Synopsis: A date, a drive, and an accident that wasn't. A shocking realization, accusations and the truth come out. It's all been going according to plan, or has it?
 

Accidental Magic

By
Allystra Krane
 
edited by Sephrena Miller
 
Chapter Fourteen
Truths and Lies

 

---

 
 
Terri could tell by the look on Jenni's face, she was rendered speechless by Terri's very appearance. There was little doubt to any hints of jealousy or envy. It was all there, as if it had been plainly written on her face.

She was also wearing a simple dress, but had not gone as far as Terri had been.

It was a pale red, and the material was flared at the skirt, so looking less like the tube Terri was in and instead rippling into soft folds at her knees. The top of the dress was a tank style, with simple straps and a modest square cut above her chest.

Terri wanted to walk over and touch her, to run fingers down her arms. She remained motionless, however, while Jenni gawked at her, sizing her up in much the same way that she had done.

"Well, are we going?" Terri asked. "I'm hungry and this beast can be tamed in no other way," she said as she patted her stomach.

"Not yet you don't," Terri's mother chided. "You two aren't going anywhere until I get a picture of this for the scrapbook."

Terri sighed as a small camera was produced from a pocket. She attempted to smile while holding her emotions in check.

She was so focused on the camera, prepared for the flash, when she noticed, only to late, Jenni's face approaching her cheek. The picture snapped just as a warm pair of lips pressed against the side of her face, followed by intense giggling.

"Ok," Terri's mother said, as she tried to keep a straight face. "Now let’s try one for real."

"Sorry Misses D'Angelo. I couldn't help myself."

"You shouldn't apologize to me, dear."

Terri was red-faced, standing stiff as a board. In her mind, Jenni was as conniving as ever, except that level of manipulation made her dangerous.

Terri was so lost in thought, that she was startled when the flash went off a second time.

Jenni squealed, took Terri's hand and nearly dragged her out the door.

"Hey, so where do you want to go eat?" Jenni asked as she led Terri to the passenger door of her car.

"I don't know," Terri replied, waiting for her to open the door. "Mom was expecting some kind of formal romantic date."

"I see that," Jenni replied, unlocking the door and opening it. "I'm afraid you are a bit overdressed for where I planned to take us."

"Where were we going?" Terri asked, as she watched Jenni circle the car and then attempted to figure out how to get into the car while being unable to separate her legs above the knee.

"Uhm, Denny's," Jenni replied, before ducking her head into her side of the car.

She chuckled, watching Terri maneuver, failing to figure it out.

"Girls in dresses sit their butt in first then twist their legs in," Jenni commented.

Terri plopped down in the seat with an "Oh... thanks," before drawing her feet in the car and pulling the door shut.

"I already hate these heels," Terri said as the car pulled away from the curb and breezed down the street.

"I'd tell you that you could get used to it," Jenni commented, "but that would hinge on if you were going to spend a lot more time as you are."

"Well, my hands are kinda tied in that matter. Until a large group of magic users get together to make a counter spell, everyone in this town that ever knew me will think I've always been lithe and busty."

"Did I mention that I am jealous of you?"

"A few times I think."

"This is just the first time I've gotten a good look at you."

"What are you talking about? You told me earlier today that my bodysuit left only color to the imagination."

"That's not really what I meant," replied Jenni. "Just forget it."

It didn't take long for the car to pull into the parking lot, coming to a stop in an empty place around the building from the front entrance.

"Are you sure you wanted to go in like that?" Jenni asked as she shut off her car and turned toward Terri, only to notice that Terri was back in the bodysuit, leather jacket and her curb-stomping boots.

"Damn, that must be nice to magic your clothes like that," Jenni sarcastically commented.

Terri slowly kicked the door open with her foot, "Yeah well, I figured we could both be making a statement and mine is getting back out of this car without letting a dress bind into my crotch. Seriously, I can wipe my own butt. I don't need my clothes to do it for me."

She bumped the door shut with her butt, ran around the car and held out her hand. "May I assist miss?"

"Why thank you," Jenni replied with a smile.

Terri walked backward, enjoying the view of Jenni as they approached the door before spinning around and throwing it open.
 
 

~*~
 
 
The girls had been quickly ushered to a corner table, provided sodas and their orders taken in possibly less than a minute. It had prevented them any time to talk.

Now that they were alone, Jenni decided to press the question.

"How did it happen?"

"What?" Terri asked.

"Uhm, Your breast augmentation." Jenni replied. "Or did you suddenly forget?"

"Oh... no, I didn't forget," Terri returned, "It’s hard to explain."

"Try me."

"Grandma left me a note. I'm a special kind of magic user and she felt she had to seal up that magic to save my life and so that I would grow up normally. The downside is that the seal is what made me hurt so badly."

"But now you're unsealed, so how come you're female and loving it?"

"Terri leaned forward. "Like I said, I'm kinda stuck this way for awhile. It's not like this isn't tolerable."

