming again. I hung out with Alyssa and Juliette outside the studio for the first time. Like nobody recognized me, but everyone wanted Juliette’s autograph. It was hilarious. I felt like one of the girls.”

“Do you think it would be easier to make friends as Megan or as Mark?” she asked, and at this point Mark had finished over half the questions without even being able to think about the answers anymore.

“It’s hard to say really,” Megan answered, thinking more about answering Doctor Miller’s question than she was the test’s. “I do feel closer to people I’ve known for awhile though. Like today I just found out that my personal assistant Brianna is really just 19, and my sister’s girlfriend Tina’s cousin. Juliette and I spent the entire morning with my sister, Tina, and Brianna. She’s already like another sister.”

“Good,” Doctor Miller said, noting that Megan had stopped looking at the tablet. “Are you finished?” she asked.

“Oh... Wow, yeah,” Megan laughed as she handed the tablet back.

“Thank you Megan. I want to see you three times a week till you start filming, then I’ll be on the lot with you,” Doctor Miller stated. “You’re my first celebrity client, and your mother wants me to watch you closely, and I feel the same way.”

Megan giggled a little. “Sorry about my mom in advance. She’s really overprotective because of my older sister. Not saying Krissy was ever a bad kid or anything, but she’s trying to overcompensate, and it can be hard to deal with for others sometimes.”

“Well, since your sister is acting Guardian for you right now, would you please bring her in?” Doctor Miller asked.

“Sure thing,” Megan answered cheerfully as she stood to step out of the room. “Krissy,” she said as she poked her head in the waiting room. “Doctor Miller wants to talk to you.”

“Hello. You are Megan’s sister right?” she asked as Krissy and Megan both returned..

“Yes ma’am,” Krissy said warmly as she sat down.

“Your sister has a good head on her shoulders, much more mature for her age than most 12 year olds I’ve dealt with.”

“She’s a lot more well adjusted than I was at that age,” Krissy chuckled.

“Well I want to see her 3 times a week till she starts filming, after which I’ll be joining her on set. Will that be a problem?”

“No, not at all. We do have her in a minor role on my current project, but it’s nothing that will require her to be on set for hours at a time.”

“Ah. Mind if I show up while she’s filming?” Doctor Miller asked.

“Oh no, not at all. She’ll be playing the young version of my character Alessa, so she has a small speaking role, but it’s going to be pivotal to the climax of the film. I think it would be great to have you there supporting her if you’re able to come.”

“Sounds interesting.” Doctor Miller replied. “I also want to point out that Megan displays the classic examples of having GID and according to the test she just took, it confirms my thinking from the questions I asked. Megan, your records say you took anti-depressants previously. Are you still taking them?” she asked.

Megan looked stunned for a moment. “Oh jeez. I was supposed to get my prescription refilled once I touched down. But to be honest I haven’t really needed them. Should I do that after we leave?” she asked, looking between Krissy and Doctor Miller.

The doctor nodded. “It wouldn’t hurt to have them on hand just in case, but I’m giving you medical permission to halt them while I evaluate your situation further. It’s unfortunate that your last therapist didn’t catch this sooner and went straight for the medication route. Thank God he didn’t try putting you on ritalin,” she sighed.

“That’s what I thought too, but I wanted to get a professional opinion,” Krissy answered honestly. “She’s been living as Megan for a couple of days now, and it’s like she was always Megan. I’ve never seen her so relaxed,” she said, hugging her sister close.

Doctor Miller turned to Megan, “Ok, one more thing we need to talk about. I heard you have two interviews with Disney AU 365 coming up. I want you to do one as Mark and the other as Megan in that order. Think you can do that?”

“Yeah, no problem. I had decided to do the first interview as Mark anyway since it’s next week.”

“Second I want you to study your friend Juliette, and see how she moves and acts, learn how to be a girl from her. That’s how Samantha learned - from her sister. Lastly, I want you to start keeping a diary on how you find being a girl is different than being a boy and bring it in every third visit.”

Megan nodded. “No problem. Should I um, do anything else differently like going out more or less or ... I don’t know,” she laughed softly.

“We kind of skipped a step, but it’s a necessary evil. You’ll be dressed as Megan full time from now on till I tell you differently - excepting of course the first interview. Actually I want you to go the entire day that day as Mark.” Doctor Miller stated.

“Well,” Megan giggled a little again, “I was already planning on spending as much time as Megan anyway, so that’s not really any different.”

