Misunderstanding (Story Concept) (Patreon)

Misunderstanding

Grace steps into her room and throws her bag to the floor. With a flick of her long red hair, she throws herself on the bed and lets out an enormous sigh. “That was so incredibly boring!” she whines, burring her face into the bed sheets.

Josh, her best friend, steps tentatively into the room. He’s not unfamiliar with her bedroom, having spent a lot of time with Grace recently, but he’s very aware of himself. “Yup,” he agrees, carefully placing his bag on the floor. “Still, it’s over now. We can do what we want.”

Grace turns herself on the bed and looks up at the glow-in-the-dark stars she’s stuck to her bedroom ceiling. “And what is it you want to do…?” she asks, swiping the hair from her face.

Josh sits at the end of the bed and fiddles with his nervously with his fingers. He’s hopeful Grace won’t think too much about what he’s about to say. “Can you…,” he asks, twisting his body back to look at her on the bed. “Can you teach me again about outfits and makeup and stuff?”

Grace doesn’t say anything. She just sits up and looks at the boy sitting at the end of her bed. For a moment, Grace questions his motives with a suspicious look. She’s about to question why a boy would want to know these things, but the innocent look on his face stops her.

“Sure,” Grace grins, bouncing off the bed to stand in front of him. She then looks down at him and tilts her head. “Are you sure this isn’t boring for you, though? You know how excited I get.”

This won’t be the first time Grace has taught him about her style, so he grins and nods. “I love how excited you get showing me.”

Grace bites her bottom lip, and her cheeks go a little flush. “You…,” she pauses and looks away. “Love?”

Josh doesn’t cotton on that Grace is confused by his choice of words. He’s just desperate to spend time with her because he’s secretly in love with her. “Yeah,” he answers, stepping in front of her mirror to check his hair. “Only if you want to, though.”

Grace stares at the back of Josh’s head. Her mind races as she considers for a moment just why he’s so interested. He’s not a girl, so why does he want to know these things?

“Josh…,” she says, waiting for him to turn and look at her. “Why are you so interested in my style? It’s not like you can copy it or anything—you’re a boy.”

Josh’s cheeks glow red, and he looks away from her stare. “I guess…” he rubs his arm as he thinks of an acceptable excuse. However, he’s not ready to admit his love yet because he’s worried such a beautiful girl like her would never fall for a nerd like him.

“It’s for a costume,” he eventually replies, but without any conviction.

There’s a silence for a moment as they both just stare at each other. Josh doesn’t realize what he’s said until the words reply in his mind. He quickly realizes that his lie makes it sound like he wants to dress as a girl. He bites his bottom lip and actually hopes Grace didn’t hear him. However, she did.

“Costume…?” Grace tilts her head to one side. For her, it all now makes sense. The reason why he comes around every day and asks for her to teach him things about being a girl. However, she’s not sure why he’d need a costume. Halloween is months away. “Costume for what?”

Josh can already tell he’s digging himself a hole. He knows he should tell her the truth about his love for her, but those words seem so heavy in his mouth. “Erm…,” he looks around at the clothes in her room. “It’s erm….”

“Is it for that science club of yours…?” Grace asks with a wave of her hand, interrupting as Josh tries to think of a reasonable reason he’d need a costume.

“Science club?” Josh replies but then instantly changes his tune. “Y-Yes…,” he nods and smiles. “I’m doing a research paper on how different genders are treated in society.” Josh keeps nodding his head as he waits for his lie to land. “Yes, and I’m going to do an experiment,” he says, talking so fast Grace cant get a word in. “I-I’m to live as a girl for a week…”

Grace’s eyes light up, and she claps her hands together in excitement. “Seriously!?” she grins.

Josh’s mouth goes dry. He’s really put his foot in his mouth. The blood drains from his face as Grace continues to stare at him with such glee.

Nothing more is said for a moment as Grace happily rocks from side to side, so very happy about the idea of dressing up her best friend. She soon becomes frustrated as he just stands frozen.

Grace reacts to his catatonic state with a frown. “Earth to Josh…,” she says sarcastically. “Is this you asking me for help?” She flicks her hair from her eyes and looks around her room. “Like a week, though. Are you going to be able to do that?” She refocuses on him. “You, a girl for a week?”

Hearing those words sends a shiver down Josh’s spine. He can’t believe that’s what he’s just told her. He wants to hit his own forehead. He has no idea what made him say an entire week!

“Josh,” Grace snaps her fingers. “You’re spacing out. Do you need my help or not?”

Josh can only nod.

“Cool,” Grace nods back. “So, like, when is the experiment going to start?” Grace twiddles some of her hair as she smiles up at him in front of her. “I assume it’s gotta be soon with the amount of times you’ve asked me to show you this stuff. Is it next Monday?”

Grace doesn’t give Josh a second to answer. She bolts up from her bed and starts looking around in room. “It’s Friday today. If we work hard, we can have you ready by Sunday night,” Grace says as she gets onto her knees and starts searching under the bed.

Moments later, she pulls out a small plastic bag. Inside, a bright pink wig. She turns and shows it to Josh like it’s a treasure she’s just found. “You can wear this!” she beams. “You can do your hair just like mine! We’ll be like twins!”

Josh looks at Grace’s pretty smile, and part of his heart melts. He’s just so happy he gets to spend more time with her as the gravity of his lie is yet to sink in. “I’ll be as pretty as you,” Josh replies without thought, winking at her.

Grace pulls a sour face, almost like she’s weirded out by his wink, but then grabs a desk chair and wheels it into the middle of her bedroom. “Sit,” she commands. “Let’s do your hair now, and that way, we’ll know if this wig is still ok or not. It’s been under my bed for some time.”

Josh does as instructed and sits on her chair. Grace then rips the wig from the bag and starts inspecting it. She then runs her fingers through Josh’s now sweaty hair. “Erm… Josh,” she says, wiping the sweat from her hand onto his shoulder. “Can I shave your hair so this wig will fit on better?”

Josh turns to look at her. The excitement on her face again makes him melt into mush. He’d do anything. “Sure…,” he replies softly.

“Awesome!” Grace cheers, slapping Josh roughly on the shoulder.

Grace pushes Josh off the seat and grabs hold of his hand. Josh can barely contain his excitement. He almost pitches a tent right in front of her and her family as Grace drags him into the kitchen. She then takes a dining room chair and plinks him down, ready for a haircut.

After having a towel chucked over his head, Grace finds some clippers that her mom uses for her dog grooming business and goes to town. She only stabs him a few times in the head as she does, but Josh doesn’t mind—he’s loving the attention from her. Especially when she’s leaning over in front of him.

“That’ll do,” Grace says, checking the sides of his head. “Doesn’t matter too much, does it. You’re going to have long hair all next week.”

Grace’s mom overhears the conversation between the two and is curious. “What was that, dear?” she asks.

Grace spins on the spot to tell her. Josh sinks into his seat. “He’s doing an experiment. Mom,” Grace declares. “Josh is going to spend all next week as a girl!”

Grace’s mom looks past Grace and in Josh’s direction. “A week?” she asks, giving him a knowing smile. “Are you sure, young man? Or is this my daughter misunderstanding the situation?”

Josh goes stiff with nerves. “N-N-No misunderstanding,” he replies with a stutter. He forces himself to continue talking. “I’m spending all next week as a girl, and Grace is going to help me.”

Grace's mom raises an eyebrow. “If you say so…,” she mutters, turning away. “Kids…,” she scoffs. “So clueless.”