Lilly wakes up early in the morning. She gets dressed and leaves her tent, sitting down on one of the chairs and staring at the lake they all swam in yesterday. The water reflects the clear blue sky and shimmers with the beautiful colors of the sunrise.
The gentle breeze lightly lifts up her hair and makes the foliage around her gently shake from side to side. She closes her eyes and lets the relaxing feeling wash over her. It felt like nothing could ever disturb her at the moment. She then hears a lazy yawn coming from behind her.

- Up already, Lilly? - Naomi sits down beside her, opening her sketchbook.

- Yeah, I tend to wake up early. Oh, how did the drawing go?

- That’s exactly what I was going to... Here it is!

Naomi flips through her sketchbook and finds her new drawing. It’s the entire group walking through the forest. She even drew Lilly’s lily on her head. She stared at it for a bit, holding back tears. Seeing herself in such a cute drawing like that made her happy, just like looking at the mirror after the changes.

- That’s really good Naomi! - She takes a deep breath. - You’re a great artist!

- Thank you! - She rips out the page and hands it to Lilly. - I want you to have it. To mark your first time hanging out with us.

- Oh! - Lilly gently rolls the drawing up and puts it in her backpack. - I’ll make sure to keep it somewhere nice, thank you. It would look good on my bedroom wall.

They spend a few minutes talking, staring at the lake together and telling each other jokes. From where they were they could see part of the trail they walked. The forest was beautiful, even more so with the sunlight hitting the trees, making the colors of the flowers and leaves look even brighter.
Soon, one by one, everyone got up. They packed what they had and started to make their way back to the car. It was nice seeing more parts of the forest, picking more flowers and making their way through.
The trip back was a lot more fun than the trip to get there. She felt more comfortable talking and making jokes. Jim was smiling the entire time, happy to see his friend so joyful. He could see a spark in her eyes that he never noticed before. He was happy to be part of her journey, and he’d help her with anything she needed.

- Thank you, everyone! - Lilly got out of the car and stretched her legs, grabbing the keys to the front door. - I had a lovely time, we should do that again!

- I agree with the tiny lady! - Phillip sticks his face out the window. - We should totally do things like these more often, and stuff. Hey, I’ll add you to the group chat today!

- Alright!

She enters her home and lies down on the couch, smiling and giggling to herself. She had made a lot of good memories that day, the drawing, flowers, swimwear, compliments... It all just felt great, and she couldn’t wait to have more of those experiences.
She eagerly goes up and takes another shower, once again taking as much time as she could enjoying the feeling of being in a body she loved. She got her thigh highs, a skirt and a nice crop top to wear when she went to May’s.
She grabs her makeup, a few other clothes and whatever she thought would be fun to use there and put them all in a backpack. She leaves her home and starts walking.
Her cellphone rings, she reaches for it and sees that it’s May calling. Excited she picks up.

- Hi, honey! I’m on my way now.

- Good to hear, sweetheart. Now, I hope you don’t mind but I also invited a few of my friends to go there as well.

Lilly stops suddenly. She stutters, and her heart races.

- W-wait, what? I thought we were going to be alone.

- Well, - She answers, excited about the event. - I took it upon myself to make it a nice girl’s night! Sleepover, movie night, etc.

- I don’t know, I’ve never done any of this and I’m scared they’ll judge me. - Lilly says as she starts walking again.

- Why would they judge you? They were super excited to help another gal in need. Not to mention this is like, a childhood dream of mine. Come on, pretty please?

- Alright. - She sighs, still worried about the situation. - I’ll be right over still. Half way there.

- Thank you! You’re the best! It’s going to be a fun night, you’ll see.

They hang up and Lilly walks the rest of the way, her mind racing with the possible ways she could be made fun of and attacked. She trusted May, and hopefully her friends were as trustworthy. Taking a deep breath and picking up her pace, she keeps walking.
She tries not to think about it too much, and before she even notices she’s arrived at her girlfriend’s
house. She knocks on the door and May quickly opens it.

- There you are! Come on in, Katie’s already here. I’ll introduce you!

- Alright. - Lilly says, taking a nervous step forward and trying not to seem too scared.

- You’ll be fine, okay? I promise you, it’ll be fun. We’ll start with the movie, if you want.

- That would be nice, yeah. Then what?

- Probably teach you how to do makeup, dance... really anything that we think could be fun! You can go up to my room already, I’ll grab the popcorn. Marie should be here any minute now.

