Zoe finally pulls her face from Jamison's shoulder. Jamison looks her up and down with concern clouding his eyes. Zoe smiles as Jamison wipes away her tears.

"You always were the nice one, you know?" Zoe laughs.

"The nice one? I certainly haven't been nice lately..." Jamison replies dryly.

Zoe starts walking toward the school. Jamison wordlessly follows Zoe. She glances up at him with a pout, tilting her head like a curious puppy.

"How so?" Zoe asks softly.

The two teens walk along the sidewalk without speaking for a few minutes. Jamison's eyes stare straight ahead as he struggles to formulate a good response. Their shoes skid off the sidewalk softly as they near the school's courtyard.

"I feel like I've let my desire for you cloud my judgement. I've let it take priority over your wellbeing, and the wellbeing of our friend group." Jamison replies bitterly.

"Oh... Well, I'm sure you didn't mean to?" Zoe says with uncertainty lacing her voice.

Jamison smiles a little at Zoe's attempt to comfort him. He gently ruffles her short hair as they enter the school courtyard. There aren't any students outside. Jamison and Zoe start speedwalking once they realize they're behind schedule.

~

Zoe squints at her reflection. She's using her phone's screen as a mirror to check her face. The pamphlet describing the effects of estrogen mentioned feminization of the facial features, but that is supposed to happen over the course of years. Zoe can already see the softening of her bones and skin.

"Watcha looking at?" Tracy asks.

Zoe glances up from her phone to smile bashfully at Tracy. They're in 4th period. Mrs. Johnson has given them some free time to themselves.

Tracy's wearing a fairly modest top, yet the toned muscle of her biceps still catches Zoe's attention. She shakes her head to expel the lewd thoughts.

"Just looking at my face." Zoe replies sheepishly.

"Oh? It's a pretty cute face. I get why you'd wanna stare at it." Tracy replies flirtatiously.

Tracy's cheeky smile almost melts Zoe into a puddle of embarrassment. She holds herself together, and sticks her tongue out at Tracy.

Zoe gently pokes her own cheek. The flesh is softer. Her cheeks are a little rounder.

"I just started HRT, and it's already having a visible effect. Isn't that weird?" Zoe murmurs.

Zoe feels Tracy's slender hand gently touch her face. She looks over to see Tracy scrutinizing her. The way Tracy's thumb slips across Zoe's cheek flusters her. She gently plucks Tracy's hand off, pouting with frustration.

"That's super embarrassing!" Zoe hisses quietly.

"What? I think most people would envy you for that." Tracy replies casually.

"For getting my face touched by you?" Zoe questions

Tracy nods with a smug smile. Zoe rolls her eyes at the girl's confidence.

Tracy clears her throat to get Zoe's attention. Zoe glances over to see Tracy looking at her with an embarrassed smile. Her false bravado is nowhere to be found.

"Sorry, I'll be serious now. I do think it's a little strange, but you do have magic?" Tracy says with a shrug.

"I guess. I'm not sure if this is the 'Witch's Ichor' or if it's something else?" Zoe ponders out loud.

"What's 'Witch's Ichor' exactly?" Tracy questions.

Zoe glances over at her friend. She frowns in confusion.

"Did I not mention the potion was labeled that?" Zoe asks.

Tracy shakes her head emphatically. Zoe purses her lips and thinks back to her most recent encounter with Esmarelda. The shop was empty that time, and Esmarelda warned her that she should cherish her 'ichor.'

She definitely meant the 'Witch's Ichor' I drank.

Esmarelda's magic also helped switch Zoe from a girl into a boy, but how? Obviously it had something to do with her weird way of speaking. Luckily, Zoe stumbled into using her own words to activate magical transformations.

Did the ichor make that possible, or did the witch enable that with our second encounter?

Zoe sighs softly as she wracks her brain for an answer. All of this magical nonsense makes no sense to her. The sound of the bell ringing rouses Zoe from her seat.

"Mind if I sit with you and the boys today?" Tracy asks hopefully.

"Of course you can! You've already been forgiven, remember?" Zoe replies with a smile.

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"By you, but not by them!" Tracy points out.

Oh shoot. I hadn't thought of that.

Tracy and Zoe make their way out of the classroom alongside a horde of their peers. The two of them manage to weave their way through the crowd toward the cafeteria. The smell of subpar pizza and soggy green beans greets them.

"Maybe you could apologize to them today?" Zoe offers.

The two girls take their place at the back of the lunch line. The din of teenagers chattering away with one another is hard to hear over, but they manage.

"I can try! I hope they're not too pissed with me?" Tracy laughs awkwardly.

Zoe and Tracy move forward with the line. The two of them get their lunch trays. The smell of pizza is strongest here. Zoe swears she can smell the difference between the good variety and bad variety. Sadly, today smells like bad pizza.

Tracy follows Zoe cautiously out of the lunch line. The two of them approach their usual table. The three boys are already seated with their food. Jamison and Theo are arguing about something. Tracy clears her throat loudly to get their attention.

"Oh, great. She's back." Derek gripes.

Zoe shoots him a look that says 'shut up.' Derek clicks his tongue in annoyance, but complies.

"I want to apologize for how I acted the other day." Tracy starts.

Jamison and Theo look up to her without betraying their thoughts on the matter. Derek is glaring daggers at her. Tracy swallows her anxiety and continues.

"I'm sorry for judging you all so harshly. You're Zoe's friends, and that means you're good in my book." Tracy finishes.

There's an awkward silence wherein Tracy fears the worst. Derek finally breaks the silence by pulling out a twenty dollar bill from his pocket. He grimaces as if in pain, and hands the bill to a smirking Jamison. Tracy and Zoe stare, dumbfounded.

