Meeting an Old Friend

Part 1

'Damn… This is so weird,' Nick thought as he nervously fiddled with the edge of a napkin. He was sitting at a table in a trendy Japanese café, his eyes constantly drifting back to the figure of the girl across from him. Her tight white T-shirt, seemingly on purpose, highlighted everything he himself had never had. Especially the breasts. Firm, defined curves were practically pushing through the thin fabric, and the slight transparency made it even more provocative.

It was Lexa… once Alex.

'You’ve changed so much…' he wanted to say, but his tongue felt glued to the roof of his mouth.

Lexa smiled slightly, looking at Nick, and tilted her head a little to the side.

– Yeah, this is pretty much how I imagined it, – she said with a soft breath, noticing how Nick once again awkwardly looked away from her tits, as if they had suddenly become a landmine. He tried to focus on her face, but it didn’t work well: his eyes kept sliding down — to the white, thin fabric, to those firm, pronounced curves, to the barely visible line of a bra underneath the shirt.

Lexa smirked a bit wider and leaned forward. The thin material stretched even tighter across her breasts, and Nick felt his palms start to sweat.

– Come on, just say it already, – she went on, pressing against the table so her boobs squished slightly under the thin fabric of the shirt.

Nick swallowed hard, his throat dry and his palms damp with nerves.

– I… – he stammered, his eyes darting down again on their own, to those soft, teasingly firm shapes that just a few years ago… hell, not that long ago, had been part of his friend, Alex. – You… Jesus, Alex, I mean, Lexa… Like... It’s really you?

Lexa tilted her head even more, and the movement made the hair on the back of her neck shift slightly, revealing her delicate neck.

– Really me? – she echoed with a smirk, but then suddenly seemed flustered, lowering her eyes just a little, like she herself wasn’t totally sure of her own words.

Nick swallowed again, something twisting strangely inside him.

– Lexa… – his voice was hoarse, almost unfamiliar. – I… I can’t believe this. How? Back then you said… You said it was temporary, that they were “treating” you, that it would all go back…

She gave a quiet, ironic laugh, turning her head away.

– “Treating” me? They just transferred me to another school, – Lexa shrugged, as if trying to shake off everything that had happened back then. She dropped her eyes for a second, strands of her dark hair swaying gently beside her cheeks.

Part 2

That day flashed before her eyes again — the one when, after a week of heat and aching sensations in her body, she finally felt light. But with it came the first real shock. People in white coats gathered around, her mom wiping tears with a handkerchief, and her dad hugging her by the waist.

That morning, Alex first realized something was wrong — and had it confirmed just moments later when his hand reached down to his stomach, and his fingers didn’t find the familiar bulge.

He... or rather, already she... felt smooth, flat skin, an unfamiliar emptiness where — he could swear — everything had been just yesterday. His heart had felt like it jumped out of his chest.

– Alex... it’s going to be okay, – his mom had said then, sniffling, though her eyes kept darting around like she didn’t believe it herself.

Now it all came back like a bad dream.

A genetic condition, totally unstudied and appearing in a tiny percentage of people — the so-called “Fem-Restruct Syndrome,” as scientists later dubbed it — had put a full stop to normal life.

For reasons no one could explain, the body suddenly rewired itself and changed sex. Cases were still rare, but Alex wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last.

What made it worse — all recorded cases occurred during puberty, and once the process started, it couldn’t be stopped.

The most doctors and researchers could do was monitor, record, document, and observe.

But of course, both Alex and his parents had hoped the scientists would somehow reverse it all — or that maybe it was just some temporary glitch.

When the first period came, it all became painfully clear — at least for Lexa. Her mom still refused to accept it, always suggesting she cut her hair, wear boys’ clothes, or even transfer again — to a school for kids who “hadn’t figured out their gender yet.”

By then she’d already been living that way for two years. Her hair had grown out a little. She was starting to realize it was easier to get along with girls — they saw her as “one of them,” unlike the boys. She even started wearing skirts, though at first it felt disgustingly awkward.

– You… – Nick coughed, his voice cracking – you said back then that it was… you know, temporary. Like, treatment and everything would go back. And then you just disappeared.

Lexa raised her eyebrows, glancing at him over her glasses. A faint, slightly tired smirk touched her lips.

– I thought so too — hell, I was sure of it… – Lexa shrugged a little. – Everyone said the same thing. Like, just wait a couple months, pills, treatments, checkups… Yeah, right.

