“B-brook?” I asked tentatively.

She blinked at me drunkenly, swaying on her feet, then mumbled almost to herself, “The hot girl is glowing.”

“The what?” I asked in confusion.

She shook her head and squinted at me, “Oh shit, sorry. You’re actually talking to me! U-uhhh… Hi?”

I frowned, what was up with Brook? She was acting really odd, even for drunk Brook. Actually, what did she mean the hot girl is glowing? Maddy hadn’t mentioned a glowing, so what was she talking about? Second actually, she thought I was hot? But like, she thought I was girl-hot? That was just... it send my mind bouncing all over the damned place.

Mentally shrugging off the questions that flooded my mind, at least for now, I asked, “Brook, can I talk to you somewhere quiet?”

“How do I know you?” she asked, her brows furrowing in a haze of confusion. "Not that I wouldn't mind knowing you..."

“Fuck, we can’t have a conversation when you’re that wasted,” I muttered. I was starting to sober up, but she seemed to be still somewhere close to drunk.

“Can we go get you some water? I’d like to talk to you but I need you to be sober,” I implored, hoping she’d trust this stranger before her.

“Ohhh, you’re like one of those chicks who wants to do things sober eh?” she said with a swaying grin, taking a step towards me.

I felt my cheeks flush almost instantly, and I sucked in a breath, looking down to break eye contact.

“Aww! She’s shy! So cute!” Brook giggled, snaking an arm around me, “Fine, if you want me sober, then a-sobering we shall go!”

“Brook, that makes no sense!” I squeaked, my whole face was likely as red as her lipstick.

Her arm was felt so strong around me, and I couldn't help when I leaned in a little. She might be drunk and she might not recognise me, but Brook was an amazing person, she'd keep me safe even as she embarrassed the shit out of me.

“Shush my little glow stick girl, I’ll start making more sense in a bit,” she laughed, squeezing my waist in a way that had my breath hitching oddly.

Little glow stick girl though? Wait... shit she was right, at least about the little part. She’d been taller than me before, but now she had almost a foot over me at least. I just had to figure out the glow stick part...

She practically dragged me to the kitchen and filled a pair of spare solo cups with water from the sink. Passing one to me with a wink, she then downed the her's like she was still binge drinking. Wow. She was a wild drunk, I knew that, but I hadn't been on the receiving end of her drunken advances like this very often. She was going to be sorely disappointed this time as well as the other times she'd tried on me.

I drank my water slowly at first, but it became apparent very quickly how much my body was craving water, and I downed the cup just as fast as Brook had, then went in for another. I regarded her over the brim of my second cup of water, taking in her disheveled appearance and wandering eyes. We both finished a third cup before we got around to speaking again.

“So what’s your name?” she asked, a slight hint of sobriety in her eyes.

“That’s a tricky question,” I sighed, looking down into my empty cup. I doubted she heard, because a group of people had entered the kitchen and were busy being incredibly loud and drunk

“What?” she asked, moving to lean against the wall next to me.

“I said that’s a tricky question,” I grimaced, speaking a bit louder and looking up at her.

“How come?” she asked, cocking her head.

“Can we talk somewhere without clowns like them?” I asked nodding my head to indicate the rowdy group near us.

“Sure, let’s head out to the curb,” she nodded, pushing off the wall and starting forward.

I followed her out of the house, dodging intoxicated students that were babbling about the third emergence. It seemed that this third time was enough for people to stop freaking out so much, because the first and second ones had been hectic.

I was still a little tipsy myself, but only in that wobbly way where your mind is mostly sober, while your body is still catching up. It was always the most surreal part of getting drunk for me, where you felt like there was input lag between your mind and your body. I always found myself marvelling at that time delay.

Once we got outside, we stumbled a few houses down the street and sat down on the grass of someone’s unfenced front yard. It was much quieter here, and you could more clearly hear the chaos that was no doubt raging further into the city. The occasional pop of gunfire competed with sirens and the other, stranger sounds that could only be Emerged using their powers.

“So, why don’t you want to tell me your name?” Brook asked, giving me a side eye from a few feet away.

“Because my name is Coby,” I stated, internally bracing for whatever might come next.

“Coby? I know a guy named… no fucking way,” she exclaimed, shifting to face me better with an incredulous expression on her face.

“Yeah, I um, I Emerged just now,” I gulped, looking down at my too big shoes.

She shook her head. “You’re fucking with me.”

“Brook, look at my clothes!” I frowned, motioning down at them.

