This version has had some long overdue editing. Thanks to Puddin' for the help.

Stu slowly changes and Amelia takes far too much pleasure in it. Can anyone stop it? Will Amelia ever be caught? Read on and find out.

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The Magic of Love
by Terry Volkirch

Part 4

Hiding the pink tattoo came easy for Stu. No one except maybe palm readers went around trying to look at a person's palms. The hard part came when he tried to hide the changes caused by the tattoo.

After the first several days, he dismissed the idea that anything was wrong, other than thinking the symbol on his palm should've faded by then. It wasn't until a week had passed by that he noticed the first changes.

The hair on his head grew at an alarming rate and already tickled his shoulders, while at the same time, he lost most of his body and facial hair. He knew what the tattoo symbolized so he had an uneasy feeling about what was happening to him. It should be impossible but he couldn't deny what he felt and saw with his own eyes.

He thanked his lucky stars he'd held off taking a physical education class. His classmates would ridicule him if they saw him in the showers in his current condition. Teens could be so cruel.

He only needed four courses to graduate so he took the minimum in case he got a job. Getting off earlier meant he could start a job earlier in the day and make more money for college. He just needed to start looking for work.

Something always seemed to come up to prevent him from finding a job. Even with only four classes, he still had plenty of homework, and he helped his little brother with homework often. Household chores kept him quite busy too. He sometimes felt like a stay-at-home mom, and after his encounter with Amelia, he worried he might end up looking the part.

He tried steering clear of the blonde after she gave him the tattoo. He felt too much guilt about how he'd treated her to face her. A trace of fear began to creep in as well. If she actually caused what he thought was happening to him, she needed to be avoided. Just thinking about everything she might be capable of scared the crap out of him.

The scary girl wouldn't let him off that easily though. She frequently stared at him, and it had nothing to do with lust. It was obvious she watched for changes because she let her victim know when she detected them. She noticed Stu's long hair and used a hand to flip out her own hair before smiling and turning away. She didn't say anything but still found a way to rub it in.

She also soon added another bothersome method of silent torture, mouthing words instead of speaking them. It allowed her to get around the teacher's stuffy rule of keeping quiet in class.

"You go, girl," she mouthed every chance she got. Stu tried not to look but couldn't help himself. She exaggerated the mouth movements to make the words easy to understand, and though she kept repeating her message, he hoped to eventually see something else. He hoped it was all just one big joke. He couldn't believe she could be so cruel.

But the nightmare continued. He knew it wasn't a joke when she pretended to shave her legs and underarms one day in art class. She laughed at his shocked expression and turned away before she could see a tear roll down the boy's face.

***

Two weeks had gone by since the incident with Amelia, and even after a hastily scheduled haircut, Stu worried more than ever. His shoulders and chest were noticeably smaller and he'd lost several inches around his waist. The only thing holding his pants up were his hips and rear. Along with the rest of his upper body, he noticed his arms were a lot smaller and weaker. They were slender, hairless and very feminine looking. With his shirt off, he looked more like a flat-chested teenage girl than a boy.

Even with a little hair on his lower legs, he imagined his legs would look good in pantyhose, and that thought greatly disturbed him. He didn't know where it came from. Could Amelia have affected his mind as well as his body? If he progressed at his current rate of change, he'd be a girl long before the end of the school year. But would he care? If his mind feminized along with his body, he might not care. He'd be a completely different person. He'd be all girl!

Every day he dreaded waking up and finding he'd lost a little more of his masculinity. He also dreaded going to school. In spite of wearing heavy winter clothing, his altered appearance got harder and harder to hide from his classmates, especially Amelia.

Once more, the strange blonde girl taunted him. She put her hands to her waist and moved them around to show she noticed his smaller waist. He wore long, baggy sweaters to cover the top of his tightly belted pants but his feminized figure still found a way to shine through now and then. When it did, Amelia was there, waiting.

After the gifted blonde met Nancy and Teresa, she discovered more to life than study, and she loved it. Then everything backfired. She helped the two girls out and they repaid her by chasing after boys, leaving her to fend for herself. Harassing Stu was the only amusement left to her, so she focused almost exclusively on him.

Eventually, after several days of taking over Stu's role as the villain, Amelia went too far one morning just before their first class. She chipped away at his stubborn exterior and finally hit a nerve when she mocked him by making muscle man poses. She'd noticed his smaller arms and delicate hands.

"Enough already!" he hissed. "Hasn't it gone far enough? I don't know what you did or how you did it, but haven't I suffered enough?"

"I think the punishment fits the crime," she said, and then mouthed, "You go, girl."

