The name Billy meant nothing to Jon, and, so far as he knew, he'd never met any girl named Billy. Looking at her, thinking something was off about her, he'd swear he was seeing a girl, yet, at the same time, she had the appearance of a boy. Flat-chested, or so he thought, as when he tilted his head just right, he'd swear she did have breasts, she was also tall, whilst, at the same time, short. Trying to figure out which, but unable to, he quit trying after some time.
Not sure how she knew him, he chose his words carefully as he asked, "How do you know me? And what do you mean I’m worse off than the last time you saw me? I've never seen you in my life."
"Jesus. Not you too," the girl nearly wailed, and pushing up on her glasses, she stepped closer, crossed her arms across her chest and stated, "I meant what I said," before switching gears and crying out, "You've got to help me. I mean, you might want to be a girl, judging by how much yourself since last I saw you, but I don't. This is a nightmare. Everyone thinks I'm this, this, Lucy person. I'm expected to answer to a name which isn't mine, dress in girl’s clothes, behave and act like a girl. Dammit. I even find myself, despite my best efforts, doing exactly that, like my mind or something is slipping away from me. Hell, my memories are all jumbled up, with my life as Billy being pushed out for Lucy."
Uncertain what he was to say, Jon bristled when the girl claimed he wanted to be a girl. Despite how much he'd changed, the way he could see himself as one, act and be female, it wasn't something he wanted. Listening to her, the instant he heard what she finished with, it was as if something inside him clicked. Knowing exactly how she must feel, be going through, though still sceptical, he took a bite of his breakfast and after chewing, he said, "This is hard for me to say, and it isn't like I'm admitting I know you, but I don't want to be a girl," and taking a deep breath, he laid out on the table everything that'd happened over the last two months, ending with how his face had morphed, leaving him looking female from the neck up.
At a loss as to how to reply, Lucy sat down. After a moment, she explained how, about a month ago, she'd been a teenage boy named Billy. But then something changed. At a loss what, she knew it had something to do with how people acted around her, addressed her by a girl's name, treated her as if she was one. From there, she told how her world had flipped upside down as her bedroom and clothes had transformed, her mind started to go completely feminine, and then her appearance had started to shift as her hair began to grow out. Listening to all of what she was telling, a lot of it sounding like what he was going through, Jon again wondered what he was expected to do to help as he also tried work why it was so easy for him to tell her what was going on with him. Taking another bite of his cereal, he almost asked Lucy something, but decided against it and instead focused his attention on his breakfast.
When he was done, he took his bowl and spoon inside, rinsed them both, something he'd never done before two months ago, and returned to the patio. Half expecting Lucy to be gone, proof he was cracking up and now seeing people who claimed to experiencing what he was, he was both relieved and frustrated she was still there. Looking at her, thinking her outfit, a denim skirt and t-shirt, was a cute, Jon tried not to dwell too much on such thoughts as he sat down. Peering at her, he stated, "You and I both seem to have the same problem," then corrected, "Well, sort of," before shrugging and saying, "It's hard to explain."
"I know what you mean," Lucy whispered, not looking up, she instead fidgeted as she picked at a cuticle.
"The question now is what you expect me to do," he put forth. "I still do not know why what is happening to me is, nor how to stop it. And this is something I want to stop, as I fear what I could one day wake up to, see when I gaze into the mirror as I do up my hair," and pausing, realising what he'd said, and how natural it felt, he lapsed into silence.
Lucy didn't miss what Jon had said, and before she could stop herself, she commented, "Your hair is pretty, the way you have it up like that," and when Jon thanked her, it was as both slipped and before either could prevent themselves from doing so, they both started talking about hair products and different ways to do their hair, as well as when they washed their hair, whether it was once a week or every time they took a shower, which Jon admitted he now took showers every other day, whilst Lucy said it she usually took a shower every morning, but washed really what seemed important at the time.
With a huge effort on his part, Jon forced the conversation back around to what they could do to go back to being guys. Relieved by how her former friend had shifted what they were talking about, as she'd been trying to, and not having any luck, Lucy inquired, "So what are we going to do?"
Jon thought for a moment before venturing, "I think the first thing we ought to do it either write down or type up everything we can recall about our former lives. From there, I suggest we document everything that has happened in the last two months. From there, I think we ought to compare notes and see if there is any common factor which might give us a clue."
A nod from Lucy, but then she asked, "But, what if we don't find anything? Or, worse yet, what happens if one of goes completely girl?"
This was a good point, and Jon kicked himself for having missed it. Shrugging, he offered, "I dunno. I guess we'll have to deal with it when we get that far," and standing, he explained he was going to get some them a pencil, pen, and notepaper, as now seemed a good enough time if any to start.