Echoes Part VI

Melanie Ezell

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Cary tried to pay attention to the movie, but just like the walk to the restaurant he kept finding his eyes wandering over to the beautiful creature next to him. *I REALLY need to talk to Miriam about this. This is insane.* Miriam turned her face away from the screen and smiled at him briefly, and he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks.

The feeling of embarrassment quickly turned to one of surprise. Her face never left the screen as her small hand travelled across the armrest, hovering above his right thigh, before dipping between his legs...

<=====>

Chapter 14: Girl Lessons 101, Part 2

Miriam was nervous beyond description as he slowly made his way down the stairs in the unfamiliar shoes. Lindy had gone above and beyond anything he had expected, and somehow picked the right sizes up for Miriam’s body, though he had been too nervous to go out in the skirt and had instead opted for a pair of her old jeans she couldn’t wear any more.

It wasn’t that there was even anything exceptionally girly about the clothes he was now wearing, besides the underwear.

*Then again, that’s a pretty big ‘besides’,* he thought ruefully.

The low rise jeans fit him well through the hips if a little baggy in the seat, and the basic black tank came down to just meet their waistband. The amount of shape he managed to achieve up top was the least of his worries after Lindy had gone wild with her mascara and eyeliner though, and just a bit of lip gloss had given him the shock of his life when looking in the mirror.

He looked exactly like a younger, auburn haired version of his mom, right down to the large eyes and smallish nose. He had turned one way and then the other, absorbing as best he could the difference so little effort had actually made.

“Yup, I’m good!” Lindy leaned in from behind him, setting her chin on his shoulder and giving him a Cheshire cat grin. “What’cha think?”

“I… I dunno.”

“Well, maybe another opinion would help?” He felt her grab his hand and drag him towards the door. “Come on, Cary’s waitin’ downstairs to see the new ‘n improved you!”

“Wait, no, Lindy!”

<=====>

Lindy couldn’t resist the urge to hum the ‘Miss America’ theme as she led her, she had to admit, very hot looking friend out her bedroom door and to the top of the stairs.

“Wait here, I’ll go let him know you’re on your way down.”

“But Lindy!”

“Shh!” She gave Miriam a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder before heading down the stairs.

The results of the transformation had astounded her at least as much as they had Miriam. *I knew she’d look good, but wow.* She was still a little miffed over the skirt, but she contented herself with knowing that even without it people would never see Miriam as anything but a girl. Besides, the tank top would be cool enough in the not-quite spring weather outside.

Cary was pacing the living room, for all the world looking like the eager boyfriend waiting for his date to arrive. Lindy was hesitant to break the mood, but the sooner they got going the sooner she could start going after Jonathan again- and the sooner they would know just how comfortable Miriam could be in her new role.

“Knock knock.”

<=====>

"Stop staring at me!"

"Sorry!" Cary did his best to turn his eyes away from watching Miriam, but no matter how hard he tried his gaze seemed to be drawn right back to her. Him. Whatever. *I've known her for years and never had this kind of trouble, why now?*

Lindy's voice interrupted his thoughts. "So whatcha wanna see at the theater?"

Cary shrugged. "I dunno. Miriam?" Miriam's blush was obvious, and Cary couldn't help but feel bad for her as he watched her try to sink into the concrete.

"I don't care." Cary stopped in his tracks when she glared at him. "And STOP STARING AT ME!"

"I'm Sorry!"

<=====>

The decision was reached to have something to eat before going to the theater, which brought up the question of where to eat, which after much discussion resulted in Miriam finding himself sat in a booth next to Cary while Lindy called Jonathan to meet them at Fryer Tuck's, Home of the Deep Fried Barbecue Sandwich.

"I still can't believe ya wanted ta come here," Lindy grumbled as Miriam eyed the menu hungrily.

"What? I like this place!" Miriam replied. It had been his argument that if he was going dressed as a girl, he should at least get to pick where they ate. Fryer Tuck's was inexpensive, it was good, and best of all, he knew that most of the people at school avoided the place like the plague ever since they added Deep Fried Frog Legs to the menu. He couldn't imagine why.