“Your clothes?” she asked, running her eyes up and down my body. Even as she tried to figure out what I was talking about I could see her checking me out. The strange thing was that... I didn't entirely mind right now? Damn, I was so confused about all the shit my mind and body was throwing at me right now.

“Same ones that I was wearing when we got to the party?” I prompted, swallowing the weirdness away.

“Yeah but…” she said, her tone still disbelieving, “I just can’t… Okay let’s do the thing.”

“What thing?” I asked in confusion.

“The thing where you tell me something that only Coby and I know,” she explained patiently, her hand drifting through the air in a movement that was probably meant to be a gesture of some kind.

“The thing where… oh my gosh,” I groaned, then giggled softly with a roll of my eyes, “Okay fine. You had a crush on me when we first met, and I was totally oblivious of it. You had to outright tell me, and then… and then I rejected you.”

She looked away then, a pained expression on her face, “Yeah, okay you went straight for the jugular there. Either Coby is a massive dick and told you about it, or you really are Coby. I’m going to believe in our friendship and say you’re Coby.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence in my character,” I snarked, with a smile.

She snorted and grinned over at me, “Yeah don’t get ahead of yourself there buddy, you’re still a dorky little shit.”

“And there it is,” I laughed.

We locked gazes with complimentary grins, each happy to have affirmed our friendship, even if things were a little odd.

“So, you’re a babe now. I think your tits are bigger than mine,” she teased, checking me out without so much as a shred of remorse.

I groaned and shook my head, “Wow, just, wow Brook. Do you ever not think about sex?”

“Hey, I was just admiring your new physical attributes, nothing overtly sexual about that!” she exclaimed in mock outrage.

I reached over with a slender leg and kicked her lightly, “You’re ridiculous.”

She caught my leg as it tried to retreat and waggled it slightly, shaking me around slightly in the process. “Yeah whatever, says the girl with the glowing freckles!” she laughed, her hazel eyes almost seeming to flash gold in the light from the street lamps.

“Glowing freckles?” I asked, my eyes widening, my hands going to my face.

“Yeah! Your eyes too! They totally glow! It’s fucking cute as shit,” she smiled, letting go of my leg to ruffle my hair. Oh that felt nice, so nice that my whole body felt a little boneless. Wow. Was this a girl thing, is this what happened when you were a girl and someone was physically affectionate?

“What do I look like?” I asked with wide eyes.

Her mouth dropped open, “You mean you haven’t seen?”

“No, it hasn’t been that long Brook,” I said defensively.

“Oh don’t be like that! Use your phone dumbass,” she told me with an affectionate eye roll.

Oh right, duh. I fished my phone back out of my pocket and opened the camera app. I was met with a black screen and a faint distorted splotch of slightly lighter black. “My camera is too shit, I can only see black,” I sighed.

“Ah damn, I didn’t think of that. We can take you home and use the mirror in your bathroom,” she advised after some thought.

Ah, she hadn’t remembered my parents. This was where I asked her for a favour.

“Brook… my parents wont recognise me, and even if they did… I’m Emerged now,” I said sadly.

“Oh fuck. Yeah, I didn’t think of that,” she winced in sympathy.

I rubbed my thigh absently and gulped, shyly asking, “Can I… Can I stay with you? At least for tonight? I mean, I know we’ve never like. You know, stayed over or anything, but I can’t go back home tonight and-”

She reached over and silenced me with a hand on my shoulder, “Coby, chill. You’re more than welcome to crash at mine. Especially since I’m the one who dragged you out here in the first place.”

The relief that flooded me at her kind words was more intense than I’d expected, and I realised I had been more anxious about this than I’d thought. She may be pushy and annoying sometimes, but Brook was one of the best friends I could have hoped for.

My voice hitched as I felt a wave of affection for my friend, “Thanks Brook… and hey you were right by the way.”

“I was right huh? That’s nothing unusual, but what was I right about this time?” she said casually.

“I met someone… a girl. She was really cute,” I said, my cheeks flushing bright as I thought of how it had felt to have my head in Maddy’s lap.

“I told you!” she said haughtily, although I detected a weird hitch in her voice as she said it.

I smiled slightly and started absently playing with my shoelace, “Yeah you did. Too bad she met me like this. I mean like, she saw me as a girl so there’s no chance.”

Brook snorted and pointed at her chest, “Girls who like other girls do exist you know.”

“I know! They’re all like you though, not like… Maddy,” I mumbled.

“Like me? What does that mean?” she asked with a frown.

I shrugged, realising I’d stepped in a hole, “Like… cool, tall, sporty, strong and stuff. Really pretty too.”

