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Everyone knows tha Spencer Gilpin and Fridge used to be friends back in elementary school.
It was a whole thing when Fridge went through his insane growth spurt and got onto the football team. And it’s not much of a secret that Spencer does Fridge’s homework so he can stay on the football team. Most people just pity the guy. Others had bets on when they’d get caught.
And apparently that was yesterday.
Everyone comes into school that next day with bated breath to see the fallout.
So, when they all start filing in and see Fridge sitting on one of the picnic tables with Spencer standing between his legs, the two of them grinning and giggling together while Bethany Walker twists some rando red head’s into an intricate braid, they’re all more than a little confused.
But somehow what is the most surprising of the sight is Bethany Walker’s hair.
Bethany Walker has cut her hair. Her iconic blonde locks showcased in every selfie she’s taken, lopped off with what probably could’ve been kitchen scissors, it's so haphazard. And it’s not just at trim or a trendy bob. It’s The Big Chop. You can’t even call it a pixie cut. It’s a full on quiff.
What she’s wearing is also a little baffling. Jeans. Not skinny jeans. Not jeggings. Actual, honest to God jeans. And even more insane, a t-shirt. Not cropped, no fun trendy design, just a plain t-shirt with jeans.
What the hell happened during their detention?
.-~*~-.
“Ronnie, you have to teach me how to do this,” Martha says, admiring her new braid.
“Oof,” Spencer says, leaning against Fridge's chest. “Not Ronnie.”
“Hey! His name, his choice!” Fridge says. “What do you think?”
“Unsure,” Oberon says. “I’m still thinking on it. It took me this long to choose Oberon.”
“You are so not a Sheldon,” Spencer says.
“Way too basic.” Martha pauses, shoulders hunching in on herself. “Did I use that right?”
Oberon kisses her on the cheek. “Yes. You did.”
Being forced to live in a man’s body after being sucked inside a video game wasn’t exactly the typical gender exploration that most people have, but Oberon’s never been most people.
Separated from phones and social media and society at all really made him think about who he was and he realized that the performance of the pretty girl he portrayed on social media was something he was good at, something he prided himself in, but something he never truly felt was him.
And yeah, the body that wasn’t his with anatomy that wasn’t his definitely didn’t feel like him either.
But… it was closer.
So, along their death defying journey, Oberon went through a journey of his own.
Of course, from an outsider perspective, this is a sudden change, but inside Jumanji, he had what felt like months to figure this out and when he got back, he did not want to waste another second in a body he couldn’t stand to be in.
It was an obvious choice, to take the name of the man who helped him realize who he was. It helps that Oberon is cool and unique too. But, it’s a big change from who he was before.
“What about Obie?” Martha says.
“Obie’s cute,” Fridge says. “What do you think?”
“Yeah,” Oberon says. “Obie. I like the sound of that.”
When they got back to the real world, the confusing love triangle between Oberon, Martha and Alex was quickly resolved when they realized Alex went back to the 90s and is now a grown man with a family and kids.
Alex wasn’t totally hip to the queer community when they last spoke but this adult Alex who has had a lot of time to take in the hushed conversation beneath the trees of Jumaji—
“I know I said before that I’m a pretty girl out in the real world but… I’m not sure how true that is now.”
“You’re not… pretty?”
“I’m not a girl. I don’t know. I just… you need to know that. It feels like lying if I didn’t tell you.”
—and when he greeted them in the present day, he pulled Oberon aside and told him: “If your parents don’t accept you, we’ll take you in, me and my wife. I’ve prepped her about the possibility long ago. Just know that the invitation is out there.”
Definitely a weird dynamic, one that Alex has had much longer to process than Obie has, but not unwelcomed.
Obie doesn’t know how that will all turn out. Hell, he’s just dealing with the fallout of cutting his own hair at 3AM the night before.
But he’s got his friends, friends who have gone through things much worse than potentially transphobic parents, who will be with him every step of the way.