“Hey, dude, come look at this,” Charlie said to his best friend and apartment mate, John.

“What’s up?” John asked.

Charlie held up a package. “This package says that I won some contest or something.”

“Have you entered any contests recently?”

“There was that one about writing down all the traits I would want my soulmate to have,” Charlie said, air quoting the world “soulmate”.

“You never did show me that paper. Wasn’t the contest to make the most detailed assessment of a person possible without providing physical appearance?” 

“Yeah. I went crazy on that thing. Everything from likes, dislikes, quirks, intelligence… the works. If I ever met a woman with everything I wrote there, I’d be on her in a heartbeat,” Charlie said.

“I hope that you at least plan on taking her out on a nice date or ten before doing that,” John said with a laugh.

“You know me. I’d do things right,” Charlie said.

John patted Charlie’s shoulder. “I know, man. Why don’t you have a girlfriend, anyway?”

“Haven’t found the one?” Charlie shrugged.

“And she was on that paper,” John said.

“Exactly,” Charlie said, opening up the package. He began to read the letter. “Congratulations, Charlie! You have won our contest with your description of your soulmate! Your prize, enclosed in this package, is an early access copy of our revolutionary new program. With our sophisticated creation software, you can create the physical appearance that matches the person you have described to us. Once you have finalized your soulmate’s appearance, it will be easier than ever to find the partner of your dreams!”

Charlie put down the letter. “Wow. What an odd prize. A program that lets me create a person?”

“And how will that help you find her?” John asked.

Charlie shrugged. “Beats me. They seem pretty serious about this thing, though. It wouldn’t hurt to try it and at least see what this program is.”

“Just make sure it doesn’t have a virus or something!” John laughed.

“Yeah. I’ll probably try tinkering with it later tonight or tomorrow morning,” Charlie said.

“Make sure to show her to me once you’re done. I’d like to meet your future wife,” John said.

“Future wife? I’ll never meet her. There is such a thing as being too perfect, you know.”

“Didn’t you account for that in your description?”

“Well, yeah, but the odds of me finding a woman with all of that is really slim.”

“I hope you find her, Charlie. She’ll be a lucky girl,” John said.

“What? You going gay on me, John?” Charlie asked. Such a thing didn’t bother him, but John didn’t know that.

John shook his head, avoiding eye contact. “Nah. I’m just looking at things objectively. Anyway, I think I’m going to head to bed.”

“Okay. I should get to sleep too. Classes are starting up soon, and I need to reset my clock!” Charlie joked.

“Okay. It’s your turn on the master bed, right?” John asked. When Charlie nodded, John went into the bedroom first.

The friends had an unusual sleeping arrangement. The apartment they shared had only one bedroom, so they both elected to sleep there. To compensate for this, they made sure there were two beds in the room: a king size master bed and a twin size airbed. The two switched beds every night. A little while after John had settled himself into the air bed, Charlie climbed into the master bed.

---

Charlie woke up before John the next morning and decided to put the prize disc into his computer. He couldn’t seem to find any name of the program on the box or the disc. Perhaps it didn’t have a name yet because it wasn’t quite ready to be released. After checking the contents of the disc for viruses, he installed the program on his computer. Upon starting it, he was presented with a few tools. In addition to creating his “soulmate”, he could also put himself into the program and see what he and the woman of his dreams looked like as a couple. He quickly put all of his traits into the program, as he naturally knew himself quite well. He was surprised, however, at how easily he was able to duplicate his own appearance with the tools provided in the program. He was amazed. It really looked like he was standing there.

Charlie was a very masculine man. Standing at just over six foot three, he had a v-shaped torso that led him to many a girlfriend in high school. He worked out fairly regularly, but his clothing often hid the fit physique that lay under them. His short brown hair was well groomed, and his grey eyes were easy to get lost in.

