Was it her? Was that figure really her? How long had it been since they last saw each other? It had to have been a long time. If she remembered correctly, they parted ways before she had come out. That meant it had been quite some time.

Would she even recognize her? If she did, what would she say? The thought of what might come from talking to her again made her worry. But, she wanted to talk to her again.

"Hey, Tae, um... do you remember me? No... I can't say that... Maybe, just introduce myself? Just say hi and say your new name. That's all you have to do, Rei. It's not that hard." She kept talking to herself.

Eventually, she mustered up the courage to approach Tae. Rei's nerves were running wild. She couldn't help but worry Tae would somehow recognize her. Tae didn't know about anything. She wasn't aware that Rei was now a girl.

Rei soon found herself almost upon her. She took a deep breath and called out to her. Tae turned to look at her. Rei held her breath as she waited to see. Did Tae somehow still recognize her?

"Um... yes?" Tae asked warily.

Rei was somewhat relieved. She wasn't able to tell. But, now she had to explain it. Was that worse? She was starting to think it might be.

"U-um... i-it's me --, but I um... I go by Rei now." Rei stammered.

"--... it's been a while." Tae's eyes widened in surprise, "You've definitely... changed?"

"Y-yeah..." Rei winced at her deadname, "I um... realized that actually I'm a girl..."

"O-oh..." It was now Tae's turn to stammer, "I didn't realize..."

"It's fine..."

"So, Rei, correct?" Tae asked.

Rei nodded, "Yeah..."

"Well, do you wanna go somewhere to sit and we can talk?" Tae offered. She did want to catch up with her.

"I'd like if we could talk in private." Rei replied.

"Oh... you could come to my house if you want. I don't mind." Tae replied.

"Y-yeah... that'd be nice." Rei nodded.

Tae led the way. They went pretty fast. It wasn't long before they were at her house. Tae led Rei up to her room. They sat on the bed in silence for a while.

"So, um... you're a girl?" Tae said, "When did this all happen?"

"I think about a year after we had to go separate ways." Rei replied, "A friend showed me something and it just clicked that that was why I was feeling the way I was."

"How are your parents?"

"They've taken the change well. I was really scared when I first told them, but... they've been really supportive." Rei smiled.

"That's good." Tae said, "So you're doing well then?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Um... why exactly did you call out to me?" Tae asked, "Did you really want to talk?"

"Well, yeah. I haven't seen you in so long. I wanted to talk to you again." Rei nodded.

"Were you scared to approach me? You did seem hesitant." Tae asked.

Rei nodded, "I didn't know if you'd recognize me... I was scared you would..."

"Wouldn't you have wanted me to recognize you?" Tae was confused.

"I didn't want to hear you say my name. I hate whenever I hear it. That's why I rathered just reintroducing myself. It was easier." Rei explained.

Tae looked up at her ceiling, "Oh... sorry about that then..."

"It's okay. I knew I'd hear it no matter what I did." Rei replied.

"Do you want something to drink?" Tae asked, "I kinda want something."

"I guess."

"I'll be back then." Tae smiled at her and left the room.

Rei took the time alone to think. She hadn't come out to anyone in a while. This wasn't really the typical coming out either. But, it was going well. Tae respected her change. Rei was glad. She had been hoping they would be able to reconnect again.

Tae soon came back with two glasses. Both were filled with soda. Rei thanked her. They didn't speak again for a while. The silence wasn't uncomfortable though.

"Hey, do you wanna have a sleepover?" Tae asked, "It's been years since we've done that."

"I... I guess." Rei had never been to a sleepover since changing. She was too scared to.

"It'll be fine. It's just us. And I've known you since before this. You shouldn't be worried." Tae seemed to sense her discomfort.

"I just haven't been to one in a long time..." Rei mumbled, "I'm not sure about this."

"Come on, Rei. It'll be fun. We can stay up and talk and catch up." Tae responded. She was determined to have a sleepover if she could. Obviously, she wasn't going to force Rei into it if she really didn't want to.

Rei pondered on it for a while. She kind of did want to have the sleepover too. It would be nice. But, she still felt a little worried. She wasn't sure what exactly the worry was coming from. There shouldn't be anything to worry about, right?

"I'll do it." Rei eventually agreed, "It can't be that bad."

"Awesome." Tae smiled, "It'll be just like old times."

"Yeah..." Rei mumbled.

"Is there something bothering you?" Tae asked in worry.

"No. It's just a little strange." Rei said, "It really does remind me of back then. And... I don't like the memories too much..."

"Because of you?" Tae guessed.

Rei nodded, "I always feel uncomfortable remembering back before I came out."

"Well... then let's do our best to make this sleepover different." Tae stated.

Rei giggled, "Alright. Sounds good to me."

"So, why don't we watch a movie? I remember we hated doing that." Tae said.

"Sure." Rei nodded.

"You wanna pick the movie?" Tae offered.

Rei shrugged, "If you want."

"Go ahead."

They sat on the couch together and watched a movie. At some point, Rei decided to lean onto Tae's shoulder. Tae didn't mind.

"Tae... thank you for accepting me... I was really worried you might not..." Rei mumbled.

"I don't think I could ever hate you." Tae replied.

"That's good." Rei yawned.

"Wanna go to bed?" Tae asked.

"Mmm..." Rei hummed.

"Come on. I can't carry you." Tae tugged Rei up.

"I'm coming." Rei replied.

They went back to Tae's room. Tae didn't feel like making a bed on the floor for Rei, so she just tugged her into the bed with her. It didn't matter to her if they shared.

Rei smiled as she snuggled close to Tae. It brought back memories of them as children. They'd do this sort of thing often. Tae smiled as she closed her eyes. Rei had already fallen asleep.

"Goodnight, Rei. I'm glad you're back."