Part 3

She smirked, spinning a sushi stick with her finger, and Nick swallowed awkwardly, trying not to stare — but it wasn’t going well. Ever since that day in the locker room, the last time they’d seen each other, all he could picture was Alex — a skinny kid in track pants with messy hair, always making fun of girls. And now — a tight white T-shirt, a defined waist, soft feminine features, those curves… And boobs that definitely hadn’t been there before.

– I was only thirteen back then… – Lexa went on, spearing a piece of sushi and casually popping it into her mouth. – But whatever, that’s all in the past now.

She grimaced a bit, adjusting a bra strap that was digging in, and gave a crooked smirk as she glanced at the half-eaten roll.

– Honestly, I still haven’t gotten used to this crap, – Lexa shook her head and tugged the strap so that the white T-shirt stretched even tighter over her tits. – These things… – she nodded at her breasts – weigh more than you’d think. Especially when you’re jumping or running. Or when the gym teacher makes you do pull-ups.

Nick let out a nervous laugh, looking off to the side, but his gaze still drifted back on its own.

– I… – he faltered, wiping his sweaty forehead with a hand. – Shit, Lex, I’m sorry if I’m staring. It’s just… I haven’t seen you in five years. And now… – he gestured at her boobs and basically her whole appearance, like there was no need to explain further.

Lexa snorted, leaning back in her chair.

– Five years is a hell of a long time, Nick. Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t recognize me at all.

– Well, I wouldn’t have, if it weren’t for your face, – Nick admitted, tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth again, and realizing it was better to change the subject. – So how is it… how are people? In the new school? Didn’t they all figure it out right away?

– Oh, that’s a whole story. At first it was a total shitshow. Imagine me, short hair, baggy jeans, trying to act “like one of the guys.” I remember standing in front of the whole class, and the teacher goes, “Everyone, meet our new student, Lexa Smith, she’ll be studying with you this year,” – Lexa gave a crooked smile, spinning the sushi stick between her fingers. – And I’m just standing there, shaking like an idiot, thinking: ‘She… She said she… God, she means me…’

Nick shook his head slightly, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and let out a soft breath:

– Damn… So to everyone there, you were, like, a girl?

Lexa snorted, picking up the last piece of sushi.

– Well, technically — yeah. Teachers, documents — everything said “girl.” But the way I looked... – She waved her hand, remembering. – You remember what I looked like the last time you saw me, right? Nothing on the outside had changed back then.

– I remember… You even got into a fight with Jake, – he chuckled, suddenly smiling – and broke his nose.

– Yep… and a month later my nipples started getting sensitive, – she said with a smirk, and Nick nearly choked on air.

He started coughing hard, covering his mouth with his hand, tears springing to his eyes from the sudden fit.

Lexa laughed — light, clear, girlish, but still with that same mocking tone that used to be in her friend Alex’s voice.

Part 4

– What’s with that look? – she squinted slyly, watching Nick blush and try to catch his breath. – Alright, sorry, but I had pretty much the same reaction myself — just in front of a mirror.

Nick swallowed with difficulty, finally coughing it out and shooting her a wary glance.

– Damn, you could’ve given me a heads-up that we’d be diving straight into that kind of detail, – he muttered hoarsely, still feeling the burn in his cheeks.

– What’s the big deal? We girls talk about way worse than that, – Lexa shrugged with a grin, like she’d just tossed a grenade onto the table and was now watching Nick scramble for cover.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck nervously, feeling the blood pulsing louder in his ears.

– With the girls… – he mumbled, barely realizing what he was even saying. – Wait… so you actually… hang out with them, like, as girlfriends?

– How else? – Lexa smirked. – Things with the guys were just… nonexistent. Everyone thought I was either a mutant or some kind of freak. But the girls… they...

If it weren’t for Roxy and Monica, I’d probably have lost my mind.

Sure, at first they stared too. Especially when I still looked like… well, like a dude.

Nick nodded silently, swallowing the lump in his throat.

– You could say they dragged me into “all this,” – she went on, looking off to the side like she was remembering something. – And a year later, I asked the nurse who takes care of my grandma to teach me how to braid hair.

