Be Careful What You Switch For
By ashes

James and Jane are fraternal twins, but James wishes they were identical. He's about to get his wish for one night only as he takes Jane's place at a frat party. Sometimes wishes come true.

Author's note: I only started this one and a half days ago when I found out Melanie Ezell's Ultimate Writer's Challenge 2012 Edition. I didn't have time to get anyone to edit if I wanted to get it in on time. I also didn't have time to really work out the plot and pretty much made it up as I went along, so if it looks like I cut some corners here or there that's why, but I hope you find it enjoyable anyway.

Here was the premise for this week's challenge
1. Hereditary Traits
Idea: Write a story about a character whose resemblance to a relative is a centerpoint of their gender transformation.
Length: 1000 words or more
Limitations: Have fun with the idea.

-------------

"Are you almost ready yet?" Jane asked, barging into my room as I was pulling a shirt over my head. I shook out my shoulder-length brown hair and gave it a quick comb. I looked in the mirror, noting how much Jane and I looked alike besides the gender difference. I sighed, secretly wishing that we were exactly alike, but apparently fate decided it wasn't meant to be.

"Jane, it's a frat party. Everyone is going to be too busy drinking, dancing and making out to care if we show up a few minutes later than everyone else." She narrowed her eyes and I sighed again, but out of exasperation this time. "What's your hurry anyway? Mike isn't going to get into any trouble. He's totally into you and you know it better than I do."

Mike was her boyfriend he was almost two years older than we were, but he was our neighbor since forever and our parents were friends so that didn't really matter. He had just started college this year and the pledges at his fraternity were being welcomed as full brothers, so they were throwing a party to celebrate. Even though we were only high school seniors we were allowed to come as long as we didn't drink anything alcoholic. They didn't want to be charged with serving alcohol to minors if the cops came around, and they cared enough that they didn't want us getting in trouble either.

Jane got a little red with my last comment. She probably thought she was being discrete, but I knew she had gotten further with Mike than she wanted anyone else to know. At least I noticed the last few times she came home from being with him she seemed to have a little more of a glow than usual, so I had my suspicions, which judging by the blush were quite accurate.

"Well, I don't think that's any of your business," she huffed, "Now quit dilly-dallying and let's get going!" She turned and walked out the door, muttering under her breath but loud enough for me to hear, "God sometimes you're more of a girl than I am!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Did she know my secret? I thought if she ever did that she would be more direct, confrontational even, after all I had stolen some of her things from the wash. I heard her ask mom about some of them, obviously she noticed they were missing, but she never asked me about them. I figured she would rightly be upset if she found out that I had taken them. She probably wouldn't be very happy to learn that I had actually gone out as her a few times using those things either. I never ran into anyone we knew, but I'm positive they would have thought I was her.

I was still standing there, frozen in place like an idiot when -poof!- and a smoky cloud billowed up in front of me. It quickly dissipated, and in it's place stood a tall, curvy black woman. She was wearing a white glittering halter-style dress that went to mid-thigh. Her hair was done up in a high loose bun and glittered almost as much as the dress Two things seemed out of place about her- besides appearing out of thin air. She was barefoot, and the top ends of what appeared to be thin translucent wings stuck out over her shoulders. She simply smiled at me. It didn't take me long to come up with an explanation for this strange occurrence.

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically, "this is some kind of joke right? I bet my sister put you up to this. Are you supposed to be some kind of fairy or something? Lame. I've seen fairy costumes in every costume store I've ever been in, and I'm sure it isn't that hard to find those poofy smoke balls that the ninjas use in all... the... movies..." I stopped babbling because at that moment the 'costume' wings started to move, becoming a nearly invisible blur. She rose about a foot off the ground a floated for a few seconds before setting back down. The entire time that smile never changed.

"Sorry suga, this ain't no costume, and this ain't no joke neitha."

She continued to smile patiently while I picked the lower half of my jaw off the floor and reattached it to my face. My mind was trying really hard to work, but it seemed frozen. Finally I snapped out of it, but I was trembling a bit. I tried to remain rational, there was an explanation for this right?

"Okay, it's a crazy dream then..." She slowly shook her head. "Fine. For the sake of argument let's say that you're real and everything you appear to be. Why are you here?"

She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I know your secret."

And then I fainted.

*<*^*>*

When I came to I was in a bed, and the black lady was sitting over me. She still had that smile on her face, which was starting the annoy and worry me a little bit, considering what she knew about me.

"Oh, don't worry suga, I ain't here to hurt ya. Actually, I hope I can make you happy," she said as she leaned down to stroke my hair.

I quickly sat up and backed away from her in one motion that brought my attention to a weight on my chest. That weight might as well have been a magnet for the effect it had on me. I slowly lowered my head and stared at them for a minute longer than I should have I think, but what would your reaction be if you suddenly woke up with two rather supple breasts?

"What the hell?" I started then squeaked and raised my hand to my throat as I realized I sounded exactly like Jane. My eyes were getting wet with tears as I looked over to... my fairy godmother? I didn't know for sure, but she might as well have been. I looked at her, "Not a dream?" I whispered, a tremble in my voice.

"Not a dream," she confirmed, her smile actually getting bigger.

I couldn't think of anything to do at that moment but to hug her. Have you ever hugged someone who had wings? It feels a bit weird, but I didn't care. This woman had just done for me what no one else in the world even knew I wanted.

"So we're identical twins now?" I was getting up to look in the mirror even though I already knew what I would look like- we weren't that different before. A quick look confirmed that suspicion. I turned back grinning wildly, but that was short-lived. As soon as I saw her looking depressed I knew there was something wrong. My face fell too, "There's a catch isn't there?"

"'Fraid so suga. This magic is only gonna work for tonight. I know it seems cruel to give ya this happiness only to take it from ya later." She did look genuinely sorry for me, and I was upset at first. I thought about it though, and decided that one night was better than never having the chance. I hugged her again and told her that.

She took me by the shoulders and straightened me out as she stood up from the bed. She put her hand over my head with her index finger pointed down and started twirling it in a circular motion. A smoky cloud formed at my feet and enveloped me swirling further and further up my body until I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. When I could see again my hand had perfectly shaped red nails on it. I looked back in the mirror, and was amazed that the reflection was of myself, despite my previous expectations.

I was now wearing a red version of the halter-style dress she had on, only mine wasn't glittery, or winged. I also had red strappy four inch heels, which felt completely natural for some reason... magic I guess. My hair was down, done in loose wavy curls, so that it only came down to my chin, but it did a perfect job of framing my face. My makeup was done in a way that it almost looked like I wasn't wearing any except for a light purple shadow that brought out my eyes, a little mascara, and just a hint of gloss on my lips for that kissable sheen.

I was still admiring myself when I thought of something that got me worried. "I can't go to that party like this. Jane is going to be there, and they know that were not identical and that I'm a guy. Not to mention Jane will freak out when she sees this," I flourished my hands over myself Vanna White style.
"Thanks for trying, really, but I just don't see how this can work."

"Hey now, come here," she said as she pulled me into another hug. It was quite comforting. I decided that even after I'm a guy again, I'm demanding some more hugs. They just feel so nice don't they? This was a quick one though, as she pushed me away to get a good look into my eyes again. "You don't worry about nothin suga, it's all taken care of. Your sister is under a spell tonight. She will sleep soundly until well into the morning, and when she wakes she will have the memories of you at the party. She will remember your actions as her own. No one will eva know it wasn't her at that party... except for you and me that is."