"You're not just tolerating it, you're downright comfortable. I mean look at you, you've got natural girl nearly down whenever someone is watching."

Terri leaned back against the back of the booth and sighed. "I just can't win, can I?"

Jenni hung her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to chew on you so easily, it's just..."

"What?"

"Do you remember, back when we were kids? You promised to marry me."

Terri began to blush. "Is that what this was all about?"

"YESSS!" Jenni hissed out as she leaned over the table. "I swear I'll hold you to that promise."

"You haven't seen me in eight years and you think we'd be a great couple?" Terri replied.

Jenni was taken back. She looked at the serious glare her friend was now giving her. Jenni realized that Terri wasn't such as easy pushover as before.

Terri, for her part, was coming to realizations of her own. The sneaky, smarmy girl across from her had laid down her cards, possibly in an attempt to persuade Terri into changing her mind, but the gambit had failed.

Jenni was starting tear up, which Terri took as both declaration of guilt and the surrender flag.

Terri slipped out of her side and into the seat next to Jenni. She put an arm around the smaller girl. "Hey, don't cry. So I'm not going to be your dream boy. There are plenty of marry-able men."

Jenni shook her head. "You don't understand. I... I forgot about it too. I broke our promise, not you. I have been going out with this guy for a month now!"

"Shhh, no need to go hysterical. I'm happy for you. I really am."

"You're not mad?" Jenni asked hesitantly.

"Do I look mad?" Terri answered. "I swear, I'm happy for you. I gotta ask. Did you get some yet?"

Jenni's tears abruptly stopped as she got a grip on Terri's statement. She straightened up from her slump, so she could look her straight in the eye.

"You've changed."

"Well, Duh."

"No, I mean really changed. You were so..."

"Well, suddenly being popular, wanted, and huggable did have an effect on me. Plus, there is something else, but you can understand that I can't tell you what that is."

"I wouldn't expect any of those to be confidence or arrogance boosters,” replied Jenni.

"Well," Terri admitted, "For the first time, I feel whole. It was like I just a fragment. I see things differently and things effect me differently, so I act accordingly."

"I'm not sure if I like the new you," Jenni commented. "You're a bit brasher than I remembered."

"I'm pretty sure it's a mood swing thing. I spend at least ten minutes a day bawling my eyes out for almost no reason whatsoever. If you got invited to be a cheerleader on your third day as a girl, wouldn't it make your day?"

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"Well, I don't consider myself shallow enough to enjoy being on a cheer squad."

"Well, okay then. I guess I was crying for the wrong reason."

"Unless you want to be shallow, then it's okay."

"You really should meet the leader of our school's squad, because you might think your statement is rather prophetic."

"I've been to a few games where our teams clash, what does that bubblehead have to do with anything."

"She's a straight A student, writing a thesis paper on perceptions of intelligence."

"No way, so she invited you why? She wanted to study instant beauty?"

"No, she invited me because the same spell that you overcame a week ago, couldn't block the guilt she felt for beating the tar out of me a few years back. But the reason I actually got talked into going to the tryout in order to catch some rapists."

"That was you? The one boy claims you used some super Kung-Fu on him."

"I don't remember. Grandma triggered some spell on the door and I blacked out and when I came back, I'm standing over one of them, fist cocked back, ready to smash again."

Terri waited for a response, but Jenni appeared to be deep in thought. Finally she spoke.

"I'm sorry for creating a tangent, but I'm more interested in you right now."

Terri hopped back over to her side of the booth. "So, what do you want to know?" she asked with a smile, as she mentally prepared herself for the usual dating-type questions.

"Are you going to stay female forever?"

The Question hit Terri with a shock, something she wasn't expecting. Her smile instantly faded and she hung her head.

"Well?" Jenni asked.

"I could if I wanted to," Terri replied slowly and meekly. "and... I thought about it."

"Why?"

"Because I feel good. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be."

"That's not a good excuse. You haven't thought about it at all! What about menstrual cramps, or pregnancy? Are you finding men attractive all of a sudden now?"

Terri looked at Jenni, a glare that was piercing and disturbing.

"I don't know about cramps, but I do know how long it took to fall asleep when it felt like my back was on fire. I got used to it, I'm sure this couldn't possibly be worse."

Terri figured this would shut Jenni up. Nothing like revealing the past to twist the knife, as it were.

"No never answered me, are you going girl forever?" Jenni asked.

"I don't know. I haven't decided. Some days... I want to," Terri admitted.

"You can't!" barked Jenni.

"Why, because it'll interfere with your little plan?"

"Because you will get hurt," Jenni answered, "and I don't want that to happen."

Jenni looked downcast, staring at the tabletop.

Terri was about to reply, when the waiter showed up with their meals.

The rest of dinner passed in silence.
 
 

~*~
 
 
The ride home was nerve wracking for Terri, as she tried to understand what Jenni was so worried about. The fear she radiated seemed so out-of-place.

