Minor OC characters ahoy. It would've been hard to write about a high school life without other students. Not everyone Phoenix knows should be a future lawyer or defendant, right?

I've also changed the title of the series because it's just more than the rise. I've extended it to more than that.

Chapter 2: High School

Phoenix Wright was an interesting girl. Or as he is known as now, a boy. Throughout all that knew h...him during elementary school, many was sure that Phoenix was a boy back then. There were a few individuals that saw Phoenix as a tomboy, mainly his parents and the staff as well as some of the other parents. In middle school, those that didn't know of Phoenix's gender was in shock, but things got settled down quickly. In high school, Phoenix shook the student body by storm once again by going to school with a new hairstyle and a change of clothes.

He now no longer cared for the nickname of Phoe, the name that many of those that knew him in junior high days called him by. It was now back to goold old Phoenix, or even Nick. Although the latter was used by only his closest of friends, particularly one named Larry Butz. It was absurd, how the crybaby Phoenix and casanova wannabe Larry were best friends. But that's how the clock turned.

Phoenix Wright, the one who would start to sniffle every time someone was too stern with him. However, his kind and open personality allowed him to befriend a lot of the peers around him. Larry, who would treat his current girlfriend like a goddess, but whose personality eventually allows her to push him away. This happens every few months, broken-hearted Larry would cry and try to find Phoenix for comfort. However this didn't stop the odd boy, as Larry would be able to get back on his feet the next time a girl even shows a little bit of kindness towards him.

In senior year, Phoenix's body started to change. Not in the sense of puberty - oh unfortunately for him that was way long ago, but in the sense of becoming more...masculine. During the summer, Phoenix had had the obviously fortunate chance to come out to his parents as transgender. Father was shocked, mother was confused, and all that jazz. Plea of desperation from his mom that it was Phoenix was was confused instead. You're still young. It's just a phase.

After the calamity calmed down, Phoenix's father eventually went onto his son's side, and eventually, the two were able to convince his mom to at least come to terms with it. They allowed him to go to a gender therapist. Eventually, during the double week mid year break Phoenix went his first testosterone injection session. Isn't this too fast? his mother questioned. Your son Phoenix is certain. He's very mature for his age. As long as he's confident, Phoenix will be able to make the right decision. Since he's not 18 yet, he'd still need your permission. In Phoenix's mind the injection was the best Christmas present he had in years.

In February, Larry dropped out of school. Determined that he has found the one, his new girlfriend had convinced him to "elope". She was a junior, with looks to kill and a personality as cold as ice. But somehow, Larry fell for her. Two weeks after their disappearance Larry shows up with a shattered heart and and an empty wallet in front of Phoenix's doorway. She had taken all the money and ran. It was Larry's savings since he was a child too, Phoenix was sure. And now they were all gone. Larry had hitchhiked all the way back to Phoenix's neighborhood, not even bothering to get in contact with his parents first. Butz was an idiot, but he was a good friend so Phoenix allowed him inside. Larry made sure to eat all the ice cream in Phoenix's house all the while mourning over his lost love.

Larry was on the Wright's last carton of Ben and Jerry's when he noticed Phoenix was scribbling something down.

"Hey man, you doing homework or something?" Larry whined. He didn't want his friend's focus to wander elsewhere but on his problems.

"Hn? No..no, it's..." Phoenix didn't even bother with finishing the sentence, returning his mind to the pen that was gliding across the paper. Determining that the writing was too unredeemable for human reading, he crumpled it up and threw it at the nearest trash bin, missing the goal as it bounced off the rim. It just so happens that Larry was loitering next to said trash bin, she said I was garbage, so I might as well hang out with the trash I belong to. He scooped the crumpled sheet into his possession and unraveled it. Skimming the words on the page, even though the ink blotted here and there, the crude handwriting was still able to let its message get across.

"Dude, are you writing to Edgey?"

Phoenix froze at those words. He didn't bother looking at Larry's direction before continuing to scribble down onto the paper.

"Nick...we tried to write to him after he left. He's not gonna reply. He's moved."

"I found out."

"What?"

"Miles's new address, well the one he moved to at least. It's in Germany."

"You can't be serious, Nick. He's not going to reply."

"It won't keep me from trying," Phoenix replied to his friend flatly.

"Is this your first time writing to him?" Larry questioned. After a few seconds of no reply, Larry pressed further. "Is this the first time you're writing to this address?"

"It's my seventh. I wrote the last one last year...I've been writing once every year."

