Switched: My Best Friend

"Michael, there's some things about it that... you would have to come to terms with and process for a little. If you want, you should reach out and they'll feel happy that you're making an effort to keep in touch. But you have to talk to them personally. I know I can't explain everything but I want to give them the chance to tell you themselves. You understand that right? You don't hold anything against us for it, do you?"

Michael's world turned on its head, the strange feeling of Hailey, a girl he just met now explaining the inner workings of his best friend. Something he should be able to do. His eyes stared blankly as he uncomfortably processed it.

"No, you're right. I guess I'm just more upset that I haven't been able to talk to him about it. But I can't hold that against you, you just got caught in the middle of the news. I'm sorry, Hailey." He looked into her eyes apologetically with those bronze-brown eyes. The faint image of falling leaves reflected in their pupils.

"It's okay," she said, placing her delicate hand on his and rubbing him with her thumb. "I can see how it could be difficult for you both. Just talk to them."

Michael smiled at her, the first time she'd seen a genuine reflection of his good nature. She smiled back.

"Your eyes... they match beautifully in this setting." He said, his heart nervous as he tended not to show his emotions. She admired that and pinched his cheek.

They shared a peck as the clear autumn air picked up in the wind and the golden-brown leaves picked up off the grass.

"You're a good person."

"So are you. You're different from the other guys." She said.

"Is that a good thing?"

She nodded.

"Yes, it's a good thing."

They kissed again, the breeze picked up almost as if their touch caused the wind to start up again, blowing their gracious hair through the air. An elemental representation of their chemistry.

***

Michael returned home as the sun began to set. He took off his hoodie and walked upstairs to his room. He fired up the game console and checked his friend's list.

IchigoBun, Lucas's gamertag, was online. He was watching Crunchyroll.

An impulsive dismaying urge rose in his heart. He maintained his control and grabbed his phone.

Hey, do you wanna play something?

He waited 5 minutes. No answer.

"That's it," he thought, fed up with his friend's silence. Worse yet, IchigoBun disappeared from his list of online friends.

He dialed Mrs. Lambdin's number and raised the phone to his ear. He laid down onto his bed to restrain any chance of brewing aggression.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Lambdin, it's Michael. Can-"

"Oh hi, Michael! It's nice to hear from you! How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good, just busy with school and work. Hey, is Lucas around? I just, I really want to talk to him."

"Sure, let me check, might be upstairs."

The faint sound of footsteps emanated from the phone, then a light door knocking. Lucas's Labrador, started howling in the distance as a result.

"Oh Ralphie, stop it, it's just me." She scolded.

"Hey," she said. An inaudible commotion sounded from the receiver, continuing on for a minute. There was silence for two more minutes, then the phone picked up.

"Hello?" A girly voice sounded.

"Lucas?"

"Hm. Hey." The other voice said. Immediately Michael recognized it as Lucas's feminine tone.

"Seriously? Your ass hasn't talked to me for months on end except for a blank text here and there and all you can say is 'hey'?" Michael thought.

He wanted to say something nicer but his emotions overcame him first.

"Hey Lucas, so... what's going on dude? I've tried to contact you so many times these past few months and you're just not answering me! You've never been like this before. Like what's up? What'd I do? You can just tell me if I did something wrong but all you've done is avoid me! Why haven't you called back or even given me so much as a text?" His free hand jerked in the air to somehow further accentuate his point.

Lucas huffed on the line, "Geez Michael, calm down."

"Oh! And YOU! Oh my God, this made me so mad. You went offline right after I messaged you? You know, I bet you DIDN'T go offline. I bet you just placed me in your "appear offline" list just so you could fu-"

"Michael, stop, seriously please! It's okay, I'm not mad at you, just stop flipping out on me for one second."

His voice calmed him, surprising him with how successful it was to the point where he started to feel bad. He took a deep breath

"Sorry." He said, monotone from the embarrassment. "Go ahead."

An exasperated breath came from the receiver.

"No, I'm sorry Michael, for not telling you and just going dark on you. I feel bad for that. It's just... I've been taking time away. Not just from you, but from everyone. I haven't returned calls or texts from anybody else. So it's not just you, don't worry."

"You talked to Hailey though." He challenged.

