Switched: My Best Friend

Hello everyone. I've written quite a few stories before but none of them have ever come close to the unexpected nature of this one. This story is about two friends who share a bond unlike any others. When both of them accept their true self and one begins to transition, a void in both of their lives are unexpectedly filled.

Please go easy on me with this one. This is my first story involving a person who is Trans and I encourage any constructive feedback.

Over the years, I have truly come to appreciate people in the transgender community. They are wonderful people who are all very much capable and deserving of love and respect just like anyone in this world. I truly believe that it is our nature to coexist and understand each other in order to plant the seeds of a better world.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading.

***

"I'm gonna pick Triple H." Michael said, grabbing the GameCube controller.

"I'm gonna piiiiiick... The Rock." Lucas responded.

"Ready to get your ass whooped up and down the ring?"

Lucas just giggled endearingly in response. He had a slim frame but with some tone in his fair lean body. He had wavy dirty blonde hair with the smallest tint of strawberry red. It didn't require much to tame it as it looked stylish even when messy. Hazel irises could be seen inside his almond shaped eyes. He had a pointed little button nose and cupid lips that helped perfectly with conveying emotions. When he beamed his infectious smile, he made people jealous of his perfectly symmetrical teeth. Freckles spotted his cheeks when he spent time in the sun. His voice carried barely any bass with it. If he wanted to, he could be mistaken for a girl's voice.

Michael was an inch or two taller and much more athletic than his nerdy counterpart. He had long flowing straight brunette hair that often extended past his eyebrows, capturing many looks when the wind carried it into the air. He had light bronze-brown eyes. He had an upturned nose and thin lips that displayed a nearly equally contagious smile as Lucas.

Both boys had been best friends since middle school and their companionship never skipped a beat. They did nearly everything together, played video games together late at night, ate snacks, walked the dogs down the beautiful modern suburban neighborhood, laid out on the beach and took trips together. Now it was a nice dull summer Saturday night in front of the GameCube, empty plates littered with pizza roll crumbs and half eaten bags of Lays chips galore.

"Here, I'll show you this move I've learned with him." Lucas said.

As the match started, The Rock dashed towards Triple H, picked him up, then sent him slamming onto the canvas with a piledriver, following with a People's Elbow repeating over and over.

"Ah shit," Michael said.

The Rock continued the same sequence of moves over and over with Triple H unable to break out.

"Stop that cheap shit!" Michael yelled, annoyed but still hyped to win. Lucas just laughed uncontrollably with his hand in front of his face. Triple H got slammed on his head once again.

"I can't get him off!" Michael angrily hollered. Lucas shushed him, still laughing as his mom was asleep in the bedroom across the hall.

Michael quickly reached over to the console and unplugged Lucas's controller.

"Hey! No! You can't do that." Lucas laughed, offended at first. He reached over to plug it back in while Triple H got up and started pounding the idle standing Rock.

"Yeah, woo! Take that!" Michael cheered, hunched over the controller ready to take his revenge.

Lucas placed the port in and unplugged Michael's controller in revenge. Both boys lunged toward the TV and tussled to reinsert the metal end.

Michael attempted to unplug his opponent's controller again but he swatted his hand away. He reached over, grabbing Lucas's pause button.

"Noooo!"

The game resumed and The Rock started the chain over again. The buttons on Michael's controller clicked and clacked furiously as he jammed his fingers onto them.

"Careful, don't break it!" Lucas laughed.

The Rock pinned his foe down and the referee counted the timer down. Before it could reach 3, Michael dove and hit the reset button. The THQ logo appeared onscreen.

Lucas couldn't stop laughing, his eyes squinted shut and he nearly fell backward.

"I'm gonna tbag your fuckin' GameCube! Argh!" He yelled, only fueling his friend's laughter.

"Run it back! Run it again and don't do that cheap shit!" Michael egged on, joining in the laughter.

They rematched and the round was back and forth until The Rock finished him at the very end with another cheap move.

"Stop cheating!" Michael hollered, both boys bursting out in laughter. He leaned over giving Lucas fake light punches in the ribs.

"Stooooppp you're gonna bruise my precious skin," Lucas said jokingly.