Charlie next started to work on creating his virtual “partner”. He started by inputting all of the traits that he submitted to the contest. However, it was asking for a few new ones related to physical appearance. He decided that he wanted his girl to be well and easily groomed, so he inputted that she had a near perfect complexion and elected to have laser hair removal before attending college. Since he was 20, that would mean that she had it at 18, he thought. Except for the hair on her head, really, she would be low maintenance, which would be good for both of them. After finishing the traits, he finally started to create the appearance of the girl. He somehow knew just what appearance would perfectly fit the traits he listed, almost as if an unseen hand were guiding his mouse. When he was finished, he was looking at a stunningly beautiful girl standing about seven inches shorter than his virtual frame.

With just one look, he knew that the girl he had created was perfect. If not for the fact that she was simply on a computer screen, Charlie might have fallen in love right then and there. He clicked the save button, storing both him and his soulmate for future access. John wanted to see her, after all. Since his roommate was still asleep, Charlie continued to tinker with the program. He wondered why he couldn’t give a name to the beauty on the screen, even after saving her. As he continued to explore the program in an attempt to see what else it could do, he finally heard John get up from his own slumber. He yawned and went to the computer to see what Charlie was doing.

“Is this her?” he asked, looking at the girl on the screen. “Oh, it let you create yourself, too? That’s practically a clone of you on the screen!”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, “this thing is powerful. It’s amazing. Oh, I never let you see the traits, either. Want to see those?”

“Sure,” John said. Charlie brought up the proper screen. As John looked over the traits, quirks, and features, he felt a realization come to his mind.

“Um, Charlie? These traits… they describe me perfectly,” he said.

“What? You mean that my soulmate is you… but as a woman?” Charlie asked.

“Yes! And… look at that girl. She resembles me a lot, almost as if she could be my sister! She’s definitely inherited my Mom’s looks. She was a model in her prime, remember?” John said. The appearance of the woman tugged at John’s heart, drudging out memories long suppressed. He looked away, afraid to peer closer.

“Oh, shit. Well, at least we know I’ll never meet this girl. You don’t have a sister,” Charlie said.

John laughed, and began to scratch at his chest. “Mom wanted a daughter so badly, though. She told me she was so excited to find out she was pregnant with me. Doctors always told her that she was likely to never get pregnant, so everybody was surprised when I popped up.”

“What was wrong with her?” Charlie asked, surprised that John had never told him about this.

“She’s just one of those unlucky women who aren’t very fertile,” John said.

“I’m sorry. You strike me as a big brother type,” Charlie said.

“Yeah. It would have been fun to have a little sister. Anyway, I’m feeling a little off, so I think I’ll head back to bed for a little while. If my Mom calls early, make sure to wake me up, okay?”

“Don’t worry. Go ahead and take the master bed. It’s your turn today,” Charlie said.

“I’m not about to say no to that offer,” John laughed. He climbed back into bed, leaving part of a bare leg exposed where neither the blanket nor his pajamas were covering it. Almost immediately, he began to dream of a girl named Mary.

Charlie turned back to his screen and studied the beauty he had created some more. How was it that he was able to create somebody who could be related to John without realizing it? How could he have put his best friend into the body of a woman without realizing it? This was definitely weird, he thought. He thought back to the letter that came with the program. It was supposed to make it easier for him to find his soulmate, yet he just found out that finding her wouldn’t be possible. In his eyes, the program seemed to be a failure. After about a half hour of confirming that John was indeed right about the traits he had given the girl, he closed down the program and sighed. He stood up from the computer and took a look at John, sleeping peacefully. He thought that something looked odd about that exposed leg, and walked up to him to take a closer look.

He gasped when he realized that his leg was devoid of all hair! How could that be possible? They were covered in hair just a half hour ago, and there was no sign of fallen hair on the bed. He then remembered something about the girl he created. She had undergone laser hair removal! Charlie started to panic. Was John becoming the girl he created? His soulmate? Seeing no other option, Charlie gently shook John awake.

“Wha… what’s going on?” John asked. “Did Mom call already?”