He also couldn't imagine why he was managing to stay so calm. Here he was, sitting in a public place, wearing girl's clothes and makeup, and after finally getting used to Cary's constant gawping the biggest worry he had was how hard it would be to get grease stains out of his tank top. *Shouldn't I be freaking out by now?*

The arrival of their soft drinks pulled his attention back to the group, and combined with Jonathan's arrival it was enough to distract him from any further deep thought.

<=====>

"Eight fifty."

Miriam reached for the purse Lindy had put his wallet in to get his money, but Cary's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Please, let me," Cary said, pulling enough money for two tickets from his wallet and passing it through the window, retrieving the tickets. Miriam smiled at him.

"Okay, but I get the snacks, deal?"

Cary nodded and grinned. "Deal."

"Will you get my ticket for me?" Miriam heard from behind him, and turned to find Lindy hanging on the arm of a slightly embarrassed looking Jonathan.

"Uh, sure?" He most certainly didn't seem sure.

<=====>

Lindy couldn't resist a slight pout once she was sure the darkness within the theater would hide it. Ever since she had walked Miriam down the stairs Cary had been following her around like a lost puppy, and gone out of his way to try and impress Miriam. Meanwhile, here she was, doing her damnedest to get Jonathan interested in her, and all he wanted to talk about was how much better Miriam seemed as a girl than a boy.

After hearing another comment along the lines of "Damn, he really does seem like a girl," Lindy had had enough.

"Ya know, if you're that into the change, I could find some clothes at the mall that'd fit YOU. How's that?"

She was happy to note the silence that followed, and pulled herself up and kissed him before he could say something stupid again.

<=====>

Cary tried to pay attention to the movie, but just like the walk to the restaurant he kept finding his eyes wandering over to the beautiful creature next to him. *I REALLY need to talk to Miriam about this. This is insane.* Miriam turned her face away from the screen and smiled at him briefly, and he felt the blood rushing to his cheeks.

The feeling of embarrassment quickly turned to one of surprise. Her face never left the screen as her small hand travelled across the armrest, hovering above his right thigh, before dipping between his legs...

And pulling out a handful of popcorn from the tub he had forgotten about.

*Oh, god.*

<=====>

Miriam grimaced slightly as he wiped the dust and oil from the popcorn on the leg of his jeans. 'This popcorn's a bit stale. I wish I had some gummie bears or something.'

"Cary?"

"Yeah?"

Miriam gave his biggest smile. "Would you let me out? I wanna get something at the concession stand."

"Ooh, good idea!" Miriam recognized Lindy's voice from the aisle just behind them. "I could use a break myself. Come on, boys, let us up."

<=====>

“So, how’s your date with Jonathan going so far?”

“I kissed him!” Lindy squealed happily. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, and I kinda gave up on him trying it so I just went and did it!”

Miriam laughed at his friend’s happiness. “Well, good for you! I do have to say, though, I’m getting a little nervous.”

Lindy leaned against the snack counter while Miriam placed his order. “What’re you getting nervous about?”

“Three ninety-five, ma’am.” The counter girl pulled out the box of gummie bears, and Miriam handed over the cash.

“I dunno. Cary said he wanted to talk to me today, and I’m just kinda worried about what it’s gonna be about.”

Lindy waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you on purpose or anything. What’re you expecting, he’s gonna say you’re weird or something?”

‘Hmm.’ “I guess.” Just what was he worried about with the talk to Cary later? The last time she had been this nervous about a talk had been- ‘No, wait. That wasn’t me, that was me- I mean, Marina? Mary Anne? You’d think if I’m stuck with the memories I’d be able to remember what names went with what, but it all just kind of blends together after a while.’

<=====>

Brrrr- WHACK WHACK WHACK!!!

“AAAhhheee!”

SLAM! Cruuuunnnccchhhh.....

“Eww!”

“Ohmigod, that’s so GROSS!”

“Whose idea was it to see this movie anyways?”

“Uh, Lindy, I think it was yours...”

“Oh, shut up!”

<=====>

Cary looked on helplessly as Miriam returned all the gummie bears she had bought to the theater by way of the trash can. After seeing that, he couldn’t blame her.

“So what now?”

