Jess crossed her arms tightly, glaring at Macy with a mix of disbelief and irritation. “You seriously expect me to just stay like this? This isn’t me — I’m Jeff. I want to be Jeff again.”
Macy shrugged, a sly smile tugging at her lips. “I get it, Jess—or Jeff, whatever you want to call yourself—but… I don’t know. Maybe I don’t want to change you back right away.”
Jess’s eyes widened. “What? Why not? You made the mistake, now fix it!”
Macy leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. “Okay, look. I did hit that gender toggle by accident. But maybe it wasn’t a mistake at all.”
Jess scowled. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Macy said, voice playful but thoughtful. “You were throwing one heck of a tantrum. Maybe, just maybe, you actually wanted me to make you female back then.”
Jess scoffed. “No way.”
Macy wagged a finger, grinning. “Hey, of all the mistakes I could’ve made? Being a girl is the tamest one. I mean, you could’ve ended up as an elephant or a squeaky dog toy, right?”
Jess’s frustrated expression faltered for a split second, but she quickly masked it. “This isn’t funny, Macy.”
“Nope. Totally serious,” Macy said with mock solemnity. “So why don’t you just chill for a bit, get used to the new ‘you’? Who knows? Maybe you’ll like it. Or at least be less of a pain while I figure out how to fix this.”
Macy pushed back from the desk and stood up, holding Jess’s wide eyes with a steady gaze. She reached out slowly and took Jess’s hands in hers, their fingers intertwining in a strangely comforting way.
“Look,” Macy said softly, her voice quieter now, stripped of teasing. “I’m choosing to stay a girl. At least for now.”
Jess blinked, her grip tightening slightly. “You’re… choosing?”
Macy nodded, squeezing her hands gently. “Yeah. This isn’t just some accident to me. It’s… kind of a life-changing moment. I’ve been thinking about who I am, who I want to be, and what I want my life to look like. And now that I’m in this body—well, I have some serious decisions to make.”
Jess’s eyes flickered with surprise, her frustration momentarily replaced by something softer. “Decisions like what?”
Macy took a slow breath, the weight of it filling the room between them. “Like what parts of me are really me—beyond the body, beyond what people expect. Like, what if this change is a chance to figure stuff out that I didn’t have time to before?”
Her voice caught slightly, but she kept going. “I’m scared, Jess. Scared of what staying like this might mean… but also kind of excited. And I don’t want to do it alone.”
Jess’s gaze dropped to their joined hands, then back up, searching Macy’s face for the truth she felt there. “So… you want me here? As a girl?”
Macy smiled softly. “Not just as a girl. As my best friend. Someone who knows me better than anyone else, who’s seen me at my worst and my weirdest—and still sticks around. I want you by my side while I figure this out, no matter what form we’re in.”
Jess swallowed, the frustration and anger melting into a complicated swirl of emotions—confusion, warmth, maybe even hope. “I don’t know if I can just… forget being Jeff.”
“You don’t have to,” Macy said firmly. “I’m not asking you to forget. Just to stay with me a little longer. To see where this goes. Because whatever happens next, we’ll face it together.”
The room felt quieter now, the playful tension replaced by something real and fragile. Jess hesitated, then gave a small nod, her fingers tightening around Macy’s.
Macy grinned, relief blooming in her chest. “Good. Because I have a feeling this is only the beginning of one wild ride.”