“Well that’s where you’re totally wrong Coby. Girls who like girls come in just as many flavours as straight girls,” she told me, shaking her head.

“That sounds so confusing,” I sighed.

Now it was her turn to shrug, “It can be.”

We sat in silence for a moment as I processed what she’d just told me. That was going to make my non existent love life even more complicated if I stayed like this. I hope I can find a way to go back, as fun as it’s been.

As if sensing my thought process, Brook asked, “So, how does it feel? To be a girl?”

“I kind of like it. At least, maybe as a passing thing. I can feel this weird connection to my body now. I think I’m just hyper aware of all the changes,” I told her, still playing with my shoelace.

"You… like it?" she asked, leaning down to get a look at my face.

I smiled over at her and nodded, "Yeah. That girl I met called me pretty… I've never had my looks complimented before. Except like, by my mum when I was a kid."

She grinned, "Well, you are damn pretty, even if it's in a bit of a weird way, and your voice is so gorgeous and clear, it’s pretty amazing."

"A weird way?" I squeaked in alarm. My voice was pretty? Thinking about it, I realised… Oh wow, my voice was beautiful! Every word hinted at a hidden song if you listened close enough.

"Oh damn, I didn’t mean it like that!" she said, reaching over to ruffle my hair yet again. "You’re just obviously Emerged is all Coby."

"How?" I asked with worry in my voice, searching her expressive hazel eyes for the meaning behind her words.

"Come on," she sighed, standing up and offering me her hand, “Let's get you to a mirror at my place. Then you can see for yourself. You look really cute though, so don’t worry.”

I took her hand and she helped me stand. It was strange, she was treating me like I was somehow more precious than I had been before. It felt nice, but I was a little irked that being turned into a girl had suddenly made her treat me a little better.

We walked in silence for most of the way, and I felt myself drifting into anxiety and fear as my situation began to really sink in. I’d have to go and talk to the Heroes Organisation for Mutual Assistance and Resources, or OMR as they were known. They were only semi official, but they could get people new documentation when they had emerged. I suspected they were going to be busy after this latest Emergence.

I must have looked upset, because Brook put a long arm around my thin shoulders and held me as we walked. She was definitely being less rambunctious than she normally was, at least physically. She’d been one of those people to play hit a lot, but now she was all soft touches and smiles. I liked this better. Gentle Brook had me wanting to lean in against her.

“What’s up Coby?” she asked, before furrowing her brows, “You know calling you Coby feels a bit wrong, especially if you know… you like being like that.”

It felt weird? I was still me though wasn’t I? I admit, I’d never liked the name Coby though. Hmmm. What if I told her the name I’d randomly told Madd? See how it felt to have Brook call me by it?

“I told Maddy, the girl I met, that I was called Elsie…” I told her quietly.

She pulled me tighter to her side, “Elsie? That’s a cute name! What’s it short for?”

I frowned in thought, “I don’t know, maybe… Eloise?”

“Also super cute! Alright, I’ll call you Elsie!” she grinned.

“Thanks,” I told her, before realising that I actually meant it.

“You’re welcome Elsie.”

****

When we made it to her apartment, it was getting towards two in the morning, and both of us were sober and very tired. Her apartment was in a squat three story building that ringed a courtyard on three sides. It might have once held a pool and other recreational spaces, but now it was used as a carpark.

We went through the old swinging doors and trudged warily up the stairs to the second floor, where she lived. The place had the air of a rundown student complex, where things were broken by drunken partiers faster than the owners could fix them. Arriving at her door, she fumbled for the key and then shoved it into the lock.

The door opened straight into a small entryway before opening into a rather messy living room. The couch was occupied by two guys who were in the midst of battling the forces of evil in some console game that I couldn’t identify. One of them turned to look as Brook led me to her room. I knew him of course, his name was Julian and he was one of those thoroughly average types who doesn’t seem to fit into any particular category. Just a normal cool dude. At least when I’d spoken to him as Coby. Now I hid behind my friend and tried to avoid all eye contact.

This didn’t work when the second roommate spoke up, “Yo Brook! Who’s the one night stand this time? She looks hot!”

There he was. Dillon. I peered around Brook and looked at him. He was one of those guys who lifts a lot of weights and really liked to tell everyone about it. I’d seen his instagram once, and I’d almost gagged on my own bile. He was the essence of toxic masculinity and I fucking hated him. Every time I’d been here before as Cody, he’d acted really aggressive towards me for no apparent reason.