Lilly goes up to May’s room and sits down on the bed, looking around at the room. It wasn’t anything special. Although it was pretty spacious, she liked to keep it simple. The rug was brand new, the wallpaper was in pristine condition, and the entire place was clean and well kept. Everything was mostly dark blue, black, or gray, with the most colorful thing being her bed. It was full of plush animals. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of owning many of those herself.
The television was already on, and there were four bean bag chairs sitting on the floor of the room. She can hear May walking up the stairs, with two more voices getting closer as well. Soon they all arrive, carrying big bowls of popcorn and some glasses of soda.

- You know, I used to do this when I was a kid. - Says the girl to the right of May. She’s wearing a very simple white T-Shirt and some blue shorts. Her hair is tied up neatly in a ponytail, and she quickly glances over to Lilly with a welcoming smile.

- Oh! This is your girlfriend, right? - The second girl excitedly stops and asks. - Hello! I’m Katie! It’s nice to meet you. Lilly, right?

The girl is wearing an over-sized hoodie, very light make up and sweatpants.

- Y-yeah. - She reaches for a handshake but Katie delicately grabs her hand instead, squeezing it ever so lightly.

- I picked tonight’s movie, by the way. - she says with a giggle. - I hope you like it! It’s one of my favorites.

- And hey, I was the one who showed it to her. I get some of the credit too. - Marie says in a soft, warm voice.

Everything is already set up. The floor close to the television is a mess of wires connecting to May’s desktop, it looks improvised and rushed. It is functional, however. Can’t argue against that.
The movie turns on and they seat on the bean bag chairs. Lilly pulls herself close to her girlfriend as they share a bowl of popcorn. Sometimes someone jokes about the movie, or asks for more popcorn. Other than that they stay mostly silent. It’s almost enough for Lilly to fall asleep in May’s arms.
She tries her best to pay attention to the movie, but a lot of times lets her own mind wander. She thinks of all the different ways she can do her makeup, of all the different outfits she will get to try. Not only that, but with so many friends and family supporting her she could completely allow herself to do whatever she wants to.

- Gosh, this is the best part! - Katie exclaims, sitting up suddenly. - Listen to the freaking score of this scene!

- Let it play out then, let’s hear it. - Marie chuckles and pulls Katie close.

The music of the movie suddenly builds up, adding to the action packed and climactic final battle. Lilly mostly pays attention to the soundtrack, which doesn’t help with understanding the plot of the movie. The credits start rolling and Marie gets up to stretch her legs.

- Yeah, that was pretty good. Good choice.

- Yes! I knew you’d like it! - Katie says while slowly getting up. - Is now the time for the makeover?

- Sure! - May stretches and gets up, letting out a yawn and rubbing her eyes. - Just going to get some coffee, I’ll be right back.

- In that case I’ll go to the bathroom. - Marie looks out at the corridor. - Where is it again?

- C’mere, I’ll show you.

They both leave and the other two stay in the room, silent at first. They stare at each other and both of them quickly notice how nervous they are. Lilly is anxious and excited for the makeover, but she has no clue as to why Katie would be feeling like that. Sure, it’s awkward to stay in a room alone with someone you don’t know, but she was pretty extroverted earlier. Suddenly she looks at the door and comes closer to Lilly.

- Lilly, can I tell you a secret? - She whispers, Giving her a serious look, staring right into her eyes.

- Y-yeah, sure. - She says, curious yet a bit surprised at the sudden mood change.

- Look, I know you’re probably not going to believe me, but... - She holds her own hands, blushes and looks away. - About two years ago, I used to be a boy.

- Oh? - Lilly immediately relaxes, feeling hope that the girl understands what she had been through.

- Yeah, but one day I just... Woke up like this. At first I was really scared, but after a few days I realized that I was... I was never really a boy. I was always a girl, it just took my body a little while longer to catch up, I guess.

- Wow... - Lilly sighs in disbelief.

- I know it sounds silly and fake, but-

- No! - She interrupts Katie, holding one of her hands and coming closer. - I get that, it happened to me too! Just a few days ago, in fact.

- What? So is that why we’re doing all this? - She gives Lilly the widest smile. - I can’t believe this! I’m so happy for you, oh my gosh.

- Thank you for trusting me with that, Katie. I’m happy you did.

- Thank you for listening! It felt... I don’t know, it just felt right to tell you, I guess. Think I should tell the others?

- Maybe, but that’s your call to make. If you want to tell people, go ahead. But if you don’t want to then that’s none of anybody’s business.