“I’m taking her to the opera tonight, so that will definitely be different,” Krissy laughed softly.

“Nice. Hopefully you will enjoy it.” Doctor Miller said warmly as she stood. “I’ll see you in 2 days to start your sessions Megan, It’s really good to meet you.”

“You as well Doctor,” Megan said cheerfully as she stood, shaking her hand. “I don’t really understand all that stuff about GID, but I guess we’ll cover that in a couple of days.”

“Actually.” Doctor Miller said, and handed Megan some pamphlets, “I want you to read about it, and draw your own conclusions. Most American therapists will just come right out and tell you, but I want you to understand what it is for yourself. If you have any questions, I’ve written my private cell phone number on the back. Call me anytime, day or night.”

“Oh man, homework?” Megan giggled. “Just kidding. Thanks. I’ll look at these right away when we get back to the car.”

“Lots of homework actually.” Doctor Miller laughed. Megan stepped closer and gave the woman a light hug before turning to step out.

Krissy watched, awestruck, and whispered after Megan had left. “She usually hates close contact unless it’s in-character or Juliette.”

“Thats one of the biggest things I need to figure out - whether this is just an act or if it’s real, but so far the test she took says it’s real. That’s why I distracted her throughout the whole test.”

“I’ll make some calls and see if anyone made any videos of her off-camera from those two episodes she spent as Megan,” Krissy said. “That might give you some more insights as well.”

“If this proves to not be acting, she’ll be far ahead of most girls at her age who come to see me or my colleague. I actually transferred most of my case load to Beth so I could deal with Megan personally and give her more one on one.”

“I hope Mom’s paying you extra for your trouble,” Krissy said seriously as she shook Doctor Miller’s hand. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all this.”

“She’s paying my standard fare, but I’m good with that,” Dr. Miller chuckled. “This is the first time I’ve gotten to work with a child actress. It will be a learning experience.”

“Maybe when all this blows over you can help me too,” Krissy laughed. “I haven’t come out to my parents yet. One crisis at a time though,” she added with a wink. “Take care Doctor Miller.”

“Please, call me Theresa,” Theresa answered warmly as she walked out with Krissy. “Speaking of, though, “ she added, “Is there anyway you can make time to come see me during one of Megan’s visits? It’s always nice to have a guardian in on a session now and again.”

“Of course. My director is incredibly flexible when it comes to accommodating schedule conflicts. It drives investors crazy,” she giggled. “I can always get them to do stunt filming or CG where I’m not needed during some of her sessions.”

“At least till your mom shows up.” Doctor Miller laughed. “Thank you Krissy.”

“Oh, lord. I hadn’t thought about that,” Krissy laughed as she walked over to the girls who were both reading the same fashion magazine, although Megan had one of the pamphlets open, and jumped between the two occasionally.

“Want to go shopping again?” Krissy asked as she approached the two girls.

“A little more selective this time,” Megan laughed. “Otherwise our closet’s going to explode. But I do need to get a nice dress for the opera. Wish you had warned me ahead of time about that one.”

“Opera, huh?” Juliette asked as she stood. “Sounds a treat.”

After they left Doctor Miller’s office Megan’s phone rang. “Hey Brianna,” Megan answered.

“Brace yourself girl,” Brianna said. “I just got word that you and Juliette are being nominated for a Teen choice award for My Brother Mark.”

“OH MY GOD no way!’ Megan squealed - bordering on a shriek, and causing a couple of passers by to stop and look, but she didn’t care. She turned to Juliette. “We were nominated for a Teen Choice award!”

“NO WAY! Really?” Juliette sounded just as excited, as a teenage girl with long black hair and a hot pink t-shirt on the street recorded their excitement on her cell phone.

“I’m probably about to be yelled at for doing this,” the girl giggled, “But I think this is Juliette Small and another girl I don’t recognize. Juliette just found out she was nominated for a TCA over in the States.”

Megan giggled, as they both approached the teen, “Hi, I see you’re a fan of My Brother Mark?” Juliette asked, trying to be friendly as the girl lowered her phone..

“Oh my Gosh yes. I was really sad that it was cancelled, but I completely understand why,” the girl said. “Five years is a long time especially for a Disney show.”

Juliette grinned and turned to Megan, “Hey M. do you have any of those photos you carry around?” she was careful not to call Megan either “Megan” or “Mark”.

“Oh sure,” Megan answered as she took a small stack of pre-signed photos from her purse. They were just the right size to fit in next to her wallet.

“The one of both of us will do,” she said, giving a big hint to the girl.