"Remember cruel and unusual punishment? I think this qualifies," he said, pointing to himself.

"No, you still have a long way to go," Amelia said, finishing the sentence by mouthing the word, "sister". She twisted the knife in the wound by referring to Stu in such a way, and he almost lost his composure.

"Please. You don't have to do this. I'll never say another word to you."

Amelia tired of the boy's whining, and besides, class was about to start so she used her power voice. "Sit down!" she ordered, and he did, as did everyone in the classroom who wasn't already seated, including Mr. Johnson.

Thanks to Amelia, another rare day had begun in which everyone paid attention for the duration of the class, even though the teacher gave his entire lecture while sitting behind his desk, something he'd never done before.

***

At least Stu experienced some amount of good luck for the past couple weeks. His two friends chased Amelia's two friends, leaving him alone in his misery. If they stuck around, no doubt they'd notice his changes and tease him about it. He'd endure a long string of insults and eventually avoid them anyway. They saved him a lot of grief, but it still didn't help ease the loneliness and stress during his impossible transition.

Helping his little brother, Stan, with his homework made a nice change, although it sometimes worked the other way around. The younger brother made a better student in several subjects including Language Arts and History. Speaking and writing always came more easily to Stan.

As it happened late one evening, Stan helped his brother with homework, something the feminized boy needed more often since he had much more trouble concentrating on anything except his changes. He watched his older brother reading a short passage and noticed something different about the taller boy.

"Are you getting enough to eat?" Stan asked. "You look a little thin."

"I'm fine," Stu snapped.

"Okay. Okay. No need to bite my head off. Are you sure you're not hungry?" Stan smiled and waited for his brother to catch the humor. Unfortunately, he didn't get a response.

Stu suddenly got very nervous. His younger brother noticed his weight loss. It was only a matter of time before everyone noticed his condition. Then where would he be?

His situation rattled him, inspiring his imagination to dream up horrible possibilities. The images that bothered him the most involved government scientists who discovered his changes and dragged him to a secret laboratory where he'd be studied for the rest of his life. He didn't want to be a lab rat!

"Crap," he suddenly said, getting up. "I've had enough for tonight. I'm going to bed."

"But it's only 9:30. We have plenty of time for more studying."

Stu ignored his brother and slammed the door to his bedroom. With the drapes drawn, he turned on the light and threw his clothes off to study himself.

Just as he feared, he looked more like a girl everywhere except his head and between his legs. His clothes never felt more uncomfortable, never fit worse, and he couldn't help wonder what it would be like to wear a dress. It had to be better than cutting holes in his belt so he could tighten it enough to keep his pants from hanging off his hips.

Feminine clothing called to him, seducing and scaring him at the same time. At the rate he was going, he'd never get a girlfriend, so perhaps he'd be his own girlfriend. He could stare at his reflection to his heart's content. No one could complain or yell at him then.

Shaking his head, he fell back on his bed, slipped under the covers and cried himself to sleep. It was the only way he could face the nightmare.

***

For the first three weeks after getting the pink tattoo, Stu usually managed to hide how upset he was, but after that, he woke up late on Saturday morning and lost control. Emotions hit him like a runaway freight train. He couldn't handle them and cried at the least little thing. It didn't help that he had a lot of little things to cry about.

The heavy downpour of tears started when he noticed his shrunken genitals. His left palm still sported the tattoo and his transition continued. He knew then that it wouldn't stop until he really was completely female. His male ego collapsed and a feminine persona trickled in to replace it.

When the tears subsided, he forced himself to examine the rest of his body. His waist also shrunk a little over the past week, and his hips and rear looked full and round. Hair reached his shoulders once again and even his face looked different. His chin and jawline seemed smaller and more rounded.

"No!" He shouted, and his voice cracked. A higher pitched, feminine voice was replacing his deep, male voice.

Tears erupted again and he fell back onto his bed, wrapping himself in his bedcovers to have another good cry.

At least he kept a little dignity by breaking down in the privacy of his own home that Saturday. Both brothers liked to sleep in while their poor hardworking mother slaved away in her home office. The three of them kept to themselves, and Stu kept his secret for the time being.

His mother worked so much, she hadn't really had a chance to get a good look at him for the past couple weeks. She took it for granted that he'd do his chores and homework and left him to it. He was the mature, responsible one so she concentrated most of her attention on Stan. Saturday morning was a different story though.

Stu dragged himself into the kitchen to make breakfast, wearing nothing but a large tee shirt that hung down like a dress. The shirt clung to his new curves, making him look so feminine from behind that he startled his mother when she came to refill her coffee cup.