"I was just going to tell you that and then you cut me off." He said sternly.

"Ughh... listen I'm sorry for melting down like that. You can understand why though right? You don't say anything and ghost me for the rest of the summer. That's not cool man."

"I know, believe me, I understnad. Again I'm sorry. There's a lot of things I'm going through right now."

Michael paused and finally relaxed on the bed.

"Why does your voice sound so girly?" He asked.

A deep respiration came from Lucas as he prepared for the first time he would explain the hardest thing he ever had to his best friend.

"Michael. You understand me the most out of anybody else right?"

"I'd like to think so." He responded, attentive to his friend.

"Well. I... this is something I've been wanting to admit for a long time about myself and you could probably tell by now, but I'm bisexual."

"Okay," Michael responded casually, "I kinda figured that."

"Yeah. And also, you know I've been holding back my true self, my identity for a long time now and I want to be truthful and embrace who I truly am."

Michael's eyebrows raised, waiting for him to say whatever he was going to reveal.

"Michael, I am going through a transition. I've experienced being a boy for 19 years now and I don't want to feel confined to it anymore. I've felt this way for a very long time and I'm ready to be my true self."

Michael paused to contemplate the million possible responses running through his head.

"I am coming out as trans. And the reason why I've been isolating myself is because one, I've been taking hormone treatments. And two, I didn't know how people would receive me, especially you. People can be cruel, Michael, and homosexual, bisexual, trans, anybody of the LGBTQ category are constantly looked down upon. I've lost a lot of people close to me because of it. I just hope it doesn't affect our friendship as I've often heard that it does with other people I've talked to."

Michael paused waiting for them to finish.

"Are you gonna say anything?" Lucas asked.

"Oh sorry, I was waiting for you. No, no I don't think that would really change anything, I think?" He said, scratching his head. "I mean, you're still the same guy right?"

"Same person," they corrected.

"Right, the same person who stays up late listening to me when I have girl bullshit, eating pizza rolls and playing games, who went to the beach with me and all those other trips. I mean none of that is lost right? Of course I would still love to be friends, you're my best friend. Only difference is that you're trans."

"I mean, yeah sure. I'm still down for all of those things. Certain things here and there may change but I'm still down to play with you and all that stuff."

Michael's thought process naturally alluded to something dirty but he pushed it away. Lucas's voice was calming and he still felt comfortable talking to them.

"Okay good. Well I mean... that's cool. That's good that you did that. I'm glad you can be your true self. And above all that, I'm still your friend."

"You mean that?"

"Yeah of course."

"You're such a good friend. Seriously. And with some friendships, they'll still be quote-enquote, 'friends' but they won't want to be seen in public with them or they just ghost them after a while. It's hard being this way but... I'm glad I have a good friend like you who won't be embarrassed of me."

"No! No, never. I don't care, haha. People can say whatever the fuck they want, it doesn't matter. I'll still hang out with you."

Lucas giggled endearingly. Michael heard a sniffle from the other side.

"Seriously, thank you. For being such a good friend. I wish you were here."

Michael was taken aback, unexpectedly afflicted by the way she said that. He sensed the tears welling up in his best friend's eyes as the emotion poured into his voice. It's almost as if he was talking to a different person, but they were the same. Like they were a new friend but with a built in rich history where they already knew everything about each other.

"I'm always here for you," Michael said, his voice went soft on them, "I'll never forget everything you did for me as well. We're in this together."

More sniffles and joyous breaths came from the phone.

"Hey um... do you wanna go grab ice cream? Whenever you're ready that is."

"Sure," They said, "this Sunday a good day? That gives me enough time to get ready."

"Yeah that's good. Whenever you want." He responded.

"Okay. Thanks for calling and I'm sorry again for not speaking to you in months. I know that's a long time."

"Don't worry about it. Thanks for being open with me, Lucas."

"It's actually Ari now. Please, call me Ari."

"Ari?" Michael asked, "That's gonna take some getting used to but I mean you picked a nice name so that's good."

"You like it?"

"I do."

"Wow." Ari said with relief.

"I'll see you Sunday, Ariii." Michael said obnoxiously.

"Shut up, Michael," Ari laughed, "You too, see you Sunday."