“Wow, thank you so much. I promise not to like upload that video or anything. I just wanted to show my cousins and friends,” she giggled. “I’m a blogger, but I only report on what I can get permission to report, so you’re safe.”

“Actually “ Megan injected, “Go ahead and upload it, but wait a couple of weeks before you do. it will make good publicity.” she smiled at the girl, “Want some photos with us as well?”

The girl squeaked and nodded. “If that’s okay. You look really pretty by the way. I didn’t recognize you at all,” she giggled again. “Oh I’m Amber Deshane.”

“Nice to meet you Amber.” Megan said, posing with Juliette for a couple of selfies.

Krissy joined them, and took some pictures with the girl’s phone and handed her a couple bills, “Just hang onto that for a couple weeks, before you post them.” she said, winking.

Both Megan and Juliette hugged Amber as she nodded. “Yeah, like I told Juliette and um, ‘M’,” she giggled, “I wasn’t going to post them at all, but they asked me to go ahead after a couple of weeks, so.. yeah. I’ll put them up on Instagram in a couple of weeks.”

Megan giggled, “When you post them, I go by Megan like this.”

“So can I ask if you’re TG, or...?” Amber asked. “I know someone who is, so I’m just curious.”

Megan shrugged, “I’m learning what that really is, actually.” she paused, “Hey, why don’t you and your friend come by and hang out with us sometime?” Juliette grinned, at that, and gave Amber the number to reach Brianna.

“Sure! I’m going to meet her upstairs right now,” she said, nodding toward Doctor Miller’s office building.

“That’s to Megan’s personal assistant. Just tell her that you’re Megan’s new friend and want to come around and hang out sometime.” Juliette said. “We’ll warn her to expect it too.”

Amber opened her purse and grabbed a used, empty gum wrapper, jotting down a pair of numbers, after which handing it to Megan. “That’s my and my friend Carolyn’s numbers, in case you need anything or have any questions or anything. We’re still learning too, but Doctor Collins says it helps having support, so...”

She smiled brightly. “Thank you again. Oh! Can I hint at meeting you guys? Not like give anything away just say ‘Hey, I ran into someone cool. Stay tuned to this space in a couple of weeks’? Like I said, I run a small blog.”

“Sure, “ Krissy answered first. She was being Brianna at the moment. “We’re just trying to keep everything on the down low because Megan’s got a major role coming up, and she’s technically supposed to be incognito on vacation right now. Plus she might be playing Sam Snow,” she added casually.

“Oh wow! I heard Juliette might have been cast as Samantha’s sister, but I never reported on it because I couldn’t get any confirmation. I’m so happy for you both,” she bubbled, as a rather cute, tall blonde-haired girl in a black skirt and casual top exited the office, waving at Amber, and the girls’ limo pulled up at the curb.

“That’s our cue,” Megan laughed. “Nice to meet you Amber, and hopefully you two can come and hang out soon.” Megan smiled brightly as she hopped in the limo She had her first new non celebrity friends.

“Good luck with everything guys - the movie and everything else,” Amber called excitedly as she waved. Megan watched as the confused blonde approached Amber, and then slowly turned to look at the limo as they pulled away.

“Brianna’s going to die when she finds out about this,” Krissy laughed.

Juliette nodded. “That’s why I gave her Brianna’s number and not Megan’s, because for one it’s not proper etiquette for a movie star to hand out their personal phone numbers.” she giggled.

“Oh wow,” Krissy said, looking at her phone. “This Amber girl wasn’t kidding. The first ten hits on Google for Amber Disney Australia blog are links to her blogspot page.” She clicked on one of the links and started to read.

“Sad news today as My Brother Mark enters its final episode to be aired in July. My sources tell me they’re moving on to bigger and better things, and that the show was not - I repeat - not cancelled, so put away the pitch forks guys, and wish Mark and Juliette, and the rest of the cast all the best. I’ll keep you posted if I find out anything else.”

“Oh wow, she’s fast.” Megan added, looking at the same page on her phone. “She just posted a blog entry. Good news folks, I ran into some cool people today, and will have more news on the subject in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned to this spot. I promise it’ll be worth the wait! In other news, My Brother Mark has been nominated for Teen Choice 2014! Congrats guys!”

Juliette giggled as Megan’s phone rang, “She is fast.”

“Hi Brianna,” Megan giggled.

“Hi,” Brianna answered, sounding like she was trying to keep a straight face. “Who the hell is Amber?”