Cary scratched the back of his neck. What now? He needed to talk to Miriam alone for a while, but it was a pretty sure thing that with both Jonathan and Lindy there it would be hard to find an excuse to get away and talk. He looked sadly to where Miriam was leaning against the theater wall, the green finally starting to fade from her face after- he felt his own stomach heave at the thought of what they had just watched, and decided he really didn’t want to think about that.

“Cary?” Miriam’s stressed voice came through his senses.

“Yeah?”

“I think I wanna go home.”

Cary nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Wait," Lindy spoke up, "you need to come back to my place to change first.”

<=====>

Chapter 15: Good Night, Sweetheart

Cary was hoping that seeing Miriam back in her- *his his hishishis*- own clothes would help to break the tension between them, but was not expecting to have any such luck. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t think of Miriam as anything but a girl.

“Hey, man, things okay?”

“Huh? What?”

Jonathan nudged his shoulder again. “You jus’ seem kinda out of things. Ev’rything alright?”

“...yeah. Sorry.”

“No prob. Here they come back.”

Cary watched for the second time that day as Miriam made her way down the steps. The clothes were her own old boy’s clothes, and only the slightest evidence of the makeup from earlier remained on her face, but she was still a girl.

“You two be careful on your way home,” Lindy told Miriam as she descended the stairs slightly behind. “Jonathan, you too.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jonathan saluted Lindy, getting a scowl in return. “I’ll make sure these two make it safely.”

“Uh, I need to talk to Cary, if that’s okay. Um, alone.” Miriam glanced down at her feet nervously, and Cary blushed.

“Oh. Okay.” Another pat on his back brought Cary up to look at Jonathan again. “Later, man.”

“Yeah,” Cary answered, “later.”

<=====>

Miriam walked along beside Cary, unsure of how to start the conversation. Why did Cary want to talk to him? And if it was so important, why wasn’t he talking now? Unable to think of anything else to say, Miriam opened up with the only thing he could think of.

“So, what’s up?”

“Huh?” Cary responded slowly, a slightly dull look in his eyes.

“Well, you wanted to talk to me earlier,” Miriam prodded. “Here we are, so... talk.”

Cary kicked at a stray leaf on the sidewalk before answering. “Yeah, uh, hmm. Sorry, it’s just kinda hard for me to just, ah, ask and stuff...”

Miriam growled a bit inside, but managed to keep it from coming out loud. The last thing he wanted was to make Cary more nervous. “O-kay. So. *sigh* This was kind of weird, wasn’t it?” Miriam grinned, wrapping his arms around himself as he considered the absurdity of the situation. “The last thing I ever thought I’d be doing is dressing as a girl to go to the movies. I can’t believe nobody said anything.”

“Why would they?” Cary asked. “You looked nice. I mean, really.”

Miriam felt himself blushing at the compliment, feeling glad the street lights had not yet come on so he could hide in the evening’s shadows. “Thanks. It was just weird being out like that. I dunno, ever since Lindy took me to see that Gordon guy everything’s been so messed up, I guess one more weird thing really doesn’t stand out any more.”

Miriam saw Cary stop moving, and turned to watch as he said softly, “Don’t say that.”

“What?”

Cary stepped forwards, standing merely inches away from Miriam. “Don’t say you were weird tonight. You weren’t. You were... beautiful.” Miriam’s breath caught in his throat as Cary took another step forwards, closing the distance between them even further. “Miriam, I was wanting to ask you something. I, I know it’s going to sound like I’m stupid or something, but.”

Miriam could barely manage a whisper- his heart was beating so hard in his chest, it felt like he could faint at any moment. “Yes?”

“Miriam.” Cary was so close now that Miriam could feel his warm breath on his face. “I... I really like you, Miriam. A lot. And, um, I was wondering–would you-“

There was a harsh ‘pop’ from above, and the brilliant flash of light startled the two teenagers apart. It was only the street light, but by the time they realized it the mood had already passed. With a jump, Miriam took a step back. “Cary, I, I gotta get home. I think I can make it the rest of the way on my own.”