“No, John,” Charlie said. “Something’s going on.”

John sat up. “What is it?”

Charlie pointed to John’s leg. “Were your legs like that this morning?”

John looked at his leg and his eyes bugged out of his head. “No, they weren’t!”

“As I said, something is going on. Go to the bathroom and take a look at yourself. I’ll see if that program has anything to do with this,” Charlie said.

“You don’t think I’m…” John started.

“Not if I can help it!” Charlie said, rushing off to his computer. John got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

He stood in front of his mirror and first lifted his pant legs to take a look at the skin under them. They were eerily smooth and hairless, almost as if hair never grew there at all. The hair on his head seemed longer, and his face softer and smoother. When he lifted his shirt, he discovered why his chest was itching earlier in the morning. His nipples were large, dark, and they seemed to be sticking out of his body. They definitely weren’t standard equipment for boys. He also saw that his arms and armpits were as devoid of hair as his legs. Was he actually turning into Charlie’s soulmate? His mind swirling for many reasons, John fought tears as he left the bathroom to confront his friend. 

When Charlie heard his friend open the bathroom door, he stood to greet him.

“Are you really…” he started.

“What did you do?” John asked. “I think I’m… I think I’m turning into your dream girl! Wait. Did you grow?”

“No,” Charlie sighed, “you’re shrinking. The girl I made is five foot eight.”

“That’s a little tall for a girl,” John mused, starting to imagine how he would look next to his best friend.

“But short compared to me,” Charlie said, completing the image for John.

“This can’t be happening!” John cried, putting his hands on his head. Charlie noticed that his nails seemed slightly longer, and his fingers more slender.

“The program has to have something to do with this,” Charlie said.

“I really am going to match that girl on the screen, aren’t I?” John asked, looking down.

“Come on. There’s gotta be a way to stop this,” Charlie said, dashing back to the computer. John followed him and stood behind his shoulder.

“Is there any way to change her appearance? If you make her look as I was this morning, I might revert back,” John said.

“That would be great… but the program won’t let me claim that my soulmate is a boy! It seems to know that I’m attracted to girls,” he said. John groaned. Did his voice seem higher than before?

“Maybe you can change the girl’s appearance?” John suggested. His voice was starting to crack. Charlie looked behind himself to find that John looked far more like a girl that he would have liked to admit. Small breasts were beginning to tent his pajamas, and his dark hair was steadily lengthening. His face was even softer than earlier, and his lips seemed fuller.

“Stop staring at me and keep looking!” John almost screamed. Tears were starting to stain his face. Charlie turned back to the program and started to go through all of the options.

“Augh!” he cried after several more minutes of panic laden looking, “I’m completely locked out! It won’t let me alter or change anything. It won’t even let me create a new couple!”

“Maybe… if you uninstall it?” John asked, his higher voice shaking with his tears.

Charlie didn’t look behind himself at his changing friend as he closed the program and tried to find a way to uninstall it. An error box graced his screen when he found it.

Warning!, it said, the program cannot be uninstalled until all changes are finished saving.

“I have saved all changes!” Charlie roared, “How can it not be finished?”

“I think it means me,” John said quietly. “It wants me to finish changing.”

Charlie looked to his friend and gasped once again. His hair was fuller and well past his shoulders. Substantial breasts adorned his chest, but he knew that they weren’t done yet. The girl he created had breasts that fit that sweet spot of a perfect size for her frame. His pajama top and bottom seemed to have combined into a long, flowing nightgown in the same light blue as his old nightwear.

“I’m close, aren’t I?” John asked. His voice was clearly female now. 

“I’m so sorry, John,” Charlie said, “I had no idea this would happen.”

“I… I know you didn’t,” John accepted.

Charlie turned back around to his computer. He couldn’t bear to continue watching this happen to his best friend. He went back into the program, desperate to make things right again. John leaned back in behind him. His growing bosom crept into Charlie’s peripheral vision, providing an unwelcome distraction from his work. He turned back toward John. He looked so much like a girl now that he was having a very hard time thinking of him as he once was.