The worst part had been when one time, he’d forced me to face him in Smash, and I’d kicked his ass. He’d decided that kicking my ass outside the game was fair play, and tried to pummel me. If Brook hadn’t stepped in to throw him to the ground, I’d have been a bloody lump. As it was I’d gotten a lecture when I got home from Dad about the importance of knocking the other guy out first. Dillon and my Dad would get along really well actually.

“She’s just a friend dumbass,” Brook sneered, taking me by the hand and dragging me into her room before things got more heated.

Dillon’s words chased us into her room before she could shut the door, “Have fun and be as loud as you can please, I want to hear it!”

“He’s a fucking cunt,” I growled.

Brook gave me a sharp look, “You’re right, but damn that’s some strong language there.”

“I grew up in New Zealand, it’s more normal there,” I said defensively.

“I thought that was Australia?”

“New Zealand too.”

Brook nodded slowly, then grinned, “Well, alright, come see yourself in the mirror Elsie!”

She practically dragged me over to her free standing full length mirror and placed me in front of it.

I gasped, my eyes going wide as I took in the strange girl who seemed to copy my every movement. Brook and Maddy had been right, I was really pretty, and my body was incredible, even through the baggy clothes. My face wasn’t a full on supermodel airbrushed monstrosity, instead it was one of those casually pretty faces that needs very little makeup. I looked like any number of the more good looking girls around campus.

I had long wavy pitch black hair that fell to just below my boobs, as well as soft cupid’s bow lips and a cute little noise. It was fairly standard stuff. Well, except for the strange eyes and the glowing freckles. My eyes were each angled in an odd way, and the outside point extended far further than was normal for a human. My irises glowed a soft deep blue that was matched by the smattering of dully glowing freckles on my face.

It was surreal to see this elfin girl move with me in the mirror. I looked at the baggy clothes. Hmmm, I needed to see myself properly. Without really thinking about it, I took off my jersey and T-shirt and dropped my too loose jeans to the floor.

“Oh shit! Co- Elsie! Fuck! Warn me first damn!” exclaimed Brook, turning her back faster than I could blink.

“S-sorry! I just wanted to see!” I apologised.

“You’re good! Just let me know when you’re decent again!” my friend said, her voice husky and tinged with… something?

Turning back to the mirror, I let my eyes roam over my new body. My breasts were huge, just this shy of being too big for my slender frame, and I noticed with embarrassment that the nipples had hardened to points as I checked myself out. Great, I was turning myself on. My whole body was an exercise in perfect proportions. My shoulders were thin, my hips were wide but not overly so, and my legs were long and graceful.

… And of course, there it was between my legs. My pubic hair glowed blue… are you fucking kidding me? I didn’t have a lot of it, and I could clearly see my vagina through it. It felt strange to have and I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, acutely aware of how the lips and stuff moved slightly against each other. Wow, that was pretty full on.

I heard a giggling gasp from next to me, and looked over to see Brook staring at my crotch, “Oh my god it glows blue! I’m sorry! Fuck, I’ll turn back around. I was too curious! I’m sorry!”

I felt my face redden as my sense of modesty overpowered the awestruck trance I’d been in. I pulled my underwear up and put my shirt back on as fast as I could. I started on the jeans, but my friend stopped me.

“We’re going to bed anyway, no point putting that back on,” she said, her eyes drifting up and down my legs, leaving a sizzling line of warmth in their wake.

I gulped, and nodded. Far out she was so thirsty.

Looking back at her bedroom door she mused, “Well, luckily I have a queen sized bed, so we can both share it if you’re comfortable with that. Otherwise one of us will have to wait till the dinguses outside are done with their game.”

I shook my head, “No it’s fine, I’m too tired to wait for them to stop.”

“Alright, well… pick a side I guess,” she smiled.

I was very nervous, I was about to get into my best friend’s bed, as a girl. A girl that my best friend had been drooling over for the past hour or more. This was going to be an interesting experience.

Shyly, I moved up to the right side and eased myself under the covers. They smelled overwhelmingly of my friend and I was very unsure how I felt about that.

I watched Brook undress, then blushed when she kept taking things off and I rushed to hide my face under the covers. I'd never been able to deny that she wasn't good looking, and my eyes felt almost magnetised to her slim, fit body before I'd pulled them away. She'd made a big deal out of me stripping, but her doing it was fine? I looked over in alarm when I felt her weight on the bed, but saw she was now in a loose tank top and her underwear. Phew, this was going to be one anxiety filled night, that was for sure.

“Goodnight Elsie,” Brook whispered, fingers brushing my arm briefly.

“Goodnight Brook,” I replied, hoping I'd be able to get to sleep through my buzzing thoughts.