***

Sunday, September 23rd arrived. Michael got ready to see his best friend in a new light for the first time. He didn't know what to expect and felt nervous but he had to brave it.

He drove to Ari's nice house in the suburbs. He pulled into the spacious driveway on the side and walked towards the front door.

The doorbell rang. After a few moments, the door opened.

Ari stepped out of the house and Michael looked at her shocked, mouth open ever so slightly. She wore a pretty yellow and white sundress flowing with ruffles that rippled in the wind. Her curly locks of dirty blonde hair fell halfway down her neck which wore a white choker tethered by small gold chains. Bubblegum pink lipstick lined her lips. Precise black eyeshadow and long eyelashes accentuated her hazel eyes.

Michael had no clear picture of what to anticipate. With the pure beauty that burned bright in his eyes, he nearly forgot he was looking at his best friend. The same person he played games and ate pizza rolls with late at night. He was looking at a beautiful girl.

Ari noticed instantly how awestruck Michael looked. His reaction fought with a mix of multiple emotions. Expecting to see Lucas only wearing makeup, if he was standing in front of the same person, if they would act differently now that things had changed, and many other unknown variables swimming in his head.

"Hey!" He greeted her.

"Hey!" She responded, now with a slightly more feminine voice.

She hugged him and embraced, different from any hug they had before.

"It's so good to see you again," she said.

"Yeah! You too!" He responded, still in an awestruck state. "How are you?"

"I've been doing okay," She said, "still getting adjusted to these hormone treatments but they're working well on me and my mother is supportive so I'm happy." Her dialect changed to an even more feminine style, not that Michael minded in the first place.

"That's great! I'm happy that she is. Any side effects?"

"Just some issues with sleep, appetite and light-headedness here and there. It's quite a change but so far I'm doing good."

"Good to hear," He said as they got in the car. He drove out towards the ice cream place and they spent quality time catching up.

"So I've been talking to Hailey again." Michael said.

"Yeah! You told me. That's great! How is that going?"

"Good! We're moving a little slow but she's really nice. We talked about you for a bit."

"Oh really? What about me?"

"Just about your inactivity. She didn't tell me much other than that. She said to talk to you personally about it and I did, so now we're here."

Ari looked forward in the seat, smiling and happy that Hailey didn't spill any beans to him without her permission. They arrived at the place and talked for over an hour, catching up on their whereabouts, telling jokes, circling back to drama stories and describing Ari's life as a trans person.

"I know your mom has been supportive of you but... have you talked to your dad at all?"

"No. Not really." She said.

"Why not?"

"We're just not on the same page."

"Damn. I'm sorry, yeah when I met him he seemed to like me but I know you've talked to me about how you two don't get along."

"Well you're the sporty upstanding guy that he's always liked while I was just that nerdy closeted bisexual kid who played video games. Now, even less so." She sighed.

Michael shook his head at that comment.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. What, he thinks he'd feel better having some lame kid living in his house just because he plays sports? Those guys can be 'sporty and upstanding' but still be complete fucking losers. I would know, half of them are like that."

"My dad's just so conservative. It's even worse now that I've come out."

"Have you thought about telling him?"

Ari stared at him, nearly glaring while thinking about his possible responses, all of which he knew would not be positive at all.

"Ohhh right. I'm sorry that is tough. I wish I could help."

"Well, I tried to be his child but he just doesn't want to be my dad unless it's on his terms so it's whatever." She said in dismay.

Michael benevolently touched her hand and rubbed it with his thumb.

"You don't deserve that, Ari. You deserve to be loved."

Ari's lovely lips curled up into a smirk and her admiring eyes gleamed at him.

"That's why I'm lucky to have my mom. And you." She whispered.

Michael smiled back as his copper brown eyes shone for her in the sunlight.

Michael drove her home and walked them to the door. They said their goodbyes and he walked back towards his car.

"Um, wait I forgot one thing." He started back towards the door.

"What?" Ari looked with concern.

Michael walked onto the front step and grabbed the cool glass door. Something pulled him back towards her. He stared into her hazel eyes, a green vista weaved with golden brown strands. He never truly looked into the depths of her intricate irises until now.

No cognitive thought, all emotions took over his body. His body felt weightless, like floating on a cloud. His breath escaped his body. Only a singular thought crossed his mind.