I wanted to be upset about this. It seemed kind of like a mean thing to do, not to mention it felt a little wrong on a moral level. If she could force people to remember things that hadn't happened to them, well I didn't really want to think about it too hard. I just couldn't get too angry about it though, this was my wish coming true, at least for tonight. It was reminding me a bit of the story of Cinderella. The parts about fairy godparent and transformations anyway. Oh, wait a minute, did that mean...?

"So, um, I suppose I need to be home by midnight or else I turn back and some guy I'm making out with get pissed and beats me to death?" I asked as she was escorting me out the door, handing me the black clutch Jane was going to bring.

She chuckled, "No suga, it's the 21st century now. You can be out until 3."

She gave me one last hug, then winked and with another -poof!-, she disappeared.

*<*^*>*

I took Jane's VW Bug over to the fraternity. I really hated the car, it was too small for my tastes and Jane had picked one in that weird metallic lime green that the new Bugs seemed to have patented for how often they come in that color. If you've ever seen one you know what I'm talking about. Regardless I drove it the four blocks from our house since walking that far in those heels would not have been pleasant. I still had to park a block away due to my being late. Now I guess I knew why Jane was upset about that earlier. I guess I would be more considerate of that in the future.

When I got to the porch I was greeted by one of the other brothers, who recognized me from being around Mike.

"Hey Jane, where's James? I thought he was coming too." Thankfully I knew this would come up so I had thought of a simple explanation.

"Oh he wasn't feeling very good earlier, so he decided it would be better for him to stay home tonight. He said he'd see Mike later so it wasn't a big deal for him to be here today."

"Hey, fair enough. Hope he feels better soon," he said with genuine compassion.

"I'm sure he will," I said dismissively. "So Mike's inside?"

"Oh yeah, somewhere."

"Thanks. See you around," and with that I went in to find my temporary boyfriend. It didn't take long to find him. The foyer of the building split into a hallway leading to the back of the house and a stairway leading upstairs. Mike was sitting on the third step with one of those red plastic cups in his hand. He was obviously waiting for me- er, Jane I guess-, but also obviously getting a little bored.

"That had better not be beer in that cup mister," I teased as he came over to me, eyes wide.

He composed himself quickly though. "Nah, just water, I actually don't care for beer anyway." He left the cup on the step, so when he got to me he took my face in both hands and kissed me quite passionately. Well, I knew Jane had gotten further with Mike than she let anyone in the family see, which as far as we 'knew' was just quick kisses goodnight on the porch. I knew there was more to it! Call it woman's intuition. Hah.

He broke about 15 seconds later, grinning wildly. He looked around, and seeing that nobody was listening in said, "You wanna go upstairs? My room should be empty right now, knowing George my roomie, he won't be around for a while." He wiggled his eyebrows and I giggled at him. I took his proffered hand and he led me to his room. He closed the door, but not before putting a sock on the doorknob.

Wow. I wasn't sure they had gotten quite this far in their relationship. But if they had I didn't think Jane would be hesitant about it so I played that part. Our clothes were quickly off, and let's just say it didn't take me too long to get into it. Though the first time we made love was a little sore, Mike seemed a little concerned. He figured it shouldn't hurt since it wasn't the first time. Well, that answers that question... I assured him I was okay though, and was happy that he wasn't so interested in sex that he stopped caring about me, or Jane, or whatever. You know what I mean.

After the third time- yes, the third- it was going on 1:30. Neither of us had the stamina to go back downstairs to the party. We just talked for a while, and before I knew it I had fallen asleep in his arms, the 3 o'clock deadline long forgotten.

*<*^*>*

I woke up the next morning, immediately I noticed that I was still in Mike's room, and sunlight was coming through the window.

Fear gripped me. I would be a boy again now. It was definitely after 3. Okay, don't panic, just get out slowly and he won't wake up. He'll never know. Of course the only clothes I would have to wear would be... wait I'm in Mike's room! I can snag some of his for the drive home. The clock read 6:00a.m. so hopefully this frat was full of typical male college students who wouldn't see me leave with Jane's clutch, and her car...

I started getting slowly out of bed when something felt wrong. The extra weight on my chest was still there. Was I imagining things? I looked down and sure enough they were still there, breasts.

Now I was confused. But that didn't last long as I looked around the room again -poof!- a familiar cloud formed in the far corner. My fairy godmother was there, her expression was blank now. "Suga, we need to talk," was all she said to me.

I put my finger to my lips and pointed back at Mike's sleeping form, but she wasn't worried. "I've stopped time temporarily so we could talk without interruptions."

"Oh," I said intelligently. "I'm still a girl... not that I'm complaining, but why?"

"You stopped the magic from wearing off."

"Me? How could I have done that?"

"Our magic is based on nature," she started, " I was able to give you this night because even though your body was male, your soul was female. In other words I was able to bring out your a different part of your nature."

"So because I have a female soul nature decided I should stay like this?"

She hung her head a little, eyes closed, and shook her head, "No, ya decided it last night when ya had sex with him," she gestured to Mike.

"You didn't say that anything like this could happen. You didn't think to warn me or something?"

She looked at me, and actually looked... disappointed? "This ain't neva happened before, because normally our godchildren practice safe sex... suga, you've gotten yourself pregnant."

"So why should that stop the change back?" I asked, getting a little indignant despite an internal happiness that this change now seemed permanent.

"Nature," she said, "apparently she wants ya to have this child."

I grinned while gently putting my hand over my stomach. I was going to be a mother! Yesterday I was pretty much just existing, but now... I still couldn't believe it. Then I remembered something, or rather someone. I gasped and put my hands to my mouth.

"Oh no... Jane! What the hell am I supposed to tell her? 'Hey sis, I'm a girl now, yeah that's right I pretended to be you last night at the party. Oh, Mike? Didn't notice a thing out of place. Yeah he's great huh? In fact he was great three times! And one of those times he managed to knock me up. Congratulations, you're going to be an auntie!' I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

"'Fraid I cant help you anymore suga. I was already at the limits of my magic with what I did for ya last night. You're on your own now. I can tell ya this though... it'll work out, but the road ahead will be tough." And with that -poof!-, and I never saw her again.

I sat in Mike's bed, contemplating everything that had happened in the past six hours. Eventually there was nothing else to do but get dressed and talk to my sister. I got home uneventfully, and made my way to Jane's room with some trepidation. I opened the door quietly and peeked in, but she wasn't there. That was odd. She couldn't have left the house since I had her car, besides she was supposed to sleep 'well into the morning'.

I went across the hall to my room. It was no longer appropriate, but it was still 'mine', so I felt more comfortable going over there than being in Jane's room. I opened my door and saw Jane lying face down on my bed. She must have felt my presence in her sleep because she stirred and sat up, turning to look at me. I'm not sure of what happened after that, because I fainted.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was James's face looking back at me.

Another note: I intentionally left the ending this way. Please comment on how you think the story will play out after this. I like hearing the theories people come up with!

Reunion Resolution (Part 1)
By ashes

Walter's 10 year high school reunion is going to be later this year, and he wants to lose weight, He resolves to do it by any means necessary, and when his methods don't work his friend's wife has a suggestion. Little does he know she also has an agenda.

