Sugar had the feeling that April suspected it all along, really. But when you were grounded in a world that made sense, thinking of your new friend as someone who formerly may have been a love interest would have been completely absurd.
But April, while prone to becoming overwhelmed, was not an idiot.
Sugar and her bandmates got too comfortable around April, maybe, and the blonde woman heard them talking one day while they were doing their laundry. It was just some stupid little thing - no one else would have been able to put two and two together, but April had been there almost since the beginning, and knowing "Sugar's" mannerisms at the time, her awkwardness… This was just the last piece of the puzzle.
Worst of all, Sugar wasn't even sure what they'd said for everything to fall into place for their friendly neighborhood laundry science expert. But as they threw their clothes into the washing machine, the female Nesmith twin noticed her friend approaching cautiously, eyes flicking between herself and her brother until April was practically nose-to-nose with them.
She looked into Michael's eyes, then into Sugar's, carefully. Her gaze lingered on the latter's face until, confused, April said, "Michael?"
Sugar and the boys looked at each other, the silent question bouncing between them. None of them wanted to lie to the fair-haired woman, least of all the one of them who was supposed to be April's best friend, but it was a coverup of necessity. Furthermore, Sugar knew that if she waited just one more second, her brother would have taken control and suavely and effectively denied the whole thing; in fact, he already had a look in his eye which betrayed that he was working on spinning a convincing yarn. Sugar couldn't take it anymore - it wasn't fair. She needed a girl in her life to know what the hell she'd been through, 'cuz figuratively leaning on her bandmates sometimes got a little awkward.
To be fair, there were better things she could have said. For example, "Let me explain," or "Not anymore," or even "No, we should talk about this a little later."
What she said was, "Yeah, April?"
The other woman looked pretty horrified. Not in the classic face-twisting sense, but with class - her lip curled up just the slightest bit and her eyes found something more interesting to look at as she backed away, toward the door. Sugar tried to stop her, half-heartedly reaching out a hand. "Hey, y'can't just leave— April!"
Too late.
Confused, Sugar looked at Davy, who had his face in his hand.
Peter looked between Sugar and the door, as if expecting the owner of the laundromat to return.
Michael just stood there with his jaw slack, interrupted before he could make up his story. In the end, it was Micky who went after April, calling "Make sure you get all my socks this time!" over his shoulder as he left.
"What?" Sugar asked. Davy tried to drape an arm over her shoulder, but she was too tall, so she leaned down a bit.
"You just 'ad a slumber party, aye?" the short Englishman asked. Sugar nodded. "See 'er in 'er jammies, yeah?"
Getting it, Sugar blinked. "She doesn't think— "
"Oh yes, dear. She does think."
After a moment, all the girl could think to say was, "Huh."
—-
Around eight o'clock that night, Sugar sat up in her room, trying to work out a bridge for the next song they were going start rehearsing. It was how she could push the bad things that haunted her away for a little while, where she didn't have to think about them. At the moment, she couldn't even fathom losing the one friend she'd actually made all on her own - and the one person outside the boys she was comfortable being around - so she just wasn't going to consider it at all.
Until she had to go to sleep, then her brain would allow her to think of nothing else.
Still, she was surprised when she heard a knock on the door, and saw one familiar dark eye peering through the crack.
Sitting up and setting the guitar to the side, Sugar said, "April? What're you doin' here?"
April pushed open the door, stepped gracefully through it, and closed it again. "I'm so sorry, Shug, Dear, I shouldn't have left how I did earlier."
Despite herself, Sugar offered her friend a lazy half-smile. "Aw, it's okay. After Davy explained what was botherin' you, I can see why you would. But look, I never… Uh, man, I don't even know where t'start."
"Well, to be honest, I just didn't know what to think! I mean, you…" She trailed off, meeting Sugar's eyes. They both chuckled nervously.
"Trust me. I know all about how it's a tough subject to get talkin' about. You talk to Micky?"
April nodded. "Yes, I did. It must be horrible for you, all this. And what I put you through at the start! I'm so sorry. If I'd realized…"
Offering a genuine chortle, Sugar slapped her knee. "Then it wouldn'ta done much good, April. I needed to look like a girl, and you did a fine job. I guess we … didn't really count on this whole mess stickin' around after the fact. And, ah… My friendship with you? It's real. I'm not thinkin' anything … untoward or nothin'."
April sat down on the edge of the bed, looking Sugar up and down. "So now you're a girl."
"Yep."
After what seemed like forever, April cracked a smile. "I swear, I make the strangest friends— you need help?"
"Do I," Sugar laughed. "I got a quick crash course, an' now people are tellin' me I can't wear my own pajamas. It's a nightmare." She grew serious, looking up at April through her own dark hair. "I really, really need you to be okay with this."
"It'll take some getting used to, now that I know, but I realize you could have kept on with your story, and you didn't. That took a lot of trust, Dear."
"It was kind of bittersweet," Sugar replied, her voice quiet.
"Oh?" April asked. "How do you mean?"
"It's just… When you left, it was the first time I ever thought to myself, 'I wish I wasn't Michael.' I couldn't be too upset about it all, 'cuz that was a big step forward for me. Still, I'd rather have you around. You're my best friend."
She should have anticipated the hug, but even so, April almost knocked her backward onto the floor.
"Oh, Honey, I'm not going anywhere.