“I’m so sorry to have to say this, but it’s really hard to concentrate with your breasts right next to my head like that,” he said, hoping that John wouldn’t take it badly. John stepped back quickly, covering the feminine protrusions with his thin arms.

“I… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… how am I supposed to know where my breasts are supposed to go!” he cried. Emotions were running rampant in the transforming friend. Charlie understood that, and didn’t react to his outburst. John walked back and sat on the bed while Charlie turned back to his computer. John continued to stare in wonder at his changing body. He brought his knees up to his chest, biting his lip when they came into contact with his breasts. He couldn’t understand why they kept growing. The girl on the screen didn’t have huge breasts. They were perfectly sized.

Charlie continued to work at the program without any luck for another half hour. John’s cries slowed and eventually stopped, but he seemed to be staring into space while Charlie worked to find a way to change him back. Charlie tried to uninstall the program again, but the warning did not pop up again. After a moment of deliberation, Charlie decided not to uninstall it. He had a strange feeling that removing it would destroy all chances of changing John back. He stood up and looked at his friend. His knees were under his chin as he stared at the wall. John looked so intensely female that Charlie was having a truly hard time thinking of the figure on the bed as a he.

“John?” Charlie asked, afraid to startle his friend.

John’s head slowly turned toward Charlie. “Why did this happen?”

Charlie sat down next to John. “The letter said that the program would make it easier to find my soulmate. I think it figured that since your personality matched her’s to the letter, changing you would be the easiest way to let me find her.”

“How could it do this?” John choked, “It’s just a program!”

“I honestly have no idea,” Charlie said.

John just looked down again. “How are my parents going to take this? How is the university going to take this?”

“We can explain things to them somehow. I guess you can start when your Mom does her Sunday call,” Charlie said.

John sighed. “I’m hoping that she happens to forget this week.”

Charlie looked John over again, and sighed. “I’m sorry. I seriously can’t think of you as a John when you look like this.”

“Gee, I wonder why?” John sniped. Charlie wasn’t sure whether his friend was ranting or telling a joke.

“Do you still want me to call you John, or should we use another name for now?” Charlie asked, trying to get to more practical matters.

John frowned and thought for a moment. Now that the changes had stopped and his mind had stopped racing, her thoughts were beginning to fall into place. “Call me… Mary.”

“Mary?” 

“It’s the name that Mom would have given me if I were born a girl. After I was born, it became reserved for the little sister she was never able to conceive,” Mary explained.

“Okay. Mary it is,” Charlie said. He watched as the new girl stood up and smoothed her nightgown out. Although the gown was shapeless, he could make out the lines of her figure underneath the material. He was jolted out of his trance by Mary sighing. She started to walk toward the closet.

“I guess I need to start packing now,” she said.

“Now, just wait a minute!” Charlie snapped, “Why would you think that?”

Mary turned around and motioned to herself. “We’re a man and a woman living in the same apartment and sleeping in the same room! This isn’t going to work!”

Charlie stood up, surprised that Mary had started thinking of herself as a woman so quickly. “You’re going to stay right here. It’s my fault that this happened to you and I’m not going to kick you out because of it. Boy or girl, you’re still my best friend, and friends don’t abandon each other like this.”

Mary bit her lip. “But… how are we going to handle this? It’s going to be awkward.”

Charlie thought for a second. “First, we can move the air bed across the room, so that we sleep farther away from each other. We can also schedule bathroom time so that I won’t walk in on you while you’re naked or something. We can figure something out.”

“Why are you only worried about seeing me naked? Shouldn’t I be trying not to catch you too?” Mary teased.

“You’ve seen what I have. You’ve had what I have. I’m not saying that I’ll prance around the apartment without clothes on, but it won’t be the end of the world if I have an accident,” Charlie said.

