Born Twice
By Alyssa Plant

Chapter 6

Becca sat on her bed with her belongings around her, she had been in the apartment a week, and she was already leaving.

She had seen Tony on Thursday night, and being in his presence had been intoxicating.

She had allowed herself to get closer to him, now that he knew all her secrets. She felt so free being with him, so relaxed and happy. She understood how she felt, but she wasn’t ready to tell him she loved him yet, it was too early in their relationship for such strong words. She didn’t want to scare him off by looking desperate.

A whole 8 months of training and exams lay ahead for Becca; it was all so daunting.
She would show them, she would prove herself…

Becca giggled to herself, pondering her future was so deep, but not a subject to be thinking about when packing underwear.

It still felt strange to be finally getting the job she wanted, after all, this was her first real job since university, she was a grown woman now…

University seemed a distant point in her life… her childhood…. Remembering back to the years when Rebecca first came to be…

She began to drift off into a daydream…

Charlie sat on his bed, reading a novel in his room in the halls of residence.

It was quiet.

He liked quiet, and he preferred to avoid his flatmates for the most part. They were mostly sporty types and big guys, he liked them, but he didn’t want to push his luck hanging around with them too often.
It was hard enough for him to become close to anyone, because they wouldn’t know who he really was.

Any friends he made now, were befriending a lie, he was a lie. He was a she. As cheesy as it sounded in his head, he really was a girl in a boy’s body. Bouncing and rattling around in a misshapen vessel.

He had grown up in a loving family. Well, at least, they loved the shell. They probably suspected he was gay, but he couldn’t allow them to know the truth. It would break their hearts, and he needed their love, at least, the love directed his way, even if it wasn’t for who he was.

Here at university he was free from the pressure of his family, and she could blossom more.

Fate had intervened.

The university Accommodation officials had placed him on a floor with all the sporty boys. As such, the testosterone in the place was sometimes unbearable for Charlie.

He felt like he was back in school, the odd one out, the girl in disguise. The disguise she couldn’t remove…

Charlie began to drift off to revolutionary France and the mysterious ‘L'Homme au Masque de Fer’.

He was brought abruptly back to the real world from his wander in dreamland by a knock at the door.
“Coming”
He glanced at the clock on his nightstand… Five twenty seven. Just past jock face stuffing o clock.

Unlocking the door and opening it a crack, he came face to face with Paul, one of the guys from his floor.

Face to face is a bit of an over generalisation, there was a good foot height difference between the two, Paul standing an impressive 6’6.
“Uh hey man, look, I’ve got a problem, well we, uh,” Andy blushed and looked down the corridor “Hey Danny can you do this? I can’t ask him this man.”
Danny appeared at Charlie’s door moments later, and grinning like an idiot explained;
“Look, what our eloquent neighbour was trying to say was can you do us a favour and come to a party tonight? Its fancy dress you see and we’re doing sports teams.” He stated as if it was the most logical thing in the world.
“ aaaand were one down… we don’t have a tennis player…”

Charlie looked confused for a moment,
“Um, ok, but why cant you use Paul?”

Danny looked at Paul and grinned.
“Well, we are, he needs a partner…”

Charlie didn’t think Paul could have gone any redder if he had tried.

He smelt a rat.
Not a nice white lab rat… not even Pinky and the brain… a huge smelly rat…

“What’s the catch guys?”

He could see Danny working out how to word the next bit most diplomatically…

“Well you’d have to go as a girl, its guys and girls pairs… we have Tom and Annie doing American football. Me and Page doing Footy, James and Megan are doing hockey, I think?” He said looking at Paul for confirmation.
The still beat red Tennis player nodded
“Yep, and Well Paul was going with Tina, but she can’t go… work due in tomorrow, you know…” he tailed off.

The two looked at each other, Paul’s colour returning to near normal, then back at Charlie.

“I, uh, let me think about it ok?”

Charlie closed the door and slid down till he was sitting with his back to the door. His heart rate was racing…

Did they know?
Was this some joke on his part?
Why had they come to him?
They must suspect!

He felt as though a hammer was being beaten against his rib cage. He so very much wanted to accept their offer, but how to do so without looking too keen?

To them, he was a man, and as such, should be outraged by such a suggestion.
But did they see him as a man?
They were men or at least societies ’vision of manliness, sporting Adonis’. What was he?
He was surprised they allowed him to hang out with them at times, he was nothing compared to them,
This suggestion almost confirmed it in his head; they see me as a girl… or at least a sissy boy…small, feminine, unmanly…
“Maybe I should say yes?” he sighed to his empty room.

Slowly, he regained his feet, and made his way to Danny’s room. He knocked, each time, wondering if this was the right thing. The boy opened his door and smiled when he saw Charlie.