Author's note: This is another one that's been fighting me, and despite that longer time frame allowed to finish this one, I just couldn't get it totally finished before the deadline, especially with some of the weekly challenges also resisting me. All monthly challenges are supposed to be submitted within one week before or after the end of the month. I'm about halfway finished with this story, but I need to get something up now and this seems like a decent place to give you a taste of what's ahead. Once again I believe this will be 3 parts, but that could change. Enjoy.

Here was the premise for this month's challenge:
January: The Resolution
Idea: Sometimes keeping a New Year's resolution can lead to bigger changes in one's life than one could ever imagine.
Length: Any
Limitations: The story starts on, shortly before, or shortly after, the celebration of the new year, with the catalyst for the character's change being somehow related to their new year's resolution -- or their resolution somehow related to their change.

-------------

10!...9!...8!... The countdown started, everyone watching the ball drop from the multiple TVs in the corners of the bar. Everyone holding some sort of alcoholic beverage partially raised, poised for the toast. There were quite few couple ready to kiss at the end as well.

7!...6!... Walter Whitman, who preferred Walt as he thought Walter made him sound the an old geezer, was not among the couples. In fact lately he wasn't getting any female attention, and it was really starting to get him down. He had always thought of himself as a charmer, but that didn't matter anymore. He knew the cause of the recent lack of female company; it was his protruding gut that he had developed the past two years. After he got his M.B.A. from Stanford- which only added to his ego- he got a rather nice office job at a major corporation. This led to him eventually becoming complacent and lazy, which combined with his less than stellar diet of greasy burgers and pizza resulted in his new figure.

5!...4!...He had just received an invitation to his 10 year high school reunion, and was lost in thought about how he was going to look to his fellow classmates. He was successful in his career, but he was a fat, self-centered ass, who thought women should practically line up for him, and wouldn't have a date unless he paid someone. He wasn't going to stoop quite that low though. Lost in thought, he was the only one not watching the ball drop, he just didn't care.

3!...2!...1!... "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The patrons erupted with semi-drunken joy, raising their glasses, the couples kissing. A few took it a little far, but it was tolerated today due to the holiday and inebriation. Walt noticed one of these couples and felt a stinging in his eyes and a heaviness in his chest. He had been alone since just after last New year's celebration. He tried to make some moves on his date, who he had known for less than a week. She clearly wasn't interested in anything that serious and kept trying to fend him off. He didn't take the hint and kept at it until she slapped him and left. He had been lucky to even get her to go with him at the time, since he was already getting quite large in the stomach.

Remembering this fiasco, and seeing that couple just now, he felt his loneliness bubble into a sort of determination that perked him up a little. He sat up straighter and you could practically see the lightbulb over his head as his eyes widened and got a little brighter. He was going to make a resolution, for the first time in years. He resolved to lose that weight any way he could. He was going to make sure he wasn't revolting by the time that reunion came. It was set for late July, so he had plenty of time.

"Oh yeah. This will be easy enough," he thought to himself as he downed the last half of the beer he had been cradling.

*<*^*>*

It turned out not to be so easy after all. But let's start at the beginning.

Walt had a bit of an idea to help motivate him towards his resolution. He thought having a tangible goal would help him to think about what he was doing, to not let him forget and slip into old habits. He went into his garage where he kept not a car, but a few dozen boxes of things. Much of it was meant to be in his home being used, but about half of it was old things that he kept just because... well, he really didn't know why. However, it was actually going to come in handy today.

He found a box of clothes he had worn in high school, and dug out the largest pair of jeans he could find. He looked at the tag and saw they were a size 28 waist. He frowned. He was aware that he had never been very large, standing a mere 5 feet 5 inches. That just made his current 36 inch waist all the more revolting, especially as the fat hadn't accumulated much anywhere else. He thought it kind of made him look pregnant. It didn't help that he was just on the male side of being androgynous, with his 'dirty blonde' hair kept in a loose ponytail that came between his shoulder blades.

He also looked for the largest T-shirt he could find, which was a Medium. He just sighed and brought the clothes into the house. He hung them on the inside of his bedroom door, where he would see them every day and remember his goal. He was going to lose enough weight to fit into those clothes. He seemed to remember noticing women sometimes talking about trying to fit into things years after they had worn them, especially wedding dresses. Oh well, he didn't care if what he was doing seemed girly, it had to be done.

He started by trying one of those home food delivery dieting systems. It couldn't get much easier than that right? Just pick out meals that sounded good, they send them to you, and you eat them. The meals were already calculated to be within the limits of the diet so there was no thinking on his part. The only problem with all of that was that the food wasn't very good. It was all supposedly things he liked, but they somehow made them all so bland, so he dropped that idea within a week.

He then tried to eat normal versions of the food he liked, but counted the calories himself. He found he was much more satisfied with the taste, but the portions left him feeling so hungry. He was a bit disappointed to discover that his will power was much more lacking than he thought, as he was unable to keep himself from eventually eating his fill. Even though he knew he didn't really need more food, he felt like he did, and gave in to the desires of his stomach over the logic of his brain.

Over the next two weeks he tried a few other home diet services, but ended with the same conclusions as the first; disappointed with the bland foods they offered. All too quickly February was upon him, and he hadn't made any progress despite the constant reminder of the clothes on the back of his door. He was rapidly becoming frustrated and depressed.

*<*^*>*

Walt was spending some time at the house of one of his only remaining friends, Dave, watching a football game. He wasn't really paying attention though, and Dave had noticed. Dave really was Walt's best friend, they had known each other too long and been too close for him to abandon Walt just because he had a somewhat abrasive, and often chauvinistic personality. He could see that something was bothering Walt, even if he was too proud to bring it up himself. Dave really did care, and wanted to help, as he had been trying to do for years.

Dave picked up the remote and muted the TV, so they could keep an ye on the game while and still be able to converse. "What's the matter Walt? I can tell when something's bothering you."

Walt, who had been watching the floor more than the game, looked at Dave with a pathetic look. "Man, look at me. I'm a fat slob. If I can't figure out a way to lose this I don't think I can face the people from our school. I almost look more like a pregnant chick than a fat dude."

Dave winced at the description of a woman as a 'chick', but Walt didn't see as he was staring at the floor again during his revelation to Dave. However, Dave was also unaware that his wife, Brenda, was coming to give them a new platter of dip when she noticed Dave mute the TV. She stopped in the doorway behind the men to see what was happening. She also winced at the term. She was upset that Walt was so insensitive, but bit her tongue, curious where the conversation was going. As much as she didn't like to eavesdrop, her dislike for Walt was greater.

Walt had tried to woo her once back in high school, but she wasn't interested. Walt got mad when she ignored his advances, showing his true colors as to his thoughts about women. Walt had stormed off, but Dave had been there and tried to console Brenda despite his friend's pigheadedness. She was impressed with Dave's caring nature, and they dated for a while, eventually getting married even though Walt and Dave were close.

Brenda still acted politely toward Walt, who mostly ignored her. She tolerated his presence because she loved Dave, and watching the games with Walt made him happy. They had talked over this, and compromised in the bedroom.

Dave wasn't sure what to say about Walt's little outburst. After an awkward silence, Walt sighed heavily a looked back at Dave. "You'll probably think I'm some kind of pansy for this, but I made a resolution to fit into some of my old high school clothes by any means before the reunion. God! I sound like some woman, trying to fit in an old dress or look good in a bikini for summer!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Still, I want to do this. Just diet food tastes like crap, and eating less regular food doesn't fill me. I'm at a loss for what else to even try that doesn't fall into the same problems."