"You bruised my ego so now I'm gonna bruise you!" Michael retorted humorously, grabbing the nearby inflatable exercise ball and smothering Lucas with it.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Lucas froze mid-smile and his eyes lit up as they looked from the door back up at Michael who was frozen too.

"Boys, settle down in there please, I have to be up early." Lucas's mom said from behind the bedroom door. She was honestly the kindest mom Michael had ever known. His own mother would've pounded on the door and took the GameCube away.

"Sorry, Mrs. Lambdin!" Michael replied. Silence followed by fading footsteps.

"Look what you did!" Lucas antagonized.

"Look what YOU did!" Michael retorted.

They bantered back and forth until they realized how tired they were. They looked at the digital clock which read 1:23am.

"Huh," Michael breathed heavily, "Jesus I didn't think it was that late. I'm ready to pass out."

"Yeah me too. Especially after handing you those ass whoopings." Lucas remarked.

"Shut uuuupp." Michael complained.

The boys settled into the covers on the surprisingly large bed. The only source of light came from the alarm clock, the blinking LED light on their charging phones, and the occasional passing headlights from cars out on the road.

As they grew up far before the common pressures of sexuality from middle school kids (when being gay or trans made you a prime target for bullying), they established a high level of comfortability before discovering such societal constraints. They slept in the same bed regardless of space. Michael was certain he liked girls and didn't care if people thought otherwise. He enjoyed Lucas's presence as he was the nicest and closest friend to him. He never judged him, he was always there to listen, was willing to talk with him about anything and they held most of the same interests. They saw eye-to-eye on many opinions but weren't afraid to correct each other.

Michael always provided the same courtesy to his best friend. He felt more secure in telling him everything while Lucas took some prying to get him to come out of his shell. They talked about girls, people they've dated, friends and even people they didn't like. They evolved into a discrete interrelational circle that nobody knew existed which often led to many secret informational exchanges regarding people. Whether it was drama, rumors, the truth or deep discoveries never meant to see the light of day, nothing was held back between them.

Lucas had dated a couple girls in school, up to his friend's knowledge. Michael had a hunch that he may have been secretly bisexual or gay but he never showed obvious signs of it. If that were the case, he hid it very well with the exception of a few mannerisms here and there. Not that he minded, Lucas never tried to pull an obvious move on him.

"Do you remember that cute girl, Hailey, that those guys were making fun of?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, yeah I remember Hailey," Lucas responded, "Why? You like her?"

"Kinda. She was really nice to me and I never understood why other people didn't like her. We found each other on Facebook and exchanged numbers."

"Oh, did you guys hang out?"

"We did. We met at the park and talked for a while about friends, the stupid drama, where we grew up, where we wanted to go later in our lives. And then we kissed. It was nice."

"Wow! Hmm that's good. That sounds a lot like her."

"What do you mean? Did you hang out with her too?"

"Yes, I did quite a few times this year."

"Oh, I didn't know you two were good friends."

Lucas smiled, taking a moment. "We were... good friends. Yeah you could say that.."

Michael paused, "Wait... did you guys date?"

"Hmmmm I don't know about 'dating' but something like that."

"Waaaiiit. Did you guys... you know, do it?"

A breathy giggle escaped from Lucas prompting a wide-eyed intent look from Michael.

"Yes. Yes we did." He said.

"Ooohhhh dude! You didn't tell me that!" Michael said, turning on his side to face him. He was happy for his best friend, although slightly jealous that it had to be the pretty brown haired girl he kissed few weeks ago. "When was this? Before or after I kissed her?"

"Hmmm, you said you kissed her three weeks ago?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm, well we kissed before that, broke off for a bit. Then we did it... hmmm after. Yes it was after."

Michael felt internal jealousy brew within him, knowing very well he set himself up for it by asking too many questions.

"Come on man, her and I had a thing..." he calmly complained.

"I'm sorry, Michael. She said you guys weren't talking by that time and I made sure of that before anything happened. I'm sorry."

Michael didn't know whether to feel betrayed that she might have played him or annoyed that she went for his best friend after. However when he thought about it, he was the one who began the spark with the kiss and never followed up properly so if anything, he couldn't blame her.

