The house was quiet. Ester was sitting on the couch with her legs curled up beneath her. Anton was sitting nearby while his parents stood off to the side. A police officer was jotting down notes in a little notebook.

“He’s the only one I could see clearly,” Ester finished, “But I can guess who some of the other ones might have been. They’ll all act as aliases for each other no matter what.”

The officer grunted, unconvinced, and closed his notebook.

“Well, miss, we’ll ask about this boy. But, in the future, be careful when going out at night. It’s not safe for a young woman on her own.”

Ester scoffed and turned away.

“We’ll be in touch,” the officer insisted, but Ester didn’t reply.

When he was gone, Ester sighed and moaned, “They’re not going to do anything.”

Anton fidgeted a bit in his seat and scooted closer.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“It’s a long story,” Ester insisted, “The short version is that I broke the curse and everything can go back to normal. But I also don’t have anywhere to go tonight.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Anton said, smiling broadly, “Stay here for tonight. We don’t have a spare room, but I’ll get you a blanket and you can sleep on the couch.”

“…thank you.”

Anton’s parents whispered to themselves off in another room. Ester should have introduced herself. She’d just say she was a friend from school; there was no way they’d recognize or believe her as Eli. But she also didn’t want to get up.

“Here you go,” Anton said, handing Ester a mug of warm milk and wrapping a blanket around her.

Ester stared at the mug in her hands and didn’t say anything. Anton sat down beside her and, after a moment, tentatively placed a hand on her back. Ester didn’t fight him.

“You’re going to be okay,” he insisted.

“What are you doing?”

Anton removed his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m just trying to be nice.”

Ester glared darkly at him, and Anton scooted away. But she wasn’t watching his expression. She was looking at his eyes, though, which darted briefly up and down her body. Even now, he was thinking with his other head.

The thought sent a pang of guilt through Ester. Was she really any better? If the situation were reversed and it was Eli trying to help a pretty girl, he probably wouldn’t have been able to help himself either.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked, tears in her eyes, “After everything I’ve said to you?”

Anton frowned.

“Because we were friends, once,” he said, “I wanted to stay friends, El— Ester.”

It looked like the name pained him to say.

“But I was such a bitch to you,” she said quietly.

“I forgive you,” Anton replied, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Ester pulled away, though.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

“I want to stay friends,” Anton insisted.

Ester sighed and replied, “Maybe.”

He smiled, and Ester winced. She scooted away, trying to increase the distance between them. The last thing she wanted was for Anton to lean in and place a kiss on her.

“I’m so tired,” she said.

“Get some sleep,” Anton told her, standing up.

“Not yet,” Ester said, yawning, “I need to call somebody.”

She fumbled around in her backpack for her phone. Ester cycled through her contacts, afraid to go through with what she wanted to do. With a sigh, she hit Carla’s number and listened to the ring.

“Ester?” Carla asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Um… sort of.”

“What is it? I’ll be over right away.”

“Actually, I’m at Anton’s house.”

There was a pause.

“Why?” Carla asked.

“It’s a long story,” Ester told her, “Can you come over? I really need you right now.”

“Alright. Stay where you are.”

“Thank you.”

Ester hung up and moved over to Victoria’s number. Her finger hovered over the call button for a while. Would Victoria even want to see her after what Ester had said to her?

She dialed the number anyway. The phone rang for a while, to the point that Ester thought Victoria wouldn’t pick up. Her heart leapt when she heard Victoria’s voice.

“Ester? Is that you?”

“Hi, Victoria…”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… yeah, basically. Um… would you come over? I really need someone to be with me right now?”

“Of course, Ester. I’ll be right there.”

“Hang on,” Ester said, “You don’t know where I am.”

She gave Victoria the address and Victoria hung up. Ester sighed and put her phone away, then closed her eyes. All she wanted to do was sleep.

“Ester?”

When Ester opened her eyes, Victoria was standing in front of her. Anton was there too, standing just off to the side. Victoria sat down right next to Ester so they were touching.

“You look terrible,” she said, “Tell me what happened.”

“Let’s wait until Carla gets here,” Ester pleaded.

Victoria nodded and pulled Ester’s head to her chest, stroking her hair softly. Ester closed her eyes and started to drift off. She just wanted this to all be over.

The doorbell woke her up. Anton went to answer it, and returned with Carla. As soon as she saw the condition Ester was in, Carla swore and ran over, pulling her sister from Victoria’s arms and hugging her tightly.

“What happened?” she demanded.

Ester sat down and relayed the experience again to the other two. This time, Ester included her fight with April and how she had recanted the wish. Unlike the officer, who had retained a mostly blank face throughout the story, Victoria and Carla went through a range of emotions. Several times, Ester started to tear up and had to stop before she choked on her words.

“I’m sorry,” she told Carla, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the full truth—”

“Shh! Shh, it’s okay, Fofa,” Carla said, cradling Ester slowly.

“I’m going to tell my mentors about this,” Victoria said, folding her arms, “Those boys aren’t going to be allowed to get away with this.”

Ester wanted to protest, but just nodded. Someone should do something about them.

“They’d better be fast,” Carla muttered darkly, “If I get to them first, there won’t be anything left over.”

