Moment of truth

The closer we got to the campus, the more anxious Dahlia seemed to be. I tried to reassure her a few more times, but I understood her. I could only support her and hope for the best. I did believe in Laura: I've been her twice, and while I didn't have her personality or memories anymore, I still remembered how much she loved Dahlia.

We parked, I gave Dahlia a loving kiss to encourage her, and we walked towards our lecture hall. Dahlia tried to appear more relaxed but I knew she was forcing herself. She would probably act well enough to fool her friends though.

I was still feeling the gaze of so many people on me as we crossed the campus, it was so strange to be the center of attention like this. But I was starting to get used to it. I was a hot woman, of course there would always be people to check me out lustfully.

They dream of being with me, sleeping with me... But this body is mine, and only Dahlia and I are allowed to enjoy it fully.

Laura was smoking and waiting in front of the building alongside one of her friends, a brunette with a tan skin and braided hair. Seo-Yun didn't even bother remembering the names of the people in her class so I had no idea who she was, only that she was often hanging out with Dahlia and Laura during college and was apparently a fairly quiet girl.

"Hi Laura, Sherine!" Dahlia exclaimed, doing her best to sound like her usual enthusiastic self.

Laura and the other girl, Sherine, turned to face us, and immediately had to do a double take as they saw me alongside Dahlia.

"Are you feeling better, Sherine?" Dahlia asked.

"Y-yeah..." She was still staring at me, most likely wondering why the heck I was with Dahlia.

I smiled at them. "Hi. It must be weird to see me with Dahlia, I assume?"

Seeing me genuinely smile like this only made them more confused. Seo-Yun stopped bullying people once she entered college, since it was harder to do so, but she was still an arrogant bitch, everyone knew that.

"Don't worry, girls, she's changed." Dahlia said. "She's turning over a new leaf, and I thought she could try to hang out with us."

They both eyed me suspiciously, Sherine especially. "A-are you sure?"

Dahlia nodded. "Trust me, she's not the same person we once knew." She then turned to face me. "Yun, this is Laura, my best friend, and Sherine, a good friend we've made this year."

I waved at them, trying to look cute and friendly. "Nice to meet you properly. As you know, I'm Seo-Yun. As Dahlia said, I'm trying to change, and I hope you'll give me a chance."

Laura spoke, still observing me cautiously. "If Dahlia vouches for you, we can try."

"Thanks!"

I sat next to Dahlia and let her lead the conversations with her friends, staying quiet for now and only speaking when I was asked something. Sherine had apparently been ill since last week, hence why I didn't see her during my time as Laura and Seo-Yun. She only got back to college today. She had a small accent when she spoke, which I found cute.

"The lecture is about to start, we should go." Sherine said as she looked at her watch.

"You'll sit with us, right, Yun?" Dahlia asked as she grabbed my hand to help me stand up.

"Alright."

I followed them inside and we sat near the back of the lecture hall, waiting for the professor to show up; he was apparently often late. Sherine was focused, reading previous lessons on her laptop, but Laura was fairly relaxed.

Dahlia put a hand on my thigh and took a deep breath. "Laura... Do you think you can come to my place afterwards? I know you already came twice recently but... it's important."

Laura looked at her. "Hmm, sure? You sound pretty serious."

Dahlia smiled. "Thanks."

I knew that Dahlia was a bundle of anxiety on the inside, but she did a good job hiding it. I didn't speak much but I enjoyed being with her and her friends, Laura and Sherine were nice girls. Sherine was a very studious girl, taking meticulous notes during classes and often asking questions and participating.

She did like manga and anime, apparently, as, during lunch, Dahlia, Laura, and her discussed about various anime they watched or planned to watch. I felt a bit left out since I was more a comics kind of guy... or gal, now.

Maybe I should get into anime too...

"I've been listening to your conversations and was wondering if you had any recommendation for someone who's not familiar with anime or manga?" I asked Sherine, surprising her and Laura.

"You want to... get into anime?" Sherine questioned.

"Yeah. It seems interesting from what I've heard."

After regaining her composure, Sherine thought for a moment. "Hmm, it depends on what you're into. If you want more serious stories, with drama and intrigue, anime like Monster, **** Note, or Code Geass are good to start with. If you prefer traditional action stuff, Dragon Ball, Yu yu Hakusho, and Naruto are good. There are manga and anime for all kinds of tastes."

I unlocked my phone and wrote it down. I heard of most of the anime she mentioned, but never took the time to check them out.

I smiled at her. "Thanks, I'll try to watch some of those this weekend."

"What exactly happened to you?" Laura asked me. "To change that much in one day..."

Dahlia appeared normal but I saw her clench her fists, she was getting nervous. But I wasn't, I expected her to ask this before we fully revealed the truth.

"A lot of things, but I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now." I simply replied. "I can promise that I'm being truthful, though. I do want to change and become friends with you."

Laura smiled. "Alright. I won't pry more, everyone is allowed to keep some secrets."

After our afternoon classes, I texted Claire, asking her to wait in front of the police station so that I could pick her up, since we couldn't afford to buy a car before. Dahlia and Laura would take the bus meanwhile.

I drove away and waited for Claire, looking at my Instagram in the meantime. My fans were quite pleased with the new style I wore yesterday. I checked and replied to some of my messages, especially those from fans asking for advice. I received an offer from a shoe brand to have some products sent to me, and I accepted. More shoes to garnish my closet were always nice.

A part of me found it scary how easily I stole everything from Seo-Yun and adapted to being her. It wasn't my Instagram or my fans, I only stole them from Seo-Yun three days ago. But who would say that I wasn't currently Seo-Yun? I had her body, her memories, her personality, her very own soul... Her everything belonged to me.

After a few minutes, Claire knocked on the window, breaking me out of these thoughts.

I let her in and smiled. "Hi Claire. How was your day?"

"I-it was nice. Pretty peaceful." She replied, looking away. "Sorry, I... still need a bit of time to really get used to your new appearance."

"No worries, I know it'll take time. Dahlia and Laura should be waiting, are you ready?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'll do what I can."

We reached Dahlia's apartment soon after. I unlocked the door with my spare keys and we walked inside, seeing Dahlia and Laura playing a game while waiting for us.

Laura paused the game and stared at us, confused. "You were waiting for... Yun and Claire?"

Dahlia nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yes. They're... related to the important thing I wanted to tell you..." She gave Laura a hug. "But first, know that I love you... I do really see you as my best friend."

Laura reciprocated the hug. "I'm not sure what this is about, but... I feel the same."

I saw that Dahlia was getting more and more anxious and went to sit next to her, holding her hand. I couldn't deny that I was also anxious, but I managed to stay calm thanks to Seo-Yun's overconfidence. It was time to tell Laura the truth.