"No, it's fine. It's my fault. You are right, I didn't talk to her afterwards. But I'm happy to know you at least ran it by her first. You're a real friend for that."

Lucas smiled genuinely. Another burning question brewed in Michael's head.

"How was it?" He asked.

"I mean... I liked it. It was nice."

"What about her? Did she like it?"

"Umm. Yeah she loved it. Judging by her reactions, she seemed to enjoy it very well."

Michael wanted to ask more as jealousy began to eat at his mind. However he could only feel excitement for his kind and caring friend. If it were any of his douchebag friends, he'd feel very irked.

"What did it feel like?" He asked, curious to know how sex felt compared to his experiences.

"Ohh it was electric." Lucas responded, remembering it as if it happened the night before. "It was very passionate, gentle, and I mean I loved it. She did too. She was very sweet."

The next question he was burning to ask was "Did she give you a blowjob?". But he knew it would only cause him to view her in a different light and become more jealous. He considered rekindling things with Hailey as their energy seemed natural, just as Lucas described it.

"Wow, that's awesome dude. Good for you."

Lucas laughed in response. "She's a great person to hang out with." He added.

"She really is. Ugh, I loved being with her. She always speaks from her heart once you get to know her."

"You should talk to her again." Lucas suggested as he turned towards Michael

"You know, I've... kinda been reconsidering it. I feel like her and I were on a good note but I just never pursued her further for some reason."

Michael looked down at the comforter, thinking about her cute freckles and bright hazel eyes. How she stared into him before they left, smiling under the pavilion on a hot sunny summer day, her brown hair blowing in the breeze. Their lips touched and they kissed. He was the first to pull away. How he wished he could go back and do it again.

"Here you know what? I'll do it tomorrow."

"There you go!" Lucas encouraged with that contagious smile, his head resting on his hand. "You'd be good for each other."

Lucas sometimes showed signs of natural femininity. He wasn't flamboyant but often let it show in his mannerisms. Whether shaking it (in private) to Britney Spears while pouring cereal in the kitchen, sassing along and shoulder dancing to Gwen Stefani in the car, bantering with girls, or just swooning people with his soft voice. It wasn't something he showed off to a lot of people but it was certainly ingrained into his personality.

"Thanks dude. I know you're better at reading people than I am so I trust your judgement."

"You can always count on me." Lucas replied, rolling onto his back.

"Hey um, so another question."

"You and the questions tonight, Michael, haha what's up?"

"Have you ever, like kissed another guy?"

Lucas hesitated for a quick second. This is the first time Michael ever directly asked him a question of that nature.

"Hmmm I have a couple times."

"Oh, like just for fun or you liked them?"

"I'd say it was both. Why, have you?"

"No, no that's cool. I was just curious."

"You've never asked me something like that." Lucas smiled nervously, although disguising it very well with his charming expression.

"I know, I was just wondering." Michael said, turning over in the blankets.

"Would you ever kiss a guy?"

Michael pondered the uncomfortable thought for a moment.

"It's okay if you would. Nothing's wrong with that. Your jocky friends would probably get on you for it though."

"Ehh I mean, I don't know. Maybe if I was drunk. Or the circumstances were right."

"Like what?"

"I knew that was coming. Yeah I don't know man, I've never been in a situation where I would. I've never given it much thought."

"But you wouldn't think it's like, totally weird, would you?"

"Maybe a little bit? Nah, probably not. I mean it doesn't make me gay right?"

"So what if it did?" Lucas said, "it doesn't matter. You can kiss whoever you want. We're about to graduate high-school, that anti-gay stigma is fading fast."

"No, you're right. I should be able to do what I want."

"Okay, here's a crazy question. And you don't have to answer if you don't want to but I'm just curious... do you think you would date someone who is trans?"

Michael pondered the question for a good bit, letting the completely foreign topic settle in his brain. Unbeknownst to Lucas, he had seen pictures of girls who had transitioned and they actually looked really pretty.

"I mean... I honestly don't think I care what sexual organ they have. I don't see why not? I don't really disqualify someone based on things like that."

"Wow, Michael. You're more open than I'd thought!"

"I guess you could say that. It's what I say to everyone else, just let people do what they want, as long as they aren't hurting anyone. You know?"

