Macy stood hovering over her clothes-covered bed presiding over organised chaos like a monarch over her unruly subjects, she was putting forth as much consideration as she could to her potential outfit choices. It was the day after the BBQ and she was considering a blue glittery top her mother had bought her a couple of weeks ago. Even then she had been unable to figure out what it went with now looking at it again she was still at a complete loss. Sighing she set it down on the bed again and pulled out yet more skirts and pants in a vein hope it might work with one of them.

"Hi sis, what are you doing?" Jack asked in a light and breezy lilting tone from the doorway.

"Just trying to find something that goes with this top, mom bought it for me, but I just can't find anything that it fits with." Mary exasperated.
"A date then, maybe with Sebastian, you were awful close to him yesterday." Jack teased joining his sister by the bed.
"I could say the same of you, date with Theo on the cards, you two were pretty snug as well. " Mary challenged in the same teasing manner. Jack was now actively sorting through the pills of clothes on Macy's bed.
"Nah, he knew who I was, I think he was just being friendly you know, looking out for me. I don't think he meant anything by it." Jack told her in an upbeat tone that betrayed the obvious regret he felt, even if he was unwilling to acknowledge it. Macy nodded in acceptance but could not help but feel that Jack might be wrong from where she had been sitting last night the look in Theo's eyes and the way he acted suggested something else entirely.

"What about that skirt or this pair of parts," Jack asked holding up a black knee-length skirt with blue strips down either side and a black chino-style pair of pants with silver that glistened a silvery metallic in the light. Macy gave a squee of delight and hugged her brother tightly.

**************************

At about the same time that the twins were having their heart-to-heart, Victoria was more confused than ever. Her conflicted feelings of the night before had only gotten worse with time not better. She had woken up to the thought that she might be gay after all the only time she had really taken interest in Jack was when he was dressed undeniably as a girl. She ran through girls she knew in her mind, several of them were pretty but she couldn't decide if she was attracted to them or not. Stumped Victoria began running through and listing guys she knew and deciding if she found any of them attractive, again Victoria found herself stumped, she knew several who were handsome but couldn't decide if she was attracted to any of them.

That confusion continued throughout the early part of her day and into the afternoon, it colored her mood and she seemed deep in thought or far away lost in her own head. At last, her mother, having noticed this behavior, resolved to talk to her daughter, asking if she were all alight and if anything was troubling her. Victoria, who had always had a good open relationship with her mom, considered for a few seconds before bravely diving straight into the crocks of the issue.
"I think I might be gay momma Victoria stood waiting for her mom's response.
"OK dear, is there a particular girl you like?" Victoria's mother, a no-nonsense blonde woman in her early 40's questioned.
"You don't mind, momma. " Victoria's voice wavered, not being sure of much at the moment and having dreaded a reply that she had known would not have come but was to be dreaded regardless.
"No of course not, dear, I just want you to be happy, that's all. Now back to more important things, is there any particular girl you're interested in?" Victoria's mother asked again.
Victoria thought about it for a second or two, she wasn't sure how to express this, she certainly was interested in Jack but he wasn't a girl, at least she didn't think so and right now he was the only one Victoria was interested in, you couldn't be a lesbian if you like a boy, could you? So was she bi-sexual then, Victoria wasn't sure.
"I don't think so, momma." Victoria eventually decided on it.

*************************

Later the same afternoon Macy burst into Jack's room running in without announcing herself so overcome with great excitement. Jack was sitting on his bed, feet curled up underneath him playing a video game and though he was initially startled by his sister's sudden entrance he insisted much to her great annoyance on reaching a point that he could pause the game before he would listen to her.

