Aria let out an inaudible groan as her eyes fluttered open. She’d had a weird dream, though the details were already slowly slipping her mind. From what little she could gleam from the room around her with her tired eyes, it was still too early in the morning. Just a little more rest…

  When she next regained consciousness, it was from the stirring on the other side of the dorm. It sounded like Tori was getting up. She turned on the lights, leaving Aria to hide her face under the bedsheet. She was so tired, just five more minutes…

  But a small yet discomforting ache wasn’t letting her mind drift to dreamnd. She found herself letting out another muted groan.

  “Aria?” She heard Tori question after a few more moments. “Are you okay?”

  She couldn’t be bothered to even get up right now, finding the lobster plush somewhere under her bed and pulling it tight. She didn’t realize a bad sleep could have left her feeling this gross.

  “Hmm, let me see your face.”

  Although with a grimace, Aria did as asked, wincing her eyes when met with the light of the room. She felt Tori’s hand touch her forehead, and she understood what her roommate might have been going for.

  “Woah, you’re really warm. Did you come up with something?”

  Aria just inaudibly groaned again. Sure.

  “Well, you definitely don’t look like you’re feeling well.” Tori sighed, “I’ll let Ms. Musker and the teachers know you’re sick for the day. Want me to bring you breakfast?”

  Seeing as she couldn’t rely on mustering an actual answer, she opted to just shake her head. She wasn’t feeling hungry right now.

  “I see… I’ll at least find something around lunchtime. Otherwise, I gotta get to css soon. I’ll turn off the lights so you can rest better.”

  Aria continued lying in her bed even as Tori finished getting ready, and she eventually left. Thinking about it, Tori might have been right. This weird ache definitely felt like it could have been some sickness. No wonder.

  Good thing she had the ability to rest for the day.

  It’s just a shame, a part of her wanted to have the chance to hang out with her new friends some more. She wondered if Evan would miss her at English today.

  When Evan left his and Maddie’s room, Grace was already standing outside, seemingly in wait.

  “Where’s Maddie?”

  “Said she needs to meditate for a test today,” Evan answered. “You know how she is.”

  “I think I need to do that sometimes, too. I’m always surprised how prepared she can feel.”

  “I didn’t even know if there was a test coming up at all, if I had to be honest.” Evan admitted. “So she’s definitely more ready than me.”

  Though maybe that hadn’t been the fault of straight carelessness. No, thinking about it, he’d been letting a certain girl and the idea of catching her interest distract him. For a boy like Evan, these situations don’t just happen, so he wasn’t sure if he could be bmed for it.

  He thought back to the previous night, wondering how well that had really gone. Sure, he didn’t scare her away or anything at any point, but it’s not as if a kiss was ever shared either. But then again, those don’t happen on first dates for the most part, he was pretty sure.

  “Sooooo,” Grace leaned in front of Evan, “How was the date?”

  Evan felt a blush encroaching, “I-It’s not even a date! At least, I don’t think so? We were basically just hanging out.”

  “Alright, I’ll repeat. How did hanging out go?”

  She got him there. “Well, I mean… we had fun, I think?”

  “You think?” Grace cocked an eyebrow.

  “You know how Aria is. She already struggles to talk, but even with the tools it’s like she’s so… quiet. Like she doesn’t even want to be heard, sometimes. Does that make sense?”

  “I can see why she’d be used to something like that if she’s had to live with a disability.”

  “No, but it feels like it’s more than that. Even when I’m giving her the space to express it, she just doesn’t want to.” Evan frowned. It made him feel kinda sad.

  “You did talk at least a bit though, right?”

  Evan nodded. “We went to the ferris wheel, where she got kinda curious about me. But I’m not sure if that was like some sort of romantic thing.”

  “Could be a good sign.”

  “You think?”

  Grace shrugged. “She wants to know about you, that’s what you do on dates.”

  “Sure, I guess. I just kinda wish she’d let me learn about her, too, if that was the case.”

  The two finally entered the cafeteria, making their way to get a quick breakfast while Evan kept thinking back to the evening.

  “Actually,” He let out, “I guess I did notice one thing.” He recalled the moment where he won that lobster plush from the carnie. How it had taken him a few tries, but felt so proud when he finally got his hands on it, ready to give it to Aria as a sudden surprise. Only for her to get apprehensive and question him about his choices. It’s like she didn’t even want to be given anything. “I think she has self-worth issues.”

  “Mm,” Grace responded while picking out some yogurt.

  “I’m worried about her, now that I think about that part,” Evan continued, grabbing some toast with ham, then one of those protein bars.

  “I mean it makes sense. On top of standing out, a girl like her has gotta feel pretty powerless.”