Terri saw the turn, but was surprised when Jenni drove past it. "Uhm, where are we going?" she asked.

But Jenni said nothing, just continuing to drive silently. In the darkness of the car, Terri could barely make out her profile, except when passing cars' headlights illuminated her. Terri swore she could see gritted teeth.

At wasn't until they hit the highway leading out of town that Jenni spoke up. "I'm taking us both far away from here. Far away from where you could be hurt. We'll start a life together in a place far away and you can be female all the time if you want."

"I may not enjoy it," Jenni continued, "but if it's what makes you happy I'll accept it."

"Jenni, what are you talking about? We can't just run away!"

"Sure we can. We can get our G.E.D. diploma after we work as waitresses for a year or so. Then if you want, you can start taking college classes and we'll go from there. You'll be safe from your grandma and her plan. Safe from this horrible magical world she thrust you into."

Jenni was moving at highway speeds now and in the darkness, the trees along the edge of the road illuminated for but a second as she whizzed past.

Hearing no retort, she stole a glance at Terri, who was strangely asleep. She had little time to think of it, as her headlights showed someone standing in the road directly in front of her.

She slammed the brakes but she was too close and she wrenched the wheel to the right, fishtailing the car as it continued skidding down the down sideways.

The road was curving to the left, so she was now spinning into the ditch, tearing up great tracks of earth with the sideways motion of her tires.

The car came to a stop facing the road, having made nearly a complete rotation.

Jenni Shut off the car, kicked open her door, jumped out of the car onto her knees and promptly threw up onto the grass.

A hand appeared in her periphery. A small, familiar hand. She took it and Lexi helped her up, while shutting the car door.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, wiping the last of traces of sick off her face with her arm.

"I think we both know that is a stupid question," answered Lexi.

"I nearly ran you over in the road!" Jenni barked. "What if I hadn't seen you in time?"

"One, I knew where to stand," answered Lexi. “And two, I wasn't in the road, I only made it look that way."

"You little bitch!"

"Name calling will get you nowhere."

"Does your mother know you're out here, playing on county highways in the middle of the night?"

"If she did, you would be in much greater trouble than you are now."

"Back to my first question, why are you out here?" Jenni asked, this time hoping to get to the meat of the situation.

"Stopping you from running off with her," Lexi answered.

"You can't just let this happen. I know why you are letting this happen, but it's wrong."

"You're right," said Lexi. "But this isn't going to solve it."

"Your mother is inhuman, you know that?"

"I do."

"She's willing to let all this happen, all for what? So she can take over once Terri is gone? It's absolutely crazy!"

"No one has ever accused my mother of being sane, not for a long time."

"And you," Jenni pointed an accusing finger at the little girl. "You're going to let it all happen again too, aren't ya?"

Jenni continued, not letting Lexi get a word in edgewise. "You're going to let Terri go backward in time, despite what we both know will happen, just so you'll be born!"

Lexi suddenly grew, not older or mature, but simply larger. Her face came into perfect height with Jenni, as if only so she could stare the woman straight in the eye.

"You don't understand at all," Lexis’s voice was lower, deeper and filled with anger. "It's not happening the way you think it is."

Jenni was startled. "What do you mean?"

Lexi turned and sat on the edge of the car, then deflated to her former self with a sigh.

"I know you mean well, but you need not involve yourself. Something has changed. Things aren't going to plan. There is a deviation I didn't account for."

"What?"

"Great Grandmother. She is trying to change the future."

"But she started all this mess, now she still trying to change it? Dimmit!"

"She messed up somehow. I'm sure she never intended things to work out this way."

"But what did she do?"

"She linked Terri... to mother."

"WHAT?" shrieked Jenni. "What are you talking about?"

"Terri thinks it was a dream last night. Both Grandma and I know better. She was looking through mother's eyes."

"So what? They shared a dream, or a nightmare?"

"No, worse than that. It's small now, but it will likely create a deviation that will spiral much worse in the past."

"But your mother has no idea. She wouldn't approve."

"No, she wouldn't. But she has no idea I'm here, talking to you either."

"Lexi, you know what this means?" Jenni asked hesitantly.

"I am well aware, but I would rather have it this way."

"So you don't have much time left then, do you?"

"Very little and there is much to be done."

"What do I need to do?"

"You're going to take Terri home and when you pull into the driveway, she'll wake up not remembering anything you said to her about running away."

"She's going to still be mad at me."

"It will have to do for now. She'll get over it. Right now, she has forgiveness in spades."

"Does your grandmother know what's going on?"

"No," Lexi prompted, "and I would prefer it if you didn't let her in on this. I am telling you so you stay away."

"I can't do that. I want to be there when it happens."

"When what happens?" asked Lexi.

Jenni sighed, "When you disappear forever."
 
 

~*~
 
 
To Be Continued...
 
 
End of Chapter Fourteen