Why Would You Think That?

  Noelle continued, not noticing Perry's internal panic. "I thought you vanished off the face of the earth. I've been wanting to thank you for helping me all this time. What's your name?" 

"…Perry."

"Huh. I have a friend named Perry. I didn't think it was very common." 

He sighed. This was not going the way he wanted it to. He had to tell her the truth now but it was going to be awkward to explain. He could already tell. 

"Noelle…that is me." 

Her reaction was not what she expected. She snorted. "No way! Perry's a girl."

What?! Why did she think that? He had never said anything about his gender back when he did not have one. How had she come to that conclusion? This was going even worse than he thought it would. 

"Why would you think that?" Perry asked, baffled. 

"Because we bonded over romance novels?" A moment later, all the blood drained out of Noelle's face. "Oh my gosh. You knew who Zander Corinth was." 

"Yes?"