A late afternoon in early spring, I stand beside the window of the classroom as I watch the sakura (cherry) blossoms fall from the trees. The ground is littered with pink petals, and the school is silent, it currently being Sunday.

I lean against the window sill, taking in the breathtaking view. I sigh deeply, longing for days like this to continue forever. High school has just started, and with it, all the chaos that it brings. High expectations from my parents, studying for exams, the weight of the future on my shoulders. And yet, right now, all I wish to do is relax and enjoy the view.

“Isn’t it beautiful outside?” I ask Seiji, my best friend.

Seiji is lying on the ground, bag on his chest, texting someone. “Mhm… sure, Jun.”

I walk up to him and nudge him with my foot. “You said you wanted me here, Seiji. Was it just to lie around?”

“No, no… I just, you know… We’re not in the same class this year.”

“I know.” This year will be the first time since I met him three years ago in middle school that we’ll be in different classes. Seiji is far less outgoing than I am, and struggles to make friends, so I worry for him.

Seiji sits up, and looks at me with a serious face. “You’re my best friend, you know. My only friend, really. I’m worried that we might drift apart now that we’ve started high school.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“I don’t know. My brother says that he doesn’t talk to any of his middle school friends anymore.”

Seiji’s brother is in his final year of high school, and runs track and field. He’s a great athlete, and has good grades. He’s also rather busy with both studying, track and field, and his part time job, so he doesn’t have much free time. He does have a few friends, but not all that many.

“You’re not your brother, and I’m not his friends. We’ll have to work hard at it, but if we do, we can stay friends forever! I promise!”

Seiji gets to his feet, and steps close to me, looking me right in the eye.

“We will! I’ll make sure of it! And that’s why I’ve brought this bag!” He holds the bag up high. “You see, I saw this in an anime! Well, I’m taking inspiration from several different anime. But, you see, all we have to do to continue to be best friends is to make our friendship special!”

“Uh, and how exactly do you propose we do that?”

“With this!” He brings the bag down to our level, opens it up, and pulls some clothes out of the bag.

“Is that… a girl’s school uniform?”

“No, it’s TWO girls’ uniforms!”

“Okay, so I know what it is now, but what are you doing with it here? I assume they’re your eldest sister’s, but why do you have them?”

“Because in life, there is no better way to connect with someone than having a secret with them! And if we dress up in these clothes and spend time with one another every sunday here, we’ll have our own secret life apart from everyone else!”

“Seiji… do you just want to crossdress?”

“Look, man, that one time you caught me in a dress was a one time thing! I haven’t crossdressed since then or before them! Honest!”

I hold his face and make him look me in the eyes. “Seiji. Is this just because you want to crossdress?”

“No! Honest!”

“Liar.” I drop his face. “But fine, whatever. You wanna crossdress? Go ahead! But you can’t drag me into this!”

“Oh, come on! You would look great in a sailor uniform! You have such a girlish frame and your hair is so long!”

I subconsciously tug at my long hair. My parents have been yelling at me to cut it, but I really do love it at this length. I then look at the uniform in Seiji’s hand. It IS cute… and I have been somewhat envious of how beautiful the girls look as they walk around in the uniforms.

“Just this once,” I mutter. Seiji jumps in celebration, then drops the bag to the ground, and starts rooting around. I squint at him, wondering what exactly he’s doing. A moment later, he comes back out, smiling, holding two pairs of girl’s panties.

“Here we go!” he says. He throws the clothes on a nearby desk and starts stripping.

“Woah, woah, woah!” I say.

“What? You’ve seen me nude plenty, what’s the–”

“No! The panties! That’s taking it too far!”

“Ah, you’re a fan of going commando, aren’t you? Nice. Good call.”

“No! It’s just… they’re girls’ panties…”

“Oh, I see what you’re getting at! No worries! They’re brand new! Never been worn before!”

“That’s not the issue!”

“Well, I fail to see what the issue is, then.”

“Guys shouldn’t wear panties!”

“Says who? The same jerks who say that guys shouldn’t have long hair?”

“That’s…”

“That’s bullshit, right? We should do what makes us happy.”