Dave was a little shocked and perplexed at the tantrum, but calmly told him, "You're worrying too much Walt. I think it's an admirable goal for anyone to lose weight, whether they're male or female. If you can get past the face that you seem to think women are beneath you and that doing something that seems womanly is wrong, maybe you'll be able to better will yourself to get past the problems you're having." Dave wasn't really sure if he believed that would actually work, but if it could help Walt feel better about himself, as well as hopefully lessen some of his anti-feministic views, then it was the right thing to say.

Meanwhile, Brenda was combining Walt's comment about looking more like a woman than a man, with the complaints about his resolution. She quickly formulated a plan, and smiled to herself.

She continued into the den with the dip, set it on the table, but instead of leaving she took a seat in an empty recliner and faced Walt.

"Okay, you and I haven't got along very well, and that's fine. But if you'll accept it, I think I can help you. I don't think you'll like it much, but it'll solve your problems. If you can come back in two days, I need to get some things. I'll also need your measurements, I can get them after the game if you want."
She was really struggling to be nice to Walt. He had been awful to her personally, she hated the terms he used when talking about women, and she had seen the way he treats other women at the bar. She really had to be nice to him though, otherwise she would scare him off her plan before it even started.

"Spectacular," he grumbled sarcastically.

Brenda gave him a fake smile, while actually clenching her teeth in anger. She was caring enough to try to help despite her hate for the man, but he still acted like an ass. If he noticed, he certainly didn't say anything about it. "Let me know when it's over, then," she said as she left the room.

She heard the volume come back on so the men could hear the rest of the game, as she went to her studio/office. It was technically the second bedroom, but they had made it her workspace due to the large area she needed. She worked in fashion, and had a couple of drafting boards for sketching, as well as several mannequins wearing outfits in various stages of completion.

She started flipping through some catalogs. She wanted something that came in larger sizes, but was still quite feminine. She had an idea of Walt's current waist size, so she could tentatively pick something out for him. She found one that was perfect for her needs, and called around to find out where she could get them in the sizes she wanted. She had a pretty good idea of where to go, and was successful on her second attempt.

It was too late to go out today, so she asked the shop to hold her things for her. She would go out tomorrow to get them. Now she had one more call to make; it was to a doctor friend. Lindsay also knew Walt's reputation, and said she'd be happy to help as long as they were careful. She didn't want to lose her license over petty revenge. Brenda assured her that she wasn't planning on permanent changes, just enough to emasculate him into a little reality check.

She went out the next day and got the garments from the shop she had called the day before. She went to Lindsay's office next and was given a prescription for two months worth of estrogen pills. She stopped at a pharmacy on the way home to get the prescription filled, and picked up a bottle of diet pills.

When she got home she put the clothes away, then proceeded to dump out the diet pills. She didn't actually want the pills, just the bottle claiming what pills were inside. She put a months worth of the estrogen pills in there instead. Now she felt ready to put her plan in motion for Walt tomorrow, but she had to do some smooth talking if she was going to persuade him to go along with it.

*<*^*>*

Walt showed at Dave and Brenda's the next day, a little hesitant since she wouldn't tell him exactly what she had planned. Dave let him in and offered him a beer, which he uncharacteristically declined; he was a little nervous and his stomach wasn't feeling like having anything in it would be a good idea right now, even if it was just beer.

Brenda greeted him warmly, though her true emotions were rather cold, and led him up to her studio. Walt felt a bit uncomfortable about the feminine garb that adorned the room, and combined with everything else he was feeling in addition to being kept in the dark about the plan, he was starting to get irritable. Granted, it wasn't difficult to make Walt irritable.

Finally he got fed up, "Will you just tell me what your supposed solution is? I don't like not knowing, and your cryptic statement about not liking it much isn't helping," he groused.

Brenda turned to him and simply said, "Fine, but first I want you to promise me that you'll try this for one day. I know you'll be skeptical and resistant, but if you just try it you'll see that it really will work."

Walt frowned at this. He wasn't in the habit of jumping into deep water without knowing which way the shore was. "You aren't exactly inspiring confidence here Brenda, but I'll admit that for some reason your intentions to help seem genuine. Though based on our history I can't imagine why." He paused for a moment, looking uncertain. Just as Brenda was about to speak up again, he finally said, "Alright, I agree to give your mystery solution a chance, for one day. Do you think we can discuss it somewhere else though? Mannequins creep me out, and I'm not a fan of the decor in this room."

"Okay, we'll go to the master bedroom. It will suit our needs just as well. I'll meet you there I just need to grab some things," she told him as he quickly made his way from the room. He took a seat on the bed and waited, and before too long she was there carrying some black cloth and a pill bottle. The bottle wasn't the kind that you would get for prescriptions though, more like what vitamins come in.

"What is that?" He asked, a little worried about the cloth. They had just come from her studio and as far as he knew she didn't design any male clothing.

She held one up with the slightest smile and replied, "Corsets."

Another note: Some of you may be concerned about the forced feminization elements portrayed in the first part here. I assure you that by the end of the story there will be a more satisfying outcome. I know that this isn't going to be your cup of tea for you until then. Some realizations will be made in the next part, and by the end the two main players in this game will be the better for it.

Through the Threads of Time
By ashes

A crossdresser who is into the Renaissance finds himself transported into the Renaissance.

Author's note: This is inspired slightly by what I remember of reading an SRU story a long time ago. I haven't read one lately so I really don't know if that's accurate, but for some reason I felt like sharing that with you. Anyway it seemed like the most reasonable plot device to mesh with the challenge this week. I also didn't feel like trying to translate the dialogue into Ye Olde English, so we'll just pretend that his mind is translating for him. ;-P

Here was the premise for this week's challenge
4. A Switch In Time
Idea: Write a story that involves time travel.
Length: Any
Limitations: Explore what it means to be a TG individual from one time facing the prejudices or views of another.
-------------

I walked into the fabric store, intending to buy some gold colored thread. I realized that a nice gold color would make a nice accent around the bust of the Renaissance-style dress I was making. It would contrast with the wine colored material of the majority of the dress, and accent the white center parts. It was the final touch that this dress was missing.

I had been thinking about it all day, when the answer came to me as I was doing other errands. Luckily the strip mall I was at had this nice little store in it. It had a very homey feel to it, as opposed to the open, sterilized feel of the larger chain stores. The aisles were only wide enough to fit one person abreast, and there were only three of them, each about thirty feet long.

I made eye contact with the man behind the counter. He had a wizardly look to him; he could have played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. I gave a little wave and went to find the thread. The assortment of colors and sizes was impressive considering the size of the store. In fact it looked like they even had a better selection than the chain stores. I looked for the thickest thread size that may equipment at home could handle, as I wanted it to show on the material.

I found the spot where the gold color would be, but there wasn't any there. So I went up to the counter to ask the man if there was any in stock. I sure hoped so, since I really didn't want to do much more driving today. I really wanted to go home after this stop so I could finish my project.

"Hi there, I was wondering if you have any size sixty-nine gold colored thread? There isn't any on the shelf so if you could check in back?" I asked hopefully.

