Ellie took off her heels and began the trek upstairs. There was no one in the hallway when she got to her room. Good. The last thing Ellie needed was people asking Liam who the strange girl was that they saw entering his dorm room.

Once inside, she dropped her heels next to the door and collapsed onto bed. Ellie glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Eleven fifteen. She had less than an hour left before she lost this body for good. Oh Gods, that was terrifying.

“I… I don’t want to go back to being Liam,” she muttered in the smallest voice she could muster, as if saying it too loudly would alert everyone in the world. “What’s wrong with me?”

The magic must be affecting her mind. It was forcing her to think a certain way. She didn’t really want to stay Ellie, just like she didn’t really want to kiss Noah. It was just the magic screwing with her head.

Eleven thirty. There was nothing Ellie wouldn’t give to be able to stop time from moving forward right now. In thirty minutes she’d be gone forever. The person she was supposed to be would replace her. Would she be happy as Liam? Had she ever been happy as Liam?

Eleven forty-five. It’s not like she could have ever really stayed a girl. It just wasn’t meant to be. There’d be no kayaking as a girl with Harper, no trying out summer dresses with Charlotte, no curling up to watch a movie with Noah. There was a whole life she could have lived if she’d just been born a girl instead.

Midnight came. Ellie took a deep breath and waited for something to happen. She blinked and suddenly the hair was out of her face. Ellie groaned, first at the realization that she was back to normal, then again at the sound of her own voice.

His own voice. He was Liam again. Looking down confirmed that he was back in his normal body, wearing his normal clothes. Glancing over at his door, the heels he’d been wearing were his normal sneakers again.

It was over. Liam buried his head in his pillow and started to cry. He couldn’t be Ellie anymore. It hurt a lot.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Liam managed to choke back his sobs and glanced up to see the faery standing there in the middle of his room. He sniffed and pulled himself into a sitting position. The faery looked disappointed.

“I was really hoping that you’d enjoy your time as a girl,” she said.

“I did,” Liam admitted. “But it’s over. I have to be a boy again. And I hate it. But the magic is supposed to be gone. Why do I still feel like this? What’s wrong with me?”

The faery’s expression fell and she sighed.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, human,” she said. “You’re not feeling the effects of any magic right now.”

“Then why?!” he demanded. “Why can’t I be happy as myself? Why am I so pathetic that I’d rather be someone else entirely? I don’t even want to be a boy anymore. Not after getting to be a girl. I’m just some creep who’s fetishizing the female experience. As if I couldn’t possibly sink any lower.”

“That’s not what’s happening. You’re beginning to spiral. Stop talking and take a few deep breaths.”

“I’m never going to be able to look any of my friends in the eye ever again,” Liam continued. “I lied about who I was to them. They deserve better than someone like me.”

The faery sat down on the bed next to Liam and placed a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Liam’s nerves started to ease as a warm feeling pulsed through him. He stopped shaking and managed to take a few deep breaths. The faery stopped pouring magic into his body, but didn’t remove her hand.

For a while, neither of them spoke. Eventually the faery removed her hand and placed it in her lap. Liam didn’t look at her. He wanted this whole night to be a bad dream. At least then he could ignore everything that he was feeling. Liam didn’t want to confront this, certainly not right now.

“Did… did you use magic to make me want to be a girl?” he finally stammered out. “Did you make me feel that way toward my best friend?”

“I didn’t,” the faery replied. “I only used magic to change your body, not your mind. Everything you felt was really you. I didn’t expect you to have such a dramatic reaction to it, though.”

“So what was the point of all of this, then?” Liam asked. “You said that making me someone else for the night might help me figure out what was missing from my life. But all it did was make me miserable. Was that your game all this time?”

“You know that it wasn’t,” the faery replied. “But truth be told: yes, I did have an ulterior motive.”

Liam nodded; he wasn’t surprised.

The faery continued, “I can see auras. I had a very good idea already of what was missing from your life. You don’t have a boy’s aura, human.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Liam asked, dreading the answer.

