Damien woke up to the sound of the alarm. Bleary-eyed, he picked up his phone. It was that time already, huh? He got and de-frumpled his right wing, stretching, and accidentally punched himself in the boob. “Ow,” he said, eloquently. 

 

His demonic form hadn’t been as developed two years ago, but apparently it was doing a lot of growth in a short time, and he wasn’t exactly used to a lot of it yet. In fact, at first the changes had been almost exclusively demonic. Skin, horns and wings. But after a few months the voice had begun to undo everything puberty and testosterone had done to it, and his hands and feet had begun to slim out, his face had become rounder and softer, his lips fuller. He’d had no idea what was going on. At least he knew when it was going to happen, thanks to his mother.

 

She knew an app-developer from the Old Country, who had synched up a bracelet to his phone, so that he always got a notification when a change was about to happen. It was something? At least the return transformation wasn’t explosive, and didn’t require any preparation. He sat on the edge of his bed, browsing on his phone, until the transformation kicked in. His wings folded in on themselves. His horns retreated. His skin regained its fleshy tone. His chest became flat again, his shoulders widened. He took off the shirt with the open back, and swapped it out with one with the Amazon from his favourite game series on the front, who was looking heroically at something undefined in the distance. 

 

He pulled on some longer slacks. He didn’t like sleeping with anything more than boxers when he was in demon form. For one thing, he liked the way his smoother legs felt against each other. In human form, the fuzziness of his legs wasn’t nearly as appealing. He got up and went downstairs, made himself some breakfast. He needed calories after transforming back, and he was going to get them. As he walked into the kitchen, he passed his mother who was reading something on her tablet, cup of coffee in the other hand, and a bagel in her mouth.

 

“Morning mom.”

 

“Mffrnng Bmmn.”

 

“Mom.”

 

She swallowed.

 

“Good morning, Damien,” she grinned with a husky singsong voice. Hecate was in her human form, ready for work. She’d given up demonning a long time ago, it had never been her thing. But making the world a slightly worse place, that was simply in her nature, in her very existence. Which is why she worked in advertising, and she was damn good at it.

“You’re up early.”

 

“Yeah, the change happened half an hour ago. The agreement says I have to go.”

 

Today was going to be an actual school day, and he was going to have to actually participate. And it was P.E. Fan-freaking-tastic. He hated swimming. 

 

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He used to love swimming. But he hated doing it around other people. He felt at home in the water, but ever since his “condition” had started acting up he’d been uncomfortable with how exposed he felt when he was swimming. As if his bare chest was something to cover up. It didn’t make any sense, but not a lot of this did yet.

 

“You gonna be okay, hun?”

 

His mother did her best not to look too concerned. If it was up to her, she’d homeschool him, but she was too busy. Even as a demon, being a single mom was hard work. School, he’d argued to her, was a good way to keep him occupied, teach him useful stuff. Even if it wasn’t a full education, it was good for him to get out of the house. He didn’t mention that it allowed him to hang out with Allyssa. 

 

He nodded. “Yeah. I should have a couple of hours at least.”

 

She took a bite of bagel-with-coffee, and chewed thoughtfully while looking at him.

 

“Not what I asked, Damien.”

 

He scratched the back of his head. “I… Yeah. It’s still not easy, mom. I just… I don’t know why I can’t change at will. Or why I keep getting... “ He looked down at his chest with a mix of terror and confusion. Why did it bother him so much? He’d seen his demon form in the mirror so many times and it was disjointing. The body itself didn’t bother him, it was quite… well… very attractive. But the suddenness, the fact that it wasn’t a choice to be this, that was weirdly difficult. Like, he wouldn’t… mind being able to turn into a demon at will. Or even a demon girl. But being yanked back and forth like that? He was a guy, and being forced to look like that made him very uncomfortable. Guys weren’t supposed to look like that, for obvious reasons.

 

Besides.

 

What would Allyssa think?

 

He shook his head. “I’ll be okay, mom. Maybe I just need more time? I think school might do me good. Even if it’s P.E.”