"And he hasn't replied..." the silence gave the answer. Larry let out a big sigh, "When were you going to tell me?"

"Never."

"What? Phoenix he's my friend too-"

"But you gave up," Phoenix snapped. "You gave up after he didn't reply to our third letter. So because you didn't want to, I alone went to his house. The housekeeper gave me his new address, saying he's now living with some hot shot prosecutor that adopted him and moved him to Germany. Took me weeks to gather the courage to write to him. And even when he doesn't I'm still writing to him. Because even when he doesn't reply, I know he must have at least read them...or, or, seen them at least."

"Phoenix-"

"No, Larry." The tears that rolled down his cheeks bled the ink, and Phoenix huffed in frustration again as he once more crumpled up another letter. "Please, Larry. At least...let me try."

"Fine...but Phoenix, please. This will be the last one, okay?" Phoenix didn't answer. "Phoenix," Larry pressed on more urgently, allowing his hand to firmly grasp his friend's shoulder.

"...Okay," his friend finally agreed.

"Promise."

"..Promise."

"Pinky promise," the brown haired teen urged, sticking out his pinky of his right hand. Phoenix smiled at that.

"Pinky promise," the raven agreed.

"So are you gonna write about the crush you had on him or did you do that already?"

"That was a long time ago," Phoenix flustered, cheeks blazing red. "Besides, that was a long time ago, so no, I did not."

"Where's your sense of romance, Nick?"

"Better than yours..." Phoenix muttered.

"Hey, what was that?" the other teen confronted his friend. Phoenix could practically see fumes steaming out of his friend's head. He couldn't help but laugh out loud, not noticing that his tears have long since dried.

The next day was a bit bothersome for Phoenix to say the least. Everyone was storming the raven, asking how Larry was. Apparently Phoenix was not the only house the Butz visited along the way home, no doubt trying to prolong the inevitably of meeting his parents again. Larry had made sure that people knew he was back. Back and...not going back to school apparently. Phoenix berated him on the matter, but Larry insisted.

"It's not like I'm a NEET or anything, I mean, I have a job," Larry defended himself, shrugging.

"You're packing fish."

"Hey man, a job is a job. The fish ain't gonna pack itself."

"You make a valid point, but Larry. You gotta go back to school, it's not too late."

"Nah man, it was such a drag. Besides, I'm a junior high school graduate. That's good enough for me," Larry declared, winking and displaying his signature wonky smile. Phoenix couldn't help but drag out a long sigh.

"Just don't...don't come crying to me if you get fired or something."

"No problem, Nick. If I do get fired, I'll just get another one."

"Don't make a habit out of it, okay?" Phoenix warned his friend.

"Like that'll become an issue. How hard is it to keep a job?" Larry practically guffawed.

"Hey Phoenix, is it true that Larry Butz is back?" Eileen Down asked him one day in Calculus.

"Is it true you're dating Ben Dover," he retorted.

"Hey. No need to bring my love life into this. Sooooo? Is it true or not?"

"Yeah, he works at a Panther's food market though, so he's not coming back to school or anything. Why are you dating Ben? He's such a dick."

"School's so quiet without him," Eileen pondered. "And hey, he's getting better...little by little."

"He's not the type to change his bigotry attitude-"

"Phoenix, Eileen, do you have anything you want to share with us?" Mrs. Tombe said from the front of the room, adjusting her spectacles.

"No, Mrs. T," the two students replied monotonously to their teacher.

"You say 'hey' a lot," Phoenix harshly whispered the moment the mathematics teacher turned her back to the whiteboard.

"He-I mean...h...," she began to growl when she couldn't think of substitute to say. Phoenix had to struggle to keep his chuckling at a quiet level, being extra careful not to alert Mrs. Tombe.

"You're such a jerk," Eileen insisted, but Phoenix could see the hint of a smile under her scowl.

"I just find humor in a lot of things," Phoenix shrugged, before averting his attention back to the front of the room. "Wait, what the heck is the integral of sec2?" It was now Eileen's turn to chuckle as her friend began to pale, much to Phoenix's dismay.

No, seriously. When in the world did we learn this?

"Hey, Phoenix, ready for weight training?" Terry Duktal slapped Phoenix's back when the bell rang.