“Okay… but we both need to be careful,” Mary said. “Are you sure you want to do this? People might start talking.”

“Let them talk,” Charlie said. He was surprised to see Mary smile.

“I’ll stay, then,” she said, “I’ll try to make this work, too.”

Charlie smiled back at his friend and walked closer to her. “I’ll keep trying to find a way to reverse this, okay?”

Mary looked up at Charlie, finally feeling what it was like to look up at someone over half a foot taller than herself. “Thanks,” she said.

“Would it be a bad move to give you a hug right now?” Charlie asked.

As Mary thought about it, she realized that she really could use a hug. She shook her head and held her hands out. Charlie engulfed the smaller girl in his arms, feeling her crush against his chest in a return hug. Mary marveled at just how nice it felt to be hugged by someone larger than her. Charlie was gentle and protective, and Mary couldn’t deny that she liked how the hug felt.

“Thank you for letting me stay,” she said.

“What are friends for?” Charlie asked. Mary just nodded. That question really didn’t need an answer. She wandered back around the room and finally settled back on the bed.

“It feels so odd to walk now,” she said, “it’s like my entire center of gravity has shifted.”

“That’s because it has. If your Mom is accepting of all this, and I’m sure she will, you can probably ask her a lot of questions when she calls later,” Charlie said.

Mary nodded. “This is going to be such a weird phone call.”

Charlie started to gather a few things. “I’m going to go out for a bit and try to ask around about that contest. Hopefully I can meet someone else who entered. Will you be okay alone?”

“Yeah. Some alone time actually sounds pretty nice. There’s still a lot for me to wrap my head around,” Mary said.

“I’ll probably be back in a couple of hours. Will that be plenty of alone time?”

“It’ll probably be more than enough.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later then.”

“Good luck!”

Mary watched Charlie leave the room and waited until she heard the front door close before standing up again. Watching her nightgown settle around her ankles, her eyes were drawn to the breasts tenting the front of the gown outward. She walked to the bathroom again and stripped, including the pair of panties she just realized she was wearing. She wondered if all of her clothes now matched this new body. Taking a look in the mirror, she gasped. Her tear stained face was somehow still beautiful, with wide eyes, full lips, defined cheeks, and a perfect framing of straight jet black hair. Her eyes retained the green hue she’d always had. Her breasts were large and generous, but they seemed smaller than she thought they were in her initial panic. She brought a hand up to touch one, amazed at the softness of the flesh. Her eyes traced an obviously attractive figure down to beautifully sculpted legs. Mary felt like she was the personification of pure femininity, and suddenly gained a lot of respect for Charlie for not trying to ravish her. He even asked for a hug instead of just taking the action.

Looking further, Mary realized that she had an athletic physique. She cringed when she thought about the effects of her usual runs on her breasts. They were probably a solid C cup, maybe a D but, having never had the experience of having breasts, she couldn’t be sure. They were definitely bigger than the average girl’s, but they didn’t look too big because she was also taller than the average girl. Everywhere Mary looked, she saw hints of her mother. She, too, had a beautifully proportioned body… beautiful enough to have experienced a lucrative modeling career. That, combined with her Dad’s job as a corporate CEO, meant that her family was very well off. Her college education came out of their pockets, and she was determined not to waste their money.

Since she was already naked, Mary next decided to take a shower. She immediately found that her body was much more sensitive. The shower was very nice, but she had to cut it short so that she would be ready when her Mom called. After drying herself off, Mary wrapped the towel around her chest and walked to her closet. As she suspected, all of her clothing matched the girl she now was, and she was happy to find that there was a nice balance of clothing. She was drawn to one of the dresses… but what would Charlie think? She eventually settled on a pair of jeans and a regular t-shirt, feeling immensely calm and comfortable regardless.

A smile beginning to grace her face, Mary easily snapped her bra on, thankful for the support it provided as she stretched her shirt over her chest. She was moving a brush through her hair to get some knots out when the phone rang, sighing when she realized it was her Mom.