“Carla, no,” Ester whined, clutching her sister tightly, “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Some things are worth getting in trouble for.”

“That’s everything for you,” Ester protested weakly.

“So be it.”

Victoria chuckled.

“Guys,” Ester said, trying not to smile, “All I really want right now is to not be alone. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course, Fofa.”

“Absolutely. We’re going to help you through this.”

Anton cleared his throat. Carla glared darkly at him, and he flinched. He wouldn’t look at them when he spoke.

“Can I speak to Ester alone?”

“No,” Carla said flatly.

“Carla, it’s okay,” Ester said, “Can we have the room?”

“You can’t be serious!”

Carla looked at Victoria, who shrugged and stood up.

“We’ll be right outside,” she assured Ester.

Carla grumbled, but also stood up. She didn’t stop glaring at Anton as she followed Victoria out of the room. Once she was gone, Anton could breathe easier again.

He walked up and stood in front of Ester, fidgeting with his hands.

“Hey,” he said.

Ester sighed.

“Anton, what do you want?”

“Are you okay?” he asked, “After what happened—”

“Thank you for saving me,” Ester replied, “If you hadn’t, I… he…” She started to tear up. “He wouldn’t have stopped if not for you.”

“It’s okay,” Anton said, sitting down and placing a hand on her shoulder.

This time, Ester didn’t pull away. She wiped the tears forming from her eyes and sniffed. Anton smiled softly at her, and Ester smiled weakly in return.

“Do you have clothes for tonight?” he asked.

“I do,” Ester said, “But they’re only girl clothes. I don’t know how I’m going to wake up tomorrow.”

“If you have to, you can borrow clothes from me until you get home.”

“I don’t know if I’m going home,” Ester admitted, “But I guess I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“You’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Ester said, “Really, I mean it. I don’t deserve your help after everything I said to you.”

“You were going through a lot. Does this mean we can be friends again?”

Ester frowned.

“Ester, what is the problem?” Anton asked, exasperated.

Ester removed his hand from her shoulder and replied, “It’s obvious that you have a crush on me.”

Anton’s face turned red and he scooted away from her.

“You can tell…”

“I’ve always been able to tell,” Ester replied, smiling softly, “Turns out guys aren’t very good at hiding that sort of thing. And I’m flattered, really, I am—”

“But you’re not interested.”

“I’m asexual. Mostly asexual,” Ester explained, “And, honestly, it kind of weirds me out. We were best friends as guys and the only reason you like me now is because I’m a girl. It… makes me uncomfortable, the way you look at me now.”

Anton broke eye contact and nodded.

“You’re not too upset, are you?” Ester asked.

“No, I get it,” Anton said, “It would be kind of weird.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” He sighed, then groaned. “It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Anton blushed again and asked, “You know how you said guys aren’t good at hiding who they have a crush on?”

“Yeah…”

“They aren’t very good at picking up on it, either.” He gulped and continued, “I’ve… always had a crush on you, Eli— um, Ester. Even before you turned into a girl.”

He seemed to be watching Ester for a reaction. She blinked and her jaw dropped open. There was an “oh!” from the doorway to the room, and when Ester glanced over she saw Carla and Victoria duck out of sight.

“So… you’re bi?” Ester asked.

Anton nodded and gulped.

“Huh.”

“I was afraid to say anything,” he explained, “I figured you only liked girls and thought it would make things awkward between us. What was the point of ruining our friendship? And I didn’t know how you felt about queer people anyway; none of the other Boys were very open-minded.”

“Why did you stay with us?” Ester asked.

“You were my friends,” Anton mumbled, “I thought it would be too difficult to make new ones, especially as a black guy in a white school, and I didn’t want to lose what we had. And it let me get close to you.”

Ester felt the heat rise in her cheeks.

She asked, “You don’t care that I’m… mostly asexual?”

“Not really.”

“Then close your eyes.”

Anton blinked in confusion.

“Do as I say,” Ester commanded.

Anton looked confused, but did as he was told. Ester took a deep breath and leaned in and pursed her lips. For a moment, she just took in his scent, then slowly planted her lips on nose.

Anton opened his eyes, and the two locked gazes. Ester pulled away and smiled. Anton blushed even harder than before. He looked to be struggling for something to say.

“I’ll see you around,” Ester promised, standing up and slinging her backpack over her shoulder, “I promise I’ll make everything up to you. But right now there’s something else I have to take care of.”

“Uh-huh,” Anton mumbled, still in shock.

Ester smirked and glanced over to the doorway where Victoria and Carla were standing. She took Anton’s hand for a moment, soaking up the warmth, before letting go and walking over to her friend and sister. Carla looked disappointed, but Victoria was grinning from ear to ear.

“Victoria,” she said, “Can you ask your mentors to do something to help protect me? I don’t want them to hurt anyone who was chasing me, but I don’t feel like the police are going to do any good.”

“Of course,” Victoria said, sobering up quickly, “I’ll do anything I can to help.”

Ester nodded, then turned to Carla and asked, “Can you take me back to April’s house?”

“Are you sure?”

“I have to do this,” Ester told her.

Carla sighed and nodded, then gestured for Ester to follow. She started to, then stopped and turned around to look at Anton. He was still watching her, smiling a little. Ester waved goodbye.