“You have the same aura that any other girl does,” the faery explained. “Deep down, you’re actually a girl, and you didn’t realize it before now because you could only see your body and assumed that, because you thought it was a boy’s body, you must be a boy. But you’re not. You’re a girl, human.”

“I can’t be a girl,” Liam said, pulling away. “That’s not how that works. I… I know some people are born in the wrong body, but they know all their lives, right? I’d have known before now.”

“Did you ever give it any serious thought before tonight?”

“Of course not. I’m not a girl. You must have made a mistake.”

“I can see your aura.”

“Well, you’re not very good at it!” Liam snapped, standing up.

The faery didn’t react.

Liam paced the room and continued, “I’ve been a boy my whole life. That doesn’t just change overnight. Just because I enjoyed it more than anything else in my life doesn’t make me a girl. It makes me a creep who can’t accept the hand he’s been dealt. Just because…” His eyes started to water. “Just because I want to be a girl doesn’t mean I can be.”

“But you can,” the faery insisted. “If you go to a medical mage, you can start a regiment of spells to feminize your body. You can start wearing girl clothes and use a different name and even use the girls’ locker room. But you have to tell people that’s what you want.”

Liam stopped pacing. He was quiet. Could he really be a girl if he wanted? Tonight was the happiest he’d been in nearly a decade. Was being a girl really what was missing from his life? Could he be Ellie again if he just told people he wanted to be?

He wanted to be Ellie again.

She wanted to be Ellie again.

“You said that the body you gave me was what I’d look like if I transitioned, right?” she asked.

The faery nodded.

“How do I know that people will accept me?”

“You don’t, kid. But you don’t get anywhere without risk.” The faery perked up and turned her head toward the door. “Someone’s coming. I have to go.”

“Wait!” Ellie exclaimed. “Can you give me that body back?”

“Sorry, human,” the faery replied, shaking her head and standing up. “It’s not my place to do that. To be honest, I’m probably in a lot of trouble as it is for what I did. Don’t worry: you won’t be seeing me again after tonight. Good luck.”

Before Ellie could get another word in, the faery was gone. Ellie was alone. She folded her arms nervously. So she was a girl after all. And it was possible to get her body back to the way she wanted it. Did she have the strength to do this?

A knock at the door caused Ellie to jump.

After a moment to collect herself, Ellie called out, “Who is it?”

“It’s Noah! Can I come in?”

Ellie’s heart skipped a beat.

“C-Coming!”

She had to wipe her sweaty hands off on her pants before opening the door. Noah smiled softly at her, and Ellie tried to smile back. She stepped aside and Noah walked in. At Ellie’s insistence, he sat down on the bed. She sat down beside Noah, but didn’t look at him.

“Are you okay?” Noah asked.

Ellie nodded.

“You don’t look okay.”

“I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Have you been here the entire time?”

“Sure,” Ellie replied.

“Well, I went to the party. While I was waiting for our friends to arrive, I ran into this girl.” Noah paused, waiting for Ellie to respond. She didn’t. “She’s a freshman. Her name is Ellie. She told me that she was nervous about trying out new things and didn’t want to be there alone, but did want to expand her horizons. We danced for a bit, and then she… had to go.”

“I’m sorry,” Ellie replied, bowing her head.

“Liam… is there anything you want to tell me?”

Ellie gulped and nodded. She didn’t say anything more. Noah didn’t press her for a further explanation. After a few minutes of silence, Ellie sighed.

“I… I think I might have some things to figure out. About me… gender… and my sexuality.”

Noah nodded, insisting, “Well, I’m here for you whatever you decide.”

“I think I want to talk to a mage about transitioning to being a girl,” Ellie said.

She felt Noah take her hand and squeeze gently.

“I’m going to support you if you do,” Noah told her.

“Thanks,” Ellie mumbled, resting her head on Noah’s shoulder and closing her eyes.

“I don’t think,” Noah continued, “that I ever realized before just how pretty you are, El.”