 

Hecate downed the rest of her coffee and put the cup down on the kitchen counter, then ruffled his hair. 

 

“If you say so, tater tot. You call if something’s up, all right?”

 

“Promise.”

 

“Atta boy.”

 

“Mom.”

 

“Right, right, you’re not a little boy anymore.” She grabbed her coat and bag, and gave him a little kiss on the forehead. “Try not to let stuff get to you, okay?”

 

“k”

 

She stood in the doorway for just a second and looked wistfully at her child, then sighed. Damien knew she wished she could do more. She already did so much, honestly. He should tell her that more. 

 

---

 

Allyssa rolled out of bed with a thud and an “oof”. She stretched and admired her adorable pajamas in the full length mirror of her closet. Today was P.E., she knew. Deep breaths. She opened the door to her bedroom at the same time as her sister Dani did in the opposing room. They made eye contact for one terrible, horrible second, then both broke into a sprint, all elbows and shoves. Finally, she dodged a tackle and slammed the bathroom door closed behind her and locked it. Danielle made a frustrated noise on the other side while Allyssa triumphantly brushed her teeth. After approximately five seconds, there was a knocking on the door.

 

“Hey, hurry up.”

 

“Waid youh tuhh, Hew.”

 

“What?”

 

She spat out her toothpaste.

 

“Wait your turn, Mel.”

 

“Uuuuugh, Lissie, pleeeaaaase, I have to use the bathroom.”

 

“There’s a bathroom downstairs.” She looked in the mirror at her pajama’d visage. “I’m not wearing clothes, you can’t come in.”

 

“Fiiiiiiiine.”

 

A moment of peace and respite as she washed up and got dressed. Finally done, she opened the bathroom door and Dani gave a little curtsy as she walked past, which Alli returned gracefully. Then Dani stuck out her tongue and went inside.

 

Allyssa went downstairs, to see her mom and dad having breakfast. The twins, Melanie and Kat, were scarfing down their Official Off-Brand Breakfast Cereal, and her oldest sister Amy was just finishing her morning tea. The adults gave her a cheerful “good morning” or a little wave as she sat down and grabbed herself an apple.

 

“No breakfast today?” Her mom asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“B.E.,” Allyssa responded with her mouth full. She had difficulty moving much when she’d just eaten. 

 

“Fair enough.”

 

They sat in silence for a bit, and Danielle joined them for some buttered toast. Breakfast was a little ritual at the Wright residence. A moment of shared togetherness before the day. Since not everyone came home at the same time, this shared meal every day was important. Even if the twins didn’t quite realize why yet. After what she hoped was the proper amount of time, Alli asked if she could be excused and ran up to her room. P.E. was stressful as all hell to begin with, for all the obvious reasons. But she also knew that her best friend was going to be there, and she was simultaneously excited to see them again and absolutely terrified for Him. The physical exercise couldn’t be easy, with their illness.

 

She sighed, grabbed her backpack, and did a quick lap of the breakfast table, giving everyone a hug and a peck on the cheek, then ran out the door.

 

---

 

Damien surfaced and took a deep breath, just in time to hear the whistle that marked the end of class. Going under water again, he lazily swam to the edge of the pool. He was able to hold his breath for minutes - a demonic little trait he’d never let his classmates or his teacher know about - and he liked spending time under water. He was invisible there, and it was quiet. 

 

He launched himself up on the edge of the pool and took off his goggles. His teacher waved him over.

 

“You did well today, Damien. Your technique needs some work, but considering the classes you missed… If you keep this up, you’ve got a passing grade.”

 

Damien nodded. 

 

“Thank you, Sir,” he said, smiling slightly. He slinked away backwards before the swimming instructor could attempt something like a pat on the shoulder, and made his way to the private changing stalls. It was one of the perks of his condition, and one he happily used. Let them think whatever, he could change in peace and quiet. On his way there, he looked around and just saw Allyssa go into the girl’s locker room with the others. He wasn’t brave enough to wave. She was, and tipped an invisible hat at him. He grinned back sheepishly, and got his stuff from his locker. His backpack was vibrating aggressively. 

