DANNY Part 4 by Roberta J Cabot This is a story about Daniel, a guy with a unique talent and an even more unique problem: A great singing voice and the looks of his gorgeous sister. And about how he and his buds handle his problems with the school bully when he dresses up as a girl in the annual Halloween costume contest, how he and his family deal with his having breasts, and how he deals with getting turned on by his would-be girlfriend.  And how he ends up as the female lead singer for a high-school pop band. Never a dull moment with Batch Fourteen, and Dan & his gang.

Author’s Note: I started writing this December 2005, soon after I discovered the now-defunct Fictionmania site (which I just found out recently was resurrected), and I decided to try my hand at writing Transgender Fiction. And it took me this long to build up the courage to actually upload it for others to enjoy (or not — your option heheh). I have resurrected what little I have of my old story, and though I am by no means a real writer, I hope to finish the rest of the story asap. I first uploaded it in Crystal’s StorySite, and, though still incomplete, I was convinced to try uploading it in Topshelf as well. Feedback would be most appreciated, so I do hope people write me back through my site-registered email address.

I am by no means a real writer so I hope you will forgive any grammatical and literary flubs that you see. Further, given that this little piece had close to five years of gestation, many of the cultural referents will be off - for example, many of the songs used in the story are not current but in the story they’re treated as if they were, yet at the same time other songs are really current songs. I hope you will forgive the temporal mismatch here, and try and enjoy the story despite this.

Apologies also if the quoted lyrics are wrong — I got most of them off the net, or from my own memory — I didn’t get them off official sources.

So, without further ado, here we go with the story. Hope you like… (Don’t forget! Feedback please!!)

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Viewing Note: This story should be viewed with the Edwardian Script ITC font installed on your Windows platform in the c:/Windows/Fonts directory. Microsoft Word installs this font automatically.

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Twelve: Pajama Party Planning
 
 
***** (Drew) *****

     I opened the door and went to the living room.  I found them sitting around the couch, with Danny sitting in the middle.  Strewn on the table were the bags and boxes with the food the boys brought.  They looked at me. 

     “So?” Danielle asked.

     “So?  So, what?”

     “Tell us what happened out there.”

     “Nuthin’,” I said nonchalantly, and smiled a dreamy little smile.

     “What do you mean, nothing?  Come on, give!”

     "Maybe later," I said, and plunked myself down beside Nikki and Danny. I looked at the girls. "Aren't we supposed to go home and get our stuff?"

     "Stuff?" Danny asked.

     "Didn't they tell you?"

     "Tell me what?"

     I giggled. "Maybe later," I said. "But we all have to go home and get some things, but we'll be back as soon as we can."

     He looked puzzled.

     I patted his cheek.  "Don't worry. It's a surprise."

     "Ready?" Joanne asked. She was just shrugging on her jacket.

     "Sure," I said, and grabbed mine.  I gave Danny a kiss on the cheek and gave Danielle a quick hug. "Seeya later," I said to her, and we both giggled.
 

*          *          *
 
     Joanne dropped me off and I slammed her van’s door. "Pick something nice for her," she said, and zoomed away.

     I rushed upstairs. I knocked on my Mom and Dad's door, and went in. "Mom? Dad? Is it okay if I sleep over at Danielle's?"

     Mom reluctantly sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Dad just mumbled and turned over. "What was that, honey?" She yawned.

     I sighed a bit theatrically. "I said, 'Is it okay if I sleep over at Danielle's?"

     "Who will be there?"

     "Just the girls - Danielle, Drew, Joanne, Betsy and some of the others."

     Mom yawned again. "I guess it's alright, then... zzzzzz..."

      I giggled. "Thanks, mom. Go back to sleep." I closed their door much more gently than when I opened it.

     I went to my room and gathered some essentials. As I was picking stuff, I thought it over, and grabbed a really gauzy light-green babydoll number.  I never wore it since the bra cups were too large for me - I guess it was a case of wishful thinking on my part when I bought it.  I imagined Danny wearing it, and I tingled all over.  I also grabbed the matching pair of panties.  It was a  full pair, I guess to compensate for the fact there wasn’t anything underneath the top.

     I grabbed my Canon SLR and Speedlight flash, making sure there was a freshly charged battery in the camera as well as an SDHC card, and grabbed my full makeup kit.

     I went downstairs and waited for Joanne.
 
***** (Joanne) *****
 
     I had dropped everyone off before speeding home.  When I got home and up to my room, I was so excited my palms were actually sweating. I feverishly stuffed things in my overnighter, bussed mom on the cheek as she and Dad watched TV, and rushed out the door, yelling over my shoulder that I was sleeping over at Danielle's tonight and I slammed the door.  Mom didn't have a chance.

     I got in and tried to get the key in the ignition with my trembling hand three times. I stopped myself and took several calming breaths. It wouldn't do to wrap the van around a tree.

     I finally started the engine, took several calming breaths, and sedately pulled out of the driveway, tooting the horn and waving at mom.

     I went to Nikki's first since she was the closest, and as I pulled up to her house, I saw Nikki standing outside.  Nikki slammed their front door and ran to my van like a rocket.

     She opened the van’s back door, dropped her things, slammed it, almost ran to the passenger door and got in. She slammed the passenger door, gave me a quick peck on the cheek and said breathlessly, "let's go!"

     I put the van in Drive, and verrry slowly pulled out into the street.

     "Faster, Joanne!"

     I laughed. "You're all excited, huh?" I goosed the gas and drove faster.

     She gave me a look.  "Ha-ha," she said sarcastically, and we drove towards Janet's in companionable silence.

     "Aren't you excited, too?" she said after a while.

     I smiled sheepishly, and nodded.  "I'm so excited, I'm actually nervous."  Both of us giggled.

     I picked up Janet, Mel, then Drew and then June. The back was decidedly getting full.  The four were giggling over the stuff they brought.  June held up a bra she brought, and all four bursted out laughing.  Nikki craned her neck to find out what it was all about, only to have the bra thrown at her.  I turned to look at her, and saw her with it on her head. She looked like a rabbi wearing a yarmulke. I laughed out loud, and she threw the thing at me.
 

*          *          *
 
     I passed through the Haley’s front gate and pulled up in front of Betsy's.  Nikki stepped out to press the bell.  "Leave some room for Betsy's stuff," I called to the back, and they moved their things around.

     Betsy came out with her violin case. I waved for her to ride in front. Their butler followed, carrying a huuuge suitcase. He swung open the back door of the van and struggled to find room for the big heavy bag.  Betsy smiled at him.

     "Thank you, Walter," Betsy said.

     The big man huffed and nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow, then, miss."

     "Bye Walter," she said and hopped in beside Nikki.

     "All set?" I asked.  Betsy gave Nikki and me a hug and nodded. She waved to the girls in the back.

     "So," I said, "what do you have in the bag?”

     She giggled merrily.  “You’ll see,” she said.
 

*          *          *
 
     As I pulled up the Fairchild house, Danny came out and waved me on towards their open garage.  I drove mom’s little van in right next to Danny’s ‘stang, and as soon as I had the engine turned off, everyone started to get out.  They all gave Dan big hugs and kisses, much to his surprised delight.

     “Hey, sexy,” I called over.  “How’s about lending a poor lil ole girl like me a hand with these here bags?”  Danny gestured in a “who me” kind of gesture.  “Yes, hot stuff.  I mean you.”

     Danny gave me a very Spock-like eyebrow-raise and opened the back.  He took down Betsy’s big suitcase plus a large duffle, probably mine, and a large bulging backpack, and led the way inside, bringing the bags along.  He was struggling with Betsy’s big bag but more because of its unwieldly size than its weight.  In fact he easily lifted it up and used it to push the door to the kitchen open.

     The girls and I looked at each other.  “Danny’s pretty strong,” Betsy said.

     “No kidding,” I said.

     “C’mon in guys,” Danny called from inside.  “Where do you want this stuff, by the way?”

     We went in and walked to the living room.  Danny leaned the suitcase against the back of the sofa, with my duffle right beside it.  The rest of us piled all our stuff right near it and settled ourselves down all over the living room — Nikki sharing the big overstuffed padded chair with Danny, of course; me, Betsy and Danielle sharing the sofa, and the rest sat on the floor with various throwpillows.  Janet dragged a big beanbag chair from beside the Fairchild’s big TV, parked it near Nikki’s and Danny’s feet and plopped down on it.

     Danielle had transferred the restaurant food into bowls and plates, and we had an Italian smorgasbord on the living room table.  I heaped spaghetti on a plate and dug in, as well as the others.

     “So,” Danny began, as our hunger tapered off a bit, “what do you guys have planned for tonight?”  He popped a straw in a can of Coke Zero and daintily sipped the soda.

     “Well…” Danielle reluctantly began.

     “Planning!” Janet exclaimed.  “What else?”

     “Joanne said it might be a sleepover thing, so should I leave you girls alone?”

     “No! You’re part of it, you can’t leave us.”

     Danny looked at her in askance.

     “Well, after your revelations tonight, we gotta plan what’s best to do.  I mean, y’know, how to keep things under wraps, plan out what’s best for the gang. And the band, too, of course,” Janet dimpled.

     Danny looked down at his feet.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  Like what happened with the guys, and all.”

     “Well, they finally came around, didn’t they?” Betsy said.  “That’s something.”

     “Well, yeah…”

     “Their conscience finally got to them,” Danielle said, with some heat. “Those little…”

     Janet reached out and patted Danielle on her arm.  “Give them a break, Danielle.  They were probably freaked by all of this.  It was only natural.  The fact that they came back — that’s the more important thing.”

     “Were you,” Danny asked.

     “Huh?”

     “Were you guys freaked out, too? By what’s happened to me?”

     There was silence.

     “Well…,” Mel started to say, but faltered. “Ummm, a little?  I mean, we always thought you were a little girly.  But this thing…”

     Janet took over.  “We were, Dan.  Truthfully, we all were.  But that doesn’t matter now.  We won’t leave.  We won’t stop being your friend.”

     “Yeah, Dan,”

     “We’ll protect you,” Mel said.  Everyone murmured their agreement.

     “Thanks, guys,” Danny said, and Nikki and Danielle gave him hugs.

     “Well,” I said, standing up, “I’m stuffed.  How about we clean up a bit here and start getting ready for our ‘planning session.’”

     Everyone jumped up and picked up their plates.  There was an excited mass exodus to the kitchen.
 

*          *          *
 
     “Why don’t we just leave everything,” Mel said, “and clean up tomorrow?”

     “Nahh,” I said. “Let’s clean up, and give Nikki and Danielle time to get Danny settled with the idea. If he freaks or gets mad, the sleepover’s done even before it begins.”

     Everyone agreed.  Janet and Betsy went back and got the rest of the plates and empty Styrofoam boxes.

     It was a bit crowded around the sink, but with two washing, two wiping and two cleaning up, we’d be finished in no time.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     “I smell a setup,” I said.

     “Well, a little bit,” Danielle said.

     “Joanne said it’s gonna be a sleepover,” I said.

     “It’ll be fun, Danny!” Nikki squealed.

     “It if involves getting me to dress in girls’ clothes…”

     “Please, Danny,” Nikki begged.  “It’ll be fun!”