Michael leaned forward, closed his eyes, then kissed her. She froze and blinked rapidly before joining him on that same cloud. They didn't realize they had kissed him back until a second passed.

Both of them separated, looking into each other's eyes.

"Hey, Michael!" Mrs. Lambdin interrupted, before they could take account of each other's reactions. She welcomed him with open arms and he hugged her. She hadn't see them kiss either.

"Hey." He responded warmly, still shackled to the feeling of intensity.

But one thing was certain, they may not identify as Lucas anymore but they were still the same person. The same person he vented to in times of need. The person who consoled him when he felt sad. The one who answered every phone call and text no matter the time of day or night.

The person who never judged him. And now things underwent a drastic change in his mind.

***

Michael played some games on the Xbox that night. He was about to shut it down for the night when he suddenly got a call and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Pizza Hut, how can I help you?" He answered.

"Good one, Michael, it's obviously your voice." Ari laughed.

"Haha what's up?"

"Nothin'. Just seeing what you were up to."

"Nothing really. Just playing xbox. Not a very eventful night I know."

"I see. So what prompted that?" Ari asked.

"Prompted what?" Michael played coy.

"You knowww what I'm talking about."

Michael huffed humorously.

"Just butterflies I guess?" Ari asked.

"Yeah. Butterflies." Michael confirmed.

Ari's heart warmed at the sound of his confirming reply.

"You might have passed them onto me." She said.

"Is that so?"

"Guess what I'm thinking about?" Ari's voice sounded softly through the receiver.

"What?" Michael smiled.

"I'm thinking about you. Right now."

Unbeknownst to Michael, Ari touched herself as his low bass voice soothed her ears.

"You're thinking about me?" He asked.

"Yeah." Ari said, unable to hold back a quiet cackle.

"What about me?" He asked curiously.

"Just you being next to me." Ari replied, imagining him watching her with an expression that matched his curious tone.

"Where are you?" Michael's voice went soft.

An adorable feminine giggle later, she said, "I'm in my bed," rolling nervously onto her side.

"That bed's comfy." Michael pointed out.

"You would know." Ari dragged out playfully.

"Honestly I'd rather be on that bed right now. Mine's not as nice."

"Oh?" Ari laughed excitedly.

"Yeah. It'd be much nicer."

"Yeah?" Ari intensified her strokes before slowing down so she could reply better, "Why is that?"

Michael wasn't sure what made him switch from comfort to company but he said it anyway.

"Because I'd be next to you."

Ari's heart throbbed. A deeply invigorating exhale and she was in heaven.

"You'd like that?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

She increased the pitch, pinching herself underneath her shorts.

"I would love that." She confessed, "Can you come over?"

"I've got work tomorrow, I'm sorry." Michael said honestly.

"Aww. I understand."

"I want to hangout this weekend."

"Oh I'd love that."

"You would? Let me know."

"Of course. Have a good night's sleep, Michael."

"You too."

Ari hung up and fell asleep, dreaming of Michael's body next to her. She fantasized about the day he would just cuddle her, hold her all night and maybe crawl on top and kiss her again.

***

The next day, Ari spent the day reading and taking care of herself. She felt so giddy after her and Michael's conversation on the phone.

Later that night, the screen dimly lit Ari's fair freckled face as she stared at her phone. Her hazel eyes dialed into a book while laying in the comfortable bed, listening to the sounds of raindrops pittering on the window.

Ari couldn't shake the smile on their face. They replayed the vivid memory of Michael, closing his eyes and kissing her passionately. How it left an unforgettable rush throughout Ari's body. The way Michael's beautiful eyes looked longingly at them.

A message appeared, covering the text of her book.

Michael: hey

Like magic. Immediately Ari answered him.

Ari: hey

Michael: what are you up to?

Ari: just reading in bed. what about you?

Michael: also laying in bed

Michael: i cant stop thinking about you

Ari's heart skipped a beat and her thin eyebrows raised a bit.

Ari: really? :)

Michael: yes

Ari: me either ♡ it was so nice seeing you again

Michael: I felt something when we kissed

Ari: really??? ♡

Michael: yeah

Michael: can I come over?

Ari could now feel it in her chest, pounding away as her pupils darted back and forth