 

Oh no.

 

He fished inside it frantically, until he retrieve his phone. Five alerts. The last one seven minutes ago. “Alert,” it said. “Ten minutes remaining.”

 

Fuck. No. Fuck.

 

He rushed over to the private changing stalls and threw his stuff in a corner, then rooted around in his backpack, and retrieved a pack of emergency chalk, and frantically drew a circle on the ground. His hands were shaking. Fuck, he’d missed the alarms while he was in the water. The armband normally vibrated but he’d turned that feature off (he’d had a good reason at the time but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was) and now he’d missed all the useful alerts. He was panicking. The circle and the pentagram were far from perfect, but they’d have to do. 

 

He knelt down in the circle and managed to get a quarter of a breath in when the transformation hit. The protection circle was imperfect, and the transformation was not pleasant. It hurt, his skin burned. But it helped. He was fairly certain he wasn’t going to burst into flame and set off the fire alarm. But as his skin reddened and his horns started to grow, thinking became really hard. His head felt like it was going to explode. He lost track of time, until he heard the voice of the P.E. teacher. 

 

“Damien, are you okay?”

 

Oh, Fuck.

 

“Uh… Sir, I think my uh... “ He winced, trying not to sound too pained. “I think my uh… I think my illness is… hng… is kicking in.”

 

“Do we need to notify your mother?” The voice was filled with genuine concern.

 

“I uh… I’ll call her myself, thank you. But I… I don’t think I’ll be able to join the class on the way back to school, ah, sir.”

 

“You’re sure, son?”

 

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

 

Footsteps walked away from the changing stall. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then a sigh of pain when his wings ripped themselves from his shoulder blades and unfurled, feathers and all. He’d call his mother when the transformation was complete. An emergency had happened before, though not like… like this. Hecate would come and get him with an old oversized parka, cover his face with a breathing mask to cover up his red skin, and the tail could be tucked into a pair of pants. But he couldn’t leave on his own. He felt his face change, much more painful than the day before, and the headache became almost unbearable.

 

“Hey Damien? Are you in there?”

 

Oh no. 

 

“I just… didn’t see you leave with the others.”

 

Please no.

 

“Mister Reeves said you had a flareup and that your mom was coming to pick you up.”

 

Not her.

 

“Are you gonna be okay?”

 

He couldn’t answer. He didn’t trust his voice to sound right. His transformation was coming to its end and he sat there, a demonette in full glory. He couldn’t speak, and tears rolled down his crimson cheeks when he heard her voice, more and more scared, in pain. He wished he could talk to her. Tell her it was okay. He heard her sit down against the door, and just sat there, kneeling, looking at the spot where she’d be sitting.

 

“I’m just… I’m really worried about you, Damien.”

 

He breathed a deep sigh and wiped his tears away. He could only hope she’d leave soon. Maybe she’d believe he was unable to speak. 

 

“I don’t want to lose you, okay? You’re my best friend.”

 

“You too,” Damien whispered softly, and placed a hand against the stall door. 

 

It would have been a meaningful and powerful moment for both of them, if it hadn’t been for cheap engineering. The soft pressure of Damien’s hand against the door clicked the latch out of the lock and the door swung open inwards. Allyssa fell backwards with a yelp and her head landed on Damien’s bright red thighs. She looked up at… someone who looked like her friend. But bright red. And what looked like black eyeliner. And a slightly rounder face. And horns. And uh… Alli glanced upwards at Damien’s chest. If things had been different, she’d have been aggressively aware of just how gay she was. But even with her head on someone’s thighs with two perfect breasts metaphorically staring her right back in the face, she could only focus on one thing. This (beautiful? gorgeous?) creature was undoubtedly her childhood friend. 

 

“Damien?!”

 

“Hi,” he squeaked.