I woke with a start, and the first thing I was aware of was the throbbing pain in my head. It only took a moment to realize I'd finally overdone it. The headache was one of the symptoms dad told me about, when you tried some change that took too much energy.

The next thing I noticed was I was laying on the sofa in the living-room. And finally, I realized it was night-time. Everything was dark outside the windows. In fact the TV was the only source of illumination, but the volume was muted so there wasn't any noise.

I tried to sit up but that made my headache worse, and I slumped back with a groan while my stomach grumbled angrily.

"You're awake!" Craig said as he got up from the recliner next to the sofa. He moved to my side and asked "Are you ok?"

I groaned again, "Not ok. I need painkillers, water, and food. Please."

He grinned, "Sounds like you're hung over or something. What do you want to eat?"

"Cheeseburgers please," I groaned softly.

Craig laughed, "Of course. I'll go get the BBQ started."

He only made it a few steps before I called, "Where's Kelly? Is he ok?"

As if on cue Kelly emerged from the washroom. He was still in the t-shirt and shorts, and he also had a huge grin on his face.

He didn't actually look that different from before. His face hadn't changed much, he was still obviously Kelly. He'd grown a bit taller, and he wasn't quite as slim as before, like his shoulders were a little broader and his waist wasn't as defined. Neither were his hips or his butt. He was slim for a man, but people would definitely assume he was a guy. Though he could probably pass for a girl if he put on some make-up and femme coded clothes.

And me must have heard me since he told Craig, "You start the BBQ, I'll get her some water and pills."

His voice was a little lower, but again it wasn't a huge change. Like it was still recognizable as Kelly's voice.

Both the guys disappeared into the kitchen together, but Kelly hurried back a moment later.

He had a bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of painkillers in the other. By that point I'd finally pulled myself up into a sitting position, but I had a hand on the side of my head slowly rubbing my temple.

"Here you go," he opened the bottle of water before handing it to me, then shook out a couple pills for me as well.

I mumbled a quiet thanks then swallowed the pills, and went on to drink half the bottle of water.

Kelly sat next to me on the sofa, and when I'd had enough to drink he pulled me into a gentle hug and whispered "I can't thank you enough for this Melody! But holy cow I've been worried about you! Did you know it was going to knock you out?"

My stomach grumbled again as I hugged him back, and rested my head on his shoulder. I mumbled, "You're welcome. And uh, I knew it'd make me tired and hungry. Didn't realize I'd actually pass out though."

"How are you feeling?" he asked as we continued to hug each other. "Are you going to be ok?"

I groaned again, "I feel like death, but I'm sure I'll get better. What time is it? How long was I out? And are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Kelly replied. "It's nearly midnight, you were out for a good three hours."

"How is she?" Craig asked as he came back in through the kitchen.

I grimaced, "I'll live. Need food."

He smiled, "The BBQ is heating up. Give it a few minutes, then I'll go put a couple burgers on."

"Thanks Craig," I replied, then drank the rest of my water. My focus shifted back to Kelly as I asked him "So did it all work ok? Did everything turn out the way you wanted?"

Kelly's smile got even wider and he looked excited as he nodded, "Oh my god Melody everything is perfect. It's fucking amazing! Wanna see?"

I rubbed my head then glanced at Craig and asked, "Is it weird if I say yes?"

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Not any weirder than him offering in the first place."

Kelly was still grinning as he got to his feet. And he was obviously excited about sharing as he announced, "Avert your eyes if you don't want to see."

Neither me or Craig looked away, and a moment later Kelly pulled his t-shirt off and tossed it onto the love-seat for now.

He wasn't wearing anything underneath it, and I found myself looking at a slim fit chest that was not exactly masculine but wasn't really feminine either. Like I'd already noticed his shoulders were a bit wider and he had less of a waist. There was a little more muscle under the skin, but without the hard lines that I associated with guys. And the most obvious thing was he still had breasts, though they were on the small side. Like A-cups at best.

I looked him over quietly, while Craig stared for a few seconds then said "You've still got boobs."

A very faint blush appeared on Kelly's cheeks as he nodded, "They're a little too much fun to give up completely."

"I thought you..." Craig frowned. "Guys don't have boobs."

Kelly rolled his eyes and corrected him, "Most guys don't have boobs, but some do. And anyways, how many times did I say guy-ish or guy-adjacent? Somewhere on the guy side of middle? This is what I wanted."

It looked like Craig still wasn't really getting it, but he let it go.