“Ill do it” he almost blurted out. “Just don’t make fun of me ok? I know I’m not as big as you guys.” Charlie looked at his feet, feeling himself turning red.

What he didn’t see was Danny’s expression, the young man hadn’t realised what this would suggest to Charlie that they thought of him.

”Hey man,” he said gently. “Look we really need a hand, and you’re a total dude for doing it… you have more balls than any of us to do it…”

Charlie giggled at the irony of that statement. And cut it off realising how girlish he probably sounded.

Looking up he said, “Well ill do it, just don’t rib me for it, and no photos ok?”
Danny grinned and said he would be back with Charlie’s costume.

Charlie wandered into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on and waited for Danny to return.
He was looking forward to this, but had to act like he didn’t like it. Any sign that he enjoyed it could spell doom for him. How easy that would be, he didn’t know.

The door banged open as Danny and Tom came in with a bag and a box of beers.
Handing one of the bottles to Charlie, they dropped the bag on the table before pulling their own beers from the box, and grabbing chairs.

“Right, here’s all the stuff, she threw in some bits to make it look less silly, and it’s not like you need a wig mate.” Danny said, punctuating his gentle dig with a swig from his bottle.

“Come on then, show us what she’s given you man” piped up tom.

“Uh, nah guys ill show you in a moment, ill just go change, ok?”

Tom looked disappointed but shrugged, “ok man, we’ll keep your beer cold.”

Charlie grabbed the bag nervously and disappeared into his room. After shutting the door and making sure it was locked, he put the bag down on his bed and began to go through it.

The first thing was a tennis dress, pretty standard, white, with the little skirt.
Bellow that, was a note, and some underwear
It read:

‘Charlie, thought you might like to borrow this stuff, ill never wear it, so chuck it out when your done, thought it might go with the dress better than boxers and you’ll need someplace for the other things, I wasn’t always so full of myself
Tina x’

Charlie picked up the bra and knickers from the bag. He could see why she wouldn’t wear them, they were probably a gift from some ex, with a creepy taste… all red lace and rather provocative.

“Well, if I’m going to do this, I might as well do it right,” he said to his favorite companion, his room.

Stripping down he stepped into his shower, and began to wash and remove any body hair.
Luckily he’d missed getting most of the more disgusting effects of puberty his floormates sported.

He stepped from the shower clean and fresh, and wrapping a towel around his hair, he walked into his room to face the challenge ahead.

Despite his feelings, this was the first time he had ever dressed as a girl, at least, fully, and people were going to see him. It was a scary prospect.
He slid the disgustingly trampy knickers up his legs and tucked his pitiful excuse for manhood out of sight. The smooth front that greeted him was what he had dreamt of since he was little.

The bra proved a challenge, but fastening it at the front and spinning it seemed to work. Maybe it would come with practice he giggled to himself.

In the bag he found what Tina had meant by ‘full of herself’, a pair of silicone breast forms which seemed to fit the cups of the bra quite snugly.
His hands trembled as he ran his hands over his new contours, or where they her hands at the moment?

This felt so right, so natural; something began to click inside Charlie’s head as she stood there in the room in just her underwear. This was who she was meant to be. Just this simple action of getting dressed seemed to calm her down; her body looking female seemed to fit so well in her head.

Charlie jumped as she realised she had began to think of herself as ‘her’ in her head.

Collecting her thoughts she turned to the Dress on the bed, and after working out it was meant to be pulled over, began to fight her way into it.

After a short and bloodless battle, it was on, and standing before her bathroom mirror, still misty from the steam, she saw the image of a girl. A young, lithe tennis player, she had a cute face and long legs, and a towel encasing her wet hair.

Mindlessly, she pulled it from her head and watched as her damp hair cascaded down to her shoulders.

As she stood there gawping, she began to feel a slight fluttering in her tummy, and felt her knees weaken.
Sitting down on the bed, she felt a tear trickle from her eye. She was alive. This was who she was; she felt it more now than ever. The feelings and confusion of her childhood so far were nothing compared to this.
Here she was, in her university room, in just underwear and a dress, and she felt so comfortable, so right. And looked so much like the girl she had dreamt to be come for years.
There was a knock at the door.
“Hey man, you coming out? Just because you’re dressing like a girl doesn’t mean you have to take for fucking ever dude.”
She got up, whipping the tears from her eyes and approached the door.
She opened it fully and was met by Danny’s shocked expression.

“Holy shit man, you’re a girl.”

Note from ze Author:
Sorry for taking forever guys! Ive had so much college work, and spending a week in the lake district measuring rocks (yes i'm a geographer) has really eaten my time for writing. Anyway, im on spring break now, so ill try to catch up by putting some serious work into this... Ill aim for chapter 7 by friday, and 8 by next monday at minimum!
Sorry again.
Alyssa