     I looked at Nikki, eyes glowing, so excited.  I had to laugh.  Then I sobered up.

     “Nikki, I’m a guy. Please don’t make me do this.”

     Nikki looked at me and pouted a bit.

     “Please don’t get mad, or anything like that when I ask you this,” I said, “but I really have to know.”

     She sat up, hearing the seriousness in the tone of my voice.

     “Danny,” Danielle asked.  “Are you ok?”

     “Would you mind leaving us alone, Danielle,” I asked.

     She looked at me, gently touched my cheek and got up.  “I’ll just go to the kitchen and help the girls clean up,” she said.  She gave Nikki a significant look, that protective big-sister look that she gave the guys earlier.  She walked back to the kitchen, but had to push the others back, as all of them had their ear glued to the door, eavesdropping apparently.  “Move it, girls,” Danielle said, and pushed them back.  As the door was closing, I heard the others start asking Danielle questions.
 

*          *          *
 
     With Danielle out of the couch, there was a bit more room and I moved back a bit so I could talk with Nikki a little better.

     “So, what did you want to ask me,” Nikki said.

     I took a deep breath.

     “I’ve known all of you since grade school,” I began hesitantly, “and have always been around you guys for as long as I can remember.  I’m sure you know, I’ve always, ummm, liked you.  You know?”

     She looked at me with big google-eyes.  “You have?”

     “I’m sure you must have noticed.  Danielle always said that I was so obvious about it.”

     “But, Danny…”

     I laid a finger on her lips. “Please let me finish, Nikki,” I said.  “’Coz this might be the only time I’ll have the courage to say it.”

     Nikki nodded silently.

     “In all these years,” I continued, “I’ve been so timid and scared that I couldn’t really say it to you directly.  I hoped that I’d have the chance, and the courage to actually tell you, but you never looked my way.  You just thought of me as Danielle’s geeky brother.”

     “Danny, I never thought of you…”

     I gave her a quick kiss so she’d shut up.

     “Thanks for saying that, but I know the truth.  I heard Joanne talking with you once, and that’s what she said when you guys were in the back seat of Dad’s car and I was in front, and you guys were whispering so I couldn’t hear.  But I did.”

     Nikki looked at me with bright eyes.

     “But that was before.  It’s just that, after Halloween, it’s like you changed.  I guess you started to like me then.  In that way.”

     A few tears ran down from the corners of her eyes.

     “I have to ask, is it because you like me as a girl instead of a guy?  I have to know.”

     She flung her arms around my neck and hugged me.

     “Oh, Danny,” she sobbed.  I could feel her tremble.

     “I’m sorry, Nikki,” I said.  “I guess I just need to know.”
 
***** (Nikki) *****
 
     It was a revelation to me.  I didn’t know.  Someone like Danny could have gotten anyone he liked.  And he liked me.  After all these years.  How blind could I have been?

     “Danny,” I said, “I didn’t know you felt that way.”

     Danny laughed quietly, sadly.  “Thanks for saying so, Nikki. But how could you not?”

     “But I didn’t!  Honest and truly!” I pushed away from him so I could look into his eyes.  “Ask Danielle.  Hell, ask any of the girls.”

     “But what about that time in the car?”

     “Was I the one who said whatever it was that you heard?”

     “No, it was Joanne, but…”

     “No buts, Dan.  I never did. In fact…”

     “In fact, what?”

     “In fact, I thought you were the one who didn’t like me.”

     He looked at me incredulously.

     “Remember your tenth birthday?  I gave you that video CD of Princess Mononoke that you were pestering your parents for.  You just took the disk and ran away. I was so hurt when you did.  I hated you for it.  Danielle said that I should just ignore you, and I did.  I just thought you didn’t like me.  So I stayed away and tried to ignore you.”

     “I remember that.  I’m so sorry, Nikki.  But that was such a long time ago.”

     “Danny, I did like you.  I thought you were nice and kind, and real, real cute.  But since you always disappeared when I was around, or didn’t even speak to me, I sort of thought that you didn’t like me back. Especially after that CD thing. I thought I didn’t have a chance so I never thought of you in that way again.”

     “But, Nikki, we were only ten years old then.”

     “Still.”

     He looked at me, and I looked back. Those incredible green eyes…  I had to tear myself away.

     “I’m so sorry, Nikki,” he said.  “The reason I ran away was I was too shy. I was so stupid.”

     “Yes, you were,” I giggled, and sniffed back some tears.

     “But what changed, Nikki,” he asked.  “What made you think differently at Halloween?”

     “When you were in costume, you were more open, you hung around with us - with me.  I saw it then, that you were interested.  It changed for me.  To know that you were interested.”

     He looked down, hesitating.

     “But, still,…” he said, haltingly, “do you like me as a girl, or as a guy?”

     I looked down and thought about it.  Danny was so incredibly hot as a girl.  So sexy and so talented.  So sweet.  But then again, if he were a guy… I tried imagining him with a shorter haircut, in clothes similar to what, say, Morgan would wear. The image persisted — he’d still be talented and sweet. And sexy…

     But I thought again of him wearing that costume from last Halloween.  There was a different dimension to him, it was true, at least to me, I liked him more in his girl persona.  Even if he were trying to be a guy in guy duds, that feminine aura would still be around him. He would never escape his girliness, regardless.  In a way, I was happy for that.  Because… Danny as a guy — I would love forever.  But, as a girl, he was incredible.

     I looked back to him.  He had a worried look.  Do I like him as a girl or as a guy?

     All this is a revelation.  But more than that — for all my old little-girl dreams of him that were dashed, I now discovered him, or maybe it’s “rediscovered.” Now that I have him, I found I wouldn’t… couldn’t give him up.  And if I ever tell him the truth, could I lose him again? I couldn’t risk that.  Even if I lose Dan-the-girl, at least I would have Dan-the-guy. So I won’t tell him the truth. The whole truth, at least.

     “Danny,” I said to him. “It wouldn’t matter to me whether you’re a guy or a girl.  I would love you no matter what.”  I kissed him and hugged him close.  I don’t want to hurt him. Please let him believe that.

     He put his hands on the back of my head, moving them restlessly through my hair as he kissed me. I was about to faint. Oh, God, don’t let this end.
 

*          *          *
 
     After what felt like a long time, I pulled back.  I shook myself in happiness. Danny was smiling a merry smile.

     “So,” I said. “What do you want to do tonight?  The girls will be disappointed, but that’s okay.  How do you want us to handle this?”  I thought a bit and I giggled.

     “What’s so funny?”

     “The girls have big plans for tonight.”  I reached over and touched his cheek.  “But don’t worry, you don’t need to do anything you don’t want to. I’ll take care of it.”  I stood up to go to the kitchen, but Danny put his had on my arm and held me back. “Wait, Nikki.”

     I hunkered down on my haunches and put my hand over his. “What, Danny.”

     “Does it matter to you, that I be a girl?”

     “Danny…” I looked at his face.  “It doesn’t matter. Guy or girl, it doesn’t matter to me.  I promise.  So long as you keep being mine.”  I leaned over and kissed him again.

     He looked at me, deep into my eyes.  It felt like he was looking deep into my soul.  It was wonderful.

     One side on his lips quirked up.  “Well, okay.”  He grinned at me.  “But if it means that much to the girls…”

     “What are you saying?”

     He grinned again - that merry smile of his…

     “It could be fun?”

     I couldn’t keep my eyes from falling out of their sockets. “What?”

     “I said it could be fun.”

     I started kissing him all over his face.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     Nikki started giving me butterfly kisses, making me giggle. I hugged her close to stop it.

     “Nikki, Nikki,” I said, but she wouldn’t listen. “Nikki!”

     She pulled back. “What?”

     “How’s about we clean up here and bring everything to the kitchen?”

     Nikki pouted but relented.

     We picked up all of the remaining plates and stuff and went to the kitchen.

     I heard noises from behind the door.  “We’re coming in!” I called and there was a lot of scuffling.  I pushed the door open with my elbow.  Everyone was busy, apparently.  Janet, Drew and June were busy at the sink, Joanne was dumping stuff in a plastic trashbag, and Mel and Betsy were at the kitchen table sipping on cokes.  All suspiciously innocent.

     “So,” Danielle said while putting away plates. “Had a good talk?”

     “Pretty okay,” Nikki dimpled.  We deposited our stuff by the sink.

     “So,” I said. “When’s this ‘planning session’ starting?”
 
***** (Janet) *****
 
     We all moved back into the living room.

     "So what now?" Danny asked.  “Not like I’m suspicious or anything.”

     Good question, I said to myself.

     "I'm not leaving this room except to go to bed and sleep," Danny warned.

     “How about playing a little cards,” I said.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     We were all sitting on the floor, sitting around the living room table.  “I’ll take one,” I said.  I laid one of my cards on the table in front of a pile of clothes — my winnings.  Janet dealt me one.  The rest of the girls looked at me, studying my moves. Was I bluffing or not?  I waggled my eyebrows at them.  Joanne gave me a sour look.

     Drew shook her head — she was staying with what she had.  June took one.

     “I’m taking three,” Betsy said, and Janet dealt her three.

     “And the dealer also takes three.”  Janet gave herself three new cards.

     Nikki, Danielle and Mel took the smart road.  They had quit earlier when they got down to their blouses and panties. 

     Not with these others.

     So far, I’ve only lost my shirt, shoes and socks.  The tanktop wasn’t too warm but I bet I was warmer than the others.  Janet, Joanne, Drew and June only had their bras and panties on, though Betsy still had on her blouse.

     “What the hell kind of sleepover is this, Joanne,” Drew grumped.

     “Shut up,” Joanne growled.

     “I call,” Drew said.

     Betsy took off her blouse.  “I bet,” Betsy said, and threw her blouse on the table.

     “Wait your turn,” Janet said.

     “I bet!”

     “Okay, okay!” she said.  “No need to bite a person’s head off.”  Janet turned to June.  “How ‘bout you, June?”

     June threw her cards down. “I’m out. Damnit!”

     I giggled.  June glared at me.  Woah! This game’s becoming pretty intense.

     Joanne reached down and pulled off a pair of bobby socks.  “I see your bet, and raise.”  I didn’t see her socks.

     It was my turn, I guess.  So I took off my pants. There was a simultaneous intake of breath.  “I see your bet.”  I tucked my legs underneath and sat on my haunches.

     “Wait!” Joanne said.  “I put down a pair of socks.”

     “I bet a pair of pants,” I giggled and stuck my tongue out.

     Joanne snorted, and turned to Janet. “Okay, your turn...”

     Joanne’s voice trailed off as Janet put her cards down, squirmed around and tossed her panties on the pile.  Everyone howled.  My eyes goggled at that.  I was starting to lean down when Nikki smacked me on my ear. “Ow!”

     “Eyes front, Danny!”

     “Okay, okay!” I rubbed my ear.

     Janet was beet red but continued on, as if nothing unusual just happened.  “So who’s next?”

     “Goddamnit!” Drew threw her cards down.

     “I fold, too, I guess…” Betsy quit as well.

     Joanne shook her head and laid down her cards, too.

     Janet turned to me.  “Looks like it’s you and me left, Danny-boy,” Janet said.