  The two walked over to a table. Evan definitely knew how that felt. Even when closeting all of his feelings, he always felt like he’d stick out like a sore thumb among his peers. How the fact he never fit in would make him a target for some types. In the process of coming out and trying to see himself as more masculine and confident, he’d noticed plenty of habits he wanted to unlearn. Hell, he still struggled with that sometimes. He just didn’t want to sit there and let the world beat him down. Real men had to be stronger than that.

  He already knew that some of that attitude still also got passed over to the cis girls, forced to live in a discriminative world. He didn’t know what kind of past unique experiences Aria had to contend with either. Even among them, she was extra vulnerable.

  “I just wish there was a way to help, somehow.” Evan said, sitting down.

  “Well hey, that’s what friends are for.” Grace answered from across the table, “I think you’ve been doing a decent job with that already.”

  Evan looked up at her, “Really?”

  In response, she nodded. “She seemed like she trusted you whenever you two were together. The fact she went along with the date proves it. She sees you as safe.”

  “Hm, I guess you’re right.” Evan took a bite from his toast. “Maybe I really do have a chance.”

  “It’s really fitting. I mean, just think about it, Evan,” Grace added. “She’s probably the type of girl who needs to be shown that someone would move mountains for her, and you want to be a guy that can move mountains.”

  Evan felt his face grow redder, “That’s a cheesy way to put it.” Though she was right, in a way. From the start, he’d been drawn to her because of that itch in his brain saying she needed to be protected. Because of how much he subconsciously wanted to fit into that masculine role of some brave adventurer or knight. From that perspective, she was basically his type. Maybe he was learning that he was hers, too.

  “Wonder where she is, though…” Grace mumbled, scanning the cafeteria around them.

  Evan couldn’t see her either, come to think of it. Maybe she’s still getting herself ready like Maddie. Then his eyes perked up, “Hey, Tori!” He called and waved to the taller girl.

  This seemed to have caught her attention, as she soon approached them at the table. “Oh, hello, you two. Did you need something?”

  “Is Aria still at the dorm? I was wondering if-” He stopped himself. What was he about to say? That he wanted her to always be spending time with him? It’s not like she didn’t deserve some privacy of her own, but he was just curious where she was at. “Erm, you know.” He trailed off. God, and here Grace had actually been filling him with more confidence before he opened his big dumb mouth…

  “If she’s coming, you mean?” Tori asked, nervously tucking her hair behind an ear. “There’s not much to say, sadly. She’s, well, it looks like she’s sick today. Probably caught something.”

  “What?” Evan’s face fell for a hot second before he recooled himself. “O-Oh, yeah, I see…”

  Grace shot a gre across the table, “Alright, Evan. What did you give the poor girl?”

  “M-Me?! Nothing! It’s not like I was sick, I-I didn’t-!”

  “Rex,” Grace grinned. “I know quite well that a pure boy like you wouldn’t so much as even have dared hold her hand.”

  Evan’s panic quickly fell into an exasperated sigh, “You know, you’re getting on a real high horse around this whole topic.”

  “Not my fault you’re so easy to read. Someone’s gotta do it.”

  “Ahem,” Tori opted to steer the conversation back, “Whatever it is, she’s not feeling well enough to come outside right now. I’m thinking of finding the nurse if she doesn’t get better quickly.”

  “Hm, must be some pretty bad virus,” Evan muttered. He counted himself lucky he hadn’t somehow caught something simir after the night before, he’d hate being stuck in his room unable to eat anything. As he finished devouring his toast, a thought came to him. “Hey, Tori, is it okay if…?”

  Aria was stirred from her drifting thoughts by a knock on the door, soon followed by the door opening.

  “Here we are,” She heard Tori say.

  “A-Alright, I guess I’ll just put it down here?”

  Wait, that voice? Was that Evan?

  Aria found herself opening her eyes, gently peeking out to see the two entrants. They’d turned on the lights, of course they had, but she didn’t feel as uncomfortable to be greeted with it than during the morning. Sure enough, while Tori had returned, she had also brought Evan.

  The boy smiled at her. “There she is! Boy, you weren’t kidding. She looks… off.”

  Tori sighed, “You really have just been resting in bed the whole time, huh?”

  Aria guiltily nodded. She’d been half-awake just trying to rest for what had to be a few hours now. She wasn’t as groggy, but some part of her definitely still ached in a weird way she couldn’t pce. So even as she sat up, she still wrapped her cover around her body in a nesting position.

  “Hey, it’s okay. When you’re sick, you take all the time to rest you need.” Evan assured, “You don’t gotta feel guilty about it.”