Ellie felt heat rush to her face and she couldn’t suppress a smile. She opened her eyes and turned to look at Noah head-on. They stared at each other for a while, then Ellie closed her eyes again and leaned in a little. After a second, she felt Noah’s lips press against her own. Sparks flew in the back of Ellie’s mind and a warm feeling stirred in her entire body.

When they separated, Ellie’s breathing was shallow.

“I wish I’d done that when I had my other body,” she muttered.

Noah chuckled and squeezed her hand gently, then asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

Ellie nodded.

“Tomorrow,” she decided, “I’ll start looking around for a magical doctor who can help me. Or just a regular doctor. As long as I’m doing something.”

“You should probably get some rest after tonight’s excitement,” Noah told her.

“Will… will you stay with me tonight?”

“Of course.”

They laid down on top of the blankets, Noah’s arms wrapped around Ellie. Ellie started to doze immediately, grateful to be in the arms of her best friend. It had been one Hell of a night.

***

Magical Hormone Replacement Therapy was expensive, much more so than regular HRT, but Ellie’s parents fortunately had good insurance. But Ellie only needed one session a month for a year, and one session a year after that for the rest of her life—and if she couldn’t afford that, she could always switch to traditional HRT without consequence. A few months in and Ellie’s body wasn’t quite as far along as she was hoping it would be, but she was a lot happier.

“I feel more connected to my life than I ever used to,” she told her therapist one month. “I’m laughing more. I’m finding excuses to hang out with my friends. I’ve made new friends too. Mostly other queer people, and it’s kind of weird being a straight girl around a bunch of other queer people, but they love me all the same. And, of course, there’s my boyfriend.”

Speaking of which, Noah was waiting for Ellie outside the dining hall. Ellie ran up and grabbed him in a hug. When she pulled away, the two shared a soft kiss.

“How are your parents?” Noah asked. “I hope the trip went well.”

Ellie shrugged, explaining, “My mom still isn’t entirely on board, but Dad’s talking to her. My brother still isn’t sure what to think. But for the most part, things are okay.”

“Glad to hear that,” Noah replied, kissing her again. “Let’s eat.”

They got their food and found an empty table big enough for them and their friends.

“Do you want to go out next weekend?” Noah asked.

“Sorry. Me and Sarah and going clothes shopping that Saturday. I’m outgrowing everything I own.”

Noah chuckled.

“She had the biggest crush on you,” he said, “and now you’re like best friends.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t have imagined my life going in this direction either.”

It wasn’t long before they were joined by their friends. Sarah, Charlotte, and Harper sat around Ellie while Elijah and Oliver sat on either side of Noah. Ellie couldn’t help but smile. It always felt good to be included with the other girls.

“Glad you’re back, Ellie,” Charlotte said.

“Glad to be home,” she replied. “They finished cleaning the pool, right? I’d really like to get back into swimming.”

“Yeah, I’m free Thursday if you want to check it out. Don’t worry; it’s usually not busy during the week. The locker room will probably be empty.”

“That’s a relief,” Ellie said quietly.

Harper asked, “When are we going hiking again?”

“I’ll try to find some time this month, okay?”

It was weird to think that Ellie had gone from having almost nothing to do with her life to constantly having a full schedule. She also had her weekly LGBT Association meetings to go to as well. Sometimes it was hard just to find time to spend with her boyfriend.

Noah and Ellie left together. It was a little chilly out, so Ellie shivered and folded her arms. She wished that she’d worn a thicker sweater. Why were girls’ clothes so thin? Ellie was already wearing three layers and still not warm.

As they walked through the quad, the two passed a bench where a girl was leaning back and reading a book. Ellie thought she looked familiar, but couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t until they had passed her that the recognition set in.

Ellie stopped and turned around. The girl on the bench gave her a quick wink before standing up and walking away. Noah glanced between Ellie and the departing faery.

“Someone you know?” he asked.

“Yeah, sort of,” Ellie said, smiling softly. “I never told you what happened that night, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“It’s quite a story.”