That seems like an odd question to ask since we’re literally standing in the middle of a bookstore. But of course he wouldn’t understand. He’s probably had tons of girlfriends with super cute stories surrounding all of them. He’s a gorgeous cis white guy. He can get anyone he wants, and I’m sure he’s only ever considered when he’ll get married and start a family, not if.

I could pick up any volume in this store and show him his happy ending. Of course he couldn’t understand why some of us are so desperate to make our own.

“Sometimes people need help believing in love,” I say. “I try to give them that with the Diary.” I don’t tell him about my fantasies. We’re not quite at that level of our relationship yet.

He grins. “That’s pretty great of you. I mean, trying to help random strangers like that. Most people wouldn’t bother.”

And I smile because, wow. Becca’s the only person who knows about the Diary because even after changing my name and leaving home, something about it always felt taboo. Like maybe if I voiced my reasoning behind creating the Diary, everyone would just think that I was some kid in over my head making a big deal about nothing. But hearing those words now, especially from some guy I half used to fabricate my stories—well, it’s super sweet.

But now he also knows it’s fake, and maybe he doesn’t know about the troll, but he also could, and he could feed them more info to really tear everything down.

“Can I be honest with you?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I’m not opposed to it.”

“There’s a troll trying to prove that the Meet Cute Diary isn’t real.”

He raises an eyebrow. “But it’s not real.”

“I know, but people need to believe it is, you know? It’s that belief that trans people can actually have that fairy-tale romance. I don’t want them to lose that, but if they really convince everyone it’s fake—”

“I’m sure people will just ignore it. The blog is so popular, and people practically worship you.”

But I’m not so sure. I’ve already lost almost two thousand followers, and it’s only been a few days.

“I know it probably doesn’t feel like a big deal to you, but there are so many people this is important for,” I say. “I mean, I’ve gotten messages from people saying the Diary’s the reason they haven’t killed themselves. I can’t just watch that go up in flames.”

“No, I get it,” he says. “Trans cousin, remember?”

I exhale. “So you won’t tell anyone it’s fake?”

He nods. “Definitely not. Actually, I’m gonna one-up you on that. Tell me what I can do to help.”