Frank grabbed his skateboard and headed to the park. He knew Brendon, Pete, and the rest of the guys always hung out there after school. He use to watch their little group from afar, laughing and having fun, dreaming that one day he could be 'one of the boys'.

He didn't see why they wouldn't let him. I mean just because he didn't have a dick didn't mean he acted different than any other boy. He just needed to man up and get out there, show them he could hang with them. He was just as good as they were, if not better.

So today he decided to grab his board and join them.

He closed the front door and locked it, slid the key into his pocket, and put in his headphones. He threw the board down with a clack of the wheels and jumped on, pushing off in the direction of the skate park.

Frank loved the sound the board made gliding over the concrete. The steady thump thump and whir of the wheels was his symphony. He lived for the sound of his board and the open urban playground that was his town. It was times like these Frank felt he could fly, that he was invincible and nothing could hold him back from shooting for the stars.

Soon the skate park came into view and sure enough, the little gang of boys was there as foreseen. Frank popped up the end of his board, catching it placing it under one arm as he approached. He walked through the metal gate of the fence that surrounded it and headed in their direction.

"Hey Bren! Hey guys! What's up?"

Brendon didn't answer but everyone just stopped talking and turned to look at Frank from where he stood in front of them.

"Hey Frank," Tyler answered after a while.

"Yeah um...Well I was wondering if I could skate with you guys. I'm pretty good so you don't have to worry about me. I just thought it would be fun you know if we could like all hang out and stuff. Maybe get some pizza later?"

Brendon pressed his lips together in contemplation, frustration evident in his features, and started at him.

After a while he finally spoke, "Could you give us a minute?"

"Sure," Frank shrugged and stepped back a bit, as the group of guys circled up.

Brendon, Pete, and Josh spoke animatedly, hissing whispers and moving their hands as they argued back and forth. The rest of the group seemed to just stand there, undecided on the issue. Frank toed at the ground with one beat up converse as he waited for the verdict. Finally the little group split apart, having come to an agreement of some kind. Tyler and Gabe didn't seem too happy though.

Brendon walked up and put on a fake smile but his eyes held a wicked threat. "Sure kid, but you better keep up. We're not gonna hold your hand or wait for you."

Frank figured it was gonna be like this, that he would have to prove himself to them, but he was ready for it. He nodded and they threw their boards down on the edge of the bowl, skating down with Brendon leading. Frank jumped on his board and followed after them.

Brendon seemed to be testing him, starting out simple and making each challenge harder. First they started with a decent gap jump ollie, which Frank kicked his board up and over the gap with ease. Then he stepped it up, going up a bank and rocking at the edge and doing a fakie, skating back down in the opposite direction.

They continued like this through jumps and rail grinds and half pipes, till everyone was breathing heavy and ready for a brake. Frank was extremely proud of himself. He had kept up the whole time, even showing off a bit. He was sure that he had more than proved himself to Brendon and the gang.

They skated up out of the bowel and threw their boards down, sitting on them against the fence. Pete popped open the red and white beat up cooler they brought and started tossing out Gatorade, water, and Capri Suns to people, all except Frank. He figured they wouldn't share, so he sat down and took off his black string bag, digging through it for the bottle of water and the chewie bar he grabbed from the house.

They sat in silence, sipping and gazing out over the park, as they tried to catch their breath. Brendon poured the last of his water over his face and hair, shaking it off like a dog and resting his head back against the fence. Josh finished chugging his Gatorade and let out a heavy sigh of relief, jumping up and tossing his trash in the cooler.

"I'm beat. How bout we go back to me and Ty's place and watch a movie? We just got a huge tub of ice cream yesterday and it's calling my name," Josh spoke as he gazed out over the group.

They all let out whoops and cheers of agreement, jumping up and dusting off their butts. Frank threw his trash in his bag and slung it onto his back, as he stood up. Brendon seemed to notice and flashed him a wicked smile.