“Oh, she’s my new friend, and she’s a massive star blogger.” Megan giggled softly.

Brianna started laughing. “Oh, good, as long as you know she’s technically press. Your Mom’s going to shit herself, you know that right?”

“Not like we do anything that’s negative news anyway.” Megan spoke up.

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Krissy giggled.

“She said it, not me,” Brianna laughed. “Anyway, I touched base with Amber and Carolyn, and they gave me their parents’ numbers to give them a call if need be. I don’t personally see a reason to though, if you guys don’t. As far as I’m concerned you’re just a couple of teenagers who met on the street and share common interests, right?”

“Yeah, just because we’re celebrities doesn’t make us different from them.” Megan answered.

Krissy piped up, “Besides, Megan could use some non-celeb friends.”

“And they’re close to your age. Honestly I’m half tempted to contact Disney 365 AU and get them to look at her blog though. This girl’s a great writer.”

Juliette piped up, “I wouldn’t wish Disney on her. I mean I really enjoy working with Disney but some of the staff there can be too pushy. Look at what happened to Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus.”

“And Britney Spears, and Krissy O’Malley,” Krissy sighed. “If you ask me you guys got out at a good time.”

“We’re still obligated to Disney for awhile,” Megan nodded.

“That’s the other half,” Brianna laughed. “I’d hate for her to have to shut down her blog and never be able to write again. She seems genuine though so just say the word and I’ll set something up.”

Megan spoke up. “Hey Brianna, I want to actually use Amber’s blogging as publicity. Think you can work something up for her?”

“Sure. What’d you have in mind?”

“Well ,in two weeks she’s going to tell the world about my role as Samantha Snow, and according to the pamphlets Doctor Miller has given me, I’m the same as Samantha. Some of the same feelings I have are what’s listed, and... Anyway, I was thinking... Maybe there’s some way to use Amber’s blog to like come out to my fans?”

“You’ll have your second 365 interview in a couple of weeks too,” Krissy added. “Theresa wants her to go to the first interview as Mark, the second as Megan, so that’s great timing.”

“I’ll set something up,” Brianna said, adding, “Maybe have Amber do a vlog or something? Your mom is really going to flip shit.”

“Believe me, if the worst Megan does is come out as transgendered, she’ll be lightyears ahead of me when it comes to shit flipping,” Krissy laughed. “If she does say anything I’ll just remind her the time you, Tina and I broke into Jack Nichols’ trailer and stole his underwear to sell on eBay,” she giggled.

“Oh God!” Tina spoke up at that. Apparently Brianna had them on speaker as well. “We would have gotten away with that if his bodyguard hadn't snagged you!”

Brianna laughed hard at that, and Megan and Juliette burst into tears laughing. After Brianna managed to calm down to a giggle again, she added, “I’m going to put Amber on conference really fast so I can tell her the plan, if that’s okay with you guys?”

“Sure,” Krissy answered.

Megan giggled. “I know how I feel, but I’ve never been able to put it into words until now. I want to make sure Doctor Miller agrees before I get too far ahead, though.”

“Ok girls, Amber’s phone is ringing.” Brianna interrupted.

“Hello?” Amber answered.

“Hey Amber,” Juliette and Megan answered in unison.

“OMG you called!”

Brianna laughed. “I patched everyone in on a conference call so we could talk to you about your blog.”

“Oh,” Amber answered nervously. “Well if you changed your mind that’s cool, really,” she said.

Brianna interrupted again, “Actually, we want to use you for an exclusive if you’re interested?”

“Wow, really?!” Amber squealed. Someone in the background could be heard asking ‘What?’ “Hang on, I’m putting you on speaker,” she giggled. “Don’t worry though, we’re in Carolyn’s mom’s car so it’s just the three of us.” She could be heard more softly saying ‘They want me to do an exclusive for my blog!’

“Ok so this is the deal.” Brianna spoke up being serious in her role as personal assistant, “The blog you post about meeting the two, we don’t want you to mention Megan having GID. You can blurb about it being for a movie, because well that’s partially true.”

“That’s no problem. It’s not something I’d feel comfortable telling anyone without her right there to talk about it anyway.”

“The second we want you to do a Vlog interview with Megan after Doctor Miller gives the ok, about her coming out as a girl.” Brianna added.

“I have a Disney 365 AU interview around the same time,” Megan added, “Where I’m going to appear on camera as Megan for the first time. The thing is, I want to come out officially during your vlog. During the interview I’ll say something like ‘Visit somethingspecialamber.blogspot.com on such and such day and time for a more indepth interview.’ or something. Or we can livestream it, even.”