He gave me a fatherly smile and said, "Of course, just wait one minute. I'm sure I have some." With that he disappeared through a door that I suppose went to his stocks. I had a moment to myself, and upon reflection I found it odd that gold would be popular enough, in that size, to be sold out in front and have more in back. Not only that, but it seemed to be the only color not stocked in front. I didn't have much time to think about it though, as the man quickly returned with two spools of the thread I wanted.

As he rung me up, I found my excitement growing and a grin on my face. He put the stuff in a small plastic bag which he handed me, along with my change. He smiled back, and said, "Have a nice time."

I found that an odd way of rephrasing the expression, but shrugged it off as a colloquial thing, or possibly generational. Either way it was quickly forgotten as I replied, "You too," and turned to leave. I wasn't sure but as I was turning I thought I might have seen him give me an almost imperceptible wink, but I also shrugged it off as a shadow or some other trick of the light, since there wasn't any reason he would wink at me. At least as far as I knew.

As I drove away a check in the rear view mirror while the strip mall was still in sight left me confused again, as I thought it looked like the little fabric shop was gone. It looked like the two stores adjacent had expanded and crushed it between them. However, I was far enough away by then that I waved it off as one more trick my mind was playing on me in a day that seemed filled with small oddities. Like the others, it too was quickly forgotten.

When I got back home I put my perishables in the fridge, and quickly got to work finishing the dress. In a practical sense, it was already done. It could be worn at any time. I just felt something was missing, finally coming up with this idea for some detail work. This would be the final touch that really made it complete in my eyes.

it took me nearly two hours, and I had to undo a few mistakes along the way, but I was finally done. I was very happy with the results, and now to the victor go the spoils.

First I stripped and took a shower, making sure to shave well everywhere. Next I got out my padded panties, to give me the impression of having hips. I tucked back and pulled them on. After that was the corset, it wasn't period accurate, but I'm not really fanatic about that sort of thing as long as it can't be seen. I had this specially made to lace up in front and have a padded bust.

The overall effect of my undergarments was pretty stunning, not that a real woman with my dimensions would be a model or anything, but still quite attractive. Unfortunately that said nothing about my face, which couldn't really be called feminine by any stretch of the imagination. I always felt a little sad about it when I dressed, but I suppose it made my daily life as a male easier, so I never let it get me too depressed. Besides, I knew I was happy as a guy, I just liked wearing pretty things sometimes.

I donned my chemise to finish off my underclothes, and then pulled my latest creation over my head. I tightened up the side laces around my waist to match with what the corset was doing, and went to look at myself in the full-length mirror set up nearby.

I was admiring my body, and how good the dress looked on it, when I suddenly started feeling quite sleepy. I was also starting to get a tingling sensation all over. I really didn't feel like doing anything else just then, other than crash on my bed sleep for ages. In fact I could barely even think enough to make my way to the bedroom instead of just lying on the floor where I stood. That's how muddied my mind was due to this sudden wave of exhaustion.

As I began to get more and more drowsy, I made my way to the bed. My mind was quickly becoming foggy, and my body numb, almost how I imagined it must be for people when they're drugged. The only difference, I thought, was that this just felt like normal sleepiness, except that it was overtaking me so much faster than normal. As I collapsed on my bed, just before I closed my eyes I thought it looked like the gold thread was actually giving off light.

The last thought I had before sleep overtook me was, "But that's impossible..."

*<*^*>*

When I woke, the first thing I noticed was I was most definitely not in my bed. The surface beneath me was hard and rocky. I could hear hooves clopping towards me, but they sounded distant yet. I groaned and pushed myself up, my hands acquiring some nice little dents and a few stray pebbles from the surface of the path I was on. I shook the cobwebs out of my head and noticed I was still wearing my dress. I did not need anyone to see me like this, but it was too late as the riders of the horses responsible for the clopping noise pulled to a stop next to me. I kept my head down hoping they wouldn't notice what I was under these clothes, and let me be on my way.

A gruff, yet prim English accented voice addressed me. "Miss, you shouldn't wander this far from the city grounds by yourself. And why in the name of the Lord were you lying on the road?" The city grounds? I suppose from what little I could see in the distance, there was a lot of open land. So how the hell did I get here? And what the hell was with this dirt path? Not to mention being approached by people on horses. I didn't live in a large city, but you don't see a lot of horses near Seattle. Even if I was in a smaller suburb it isn't exactly rural here. Well, it obviously is here... but not where I thought I was- was when I fell asleep that is. This had to be a dream, but even so I didn't feel comfortable showing my face in this outfit.

Well, so far so good on that particular goal. I attempted to answer him in my best impression of a female voice. This I could do; I had practiced many times at home. It wasn't perfect, but it was light and airy enough that I could probably get away with it. "Sorry, sir. I was just on my way back." I tried to add some sadness to my voice as well, hoping that he would take the hint that I didn't want to be bothered. I turned away from them, figuring it was a fifty-fifty shot as to which way to go, and I was still trying to avoid letting them see my face. As I started walking though, one of the men who was now to my immediate right grabbed my arm causing me to spin towards him. I was suddenly face to face with a very large, very intimidating looking knight in full plate armor. Well, face to knee, but I tlted my head instinctively to look up at him, so close enough.

As this was happening he was saying, "Wait, miss. It's the other... way." His words got quieter as he saw the truth. His face first became one of absolute shock, then quickly changed to anger. As he narrowed his eyes he spat in a low hiss, "You're a man!? Wearing ladies garments!? I get it, you're one of those... homosexuals! Guard, shackle this heathen!"

Before I could even think about what just happened, one of the other knights forced my arms behind me and put the shackles on my wrists. I was stunned by the sudden turn of events, and so he deftly attached some to my legs. I was probably the easiest prisoner he'd ever shackled, since he may as well have been arresting a statue for all the resistance I put up. I was unceremoniously dumped side-saddle onto the horse carrying the man who had given the orders, presumably the leader of this little contingent.

As we rode off, I guess toward this city that was brought up earlier, I just rolled with the punches, or more literally the bumps of the trotting horse. I was still mostly in a daze anyway. What the hell was happening here? How did I even get here? Where is here? Why the hell are these four dudes on horses dressed like knights?

Those were just a few of the questions blazing through my mind as I numbly rode along. We approached a castle surrounded by a small village. Thatched roofs could be seen over the top of a tall stone wall surrounding the village, with plowed farmland spreading out on all sides practically as far as the eye could see. The castle itself was an intimidating monstrosity, but of course that was the point of such buildings.

Seeing this caused something to snap in my brain, some misfire of synapses somewhere due to the sheer impossibility of what I was seeing and all the questions I had about it all. I was in a totally catatonic state as the knight rode through a back entrance that sloped downward into the castle. They brought me into a dank, pungent dungeon, and reshackled me on a wall.

"You'll remain here until your execution at noon tomorrow," one of the knights informed me in a pompous monotone, before locking the cell door as well and walking away without a second look back.

My muscles were completely relaxed as I hung from the large metal rings on the wall where my shackles had been attached. Exhaustion and despair, so strong that they managed to penetrate my otherwise emotionless demeanor, caused me to fall asleep despite the uncomfortable arrangements.

The last thing I remembered before drifting off was a shimmering light reflecting off a puddle of some unidentifiable liquid that had pooled in a corner of the cell. My last thoughts were, 'I really don't want to know what that stuff is,' and,' that light looks familiar...'