“Hi Mom,” she said.

“Hi Mary!” her Mom, Cathy, said, “How’s my favorite daughter doing?”

Mary? Daughter? Mary paused for a second. Was all of reality changed to fit the existence of Mary instead of John? On second thought, she figured, that would probably be useful.

“Mom, I’m your only daughter,” Mary half whined, trying to fit into her new role.

“Oh, I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love you as if you were my favorite,” Cathy said.

“I love you too, Mom, and I’m doing fine,” Mary said.

“It’s so lonely out here now that you’ve moved out for University. It was so nice to see you every day while you were getting your Associate’s Degree.”

“I’m going to be fine, Mom, and I’ll try to visit on weekends,” Mary said.

“It really was so nice of Charlie to offer to share his apartment with you. Are you two doing okay?” Cathy asked.

“We’re doing fine,” Mary lied.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to help you get a nicer apartment in town?” Cathy asked.

“I’m sure. I’d rather live with my best friend,” Mary said, and it was the truth.

“I’m so proud of you, honey. That boy must really like you to risk your relationship by letting you live with him.”

Mary blushed, thankful that her Mom couldn’t see it. “We’re just friends, Mom, and it’s really an arrangement of convenience more than anything.”

“I was the same way with your father. We were inseparable for so many years, but we were just friends. Then… we discovered that spark. The way our relationship developed from there was just so rewarding and loving. I wouldn’t trade that man for anything in the world.”

Mary was supportive and envious of the love her parents shared. As John, although she sought such a relationship, she just wasn’t interested in the other girls. But, when she looked at certain boys.... she even harbored hidden feelings for Charlie. She shook at that thought. If Charlie ever knew that little fact, then she would lose her best friend in a heartbeat. She was always confused about her sexuality and identity, so she avoided relationships altogether.  But now…

“Charlie and I aren’t like that, really,” Mary pleaded.

“Even so, don’t let him go, okay? Intimate or not, men like that are hard to find,” Cathy said.

“They are,” Mary found herself agreeing.

“How is your hair removal holding? Are any baby hairs popping up?” Cathy asked.

“No,” Mary said, quickly thinking of a good answer, “they did a good job. Thank you for letting me do it.”

“I know how much more feminine and beautiful I feel without the fear of unsightly hairs, so it was my pleasure to give you that opportunity as your graduation gift,” Cathy said.

“It really is easier to groom myself. Charlie would probably have a fit if I spent as much time in the bathroom as the average girl,” Mary said. She was falling into the role of daughter with ease.

“I’m so happy to see that you’re embracing your femininity. There were a couple of rocky spots, like when you insisted on wearing boy’s clothing, but you’ve come out a stunningly beautiful young woman. I don’t know how you’ve managed to avoid a boyfriend for so long,” Cathy said.

“I haven’t found the right guy yet?” Mary said, borrowing Charlie’s excuse.

“He might be closer than you think,” Cathy said. Mary could almost hear the wink in that sentence. She soon heard some noise in the background. “Oh! I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I’ll see you this weekend. I love you!”

“I love you too, Mom!” Mary called into the phone, just before her Mom hung up. As she put the phone back, she thought back to what her Mom said about a phase of wearing boy’s clothing. As John, she had a completely opposite phase of wearing girl’s clothing. It was so much fun and she actually felt like herself, but when puberty started and the girls around her started gaining curves, breasts, hips… the clothes simply didn’t fit her right anymore. The enjoyment of wearing the clothes was beaten down by the despair at knowing that they’d never fit her the way they were meant to. Now, Mary realized, she could wear any female clothing she wanted and they would fit her amazingly well. Even the simple outfit she wore now brutally showed off how female she was… and she loved it.