     I thought about it, but my hand was too good — a straight flush.  I looked around and made a decision.  I put my cards down, turned around and skinned my shirt off.  “Okay. I bet.”  I threw my tanktop on the table and kept one of my arms over my boobs.

     Everyone looked at me, or rather my chest.  “What!” I exclaimed.  I turned to Janet.  “Your bet,” I said.

     Janet shook her head and looked at her cards again. And then back at my boobs. “Ummm, I call.”

     “Call with what,” I said.

     “Okay, okay,” Mel said.  She took off her blouse.  “Here you go, Janet.”  She put the blouse on the table.

     Janet nodded to Mel.  “Thanks, hon,” Janet said.  “Okay, Danny. I call. Let’s see your cards.”

     Keeping my boobs covered, I turned over my cards one-handed.  “Straight flush.  Ten of hearts.”

     “Shit,” Janet exclaimed and turned over a full house.

     Everyone made sympathetic sounds.  There was a moment of silence as they all glanced at me, waiting to see what I would do.

     I gulped and, before things could get ugly, I gestured at my winnings.  “How about let’s quit while I’m ahead.  Before you guys kill me, okay?”  I picked up Janet’s panties and handed it to her.

     Janet looked at me, and I shrugged with a little apologetic grin.  I waved my hands over the clothes and everyone reached out for their clothes.  I snagged my tanktop and put it on, glad to have my breasts covered again.

     While everyone put on their clothes, I went to Janet.  “No hard feelings, Janet? It was only a game…”  I had my hand out.

     Janet looked at my hand, and then me. “C’mere.” She said, and pulled me into a hug.

     “I’m sorry, Janet,” I said into her hair, and she just hugged me harder.

     Nikki came over and hugged us both.

     “What now,” June asked.
 

*          *          *
 
     Everyone had their stuff out, and we were in the middle of the Big Debate, i.e. what I was supposed to wear for tonight.  Seems everyone had ideas about it.  Nikki was taking pictures.

     “What do you think of these,” Joanne asked and held up a pajama set, made up of a pair of ivory-colored silk capri-length pajama bottoms and a silk cami-style top.  “Cute!” Mel said.  Nikki’s camera flashed as Mel held up the pajama set.

     Janet brought out her own offering, a smokey, sheer-mesh babydoll lingerie set that came to the middle of the thigh.  The cups had touches of black lace and was fitted just under the cups.  I looked at the label and it said Frederick’s.  Mel whistled.

     “Now I don’t want to bring out what I brought anymore,” said Mel.

     Everyone cried “no.” 

     “We want to see it!” Drew and June said.  Mel brought out a little sleepshirt — a cotton number with little polka-dot animal prints, short sleeves and a round neck, plus some ruching detail around the neck.  Everyone agreed that it was pretty cute.

     June and Drew brought out theirs.  Not surprisingly, both of them brought nighties.  June’s was a nice mid-thigh length periwinkle number with ribbon detail around the bust.  Drew’s was a powder-blue version, one of the panels in front laying over the other.  It was fitted around the waist.  To my un-feminine eye, at least these two looked almost as comfortable as Mel’s sleepshirt. Nikki’s flash fired a couple of times.

     Betsy brought out a purple and red-striped “long jane” pajama made of some cozy cotton-spandex thermal material, with a scoopneck henley top with a front pocket. It was paired with a pair of banded crop pants with a drawstring.

     “How about you, Danielle,” Janet asked.  “What did you bring?”

     Danielle waved her away.  “Danny’s probably seen most of what I have already.  It’s okay.  Whatever you guys like is fine.”  She looked to Nikki.  “What did you bring, Nikki?”

     Nikki looked at me.  “Only if you want to, Danny,” she said to me.  Nikki brought out a really short gauzy thing in pastel green, with a cute green bow in the middle of the underwired cups.  A “tux lux” from Victoria’s Secret, the label said.

     “Wow!”

     “Now that’s got to be the one!”

     “Wait, wait!” Nikki said.  “We let Danny decide.”

     I looked around at the expectant faces.  I didn’t want to disappoint any of them, but looking at some of the clothes… I went for a compromise.

     “I think, if it’s okay, can I start easy?”  I went and picked up Betsy’s “long jane.”  “Would it be all right if I tried this one, Betsy? At least it covers everything.”  Betsy noddd like crazy and gave me a hug.

     “Okay, girls,” Danielle said.  “Let’s get ready.”  She clapped her hands. “Chop chop!”  Danielle grabbed my hand.  “Danny, you come with me.”

     I stumbled up the stairs as Danielle dragged me, Betsy’s pajama set in hand.

     “If you guys need an extra bathroom,” she called downstairs, “there’s another one up here.”

     Danielle dragged me into her room and parked me on her bed.

     In moments, she gave me a little package.  She shooed me into her en-suite bathroom.  “Go ahead, Danny, put that and the pajamas on.”

     I went into the bathroom, closed the door and, except for my socks, took off all my clothes.  I looked at the package that she gave me.  It looked like a set of three briefs from a place called TG.Net. One was white, one was red, and one was flesh-colored.  I read the label and instructions.  Apparently, they were called gaffs, and they were supposed to hide male genitals by binding them down.  According to the instructions, there were two ways of doing that — the first way was that you were supposed to put your penis between your legs.  The second way was the same as the first, except you were also supposed to push your testicles into the abdominal cavity.  The second method sounded painful but it said that was the preferred way if you were wearing something tight and form-fitting.

     The second sounded painful, and a bit dangerous, so I decided to do the first method.  I picked the bright-red pair and struggled to put it on, making sure Junior was tucked between my legs.  I looked in the mirror and, despite a shallow bump, it looked like I had a passable female crotch.  Thing was, it was a thong gaff.

     “Danny?” Danielle called.  “Can I come in?”

     I was just wearing socks and the red gaff, but Danielle started coming in.  I was looking around for something to wear but it was too late.  I bowed to the inevitable.  Anyway Danielle had seen everything before.

     She came in wearing a cute green-and-white shorty pajama, and she saw me practically nude save for the tight red underwear.

     “Good god, Danny,” she said. “You’re gorgeous!”

     “I’m naked,” I said, a blush creeping up my neck and face.

     “Yes, you are,” she said. “And you’re gorgeous.” She giggled.

     I harrumphed, and tried to put on as much dignity as I could.  I went to the counter and put on Betsy’s pajamas.  I buttoned up the front buttons except for the last ones and pulled on the pants.  They really did look a bit like long johns but without the flap at the back, thank god.

     “Come here,” Danielle said.

     I went over, and Danielle combed my hair.  “There you go,” she said when she was finished.  I looked at the mirror, and the girl from the Halloween party was back.
 
***** (Nikki) *****
 
     I thought of wearing the green babydoll I brought, but I chickened out.  I took out another more… demure outfit — a cute, short-sleeved mid-thigh light pink sleepshirt with “Victoria’s Secret” printed in front in relatively small glittery letters.

     The others were wearing the stuff they showed off earlier except Betsy, who was wearing a very sheer ivory nightie.  “What are you doing, wearing that,” Janet said.  I shrugged.

     We looked up to see Danny and Danielle going down the stairs.  They were bringing down piles and piles of pillows and blankets.  “I figured you guys would want to stay downstairs where there’s more room,” Danielle said.

     “I brought down my dad’s and my camping bedrolls, too,” Danny said, lifting them up and showing us. He really is pretty strong.

     We met them on the landing and took some of the stuff.

     Danny helped move the living room table and set up the bedrolls that he brought down.

     I went with Danielle and Mel to the kitchen and got some chips, some dip and soda.  Danielle took out a couple of plates of brownies from the pantry and brought that out, too.

     We all settled down in various places on around the living room.  I took a couple of pictures and settled down myself.

     “So what is it that girls do in a sleepover,” Danny asked.

     “Y’know — all that cliché stuff,” Joanne said.

     “What,” Danny asked. “Makeup?  Painting toenails and telling each other ghost stories?”

     “Sure!” Drew and June said together, and then giggled.

     “Well, this sleepover’s gonna be different,” Janet said.

     “It is?”

     “Yup,” Janet said.  “This is going to be a serious planning session.”  Janet look at the girls and after a beat, we all burst out laughing.

     Betsy looked at us sadly.  “But I brought my entire makeup kit and everything…”  We all began laughing again. 

     Janet went to her and gave her a hug. “Honey,” Janet said, “I was joking.  We’ll do all of that, and then some.”

     I took a picture of Betsy and Janet.
 

*          *          *
 
     We all settled down for some serious girly fun.  I ended up braiding Danny’s hair and Danny was braiding Betsy’s.  Betsy insisted.  The others were scattered around us. Janet got my camera and took a picture at us three.

     “Danny,” Joanne said, as she painted Mel’s toenails, “What happened, earlier.  Y’know, in the bathroom at the restaurant.”

     I felt Danny tense up a bit.  I leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

     “I think you know,” he said.

     “A little bit. From what the guys said.”

     “They wanted to see, they said. So I showed them.”

     “And you showed them?”  Janet asked.

     “Well, yeah.  It’s not as if I had a choice.  I was trapped in the bathroom.  I dropped my top and my pants.”

     “What? They made you!?”  Danielle shrieked.

     “Chill, Danielle,” Dan said.  “They didn’t. Well, not exactly. But I was in there with all of them.  Good thing Morgan and Dale came in.”

     “But what did they do, Danny,” June asked.

     “They made me take my shirt off.  Actually, looking back at it, they didn’t do much.  I guess they just wanted to see.”

     Danielle snorted.

     “Janet was right, Danielle,” Danny said, “you can’t really blame them.  If it was the reverse, and they had my, ummm, problem, I would probably want to see, too.”

     “They’re good people, Danielle,” Janet said. “A little weird, but…”

     “Hey, those are my buds!” Danny said.

     “But they ARE weird, right?” Janet said.

     “Well… yeah?”  Drew and June giggled.

     “They were just curious.  And I wasn’t hurt.  Just terribly embarrassed. I’ll survive.”  I leaned down and hugged him.  Everyone else murmured their sympathies.

     “Danny?” Betsy said after a while.

     “Yeah, honey?”

     “Can we… see, too?”  I felt Danny tense up again.

     This was greeted with silence.

     “But only if you want to, Danny.”  Betsy turned around, dislodging Danny’s hands. She looked into his eyes.  “Only if you want to. I’m sorry.”

     After a beat, he hugged Betsy.

     Danny sighed.  “I guess we won’t get passed this until I give you guys a peek.”

     Danielle stood up.  Danny made a patting gesture. “It’s cool, Danielle.”  He turned to me.  “Let me up, Nikki.”  I finished off his braid and helped him up.

     As he stood, he unbuttoned the buttons of the Henley top of his borrowed pajama and pulled it over his head.  He threw it away and stood naked from the waist up.  We were all around him, with mouths agape.

     “Yup, it’s boobs, all right,” Joanne said sarcastically, and there was nervous laughter.

     I was about to touch the left breast but I stopped.  “Can I, Danny?”

     He looked at me and gave me a nod.

     I reached out and touched it.  “She looks like a real girl.” June marveled.

     “It’s real,” Drew whispered, and they all reached out to touch her, too.  I looked into Danny’s face and he had his eyes closed in embarrassment.