The look on Cary’s face hurt Miriam to see, it was so full of pain. “Oh, right. Sorry. Uh. Just forget what I was saying, ‘kay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Cary.” It was on impulse, but Miriam walked back towards his friend and gave him a light hug. Cary was stiff at first, but after the initial shock loosened up and returned the embrace.

<=====>

Felicity was washing dishes when she heard the creaking of the screen door. “Hello?”

“Oh, hi Mom. Sorry I’m late getting home, we went to Fryer Tuck’s and a movie.”

Felicity turned off the water and span around to face the door, looking for her child. “That’s okay, sweetie, but call us next time you’re gonna be late- we had to call Lindy’s parents to find out where you were, and you know how much I hate talking to her mother.” Raven had always been a ditz in school, and even now Felicity would swear she felt dumber after talking to the woman. How she graduated...

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll call next time.” Miriam came into the room, and immediately crossed the kitchen to give her a hug. “But right now, I’m like really tired. I think I’m gonna go to bed.”

“Okay, sweetie.” Felicity let Miriam out of her arms, but gripped his bicep quickly when she saw his face. “Miriam, what happened to your face?”

Her child frowned up at her. “Nothing, why?”

Calming herself, she let him go. “It was just me, I’m sorry. Good night, honey.”

“’Night Mom.” She watched Miriam go, and debated what to do. The eyeliner had not been all that obvious, but the smell of perfume had. One thing she knew- she would be having words with Lindy, not her mother, quite soon.

<=====>

Cary crawled into bed, tired beyond belief, but he knew he would not be sleeping for a while.

*Dammit! Why didn’t I just come out and say it? Instead I had to get all nervous and- grrr!*

Tomorrow, he promised himself. Tomorrow he would find out for sure how Miriam felt about him. He would let her know he loved her, and ask her out, and she would say-

What would she say?

<=====>

Miriam stripped his clothes off in his room, his eyes trying to close on their own as he stumbled towards bed. At the last second, he made a bee line for his dresser, grabbing an old tee shirt of his father’s he had taken years before to sleep in whenever he felt like he needed the comfort of his parents nearby. He absently noticed that he had forgotten to grab his own underwear while at Lindy’s, but shrugged his indifference before climbing into bed.

Sleep came quickly to Miriam, and before long she found herself standing again in the grey mist. Wait, she? Looking down at her naked body, Miriam was less than amused to see that yes, ‘she’ was definitely the right pronoun. “WHAT the hell?”

#Your mind and body are becoming one. You are becoming who you are.#

“What does that even MEAN?” Miriam angrily looked around to try and find where the voice was coming from, but like all the times before, she could see nothing but the grey mist surrounding her.

#Soon you will know. The errors of the past must be corrected. You must be whole.#

She felt like hitting something. “Again with the ‘make whole’ thing. Can we just get this over with? Tell me what’s going on!” Her throat was feeling raw from the yelling- could your throat get raw from yelling in a dream?- and still the voice answered in the same calm monotone.

#Your soul has been broken. It must be mended. Tonight you shall learn what must be done.#

“What!?”

But the voice was gone. Miriam felt herself spinning, falling, pressure building around her as her senses ran wild. Hot, cold, strange tastes popping on her tongue, lights dancing before her eyes.

Then nothing.

Her head was aching as she felt herself resolve yet again into what felt like the real world, and opened her eyes wearily to find herself in a strange room full of people. At first she couldn’t recognize any of them, but slowly it dawned on her. The tall girl in what looked like a school uniform smiled sadly at her, while the young woman in the Antebellum dress cried to herself to one side. A soft whimpering could be heard from another figure huddled in its pile of rags further away, and many more women surrounded them, unidentifiable, vague ghosts, little more than shades after the centuries of nothing stripped them of their identities, leaving behind a shell of the spirit that had been.

Miriam screamed, and all the women and shades surrounding her screamed as well.

<=====>

Well, people, for all of you who thought the LAST chapters ended in a cliffhanger, take THAT loyal readers!!! :)

I can't wait to get the next chapters finished- I'm really excited about where the story is going now. It's turning out different than I expected, but I think... better. Yes, definitely better.

Comment or be subjected to three hundred rounds of the song that never ends!!!