"Who are you?!" she demanded, angry that her son might have slept with a girl.

"Your son. Who else?" He completely ignored the implications of the encounter with his mother, feeling emotionally numb after crying himself out. He just went through the motions of supplying his body with nourishment so his stomach would stop growling. He stood facing the kitchen counter while he filled a bowl with cereal.

"Stu?"

Though his voice sounded funny, she still recognized it well enough.

"Turn around," she ordered.

He did what she told him and his face confirmed his identity, but then her eyes dropped to his chest and she saw two prominent nubs poking out from an otherwise flat chest. It was very cold in the kitchen and Stu's nipples responded in typically feminine fashion.

The confused woman dropped her coffee cup. It shattered at her feet along with her hopes for a quiet, productive morning.

After an awkward minute of silence, Stu turned back around and resumed making his breakfast. First things first, he thought. He had a stomach to fill. Then he'd clean up the mess on the floor.

His actions snapped his mother out of her shock and she reacted in a predictable way.

"Stanley Michael Benson! Get your butt in here!" she screamed to her other son.

Stu sat at the dining room table, eating his cereal and pretty much ignoring everything else by the time Stan arrived. With the whole family present, the interrogation began.

"What the hell is going on?" Mrs. Benson demanded, glaring at her two sons while Stu calmly continued eating.

Stan initially had the same problem with Stu's appearance that his mother did, though he recovered more quickly. He suspected his brother was hiding something but up to that point, he had no idea Stu wanted to be a girl. Of course now that he could see the feminine curves, he wrongly assumed his brother chose to be that way. It wasn't likely someone could feminize themselves accidentally.

"It looks like Stu is taking female hormones," Stan replied.

"What?! How? Where would he get them?"

"I have no idea! I had nothing to do with it." The small boy got a little defensive. He wasn't about to let himself be blamed.

"Stu!" She turned her attention to other son. "Where did you get the hormones? Why didn't you tell me you wanted to be a girl?"

The distraught woman tried to control herself but tears still blurred her vision. She didn't like surprises. She worked too hard and didn't have any room in her life for them. Providing for herself and two sons were her only concern. She couldn't bring herself to even think about having a life until after they left for college.

Stu continued to ignore his family. He finished his cereal and got up to rinse the bowl in the sink. Then he got out the dust pan and brush to sweep up his mother's broken coffee cup.

His mother and brother watched him with annoyance at first, but it soon turned to concern when they realized something was wrong.

"Stu?" his mother tried. "Are you okay?"

"I think he's in shock," Stan told her, finally noticing the symptoms. The tall boy shivered and his lips were blue but he didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to care about anything at the moment.

"Come on, Stu," he said. "Let's go get you dressed."

The small boy tried to lead his older brother from the dining room but met with a little resistance.

"I need to clean up this mess first," Stu said, standing over the broken cup but not bending down to do anything about it.

"Don't worry," his mother told him, gently taking the dust pan and brush out of his hands. "I'll get it. Just go with your brother.

"I'll take care of him, Mom," Stan said. "You can go back to work. We'll talk later."

Her two sons left the room and the poor woman stooped down to clean up her broken cup while tears streamed down her face. After cleaning up her mess, she grabbed a cup of coffee and fled back to her home office to concentrate on real estate, the only thing she felt comfortable with and understood.

***

Once up in Stu's room, Stan pulled his brother down on the bed, wrapped a blanket around him and rubbed the larger boy's back. After a few minutes, the color returned to Stu's lips and he responded better to questions.

"What would you like to wear today, Stu?"

"Doesn't matter," the feminine boy muttered. "Nothing fits anymore."

"Yeah," Stan quickly scanned his brother. "Look at you. How did you transition so quickly?"

Stu gave his brother a funny look. How could the little guy accept it so easily and how did he know so much about changing gender?

"What?" Stan noticed the funny look and knew what it meant. "Don't look so surprised. I know all about such things because I feel the same way."

"Huh?" Now the larger boy was really confused.

"Yeah, I've wanted to be a girl since I was very young. I had no idea you felt the same way. I wish I would've known."

Stu was speechless, leaving the younger boy happily talking for several minutes. Stan's confession caught him completely off guard. It wasn't until his little brother got to a certain sensitive subject that he got a reaction.

"I have to say I'm a little envious though. You're transitioning so well. It's like magic!"

That got a nervous laugh out of Stu.

"What's so funny?"

"I'd tell you but you wouldn't believe me."

The younger boy shrugged and continued jabbering away while going through Stu's clothes. He picked out a sweatshirt and sweatpants and threw them at his brother, who slowly put them on.