     I batted their hands away. “Stop it!”  I picked up Danny’s pajama top and handed it to him.  “We’re sorry, Danny,” I said as we watched him put his top back on.

     Danny cleared his throat, eyes unusually bright.  “I’m glad that’s over,” he said in an overwrought voice, trying to be humorous.

     “Oh, Danny,” I said, and hugged her.
 
***** (Janet) *****
 
     I couldn’t take my mind off of Danny’s image in my mind.  She’s so gorgeous.  I looked at her, lying on the bedroll, Nikki wrapped around her protectively.  I tried to bring my mind back to the conversation.

     “I think the school situation’s okay,” Betsy was saying.  “Has anyone been suspicious, Danny?”

     Danny shook her head.  “Although,” she said, “everyone probably considers me gay, by now.”

     “How do you figure that?”

     Danny shrugged.  “Just a feeling,”

     “I don’t think anyone does, Danny,” Nikki said.

     Danny shrugged.

     “But unless Danny keeps on wearing those baggy shirts,” Joanne said, “she’ll be found out.”

     “I don’t mind,” Danny said.

     “But wouldn’t you want other dress options?  With your sports bras, I don’t think you have a choice except those crappy shirts.”

     “Danny?”  Danielle said, “maybe you should show them that padded suit Mom bought.”

     “I don’t think so.”

     After a lot of cajoling, Danny relented.  Danny and her sister went upstairs to fetch whatever it was they were talking about.  When they came down, Danny was topless again.  But this time…

     “What happened?” Joanne asked, “What happened to your boobs.”

     Danielle giggled.  “Just camouflaged,” she said. “They’re still there.”

     “Camouflaged?”

     “Show them, Danny.”

     So Danny stood in the middle again and posed like a bodybuilder.

     “What is that!” Nikki exclaimed.

     Upon a closer look, we found that she was wearing some kind of padded spandex t-shirt.  It had padding built around a hollow for her breasts.  The result was that Danny looked like he had a semi-buff man’s chest underneath a tight muscle shirt.

     “Wow!” June said.

     “Hey, handsome,” I said.  Danny smiled and waved me down.

     “With the padded t-shirt, Danny can wear any clothes he wants, and look good doing it, too,” Danielle  giggled.

     I looked at Danny, devouring the image of him.  “Well,” I said.  “That solves that problem.”

     “How about the band,” Danny asked.  “What do we do about that?”

     We thought about it some.

     “I have an idea,” Betsy said.  “If ever they think Danny is a girl when he’s supposed to be a guy, we allow them to think he’s a girl.”

     “Eh?” I said, not getting her idea.

     “And then we just say it’s been Danielle all along.”

     We looked at each other.

     “That’s brilliant!” Nikki exclaimed, and gave her a hug.

     “If Danielle agrees, that is,” Nikki said.

     “Of course, I agree!” Danielle exclaimed.

     And we whiled away the rest of the night.  Danny changed out of the padded shirt and back into her pajama top, and we did paint each other’s toenails, and stories were told, but more important than that, we got to know each other.

     In the middle of the night, we ordered some pizza, and, since Danny was feeling so comfortable in her pajamas, she completely forgot about it and answered the door.  The delivery boy’s eyes fairly fell out of his eyes as Danny paid for the pies, and when Danny had the door closed, she growled, “I’m gonna get you guys.”  We all burst out laughing.  Nikki’s camera flashed again.

     We finally fell asleep at about four a.m. Sunday morning, in a jumble all around Danny, most of us in the middle of the makeshift-bedroll mattress.

     I guess my idea for a “planning session” was a good idea after all.
 
 
Thirteen: Girl Band
 
 
***** (Danny) *****

     A few weeks later, Janet got wind of a contest for girl bands, and she desperately wanted us to join. All of the good girl-bands in the area were joining, and she wanted to 'show them up.' Dale said, "duh" and pointed to us three guys. Janet explained that the rules of the contest allowed for male bandmembers so long as at least half of the band are girls, and the lead is a girl.  They all looked at me.

     "Hey! " Janet exclaimed. "I'm the lead, not Danny." Suddenly it became quiet. I blushed in embarassment.

     Dale, always the best at making peace, cleared his throat. "Well, yes, you are," he said, trying to be diplomatic about it. "But in most of our songs, Dan sings the lead."

     "Coincidence!" Janet exclaimed.

     "Well, maybe," he said. "But it's still impossible for us to join 'cause we got three guys and only two girls."

     Janet was about to respond, but suddenly shut her mouth.

     "That's right," she whispered to herself. "I didn't think of that."

     June snapped her fingers. "We could ask Betsy to join us and be the third girl."

     "Hey!" Janet exclaimed. "That's a good idea!" She rushed over to a phone and called up Betsy.

     "That's dumb,"  I said.

     "What?" June asked.

     "Three guys, two girls. Duh!"

     June looked at me. "Don't get mad, Dan, but I think the reason Janet made the mistake..."

     "Yeah?"

     "Subconsciously, Janet probably thinks of you more as a girl. I know I do." Everybody became deathly quiet.

     She hurried over to me and gave me a hug. "Don't get mad at us, Dan. But the way you look and sound, and the way you act sometimes - I think anyone would make the same mistake."

     I pushed her away. "But you know I'm a guy!"

     She reluctantly let go. "I know that," she explained. "But, even so. Ever since you first auditioned for the band and sang 'We Just Can't Get Enough', I've thought of you as a girl.  In fact, after that audition, the four of us were arguing if you really were a guy or not. And Dale said that it didn't matter, and you were by far the best we could have hoped for." June stopped and drew in a ragged breath. I looked into her eyes, and she looked into mine.

     "And when we got to know you, and all of us became friends, and even though everyone said that you were really a guy, I guess, deep down, I didn't believe it. And at the restaurant when you and Danielle made your announcement, and later on at your house?"

     I had a moment of fear that June might say something in front of the guys. She must have seen it in my eyes because she smiled a bit and shook her head subtly.

     I nodded - both in acknowledgement of her forbearance, as well as to let her continue.

     "It explained a lot. But, even so, my mind refused to believe it, I guess. I kept on thinking of you as my best girlfriend."

     She sniffed, and hung her head. "I hope you're not mad." The floodgates opened and she started crying softly. "I don't want to loose you..."

     I gathered her into a hug. I tried not to let loose, too, but I had a really hard time keeping the tears in check.

     "You're never gonna loose me," I said. "Never ever ever." I rocked us a little.

     "This is what I mean," she said. "You're so considerate, you're so thoughtful and nice..."

     "You're my friend. How can I not?"

     "Thank you," she said. I gave her a friendly kiss on the lips.

     Her eyes went wide, and she shivered. Oh, no, I thought. Betsy Haley and the Rehearsal Fiasco all over again.

     June shook herself, gave me a big hug and smiled at me.

     "I love you," she whispered.

     I smiled nervously, and said, "I love you, too." I mean, what else can I say.

     Janet came back from her phone call with Betsy, fuming mad.

     "Well, that's it," she barked, and flopped down beside me.

     "What's it?" Dale asked.

     "Betsy is doing something with her folks upstate. She'll try and be there, but she said she wasn't sure, so we better count her out. So, that's it. Arrgh!"

     I looked at her. She really wanted this. I looked at the others, and they were looking back at me.

     "Janet?"

     "Yeah?" she grumped.

     "if you really wanna do this..."

     "Yeah?"

     "I'll be your third girl..."

          We decided to transfer all of the songs we had taped onto CDs. Or at least the ones when one of us had the forethought to record them. Most of what we had came courtesy of Marie, our sound mixer-cum-manager. Roughly three-fourths of the songs that we had on tape were songs by women, and were a little relieved by that. We started poring over them and selected nine of them for the demo CD, all of them with me on lead vocals. Janet wasn’t too happy about that, but was shouted down by the rest of the band, especially by Dale. But he was almost always shouting anyway.

     Morgan had offered to transfer the tapes to CDs, because he just got this awesome new Pentium V at home, with an incredible sound card from Creative Labs, a set of Altec Lansing speakers, and a new CD-RW drive. He had also gotten hold of a bootleg copy of the latest version of the Xing audio ripper from somewhere, and was itching to test it out. I gave him a box of blank CD-Rs and a couple of DVD-Rs, and he boogied on home with our tapes, happy as a clam.

     With all of this preparation, we never saw Kyle. We wondered at that, but he seemed to have dropped out of our little circle. We didn't really understand it. Morgan told me later that, maybe, Kyle was a closet homophobe, and my... situation wasn't something he could easily take, and decided to fade out of our lives. Weeks later, we'd find out that his family had relocated altogether, to somewhere in the midwest, and the gossip was that Kyle experienced a kind of breakdown and the family moved to be near a specialist that knew how to treat people like Kyle.

     We all didn't appreciate his just going away, but, if the rumors were true, I felt sad for him, and couldn't help but wish him well. He was one of us, after all, and a friend.

     The following Monday, Morgan came back with six CD’s and one DVD. He had transferred all of the tapes to CD as well as put together the master demo disc. In the DVD, he put in all the songs in WAV format, another set in MP3 format, plus the raw, untouched versions. I asked for the rest of the blank CDs back, but he said they were his. Professional fee, he said. I said, sure, he could have them, and if I knew how cheaply he worked, we’d have him do more stuff for us. He mimed throttling my neck and I faked choking.

     We popped the demo CD into my CD player and listened. Morgan had cleaned it up enormously, and it sounded very professional. Morgan looked down in false humility, and said it was nothing. I hit him on the head with a throwpillow from the couch, and we all laughed.

     He had used Sound Forge to get rid of the noise, rebalance the sound and remove the unwanted noise, echo and reverb. I was amazed because I knew that was hard to do, and he was able to do it in a couple of days.

     Janet thanked him and bussed him on the cheek. She giggled as Morgan staggered around in mock delirium, so I thumped him on the head again. We had Mongo fill out the contest application form (he had the best penmanship), and he filled in our names. We decided to put in my name as Dannie, so it would sound like a girl’s, and put in a freemail e-mail address ([email protected]) as our notification address.

     Mongo dropped it at the mall drop-box along with the CD, grumbling why they couldn’t put up a site where we could electronically drop it in, but in a week’s time, we found out that we were one of ten finalists. Whoopee!

     Then it dawned on me. Ohmigod. I never counted on us getting to the finals. I did this just to keep peace with Janet. I turned to Danielle, panic stricken. She gave me a wink and a smile. Oh-oh. Shades of Halloween.
 

*          *          *
 
     In the afternoon, Janet, June and me, along with Danielle, Nikki and Drew, went to the mall to do some clothes-shopping for some costumes for the big night. I tried weaseling out but they would not hear of it. But first, Danielle brought me up to her room and put together an outfit for me. “It wouldn’t do to go shopping for girl clothes when you’re wearing your guy clothes,” she said.

     The ensemble she picked out was very casual but nice. But she swore a lot when she found out that, though they fit OK, the pants were just a little too short, as I now had more than an inch or so on her. She looked nonplussed for a moment, and then snapped her fingers. “I got it,” she exclaimed. She went into Mom and Dad’s room, cussed, and ran downstairs to the laundry room. She came back up with one of Dad’s newly-washed white button-downs. She threw them down on the bed, went to a cabinet and rooted around and came up with a white frilly bra and matching panties. She reached under her bed and brought out a pair of medium-heeled short boots. “Now, we’re in business!”