Nick chuckled involuntarily, but immediately caught himself, realizing how… ordinary that sounded. Like just another story of a teenage girl. But it wouldn’t sink in that it was his old friend Alex saying this — the same Alex he’d played ball with all childhood, who used to challenge him on who could do more pull-ups, and who laughed at girls while yanking on their braids.

– Braids… – he repeated the word, feeling how weirdly it echoed in his ears. – Now that’s something I never expected from you.

Lexa snorted, nodded, and flicked the empty soy sauce bottle with her finger.

– Me neither, honestly, – she grinned. – But shit, Nick, back then I just wanted to… you know… be normal.

Lexa looked away a little shyly, fingers tugging at the edge of the thin napkin. A faint blush touched her cheeks.

– And… the little dress… – she muttered almost in a whisper. – I was such a cutie, you should’ve seen me!

Lexa giggled, eyes lowering like she was remembering something awkward, while Nick nearly choked on his own thoughts.

– Hold up… – he frowned, leaning across the table. – You… for real? In a dress? Like, full-on?

She leaned back in her seat, her boobs giving a subtle bounce, and that familiar smirk crept back onto her face.

– Something like that.

– But what about you? Did you find yourself a girlfriend? How was it after I left?

Part 5

– Well… – Nick let out a nervous little laugh, swallowing hard. – Like, I haven’t had a girlfriend. There was this one time… I mean, kinda almost. But... – He covered his eyes with one hand for a second. – Basically, no. I haven’t been with anyone...

He shrank into himself, blushing with shame, trying to hide his face behind his hands — but his fingers were trembling on their own, and his ears felt like they were on fire from the inside out.

Lexa, of course, noticed — how could she not — and her eyes instantly narrowed with that familiar sly glint.

– Wait a sec… – she drawled, leaning on her elbows and again slightly leaning forward, making her tits bounce just a little under the T-shirt. – You’re telling me… you haven’t even kissed anyone?

Nick nearly melted into his chair. He shot a panicked glance at her, then quickly looked away — at the napkins, the little soy sauce vase, anything but her.

– Well… – he squirmed, swallowed, clutching a napkin so tight it almost tore. – Not exactly… I mean… shit, why are you interrogating me? Like you’ve kissed someone?!

Lexa tilted her head and smirked. Picking up the soy sauce bottle, she spun it between her fingers.

– Yep, – she said casually, like she was talking about the weather. – More than once.

Nick nearly fell out of his chair. His eyes went wide, his throat suddenly dry.

– Wait… you mean… for real? – He croaked, feeling the burn of embarrassment and some weird excitement rush over his face. Then, as something clicked in his head, he blurted out, eyes wide open – With guys?!

Lexa burst out laughing, not even trying to hold it in anymore — clearly her provocation had worked. She laughed freely, brightly, like suddenly it wasn’t shy Nick sitting at the table, but the same old Alex with that signature cocky humor. Only now the voice was higher, lighter… more feminine — and that, fuck, drove Nick even crazier.

– Have you seen your face? – Lexa wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still chuckling. – Yeah, Nick, with guys. What, did you really think I’ve been living like a nun for five years? Like you?

Nick sank back into his chair, his ears practically glowing red. He swallowed and scratched his cheek nervously, mumbling almost to himself:

– I… I mean, I kinda thought you… well… well... – he took a deep breath, avoiding her gaze, and let it all out in a rush – that you were still Alex. And a guy.

He fell silent, realizing just how stupid that sounded now — when right in front of him sat a girl with delicate features, long lashes, a figure shaped by a narrow waist and boobs that kept dragging his gaze down every few seconds.

Lexa raised her eyebrows slightly, like his words touched a nerve… but only for a moment.

Part 6

– A guy? – she repeated, tilting her head slightly. – Yeah, especially when you blush and start thinking all kinds of shit when the cutest boy talks to you, and you don’t get what’s happening or why you suddenly can’t breathe...

She gazed dreamily into the distance, right through Nick, smiling as she remembered, falling silent for a moment, like she’d slipped into her own thoughts.

– That’s when I realized, – she went on, playing with the soy sauce bottle – that you can cling to the past all you want, but… the body does what it wants. Especially when the captain of the damn PE club falls for you and you suddenly catch yourself thinking… – she bit her lip – that it actually feels nice.

Nick looked like he’d choked on air, his eyes wide:

– Wait—what? A guy?! Captain?! – he blurted it out way louder than he meant to, totally forgetting they were in a crowded café.

