A/N: Wow, I was astonished by the reception to my little foreword. This trope is more popular than I thought (and for you guys who don't read genderswap but is willing to give this a shot anyway, I appreciate your faith in me!). I really don't know anything about genderswap because it's not my thing; I don't read it (except for the fics below), I don't write it. Clearly this is an exception. I just wrote this chapter on a whim really, and to be honest, I have almost no idea how to progress with the rest of the story. Wish me luck!

This fic is somewhat inspired by what skin does, boys' generation, and Man, I Feel Like A Woman.

When Tiffany wakes up, there’s a guy in her bed.

She screams, trying to extricate herself from the blankets only to get tangled further, and she manages to bring them down with her as she falls to the ground, landing in a shocked heap. How did this happen? Did a fan manage to break into their dorm? She glances around for something to use as a weapon, and her gaze lands on her lamp just as the guy groans and cracks open an eye.

“Steph, what are you screaming about?”

The voice is undeniably masculine but also undeniably familiar. And the nickname – nobody calls her ‘Steph’ except one person: her best friend, who ducked into her room last night to stay with her because she knows how scared Tiffany is of thunderstorms. Her best friend, who is a girl but is blinking blearily at her now, eyes exactly the same, only set in a man’s (boy’s?) face.

Jessica clears and makes a face. “My voice sounds so weird,” she complains, holding a hand to . Then her expression changes and she glances down – at her flat chest – and her hands fly upward to grip her hair, which has mysteriously shortened into a messy bob.

Her eyes are equally horrified when they meet Tiffany’s. She darts off the bed and to Tiffany’s dresser, where she stares at her reflection in the mirror, silent and still.

“Jessica?” Tiffany ventures after a while.

Jessica doesn’t seem to hear her. She doesn’t reply, but she moves. She hooks up her collar and glances under her shirt – she must be inspecting her lack of s – with a blank look on her face, and she does the same to her pants. Tiffany looks away, her face heating up.

“What. The. Hell,” Jessica finally says, in a very flat voice. “I don’t—what happened.”

Tiffany tries to smile, but it comes out more like a muscle spasm. “Erm, I think you’ve turned into a guy,” she says helpfully.

The glare that Jessica shoots her is no less venomous, and the way her face contorts, every feature promising pain, is exactly the same. Well, of course her expressions are still the same, Tiffany thinks, she’s still Jessica, just – Jessica as a guy.

Tiffany takes a closer look at Jessica. At first glance, she’s just a cute guy, but once you look closer, the resemblance is unmistakable. Her eyes haven’t changed, not even her long lashes, and is the same too. Her face looks a little harder, the angles more exaggerated, the slope of her nose, the curve of her jaw a little different.

But she’s still Jessica.

“Steph.” Emotion enters Jessica’s voice now: fear, stark and alarming. “What am I going to do?”

Tiffany’s mind is whirling, thinking of all the repercussions: they’d have to tell their managers, Jessica can’t possibly perform, or even leave the dorm, like this. How would the girls react, what about Jessica’s parents, how long is she going to stay like this, what if it’s not reversible…

She walks over and puts her hand over Jessica’s, giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze. This time, her smile comes more easily. “Don’t worry, Jessi,” she says. “It’ll be okay. It’ll work out somehow.” There’s a startling amount of conviction in her voice.

Jessica bites her lip, the worry in her eyes easing slightly. “How—” Her voice cracks. It’s quite high for a guy, but of course much deeper compared to her normal voice. Tiffany tries to put the difference aside, but it’s easier said than done. Every time she looks at Jessica, she has to fight a double take at the familiar yet alien face. “How do you know?”

“I don’t,” Tiffany admits. She realizes that she’s still holding onto Jessica’s hand, which has changed too. The fingers are longer and thicker, the skin a little less smooth, less soft. Well, she’s not the one doing the holding, really. Jessica’s clutching her hand with a vice-like grip, like she’s in danger of floating away and Tiffany’s the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Tiffany.” There’s an edge of desperation in Jessica’s voice. “I can’t – can you tell the girls? I just… I can’t do this right now.”

“Sure, of course.”

Jessica’s shirt is stretched over her broader shoulders, and it’s too short to cover her longer frame, leaving a wide strip of skin bare at her abdomen. Despite the changes in her body, the way that she’s slightly hunched in on herself, the wide-eyed look she’s giving Tiffany – those are all innately familiar, innately Jessica.

Tiffany hesitates for a heartbeat before she puts her arms around Jessica and pulls her close. Jessica practically collapses into her arms; her curves have disappeared, but she’s hardly muscular – she’s too slight for that. Tiffany’s held Jessica so many times over the years, but…it’s not the same. Jessica is the same, but she isn’t.

“I don’t know if it’ll be okay,” she whispers against Jessica’s hair; it’s coarser but still soft, tickling her cheek. “I can’t promise you that. But I can promise you that I’ll always be here for you, okay? We’ll work it out. Somehow we will.”

Jessica lifts her head from Tiffany’s shoulder and smiles. The expression makes something flip inside Tiffany’s stomach. “Thanks, Steph,” is all she says, but somehow the two words hold a world of meaning.

“You’re my best friend,” Tiffany says, “even if you’re a hot guy now.”

Jessica makes a face. “That’s – I don’t need to hear that.”

“Just telling you the truth, Jessi,” Tiffany says innocently. “Hey, that still works – just change the i to an e.”

