A high school senior heads to Boston to visit his sister for Halloween. A twist of fate reveals something they would never have admited alone... and it proves to be the one thing that may keep them alive when the best laid plans of a group of college students are lain waste by a force of terrible evil and corruption that has thrived for centuries... Can Charlie Kane be strong enough to live? or will the River of Shadows claim yet another victim...?

The next morning I woke around seven am. It was just getting light outside the window. I could hear my sister snoring softly. It made me smile in my sleep clouded state; it brought back fond memories of our bunk bed sharing childhood.
I rolled off the air mattress and tiptoed quietly out of the room into the dark corridor. Locating the bathroom, I did my business, and began to brush my teeth. I caught my reflection in the mirror over the sink and mentally rolled my eyes at the image reflected. My rubber band had gotten lost in the night, and my slept in hair went in every direction. My main concern was the fact my face was still smooth… It was silly expecting to have gone from baby face smooth to stubbly man overnight, but some part of me almost expected it to happen. I finished up and left the bathroom in search of morning sustenance; my stomach called.

I was fixing myself a pot of coffee and toast when I heard a noise behind me. As I turned, I came face to face with a red haired girl around my height. She looked as sleepy as I felt.

“Um, hi,” she said curiously, “I’m Heather.” She added with a lopsided grin. “You must be Hannah’s… friend? That’s coming up this weekend?”

I was stunned momentarily. “Mm, she’s my sister… I’m Charlie.” I replied awkwardly. “I didn’t wake you did I? I tried to be quiet…”

Heather shook her head. “Oh no,” she admitted with a coy smile, “The smell of coffee wakes me from the deepest of slumbers… no better way to wake up… I thought Hannah was up for a moment till I saw you in here…”

I turned back to the coffee maker and pulled the pot off the boil before filling two cups with the dark liquid. “Here.” I offered handing her one. “So you’re Hannah’s housemate?” I asked trying to fill the awkward silence that had descended.

“Yep,” nodded Heather as she sipped the steaming coffee, “sophomore majoring in American Literature… What about you?”

“Uh, I’m in my senior year of high school back home.”

Heather’s eyebrows rose, “High school?” she asked with surprise, “I mean, you are a bit… skinny.” She added looking me up and down, “But I had you pegged for at least a freshman…

I blushed, “uh, thanks.”

“So are you coming tonight?” Heather continued, getting more animated as the level of coffee in her mug lowered. “I’m going as a vampire princess.” She grinned. “I borrowed this corset off my friend Amy who’s a goth… it’s totally sexy.” She admitted conspiratorially. “It doesn’t half make my boobs itch after though.” She added with a chuckle.

I turned red and muttered something incoherent in response.

“What are you going to wear?” she asked curiously.

“Uh, I was going to go as a Vampire too.” I admitted sheepishly, realising it was probably a massive Halloween cliché. “But I lost my case at the station… so I’m going to get something else today when I get clothes and stuff.” I added.

“Oh you poor thing!” Heather sympathised. “I hate it when that happens… and they never want to help.”

“I know.” I agreed, “It’s like they just don’t give a shit once you pay for your ticket and get off the train… Still… I don’t know what to go as now… It seems like you’re all very into this.” I smiled.

“Oh we are.” Heather nodded. “It’s an excuse to have fun, and with the location we have…. It’s going to rock! She laughed. “Mm, I think there’s a place down on Adams that has some neat costumes… What were you thinking?”

I sipped my coffee and thought for a moment… original…. Something original…. “Well I guess I could go as something undead?” I offered lamely.

Heather scrunched up her face and shook her head. “Nah, that’s a bit lame… anyway it will look all icky… this isn’t that sort of party… a whooole different sort of ‘good looking costume.” She giggled. “Okay… Lets go get dressed, and we can go down to the store and see what we can sort you out with huh?” she offered with a smile. “Your sister doesn’t like to wake up before mid day… and this isn’t going to be a quick job.” She chuckled playfully. “Hey, you got anything to wear since you lost your case?”

I shrugged. “Uh, I hadn’t thought about that really.” I admitted.

“It’s ok.” Heather smiled, “I’m sure I’ve got something you can wear, we’re about the same size. Well… Almost…” she grinned hefting her considerable bosom.

It was about then when the penny finally dropped and I realised what she had been thinking all along… I was sat here… in one of Hannah’s old sleep shirts… admittedly, a plain one, I had hairless legs… I didn’t shave… I had long hair… She thought I was a girl!

“I’m a boy.” I blurted quickly.

Heather cocked her head to one side and looked at me for a moment. “You are?” she asked with something approaching surprise. Then her hands flew to her mouth in shock.

