Joining Sophie and telling Jane the truth

I left the Council room and went to the school's gates, where Sophie was waiting for me. She was leaning against the wall as I arrived, looking at her phone. She was probably playing a game or reading a manga.

I hope she didn't have to wait too long...

"Sophie!"

"Ah, B-" She started, almost calling me by my name before stopping herself. “I mean, Airi!"

I giggled. "I know it's gonna take some time for you to get used to that."

"How was the meeting?" She asked, curiosity written all over her face.

"It went well. The only issue was Sarah, but I think that I managed to fool her." I said, scratching my hair.

"Good job, President!"

I smiled warmly at Sophie before replying. "Thanks! Anyway, we should go to see Jane, now. She probably already went home from the university."

Sophie grabbed her phone and showed it to me. "Yes, I just texted her to tell her to wait for me at home."

"Good! Let's go, then!"

During our walk towards Sophie's house, I really wanted to hold her hand, but I did my best to resist the temptation.

I'll have to wait a bit more until I'm settled into Airi's life before doing that.

Even though I knew it was wrong for me to possess Airi, I didn't feel too bad about it yet. It might have been because of the lingering animosity me and Sophie had towards her. What I saw from her memories since I possessed her wasn't really convincing me that I was doing a bad thing either, apart from the love she had for her father. We arrived, and I was thinking of how I could tell Jane what happened without making it too awkward.

"Sis! I'm here!" Sophie announced as we walked inside her home, the home I just left this morning as her.

"Soph-" Jane started, but stopped when she noticed me next to Sophie. "Y-you... What are you doing here?" She glared at me, her voice full of distrust.

I should have expected that, considering that I'm in Airi's body...

"S-sis, calm d-" Sophie tried to speak, but Jane cut her off.

"You've been harassing Sophie for months and you dare to show up here?"

"Sis..."

I knew I had to say something. "Calm down! Airi is a bitch and I hate her too, but just listen to us!"

Hearing Airi using the third person and seemingly insulting herself was enough to stun her.

"Yes, sit down and let us speak, please." Sophie spoke quietly.

"O-okay…" Jane said confusely.

"Thank you." I spoke, before looking at Sophie.

She was looking back at me, hesitant. "Okay, how do we start this?"

"Let me explain." I said. “Remember yesterday when you found yourself in Sophie's room without knowing how?"

It surprised Jane. "H-how do you know?"

"Because I was there. You lost your memories because I somehow possessed you before you reached the front door. The same way I'm possessing Airi right now." I put my hand on my chest as I said that, to symbolise it.

"W-what?"

"I’m Ben. Last night, while I was hiking in the forest, I saw some shady people inside the old castle. I snuck in and took some of their stuff before escaping. What I found were some weird chemicals, which fell out of my bag and exploded on me. It turned me into this gooey creature that can possess people, but I can’t survive outside of a body for very long."

"I can confirm, sis. Everything he's saying is true." Sophie chimed in.

"I went to see you, as you are both my best friends, but I was on the verge of dying when I saw you approaching the door. I instinctively jumped on you and somehow possessed you. I then went to Sophie to explain the situation to her…" I looked at Sophie, feeling more awkward. “And she asked me to possess her instead..."

"A-and you... possessed her?” Jane suddenly got up, realizing something. “Y-yesterday, when I woke up in Sophie's room…"

I nodded. "It was me, yeah... Same goes for this morning..."

"What...? Why did you pretend to be her instead of telling me?!" Jane asked, raising her tone.

"B-because she asked me to…" I admitted shyly.

"W-why?"

"If I had to guess, she probably was afraid that you would think I'd **** her crush on me."

My declaration surprised Jane. "Y-you know?"

"When I possess someone, I slowly get access to all of their memories, so I learnt about it last night…" I smiled to try to reassure Jane. "I love her, too. She's willing to give me a chance despite being in Airi's body."

"Is that true, Sophie?" Jane asked.

"Yup! Even if he's a girl for now, he's still Ben!" Sophie replied, holding my hand.

Jane held her forehead and sighed loudly. "God, this is a lot to process…" She then observed me. "What made you want to possess a girl though?"

"Huh?" I wasn't expecting Jane's question, even if I should have, all things considered… "B-because Airi was bullying Sophie, of course!" I tried a half-truth, embarrassed by the other reason why I possessed Airi...

Jane observed me, her eyes clearly hinting that she knew I wasn't telling the whole truth. "Is that the only reason? I know you're hiding something. I know you, Ben."

"I…" I was fidgeting with my fingers, ashamed. “I-I wanted to see what being a girl was like, okay?! I-I've been a guy for eighteen years, and I now have the opportunity to see what it's like to be a girl, how could I pass on that? There, are you happy?"

Jane and Sophie giggled.

"Haha, I was just teasing you, you know? You really are Ben!" Jane commented, amused.

"Yup, the same dork we know and love." Sophie added.

"But to get back to the previous topic…" Jane then spoke more seriously. “Do you have a plan to fix things, or will you stay in Airi forever?"

I looked away, not having thought about that too much yet. "I... I don't know yet. I'm scared of facing these guys…" Airi wasn't really the courageous type. And I felt that her personality was making me more afraid than I usually would be. "Maybe I'll try to infiltrate the castle in the future, but… for now, I think I prefer to stay hidden..."

I felt way safer imagining myself staying in her body instead of risking infiltrating the castle again. I then remembered the conversation I had with Sophie about the castle."

"By the way, there's a possibility that these guys found my phone or my ID card, so you should block my old number and be careful around strangers. I don't know what they can do, but be careful, the both of you. If anyone asks, you didn't see me since that night, okay?" I told them.

"O-okay…" Jane nodded.

I smiled. "But at least, now you know I'm safe. With my ability to have access to my host's memories and personality, I'm sure that I cannot be found."

"Yeah, I believe in you." Jane said.

I then came closer to Sophie and gently kissed her on the lips, an act that surprised both Jane and Sophie. Sophie didn’t do anything for a second, but she quickly returned the kiss.

I still can't believe it's happening...

We stood there, kissing as if nothing else mattered, lost in bliss… Knowing that I was kissing Sophie using Airi's body, and knowing that Sophie had been waiting to kiss me for so long, while also being interested in trying things with another girl… It was... thrilling… My lower abdomen started to warm up at the situation, like what happened this morning with Sophie… But it was more intense, this time, the excitement being way stronger.

I'm glad I don't have a guy's body anymore...

"I'm sorry if I took you by surprise, Sophie. But I wanted to do that for so long…" I said, holding her hands in mine. "I love you, Sophie."

"M-me too! I love you too, Ben...!" Sophie was a blushing mess, completely overcome with glee.

Jane had a satisfied smile. "I'm happy for you two."

"Well, I have to go for real now! See you later, girls!" I then said, looking at my watch.

"Bye!"

"Stay safe!"