     I curiously picked up Dad’s shirt. “What’s this? Dad’s shirt will be too big for me, and it’s not even ironed yet.”

     “Who’s been dressing like a girl since she was born? I know what I’m doing. Now get into these clothes!”

     I gave her a raised eyebrow but complied. I turned around and took off my clothes, hurriedly pulling on the panties, her white bra, as well as Dad’s shirt. The shirt ballooned around me ridiculously. I buttoned it up but it still looked way too big.

     I felt a little surprised in that the bra fit me fine. I thought it was probably an old pair of hers when her boobs were smaller. And it felt cooler since there was less material. She went over and undid the top two buttons, and buttoned down the collars. “There! That’s better,” she said.

     I was about to put on the jeans, but she handed me a pair of what looked like white tube socks, but made of some thinner material. “Put these on first. It’ll help with the boots and pants.”

     I obediently put them on, and then slid into the pants. God, but the pants were tight! But when they went over my hips, they suddenly became more comfortable. I could button it closed without difficulty. I looked in the mirror and saw my genitals outlined in the thin denim. Danielle saw it, too. “Wait a sec,” I said. I turned my back on Danielle and I pulled down the pants and underwear. I tucked my dick between my legs - not the most comfortable thing to do but I’ll survive - and pulled up the panties and jeans.

     Danielle had a big grin. She had seen everything in the mirror! I blushed to the roots of my red hair.  Later, I would find that, though well camouflaged and totally hidden, with my genitals trapped in the tight pants, it made me walk, not exactly, but almost close to, a mincing kind of walk, and it made my bubble-butt sway from side to side in the skin-tight denim.

     “Maybe I should wear the gaff pants,” I said.

     “Nahhh,” Danielle answered.  “You’re fine with the panties.”

     She stopped me for a moment, untucked the shirt tails, and then ordered me to button up the pants. I was beet red by then. I turned back to the mirror.  She had me turn around and reached around me to grasp my shirt tails.  She then knotted it just below my breasts, displaying my bare, flat midriff and bellybutton.  I blushed again.  "You're an innie, too," Danielle said.

     "So?"

     "Nikki likes innies."

     "Eh?"

     She giggled. "I just thought I'd mention it."

     I have to say that the outfit looked fine in the mirror - very casual, but sexy. Just like the sort of the outfit Danielle or the others would wear if they were just hanging out with each other or something.

     Danielle unbuttoned another button on the shirt. You can just glimpse my bra and breasts. I harrumphed, sat on the bed and pulled the boots on.     But the pants were just a tad too short.  I discovered that the boots were just high enough that the jeans tucked into them. I stood up, and Danielle came over. She rolled the sleeves up to just above my elbows, not in neat folds but like you would roll up socks, put a thin, girl-type watch on my left wrist, and several plastic bangles around my right. She gave me a thin gold necklace to wear, with a small gold cross, as well as big matching gold clip-on hoop earrings.

     She looked at my face a bit, and decided to put on some very light make-up: a little powder, mascara, and a very light-red lipstick. She ran a brush over my hair, fluffed it out a bit and tied it back into a casual ponytail.

     She went to the pants I had taken off and took out the stuff in the pockets. “Hey! What are you doing?” She then dumped all the stuff into a small purse, as well as some of her other female stuff - a small hairbrush, compact, tissues, lipstick and such.  I was obscurely relieved at that since I had been wondering where to put my wallet and other stuff.  The pockets on the jeans that I had on were more for show than for utility.

     She handed the purse to me, grabbed her own purse, and then pulled me out of the room. “Come on,” she cried. “Let’s do some shopping!”

     The girls were downstairs, waiting.

     "Woah," said June.  "Babe alert!"

     "Lookin' good, girlfriend," Janet quipped.

     Nikki went up to me, looking me up and down. I blushed, and felt like a side of beef in a butcher shop. I giggled nervously. "You likeee?" I asked jokingly.

     She stepped up close and whispered. "Yes, baby. I like. I like a lot." She kissed me deeply, and rubbed my bare stomach.

     I groaned as my pecker tried painfully to escape.  Nikki giggled, and tortured me some more.

     "Ahem!" Danielle said loudly. "I thought we were shopping?" Nikki finally stopped kissing me, and breathing real hard - harder than me even. Was she actually sweating?
 

*          *          *
 
     I drove us to the mall in my newly-tuned and painted ‘Stang (care of Mrs. Piper), and craned my neck around looking for a parking space. It was crowded in my car, but the girls were making a boisterous time of it. Danielle and Nikki shared the front passenger seat, and the rest sat in the back. They were all giggling together, even Drew and June. I wondered if all girls got excited by the idea of shopping.

     “There’s one!” Drew pointed at an empty slot. Seeing another car heading for the same spot, I slammed down on the gas and beat him to it by a few seconds.

     He was about to yell something at us, but Danielle elbowed me. “Smile!” she growled. I gave the guy my sweetest apologetic girly-smile.

     He smiled back, and shrugged it off. He waved, beeped his horn once, and drove off to search for another slot.
 

*          *          *
 
     I walked to the mall with smallish mincing steps, surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls, mortified that I was dressed and made up to look like a girl myself. With my swaying butt and short steps, I moved like a girl, too.  Everytime someone looked our way, I would blush in shame and try to hide behind the girls.

     Danielle pulled me back. “Now, now, Danny, don’t be shy!”

     “People might see me!”

     We walked to the mall entrance, with June and Drew to either side of me. Nikki, Janet and Danielle walked behind us, gabbing a mile a minute.
 
***** (Janet) *****
 
     I couldn't decide whether to keep up with the others or to tag behind.  I decided to stay back so I could have a better view of Dan’s butt.  The sway of Danny’s behind was having an effect on my state of mind. I know Danny’s a boy, but I started having trouble seeing him as one. No matter how hard I tried to look elsewhere, my eyes kept wandering to the curve of his hips and butt. I never knew I had some lesbian tendencies. Looking at Danny’s backside, I reluctantly confirmed it.  But, I guess my mind sort of rationalized it away.  He’s a boy, after all, I said to myself.  But deep in my mind, I had already started thinking of her as more female than male.
 

*          *          *
 
     We went into the mall and proceeded down the promenade. Our route took us past an arcade. The side facing the aisle was a big picture window, and we could see the kids playing, and they could see out, too.  Several boys saw us and began to whistle and shout rude and lascivious remarks. Danny looked over and spotted someone intently involved with one of the video games. He looked at the other guys standing around him and blanched.  The anxiety that Danny was doing a passable job of suppressing resurfaced abruptly like an underwater explosion. "Danielle! Some of our classmates are in there!" Danny squeaked, his throat constricted in fear. "Ohmigod! What if they see me?"

     I quickly looked in the direction of the arcade. Drew noticed the boys who were starting to try and get our attention. "That’s my brother Jim and his friends,” Drew said. “Umm... I think they've already seen us. Look, just keep going and try not to act nervous."

     The guy, Jim, playing the video game looked up from the machine to see what his homeys were carrying on about. When he saw us babes cruising by, he recognized Danielle and Drew. "Hey, Drew!" he yelled to us, to be heard above the noise. "Yo, Drew!"

     We quickened our pace and were well past the arcade when Drew heard Jim calling. She had to look back over her shoulder to verify her suspicions. "Nooo! Not now!" she said to herself, exasperated. Glancing around the immediate area, she addressed us, "You guys go over to that shop and look at the lingerie in the window. Keep Danny outta sight as much as possible. I'll get rid of him."

     Danielle, me and the other girls went to the window. shielding Danny from the view of the approaching boy. We attempted to provide protection without looking like we were, but in order to appear casual, Danny could only be partially blocked. Therefore, he had to keep his back to Drew and Jim.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     A feeling of hopelessness began to rise from the depths of my being. Why was I having such a difficult time maintaining my aloofness? After all, my ability to detach myself from my surroundings was a practiced art, developed from weeks of fending off infatuated fans.

     Jim reached Drew as we neared the store window.  I positioned myself so I would have my back to them. I kept my ears open, and tried to catch what was happening through the corner of my eye.

     Jim was looking my way, and it took him several long moments to turn his attention to Drew. "Who's the redheaded bitch in the white shirt?"

     "Danielle?"

     "No! The sexier one!"

     Danielle snorted at that. "Pig!" she growled in a half-whisper.

     Drew glared at Jim and then smiled sweetly. "Now Jimmy, you shouldn't call women 'bitches'. You just might get bit. Look, we’re in a hurry. What do you want?"

     "Oh yeah. I just wanted to say Hi, and all." He looked over his shoulder at the other girls. "Damn! What a nice ass."

     "Jimmy? Jim!" Drew snapped her fingers in his ear, finally getting back his attention. "Can we focus here?" She shook her head in disgust. "Jeez, do you guys ever use your big heads?" She looked at her watch. "Look, we really need to get going. We got an appointment that we need to keep. We'll talk at home, 'kay?"

     "Oh. Yeah, sure. Later. Come on, Drew. Who is she?"

     "Just one of our new girlfriends from a band we got to know."

     "Cool. Can you introduce me?"

     "Maybe later, Jim. We really don't have time now."

     "Well, where are you headed? I can walk with ya."

     "No!" blurted Drew. "Um, I mean, we'd really like to keep it girls only. You understand?" she questioned, although Jim's understanding was irrelevant. I knew all about that gambit.  I had learned that girls sometimes gave boys the illusion that they, the boys, were "letting" them, the girls, have their way. Boys were so easy to manipulate. Wait a minute…

     "Okay, sure. Maybe later," Jim said.  He turned to take another look at my behind. "Man! That's a really nice ass," he said and headed back to the arcade. I blushed.  I felt both flattered and insulted.

     Drew expelled a sigh of relief and rushed over. "Whew, that was a close one," she said.
 

*          *          *
 
     Danielle paused, waiting, rapidly tapping her foot. Her patience with our slow pace was beginning to wear thin. When Drew finally reached us, she smiled, hiding her annoyance, and said, “All right, so how did it turn out?”

     “Ahhh, you know boys.”

     “Yeah, do I ever.”

     “Hey!” I said.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

     “Nuthin!  ‘Kay, let’s do some serious shopping!” She grabbed me by the arm and I let myself be pulled along, and we went to the big mall downtown.
 
***** (Nikki) *****
 
     The first stop we made was to a lingerie shop.  Danny was very uncomfortable in the shop and he made us leave early.  All we were able to get were a couple of teddies a nightgown, and several cami-style tops.

     Next stop we were more successful.  We got a bunch of jeans, mostly in faded blues — lowriders, bootleg-cut, skinny jeans, straight-cut, high-waist — most every style.  But we only got one pair per style.  “I thought we were looking for costumes,” Danny asked.

     “We are,” Janet answered. “These are just the preliminaries.”

     We then went to a series of semi-upscale shops.

     We tried to get Danny into the spirit of things, but he just wasn’t comfortable.  We did get a bunch of nice school clothes for Danny-the-girl, as well as a bunch of smart combos — smart but hip.  Surprisingly, Danny had a lot of input to what we selected.  He seemed to have an innate eye for color and pattern combinations.