With a grin Kelly hooked his thumbs on the waist of his shorts then yanked them down. He wasn't wearing anything else, so everything down there was instantly on full display.

His legs were still smooth and supple but there was a layer of muscle under them just like his arms and torso. Basically even fully naked he could almost pass for either a guy or a girl. Almost. There was one rather large difference between his legs that most people associated pretty firmly with folks in the 'guy' camp. And 'rather large' wasn't just a figure of speech in this case.

"Holy crap," Craig said as he stared. Then his cheeks took on a red hue and he added, "I better go check the BBQ."

He practically turned and fled the living-room after that, which left a smirk on Kelly's face.

"This is just the best, Melody." My friend said as he looked back towards me. "I can't thank you enough."

"I'm glad you're happy Kelly," I replied as I tried not to stare. And I ended up staring anyways as I added, "Dang. I never really thought about how that'd look on you, but um. Yeah."

He was still grinning, and didn't seem to mind the attention. In fact he seemed to appreciate it. Or at least the way his body started to react made me think he enjoyed having a pretty girl checking out his impressive junk.

It was almost enough to make me forget my headache, but I finally looked away and suggested "You should probably get dressed before Craig comes back. I think you scared him away."

Kelly chuckled quietly as he pulled his shorts up, then put the shirt back on as well. Finally he sat down on the sofa next to me again, and pulled me into another hug.

"I know I've already told you this a couple times," he said quietly, "But thank you."

I smiled and leaned against him once more, "You're welcome Kelly."

After a few more minutes he got up and brought me another bottle of water, and a bottle of beer for himself. And eventually Craig came back in, he let us both know he put a half dozen burgers on the grill and they'd be ready in a little while.

I was pretty sure I wouldn't eat that many, but both him and Kelly seemed to be ready for a midnight snack.

And seeing Kelly was drinking again, Craig got himself a beer as well.

Soon enough all three of us were sitting together on the sofa, there were bottles of beer and water on the coffee table in front of us, along with a couple plates of burgers and a bottle of ketchup. I had Kelly on my left and Craig on my right, and apart from feeling like death I was really happy.

I managed to eat three burgers before the hunger faded, and my two best friends each had one as well. The last one went in the fridge, I figured I could microwave it later if I got hungry again.

Finally I sat back on the sofa and reached out so my arms were around both friends' shoulders and I tried to hug them both at the same time. It was a challenge though since I was the smallest of all three of us, and didn't have the reach or the strength they did.

Kelly responded first, he leaned closer and slipped his arm around my waist. Craig wasn't much of a hugger so I wasn't sure if he'd cooperate, especially with another guy being part of the mix. So I was surprised but happy when he finally moved closer as well, and his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"I love you guys," I said with a happy sigh. "We have to promise we'll all stay best friends, even after we're at different colleges and things. Right?"

"Agreed," Kelly stated. "Best friends forever, all three of us."

Craig didn't respond right away, and I tilted my head to look at him.

There was a thoughtful look on his face as he sort of stared at a spot on the wall for another thirty or forty seconds. Finally he seemed to snap out of whatever he was thinking about, and his cheeks went pink again.

"Sorry guys," he apologized quietly. "You're right. Best friends forever. And yeah, we definitely need to stay in touch."

Me and Kelly were both watching him, and after a second or two he asked "Everything ok Craig?"

"Fine," he nodded. "I figure I'm a bit tired though? It's been a big night right? Like for you two, but kinda stressful for me as well you know? Like watching out for you guys? Maybe we should get some sleep."

I couldn't argue with that. We all took turns in the washroom, then the two of them made sure I got up the stairs and into my room ok. They bid me and each other goodnight, and as soon as my head touched the pillow I was out cold again.

• • • • •

It was around noon when I finally woke up. My head still ached but at least it wasn't as bad, and needless to say I was starving again.

I pulled on some leggings and a loose top then headed barefoot down the stairs. I kept quiet just in case, but I found Craig and Kelly were both already up. They were in the living-room, Craig was on one of the recliners while Kelly was on the sofa. The two of them were both quiet, and both had cans of cola with them.

After a visit to the washroom I grabbed myself a soda as well then joined them.

"Morning guys," I said as I slumped onto the sofa next to Kelly. "I need to eat again. Do you two want breakfast?"

Craig nodded, "Yeah for sure."

Kelly added, "How are you feeling now? Better?"

"Better," I nodded. I had a gulp of my drink then stood up again and added, "Head still hurts but it'll pass."