"Hm. Exactly. I think that's the right way to think about it."

Lucas actually had tried a few sneaky moves on Michael in the past to see if he would notice, hoping to reveal any signs of bi-curiosity. He once allowed him to walk in on him whilst wearing only underwear. Michael just laughed, saying "Put some clothes on you pervert, you're gonna knock somebody out with that thing."

Another time, he gave Michael a long stare while in the car going to the beach. He hoped the bright evening sunlight would highlight the pretty features of his face, catching his best friend's eye as a result. Michael just did his best to avoid any awkward long periods of eye-contact. They ended up napping in the back, leaning against one another. Anytime they changed together, Lucas was respectful even though he secretly peeked a side glance a couple times without getting caught.

Finally, he showed him a magazine full of attractive men and asked him what he thought, turning each page individually.

"They're good looking dudes but I'm not really into them. Why're you showing me this? Where's that Hustler magazine you copped from Jake's room?" He responded in a serious but semi-joking manner.

After that, he gave up trying to pursue Michael further and accepted they were meant to be friends. A very attractive friend that he loved spending time with but not meant to cross that line. Normally this could ruin a lot of friendships if the attraction could never subside but they had bonded in many other ways together and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Just his attention and friendship was enough for him.

Or maybe, just maybe, Michael was just a tough nut to crack. Especially since he hung out with a lot of conservative friends.

"Oh well," He thought. "There will always be another fish. Probably not a lot of them like Michael but they definitely exist out there."

The boys grew tired and lost track of who asked a question and who answered last. Their questions and answers spaced out in time until they drifted off to sleep in the comfortable bed.

***

6 months later

"So it's been a while since we last hung out. How are you?" Hailey said, swinging back and forth on the hammock kicking her legs as the breeze carried her brunette hair into the wind

"I've been around, just focusing on my classes and working every other weekend. Heard you and Lucas hung out a few months ago." Michael said, attempting to hide his smirk.

"Oh, yes we hung out. I never knew you two were best friends!"

"Yeah we get that a lot," Michael laughed, "I've known him since before Middle school. I guess people don't see us together a lot but we're like this."

He crossed his middle and index fingers together.

"Who would've known? You guys are just so different. They hang out with a lot of girls and they're kind and open. You hang out with the sporty popular kids and you're more serious and reserved."

"Haha, eh they weren't really that popular. What, just because they wear Hollister hoodies? Funny thing you say that though because I'm usually more open than he is. Lucas takes a little bit before he shows his true personality."

"Wow really? I can kinda see that but that's wild to me!"

"Yeah, he's a great friend. We used to hang out a lot but I haven't seen or talked to him in a while. He deleted his Facebook and I know he's alive because he responds to my texts here and there but... yeah we haven't connected in a bit. He's probably just doing his own thing."

Hailey's lip curled into a slight smile.

"What? Have you talked to him?"

"I just talked to them last week on the phone. I saw them about a month ago."

"Seriously? He talked to you and not me?" Michael looked offended.

"Yeah they said they're taking some time away. Beyond that, they didn't say much."

"Wait, 'they'? Why're you saying it like that?"

"It's a long story but you'd have to find out for yourself."

"Hailey, what's going on?" Michael sat up in the hammock with a confused and questioning demeanor. His voice involuntarily increased in volume. "Lucas calls you and not me, I mean I haven't seen him in months and he hasn't bothered to hang out with me or talk to me but he hangs out with you??"

"Michael..." Hailey said, seemingly hurt.

"Sorry, that's not what I meant." He reassured her with apologetic eyes. "It's just it feels like he's cutting me out all of a sudden and it makes no sense. Why would he act this way?"

"Michael, Lucas is not cutting you off," she calmed him, touching his shoulder. She took a deep breath before continuing. "They're going through a certain point in their life where they just need some time away. Don't worry, they'll probably reach out to you when it's the right time for them."

Michael drew in a deep breath as he came down from his upset but tame meltdown.

"I guess. Just wished he would have talked to me, that's all. I'm his best friend, I would've understood."

Hailey drew in a deep breath herself as the breeze cooled their faces and the sound of nearby tree leaves swayed as they brushed together and some fell to the ground, symbolizing the beginning of autumn.