     He especially had a lot of stuff to say about the costumes.  As we walked around the clothes on display, Danny had a brainstorm.  His ideas were heavily influenced by Shakira and her Latina-style rocker ensemble.  Janet preferred a style ala-Beyonce.  In any case, they’re all gonna look real hot.  So, as we went around, Danny picked up a black leather jacket a couple of sizes too large, a tube top, opaque tights and a pair of verrry tall stiletto heels.  He asked a saleslady where the belts where and he picked a very wide one with a very large and shiny belt buckle.  He also snagged a couple of scarves and brought it to the changing room. 

     Janet was modeling her selection to the others — a real short one-shoulder ensemble.  Very sexy.

     “That’s a keeper,” I said.

     “Thanks,” said Janet.  “What about you, Danny? What have you got there?”

     He grinned at her.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     After an incredible five-hour shopping spree, with just a break for lunch.  We finally finished, and packed away the bags and bags of stuff we bought in the trunk of my car.  Here I was thinking we were just buying costumes for the contest…

     I was really tired, but the girls still had a lot of pep.  Danielle dragged all of us back into the mall.  But we walked straight through it, and out toward the skating rink a block down. 

     The old skating rink had been closed since I can remember.  But just last year, it had been reopened again by the local merchants association, and was modernized and expanded a lot.  It was now an ice-skating rink, easily twice as large as the old roller-skating rink said my mom. The building that housed the rink easily fit it inside, including a wide strip of café tables and chairs that surrounded the rink. At the moment, the place was full of kids either eating or just hanging.

     The little shops and boutiques around the rink mostly sold skating stuff and colorful exercise equipment and outfits, and would have interested the girls if they weren't too excited about skating.

     The girls excitedly went to the counter, Janet a little less so, as she took my arm and escorted me over.

     “It’s easy,” she said, mistaking my hesitation for a different kind of fear.  “It’s just like in-line or roller skates.  Nothing to it.”  I smiled weakly at her.

     June and Drew had both opted for bright-red skates and sat down on a bench to put them on.  Janet picked out a pair in beige, matching the fawn-colored slacks she wore, and sat down beside June to put them on.

     Danielle had a couple of pairs of plain high-cut white skates, and was handing me a pair to put on. I pulled her to me and I whispered to her my problem.  With my tight pants, I don’t think I could skate without hurting myself.  She looked at me in consternation, and then she brightened up with an idea.  She handed Drew the skates and dragged me to the boutiques.  We rapidly went up the row of shops, Danielle looking through their glass fronts and checking out what was available.

     “Danielle, why don’t we just forget the skating? Or you guys skate, and I’ll just watch.”

     “Don’t be a spoilsport,” she said.  We ended up going to this little boutique Danielle picked out called ‘Body Hugger,’ full of selections of dancing and skating attire.  She rapidly went through the merchandise, and handed me a pair of white, stretchable pants that looked like abbreviated bike shorts.  She also picked up a pleated red-checked tartan skirt, and threw them my way.

     I grabbed the skirt from the air.  “Now, I’ll get a pair of ankle socks," she said.  There was nowhere to try them on, though, so, after paying, I went into one of the three changing booths by the rink and I put on the shorts and socks. The shorts felt heavenly, especially after the tight pants.

     I then put on the little skirt.  It was a little thicker than I thought, and it slightly poofed out because of the pleats and a bit of lining.  Because of which, any unwanted, umm, bumps were completely obscured.  I looked in the booth’s mirror and pirouetted around.  The skirt flared a little, and my white shorts barely peeked through.  “I’m a cheeky little tease,” I mumbled jokingly.

     Danielle slid skates under the door and I sat on the floor cross-legged to put them on.  Couldn’t have done that in the jeans.

     I stepped out, walking gingerly on the ice skates.  I took my shirt-tails and re-knotted them as they were becoming undone.  Danielle, also in skates, handed me a cheap little throw-away backpack she had just bought.  I put my purse, jeans, boots and socks in it and walked to the lockers.  I dumped the pack as well as Danielle’s  purse in a locker.  I thought a bit, and reached into the pack for my wallet.  I took out the wad of dollar bills from the wallet and slipped them into a little pocket near the skirt’s waistband - just like a watch-pocket in a pair of men’s formal slacks - and closed the pocket’s little zipper.  I checked to be sure that my money wouldn’t fall out, slammed the locker shut and rushed out after Danielle.
 

*          *          *
 
     It was fun gliding on the ice.  Janet was right.  Though I had several pratfalls at first, I soon got the hang of it.  I glided past Danielle and the others, feeling good, until my left blade hit a little ridge in the ice, and I fell on my ass again.

     I slowly stood up, rubbing my fanny, and saw Nikki laughing.

     Soon, I was chasing her around the rink, dodging around the other skaters.  Danielle and the others got into the act, and we were all soon chasing each other.  As Nikki neared the edge of the rink, I caught her and grabbed her around the waist.  Only her grip on the railing stopped us from falling.  She turned in my arms to face me. We were both breathing hard and sweating. We looked into each other’s eyes and grinned.

     “That was fun,” I said.  She didn’t answer, and just put her arms over mine, and hugged me.  She started rubbing my lower back, her breathing sounding very rapid in my ears.

     I took the risk and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.  She leaned backwards to look me straight in the eye, and then leaned forward again to kiss me on the lips.  She gave me a kiss that I haven’t felt before - at the same time both chaste and very, very sexy.  I was almost dizzy from the feelings I had.  Her mouth was slightly open in passion.  I shamelessly took advantage of it and slipped in my tongue. 

     She was startled a bit, but quickly responded with a counter-thrust of her own tongue.  Soon we were squirming around, trying to get more body contact.  Nikki felt so warm and so alive, I couldn’t stand how good she felt.  She licked the side of my face with just the tip of her tongue, and I shivered.  Her hands moved further downward on my back, and she was soon grasping both of my ass cheeks from under my skirt.  I gasped and hugged her tighter.  I nibbled an earlobe and barely restrained a groan of pleasure. 

     My dick started to strain against the bike shorts, and I was sure Nikki could feel it.  Nikki giggled a bit.  “You like that, huh, pretty baby?”

     “Ooh, Nikki, you’re fantastic,” I moaned.

     “You’re pretty fantastic, too,” she said huskily, and kissed me in the hollow of my neck, her tongue flicking out against my skin.  I shivered again.

     “Ooh, Nikki…”

     Suddenly, the rest of the girls slammed into us.  “Oof!” Nikki and I went, and the girls giggled.

     “Hey, you two,” Danielle giggled.  “Get a room, why dontcha?”

     “Yeah,” Drew said.  “And stop giving everyone a free show.”  We belatedly remembered where we were and looked around.  A lot of the skaters had stopped and were staring at us.

     “I guess we’re done skating for today,” Janet said, and we rushed out of the rink.
 

*          *          *
 
     I was the last to finish changing out of my skates because I was being careful and didn’t want everyone to see that I wasn’t who I appeared to be.  The girls had all gone to the ladies’, and I said I’d meet them by the counter when they were done.  I turned over my skates at the counter, and was about to put my boots back on.  I suddenly realized that the boots won’t exactly match my outfit anymore.  I congratulated myself for my developing fashion sense.  I also decided that I scared myself.

     I thought about it some more, and decided to buy a pair of sneakers.  I slung my little itty-bitty backpack over my shoulder and padded to the nearest store selling shoes in my stockinged feet, popping a Bazooka Joe into my mouth.  Some guys were looking at me, and I smiled sweetly at them.  I entered the store and surveyed their merchandise with my newly-developed skill for picking out clothes (or so I flattered myself).  I then spotted an old Sketchers display with a two-year-old poster of Brittney Spears, and a hand-lettered sign saying “last year’s models - clearance sale.”

     I spotted some old Sketchers Four-Wheelers that used to be so popular with kids, and had a brainstorm.  Right beside the Sketchers display was a bin of those shoes that had foldable roller-skate wheels built in.  I had really enjoyed the skating today, and thought that this will be really cool.

     I rooted around in the bin, looking among the kiddie sizes for a pair large enough to fit me.  I was in luck, and found one in a  predominantly white color.  I studied the mechanism underneath, popping out the wheels a couple of times.  I sat down, put them on and walked around a bit.  Satisfied with the fit, I paid for them and walked out in my new pair of faux Four-Wheelers.

     I went back to the counter where the girls were waiting for me.

     Janet handed me a couple of tissues from her purse and I mopped my sweaty face.  I looked around for somewhere to throw away the tissues, but Janet held her hand out.  “Here, gimme,” she said.  I shrugged and gave her the yucky wet tissues.  She didn't make a move to throw them away.

     “Where you been girl?” June asked playfully.

     “Buyin’ a new pair of shoes,” I said in the same tone, and pointed my left shoe’s toe at them, and wiggled my foot.

     They made some appreciative comments about the shoes, and then we were off.

     I was itching to show off, so I let them get ahead of me by about ten feet or so, and then called to them.  “Guys!”

     They turned to me, and Danielle said, “What?”

     I kneeled to lock my wheels in place, stood up and zoomed past them in the direction of the exit. Their mouths were all like big ‘O’s.

     I zoomed past the café tables by the rink, and some guys about our age stared at me, some of them with mouths agape.  I blew a bubble as I passed them.

     “Wow!” one of them said, as I flew by skating on one foot, and the other one raised, a pack on my back, my hair streaming in the wind and my skirt flapping.  I dodged around the people walking, and almost collided with a little girl and boy of about eight or nine, probably brother-and-sister, also wearing the same kind of shoes.

     They looked at my feet, and then at me as if I was crazy.

     I stopped in front of them.  “Race?” I puffed.  The kids looked at each other, grinned and nodded.  I looked back and saw the girls going into a store selling swimsuits. I waved to catch their attention but they were preoccupied.

     So I went down the wheelchair ramp with the kids, and out to the sidewalk.  I looked down the sidewalk going in the direction of the mall.  There weren’t very many people on the sidewalk, so I thought it was safe.  We lined up and stood in starter positions. 

     “From here to the end of the block, okay?  Ready… set… hey!”  The two brats sprinted ahead of me, not waiting for the “Go,” so I started pumping and caught up with them.

     “Hey, no fair!” the girl yelled, as I zoomed by them.  I cackled my best madman laugh and continued on, rapidly approaching the curb.

     Suddenly, I realized that my momentum won’t allow me to stop at the curb, and I was in some danger of shooting into oncoming traffic.  I made a grab for the walk-don’t-walk post and stopped exactly on the edge of the curb.  I then snapped around and waited for the kids.

     From their faces, I knew that they came to the same realization I did.  I stood with my back against the pole, and with both my arms outstretched to catch them.

     The kids cannonballed into me, but I managed to grab them around their waists, and stopped them short of the street.

     We looked at each other for a moment, the reaction setting in, and then we all burst out laughing.

     “That was fun!” the boy said.  I was so scared that I might have gotten them hurt. I shivered as the tension and the fear ebbed out of me.
 