Jessica gives her a trademark ice princess look. (Ice prince look?) “Hey, don’t push me. Just because I’m a guy now doesn’t mean I’ll take it easy on you.”

Tiffany sticks out her tongue. “Hey, you were never a lady, so I don’t expect you to be a gentleman now—” She doesn’t get to finish her sentence as Jessica tackles her, and they end up rolling around on the floor, Jessica mercilessly tickling her, the room filled with her helpless laughter.

“Do you give?” Jessica asks breathlessly. Her face is very close, her body a warm, solid weight on top of Tiffany’s. Tiffany swallows; is tight.

“I—” Suddenly she feels something hard press against her thigh, and for a second she wonders if her phone got onto the ground, but then she flushes as she realizes what it must be. She sees Jessica’s eyes widen when she realizes, and then she’s stumbling away from Tiffany, her face flushed as hotly as Tiffany’s.

“I’m sorry.” Jessica sounds mortified. “I don’t know – it must be because you were close – I didn’t mean to—”

“Jessi, it’s okay,” Tiffany says soothingly. She isn’t going to hold Jessica’s natural body reactions against her. “These things happen.”

Jessica’s head is bowed. She won’t look at Tiffany. “They never happened to us before.”

That’s because none of us has ever turned into a guy before. Tiffany fortunately manages to hold the words back.

“You probably want to change, right?” She eyes Jessica’s ill-fitting clothes. “Some of your workout clothes are pretty loose. They should fit. You should probably take the bathroom before the rest of them wake up. I’ll explain what happened.”

Jessica glances up. Her expression is shy, hesitant, and it reminds Tiffany of the way she had been when they first met. People mistook her quietness for attitude, but Tiffany knew differently. They’ve always been opposites, but that’s never gotten in the way of their friendship. Jessica doesn’t like to talk, which is fine, because Tiffany talks enough for both of them, and they always listen to each other. Jessica is fragile under her hard exterior, and Tiffany the stark opposite, which is fine, because they always protect each other. Jessica likes flats, Tiffany heels. Jessica would stay in her room all day, sleeping or on the bed with her phone, while Tiffany likes to be outside and walking around. Jessica rarely smiles with teeth, and Tiffany rarely smiles without.

Despite all their differences, or maybe because of them, they’ve always worked. Tiffany isn’t going to let that change now, just because Jessica’s turned into a guy.

“Jessica,” she says with determination. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Trust me, okay?”

Jessica’s smile is soft, sweet, and Tiffany’s stomach doesn’t just turn over, it starts doing somersaults. It’s just because Jessica’s this cute guy now, she tells herself. Anyone would react like that if such a cute guy smiled at them.

“I trust you,” Jessica says simply. She gets up – it takes conscious effort for Tiffany to not look at…a certain area – and runs a hand through her hair, face scrunching up at its length. Tiffany has to fight back a smile; she knows Jessica likes her hair long, remembers how she sulked for a week after it was cut for Gee. “I’ll just…go change then. Great, I have to pee standing up now.” She says the last part like she’s talking to herself, catches Tiffany’s eye, and blushes again.

Tiffany clears . “If you need anything, just call me, okay?”

“My voice freaks me out,” Jessica says offhandedly.

“It’s still kind of girly,” Tiffany offers, “if that makes you feel better.”

Jessica glares at her. “Is this how you help?” She tugs down on her shirt, but that doesn’t do much, it’s just too short. Her pyjama bottoms show several inches of ankle. She looks like a kid playing dress-up.

“Sorry,” Tiffany says, not very apologetically. She watches Jessica walk towards the door, and she can’t resist. “Hey, at least you’ve always walked like a guy, so that doesn’t have to change.”

Jessica has one hand on the knob. She pushes the door open and turns back – her hair is too short to whip properly around her face, but it’s still quite a dramatic effect – to fix another glare on Tiffany. It’s actually quite a terrifying expression, but Tiffany has long developed immunity to it, so she just smiles innocently back.

“Tiffany, I swear—”

“Whoa, Fany, have you been hiding a guy in your room?” Sooyoung’s voice makes both Jessica and Tiffany freeze. “I didn’t know you had it in you. Aren’t you going to introduce us to your boyfriend?”

Jessica looks helplessly at Tiffany, who opens to say something and promptly snaps it shut. What could she possibly say? That’s not a guy. Well, she is, technically, but. That’s Jessica.

“Fany?” Taeyeon comes into view, her brow creasing. Her expression is somewhere between concerned-best-friend Taeyeon and leader Taeyeon. “Why do you—” Then she sees Jessica, and falls open.

“See, I woke up this morning and I found a guy in my bed,” Tiffany’s mouth decides to say, “and I was really freaked out. I didn’t know who he was, but then I saw him – her – and it’s Jessica.” She gives a nervous laugh. “Jessi turned into a guy somehow.”

Taeyeon keeps staring at Jessica. “You…” she starts, her voice fading. “Sica?”

Jessica cracks a smile. “Hi, Taengoo.”

Taeyeon pinches herself and rubs a hand across her eyes, but the sight in front of her doesn’t change. Tiffany watches the two of them nervously. She would prefer Taeyeon to talk to their manager; they may say that the leader position between them is just a label, but Taeyeon is the leader, they all know that. Maybe they taught her in leader school (is there such a thing?) what to do when one of your members suddenly changes .

“Wow,” Taeyeon says. “You’re hot.”

Tiffany lets her face fall into her hands, and she keeps it there for a long time.