"Yeah, you go on ahead," he smile wryly. Terry half heartedly shrugged as he ventured off into the general direction of the locker rooms. Phoenix however, sauntered over to a classroom that was a ways away from the locker room. There was a small room for the custodians, which Phoenix gingerly knocked on. Despite this being a daily process for him for the past two years, Phoenix always felt nervous. As if for some reason Mr. Orr wouldn't give him the key that day, or that the bathroom would be close and inoperational-

"Good morning, Phoenix," the mustached man appeared from the other side of the door, handing Phoenix the key.

"It's already noon, Mr. Orr," the spiky haired teen replied. This led to the man to let out a low chuckle. Phoenix was about to leave when he noticed that the key he had in his hand was different than usual. It looked...newer.

"It's your own copy," the custodian replied.

"Are you...sure?" Phoenix questioned, eyes widening. This was a staff bathroom key! The key felt a bit heavier now, from the sudden responsibility and power that was thrown upon it.

"Sure, son. On two conditions: as long as you and only you use it...and that you bring it back to me once you graduate," Mr. Orr nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. Orr, yes, sir, of course, sir," Phoenix replied. Another laugh from the pot bellied man.

"Run off, now Phoenix. Or you'll be late to gym."

"Goodbye Mr. Orr, thank you again, Mr. Orr," Phoenix started off again. Turning on his heels, he even made it a point by holding onto the key with both hands. An act made out of sheer nervousness and fear.

Inside the staff bathroom, Phoenix made sure to keep an eye on the key at all times as he changed his clothes. This is ridiculous, Phoenix finally realized. He locked the bathroom key onto a ring along with his other keys, before dropping his backpack off near the locker room to nearly make it to class before roll call.

"Why are you always so late to weight training?" Terry questioned him as the class was stretching.

"I'm not late unless I get marked late," Phoenix absentmindedly replied. Terry was a new friend he had made at high school. Having no knowledge on who he was in middle school, Terry truly treated him like a guy from the get go. Everyone else (who knew him in middle school) had the problem of...remembering. And some just didn't get it. Occasionally there will be a few stragglers that would still call him Phoe, to which Phoenix would politely correct them. Only to be called Phoe again the next week. It was a slow process, but a working one nonetheless. True, in that it was just a shortened version of Phoenix. But the nickname would be too reminiscent of the name Phoebe.

Weight training was a brutal class. Mostly male dominated, the teacher wasn't afraid to push the class too hard. According to Eileen, in the more female congregated class, everything was a lot calmer. But there were more intense eyes that watched over them as they performed the more...interesting yoga positions.

"My skin starts crawling each time we stepped out onto the pool deck," she commented. "And it wasn't because of the wind."

Phoenix liked weight training just fine. He needed to build muscle. Besides, it would help him retain a healthy schedule instead of lazing in class all day. His body was becoming more defined. But his stomach was also getting a tiny bit pudgier. His face was getting more prone to acne as well. Ugh, such work, Phoenix had thought to himself one day. But it'll all be worth it.

Is this really worth it though? Phoenix mentally screamed as he collapsed on the turf lawn. He wasn't the one to exert himself too much on timed runs, but Terry had provoked him into a race. Phoenix and him were neck to neck, but he was sure he had won.

"Don't plop...on the ground...like that..it's not...good for...your heart," Terry wheezed. He was still standing, legs far apart, supporting his upper body by resting his hands on his knees. He might have been a small guy, but boy was Terry a fast little fucker.

"Screw...you," Phoenix wheezed out, swallowing the dry air around him.

"Good news, guys. Since we have the time this year, we're gonna be able to use the pool nearing the end of spring," Mr. O'Shay declared, smiling his toothy smile.

The whole class cheered as Phoenix froze in horror. What.

Phoenix was not a bad swimmer. It's just. Swimming equals swimsuits and swimsuits equals...

Maybe a sports bra would be good enough. As long as he is able to get some sort of rash guard or some under armour. He went swimming with Larry over the summer, but that was at a community pool, where everyone minded their own business and you can get away with wearing a t-shirt in a pool. Phoenix heard that chlorine will damage the binder over time...and they're expensive.

And it's not like Phoenix was forced to swim either. There was a second option. But it included a lot of reading and writing, and who would want to do that for a fitness class?

"Screw it," Phoenix said to himself as the beginning of the swimming unit approached. Larry had...unsurprisingly got himself fired from the supermarket. Kept flirting with one of the cashiers, so says the rumour around the mill. Fortunately, he had found a job at a local sports shop. Tending to customers and giving out the minimal advice that he had to any wavering listeners.

"Nick! So nice of you to visit!" Larry beamed as his friend entered the store.

