The weeks rolled by, and it became undeniably apparent that Benny was developing as a girl. His breasts had continued growing until they were about the size of a normal thirteen-year-old girl's, and his body had begun to acquire the first hints of a figure. In light of this, he'd sucked it up and gone back to wearing panties, which he had to admit did fit better on his now wider hips. He'd had to start wearing a training bra as well, which was a little more upsetting, but he did his best to get used to it. His voice was unmistakely feminine now, high and soft. He didn't handle every day as well as he had that evening at the arcade, but he was gradually coming to accept the idea of being a girl. He'd even begun to grow his hair out; he didn't intend to go for a very feminine style, but having it down to the base of his head would look a lot less ridiculous on a teenage girl than the short near-buzzcut he usually sported.
He'd kept in touch with Andrew over the Internet, although he hadn't actually hung out with any of the guys since that day at the arcade. He had gotten out of the house a few times with his family, though, as they spent the occasional afternoon on a picnic up at a nearby state park; his parents knew that he needed the exercise and sunlight, since he couldn't walk around outside without blowing his cover.
Jenny was still the most adjusted of the family. Being technically male suited her just fine, and after she had witnessed Benny having his period a couple times, she felt thankful she wouldn't have to go through that. And from what her mom said, she'd still get to grow up as pretty as any other girl, which she thought was neat. She did wonder sometimes if there would be any girls out there who would like a girl like her; she wanted to be a daddy someday, but it was boys who were supposed to be daddies, and she wrried that a girl who was technically a boy might be too weird for another girl to want to be a mommy with her. Still, she figured that if she thought it was so cool, there had to be other girls out there who thought it was cool, too.
Mark and Karen had been slowly adjusting to life as well. Both were beginning to come to terms with the fact that they were still attracted to each other, although they had yet to act on it. Mark's job went just as it always had, the fact that he had a private bathroom off his office helping him avoid suspicion. Karen had settled comfortably into her routine of helping the children with their schoolwork, handling the housework, and spending her free time on research, but she was frustrated that, so far, her searching had been fruitless. Having exhausted every search term she could think of on Google, she was planning on checking out any serious magic-related newsgroups she could find in the near future, but she wasn't sure if the results would be any better. She was sure, though, that if there was magic out there that could change them like this, there had to be magic out there that could change them back, and she was determined to find it.
One night, just after dinner, Jenny was staring thoughtfully at Benny. "You know," she said, "I don't think anybody is going to believe you're really a boy anymore."
Benny and his parents had been expecting this for a while, and Benny managed to hold off a wince as he looked down at himself. Budding breasts, soft smooth skin, an increasingly delicate and feminine face and frame, the beginnings of a curved figure, and neck-length hair that hung over his eyes as he looked downwards. "No, I suppose not," he said, half-hoping that she'd drop it but knowing she probably wouldn't.
She didn't. "Well," she continued, "you said I could pick your girl name, and it looks like you really need one now."
Benny rolled his eyes, but his mother put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, dear," she said, "Jenny's got a point. I think you've put it off for long enough, don't you?"
He sighed. There really wasn't any getting around this; nobody would mistake him for a boy anymore, so was there really any point in pretending he was one? "All right," he said. "what did you have in mind?"
Jenny grinned. "I think you look like a Rebecca," she said. "Becky isn't too far off from Benny, after all. Becky Lynn, we'll call you!"
Benny, or rather, Becky, nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "Becky it is, then."
Jenny rushed over and hugged her. "Oh, this is going to be so cool having you as my big sister!" she said. Becky hugged her back, but said nothing, and together they put away the supper dishes. Jenny skipped off to her room, and Becky's mom hugged her tightly. "I'm so proud of you, dear," she said. "Being able to accept the things in life that you can't change...that's difficult, but you handled it in a very grown-up way, and I'm proud my daughter is so mature."
Becky hugged her mother back, nestling her head on her mom's shoulder. "Mom," she said, "I...now that I'm going to be a girl, I want to tell Andrew the truth."
Karen looked at her son-turned-daughter. "Are you really sure about this?" she asked. "You feel that he'll keep your secret if you want him to? Do you really think he'll accept you as a girl?"
Becky thought about it, and nodded. "I know he'll keep it secret if I ask him to," she said. "I don't know what he'll think about this, but I do want him to know the truth."
Karen smiled. "That kind of honesty is a good trait," she said. "I hope things go well, but either way, that makes me proud of you. You can tell him if you want to."
Becky nodded and headed up to her room. She considered just telling him online, but he wouldn't believe such a fanciful claim without some evidence. She opened up her email account and typed up a message to him.
"Hey, Andrew," she wrote. "I'm pretty much over being sick and I'm feeling a lot better than I was. I wanted to invite you over tomorrow afternoon if you're not doing anything. I think I should warn you that I look a lot different than I did before, but I'm back in good health, so I don't mind too much.
Take care, man!
- Benny"
She stared at the name she'd signed the email with for a long time, bidding her goodbyes to Benny.
Then she hit "send."