*          *          *
 
     We were bushed so we sat on the curb, and talked for a bit, resting.  The few pedestrians that were there walked around us, and smiled indulgently.  We smiled back.  I sat with my knees together, and my legs folded to the side, being careful not to flash pedestrians and car passengers alike.

     Wonder of wonders, the kids were twins.  I also told them I was a twin, too.  They asked me where I got my skates and I said I just bought them, and were breaking them in. 

     “Well, you sure do skate good,” Joey, the little boy, said.

     “Gowan! I haven’t skated for years.  I’m not that good.”

     “But you do!  I’m the best in our school and you beat me real good.”

     “No, you’re not!” Amy, the little girl, said.

     “Yes, I am,” Joey told his sister petulantly.

     To forestall any more arguments, I asked what they were doing at the skating rink. 

     “Mommy and Daddy wanted to buy some stuff from the mall.  We just didn’t feel like going with them, so they left us by the rink.”

     “Why not,” I asked Amy.  “Shopping’s supposed to be fun.”

     “Not when you’re with grownups.”

     “Yeah,” Joey said.  “All they like to buy are boring stuff.”

     “I know what you mean.”

     “Does your sister skate, too?  Is she as pretty as you?  I wanna see her.  Where is she?  Did she leave you to go shopping, too? I’m hungry.”

     I laughed.  “You don’t wind down, do you?”

     He looked down at the pavement. “Hey! I was joking.”  I gave him a small hug, and kissed him on top of his head.  He hugged me back.

     I started to wonder what was happening to me.

     Amy reached into her own little backpack and brought out some stuff that she had just bought.  She showed me a couple of dolls still in their boxes, and I tried to be polite and looked interested.  Joey rolled his eyes at this.  I gave him a small conspiratorial wink, and he giggled at that.

     Soon, a pair of shadows loomed over us, and we looked up.  The parents had arrived, surprised that the kids weren’t inside the skating rink.  I stood up, introduced myself, and said that the twins got a little bored and were skating on the sidewalk.  I offered to stay with the kids until they came.

     The parents, initially very suspicious, relented, and thanked me.

     “Thank you, young lady,” the father said.  “Not many young people would have done what you did.”

     “I hope they weren’t too much trouble,” said the mother.

     “Oh, no, maá¡m,” I said.  “They’re great kids.  We were having a great time.”  The kids smiled shyly.

     “We have to leave now, kids.  Thank the nice lady, and say goodbye.”  The mother shook my hand.  “Thanks, again, Ms. Fairchild.”

     “It was nothing, maá¡m.”

     “Bye, pretty lady,” Joey said and waved.

     Amy reached up and gave me a hug and a little kiss on the cheek.  “Will we see you again?”

     “I don’t know, Amy.  I hope so.”

     “I hope so, too.  Bye!”  They both waved bye-bye and went with their parents to their car.
 
***** (Janet) *****
 
     We found Danny waving at two kids being led away by what looked like their parents.

     We snuck behind Danny.  “So,” I said.  “Who was that?”

     He was startled and spun around.  “Oh, just a couple of friends I just met while skating.”  He sat back down on the curb, and I and Danielle sat with him.

     "We got ya a surprise!" Danielle enthused.

     Danny smile wanly.

     “Pooped?” I asked.

     “Yeah.  I wanna go home, now.”

     “’Kay.  Let’s get you up.”   We helped him get up.

     “Mind driving, Janet?  I really am very tired.”

     “Sure, kid.  Let’s go.”

     Danielle took his pack, and we walked to the mall parking lot without further incident.  Danny hugged me from the back, and I pulled him along on his skates.  Danny had his head on my shoulder, a sappy smile on his face.  Probably not that much different from my own expression.

     “Dan?”

     “Hmm?” he said dreamily, eyes closed.

     “We’re here.  Janet needs the keys to the car.”

     He gestured towards Danielle.  “It’s in my purse in my pack.”  Janet reached in and found the keys.  She tossed me the keys, and I unlocked the car doors.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     Okay. We needed to pick three songs, all of them pop music, and one of them had to be a slow song. And, of course, they had to be sung by female singers, or performed by female bands. As usual, Janet had definite ideas what the songs should be: songs by Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Jewel being on top of her list. So we decided to submit those she picked via the website. In a few seconds, we got a message on the screen. We found out that all of them were already picked. Or were on the hands-off list. Another rule: No one’s allowed to have the same song, or songs on the off-limits list, and it was first come-first served. Not admitting defeat, Janet thought up a new set, and the response came back. Nope. After several more tries (all of them were rejected), Janet started to go bugshit. And everyone was shouting already. Good thing we were the only ones in my house, otherwise Mom and Dad would have thrown us out already.

     I opened up my Vaio laptop and turned it on. I clicked on my Winamp MP3 player program, and went through its playlist.
 

*          *          *
 
     June had her hand on her Casio synth’s controls and sang. “Who’s giving you luxury?” She had sung it while simultaneously jiggling the controls, creating a sort of synthesizer effect. She sounded like female Daft Punk.

     Mongo and Dale did their thing with the bass and beat, and Janet and I sort of segued in.

     “Mmm shalalala, mmm shalalala, shalala,” Janet and I were in synch, incredible as usual, and then I took over.
 
 

“It’s funny how circumstances takes control, taking you places with your mind and soul.”

 
 
     Then Janet and me, again. “Like springtime makes me feel better, taking me higher, feeding my fantasy.”

     And Dale and Mongo harmonized. “And it feels so good!”

     Me again. “Yeah, it feels so good!”

     Then it was mine and Janet’s turn to harmonize.
 
 

“Giving you luxury.  It comes naturally.  So, baby, don’t thank me  - I thank you.    And it’s plain to see  who’s giving you luxury.”

 
 
     Grooving on the music, Janet and I did a back-to-back, grinding our bare shoulders. The guys whooped it up, and we were both grinning ear-to-ear.
 
***** (Nikki) *****
 
     Though I didn’t recognize the song, I was starting to clap to the beat. I looked around and everyone was grooving on the music, too.

     I looked at Dan on stage, seeing him in full costume. I started feeling turned on, rubbing my thighs together a little. He was so beautiful. His shoulder and Janet’s grinding together, coupled with Dan’s come-hither look, was so erotic. I looked at Danielle, and she was grooving on the music, like everyone. I guess it wasn’t just me getting turned on. What was I thinking? That’s her brother. Of course she wouldn’t think…

     My thoughts started to falter. Her brother… Looking at Dan, he didn’t look like anyone’s brother! He looked like some hotty in a sexy outfit. God. The guys whooping it up didn’t know, of course. How could they? And looking at Morgan and the others, they were shocked, to say the least. But they didn’t turn away, and looked on in wonder.

     I looked back to the stage and stared at Dan as he, or I guess “she,” gyrated. The jacket was clearly too big, because it kept slipping off Dan’s right shoulder. It made him look all the more sexy. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

     I wasn’t attracted to girls. Well, only as much as other girls were, I think. At least I knew I wasn’t like Joanne. But here I was, starstruck and turned on in a major way by this gorgeous redhead wearing a black jacket over a little halter top and hip-hugging brown opaque tights with incredibly high stiletto-heeled boots. She had what looked like gossamer off-white white chiffon scarves tied to her wrists that she would swirl around. The big buckle of her belt flashed in the stage’s lights, bringing attention to her hips, sexy bellybutton and tiny waist. She looked like Shakira with a guitar. I guess the reason I was so turned on was because, underneath it all, I knew she was actually a guy, with other guys lusting after this sensuous creature just as I was.

     Even as they finished up their first song, I was still mesmerized by Dan. He and Janet raised their arms in victory. With his arms raised, the diaphanous scarves and the sleeves of his jacket fell away from his graceful pale arms. Janet gave him a hug, and the audience roared, “More, more!”
 

*          *          *
 
     They paused a little bit and basked in the glow as they took a little breather. And then June started to play a slow tune. I didn’t recognize the somewhat plaintive but sweet melody, but I didn’t care, only having eyes for Dan.

     Janet stepped up to the mike, and I heard a few disappointed sighs because it wasn’t going to be Dan singing.

     “I woke up this morning feeling lonely,” Janet sang.
 
 

“So much my heart just does not understand.    There were times when nothing really matters.  Now I find I care too much.  There's life in everything I touch.”

 
 
    

     I saw Janet steal a glance at Dan, and I started to feel a little jealous.
 
 

“Look what love has done to me.  I am not who I used to be.  Everything is changing  and I will never be the same.”

 
 
     Though no one else noticed, I saw Janet making eyes at Dan. I heard Joanne sigh beside me, but she was looking in Janet’s way. Look at us, a couple of groupies.

     “Look at what love has done to us. Will we ever learn to trust? We're running out of time, there's so little time. Baby, look what love has done to me.”

     Dan had picked up his bass guitar, and sidled up to Janet. He played in counterpoint to June’s playing. So romantic and so sweet. I willed him to look at me, but he just smiled and played his guitar.

     Janet put her arm on his shoulders. "Oh yeah," Janet crooned, and I reacted a little negatively.
 
 

“Now, it's late at night.  I'm here without you.  I'm trying to make my way to where you are.  Can't you see I'll still be here waiting?  Can't you see our two hearts were always meant to be as one?      “Look at what love has done to us.  When will we ever learn to trust?      “We're running out of time,  there's so little time, baby.  Will you look what love has done to me?”

 
 
     The byplay between Janet and Dan were, in a way, making the song sweeter. And the implied lesbian love made it more erotic. Joanne swooned and stared at the couple on the stage.

     I stared lovingly at Dan as he sang the next line. He had switched to a low, raspy voice that sounded like a young Patti Smythe. (Dan had let me listen to some of his collection, and I had started appreciating, and recognizing, his music.)

     “I'm calling out your name, baby," he sang.
 
 

“Calling out, calling out, yeah, yeah, yeah…”

 
 
     June played her keyboards, soft as the wind like Bruce Hornsby. A white spotlight hit her, making little June look like an angel as she concentrated on her playing.

     “Now, look at what love has done to us,” Janet sang.
 
 

Will we ever learn to trust?  We're running out of time,  there's so, so little time, baby.  Oh, look what love has done,  baby,  look what love has done to me?”

 
 
     She paused and stepped a little away from Dan, holding his hand.
 
 

“Look what love has done, done to me?”

 
 
     The song faded and, after a beat, the applause rained down. Janet and Dan curtsyed and waved.
 

*          *          *
 
     Mongo started the new song with his drums, and Janet and Dan segued in with their guitars. The crowd recognized the song and howled. Dan stepped up the mike, one shoulder bared sexily.
 
 

Crash and burn,  all the stars explode tonight.  How'd you get so desperate?  How'd you stay alive?  Help me, please,  burn the sorrow from your eyes.  Oh, come on,  be alive again.  Don't lay down and die.”

 
 
     Janet stepped up to the same mike, and they sang the refrain.
 
 

“Hey, hey, you  know what to do.  Oh, baby,  drive away to Malibu.”

 
 
     Then Dan took over again.
 
 

“Get well soon.  Please don't go any higher.  How are you so far,  when you're barely on fire?  Cry to the angels.  I'm gonna rescue you.  I'm gonna set you free tonight,”

 
 
and then the two of them sang back to back. Dan swirled the lengths of chiffon in circles.