"This should do until we can get some girls jeans. Do you know your size? You look to be about a size 8 to me."

"I haven't a clue," Stu replied.

"Really? You don't seem very enthusiastic. Is something the matter?"

"Yeah, Squirt. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I really don't want to be a girl."

Now it was Stan's turn to be speechless. Stu wasn't making sense. Nothing made sense. His older brother seemed to be transitioning into a girl with frightening speed and ease, yet he didn't want to be a girl. What the hell was going on?!

"It all started with this," Stu held out his left palm to show his pink tattoo. "I'm sure you recognize the symbol."

"Uh ...," was the best Stan could manage.

"It's the symbol for woman," the feminine boy continued. "Ever since I got this damn thing three weeks ago, I've been changing into a girl."

The younger boy looked at his older brother like he was crazy.

"Hey. Say what you will. That's the truth. I got the tattoo from a crazy blonde girl named Amelia. I don't know how she did it but here it is."

"Amelia?" Stan whispered.

"Yeah, Squirt ... Amelia. She scares the piss out of me. I tried getting her to stop this." He gestured to himself. "But she insists on letting it run its course. She's hell-bent on punishing me for an ugly argument we had."

The younger boy scowled now. He figured his brother had be joking with him. None of it made sense. None of it was believable.

Stu noticed his brother's reaction, and it suddenly made him angry. The anger came pouring out and wouldn't stop until it was all gone. He needed to get it out or he might lose his sanity. It was too bad he took it out on his loving little brother, but he had to get it out.

"I know that look. You don't believe me. I don't believe it either, but look at me. Look at me! I don't want this. I'm not lying and I'm not joking. I don't want this!"

He ended up chanting, "I don't want this," and continued until the anger diminished to a dull sadness. All during his rant, his voice got softer and softer, and stopped cracking. It rose to a pure and beautiful soprano and he lost his composure. He flopped face first on his bed and sobbed.

Stan sat on the bed and gently rubbed his brother's back. He believed now. At least he believed that his brother wasn't happy with his new look, and he could relate. He knew all too well what it was like to feel uncomfortable in his own body.

***

The weekend passed quickly with Stu getting a lot of support from his family, and by early Sunday evening, he had good fitting clothes, thanks to his mother. She couldn't afford to buy her son a whole new wardrobe but she got the basics, including something he had a little problem with.

"I'm not wearing a bra," he stated, folding his arms.

"It's just a training bra," his mother crooned. "You need to get used to wearing one."

"I don't have ... enough to fill a bra."

"You've got enough to fill this," she said, waving the offending garment in front of him. "Though how you're developing so fast is beyond me."

Stu gulped. She didn't know the half of it. He figured he'd be filling out bras with a much larger cup size by the end of the week. Perhaps it wasn't a bad idea to get used to wearing one.

"I don't know how to put one on," he said, shyly looking down at his dainty bare feet.

"Silly girl," she said. "I'll show you."

Stu blushed. His mother called him a girl, and she was right. He was virtually all girl now, on the outside. He still had a little something left between his legs but it had gotten much smaller over the past two days. He'd soon lose all traces of his manhood and be completely female.

After a slightly embarrassing clothing lesson, Stu squirmed and pulled on the bra straps through his top. It would take some getting used to so he thanked his mother and carelessly plopped down on the couch to watch some television. He hoped to lose himself in some mindless entertainment.

"Excuse me," his mother interrupted.

"Yes?"

"That's no way for a girl to sit. You need to keep your legs together."

"But I'm wearing jeans. What's the difference?"

"Just please trust me. You don't want to get in the habit of sitting like that. What if you were wearing a skirt?"

"That's not going to happen!" Stu insisted. He kept trying to tell his mother that he wasn't happy with his transition. He didn't plan on ever wearing skirts and dresses.

"What about special occasions, like weddings?"

"Still not going to happen," Stu warned. He was getting upset. Just the thought of a wedding and which side of the gender divide he'd be on if he ever wanted to get married sent a chill down his spine.

"Honestly, Dear. You won't make it five minutes in school if you behave like that."

The mention of school made things even worse. School loomed much closer on the horizon than any wedding. Stu would have to go to school tomorrow dressed as a girl. Could he handle that? Would the school accept him? What about his identification? What about his driver's license? So many questions and so few answers overwhelmed him. Tears soon rolled down his pretty cheeks as they had so often that weekend.

"I can't go to school like this," he squeaked. "I'm ... not ready."