"This is going to be just a boys thing I'm afraid. Sorry, Frankie but you can't come," he said, grabbing Frank's arm to stop him from following.

Frank looked up at him with disdain, rage starting to boil below the surface. "I am a boy."

"Only real boys can come Frankie. But I hear Jamia and some of the other girls are having a sleep over. Why don't you go hang out with them where you belong and go paint your nails or something?" Brendon sneered and pushed him away.

Frank caught his balance again and glared at Brendon, his hand's tightening into fists at his sides. So that's how it was going to be huh? Fine, Frank could take him.

"You want to fucking go Brendon? I'll whup your ass right here, right now!"

Everyone stopped and turned back around to see what would happen. Tyler and Gabe both looked apologetic but did nothing to stop Brendon from being a jerk.

Brendon laughed and narrowed his eyes, "You won't. You're too much of a pussy!" He spit the last word as if it disgusted him and smirked.

That set Frank off like a firecracker. He panther jumped Brendon to the ground and started pounding on his face with blind furry. He broke his glasses and continued to punch him with both fists until he was dragged off by Josh, still kicking and growling threats. Pete hauled a very bloody and barley conscious Brendon to his feet. Frank lunged forward as far as he could in Josh's grip and spit right in his face, glaring at him with pure hatred.

"Frank! Fucking stop already dude! Chill the fuck out!" Josh barked and pulled him back, spinning him around and slinging him into the fence.

He crashed into it with a chinging rattle and collapsed to the ground in a panting heap. He just lay there against the fence, fighting back tears and flexing his sore and bleeding knuckles. Pete hauled Brendon off to go fix him up, as the rest of the group knelt down to comfort Frank.

"I'm so fucking sorry dude," Tyler mumbled as he hung his head in shame.

Gabe put his hand on Frank's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"I hate this! I hate how you all treat me! Especially him! I am a fucking boy. Just because I don't have a dick and I'm gay I'm suddenly not good enough to hang out with you all? What the fuck is that about? I can skate and do most everything you guys can do except pee standing up. So why can't I come watch a movie with you guys or just hang out? Why am I not good enough? I'll never be a real man to you all and I fucking hate it!"

The tears Frank had been holding back were now flowing freely down his face as he seethed with anger and frustration. He buried his head in his hands, his knees hunched up, sobbing into his skeleton half gloves. Tyler leaned forward and wrapped Frank's small frame into a giant hug, rubbing his back and holding him while he cried.

"Hey Frank?" he spoke softly into his short black hair.

Frank pulled back to look at him, wiping away tears and trying to contain himself.

"it takes a real man to stand up to an asshole like Brendon. In truth we were the ones being pansies and doing nothing about it. I know this won't make up for how we treated you but why don't you come over to Josh's and mine? We'll get you cleaned up and we can invite that Gerard kid you have a crush on. How does that sound?"

Frank chuckled lightly, looking down and still sniffing in pain. "Yeah. I'd really like that. You guys would do that for me?"

"Yup"

"Sure."

"Alright. Come on." Tyler stood up with a smile and offered a hand out to help him up.

Frank looked up and took his hand, standing up and wiping at his face. He grabbed his board and following them back to Tyler's car.

Things were gonna get better. It was just going to take some time and lots of patience on everyone's part, but he just knew it would. Tyler, Gabe, and Josh were going to help him and Brendon was going to think twice about ever being such an asshole again. And hey, he was gonna get to see that really hot Gerard guy he had been dying to talk to. Today wasn't that bad after all.

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I wrote this after my own personal experiences as a demiboy trying to hang out with other boys and facing harsh sexism. I often run into this problem and not many people write about this aspect of being one. I just wanted to open people's eyes to the struggle of never being thought of as a man just because you aren't one on the outside. I wanted to see if there was anyone else who felt this way. It was a kind of catharsis for me because I have recently been experiencing this really badly again and wanted to get some of my frustration out on paper. So this story was born.

Thank you for listening to me rant basically. Love you all.

xox Weylin