*<*^*>*

I was rudely awakened by a clanging of wood against the iron door of my cell. I opened my eyes slowly, but my blurry sleepy vision was further obscured by the long blonde hair falling in front of my face. Since my head was hanging I was keenly aware of the fact that my corset was now enhancing the position of my now very real breasts. A second misfire in my brain snapped me out of my catatonia and threw me into hysterics. I struggled against the restraints, screaming and yelling in my newly acquired soprano voice, for several agonizing minutes until finally wearing myself out.

The sounds of someone clearing their throat caught my attention. I snapped my head up to see none other than the man who sold me the gold thread just hours before. Or was it days by now? No telling how long I had been unconscious. He wore what you would expect of a wizard, with long crimson robes, a wide-brimmed pointed hat, and he held a rather ornate staff topped with a silver eagle's head with a red crystalline orb in it's beak. He stood calmly with a wry grin, "If you're quite finished?"

"Where am I?" I sobbed, "What's happened to me?"

"That was magic thread deary. It took you back to the renaissance, and made you a woman, just as you desired for so long." He cocked his head slightly, "Why does this bother you so?"

"I didn't want this for real, " I said dejectedly, "I liked being a man, but it was fun to pretend sometimes. And I only liked the renaissance for the styles they wore. I really wouldn't give up modern life for that."

The wizard frowned at this, "I see. Your intentions were foggy at best. Though you really seemed to desire these things. I guess I've learned a lesson not to alter a life unless it is clear where their hearts lie." He thrust his staff forward, and with a quick flash of intense light the cell door opened and the shackles released her from the chains. I collapsed to the dingy stone floor in a heap of cloth, quietly shivering while curled in the fetal position.

He took two quick strides across the cell to where I lay, and picked me up as if I weighed no more than a small child, which I suppose could have been the case. I really had no idea of my body size anymore, though I vaguely remember the shackles being a bit loose around my wrists just now, where they had been flush against the skin before a fell asleep.

The wizard seemed to sense these thoughts, or he just happened to be giving me a rundown of the situation at the same time I was thinking them.

"Body alterations take more time and magic energy than time displacement, surprisingly. That's why you were still male when you were transported to this time. It has to do with the tenacity of the human spirit, versus time which is non-living. It's complicated magic which you needn't worry about. You now have the body of an eighteen year old girl, and as you are quite a bit smaller than you were last anyone saw you, you should have no trouble blending in."

"Blending in? Why can't you just send me back, and with my old body?" I asked, anger rising with every word.

"Because, with the way magic works, it prevents similar alteration spells from acting on the same person. Basically alterations of any kind use such a great deal of magic that the residue lingers in that person and negates any attempts to use spells of the same type." He actually looked remorseful as he explained this to me, but that didn't stop fresh tears from running down my face.

"You mean I'm stuck like this, and I can never go back to 2012?"

The pity in his eyes was something I did not need right now, and it was all the answer I needed, so I just turned my head away and continued to silently cry. I had never cried much in the past, but this situation was so unprecedented, and I was a woman now so what the hell let the waterworks flow.

By this point we were in what was presumably his living quarters in one of the castle towers. I took no notice of my surroundings as he laid me on a bed. I knew it was soft and I knew I didn't care much for his hospitality. I hated what he had done to me, and I didn't care for his pity. I just kept turned away from him and continued feeling sorry for myself. I was hardly aware of the fact that he had left until I hard the heavy wooden door closing behind him.

The bed was at least comfy. I hadn't had any restful sleep in at least an entire day- maybe more, so I closed my eyes and let myself stop thinking about the crap I was in. At least I didn't have to fear for my life anymore, and that bit of solace is what let me fall asleep.

*<*^*>*

I woke to food smells, I hoped. The guy was a wizard so who knew what kinds of bubbly grossness he could be cooking up in the next room. Though it smelled far too good to be some nasty potion. I got up and padded out of the room in my now quite dirty dress and bare feet.

It did in fact seem to be some sort of stew. At least it looked like carrots and potatoes in the thick pale yellow broth boiling in the little pot over the fire. Smelling it up close reminded me that I hadn't eaten in days now either, as my stomach made noises and actually hurt with hunger.

The wizard rounded the last few steps of the tower's spiral staircase, and seeing me looking at the food waved a hand and smiled broadly. "Please eat. You must be starving. I could hear your stomach growl from halfway down the stairs!" He chuckled softly while I turned back to the pot to ladle some stew into a bowl that was sitting on the nearby counter top.

He served some for himself and sat across from me at the small wooden table where I also sat to eat. Besides a stool in front of a counter full of nasty smelling plant remnants it was the only place to sit to eat. I sure wasn't planning on putting anything I was going to ingest anywhere near that counter.

We ate in somber silence, until finally the wizard spoke up. "I know you're unhappy..." he started.

"Boy, you're observant," I groused back.

"I can help," he started again, but I cut him off.

"Haven't you done enough?" I yelled.

"I can still alter your mind. I can make it so you believe you grew up as a girl from this period in time. And since I ruined your life, I'm willing to open the magic portions of your mind and take you as my apprentice. It's not the perfect solution, since you will essentially be killing your spirit to be replaced with one matching this body, but-"

"Do it," I said softly

I guess something about my response was convincing enough that he didn't have to ask twice. He nodded and quickly stood, gathering up this and that from corners of his workspace. He opened a thick leather-bound tome and started mumbling some incantations while mixing some things together. A fine red vapor rose from the bowl and floated into the gold thread on the dress I was still wearing. As the tail end of the vapor trail disappeared into the thread my hair was blown back by a strong gust of wind from some invisible source, and as quickly as it had started it was all over. The sudden silence left my ears ringing.

Once again I was inexplicably tired. This time though, I was moved to the bed under someone else's power, as the wizard picked me up and brought me back to the bedroom. A familiar light emanated from the thread again just before I dozed off.

*<*^*>*

I awoke to a strange bedroom, but I quickly remembered- I was to start my apprenticeship today! I could hardly believe when I was told I had a predisposition towards magic. The wizard from the city offered to take me under his wing to harness my abilities.

I frowned at my reflection in the mirror. I couldn't remember how I had gotten so filthy. First thing I would need to do is find out about a bath and clean clothes. I walked out into the workshop to find my mentor humming away while cutting some herbs. When I saw him though, I felt a quick stab of resentment, which was gone just as fast. That didn't make any sense, so I forgot it and asked about getting cleaned up.

"For today, I'll do a quick fix for you." He produced a wand from his belt and waved it at me. All the dirt fell to the floor in a heap. Then he flicked his wrist to the side and it all went flying into the fireplace.

"I want to get you started right away. Oh, well need a name for you. How about... Morgana?"

I smiled and nodded and set about doing some basic tasks. I didn't question why I didn't already have a name, nor did I notice a small voice in the back of my mind. It was so small it may as well have not been there, but there was an angry, resentful male in a dark corner of my mind, chipping away at my sanity.

He resolved to break it, no matter how long it took...

Another note: This is what I had in mind for what this dress looks like. Either number II or V. http://stores.renstore.com/-strse-280/Italian-Renaissance-Pa.... Also, if you don't get the reference to Morgana... it's a King Arthur thing, implying of course that this particular wizard is Merlin. Yeah that's the big reveal.