Lexa giggled, covering her mouth with her hand:

– Yeah, Nick, imagine that. Captain. Fell for me. Made me sandwiches, carried my bag. Just like in those dumb teen shows.

Nick swallowed, his face burning even hotter:

– And you just… like, didn’t tell him to fuck off?

– I did, of course, – she nodded, then narrowed her eyes playfully. – At first. But then he asked me to the movies, bought popcorn, and I’m looking at him thinking: “Shit, he’s got dimples and he smells nice.”

Nick went silent, staring at the napkin. The lump in his throat grew heavier.

– So what… – he looked up cautiously – you two are, like… dating?

Lexa tilted her head a little:

– Yeah, we’re dating. Been together six months now.

She said it casually, like it was just a new haircut, but something twisted hard inside Nick. He nodded, not knowing what to say. His fingers kept kneading the napkin, and his eyes, again, dropped downward — the white T-shirt, the soft outline of a bra, that feminine shape. The one that didn’t even exist five years ago.

– Fuck… – he breathed – this is all so hard to wrap my head around.

Lexa’s gaze softened.

– Nick, I gotta go, – she glanced at her phone screen, sighed, and started packing her bag.

Nick twitched, like someone had just yanked him out of a trance. For a few seconds, he just watched as she slung the light backpack over her shoulder, how the shirt stretched across her back, how her hair slipped down her shoulder in soft waves.

– Yeah… – he managed to say, suddenly feeling a hollow space open up inside. – Well… thanks for meeting up.

– Oh come on, – Lexa smirked, tilting her head again, and her hair shifted, brushing against her cheekbones. – Honestly, I thought you’d bolt the second you realized it was… me.

Nick scratched the back of his head awkwardly and swallowed:

– That was the plan… But somehow… – he trailed off as he stood up, met her eyes, and his voice trembled just a bit – somehow I couldn’t.

Part 7

She raised her eyebrows in surprise for a split second, but then her face melted into that light, almost teasing smile.

– Well, Nick… – she stepped closer, threw her arms wide, and hugged him, pressing her full breasts against him in a way that knocked the air right out of his lungs. The warm, soft curves pushed through the thin fabric of her T-shirt, and Nick felt like his brain had completely shut down.

– Take care, alright? – Lexa whispered right into his ear, her voice soft but intense.

Nick couldn’t say anything right away — it was like every word had been wiped from his head. All he could feel was his dick starting to stiffen and press against his pants.

Lexa was already pulling away gently, acting as if she didn’t notice — or pretending not to — and playfully adjusted the strap of her backpack, casting a quick glance toward his waist. Her eyes sparkled, and a mischievous smirk flashed across her face.

– Oh, Nick, it was really nice seeing you… but I gotta run — time waits for no one, – she chuckled, casually glancing around the café and turning toward the exit.

– Wait! – Nick shouted, louder than he expected, even surprising himself. Every head in the café turned instantly toward him.

– Whaaaat? – Lexa drawled, turning back with her eyebrows raised high.

Nick swallowed hard, feeling like every stare in the café was burning through him. He shifted in place, rubbed the back of his neck, then quickly blurted out:

– I… just… – he clenched his fists, his face burning up – You… look really good.

Lexa blinked in surprise, her lips twitched, and for a moment, there was no sarcasm on her face — just something soft, almost shy.

– Thanks, Nick, – she stepped back toward him just a bit. – And you… – she smirked, tilting her head slightly – still awkward as hell.

– But honest, – he mumbled, staring at the floor, then gathered the courage to lift his eyes. – And… I’m glad you… you know… found yourself.

Her eyes warmed for a second, and she looked at him like something inside her shifted, just a little. Lexa nodded, that familiar half-smile appearing on her lips — but now without any sharpness, only calm.

– Take care, Nick, – she said quietly, then turned and walked toward the exit.

Nick stood frozen, watching her go, and suddenly realized: the knot in his chest wasn’t just from shock.

He really did miss his friend — and now he’d finally seen them again.

But it wasn’t the old Alex. It was Lexa. A girl.

And maybe… yeah, maybe he was totally confused now — but one thing he knew for sure:

He wanted to see Lexa again. Badly. Really fucking badly.

‘Shit… I’m screwed,’ ran through his mind as the café door clicked shut behind her, and the sudden silence swallowed him — even though the café music was still playing and people kept talking all around.