Mary started pacing across the room. If Charlie learned about any of this, their friendship would be over. She would have to be resigned to being a jeans girl, and pretend to be more upset about the transformation than she actually was. Now that the shock of the sudden transformation had worn off… she wondered if “Mary” may have been her true self all along. Her thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening. Charlie was home! She sat back on the bed and waited for him to come in. She smiled at him as he walked through the bedroom door.

“There you are,” he said.

“Did you find anything out?” Mary asked.

“I found one other person who entered the contest, but they didn’t win so they didn’t get the program. It’s all a giant dead end. I’ll have to find contact information for the company and see if they can fix this,” he said.

“They’ll probably tell you that it’s irreversible,” Mary said, frowning.

“You do seem to be doing a little better, though,” Charlie said.

Mary stood up and nodded. “The shock of the transformation has worn off, I guess. Oh, and I got a surprise while you were gone. When Mom called, it was as if I were always her loving daughter! I’m betting that I can just attend my classes tomorrow and nothing weird will happen.”

“Wow. That’s a relief,” Charlie said, studying the outfit Mary had decided to wear. He expected her to wear jeans, but it was incredible how attractive she looked even without showing much skin. He was staring at his soulmate, in both mind and body, and he couldn’t reach her. To even attempt to would destroy their already rocky relationship. He would have to be careful.

“This really will be an interesting semester,” Mary said.

“Yeah. Hopefully, I can contact that stupid company tomorrow and get them to tell me what in the world that program did.”

“I think it’s obvious enough to see what it did. We need to find out how it did it,” Mary said.

“Yeah. You were always the smarter one, weren’t you?” Charlie asked.

“I’m still me up here, Charlie,” Mary said, pointing to her head, “I’m just in a new package, so to speak.”

“You’re sure that your mind hasn’t changed at all? I’d hate to have also invoked some kind of love spell or something,” Charlie said.

“Relax. If I were under some kind of love spell, we’d probably be in bed right now. This program probably expected you and your soulmate to naturally connect on such a level that such things weren’t required,” Mary said.

“That way, if love does bloom, it is richer,” Charlie said.

“I didn’t know you were a romantic,” Mary teased.

“Everyone has their secrets,” Charlie teased back. 

Mary smiled. “Come on. Let’s spend some time together. We’re still friends, right?”

“I’d like to think so,” Charlie said.

“Me too. So, Dom or Marcus?” Mary asked.

“I guess that’s proof enough that you’re still your usual self!” Charlie grinned.

“You know it!” Mary chimed. Charlie marveled at just how beautiful her voice sounded, especially when she was cheerful. He was already falling in love with the girl standing in front of him. He almost wanted to just give up on changing Mary back, but he knew that he couldn’t betray his friend that way.

The two spent the night playing through Gears of War 3, one of their latest acquisitions. Mary never had any consoles at her house so, when she played, it was with Charlie. Mary proved that she lost no skill in her transformation as they played through much of the game for the second time. For a time, they forgot that they were a beautiful girl and a handsome boy sharing a couch and just had fun. When it came time to head to bed, both of the friends lamented the loss of their future free time as homework would begin to bog them down. Mary got into the nightgown she was wearing just after her change and Charlie just changed into some pajamas.

“Wearing that nightgown again?” Charlie asked the girl.

“This is my least revealing sleepwear. The others range from slightly sexy to ‘come to bed, handsome’,” she said, motioning toward herself with a slender finger.

Charlie laughed. “Why would those be in there?”

“My guess is that Mom snuck them into my suitcase so that I could seduce you with my feminine wiles,” Mary joked.

“Is she trying to get you and I together?” Charlie asked.

“Definitely. She told me that she fell in love with my Dad after being best friends for years… just like we’ve been. She’s assuming that the same thing will happen to us,” Mary explained.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I trust you. Despite all of this, you’re still my best friend, and I want you to know that I don’t want that to change,” Mary said.

“I don’t want that to change, either,” Charlie said. Mary’s smile lit up the room. Charlie watched his soulmate climb into the master bed before climbing into his own.