Walking a Mall in Someone Else's Shoes (Part 1/3(?))
By ashes

When Tommy opens his big mouth in front of two female friends, he ends up biting off more than he can chew.
The CAUTION is for some strong/offensive language in the beginning as well as what could best be described as attempted rape. I tried to keep it whimsical, but it's still there so you should be warned.

Author's note: I really wanted to finish this and post it all at once, but it's been fighting with me. I decided that some of these challenges may have to just be first parts to stories that I fully intend to complete, but want to get a beginning out there for the challenge's sake. Also although this challenge was left up to the writer, I'm using this to try to write things I normally wouldn't. I tend to be put off by the aforementioned cautions, and therefore don't usually include them. Sorry for the ramble I just worry about the image I'm portraying with this part of the story.

Here was the premise for this week's challenge
3. This Space Intentionally Left Blank Again
Idea: Any
Length: Any
Limitations: None

-------------

Scott was leaning towards me, and I knew he was going to kiss me... but I froze. I was a deer in the headlights. I wanted more than anything for this not to happen, but for some reason instead of fight or flight, my brain chose to freeze.

See, my brain, and it's disconnect with my mouth, often got me into trouble. This was just the culmination of a series of events related to my affinity to these things. So let me back up a bit and set the scene.

I'm a sophomore in high school, 15 years old and still short and not shaving. I'm also into metal and rave music, so I keep my hair rather long. Hey, it's the style, but that doesn't matter to Eric and his buddies. Also unhelpful is my lack of male companions, after all my two best friends were girls. I didn't care, it was a small school and the three of us were the only rave/metal heads. The exception to my male bonding problem was Scott. He liked hanging out with us for some reason. He tolerated the music when we had it on, but excluded himself from the times we went to a concert or rave.

On this particular day I was waiting by the entrance to the school, the four of us were supposed to go to the mall together. Kids were making their way out when I spotted Scott and waved. He saw me and made his way over.

"Hey dude," he greeted as he made his way to me, "Look, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to bail on you guys today. 'Family stuff' is all the 'rents told me in the text they sent." He frowned and focused on the floor.

I clapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, I can handle a trip to the mall without any male company. It won't be the first time and I doubt it'll be the last either." I shrugged and jerked my thumb towards the door, "Now scram! If you miss the bus you'll have to convince Sarah to drive you home, and your house is five miles the other way from the mall. She'll be pissed." He grimaced and quickly made his way to the buses, getting on just seconds before the first one in the line started pulling away from the driveway.

After he left the halls were pretty quiet. I stood alone for a while before I really started wondering where Sarah and Lisa were. I was focused down the hallway they should be coming from, and just pushed away from the wall I was leaning against, when from the other hall to my left a voice shouted, "Hey, faggot!"

I groaned and hung my head a little, deflated. Of course fate would decide Eric should be here late on the day I was alone, a sitting duck, fish in a barrel, deer in the headlights... wait I used that one already... whatever. I turned to look at him. He was with two of his cronies, Thing one and Thing two. I knew their names, but calling them thing one through thing x -depending on the number- was more amusing.

"Where are your lesbo girlfriends?" Right, they were lesboes because they mostly wore black and Lisa had her hair in a strange punk cut that was on the shorter side. Also they were almost always seen together. "You ladies should go get nice and pretty for us, then come back for some of this," he made obscene gestures with his hand by his crotch. "You've probably had lots of practice haven't you, cocksucking fruitcake. Hell, you're probably better than they are, they're all about the vaj. We'll just do 'em straight up, I bet a good fuck'll make 'em see that-"

That's when I slapped him. Wait, why did I slap him, that was like poking a large, sleeping carnivore with a stick.

He narrowed his eyes, but laughed at me. "Hah! What a little sissy, he even slaps like a girl!" Then he punched me in the gut, which brought me to my knees. "What, you can't wait to get pretty first? If you're so hungry for my cock I guess you look enough like a girl I'll let you have it now." He unzipped his jeans and pulled them down to his knees, along with his boxers, letting his manhood practically hit my face. I flinched back, but Thing one was behind me now. He grabbed my head so I couldn't turn or move away from Eric.

Eric leaned down and said, "Look here, you suck it until I come in that pretty little sissy mouth of yours, then you swallow it like a good girl. And don't you even think about biting, if you do I'll break your pretty little face!" I had to laugh at this, inwardly of course. Here he was calling me pretty and wanting me to give him a blowjob, and I was supposedly the gay one here? I think someone had some repressed homosexuality issues, but I wasn't going to bring that up now.

He started to aim his junk back towards my face when a scream of agony came from behind him. He turned to see what was going on, and in doing so moved to the side enough that I could see too. Sarah and Lisa were standing there staring daggers into the meatheads. Sarah was holding a can of Mace and Lisa had a small taser that was sparking menacingly.

"Let him go before we make you infertile," Lisa said, then glanced down and smirked, "Not that you could do much with that, anyway!"

She might as well have waved a brightly colored flag in front of a bull. He started to charge toward them, but didn't get three steps before they struck out in tandem, blinding him and turning him into a jiggly mass on the floor. Thing one let go of me and bolted in fear.

"Should we cut it off?" Sarah asked. Of course most weapons weren't allowed in school, but Sarah had a few things in easy reach hidden just outside it... just in case. She was paranoid like that, but I was glad for it today since that's where their current armaments came from.

I laughed, but told her, "No, best not to do any permanent damage."

Lisa nodded, then reached down and tased Eric in the balls. I laughed again. "Okay, but that's enough now, I just want to get out of here," I said as I pulled them away from the aftermath.

Lisa was complaining that she didn't get to hurt him a little more, with some muttering about 'not doing any permanent damage', but I ignored her.

"Tommy! He was about to rape you, don't you care?" She yelled over the computer-generated music that was causing Sarah's car to vibrate. I liked the music, but she tended to play it louder than I thought was necessary for driving. Those volumes should be kept to the clubs and warehouses, not on the streets.

I turned the volume down, much to Sarah's chagrin, and looked intently at Lisa, "Lise, I do, really. He wasn't going to get the chance. I would've bit his dick off first."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Even with how he gets when he's angry? You wouldn't like him when he's angry..." She started snickering, then thumped her chest and said in the deepest voice she could muster, "ERIC SMASH!"

We all had a good laugh over that, but when we calmed down again she said, "But seriously, we heard him threaten to 'Eric smash' your face in if you tried anything. He could have killed you Tom."

"Okay, I'll try to care more in the future. Now I just want to forget about this and hang out with my friends at the mall. Alright?" I pleaded.

"Sure. Whatever," she crossed her arms and turned away from me. We spent the rest of the ride to the mall in silence. Well, except for the music that Sarah put back on as soon as it was obvious we were done talking.

*<*^*>*

I won't bore you with all the details of our little mall excursion. It was largely uneventful, basically just browsing some shops, eating, and browsing some more until we felt like we'd been to all the stores that interested us. None of us bought much that day, Lisa bought a few CD's, and Sarah saw a dress at Hot Topic (insert eye roll here) that she was going to save up for because it was 'so cute yet evil'. I had to admit that it was definitely her style, and would look great on her.

Anyway, the thing that got me into trouble today happened as we were making our way out. We always made the mistake of parking at one end of the mall, making our way to the other end, and then being forced to walk all the way back in one go as we'd already been in all the shops. Today Lisa was wearing an evil looking pair of high heels. They were probably fine for around school, but after standing and walking in them for hours on end already, she was having a little trouble keeping up on the way out.