“Oh my god!” She breathed. “I’m so sorry.” “I… I don’t know what got into my head… and I mean… I should have… but you …. I mean… I’m sorry.” She added a second time. “Well I guess that explains why you’re flat up top.” She chuckled softly. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.” She added again, “I’m such a dolt; I guess I was tired, then I didn’t really look harder… “She trailed off before looking down at her lap.

I sat for a moment confused. I didn’t look like a girl… I thought… But apparently I did? It was a strange thought. The even stranger thought rattling around in my head was that it wasn’t such a bad thing… or was it? Should I be ashamed? I wasn’t sure… But an odd idea was kicking around in my head that refused to leave. It would sure be funny… That she had thought I was a girl was oddly not offensive in my mind…. Did that mean I? I mean, we had talked… like equals… I’d enjoyed that… was this what it was like being popular? Having friends? Would she still like me if I was a guy? What was I thinking? Of course I was a guy… I… It was really the first time I’d thought about it frankly. And Thinking back, I couldn’t really think of any reason I liked it… Being a guy I mean… I’d always been so… safe… so cautious about everything… A part of me wanted to run from something I didn’t think was normal… yet another part was saying what’s to loose? I couldn’t describe it…
“Heather?” I asked snapping out of my inner monologue. She looked up with a questioning expression on her face.

“The costume for tonight?” I prompted slowly, “Well… what if I was to go as a girl?”

She looked confused for a moment, but a sly grin crept onto her lips. “You’re serious?” she asked slowly. “Well I guess it would be one hell of a costume… I guess you could pull it off? But why? I mean… you’re a boy…”

It was my turn to stare at my lap before I could form the words. “Well… I… Before… Thinking about it, I sort of liked that you thought I was a girl, I think.” I admitted sheepishly. “And… I guess… I was wondering what it was like?”

She was quiet for a moment; eventually I picked up the courage to look at her. She didn’t seem mad…

“You’re serious.” She said quietly. “I don’t mean to pry… she began. “I mean… are you? I mean… would you like to be a girl?” she asked cautiously.

I sat for a long moment wondering what my answer was. “I don’t know.” I said so softly it was almost a whisper. “I…. Maybe.”

Heather got down from the kitchen stool she was sat on and walked over to me and placing a hand on my chin, tilted my face till I was looking in hers. “Have you told Hannah any of this?” she asked softly.

I shook my head and felt my eyes getting moist again. Heather frowned sympathetically and hugged me gently. “Well why don’t we find out before you do huh?” she offered gently.

“I was going to lend you some of my stuff so we could go look for a costume… well… It still stands.” She added looking me in the eyes. “Lets go find you a costume.” She smiled.

Why I agreed to her idea, and why I even said the things I did in the first place… I won’t ever know… Something made me feel like trusting her, even before I trusted myself. Was this what having a friend was like?

I followed Heather back to her bedroom, and we sat down on her bed. It was a little tense at first, but she gave me a quick hug and bounced to her feet.

“Right.” She announced in a business like manner. “What do you want to start with? Uh, It’s like… Not too cold out… how about a skirt, a sweater and leggings? Something simple and not too frilly…”

I shrugged non comittally, “I guess so.” I offered. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

Heather turned to her dresser, and started going through drawers. “Here.” She announced handing me a handful of silk and lace. “Scoot on over to the bathroom and put these on, then we can get to work.” She grinned.

I looked down at my hands and blushed at the pair of panties I was holding. “Is this necessary?” I asked cautiously.

“Sure it is,” she smiled, “If you want to test something, you do it right… now git.” She giggled pushing me out of the door and across the hallway.

Closing the bathroom door behind me, I looked at the panties in my hand. They were pink silk and lace… so very feminine… I frowned to myself. Why had I said that? Why was I here now about to do this? I wasn’t sure of the answer, and I was more sure that I didn’t really want to know right now. With a shrug, I dropped my boxer shorts, and pulled the panties up my legs and let the sleep shirt drop back down again.

I stood for a second wondering if I was supposed to feel anything… I didn’t… they just felt like softer briefs… luxuriously soft… I shook my head and unlocked the door before tiptoeing back across the hallway to Heather’s room.

I knocked softly on the open door to get her attention. I was blushing something aweful, “Ok.” I offered by way of confirmation. “I’m done.”

Heather chuckled. “Well I’d have thought so… its not rocket science. Come on in here and take off that shirt.”

Closing the door, I stepped into the room and gripped the hem of the shirt. After a second or two’s pause, I lifted the shirt over my head and stood clutching it to my chest, nervous at being semi nude.

