"So," Liane said, sliding back into the booth with her drink in one hand, "where were we? Oh, right - how'd I end up like this? Well, it's not a long story but is kind of a weird one, so strap in. You remember Lexi, right? Cute girl in our chemistry class, dyes her hair blue? Well, this all started a few months ago when she saw I was feeling kind of down, and asked me if I wanted to come get drinks and some food with her."
"You mean, like a date?" James asked. "But I thought Lexi was..." his voice trailed off. He'd been going to say "a lesbian who wasn't interested in guys," but well, Liane wasn't a guy anymore, was she? And this was supposed to be the story of how that happened...
Liane seemed to guess what he was thinking, since she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she is," she said. "I was a bit weirded out by it too, but hey, it's not like old me ever got to hang out with cute girls that much anyway, so I figured, why not? So that evening we came out here, it was her treat, and as we were talking things started to get... weird. Like she started checking out some of the other girls and asking my opinion on them, what I liked about them, that sort of thing. And then the more we were talking, the more I drank... that's when I started to change. I started turning into girl me, and nobody seemed to notice - or, if they did notice, they didn't mind. And you'd probably expect that I'd have been freaking out, but I didn't. I felt good... really good. Better than I'd felt in years; maybe better than I'd ever felt ever. And so when Lexi gave me a good, long look up and down and asked if I wanted to go home with her... you can absolutely bet I said yes."
James was staring; the story sounded impossible, and yet the evidence was sitting right in front of him, and he found himself hanging on every word. "Well," Liane continued, "it was the best sex of my life, and when I woke up the next morning I couldn't imagine ever wanting to change back. But I wanted to know what was going on, so I came back here and found the bartender - that's her over there pouring drinks, of course; *the* Liz of Liz's bar. So I guess Liz is actually a witch and a lesbian or something, and most of her clientele are lesbians too, but she enchanted her bar so that anyone who stays in here for too long gets turned into a lesbian themselves, physically and mentally - mentally, just enough to give them a new perspective but not change who they are otherwise, at least normally. I guess sometimes she thinks bigger things are in order. She'll change people back if they want it, and she asked me if I did. I told her I didn't, and she looked at me funny and talked a bit more, and then told me that sometimes people don't change mentally at all - they just need their body to match what was already inside. And I guess that's what happened to me."
"Wait," James said, "are you telling me you're trans? I never knew that!"
"Maybe," Liane said. "I guess. Hadn't really thought much about labels. But I just know this feels better than being a guy ever did. But ever since I've been wondering about you and how much we always seemed to have in common, and then when I saw you walk in here tonight, I just thought I'd ask you..." she leaned in close. "The change gets everyone in here eventually, and I've seen it get really dramatic when someone tries to fight it, but when you go with it, there's nothing easier. It's just like magic!" She chuckled at this. "So, James... do you want what happened to me to happen to you, too?"