"We forgive you." Theo says flatly.

Tracy shrugs, taking her seat without issue. Zoe slaps her hand on the table loudly.

"You bet on it?! Seriously?!" Zoe exclaims.

Derek and Jamison glance at one another before nodding slowly. Zoe groans as she takes her usual spot. Strangely enough Jamison is sitting by her now, not Theo.

"We just thought she was either going to come back with an apology or keep acting all prissy, you know?" Jamison explains.

This gets a mildly annoyed grunt out of Tracy as she chews her pizza. Zoe narrows her eyes at Derek and Jamison. They're always like this. Zoe turns her attention to her food.

"So, how was the date?" Derek asks boldly.

Zoe pauses for a second. Derek is leaning on his hand, his elbow on the table. He's got that adorably confident grin on his face. Zoe glances over at Theo, and then whips her head around to look at Tracy. Her face starts to redden.

"A-Ah... which one..?" Zoe murmurs quietly.

Derek smirks at Zoe's words. He leans forward slightly and looks at both Theo and Tracy with a suggestive raise of his brows.

"Hm... Let's hear about the one with Theodore, shall we?" Derek prods.

Zoe's face starts to turn a shade of red not unlike the pepperoni on her slice of pizza. She licks her lips nervously, and looks up at Derek.

"W-Well we went to his house... And uh, just chilled for a bit." Zoe mumbles softly.

Derek squints at Zoe before turning his head to face Theo. Theo's filling out some sort of chemistry worksheet, but he notices Derek's gaze. He shakes his head at Derek. Derek whips his head back around to stare accusingly at Zoe.

"I-I just kissed him once! That was all!" Zoe's face is reddening further.

"One time? How was it?" Derek encourages her to continue.

Zoe buries her head in her hands. The memories of Theo's lips on hers are flooding back. She replies with her hands obscuring her expression.

"H-His mouth was really warm..." Zoe says.

The little chorus of exclamations from everyone but Theo and Zoe serves to further her embarrassment. Theo isn't even phased by it as he continues his busywork. Tracy gently pats Zoe on the back, smiling softly.

"Aw, give it a rest. She's gonna turn into a tomato at this rate." Tracy says with a smile.

"Fine, I'll stop." Derek relents.

Zoe carefully lowers her hands to reveal her positively glowing face. Derek's eyes widen ever so slightly as he looks at her. He's used to seeing her other body's adorable face, but not her original body. The subtle changes are obvious to Derek. She looks cuter than before.

"Woah..." Derek breathes.

Jamison turns to Theo with a bite of pizza in his mouth. He finishes it, and taps Theo's worksheet to get his attention. Theo turns with an expectant look.

"You wanna come over to my place tonight? I figure we could play a little more Tech Titans?" Jamison suggests.

"Why are you asking me specifically?" Theo questions

"I wanted to make sure you'd show up." Jamison replies awkwardly.

The other three watch Jamison and Theo talk with curious eyes. Theo slowly nods in agreement.

"Great. How about you all?" Jamison turns to the others.

Zoe and Derek immediately nod at his words. The four of them hadn't spent any time together as friends since the arcade visit, and we all know how well that went.

Tracy points to herself in surprise.

"Me? You want me to come?" Tracy questions.

"Yup. I figure you may as well be invited. We're just going to play video games and eat pizza, or whatever." Jamison explains casually.

"Do... Do all of you feel okay with me coming?" Tracy asks incredulously.

Derek nods without a second thought. Theo nods his head without looking up from his worksheet. Jamison and Zoe nod in tandem.

"But, I was kind of a jerk-" Tracy starts to argue.

"Don't worry about it. They're boys." Zoe says with a shrug.

None of the boys take offense to that comment. Tracy shakes her head at the absurdity of it all before finishing her pizza. Boys and girls are wired differently, it seems.

~

Five teenagers walk in a little group after school. An especially tall boy serves as the group's vanguard. Two girls walk and talk just behind him. One muscular boy and one bespectacled boy take up the rear.

The idle chatter of the girls and the scrape of the group's shoes announces their arrival to the neighborhood. The boys are a lot quieter. Jamison is understandably silent as he is alone. Derek and Theo are silent for a less justifiable reason.

"Damn." Derek murmurs.

Derek's eyes are trained on what's in front of him. That being the girls. Zoe may not be in her 'girl' body, but that doesn't stop her ass from drawing the eye. Derek's wandering gaze occasionally flits to Tracy's toned butt as well, but he knows she'd deck him if she found out.

"Staring is rude, Derek." Theo remarks quietly.

Theo's eyes are on the sky as he walks in step with Derek. Derek glances at him for a moment before smiling.

"So you're just as much of a guy as I am, huh Theodore?" Derek chuckles.

Derek smirks smugly as Theo pleads the fifth. The girls are talking about something involving mall food now. Derek decides to follow Theo's example, and stares up into the clouds. They're both so caught up in looking at the sky that they don't notice when the group arrives at Jamison's place. Thus, Derek and Theo both run into Zoe and Tracy.

"Ouch- What the hell?" Tracy complains.

Zoe doesn't say anything. She is too busy looking at Theo with starry eyes. Theo's face is turning pink as he looks at Zoe. They're basically right up against each other.

On the other hand, Derek is about ready to piss himself. Tracy's bicep flexes as she socks him right in the arm. He winces, stifling a cry of pain. Strangely enough, Tracy's face is reddening as she shakes the tension out of her hand.

"Damn, you're solid... Do you work out or something?" Tracy questions.

"Uh... yeah?" Derek replies dumbly.