“Wow, that would be amazing,” Carolyn chimed in. “Between this and the movie drawing attention to Samantha’s story, you don’t know how much this means to someone like me.”

“Carolyn’s had a hard time,” Amber added. “We’re super excited to be helping.”

“I don’t want to lie to you Carolyn, “ Megan answered, “But I wanted Amber and you to come visit for two reasons, one, I think you two will make awesome friends, and the other, I wanted to get some personal information about what we are going through, because um, I’m new.”

“Hey,” Juliette said, “Would you two be interested in going shopping with us this afternoon?”

Carolyn laughed at that. “We’re on our way to the mall actually, and I want to look at some new camera gear too...”

“Carolyn is my videographer,” Amber giggled. “But we’d love to, if you really want to hang out with a couple of giggly goof balls.”

“It’s ok. Juliette will fit right in.” Megan joked and giggled.

“HEY!” Juliette laughed, causing Amber and Carolyn to crack up laughing. “One thing before you hang up though,” Juliette asked. “How the heck did you recognize me? Megan I can understand, but there weren’t any photos of me with my new hair.”

“Oh, I didn’t at first, until I heard Megan screaming about the Teen Choice awards.”

Brianna laughed.

“Sneaky.” Megan giggled.

“Yup,” Carolyn laughed. “I would’ve just pulled out my big camera.”

“Well yes, but not everyone carries a big DSLR around with them either,” Amber shot back and giggled with Carolyn. “We’ll see you lot at the mall,” she said, and then both added in unison, “Thanks again!”

“Oh, and before I go,” Brianna said after Amber disconnected, “Juliette your mother called me. I am now officially double-dipping as both Megan’s and your personal assistant.”

“SWEET!” Juliette said excitedly. “Thanks Brianna! I promise not to run you ragged like Megan does,” she teased. Brianna laughed hard as she hung up.

“Hey I don’t run Brianna ragged, I hardly used her before now.” Megan protested.

“I know,” Juliette giggled. “Why do you think Brianna was laughing so hard?” she added as she leaned over to hug Megan.

Megan giggled softly. “Sorry,” she said as they hugged.

Juliette giggled. “Nothing to apologize for,” she answered as she cupped Megan’s face in her hands and gave her a soft kiss square on the lips. “Did you learn anything else from those pamphlets?” she asked, as if they hadn’t just shared their first kiss.

Megan took a moment to recover, before answering, “Oh, um, yeah, there’s other mental illnesses that act like GID, which’s why Doctor Miller needs to be absolutely sure.”

Juliette nodded. “I don’t think that’s the case for you though. Even Alyssia thought it was cool that you finally started hanging out with us at lunch after that day - but she never put two and two together like I did,” she added with a wink.

“One of the common connectors between the mental illnesses and GID is chronic depression, which Doctor Moss diagnosed me with. But when I’m like this I don’t feel it. Actually I’ve been happier these last few days than I’ve felt in a long time.”

“Good,” Krissy spoke up, grinning, “Because you’re under Doctor’s orders to dress like that except Wednesday,” she giggled, poking her sister in the ribs lightly. “I’ll get your ADs filled while you’re at the mall. We told Mom about Theresa because you living as a girl for a little while might be ‘distressing’ as you’re living in the ‘wrong’ gender. The truth is Juliette suspected something for awhile now, and clued me in to it as well.”

“Go have fun,” Krissy said as the limo pulled up to the mall to let the girls out. “Just remember to pick out a nice dress for the opera tonight - you too Juliette.”

“Is everything okay?” Juliette asked as the limo pulled away. “You seem a little... on edge.”

“Just stunned,” Megan giggled. “I wasn’t expecting you to kiss me just out of the blue like that. I um... I really liked it. Is that wrong?”

Juliette laughed. “Is that all?” She shook her head and pulled Megan into a hug. “If it helps, I really liked i toot. I’m sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh God no,” Megan said, shaking her head. “I’d um... I’d like to do it again some time.” She tried to fight the blush swelling in her cheeks.

Juliette giggled, and in full view of anyone watching, kissed Megan again. “Like that?”

“God,” Megan giggled. “Stop that,” she teased. “Paparazzi might be watching.”

“Nah, just a blogger,” Amber spoke up, giggling as the two jumped.

“I guess my hopes of scoring a date with Megan are dashed,” Carolyn said in an overly dramatic fashion and then giggled.