I ended up microwaving the left-over burger so I had something to eat while I was making breakfast. And I didn't make anything too fancy, just bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast.

"Need a hand?" Kelly offered as him and Craig came into the kitchen.

I couldn't help being embarrassed as I stood there next to the stove with a mouthful of burger. Fortunately my friends both understood, neither commented on my appetite.

After I swallowed I shook my head, "No thanks, I've got it under control."

They ended up sitting at the kitchen table to keep me company, but there wasn't much conversation. When the food was ready I served it up, then sat down at the table with them to eat.

We were all quiet through breakfast, and I started to get the feeling that Craig was uncomfortable. It worried me that maybe he was put off by Kelly being mostly a guy now. Even though he seemed accepting and everything, like he respected Kelly's pronouns and treated him like a guy and everything.

I remembered how he acted a little off last night too, after Kelly stripped down. It made me wonder if that was it, like seeing the reality of Kelly becoming more masc left Craig unsettled or something. I didn't want to confront him or ask him what was up, at least not until I was sure there really was something going on.

So the three of us had a quiet breakfast, then the two guys did the dishes since I did the cooking. I could tell there was some more awkwardness between them though, and it was all on Craig's side. Like Kelly seemed to be acting normal, other than being a little giddy and happy after last night. But Craig was quieter, and seemed uneasy around Kelly.

That trend continued through the afternoon as the three of us hung out in the living-room and watched some TV. Craig sat alone on a recliner, me and Kelly were on the sofa.

When it got into evening the three of us got out the beer again, and we opened a big bag of chips to snack on. Then we heated up a couple frozen pizzas for dinner.

And finally as the three of us sat in the living-room eating pizza and drinking beer, I decided I had to ask what was going on.

"Hey Craig," I said as I looked at him. "Is everything ok? Seems like you've been a little off since last night?"

Kelly added, "She's right dude. I hate to say it but I get the feeling like you're uncomfortable around me since Melody did her mojo last night."

Normally when we called him out on stuff, Craig would get overly defensive. Especially if we were right, he usually doubled-down on whatever it was. But this time instead of getting upset or denying it, he actually blushed and seemed awkward or uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry Kelly," he finally replied after a couple gulps of beer. "You're right, things got weird for me last night? I um. This is really hard for me to say but uh..."

He hesitated then drained the last few gulps of his beer. He set the empty bottle down then braced himself and finally admitted "I realized I was attracted to you, Kelly. I know that's weird and all..."

"It's not weird man," Kelly replied. "And it makes sense? If you were into me when you thought I was a girl, then seeing me like this was probably a big turn-off."

Craig was staring at the rest of the pizza on the coffee table and his cheeks got even brighter as he slowly shook his head.

"That's not what I mean," he said quietly. "I mean, yeah I thought you were cute as a chick, like the tomboy thing was good on you. But when I saw you last night, like after you stripped? I thought I'd be grossed out or turned off. But I wasn't..."

Both me and Kelly were absolutely silent as Craig confessed, "I don't even know what to think anymore? Like I thought it was weird that Melody's dad's hot? This is... Fuck. I'm just really confused right now, is what I'm trying to say."

Kelly gulped, "What?"

Craig's face was beet red as he finally looked up at me and Kelly. He almost sounded apologetic as he replied "I think you're hot, ok? And it's freaking me out because I'm not into dudes! You're a dude, but I think you're hot. I still like girls though, I still think Melody's hot. And I'm freaking out and confused and all this is really weird! And I know you're both probably thinking I'm gross or weird or something, and I really don't want to ruin our friendship!"

I finally found my voice, "I don't think you're gross or weird Craig. And I don't think you're wrong either? Kelly's hot. That's a fact."

By that point Kelly's face was red too, as he looked back and forth between me and Craig. "You two think I'm hot?"

"Absolutely," I replied.

Craig was still blushing, but he nodded quietly.

There was a long pause, before Craig finally asked "So what now? Like... Fuck. I'm freaking out a bit."

"Come sit with us," I told him. "I'll grab you another beer."

A minute later the three of us were on the sofa, but we'd changed positions. This time Kelly was in the middle, with Craig on the left and me on the right. I had an arm around Kelly's waist, and Craig tentatively put an arm around his shoulders.

The TV was still streaming some movie or whatever, but we mostly ignored it. We talked, we drank, we ate some pizza. And what started out as mostly-platonic hugs and cuddles gradually became something more.

Then as it got later we all went up to my bedroom together, and that night there were some big new experiences for all three of us. And all of them were really good.

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