  Had he read her that easily? He was right though, there wasn’t really a reason to be ashamed. She’d just felt bad, was all. But on that note, she supposed Evan was here to check in on her. Because he was worried, as… a friend. She needed to start accepting that this was okay now. This was what friends were for.

  “We brought lunch, too!” He gestured to her nightstand, on which stood a lunchtray with fries and a bur- wait, a BURGER?!

  They had hamburgers today?!

  She reached out to grab herself a bite without thinking. Then another, and another! She didn’t realize she’d even been hungry, yet she was quickly finding herself wolfing the whole thing down within a minute.

  “W-Woah!”

  “A-Aria, please drink some water, too!”

  Once the whole thing was down her throat, she took Tori’s suggestion and washed her food down. There were still fries left over, which she wasn’t as ravenous for, but still found herself picking some up to eat.

  “Hope this isn’t gonna make you throw up, with whatever you have.” Evan muttered.

  With half the fries still left on the tray, Aria calmed down and realized how gluttonous she’d probably looked. She retreated back, pulling the cover over her head to complete the cocoon she’d wrapped herself in.

  Though she didn’t need to feel embarrassed, when Evan chuckled. “Or maybe you’re just already feeling better?”

  Aria thought about it. And certainly while she didn’t feel immobile or anything, she could still feel a faint pain across her body, some of it centering on her chest area. She hoped this wasn’t some heart condition. Her face still showing her discomfort, she shrugged in response.

  “Just hang in there,” Tori assured. “The nurse had apparently taken the day off, but Ms. Musker told me she should be coming over tonight, so hopefully we’ll figure out what’s wrong.”

  “Yeah!” Evan smiled, “You don’t need to sweat it.”

  It definitely assured Aria to hear that. Now that she felt a bit more confident in her identity, her worries really were starting to fade. She was a girl on the inside, so it made her happier to know her friends saw her as one of them.

  But of course, they still didn’t know that she technically wasn’t a ‘girl on the outside.’ Or rather, that she hadn’t been until just about a week ago. As the thought drifted to her mind, she wondered how they’d react if they knew. I mean, they accepted Evan, didn’t they? And he was still stuck in a girl’s body.

  When she thought about it, he of all people might be the most understanding, right? Because the two of them were the same. He’d understand the pain that brought her to this point, and why she was so scared of it all.

  She reached for her notepad and pen still lying on her nightstand, next to the lunch tray.

  Evan’s eyes flicked with curiosity when he noticed her starting to write, and eagerly read the message once it came before his gaze.

  ‘I need to tell you something’

  “What is it?”

  Aria’s eyes drifted, internally mustering up the courage. It was hard to think of the words, especially with Tori in the room. She figured, if she’d want to come forward with something as crazy as this, she’d want to do it privately.

  ‘Can we talk tomorrow? When I’m feeling better?’

  Evan stumbled on his words, appearing a bit caught off guard by the response that had followed. “Y-Yeah, sure. Of course.”

  She couldn’t quite make out what he was thinking, but knowing him, Aria got the sense he might have been concerned. She wanted to write another note, but she quickly began feeling the need to lie down again. Ugh, maybe some extra sleep would do her some good.

  “Um, Aria?”

  “I think she just needs some more rest,” Tori said. “Come on, Evan.”

  “O-Oh, alright.”

  Aria could hear the two getting ready to leave as she closed her eyes. Though right before the door closed, she caught Evan’s voice one st time, directed at her.

  “Just don’t be scared to ask for help, okay?”

  She wiggled in her bed a bit. He’d know she heard him.

  Evan sighed to himself while he and Tori walked on their way back to the main building. He got what he wanted from this trip, but it still felt bad to see Aria like that. They’d left the tray with her in case she still wanted some cold fries whenever she got back up, but they were still kind of betting that teachers wouldn’t catch them sneaking food around. You weren’t really supposed to bring back cafeteria food into your room, but he hoped anyone who'd caught them would've understood and sympathized.

  Maybe he could check up on her again after csses were out? No, that might be too much. Or would it? He definitely wanted to talk to Grace and Maddie first. He still had to rely on his friends for advice with girls, he supposed.

  But when approaching the stairs down to the first floor, he did a double-take as he saw Tori go up them instead.

  “Um, where you going?” He asked. It’s not like they had agreed on anything, he just figured she would also be heading back to css.

  “Oh!” Tori turned her head back in surprise. “I just… have something to talk to Ms. Musker about.”

  Evan’s expression turned puzzled. “I thought you already passed along to her that Aria was sick and junk.”

  “Y-Yeah! I figured to update her real quick.” She forced a half-smile, “Just worried, you know.”

  After a short few seconds of silence, Evan responded back, “Well, okay.”