“Oh, I am so not ready for dating yet,” Megan laughed. “I still have all this to sort through first.”

Carolyn giggled again. “I’m teasing. Me too. I’m still reconciling my feelings about boys, yet, but Doctor Collins says there’s plenty of time to deal with that later.”

“So, where to first?” Amber asked.

“We need something nice for the opera,” Juliette answered. “Something that we can wear again to a movie premiere in a few weeks,” she added with a wink.

Carolyn and Amber grinned. “We know the perfect place,” Amber said, leading their new friends inside.

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Comments

cute

Alecia Snowfall's picture

I'm liking this cute story. Please keep it going.

quidquid sum ego, et omnia mea semper; Ego me.
alecia Snowfall

Still loving it!

Breanna Ramsey's picture

I suspect there are some rough spots ahead, but with the circle of friends she's building Megan will have lots of support. Great work you two, can't wait for more!

Hugs,

Bree

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy

http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph

not the first

TheCropredyKid's picture

Tom Clancy's not nearly thw first to say that - among others, i'm pretty sure Robert Heinlein said it

 
 
 
x

Sweet.

GypsyWoman's picture

This is a totally sweet story! I cant wait to read more. I find Meagan very believable. All I can say is more please!

Kat H

Very sweet story

I don't think I quite understand the mother. That character seems fairly complex.

Great chapter!

I love this little Disneyverse you've started. I wonder how much of the doctor dropping her other patients an only charging her regular fee is to get her start as a "therapist to the stars".

nomad

Wonder if Megan and her

Wonder if Megan and her sister just might decide to remain in Australia after their filming is done. They seem to be finding it a lot more accepting than what they just may discover waiting for them in the good old US of A.

!!!

Andrea Lena's picture

"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille!

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

New friends & new feelings

Renee_Heart2's picture

I'm glad mom has Megan seeing s gender specialist I think it's going to come in handy. Is Megan truly transgendered I think so & she does too. Disney 365 interviews should be intresting.

I kind of wonder what mom will say when she finds out that BOTH her daughters are Gay (Lesbians) I think she WILL fly down there & find out exactly what is going on, but I think she will accept it especially her oldest daughter & probly tell her youngest she's just 12 & to give her self some time.

Love Samantha Renee Heart

Nice!

Megan has plenty of support, but I'm sure there are rough spots coming up.
Good Stuff!
hugs
Grover

Quck Start!

Hypatia Littlewings's picture

Wow, that sort of jumped right in to the thick of things. I did not expect such a quick realization all around that Megan really is a girl, I expected more a slow discovery. Although I did expect the doctor to catch on rather quick that things were a bit reversed as far as the acting relieving GID rather then causing it.

Cute Story!

Awaits more,
~Hypatia >i< ..:::

This is absolutely delightful...

Ole Ulfson's picture

The plot and characters are excellent and I do hope you'll let the love affair between Juliet and Megan continue to develop.

This is a top notch story!

Ole

We are each exactly as God made us. God does not make mistakes!

Gender rights are the new civil rights!

Thank you all for your

Thank you all for your support, :)
Just an FYI this story was mostly written a year ago, long before MotK was written.


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Have a mew of a day!

It would certainly seem...

“No no, Doctor Miller is a therapist specializing in gender identity. I thought since you’ll be living in a different role for awhile, effectively experiencing what it’s like to have GID from the opposite end of the spectrum, that her advice and counseling would help you deal with whatever struggles come up.”

It would certainly seem that Mark/Megan's mother had seen this coming and was prepared for helping her new daughter come to grips with her true identity!

Once again, this has been a very entertaining chapter! I'm looking forward to future installments!

Jenny

Another winner

laika's picture

I'm starting to understand why people don't comment on older stories (even less than 2 years old). All these other commenters I see here read and commented on this series at the same time, I feel like I'm late to the party, everyone's moved on and I have nothing new to add to what's been said. But this is fun and I'm loving it as much as MAGIC OF THE KINGDOM, and having already met Megan it's neat to find out her story. All the characters are so sweet and friendly, there's not a Margo Channing ("Fasten your seatbelts, you're in for a bumpy ride!") in the bunch.
~Veronica

OMG!

Dr. Miller used the dreaded "And how did that make you feel" line! At least the doctor I went to changed hers to "How did you feel". Seemed a little less contrived that way.

But it's amazing how pretty much everyone knew about Megen except Mark. The other way around is a bit more common. Plus a lot less angst and drama this way.


I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.