"Come on Lise, were almost there, don't be a baby," I chided unsympathetically. We had stopped so she could sit on a bench for a moment. She gave me a look like I was insane, and a pig, which was true right then.

"You have no idea," she hissed.

I ignored the coldness radiating from her, "Oh come on, I bet they aren't that bad." I meant it rather innocently, but it didn't come off that way

Sarah raised an eyebrow at me, "You bet, huh?" Whoops. I knew better than to ever say those two words around her. She was known to take them rather seriously; it was one of those things that got me into trouble. Like I said, my brain and my mouth are a bit disconnected most of the time.

"Uhh," I said, rather intelligently.

"Well, I bet you couldn't last a whole day at the mall in shoes like that. If you can do it, I'll get you backstage passes for the next time Skrillex* is playing near here."

Oh boy, way to go straight for the heart. They both knew all too well my current obsession with Skrillex. He's one of those musicians who you either love or hate, I obviously fell into the former category. I know he doesn't do rave music, but it's close enough and I'm totally addicted to it.

"What if I can't?" I asked hesitantly. This was where it could get ugly.

"If you can't, we bring you here once every weekend until you can last five hours straight with a 20 minute lunch break." Sarah had that look. You know, that kind where she knew she had me- an evil little smirk and a mischievous glint in her eyes that the smile didn't quite reach.

"I have one problem... people from school come here. I can't show up wearing high heels or I'll be more of a laughingstock than I already am. Otherwise I have no problem accepting your terms." I said, ending with confidence. After all, how hard could it really be?

The girls looked at each other knowingly. Lisa spoke this time, "Today's Thursday, drop by our house on Saturday before we come out here. Were going to do some shopping tomorrow for a few things to get ready. If we can't convince you that you won't be recognized the bet's off." This had me worried. She matched my confident tone as well as Sarah's expression. She stuck her hand towards me, looking me in the eyes, expectantly.

"Fine," I grumbled and took her hand. I gave it a brisk shake and looked away. "Can we please go now? I'll even carry your bag," I offered, trying to win some brownie points. I don't think it fooled them, especially as the bag only had a couple of CD's in it.

We made our way silently back to the car. We arrived at my home, and with instructions to arrive at 8 o'clock Saturday morning they left me. I wasn't empty handed though, Lisa handed me a lumpy black Hot Topic bag as a parting gift. I stood confused, while she just waved as Sarah drove off. I was curious, but didn't look inside at first.

I reflected on my day, and found it odd that I had basically been called a feminine sissy boy and a chauvinist pig within hours of each other. At least my friends seemed to more or less stick by me, for whatever reason, despite my social mishaps and wrongdoings. I counted myself lucky in that regard.

I got to my bedroom and closed the door. Self-reflection over, I remembered the bag, since I had to do something with it before getting ready for bed anyway. I looked inside and sighed heavily when I saw what was inside.

It was Lisa's shoes.

Another note: *Skrillex is an artist who makes electronica/dupstep music. As you may have guessed I also have a current obsession with said artist. A lot of people are turned away by his stuff, and I admit sone of it is a little hard on the ears at times, but over all I can't get enough.

Warming Up
By ashes

It's a big day for Tanya, this is her preparation.

Author's note: I had fun with the more visual parts of this challenge, where as describing actions felt choppy and conveying feeling felt like sort of breaking the rules. Anyway I hope you enjoy this partly self-inspired short story. I'll let you guess which parts.

Here was the premise for this week's challenge
2. Mute
Idea: Write an entire story without dialogue or internal monologue.
Length: 1500 words or less.
Limitations: Due to the goal of the challenge, viewpoint should be limited to third-person, try to keep even comments concerning the character's interpretation of what is around them to a minimum.

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Tanya woke from a fitful, restless sleep, her nightgown and sheets twisted around her. She glanced at her bedside clock, which read 5:20. She groaned and turned the alarm off, as it was set to go off in only ten minutes. A warm summer sun was just peeking over the tops of the buildings outside the window casting morning sunlight through, the kind that looks a little deeper yellow than the rest of the day. As she waited for the grogginess to abate, she took a moment to admire the way it bathed her studio apartment in a comforting glow, reflecting warmly off the polished hardwood flooring with a golden-brown color. It was one of her favorite things about the apartment.

She unraveled herself from the tangled prison of sheets, nervous and anxious for the big day ahead of her. She made her way to the bathroom for a shower, which she needed especially after the restless night she just had. She hung her nightgown on the outside doorknob, and tossed her bra and panties into the clothes hamper. She shut the door and started running the water.

She looked at herself in the mirror while she waited a minute for the water to warm up. Her light blonde hair framed her youthful smooth face, with soul-gazing green eyes that one could easily get lost in. Her hair came down to the tops of her breasts, which were in between a B and C cup size. Shopping could be a pain but she managed. Her waist was slim but her hips left a little to be desired, she had always had trouble putting on weight. Most girls would be jealous, but she would have liked a little more. Her endocrinologist would have liked her to gain a little weight in the hips too.

Then the whole reason for her nervousness caught her eye. The offensive organ still between her legs, the one that had caused so much emotional pain for her entire life. Today, that was going to change. In a few hours time she would be lying on a table in a hospital in the city, correcting her birth defect. Of course the majority of males don't see it that way, but she obviously hadn't been an ordinary male, even when calling her male was still appropriate.

She smiled as she turned away from her reflection and stepped into the shower. She did all the usual shower things, and continued getting ready for the big day. She dressed in a sports top and jogging shorts with tennis shoes. It would be a warm California summer day, even this early in the morning. She dressed down for now since these clothes wouldn't be on her very long anyway. She put two more outfits in a canvas bag, one of those reusable ones they give you for your groceries these days. She would be in the hospital for almost a week after surgery and she wasn't going to be wearing a backless gown for a week if she could help it.

Her stomach growled as she added some shoes to the ensemble in the bag. She brought everything to the kitchen area and set the bag by the table. She got a bottle of water out of the fridge. Unfortunately for her and her stomach she had to fast for having surgery, so water was all she was allowed until she was awake again.

She still had twenty minutes until she had to leave to get to her appointment on time, so she went out to the balcony to drink her water and lose herself in her thoughts. Her balcony overlooked a small courtyard with similar apartment buildings on three of the four sides. It was about the size of an average intersection, with stone sidewalks making a sort of checkerboard pattern around some little gardens, grass patches, and a small stone fountain in the center. The fourth side, the one without a building, was lined with three medium-sized trees separating the courtyard from the street. It was lovely in the morning, quiet save for two pairs of songbirds flitting around each other.

She finished her bottle of water and glanced back at the clock. She got up to get her bag as it was just about time to leave. She grabbed her purse and her keys and stopped with her hand on the doorknob. She let go, stood a little straighter, then closed her eyes and let out a sigh. All the trepidation she had left her, she was visibly more relaxed. She opened her eyes again, smiled and left. Even though she had been living as a female for over three years now, she left her apartment that day with an air of confidence that she had never had as a girl before. She would return to her home a new woman.

Another note: The story alone is 813 words, it's allowed to be about twice as long and I feel like I should have been able to do more. Maybe eventually I will, but for now I wanted to get this small challenge done so I could begin some larger ones... anyway tell me if you think it's fine now or if you think there should be more.