"Victoria has invited us to go to the mall with her tomorrow," Macy announced as soon as her twin would allow her to speak.
"OK, Sis have fun," Jack told her trying to hide his disappointment at not going with them.
"No silly, we are invited, as in you and me, unless you don't want to go."
Jack put down the controller and demurely leaned back, yawning slightly. "Of course, I want to go sis."
Macy looked relieved, it was rare that any of her friendship group invited her out without the others as Victoria had and she hadn't wanted to have to tell Victoria that Jack had refused the offer. Nor did Macy particularly want to go out just her and Victoria the other girl's confidence and outgoing personality had always slightly intimidated the much less outgoing Macy.
"So, what are you going to wear?"
"Probably just jeans and a T-shirt." Jack shrugged nonchalantly. He wanted to appear manly in front of Victoria or at least he assumed he should want to appear masculine in front of Victoria. She was after all very pretty and asking him out if not one-on-one then close to it.
"Ok," Macy considered how to frame her next few words, she didn't want to upset Jack in any way, she knew that he often struggled with what he thought society and others expected of him.
"I thought it would probably be easier if you went as a girl, fewer questions at stores and things when you want to try things on." It was Macy reflected as extremely harmful to society and massively wrong but a girl who wanted to try on a boy's clothes would garner a lot less attention, being more accepted by society than a boy who wanted to try on a girl's clothes.

Jack considered for a second then shook his head.
"Nah, but you should totally wear those navy blue leggings with that cutie pink top, you know one at the back of your middle draw."
Macy recalled the top immediately; Jack was totally right it was really cutie.
"Thanks, I think I will." She responded excitedly.
Jack smiled at his twin's excitement picking up his custom pink and blue Xbox controller, to resume his game.

Victoria got her mother to drop her off at the twin's house so she could ride with the twins whose mother was taking them to the mall. Tara was only too happy to drive all three to the mall and drop them off especially as Victoria's mother had arranged to pick them all up again later that afternoon. One of the first things Victoria noticed upon entering the twin's home was how pretty Jack looked he was dressed as he had told Macy he would be in blue jeans and a red t-shirt, yet he still, Victoria looked more pretty than handsome. While the outsit was entirely men's clothing, with his long hair and effeminate look the effect seemed to have lost most of the masculinity Jack had been anxious to convey.

Eventually, Victoria was able to pull her eyes and attention away from Jack and to greet Macy. Victoria felt that she had overlooked Macy in their friendship group and was hoping to further cultivate that friendship. Victoria was also anxious that her interest in Jack was not known by any of the adults yet, it would be easier that way, she had decided if it just appeared that she thought that Jack and Mary were a package deal and not that Jack very much held her interest quite apart from his sister. Therefore, while she was conversing and cordial with Jack, for the whole time Tara was around Victoria made sure to spend a long more time conversing with Macy than Jack.

As soon as Tara was safely out of sight and the three teens were headed towards several of the large clothes shops, Victoria's attitude immediately changed and more of her attention and the conversation was switched to Jack. Who, without his mother present was much more energetic and conversational. Conversation flowed enthusiastically between all three and Jack, despite forgetting his intention of trying to seem more masculine for Victoria, is a casual observer was listening to their conversation they would have thought that all three were girls, best friends at that, talking excitedly together in the most girlish way possible.

The first store the trio stopped in at soon had the two girls changing running to the changing rooms laden with armfuls of hopeful choices while Jack offered helpful advice to both in turn as to what went with what and what suited them best. Other times Jack would wander around the racks with a wistful look in his eye and a disappointed look on his face. It was at one of these times that a sales assistant saw him looking longingly at one of the pink belly tops. This particular sales assistant had actually noticed Jack some time earlier but now she saw an opportunity and gingerly approached him.

"Hi Jacoline, I don't mean to intrude but that top would look lovely on you, why don't you try it, dearie," Jack startled from his own thoughts, looked at her slightly dazed.
"Jacoline? " He questioned.
The woman blushed, hurriedly explaining in embracement, "I had heard the other two girls calling you Jack or Jackie so I thought that must be your name. If it isn't I apologise."
"No that's fine your right. " Jack told her hurriedly backpedaling, liking the feminine name but still not really sure if it suited him. Agreeing with the store assistant seemed like the better thing for him to do anyway, it seemed a lot easier to him at that moment than trying to explain everything to her.
"In that case why don't you go and try on that top, even tomboys can get girly tops occasionally." She encouraged with a wink.

With that Jack's reluctance was forgotten and he rushed with the top to the changing room to try it on and get Victoria and his sister's opinions. In no time at all some girly jeans with pink bows on the side to match the top joined the aforementioned top in first a basket and later a shopping bag.

