The car ride was silent and awkward. The radio was on but neither Mike nor his mother were paying it much attention. There was no outward show of emotion either. Mike was sure it would happen sooner or later, but for now both he and his mom were too overwhelmed to feel anger or sorrow. Only when they reached home did any conversation happen. Mike had gotten out of the car when his mom hesitatingly called to him.
"M-Mike?" She held out her hand and he took it, before hugging her tightly.
"It's... okay, Mom", he said, giving her a squeeze. "Just... I want you to..."
She looked up at him. Yup, the waterworks were going to start soon, he knew it.
"Mom, just don't tell anyone, okay? Not yet. Let me tell Dad, but that's all. For now".
She nodded silently. Mike left her and walked up the stairs of their house and into his room, where he closed the door the door behind him.
This couldn't be happening. Not now. Why me? I'm a star athlete. Top student. Graduating with honors. Why me and why now? Mike had always thought of himself as a man, a man's man. He had known about the condition, but it was... something that happens to other people. People who suspect from a young age that they were born in the wrong body. But this body was perfect for him. He was comfortable in it. He had shaped it into what it was today. It had been the admiration of his multiple ex-girlfriends, the envy of his teammates. And it was going to be taken away from him.
Shivering a little, he looked at himself in the mirror and raised his shirt to expose his stomach, rubbing it apprehensively. He looked the same as he'd always done. But inside of his abdomen a functional uterus and ovaries were growing. Dr. Lake had said that the Change happens in multiple ways, sometimes the testicles migrate upwards and become the ovaries, but in this case the female equipment was growing directly inside him, and presumably his testicles would eventually be reabsorbed. The growing womb was also displacing his organs, causing the pain that had caused him to seek help in the first case. At least the meds were working...
"How am I gonna tell Dad?"