     The energy was pumping. The chick beside me screamed. “I love you!”

     “Jeez,” Drew said, but not loud enough to be heard over the music. “Get a grip.” I agreed, but I was thinking more like, “Get in line, baby.”
 

*          *          *
 
     Dan did that sexy grind again.
 
 

"And the sun goes down  and watch you slip away…  and the sun goes down  and walk into the waves…  and the sun goes down  and watch you slip away…”

 
 
     Some guy in a muscle shirt went, “Woo-hoo, baby!” I wanted to belt him. I looked over to Morgan. I couldn’t understand the look he had on his face. But Jerry and the others were clearly enjoying the show. I looked to Danielle, but all I could see from her was joy and a fierce kind of pride. She was whooping it up like the rest of them - Mel, Drew and Betsy. Joanne was clearly a basket case, already. As I felt I was also starting to become. I wanted to shout “I love you,” too, just like the other girl.

     Dan sang the last line.
 
 

“I can't be near you.  The light just radiates.  I can't be near you.  The light just radiates.”

 
 

     The last of the music faded, and the audience exploded. Dan and the others took their bows in  the relative quiet, and that girl beside me yelled again, “I love you, baby!” Some of the audience laughed, and Dan, playing to the crowd, blew a flying kiss our way. The girl beside me made as if she fainted. I frowned at her cornball over-acting. Dan and the others fled, to be replaced by the MC. We then started to elbow our way through the crowd, trying to get backstage when we saw people running.

     Morgan tugged the sleeve of one of the stage hands. “What’s happening?”

     The guy hooked a thumb to the crowd. “They’re gonna see what they can do for that girl who fainted.”

     “Fainted?” I echoed a little lamely, when a bunch of guys pushed passed us carrying the girl. “Ohmigod,” I said.
 
***** (Danny) *****
 
     I carried my base guitar in my hand, with my six-string slung on my shoulder, and followed my band to the dressing rooms. It was fairly crowded in there, and was steaming hot. There was one band left to go on stage, but I didn’t catch their name, though. Most of the girls of the other bands were there, but the few guys they had were outside, smoking or something. Dale and Mongo stepped out, too. I was about to follow them out when the lead singer for one of the other bands came over.

     “Great set of pipes, babe,” she said. She must be in her twenties, and was sporting a coat with tassels over a sort of sundress. “I’m Jo.” She stuck out her hand.

     “Umm, Dannie.”

     Janet came over, and stood towering beside me, so I introduced her. “Jo, this is Janet. Janet’s our group’s leader.”

     “Hey,” Janet said, and put a proprietary arm around my shoulders as they shook hands.

     “I think I’ve seen you guys before,” said Jo.

     “Oh we get around,” answered Janet.

     “We have a regular gig over at Mario’s?” I said. Jo nodded, recognizing the place. “We play there Fridays and Saturdays. How about you guys?”

     “We’re in between gigs, now, I guess.”

     “Hang in there, I’m sure it’ll, well… umm, work out.”

     “Yeah. Well. Umm. So, how’d you end up with those songs? No one knew them. We wouldn’t have had the balls to do that, anyway. Could have been a disaster. What was that first song, anyway?”

     “That was from Meja’s old album. You know? Meja?”

     “Who’s Meja?”

     “You know, she sang that song, ‘All ‘Bout the Money’?” I sang. “All ‘bout the money. It’s all ‘bout the dum dum, du du dum dum…” I had unconsciously switched voices, again. “She also did a song with Ricky Martin,” I added.

     “Hey! That’s great! How do you do that?”

     “She’s wonderful, isn’t she?”

     I waved my hand. “Go-wan!”

     “The songs were Dannie’s idea, wasn’t it, Dan?” She shook me in her arms. I gave her a small frown. She was acting a little funny.

     Another girl came over. She could have been the female equivalent of Mongo.

     “’Luxury,’ by Meja, ‘What Love Has Done’ by Patti Smythe and ‘Malibu’ by Hole. Right?”

     “I knew Malibu!” Jo said. “Umm, Dannie, Janet, this is Astrid.”

     “Hey, cool name!”

     “Cool voice.”

     “Aww, it’s nothing,” I said. “And the songs weren’t that big a deal, really. I have a big collection at home.”

     “You have a very, umm, eclectic collection. And it’s surprising you picked Meja,” she said pompously. “Her lyrics are sort of in-between M2M and Alanis Morissette or Jewel. Early Jewel, of course. You don’t really know if she’s making a statement or just mouthing words written by someone else. In between angst and bubble-pop.” The other girls looked at each other. Jo rolled her eyes.

     “Umm, well, you know. I like the music,” I said.

     “Wouldn’t have expected anything more,” she said dismissively.

     That sort of got my goat. I thought a bit for an appropriately geeky response.

     “Ya know, central to the concept of recorded music is the enjoyment of the music. Humans grew out in the savannah, where the recognition and appreciation of patterns in nature is a necessary skill. And the love of music is just a natural extension of this love for patterns. Such as that for poetry and architecture.”

     Astrid sort of moved back. “Well…”

     “So, I enjoy my music.” I dimpled. Jo and Janet giggled.

     I went on. “You know, some people would dismiss our music as junk-pop, all fluff and percussion. I know my Dad does. But, what the hell, I like Madonna and fucking Cristina Aguilera! So sue me!”

     Astrid snorted and walked away.

     “Never saw Astrid blown away like that,” Jo giggled.

     “I think I hurt her feelings. But she was dissing my music!” I thought about it. “I think I should apologize.” I started towards her, but Jo held me back.

     “No need for that, girlfriend. Forget it. She’ll be okay. Besides,” she whispered, “she needs to be put in her place once in a while.”

     We got to talk about what songs we liked. And makeup and clothes. And boys. I, of course, kept quiet, but kept my ears open. This is all still news to me. Sort of like doing research, this. I wish I had brought a notebook. Janet gave me a big grin, and winked.

     I wasn’t contributing much to the conversation, which was starting to become a little conspicuous. So I complimented Jo on her makeup, which, of course, boomeranged back to me. Big mistake! Before I made a fool of myself, Janet took me off the hook by saying it was June who did our makeup. We suddenly noticed her absence, so Janet and I excused ourselves to look for her.
 

*          *          *
 
     We held hands as we ran through the backstage rooms looking for June, and I slipped on the shiny linoleum. Janet caught me before I fell, and picked me up, giggling. I held onto her while I tried to get my balance again.

     “Damn these heels,” I said, as I held onto Janet’s neck. It brought my face closer to her’s. Well, her chin, really. Our eyes sort of locked, and she almost picked me up. Ooof! It was probably shock and being so tired that I sort of didn’t struggle. Later on, I wondered why I wanted to struggle.

     She had her hand on my left boob, and I felt faint. She knows, anyway, my brain justified. I looked into her eyes and started to feel dizzy.  Altitude, maybe.

     She bent down and hugged me close. I closed my eyes and held on - everything started to spin. Her lips touched mine, so tender. We kissed for what seemed like hours.

     It took me a few moments to open my eyes. She was smiling at me, seeing my reaction. My heart pounding, I smiled back at her. My nipples were so hard they hurt. I didn't let go right away; I wasn't sure I could stand up on my own.

     “Uh.” I swallowed and tried again.

     “How about another one?” she asked after a moment. I must've said yes, because she bent down and kissed me again. This one was longer. I pressed up against her. I lost feeling in my body for a long time, except where we touched. I had a boner that felt practically the size of Mount Saint Helens, and it wanted to rip through the tight ‘gaff’ panties I was wearing to hide it.

     I was dizzy and my eyes refused to focus. My pulse was thudding in my ears. We weren't kissing anymore, and she was still holding me up.

     When I thought I could stand up again, I pulled my arms down and moved away. She let go.

     “God almighty,” I said.

     “Good, huh?”

     “Jesus, Janet. It was incredible.”

     “You up for a little more later tonight?”

     I gave her one of my best lecherous grins. And then my expression changed. I suddenly thought of Nikki, and I felt like scum. “Umm, maybe that's not such a good idea, Janet.”

     “We'll see, Sexy. Anyway, let’s get this contest over with first.” She was rubbing the inner part of my thigh, and my boner was threatening to make me collapse with pain.

     “I gotta get out of this underwear,” I gasped. Janet laughed and pulled me along.

     We finally found June helping to load up her keyboards and Mongo’s drums in the back of Dale’s big Ford van. We dumped our stuff in, and as I was slinging my base off my shoulder, a little mousy guy called us back in for the announcement. The band went back in, but I couldn’t stand it anymore. I grabbed my small duffle and excused myself to go to the bathroom for a moment.

     I almost walked into the men’s room but checked myself in time. I went into the ladies’ and stepped into a booth. I propped my guitar against the door, took off the boots so I could take off the leggings. When I had them off, I then took off the sex-hiding panties. I sighed in relief and wiped myself with a big wad of toilet paper - I was totally drenched in sweat down there, and was itching like mad. At least my boner had subsided.

     I went through my bag and took out the men’s thong briefs that Danielle had put there, and pulled them on. I then realized I couldn’t wear the tights anymore so I put on the little pouf skirt that was the original match for my top. I left off the tights. And after putting on the boots again, I stepped out and twirled in front of the mirror. The little petticoats under the abbreviated skirt did indeed poof it out so I thought that’s probably why they called them that. I twirled again, and my cheeky little ass was suddenly exposed. I turned crimson, and gathered my stuff and walked out. At least my dick was sufficiently camouflaged by the petticoats.
 

*          *          *
 
     My guys were already on stage so I dropped my bag and rushed to join them.

     We stood on the stage and watched the MC go through his material, mentioning all the sponsors and other blah-blahs. He then called out the band names one at a time. I happened to look down and saw a jack lying on the floor. It suddenly occurred to me that I was still carrying my guitar. I picked up the jack and plugged it into my bass. There was a tiny little feedback whine for a flicker of a second, but I clicked off my guitar right away and only a very few noticed.

     When it was our turn to be called, I quickly stepped out of line, and fired off a long riff that blasted through the auditorium. The chiffon scarves flew as I pinwheeled my arm. The audience cheered. I heard Danielle scream. “You go, girl!” and the audience roared. That made me smile.
 

*          *          *
 
     In the end, the announcement was a bit anti-climactic. The MC yelled out, “Unlimited Bandwidth!” and the band went wild, hugging and clapping each other on the back. Dale let out an ululating yell, sounding just like Tarzan of the Apes. Janet and June were hugging each other and jumping for joy. Mongo grabbed me by the waist and lifted me off my feet. I involuntarily let out a small “Eeep!” Nikki, Morgan and the others were suddenly at the foot of the stage screaming. Danielle was looking up at me with pride. Me, I covered my eyes. What have I done? Boy-oh boy.

end of part four

---

 
Author’s Postscript: Part 4 exhausts most of what I've already pre-written, so new chapters of "Danny" will take longer to post since I am practically writing them from scratch. Apologies for this, but I will do my best. Also, please pardon this installment if there are more than the usual number of snafus: I hurried this up so I could post it as soon as I can, so I was not as thorough in my proofing as in other installments (not that they were even close to perfect, as so many readers have pointed out heheheh). Anyway, I will do my best to get another chapter posted as soon as I can. Thanks!!