"I'm on business, Larry," Phoenix said quietly. This caused the other teen to beam even brighter. Wrapping his arm around Nick's shoulder, Larry began to babble on about the biking gear, and the hiking gear, the camping gear, the non existent fishing gear.

"I'm just here for something to swim in," Phoenix finally told his friend.

"Oh...so something that," Larry mimed the motion of squeezing his chest in with his hands. The action was much too exaggerated however, causing some of the customers and employees to look over as the newest worker starting to make sucking noises through his mouth and pounding himself on the chest.

"Yeah.." the raven said which chuckling. He couldn't help it. Larry was just too much of an idiot to not laugh at.

"Right this way, dearest customer," Larry said, stretching the dear in a sing-songy voice.

"Wow," Phoenix whistled at the price of the neoprene vest he had in his hands. It wasn't that expensive. But at the same time, it wasn't all something you can just throw money to afford. At that moment Larry clapped his hands, making Phoenix turning to him in mild surprise.

"How about a discount?" Larry purred.

"Now is this because you're such a nice friend, or is this to make me get a membership at this fine establishment?"

"Why can't it be both?" Larry winked. Phoenix laughed at that. Might as well. So Phoenix splurged on some other equipment that would be handy i n the future. And gosh by golly would this have been way over his budget if not for the fact that the membership was able to lower the price by about 5%. Also, Larry tweaked with the prices. Not legal in the least, but what the manager doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, it's whoever Carl who's at fault. I mean, who forgets to sign off the cash register after their shift is over?

With a bag of new belongings in tow, a receipt with the proof that his cashier was Carl and not Larry, Phoenix was ready to hit the pool. If it weren't for just. One, tiny. Little. Problem.

"Fuck," Phoenix whispered when he saw the stained underwear. Why the fuck is it a week early, I've been taking the pill. The raven threw the soiled shorts into some cold water to deal with later, washed himself and put on a fresh pair - now with padding. He plopped himself onto the bed and groaned into his pillow.

Phoenix woke up in a state of dysphoria, immediately curling into a ball as he rolled to the side. Feeling the blood trinkle westward he made himself get up. Cursing all the while on the way to the restroom, Phoenix got ready for school.

"You okay, Phoenix? You look a bit pale," Eileen said as he sat behind her in math.

"Just a little sluggish," he replied, immediately putting his head onto the desk and shutting the outside world from his field of vision. There was a crinkling of a wrapper being torn as he smelled the waft of chocolate. He raised his head to have half a bar of Hershey's shoved into his face. He took it with a nod of thanks.

"What are you, some sort of psychic?" Phoenix asked as he nibbled on one of the blocks.

"Whatever do you mean?" Eileen batted her eyelashes with feigned innocence. Before Phoenix could retort, Eileen turned around as the bell rang. He was going to have to thank her at another time.

Phoenix gave his mom's letter to Mr. O'Shay, who nodded and allowed Phoenix to instead walk laps around the track. Terry whined a bit of way Phoenix would miss the first day of swimming, but Phoenix had to bat his friend away, making up a lame story. I have a stomach ache, was his choice of an excuse. However, midway through class Phoenix started running the laps instead of walking it, which didn't went unnoticed by his friend. Like, seriously though. Walking for forty-five minutes was just so boring.

"So I guess you'll be well enough to go into the pool by tomorrow, right?" Terry asked hopefully as the class lined in front of the locker room after dismissal.

"Maybe in a few days, okay buddy?" Phoenix suggested.

"But-"

"Gotta run now, bye!" the raven waved off his friend, trotting away the moment he grabbed his backpack.

Phoenix touched his lower abdomen as he slowed down the moment he was out of his friend's field of vision. It wasn't cramping as bad as before, thank god. The flow was slightly thinner now than it was a year ago. But it still irked him that the pills didn't last as anticipated. Phoenix clicked his tongue as he opened the staff bathroom. Taking off his shirt, Phoenix took a long look at himself in the mirror, something he hasn't done in a few weeks. His muscles were becoming more defined. His shoulders were growing broader and his hips have gotten slimmer while his waist was widening up. Overall, he was content with the results. One thing he could live without though, is how he now stank more frequently. It's not like he notices or anything. It's just Eileen started to complain a lot more. But it could just be Eileen.

The teen snapped back to reality from the firm knock on the door.

