Jessie’s Girl
(Inspired by Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield)

During all of middle school and high school, Jessie was my best friend. He had blond curly hair and resembled a young Justin Timberlake. We met soon after my family came into town. You see, we were next-door neighbors and often came over to each other’s houses to play board games, swim in the pool, or have adventures in the tree fort. We lived in a nice suburban neighborhood where kids could play hockey in the streets if they wanted to.

For whatever reason, Jessie had trouble with girls. That is, until our senior year in high school. I saw him with a blond over at his house. I was no peeping Tom by any means. It was just painfully obvious with the music blaring and the sound of girlish giggling over at his place. As it happened, my window was directly across from his.

This girl, whoever she was, would then leave late at night towards my house and then I would lose track of her. She was slender, dressed casually, and had long hair. As soon as I saw her, I was instantly smitten with her. I knew, someway-somehow, I would have to make her mine.

***

The next day at school, I asked Jessie about her. “Who’s the girl?” I asked casually.

“What girl?” he asked confused.

“The one you hang out with at your place, idiot,” I replied annoyed.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied genuinely confused.

“Don’t act dumb. Is she from this school? I’ve never seen her before,” I said.

“I haven’t been seeing anyone,” he insisted.

“I saw her through your window,” I said pissed off that he was lying to me.

“You’ve been spying on me?” he asked defensively.

“It’s hard not to with all that noise,” I replied.

“Well, try to mind your own business, Rick,” he said disdainfully.

“Try not to lie to me then,” I shot back.

He gave me the middle finger and we parted ways towards our respective classes. During breaks between periods, I looked around for the girl Jessie was with. Not finding her, I realized upon reflection that I was being an asshole. If Jessie wanted his privacy with this girl, so be it.

Still, it was hard not to notice. The girl kept coming over to Jessie’s house every other day. There would either be music or a movie on in his room, and I could hear her voice clear as day. I decided to tape-record it as proof to Jessie that he was being dishonest. However, the tape recorder didn’t catch anything related to the girl.

“Weird,” I said as I replayed the recorder a few times.

***

I knew I should have stopped at this point but curiosity got the better of me. At around midnight, the girl would leave Jessie’s house to go home. I waited for her to leave and then raced downstairs to get a good look at her. I opened the door and looked around but she was already gone.

“What the…?” I wondered. Did she have a car? I didn’t see a car near Jessie’s place. How could she have walked down the street so fast?

The following Monday, I asked Jessie about her. “Come on, man. What’s she like?” I pressed.

“There is no girl. I wish there was,” Jessie said bewildered.

“I promise you, I won’t make a play for her,” I said.

“Like my last girlfriend you stole,” Jessie scoffed.

“That’s not fair. You only dated her once,” I excused.

Jessie gave me a look of disdain. “You violated the Bro-code,” he accused.

“Is this what this is about? Okay, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. So, who she is?” I asked.

“There is no girl and stop spying through my window. It’s creepy,” Jessie said.

***

So, I decided to drop the issue until I saw the girl again at school. She was with Jessie leaning against a locker. The two were chatting and smiling. Just as they were about to go to their respective classes, they kissed.
I decided to confront Jessie immediately, but he was suddenly gone. I looked around for him and then someone bumped into me from behind. “You looking for something?” he asked.

I stared at him wondering how he managed to get behind me without me noticing. “You were with a girl just now. She goes to our school?” I questioned.

He shook his head. “You’re losing it,” he said dismissively and walked off.

***

Jessie continued to see the mystery girl every other night, and I would occasionally spot them together at school. Jessie continued to deny her existence, and I decided to drop the issue. It was my senior year, and I had no idea who I was going to prom with. I had no girlfriend, and I was starting to feel sorry for myself. I would look at myself, shirtless, in the mirror and wonder.

“I need to work out,” I sighed unimpressed with my physique.

To get to the bottom of this mystery, I asked if I could come over to Jessie’s house to play video games, watch movies, etc. Jessie was always accommodating but when I came to his room there was no sign of the girl. Jessie didn’t have any pictures of her and there was no sign she had ever been there. However, as soon as I would leave Jessie’s house, I could then hear girlish laughter coming from Jessie’s room.

Spooked, I knocked on the door and Jessie answered. “Who’s the girl? I can hear her across my window,” I said.

“There’s no girl here,” Jessie said annoyed. “You want to come up and see for yourself?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

I went upstairs and looked around. No girl to be found. “I don’t get it,” I said softly.

“You okay, man?” Jessie asked genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered.

As I went downstairs and exited, I could see the girl walking towards my house and then suddenly disappearing inside. “Holy shit,” I realized.

I raced inside the house and searched every room. There was no sign of the girl anywhere. “She’s like a ghost.”

***

As prom approached, neither of us had a date despite Jessie’s mystery woman. I decided to assume I was crazy and that Jessie truly was single. At lunch, I read through a book to give me some tips. “What’s that?” he asked.
“It’s like advice on how to pick up chicks,” I said.

Jessie smirked. “Can I see it?”

“Like, you need it,” I said scornfully.

“Hey, you’re more popular with the girls than me, remember,” Jessie reminded him.