They give each other a tight hug. Both of them tear up a little, happy to finally have found someone that gets it.
The other two soon get back to the room. May has in her hands a big bag of makeup, she sets it on the bed, gets a mirror and turns to Lilly.

- Are you ready to-

- Yes! - Lilly jumps up in excitement. - I’m ready!

- Wow, you’re excited. Doesn’t even seem like you were super nervous just a few hours before. What do you want to start with?

- Oh, how about some... Eyeliner?

- Come here, Marie! Let me do your makeup this time! - Katie says while grabbing some lipstick and mascara.

While the two start on their makeup, May slowly shows Lilly with the mirror how to apply eyeliner. She struggles a bit and it comes out very uneven. Her girlfriend laughs and helps her correct it. It’s something quite simple, but it already makes quite a difference. She’s never done this before, and looking at herself in the mirror now is exciting and gives her a strong sense of euphoria.
She then applies some mascara and blush. It all looks surprisingly subtle, but once again all of it together makes Lilly feel a different kind of happiness she’s never felt before all the changes. When it’s time to apply lipstick she tries her best, but can’t exactly get it quite right. May grabs her by the cheek and fixes it for her, once again making her blush.

- So, what do you think?

She looks at herself in the mirror again. She still couldn’t believe how pretty and adorable she looked. And now the makeup makes the euphoria even stronger. She feels really feminine and loves it. She tries to hold back her tears but can’t, so she carefully wipes them off.

- Honey, you’re going to ruin your eyeliner. Let me do that for you.

- Thank you so much for this, May. I love you. - Lilly hugs her girlfriend tight.

Marie picks up a mirror and looks at herself. She smiles proudly at Katie.

- Congrats, Kate. You’ve improved a lot. Soon you’ll be better at me at this!

- Oh, stop it you. - The girl covers her face, blushing and giggling to herself. - I’m not that good.

- So... - May looks at Lilly, holding her hands and pulling her gently up. - How about trying out one of my dresses? I have some pretty elaborate ones I think you’d love.

They try many different dresses on, and Lilly ends up loving a light blue short over the shoulder dress. It goes well with her makeup and makes her feel really girly. It all feels right.

- Now just one more thing to complete your look! - May styles Lilly’s hair, making her look like a princess.

- That looks so pretty! Can you teach me to do that on my own sometime?

- Of course, sweetheart.

- So... - Katie lies down on the bed and looks at May. - You did say we were going to play board games!

- Hey, don’t worry. We’re still going to do everything else. Let me get the games for us then.

As the night goes on they play games, talk to each other, watch another movie and even have a pillow fight. For that entire time Lilly completely forgets about the reason this all started, about the changes and how she looked before them. And when she does remember it doesn’t bother her anymore. She loves who she is now, and that’s all that matters.
Eventually they are all tired and it is getting really late. They prepare some snacks and go to the living room. As they eat May brings down some pillows and blankets so they can sleep on the folding couches. It feels quite comfortable.

- I swear. - Katie finishes eating and gets up to clean her plate. - PB&J’s taste like pure nostalgia.

- God, I’m exhausted. That was a nice night, I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I was a kid. - May lies down on the couch and gets under the blankets.

- We should for sure get back together some other time. - Marie follows Katie to the other couch. - Maybe go out somewhere cool we haven’t gone to before.

- Thanks everyone, tonight was wonderful. Good night! - Lilly joins her girlfriend on the couch and hugs her close.

Soon enough everyone is sleeping while she stares at the ceiling, thinking about all that happened during the last few days. She realizes how lucky she is that so many people in her life supported her to this level. She was especially thankful for May, who went to huge lengths just to make her happy. She succeeded. Lilly starts crying.

- Honey? - May whispers, clearly very sleepy. - Are you crying? Is everything alright?

- Yes it is. Thank you so much for... well, everything.

- Aw. You’d do the same for me, I’m sure.

- I don’t care about going back to normal anymore. This is the normal I’ve always really wanted. I... - She takes a deep breath and wipes her tears. - I’m so happy that I’m a girl.

- You have no idea how happy that makes me, dear. That and that you’re my girl. We’re going to do this sort of stuff more often, so get ready. Ok?

- Yeah! Thank you so, so much.

- Now let’s go to sleep, hun. Tomorrow’s a brand new day.

And for the first time in her life, after finally fixing things she didn’t even know needed fixing, Lilly closes her eyes and falls asleep feeling truly happy. There is still a lot to do and a lot to explore now that she can be herself. From the start this is who she was meant to be, even if it did take a while for it to happen. But now they did, and that means that...

... Everything will finally be okay.

The End.