First day of school. Isaac walked up to the three of them. Lily had seen him in bits and pieces throughout the summer. She’d been away at camps for the past couple months and when she was home, her dad kept her on a tight leash. But here, she could breathe a sigh of relief. It was always nice to be around Isaac. She teased him a bit, and he planted a kiss on her cheek. Before they could all talk and reunite in full, the bell rang sending them off to homeroom. She hopped up, eager to see him at lunch. She wanted to propose a beginning-of-school movie date and was excited to get to spend time with him again.

At lunch, Lily sat down next to Sadie and across from Kai. The three of them chatted as per usual, but eventually they became worried when they noticed that Isaac wasn't showing up. Lily spent the rest of lunch looking around for him and was upset when the bell rang sending them back to classes. The rest of the day, there were rumblings about how he'd gotten sick and sent home. Some said that he'd broken the law and been sent to jail. Lily didn't pay any attention to the speculation, but she did leave him a plethora of texts and voicemails on Isaac's phone.

Three days later, Lily was summoned to the Principal's office alongside Sadie and Kai. The three of them were worried, as Isaac had been gone for three days and there was no official word on where he'd gone. Lily was mentally kicking herself for not having his parents’ numbers in her phone. Principal Bates calmly told them that Isaac had been diagnosed with a condition. He put it clearly and gently as he could muster. Lily looked at Kai and Sadie's faces. They were shocked, perhaps even a little horrified. Lily knew that she should be as well, but she had little trouble holding herself together. She was just too flustered to know what to make of it. They were told that the three of them were informed before the school, because of how close they were to Isaac. Lily was glad they had done so, and that she hadn't heard it through offhanded rumors and speculation.

Life returned to normal for the next week, or as normal as it could get without Isaac. They sat at lunch together as they had the year before. They had been quick to adjust, or at the very least ignore the missing presence of their comrade. Sadie was telling Lily and Kai about the guy that she had met online recently. Later that day Lily and Sadie engaged in their usual text conversations. The conversation touched on most of the general topics: school, the weather, boys. Lily couldn't get Isaac out of her head.

"What do you think he'll look like... when he gets back?" Lily texted.

There was a moment of pause before Sadie sent back a reply. "I don't know. Probably about the same as before."

"I wonder if he'll be shorter?"

Sadie was quicker on the response with this one, "I did a little research into it, and patients tend to keep their height and general build." Then she let another long pause before asking Lily the question that had been on both their minds almost from the get-go.

"What do you think the two of you will do when he gets back?" Sadie asked.

Lily had thought about, practically obsessed over that question, and she was no closer to an answer than when she had started.

"I don't know," she said, "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

The first week finished up and Lily had resolved to mandate a game night, just like they had always done on Fridays. Kai and Sadie were quick to agree. Usually, the group met at Isaac's, and while they knew the Baker's would love to have them over, it felt weird imposing without Isaac present. Sadie volunteered her house and Kai brought his unopened version of settlers of catan. Isaac had been the master, winning around every other game he played, and without him, the ground was much more even. Sadie dominated the first half of the game, but Kai and Lily both slowly started catching up. After one windfall turn, Kai snatched the win. Lily was happy to return to some sense of normalcy.

At the start of the second week of school, Lily was getting bored as her classes weren't yet picking up speed. This let her mind wander, whether she liked it or not. She pictured Isaac in her head, trying to hold onto every detail of his face. The face that she knew, the face that she might even love. Then the face began to distort itself and shift into something... close to the original, but different. She envisioned Isaac with more feminine features, and focused on it. She still felt the same feelings pull from within her. She still felt the same love. She snapped back into reality, completely flustered and confused.

It had been around three weeks since Isaac had left. Classes were really picking up which Lily welcomed as something to take her mind off her own thoughts and feelings. Around Thursday, she got a text from Kai.

"Isaac's parents say we each get to write him a letter that they'll take with them on their visit. Write it tonight and I'll deliver them tomorrow before game night."

Lily procrastinated writing the letter as late as possible. She longed to simply be able to talk to him, to see him. She was too confused about how she felt to talk to him this way. Unsure of how she felt about Isaac, Lily wrote as little on the subject as possible. She was about to seal it up, when that image of Isaac popped back in her head. She knew that she still loved that face. Lily tweaked the letter, sealed it up, and got it ready to give to Kai.

Weeks flew by and Lily held on to the small things like Friday game nights closer than ever. She was happy to be around friends. Kai and Sadie had always had an odd dynamic. Sadie was one of the flirtier people she knew, and she didn't limit herself. Kai of course kept his casual persona, but indulged in some light tossing of affections. Lily laughed, unable to piece apart what was friendly discourse and what could be something more than that. Regardless, it kept all of their spirits up.

It was quickly approaching two months since Isaac had left. Lily was finally settling into a routine outside of what she'd done before, outside of Isaac. Tennis started later than the other fall sports, and when it started Lily threw herself into it. Any feelings of confusion she took out in every swing and strike of the fuzzy green ball that sailed towards her. The tennis courts were devoid of shade and the sun beat down on the players with a harsh and intense glow. Lily tended to get partnered off with a girl named Megan. They chummed around. Megan was the head of the school's GSA. She and Lily had been acquaintances for a while, but they'd never really talked outside of practice.

They had finished a practice match against two other girls and the sun had left all four of them sweaty and tired. Lily dashed for her water. As she was cooling off she found herself starring at one of the girls she'd just gone up against. Tennis attire usually consisted of outfits on the skimpier side to aide in mobility and this being one of the hotter days of the year, the outfits got even skimpier. She watched as the girl bent over to pick up her water bottle, her skin glistening in the sunlight. Megan tapped her on the shoulder to make sure Lily was okay and not dying of heatstroke. Lily blushed slightly and the two headed over to practice some serves. She noticed Megan was restraining a knowing smile.

Come the end of the week, Kai had texted her and Sadie that Isaac was headed into final surgeries. Lily's heart felt like it skipped a beat. After having come to terms as much as she could without Isaac being around, this had sent her spiraling back. This meant that there was only a month left before he was back, and they would have to sit down and figure out what was going to happen between the two of them. Lily would have to truly figure how she felt, and that was a terrifying and daunting task.

More weeks passed as she contemplated everything buzzing around in her head. She was driven to check out Megan's club. Lily didn't come from an exceptionally accepting background. Her mom had always done her best, but Lily's dad was a force to be reckoned with. She considered herself to be an open and accepting person, different from her parents, but she thought of herself as an ally for ages, and never bothered to show up. She was scared of why things were different now.

She tossed around the idea of going. At one point made it so far as standing in front of the door, looking in, but at the last minute, she broke and headed for the parking lot. She sat down in the driver’s seat and just zoned out. She didn't know whether to cry, yell, or laugh. Confusion just hit Lily from every angle. She thought about Isaac, both versions she had in her head. Her mind wandered to her past relationships and crushes on guys. She thought about the tennis player and other girls she'd caught glimpses of in locker rooms and sleepovers. None of the thoughts and memories she'd had had felt disingenuous or... all that different. Things were slowly coming into focus, but she knew she wasn't there yet.

Finally the day Isaac was coming home arrived. She had trouble sleeping as she grappled with everything that had been getting at her the past few months. The day of, Kai sent her a picture that he'd received from Isaac's parents. It was a girl asleep in the backseat of the Bakers' car. She was skinny, but still slightly muscled. Her hair was short and curlier than curly fries. She looked peaceful and quite beautiful as she slept.

Then... Lily realized that it was Isaac. Emotions hit her like a freight train, but she finally was able to make sense of them. Seeing Isaac, she knew what she was going to do.