He throws his pants, shirt, and underwear on the ground, then pulls the pair of pink and white striped panties up his legs, and looks down at himself.

“Damn, I look good,” he says.

Seiji continues dressing, pulling on the skirt and top of the sailor style girl’s uniform. He has a slender frame, and though his hair isn’t quite as long as mine, his hair is cut in a fairly androgynous style, lending him the look of a tomboyish girl in that uniform. I hate to admit it, but he is cute. I blush a little bit, but hide it by grabbing the clothes and turning away from him. I throw my clothes off onto a nearby table, and grab the blue and white stripped panties prepared for me. I hold them up before me, studying them.

“Nice ass,” Seiji jokes.

“Fine, fine, I’m getting changed!” I grumble, pulling the panties up my legs. They feel rather soft, and they do look really cute. Seiji doesn’t need to keep looking at my ass, though, so I go ahead and pull on the skirt and top of the uniform, completing my look. I turn to Seiji, holding one arm awkwardly, head tilted down.

“How do I look?” I mumble.

“Holy crap, you’re hot!” he says. “Wow! What do you say you stay like that and just pretend to be my girlfriend from now on?”

“Go choke on a frog,” I roll my eyes. I return to the window I was looking out earlier, and study myself in its reflection. Damn it, he’s right! I really do look hot!

Seiji comes up behind me, and hugs me from behind, his hands slipping up my top.

“Are you a fan of yuri?” he asks.

“I think this would be considered BL,” I tell him.

“Mmm… Genderbender BL. Kinda hot.”

“It’s gross,” I tell him.

“Why?”

“Because they’re two boys!” I slap his arms away, and turn around to face him, my face red. He jumps back in surprise, and looks me up and down.

“You’re a product of society’s judgemental beliefs,” Seiji says, shaking his head.

“No! I’m normal! Unlike you! I don’t like this crap!”

“Jun… Man… Look down.”

Through my tears of anger, I do as he says, looking down.

“Oh, shit…”

“You say you’re not into this, but your body says something else.”

I wasn’t thinking about it, but my dick is really hard right now. The panties aren’t enough to keep it from showing through the skirt.

Seiji steps back towards me, and takes my hands in his.

“Relax,” he whispers. “It may not be societally approved, but if you’re having fun, who cares?”

“I… I…” I can’t finish the sentence. I don’t know what comes next. I care? I don’t care?

Slowly, Seiji leans in towards me, and kisses me on the lips. My eyes widen in surprise, and I go to pull back, but Seiji follows after me, pinning me against the window. My hands are interlocked with his, pinned against the glass behind me. My whole body is tingling.

A moment later, Seiji pulls away.

“I’m sorry, I just–”

As Seiji pulls back, I strike. I connect my lips to his, and he makes a small noise in response. He stumbles backwards towards a desk, and I lift his legs up, helping him sit onto it. I move into the area between his legs, our lips still locked, and he wraps his legs around my waist. My hands move to his skirt, and I hold tight to his waist. Meanwhile, his hands race up my shirt to fondle my nipples. Of course, there’s nothing else there, so he may be somewhat disappointed. Then again, he is a fan of the “flat is justice” movement.

Our moment is disrupted by the ringing of his phone. I move away from his lips, and look him in the eyes. Begrudgingly, we separate, and he goes to answer his phone.

“Ah, mom? Oh, right, yeah, I’ll be home soon! I was studying with Jun! Yeah, no worries! Ok! Cya!” He turns back to me. “Sorry. Dinner time. We’ll meet again soon, though! Actually, my parents will be at work tomorrow all day, and my brother has school activities. Do you want to meet up at my house after school?”

“If it’ll be anything like today, sure!”

“Awesome! I have to get going now, so I’ll see you later!”

He starts running off, and I have to grab his hand before he runs out the door.

“Seiji! Your clothes!”

“Oh! Right! Sorry, my brain was so high that I almost forgot!”

We change back into our normal clothes, though we do it slowly. We keep our eyes on one another the entire time. I had never considered how attractive Seiji really is, but after today, I don’t know that I can continue ignoring the obvious. He’s my best friend, but he’s also my first crush.