The store assistant who had encouraged Jack saw the trio leaving and called out.
"Have a good day Jacoline."
Jack thanked her politely with a large grin as they exited the shop. Mary and Victoria stared at him in confusion. Their confusion and continued pestering necessitated a retelling of the store assistants kindly at words. The retelling carrying them almost to the doors of the next clothes shop they wanted to look around.
"Well you need a better name than that, you're too pretty to suit that name," Victoria teased in a semi-serious way as they entered. "Don't worry, honey, we will help you think of something."

This store went much the same way as the last but Jack was much less afraid of trying clothes on, figuring that since he was so easily mistaken for a girl once then it was highly likely that anyone who did see him would think the same and give the matter no other thought. The conversation that flowed between them admittedly with short interludes as one or another of them dashed off to try something and ask the opinions of the other two, was that of cheerleading next year. Both Macy and Victoria were planning on being in the squad and could not hide their excitement to begin learning the various routines and cheers. Despite himself, their conversation soon pulled Jack in, and he did his best to chime in when he could. While cheerleading and gymnastics had never interested Jack as much as they had Macy he had watched many videos and tutorials with Macy over the years and to say he wasn't as interested was not to say he wasn't interested at all. In reality, much of Jack's disinterest originated from the fact that as a boy it was not something he would be able to participate in. He had been active in many gymnastics groups and clubs alongside Macy for a lot of their childhood but had stopped about three years ago seeing no future for himself in it.

"Why don't you start practicing some of the cheer moves in the holiday, that way you know them for when you actually go, I could help you if you want." Jack proposed, having no idea what he was getting himself into.
The girls both thought it was a great idea and Victoria even thought that some of the other girls might want to join them. Both were equally equivocal that they wanted Jack to help them and Jack for his part was more than happy to do just that.

After that store, there was disagreement as to which stores to go to next. There were two more clothing stores, a bookstore, and a video game store they wanted to stop at the other two clothing stores were on the way to the food court with one only a few feet away from the burger place that all three had decided on for lunch. Victoria wanted to go to all four clothes stores before getting food while Macy wanted to go get food now and go to the other four stores afterwards. The disagreement did not take long to be resolved in a compromise; they would go to one more of the clothes stores before lunch and then one afterward.

Straight off the bat when they entered the third store Victoria was notably more playful and teasing than ever. This string of playful comments mostly aimed at making Jack blush and get flustered which Victoria secretly found to be the cutest thing ever, culminated when she saw a revealing two-piece in a light blue color. Taking the bikini from the shelf Victoria practically skipped to the changing room calling out for Jackie to follow her before she entered the changing room.

Jack waited outside the changing room he had not seen what Victoria had picked up so he had no idea what he was about to have to give an opinion on. Victoria opened the door to show him, and Jack's jaw dropped. Seeing Jack's reaction Victoria could not help herself striking a pose with one hand on her hip and the other holding the back of her head deliberately arching her back as much as possible.
"Do you like it? My ass doesn't look too big in it does it?" Victoria asked innocently.
It was at this point that Macy came to investigate what the other two were doing. Taking one look at the display Victoria was putting on she could not help but shake her head in disbelief. Macy was finding it difficult to deal with the atmosphere between her brother and Victoria one minute it was that of two best friends and the rest it was that of two lovers, try as she might Macy could not seem to predict which one each scenario would elicit from them. The whiplash in the changing dynamics and energy was becoming more and more difficult for Macy to comprehend much less react to.

Sighing Macy gently shut her brother's jaw and led him back towards the rest of the store.
"Go and put some clothes on Victoria."
"You're no fun Macy, I still haven't found out what Jackie thought yet, however, will I know if I should buy it or not now," Victoria replied with a chuckle.
"As Jack's sister and your friend, I don't want to know what Jack thought," Macy told her firmly, a note of hard finality in her voice.

At the food court, it was quickly decided that they would all go for a burger and fries. It seemed the easiest option to all three and the agreement came quickly and unanimously, Jack and his sister scurried off to secure them a table leaving Victoria to order.
"Couldn't you have gotten a few more fries and maybe a Coca-Cola or something," Jack whined for the second time in nearly as many minutes gesturing to what he clearly considered to be a diminutive pile of fries and the bottle of spring water he had gotten.

