Before I start my story, there are two things you need to know. One, I’m a cis guy, but my boyfriend is trans. However, he’s pre-T and pre-surgery (he’s still a minor, and unfortunately his parents are unsupportive), so he still has kind of a high voice and a slight figure. Two, my boyfriend was born with a rare condition that left him with a slightly malformed left lung. Generally it’s not as bad as it sounds, he was lucky to to be born with “enough” lung tissue to be able to lead a pretty normal life; he’s got some breathing difficulties and is more prone to infections, and he’s exempt from gym at school because he’s a “liability” but other than that it doesn’t really interfere with his life all that much (when he was younger he underwent a lot of treatments but he’s now long out of the “critical” stage that doctors are usually most concerned about). Still, he has to be careful not to exert himself too much. Both of these things are important to my story.

Anyway. Onward.

So my boyfriend and I were going to a smallish con a few hours south of where we live. We were planning to meet up with some friends who live in the area and just chill and have a good time. On the drive there we get a call from one of our friends who informed us of a slight change of plans. Apparently the friend’s mother mentioned the con to a woman she works with, and the woman got really excited because “Oh, my daughter loves those Japanese cartoons! I’m sure she’d love to come along!” So this woman essentially invited her daughter to the con, and our friends were forced to bring along this chick none of us really knew. We were a little miffed, but whatever, it was just one extra person and the girl’s mom had paid for her so it’s not like it was a drain on our finances or anything.

We arrive at my friend’s house, which is where we were staying for the con (she lived pretty close by, it was cheaper than getting a hotel). I went inside, but at the last second my boyfriend forgot something in the car and went back to get it, so when I entered the house at first I was alone. That’s when I saw Cee. She was a girl with the greasiest hair I had ever seen. She was wearing like a green tutu or something, and a Kingdom Hearts t-shirt, but it wasn’t even official merchandise, it looked like she’d printed out some art from the game and had it made into a shirt. She loudly demands to know who I am, without getting up from her chair in the living room, and my friends introduce me. I can tell they’re already worn out from playing host to this girl, and I feel pretty bad for them so I try to be as nice as possible.

Then my friend asks where my boyfriend is, and Cee’s eyes get HUGE.

“You have a boyfriend?!” I laugh and say yeah. Then she goes, “So you’re, like… yaoi?!”

At first I thought she was kidding, so I chuckled along kind of nervously until I realized my friends looked mortified. That’s when my boyfriend came in, and Cee demands to know who he is so I introduce him.

Cee just laughs loudly and goes, “But that’s a girl!”

The whole room goes dead quiet.

Now, my boyfriend’s pretty shy, he’s not really the type to stick up for himself when someone makes a comment about his gender. But I could see that Cee’s comment really stung him, so I just tried to say as gently as possible, “No, I assure you, [my boyfriend] is a guy.”

But Cee just gets this nasty look on her face and insists, “No, that’s a girl.”

Finally my friend yanks her away into the kitchen, I guess to reprimand her, and me and another friend try to comfort my boyfriend, who at this point is close to tears. My friend made Cee apologize and my boyfriend kinda grudgingly accepted it because we really didn’t want any drama at this con.

Fortunately, we went to the con and much of the day passed without incident. We’re having a good time when suddenly one of our friends goes, “Has anybody seen Cee?”

That’s when we hear a shriek from behind us, and the first thing I see when I turn around is Cee, charging towards us with a vicious look on her face.

She full-body tackles my boyfriend.

He falls to the floor, clutching his chest, gasping for air. We’re all freaking out as my friend runs to get con security and someone else calls 911. And then—I shit you not—we hear Cee’s voice:

“That’s what you get for pretending to be yaoi!”

I nearly fucking decked her right then and there.

My boyfriend was rushed to the hospital, where our fears were confirmed: he’d fractured a rib and his left lung had collapsed. He had to have surgery just to clear out all the air and fluids; the abnormal shape of his lung meant it wasn’t likely to heal on its own. Thankfully he’s okay now, but his family’s still working out the legal bullshit, although everyone seems pretty certain this girl isn’t walking away without at least an assault charge. I just can’t fucking believe this happened.