His mother misunderstood him, as she had all along. She thought about his identification and school records and realized they needed to be changed. She'd have to take some precious time off work to help get it all done. The loss of income would hurt but she needed to take care of her new daughter.

She always wanted a daughter, and now that the opportunity presented itself, she latched on to it and tuned out anything that interfered with her enjoyment. She brushed aside Stu's complaints and thought she had all the right answers.

"Oh," she said. "You're right. We need to change all sorts of things, starting with your name."

"My name?"

"Well, you don't look much like a Stewart, do you now?"

She went on thinking out loud without waiting for an answer, trying to remember what she would've named a daughter.

"Stephanie," she soon declared. "I would've named you Stephanie if you'd been born a girl. Do you like that name?"

"Uh ... yeah." He did like the name for other girls. He never thought he'd refer to himself as Stephanie.

"Good. It's settled then ... Steph. Welcome to the family."

She sat down next to him on the couch and gave him a fierce hug. She'd been hugging him all weekend and he got a little tired of it. It did feel nice and comforting in a way, but stifling and strange in another. What could he do though? He endured the hug and tried not to think about how much he actually enjoyed it.

***

The next morning, Steph woke up, trying to get used to her new name and the latest changes. She first discovered that her training bra was already too small. Her breasts had grown enough to make a good handful overnight. She handled that okay. It was her second discovery that gave her a fright, even though she knew it was coming. She cupped her groin and felt nothing but a little hair and a slit.

"No!" she cried, attracting her family.

"What is it, Steph?" Stan said as he barged into her room, followed shortly by their mother.

"I'm a girl!"

"Uh ... yeah. We can see that, Honey."

"No. You don't understand. I'm all girl!"

Their mother turned to Stan. "Maybe you should go get ready for school now. I'll talk to Steph."

"Sure, Mom. See ya later, Sis."

Steph groaned at being called "Sis" and threw off her covers. She got out of bed wearing one of her old tee shirts and steeled herself to bare all to her mother. She was determined to make her mother understand more about what was happening to her.

"Okay, Mom. Prepare yourself."

The girl pulled off the now overly large tee shirt and revealed herself in all her glory. Her mother gasped, keying in on her breasts first. Then she almost fainted when she saw the lack of male genitals.

"When did you have the surgery?!" her mother wailed. "How could you not tell me?!"

"Mom! Focus. Come on."

Steph proceeded to run through her changes, starting with her breasts. Surely they couldn't have grown so much in only two days. Then there was her face. Her chin was much smaller and she had a cute little button nose whereas before it had been somewhat large and angular. She hadn't gone to any hospitals, hadn't had any surgery. There was really no logical explanation for it. She ended with her fast growing hair and feminine voice, hoping everything would be enough to convince her mother that it wasn't a normal transition.

"So what happened then?! You can't just change into a girl without hormones and surgery!"

"I know this is hard to believe, but it's happening. You see it with your own eyes."

Steph's mother felt a little dizzy and sat heavily on the bed. She had to take deep breaths to keep calm. There had to be a rational explanation, but she couldn't think of one.

"This is all I can give you," Steph said, showing off her pink tattoo. "Ever since I got this, I started changing."

"It's the symbol for woman," her mother whispered.

"I know. I ... upset the wrong person and it resulted in this," Steph said, gesturing to herself.

"Someone did this to you?"

"I guess I deserved it. I wasn't very nice." Steph sat down next to her mother and sniffled a little.

"No one deserves something like this! Don't talk that way!"

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I really wasn't very nice, and I've been kicking myself for it ever since."

Mrs. Benson sighed. She couldn't bear to see her daughter suffer. "So who did it?" she asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it matters, Steph. They shouldn't get away with it."

"I don't think you or anyone else could do anything about it. I mean who would believe it? It's impossible."

"I'm sure we could find someone to do something. We can use your changes as evidence, can't we?"

"That's what I'm afraid of, Mom. I'm really really scared. No one just changes sex like I have. When people find out, I'm afraid I'll end up being studied in some lab somewhere. I might never see you again!"

Steph teared up but somehow kept herself together. She needed support, needed to hear her mother say that everything was going to be okay.

"No one is taking you anywhere," her mother growled. "You're my child and I'll die before I let anyone take you away from me."

Such fierce talk surprised the new girl, but she felt some measure of comfort from it.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Steph sniffled. "I didn't try to be a girl, and I don't really want to be one, but I can't stop it."

"It's okay, Steph. I can't pretend I understand what's happening but I'll always love you no matter what."

"I love you too, Mom, and I'll try to be a good daughter."

"Oh, Sweetie," she said. Then they both started crying.

*** to be continued ***

 © 2008 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.