Victoria sighed deeply, not having realised when she had made the choice that it would be so controversial.
"Jackie if you want to look like a girl you are going to have to start eating like one. Most girls are constantly watching their weight and I personally would never eat more than this for lunch while shopping. We really should have had salad with the burgers, but I figured we all could use the extra calories with how much serious shopping we are doing."
"Regardless, one day of marginally healthier eating will not harm you," Macy told Jack simply not wanting to put pressure on Jack over the male or female debate, but she was unwilling to listen to any more whining.
Jack wasn't so sure that he agreed over either of their arguments but wisely decided not to complain anymore and instead just enjoy the food and the jovial conversations that seemed to so easily flow between himself, Victoria, and Macy

The final clothes store they wanted to go to was visible from the table that Jack and Macy had chosen, so it wasn't long after they had all finished that they made their way over to it. The store was considerably different from the other two big-name retailers they had previously visited, being much smaller than either of them and containing only a select number of brands none of which were those you would expect to see in one of the big Highstreet stores. It was well known to everyone that I lived anywhere nearby that the store was owned by a local woman who tried hard to support small or independent clothing brands and give everyone a different choice than they would get from more mainstream stores. Both Macy and Victoria had come there regularly and while they loved to browse the various styles and fabrics, both found the prices to be slightly off-putting, usually being too high for either of them to afford. This trip proved to be no different than the others with only Victoria buying anything at all. Even Victoria only bought a single dress, it was reduced and while still being significantly costly she had been unable to resist the summery dress that was a retro black and white design. Despite the lack of purchases none of them felt the visit had been a waste of time and they had spent a considerable amount of time inside the quite small shop especially considering the limited number of items the store stocked.

Both Jack and Macy were extremely excited to go to the video game store that was only a few minutes' walk away so naturally with a shrug Victoria accompanied them. Victoria herself had no real interest in video games and quickly lost sight of them when they both ran off into the store like two small, exited children, both of them excitedly flittering between several racks of shelves, practically screeching at each other in their eager adulation. The store was not exactly large but bigger than Victoria had anticipated though the loud conversation between Jack and Macy helped her find them easily.
"Nurds." Victoria sighed with a shake of her head at the twin's antics.

She had found them hunched over a shelf in heated conversation over the game's main features and their obvious excitement for such things was entirely foreign to Victoria who could not understand why moving pixels with a controller would possibly appeal that much to anybody. When she pointed this out to them both, she did not get a great reception from them.

Jack pouted and pointed out that Victoria was being mean. His pout and feigned sadness prompted first, Macy and Victoria to wrap Jack in a protective embrace. By the end of their shopping trip, the twins had forced Victoria to accompany them to two other stores that she considered to be incredibly nerdy. One being a comic bookstore and the other being an ordinary bookstore. It nearly being time for them to leave, Victoria's mom was coming to pick them up, so they all decided to return to the food court and get a hot cup of cocoa before they left.
"Hi, Jack."
A male voice suppressed all three as they sat, unannounced Ther sidled up to them taking a seat on the opposite side of Jack from Victoria.
"I didn't expect to see you here. " Theo' explained, aiming the conversation at Jack, though not entirely to the exclusion of the other two, as he rested his arm slightly possessively on the back of Jack's chair. Jack said nothing but did slightly lean closer to Theo, his heart beating slightly faster than it had been a few moments before.
"Victoria invited us," Macy explained noticing the frosty atmosphere between Theo and Victoria who was currently giving Theo such violent death glares that if looks could kill she would have been accused of murder.
"I thought it would be nice for Jack," Victoria responded with barely contained animosity.
"I see, well I was just passing by and saw Jack and thought I would say hello. Maybe me and Jack could leave you two ladies for a bit." Theo flashed a daring grin in Victoria's direction.

Macy was still not sure what to make of this animosity, but it was very clear to her that Victoria was jealous for some reason and also that her brother had in some way become part of the equation.
"I'm afraid we were all just leaving," Victoria replied icily.
"Never mind then perhaps another time." Theo agreed to pull Jack into a less-than-manly embrace, an embrace that Jack readily returned, and that had Victoria's teeth clenched in an effort to contain her emotions. An embrace that Macy realised was more like that of a lover and not a friend.