Ash's New Career Pt. 11

"Hello can I help you with..." Nathan started off asking a little confused only for his jaw to drop in shock. The long high ponytail, the outfit, the subtle changes in look caused by the makeup had all made him take Ashley for someone else at first glance, but it didn't take long for him to recognise his friend, without the heavy makeup, the breast forms and the dresses Ashley was still pretty close to looking like her old self. "Oh my god, Ash is that you? Wait how has your hair grown this much, why are you wearing that? Did you lose a bet or something? Hahaha, you do make a cute girl, I have to admit, so that's what this was all about dude?" Nathan asked, thinking this was all a joke as Ashley's face turned beet red.

Already having trouble with what she needed to tell Nathan, she was mortified when he made a joke out of it, knowing Nathan it wasn't a huge surprise, he often made jokes out of anything, still it hit hard with how nervous she already was. She couldn't help but struggle to choke back sobs and her disappointment as she spoke up. "N...no this isn't a joke Nathan, I didn't lose a bet, this is me, that's what I'm here to tell you before you had to hear from anyone else, I'm just, I guess it's hard to really explain this well, but some recent events, have forced me to acknowledge some things I have been repressing for a very long time, and what I am trying to say is that I feel way more comfortable in my skin as a girl. I have been living as Ashley for the past couple of days and it has been a true revelation, this is who I truly am Nathan and this won't change in the future. I just wanted to tell you in person you know." Ashley stammer, hanging her head in defeat as she saw the horrified look on Nathan's face. She had really hoped that out of all her friends at least he would support her, but it seemed like she was mistaken.

"Damn, I'm so very sorry dude,... I mean dudette, or whatever. I truly didn't know and I feel like such an asshole for laughing about it. Please forgive me Ash...ley, I don't know how to make this up to you, but I'm sorry, I truly am, I shouldn't have made such a dumb stupid inconsiderate joke, but you know how I am, the words left my mouth before I really thought about it. Look if you want to, you can come in, I can make you a coffee, or whatever you like and we can talk about it, just please forgive me for that stupid joke." Nathan spoke horrified over the fact that his jokes had hurt his very best friend so much. That wasn't at all what he intended, he couldn't believe he hadn't even considered for a second that this might be something serious, and he had only himself to blame for this as he truly hoped he wouldn't lose his best friend over this.

With a look of complete disbelief Ashley looked up at her friend who had just given her a very sincere yet somewhat awkward apology. She couldn't help but feel kind of bad for him as she turned beet red once more, realising that she had been the one overreacting. After all she had given so much thought to all the ways in which this could be a disaster that she instantly thought the worst of Nathan's joke. As the guy had pointed out, he just made jokes out of everything, even if they were sometimes inconsiderate, they were never meanspirited. She shouldn't have blamed him and thought the worst because of that, especially not considering what a shock it must have been for his life long friend to come out as a completely different person. After all she had drastically changed these past few days, it had been one hell of a rollercoaster, while for Nathan nothing had seemed to change until now.

"Well a coffee is the least you could do to make it up to me jerk." Ashley spoke with a slight smile as she gave Nathan a slight fist bump on his upper arm. "Look, I haven't changed THAT much, I'm sorry for overreacting but I've just been fearing this conversation ever since I made up my mind about having it. I'm sorry and I forgive you. I know this is a lot to take in and I want to ask you to please forgive me for my overreaction." Ashley spoke, she knew trying to turn the conversation a little more light hearted as she didn't want her joking around with Nathan to change this was going to take a lot of getting used to, but she was happy that Nathan seemed to want to make the genuine effort to make this work rather than condemning her despite his joke. It was good to see the look of relief on his face as she said this.

"It's okay man, I mean woman, it's all cool, no need to be sorry, I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must all be on you, now please, by all means, come on in. I'm glad you've come to tell me really. By the way, I have always wanted a hot girl best friend so I guess I can't complain." Nathan spoke with a wink before he burst out laughing once more going right back to joking around, just genuinely happy that he still had his best friend despite the fact that that best friend was now Ashley rather than Ash.

"Jerkl! But in all seriousness Nathan, thank you for acting so cool with it, stop with that woman and dudette stuff though, it's really cringe." Ashley laughed as she followed her friend inside, continuing to joke around as Nathan was trying his hardest to adapt to calling Ashley by her new name rather than calling her Ash like he had always done for over a decade at this point.

Over a coffee Ashley carried on giving Nathan a brief summary of all that had happened up until now making her friends jaw drop. "Damn, I always knew Keira was a bitch, but I never thought she was such a disastrous one, I feel sorry for you Ashley. At least that Bruce sounds like a way more decent guy than she always made him out to be." Nathan replied at the end, shocked to hear the whole story.

"Yeah, tell me about it, I'm really lucky to have my mom, Jessy and Bruce. In any case thank you for the coffee, for hearing me out and for your support Nathan. It really means a lot to me, and although I would love to stick around and play some games maybe, I can't right now, I still have a few other people I would like to tell in person so I guess this is goodbye for now." Ashley spoke as she gave her best friend a hug and walked out of the door feeling a lot better about herself already. This had gone way better than she had initially feared. Sure Nathan needed some time to adjust, not being fully there yet, but the fact that he was trying was all she could hope for. He really was a great friend.