"Sorry," he frantically replied, quickly changing to his normal clothing shortly after. Phoenix however, was too frantic in opening the door, knockin into the teacher on the other side. "Sorry, Miss Kennygon!" he abruptly apologized, recognizing said teacher right away. He wasn't in any of her classes, but she was well liked around the general student body. Plus, she was the teacher counselor for the GSA club.

"Oh, Phoenix. Sorry that I'm barging in, right now..."

"N-no, that's okay, I was taking too long anyways. Goodbye, have a nice day, Miss Kennygon!" Phoenix awkwardly parted ways with the teacher. It was the truth that she had helped him a lot on the way throughout high school. It was her idea to use the staff bathroom in the first place. It was just so damn awkward meeting her after the initial counselings. For one, Phoenix wasn't a member of the GSA. It shouldn't bother him, but using so much of her time with his questions only benefitted him, and in no way had Phoenix have found a way to thank her or contribute to the club. He just had no interest to join...Yeah. Two, he wasn't in any of her classes, as stated before. It was just damn awkward talking to a teacher you had no ground of reason to. At least, in Phoenix's opinion it was.

Miss Kennygon muttered a faint reply that Phoenix would have heard if he had stood still for a second, but the raven haired boy was already off to his next class. It wouldn't be long until he comes to her doorstep again.

Phoenix was one of the few males that was wearing a top to the pool. But he didn't mind, as long as he was able to swim. He sighed in bliss as he sunk into the cool chlorinated water. His moment of tranquility was ruined however when Terry splashed some water in his face. Phoenix was about to retaliate when Mr. O'shay blew on his whistle to remind the students not horse around until after the laps.

It was during the last ten minutes of class where they were allowed free time. Most of the - already handful - of females were congregated in a corner treading and gossiping.

"Noodle party!" one of the guys shouted as he cannonballed into the pool with an armful of pool noodles. Terry and Phoenix was caught in the splash zone, but they happily accepted the noodles that were handed to them. With special permission from Mr. O'Shay as well as his supervision, the class was able to conduct a quick game of chicken fighting. It quickly derailed however, when no one remotely knew any of the rules and it just turned into who can stay up the longest when the others try to knock them down.

The class had to practically drag themselves out of the pool when it was time to go out, wanting to stay for a bit longer to at least finish the match. With a towel drying his hair and his backpack swung over one shoulder, Phoenix left the main class again.

"Hey, where do you think he's going," noodle guy asked Terry. Phoenix's friend just shrugged. It wasn't his business to pry.

"What, you hadn't noticed? He goes off everyday at the end of class like this," another guy answered.

"Yeah, you mean you haven't noticed?" one of the girls chimed in.

"Hey, I bet he's either dealing or selling weed or whatever," the noodle guy predicted.

"I think that's just you," one of his friends answered.

"...That's not what he's doing," the girl said uncertainly.

"So, I bet you know what he's doing, right?" noodle guy challenged her.

"He's just changing his clothes. Don't get your panties in a twist," she grimaced.

"Ha, why though? There are individual stalls in the lockers for a reason," the noodle guy pointed out.

"Goddamnit Alex, I think Phoenix goes out of his way to change in a different area just so he doesn't have to deal with people like you," his friend shook his head. The teacher of the total fitness class - the more proportionally female one - came up to the building and opened the locker door for her class. As the females were filing into the class, the girl that was talking to noodle guy - Alex - shook her head and waved goodbye to her friends as she joined the females.

Terry bit his lower lip in thought. He does wonder where Phoenix goes everyday in such a hurry, but he should trust his friend. It's not like Phoenix was doing anything illegal, right?

The small boy was determined to know the truth about his friend. If it's only to prevent Phoenix from doing something dangerous or idiotic, all the better to pry into his friend's business.

"Oh, hey Terry. What's up?" Phoenix asked the other boy when he saw that his friend was staring at him a bit too intently.

"Um, can I ask you something?"

"Sure..." Phoenix replied cautiously. What could this be about? Terry motioned to Phoenix for them to move to a more secluded spot. whatever it was, Terry wanted to talk about it in private.

"Where do you go after gym everyday?" Terry immediately questioned. No time for dilly dallying. This could save someone's life!

"I go change," Phoenix answered casually, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you really?" he pressed on.

"Where is this coming from? Yes, I really do go to change. It's just I go do it in the staff bathroom," the raven replied, slightly miffed at the urgency of his friend's sudden interest in his business.

"Why, though? How?" Terry persisted. He wasn't doing something stupid in the bathroom though, right? Nothing that would get him expelled, or-

"I can't tell you that, yet. And to answer the 'how', I have a key."

