Halloween at the Second Story Store

Author's note: The Second Story Store is an open universe, so if you like the idea; contribute!

Chapter one: Introductions are in order?

A young man paced up and down in front of the store for several minutes before finally entering.

A bell rang as he opened it, making him flinch.

The store was relatively new to the neighborhood, and went by the rather odd name of The Second Story Store. A glance inside showed that it specialized in used clothing and accessories, with a number of other second-hand items thrown in.

Besides its merchandise, it had a number of Halloween touches thrown in as the trick-or-treat-day was less than a month away, but these were mostly ignored by the young man, who found his way to a rack of costumes.

He ignored the male costumes, but began flipping through the female costumes carefully.

“Can I help you? Its Mike, isn’t it?”

He flinched and turned at the sound of the voice, and found himself looking at a middle-aged woman, who was smiling at him.

She wasn’t the most pretty woman he’d seen, she was slightly overweight and had a few wrinkles, but her smile was warm, and her eyes twinkled.

“How did you know my name?”

“Someone must have pointed you out to me. Now, how can I help you?”

“I ... we are having a dance at school. and because I lost a bet to a buddy, I gotta come to the Halloween party dressed as a girl.”

“Do you?” she asked, making him blush, then she smiled, and said “Well, we have a few female costumes that might fit you. Let’s see .... Ah!” she said, and pulled a costume out.

“Fairy princess?” He said as he looked at it.

“No? Well, how about this one. Hillbilly bride.”

He looked at the costume, which consisted of a bridal gown with a very high hem, an insert to make a pregnant belly, and of all things, a toy shotgun, and shook his head.

“No, you’re right. That one wouldn’t do for you. Ah!”

She pulled out a costume marked “Rapunzel”, and gave it to him.

He held it for a moment, and she said, “Try it on, the change room is just over there.”

The young man went to the change room, and soon stepped out in the dress and wig.

“You look very nice. I’m sure your .... buddy will appreciate your effort. “

“How much?”

“Five dollars.”

“But ...surely its worth more than that.”

“Perhaps. But there is one little catch. When you buy this item, you buy the story that goes with it.”

“You mean, you’ll tell me the story? I guess, if it doesnt take much time.”

“Not quite. You’ll experience the story as if you were living it, tonight as you sleep.”

Part of the young man wanted to disbelieve her, but there was something about her that made him wonder if it were true. He paid for the costume, and made his way home..

****

Chapter two: Living the dream

The young man smuggled the costume into his room, only breathing when it was safely hidden.

Then he came out of his room, ate supper, and prepared for bed. Soon, he was asleep, and then he began to dream ...

And in the dream, he was a girl.

This girl had struggled with her appearance, feeling ugly compared to her classmates, and finally had gotten tired of feeling like that. So one Halloween, she decided to see just how pretty she could actually be.

And to help accomplish this, she had bought the costume that now lay under a pile of old clothes in the bottom of his closet.

She worked very carefully on her appearance, and yet when she was finished, she found herself stunned at just how beautiful she turned out to be ....

In his dream, he could feel her amazement, her rush of confidence as she looked at herself in the mirror in the costume.

She practically floated all the way to the school’s Halloween party.

Once there, the confidence she had acquired sustained her through the few negative comments, and she focused on the compliments she received instead. Finally, at the end of the dance, she gave a solid kiss to a boy she’d had a crush on, and skipped home.

That night, she lay in her bed still in the costume hugging herself, and she decided that the pretty, confident person she had been tonight was how she wanted to act from now on. Then she decided that although she was tempted to keep the costume as a reminder, she wanted to pass on the good feeling it gave her, so she would donate it to a consignment store, where it would eventually end up on the rack of the Second Story Store, where he had bought it, and with that, the dream ended.

Mike got out of bed, and went to the closet and pulled out the costume. He stroked it, and sighed, and then made a decision. He would wear the costume to school, and took what came of that, and then he would finally have a conversation with his parents about who he was, and what he felt he needed in his future.

He knew that the road ahead would be difficult, that some people, maybe even his folks, wouldn’t understand, but it was the path he needed to take in his life.

And one day, it would be goodbye to Mike, and hello to Michelle.

And if she got lucky, she would have as happy an ending as the girl who had worn the costume first.

But first, she needed today before she could have all the days to come, and that meant getting a bit more sleep before school ....

End.