That was true up until the time this mystery girl showed up. That night, I looked out my window and saw a weird sight: it was Jesse and the mystery girl dressed up for prom. I decided to listen to their conversation as they were about to leave.

“These high-heels really suck,” she complained.

“Could be worse, you could be in a suit,” Jessie said as he tugged on his collar.

“At least you’ll stay warm,” the girl shivered.

Jessie got close to the girl and kissed her. “Let’s go,” he smiled and then the two went off in Jesse’s car.
I stared at them and then back to my phone. Prom was still several weeks away. Confused, I decided to drop the issue.

***

The next Monday, Jessie expressed his concern over his prom suit. “What kind of suit should I wear?” he wondered.
I then detailed the suit he wore in my vision. “That sounds like my dad’s suit. I guess I could ask him,” Jesse said thoughtfully.

I simply froze wondering if he was for real. “I think…I think I’m seeing visions of the future.”
“What do you mean?” Jessie wondered.

“I saw you and the girl going out to prom Friday night. I have been seeing you with this girl for weeks now. It means that soon you’re going to get a girlfriend,” I said.

“Cool,” Jessie said.

“We have to be careful with this. Since I have told you the future, it could now alter the future,” I said seriously.

“Did you just cock-block me?” Jessie wondered.

“There must be a reason why I am seeing these visions. Should I do something or do nothing,” I wondered.

“This is crazy,” Jessie said unconvinced. He left the lunch table leaving me to ponder what to do.

***

Going back home, I did a simple calculation. I took the date I first saw the girl and determined how many weeks into the future that must have been based on prom date. After waiting patiently for a few days, I decided to go to Jessie’s house. The only problem is that neither he nor his parents were home. I decided to use a tree branch to go into Jessie’s window. If my calculations were correct, the girl would materialize in Jessie’s house for the first time.

To my disappointment, the girl never showed. Jessie did eventually come back and found me pacing in his room. “What the hell, man?” he asked.

“She’s supposed to be here,” I said defensively.

“This is getting out of hand. Even if there was a girl, it’s none of your business. You’ve been stealing girls from me from the very start of high school. You don’t even have meaningful relationships with them. You’ve denied me the chance to have something special. You’re an ass,” Jessie told me.

“You’re right,” I said acknowledging the truth. “I’m jealous and I’m a failure. I don’t deserve to be your friend,” I said sadly.

Jessie said nothing but lowered his eyes. “You know, I wish this girl were real so you could go with her to prom and be happy,” I said finally and made my way over to the window.

“There’s something you could to make up for it,” Jessie said thoughtfully.

I turned to face him. “What? Anything,” I said without thinking.

“This,” Jesse said and then kissed me.

At first, I was repulsed but then it felt so good. I kissed him back and felt that tingling sensation on my lips. I didn’t want it to end and just kept it up. I had no idea that as I kissed him, the world was changing around me. My hair became longer and straighter while my face began to change. I started to lose a few inches and repositioned myself so that I looked up as I continued to kiss him. Jessie placed his hands around my shoulders keeping us close. It was at that moment that I felt my chest gradually inflate with two teenage female breasts. I should have stopped then and run out of the room. Something was keeping me in place. It felt wonderful as my body became smaller and softer.

Finally, we stopped kissing, and I started to realize the changes to my body. My shirt was pink instead of red, my jeans were now girl jeans, and my tennis shoes were a few sizes smaller. I felt my face and then my breasts. Jessie took a step back memorized by my new look. I turned around and saw myself in the mirror. I was the girl I had seen in my vision. I had seen the future version of myself as a girl and not realized it. The girl I had been so jealous of had been me the entire time.

“Wow, look at you,” Jessie said stunned.

“Yeah,” I said with my new feminine voice. I was just as shocked as he was.

“Maybe, we should get you to a doctor or something,” Jessie said concerned.

“No, this is how it should be. After all the times I denied you a girl, now I am your girl,” I said realizing my new destiny.

“You sure you’re cool with this?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, this could be fun. No pressure to find dates for the prom, because we already have each other,” I said brightly.

“You like guys now?” Jessie asked skeptically.

“I feel like I always have…it’s just been awakened,” I said softly. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Sure,” Jessie immediately agreed.

I eagerly kissed him and felt his tongue in my mouth. It was rougher and more forceful than when I had kissed a girl. Could I really go through life as a female? At that moment, I ignored all my worldly concerns. I just wanted to kiss and make-out with my best friend. As we did, I felt a familiar presence watching us from afar. It was my male self, several weeks in the past. I didn’t know how this time loop had happened, but I knew I had to do my part. I laughed and giggled girlishly as Jessie touched me and kissed me.

***

Finally, it was the night of the prom. My parents treated me as if I had always been a girl. My mother helped me find a decent dress and helped with my hair and make-up. I had full confidence everything would be alright. I had already seen the two of us drive off several weeks before.

“You ready, Rachel?” Jesse asked me.

“I’ve never danced before,” I admitted.

“Neither have I,” he smiled.

We both chuckled at the absurdity of our situation. As we were about to leave, I fought the temptation to look at my male self directly in the eye. I had to leave the past behind. Without a look, I got into the car and drove off with Jessie as his girl.