"...How'd the heck did you get a staff bathroom key?" He didn't steal it...did he?

"The custodian gave it to me."

"What, when has the custodian just give out keys to any kid that asks him?"

"I didn't ask, he just...after I..." Phoenix sighed in frustration. This was not how he was going to out himself to his friend. "I'm not ready, Terry. I'll tell you when I am. Don't tell anyone about the key though, okay? You're the first person I've told about that. And don't like...push me. I promise, I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"But-"

"Okay, just to ease any odd lingering speculations, no I'm not dealing illegal drugs or using drugs in any way shape or form..." Aside from those damn pills that sometimes flank out on you when you need it the most. ",that are illegal. Karen told me Alex was bothering you about me and thinking up nonsense about my private life." Karen. The girl that was calling out Alex on all his bullshit.

"That was a suspicious pause there..."

"Not until I'm ready, Terry..." Phoenix warned. Terry backed off at his friend's request. Paranoia doesn't suit him, anyways.

"It's not like I don't trust him, I really do. It's just I don't think I'm ready to tell him. What if he doesn't understand, or get weirded out?" Phoenix ruffled his hair in frustration. He pushed his spiky locks out of his eyes before slumping down into his seat in frustration. Yesterday's impromptu interrogation caught him off guard - and now he had no idea what to do.

Miss Kennygon put stopped the forkful of salad midway. Putting her food down, she tapped her chin with her forefinger in contemplation.

"It all really is up to you, Phoenix," she concluded. "If you're uncomfortable in anyway of coming out, you don't need to. And if you're sure Terry can understand it, go on ahead. But be prepared in case he has a lot of questions for you. Be informed. It'll be beneficial for the both of you."

"Thanks...I'll do that."

"Nick, I really don't know why you're asking me this," Larry said as he was taking inventory on some of the new shipments.

"Well, how did you feel when you found out?"

"I didn't really find out about anything," the brown haired dropout clarified. Phoenix was hanging out with his friend after school in a staff only area of the sports shop - a place Phoenix obviously shouldn't be present, for obvious reasons. "We kinda...experienced it together I guess? You tried acting more feminine and it didn't just work out, I encouraged you to act like how you wanna act, we kissed, broke up, and you kept up the charade until dropping the bombshell in high school. Now you're all manly with the T and the binding."

"I think you got the order a bit wrong there," Phoenix pointed out. Larry just shrugged as he returned his attention to the new foods that came in.

"Hey, why's this box missing a protein bar-" Larry started, just before hearing the soft crinkle of a wrapper being ripped open. "H-hey, Nick! That's a new product, you're going to get me into trouble."

"Well, I'll be a test testing it then, you don't even have to pay me," Phoenix replied, taking a big bite out of the bar. He started to choke on the piece but eventually forced it down the right pipe. "Argh, this needs way more chocolate."

"Give me some of that," Larry said as he swiped the bar back. His face contorted into a grimace as he too was fallen victim to the venomous taste. "Oh god, you're right..."

"Hey Larry, are you eating the products again?" the manager shouted.

"Shit!" the lanky teen cussed as Phoenix hid behind some boxes trying to control his laughter. "No, sir!" he lied. Phoenix could hear the manager growl under his breath before popping back up after the footsteps plodded away.

"That was close," the raven smirked.

"You're going to get me so fired, Nick," Larry scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, back to your problem. It's Terry, right? He's a smart guy. He'll understand."

"Hopefully..."

"And if he turns out to be a big jerk about it, he's not really your friend, is he?" Phoenix couldn't help but stare at Larry. Where does the random interval of Butz Wiseness come from?

It wasn't horrible news like Terry was expecting. It was just, surprising is all. His friend wasn't cooking up anything bad, or blazing it anywhere idiotic, it was just a need for privacy. Phoenix was male. That was a reality. His circumstances were just different. In truth, this was a lot better than shooting things into your veins that were from undeterminable origins. Fact is, this was great news! Terry was proud that Phoenix was able to find out who he was, and being able to successfully pursue his identity. There were only some barriers that were restricted by age, but soon the raven would be able to access all the available resources. Knowing the full truth now, Terry was able to understand Phoenix a lot more. Yes, there were some questions that were asked, but they were all answered by a relieved Phoenix. Relieved that his friend still accepted him for who he was. The straightforward communication was important to their relationship, as it is in any relationship.