Heather cocked her head to one side and smiled slightly. “You behave like a girl you know.”

I frowned, “How do you mean?”

“Well…” she began, “you’re more embarrassed about being topless than you are about me seeing you in pink panties.” She giggled.

I blushed a deeper shade than I thought possible. “Uh.” I added intelligently.

Heather smiled warmly. “It’s ok sweetie,” she cooed softly, “now come on, pop that shirt down and let me put this on you.” She said dangling a bra from her finger.

“Won’t that be a bit big for me?” I asked cautiously looking between the bra and her expansive chest.

Heather shook her head and grinned. “Well, I guess it’s ok to tell you that I got a boob job in my freshman year…” she explained, blushing herself. “I was quite small, I never developed much… up top.” She gestured, “It caused me a lot of issues… and my parents paid for me to get the surgery so I could be more self-confident.”

“Oh, I see.” I replied looking intently at my toes.

“So… This is one of the ones I had before…” she continued, “I didn’t get round to throwing them out, and I was sort of attached to a few.” She added. “Come here.” She gestured.

Slowly I stepped over towards her and tossed the tee shirt on the bed. Lifting my arms as instructed, she talked me through putting the bra on. It was one of those experiences I had never expected to have in my lifetime.

Once she had fitted the bra, she began pulling tissues from a box on her vanity and started to gently stuff them into the cups. Before long, I was surprised to see two small mounds protruding from my chest. I felt a very odd flutter in my stomach at that moment.

Heather stepped back to survey her work. Her eyebrows shot up.

“What’s wrong?” I asked nervously. Wondering how much weird I must have looked at that moment.

“Nothing.” She replied shaking her head. “I’m just surprised that I can’t actually tell that you aren’t a girl anymore. Still a skinny bitch thought.” She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

I looked at my feet again; I wasn’t sure if I was upset or pleased by her words. It was a very odd time indeed.

Heather broke the silence by handing me a pair of black leggings that she told me, went on like pants, and sitting on the bed, I pulled them up my legs, and seated them around my waist. They ended half way down my calves, and seemed to make my legs look thinner and longer. Standing up, I stepped into the skirt she handed me. It was short and denim, like a pair of jeans cut off just bellow the crotch… it was quite short, but I was adequately covered… I hoped. I pulled on the Umass sweater that Heather handed me and put my hands behind my head to pull my hair out of the top. I earned myself another funny look from Heather.

“What?” I asked self-consciously.

Heather shook her head, “nothing.” She replied. “It just looks like you’ve been doing that all your life.”

I rolled my eyes and wrapped my finger around my hair, “I have.” I grinned sarcastically.

“Oh you know what I mean.” She snapped back with a frustrated grin. “I guess I was right this morning.”

I frowned again, unsure of her meaning.

“When I thought you were a girl.” She added. “It’s just your movements and actions are all so… natural.”

I blushed, wondering where all the spare blood I had for it came from. Sitting down on the bed heavily I rested my head in my hands and sighed. “I don’t know Heather.” I admitted. “Before today, I really hadn’t thought about this… It’s… I…” I clammed up before I could finish. The words and feelings were too strong. Before I knew it, Heather had wrapped her arms around me and was squeezing me gently. It was reassuring.

“Just take it as it comes.” She advised. “Don’t think, just live… ok? We’re going to have a busy day, and an awesome night… so think about all this shit tomorrow ok?”

I nodded weakly and gave her a quick squeeze before slipping my feet into the sandals she had offered me and stood up.
I walked over to the mirror on her wall and looked at my reflection. I don’t know what I had expected to see… But it wasn’t me… at least not the me I had seen so often… aside from two bumps… the only real difference was the waist down, but the whole image… I… I saw a young girl staring back at me… I never realised just how like my sister I really looked. We were different in our ways, but we shared a common genetics, and it showed. I wanted to hate to admit it, but I liked what I saw…

Heather brushed my hair, and added a touch of makeup… I wasn’t sure what it was… to my eyelashes and lips before pronouncing me ready. The girl I saw looking back at me in the hallway mirror was pretty… she looked like any other girl I might see in the street. She was dressed casually, a student… but she was me. I tried to feel some sort of guilt… or embarrassment, but the only thing I felt, was calm…

Heather let us out of the apartment and locked the door behind us. A part of me wanted to run… wanted to hide… I must be mad…

From the author:
Part deux of The River of Shadows... Sure... I admit, this is pretty standard fair, for now... please bear with me... it will all make sense eventually.
Please keep commenting... The ones on the last part were quite helpful, and I love to hear your views and opinions... I write for you guys... the reader, not for me...
many autumnal thanks
Alyssa P(rincess of darkness)