  Tori took that as the end of the conversation and continued up the stairs. Meanwhile, all of Evan’s danger senses were going off. He didn’t know Tori all too well, he had only been acquainted with her through Aria so far. And while she definitely felt like an innocent by-the-numbers girl, she seemed too nervous to just be worried for a sick friend.

  Once Tori was away from sight, Evan followed her up the stairs.

  She wasn’t lying about her destination, seemingly. He saw that she’d stopped at the administration floor. He lingered on the stairwell as he saw her walk through the hallway. No, her pace was getting brisker, as if in a hurry, speedwalking in the direction of-

  Through some whim of fate, Tori found herself tripping forwards, almost falling to the floor in her hurry. Evan winced, feeling at least thankful that no one had been in the hall to see that. Well, no one but him. It’s not like there had been anything blocking her way either, so it only looked all the more awkward.

  Either way, she didn’t seem too bothered as she got back up. Sure enough, she was on her way to Ms. Musker’s office, head supervisor.

  Once inside, Evan stealthily followed behind. He figured the floor must have been slippery or something, so he tried not to go too fast. But he wanted to be sure, he was curious. These were the types of moments where Franco Cruz stumbled onto the base yer of some big conspiracy in the opening act.

  The door was closed, so Evan leaned in. He could faintly hear talking, but it was difficult to make out.

  “...-that all?” It wasn’t Tori. The cold tone of that voice sounded like Musker. “Did you really-... here to-… that?”

  “I'm worried this is reted to... She’s-..., so shouldn’t-... eye on her?” Was Tori talking about Aria here? It had to be, but this sounded like more than just talking about how sick she was.

  “Why are you so sure that she’s-...?”

  “She mentioned ki-..., … has something to do with the-...” Tori’s voice continued. “I think it's a ti-..., like in s-some fairy tale. So right now she might be-...”

  Evan felt lost, but that only made him more curious to try and make out the details. What on earth were they talking about? He tried to lean in closer, so he could make out more of the words.

  He heard Tori’s voice again. “I know her wish was something about being here. I’m worried about what kind of life she’s being returned to.”

  That part he heard clearly. But still it made no sense, so had he misheard something?

  “What if this is that? What if she’s some-... patient? What if she won’t-...?” She continued. “I know she’s probably watc-..., I-I know she was clear about-... and that I couldn’t-... but-”

  “She’s not.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Still with the same stern tone, he could practically hear the supervisor’s gre from this side of the door. “Whatever she’s-..., it’s keeping her busy. Something happened at-... today.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll probably hear about it soon. I’ve been trying to-... by sending emails. But I think if there’s any time to-..., it’s-...”

  The exchange continued for a bit longer, but Evan was struggling to pay more attention. It was… bizarre. When his mind had jumped to some kind of conspiracy, he didn’t think something like this. Ms. Musker had never seemed the type for jokes, and Tori was indeed nervous about something.

  It was time to leave, Evan knew sticking around longer would just risk them catching him. And who knew what that would lead to, he barely knew what he was even dealing with! Maybe Grace and Maddie would have something to say? That’s if they’d believe him!

  The question remained in his mind. Just what was going on in this school?

  And why was Aria of all people caught up in it?

  Aria slowly drifted back to consciousness.

  She looked around her room, and no one was there. She was pretty sure she’d slept some more, but evidently csses must not have been over yet if Tori wasn’t here. Or maybe it was dinner? She really had no idea what time it was.

  She sat up on her bed. She felt… more energetic. The weird pain was gone. The nap really had done her well!

  Gncing around the room some more, she noticed the orange light shimmering beyond the dorm’s open window, the cooling air breezing through. So it really was evening, then.

  She stretched her arms, getting her body warmed up as a loud yawn crept up.

  Aria stood up, though she could swear that her bed felt lower to the ground than usual as-

  A chill ran through her entire body. Her entire… body.

  Reaching a hand up to her throat, the one that had let out a yawn just a few seconds ago. “H… Hello?”

  It was there, clear as day. “My voice!” It was her voice, the voice she’d given up. But wait, didn’t Sully say-?

  No, that didn’t matter right now! There was something else she needed to confirm first!

  It didn’t make any sense! She definitely didn’t kiss anyone! Not that that would expin everything. Did Sully also lie?

  She got in front of the bathroom mirror, and in horror, witnessed the worst.

  She saw a young teenage boy in girl’s pajamas. The same young teenage boy she’d grown used to seeing in the mirror for most of her entire life.

  Aria then heard footsteps passing by her door, the idle chatter of two girls. She could swear her heart was ready to fall out, but the sounds faded. Just passing through. But her heart didn't slow, because she knew she was only safe for the moment.

  What would she do?!

  TernUnfettered