by Paula Spicer
Jim just stared back at him, waiting for an answer. Fred couldn't understand why the proposal even deserved a response. Had Jim gone blind?
"First of all, I'm a man, so I don't understand how you think I'm going to be able to pose as a woman," said Fred, finally.
Nothing about his appearance was feminine in the least. He wasn’t obscenely muscular, but he wasn’t exactly slight either. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and flat-chested. Even if he dressed in women’s clothing complete with stuffed bra, he wouldn’t make a convincing woman. Jim didn’t seem to think this was a problem, though.
"Let me worry about that," said Jim. "I have a way."
He did laugh then, because that sounded even more ridiculous. Yet the heavy feeling he'd had in his stomach since Jim invited him out had come back with a vengeance.
It was never going to work.
There was no way it could, but Jim looked awfully sure of himself. Just what was the idiot planning, and why did he have to be a part of it? He narrowed his eyes.
"Second, why me? Why not any of your female friends?" Fred asked.
Jim was the kind of guy plenty of women would go for: charming, good-looking, with a great personality to match. Fred had always been jealous of how easy he had it when he didn’t even seem to want it. Women were always casting interested glances at him and he never even seemed to notice. The reason why was now evident. It really wasn't fair. What a waste of female attention! But if Jim needed a beard, he could probably just pick a woman up, date her for a week, and convince her to do the same thing. If he felt any moral qualms about it, he could find someone to do it for money if he just asked around.
But Jim was shaking his head. "None of my female friends know me well enough to pose as a long-term girlfriend," he explained. "If I don’t convince my parents, they won't leave me alone. My mom already calls every week, sometimes even more than three times in one week. I left home to get away from them, and they still manage to be suffocating."
"Long-term girlfriend?" repeated Fred. "You've been lying to them for a long time, then, I guess."
Fred just sat back in his chair and stared at the other man. He couldn’t exactly relate to his parental troubles. Fred talked to his parents when he needed something and vice versa, which was rarely. He couldn’t remember the last time he even went home. There was an understanding between them, they knew he was busy and he knew they were busy, and so they tended to keep out of each other's way.
Jim was close to his family though, and he didn’t live too far away from his parents' place. Fred could understand why he was worried, but he had to see how crazy this was. Paying someone to do it would be so much easier than have Fred do it, wouldn’t it? At least someone they hired could make it believable, if nothing it would convince his parents he was with an actual woman.
Not that that specifically was Fred's biggest problem.
"Dude, I love you, seriously," said Fred. "You're one of my best friends. But there is no way in Hell I would make a convincing woman and I don’t feel comfortable pretending to be your girlfriend. Especially when the ruse would be so, so obvious to your parents. Look at me! I shaved this morning and all this stubble has grown in just today! Look at the size of my Adam's apple."
"I didn’t expect you would feel comfortable about pretending to be my girlfriend, but I am seriously fucking desperate or I wouldn’t even be asking for this," said Jim. "It is only for the weekend and then everything goes back to how it was, I swear. I promise you, I can make this work. All I need is for you to agree to just trust me for a little while. Hear me out. Let me take you through my plan and show you exactly how we're going to pull this off. Trust me."
But he pursed his lips, not wanting to budge. No matter how much he valued his friends, something like this was a little much. Jim looked determined though, and Fred didn’t trust his own chances.
It took some time and a little more back and forth, but Jim eventually convinced Fred to go along with his plan. Fred wasn’t proud of himself for giving in. Whatever. It was just one weekend — he was pretty sure he could survive that long.
Jim looked relieved. "My sister will also be down at our parents’ place for the weekend," he said. "It's kind of a big deal because of how rarely we all manage to get together there at the same time, what with our differing schedules."
That detail intrigued Fred and he lost some of his sourness. He felt a little more like going now, because he always had a thing for Jim's sister. She was a year older than them, and when they were younger, she always seemed so cool. One year felt like a huge chasm back then. Fred felt a little tingle of excitement.
Knowing she'd be there for the weekend made his capitulation a little easier.
"I'll go along with this, but if everything blows up in our faces, you are on your own," he threatened. "I am going to take off my heels and run for the hills.
Jim just laughed.
Chapter Two
"Where the Hell are we going?" Fred whispered.
Jim turned to give Fred a look, probably wondering why he was whispering so close to his ear when they were on the street. Fred gave him a look back, because he couldn’t exactly be blamed.
Fred was a little worried about exactly what his friend had in mind because of how shady he was acting. He didn’t know the street they were currently on, but Fred was getting some bad vibes from it. The buildings were run down and patchy.
Jim brought Fred to a small, strange shop in an alley where they sold "natural medicines". Fred wondered if the heavy feeling in his stomach was ever going to go away. He wanted to grab his friend and drag him away, but Jim was already at the counter while he dragged his feet, feeling extremely uneasy. He watched as Jim talked to the man behind the counter and got three little green pills.
He didn’t watch the rest of the transaction, just stared suspiciously at the pills until they left. He was worried, and he felt he had the right to be. They didn’t exactly act shady, but considering the shop, where it was located, and how dark it was inside, they didn’t have to for the situation to look that way. What if they were illegal?
"They're not," said Jim.
He looked up, surprised, wondering if he'd spoken out loud. He got a chuckle for it.
"You didn’t say anything out loud, but I can read your face easily," said Jim. "They aren’t illegal drugs, or anything particularly dangerous, just hard to find."
"So what are they?" he asked, not bothering to hide his suspicion.
"I… heard about them from a friend," Jim said. "And yes, I do mean friend. Someone I really trust."
"Right," said Fred. "And what do they do? What are they for? You can't blame me for being curious, this is all way too weird."
Jim rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Believe me, I don’t. I didn’t exactly picture myself pretending my best friend is my girlfriend for my parents' benefit either, but it’s a quick fix and I really need one. I appreciate you going along with this." He glanced at Fred, then down at his folded fist, where he held the pills. "Well, they're really just special pills. I don’t know exactly where they were developed, but I've asked around and I'm sure you can use them safely. They're also hella expensive, but definitely worth it just for the weekend."
"So what exactly do they do?" Fred asked slowly.
"It's strange," he warned. "But you're gonna have to trust me on this. They'll turn you into a woman. Each one lasts for 24 hours, so three should last the weekend."
Fred arched an eyebrow. Had Jim gone crazy? Had he actually lost his mind? Strange was putting it mildly, and looking at the serious expression on Jim's face, he wasn’t kidding. "Are you for real?" asked Fred.
"I'm for real. This pill will change you into a woman. You will look and sound like a woman. This is the only way this whole charade works. Trust me, this is going to work."
"This is very hard to believe," said Fred. "Is this whole thing a prank?"
"Look at my face," said Jim, serious. "You know it isn't."
They we
nt it to Jim's car so he could drive Fred home.
"I'll pick you up a little early tomorrow," said Jim. "You'll take the pill, and then you'll see. Then we'll drive to my parents' place for the weekend."
He could have said a lot of things but decided to stick to logic.
"If I'm going to be a woman for three days, what am I going to do about clothes, and other stuff?" he asked. He would at least need clothes and shoes. He also knew women loved makeup and accessories, and those would also likely be needed. He felt a little overwhelmed trying to think of everything they'd need.
"Its fine, I'll bring clothes and makeup and stuff when I come tomorrow." He glanced over at Fred. "I'm going to have to guess your size after you change, but it should be fine. And I told my parents that my girlfriend is named Amanda, so that's what you'll be responding to for the weekend."
Fred tried to take it all in. He still felt very uneasy, but he had already promised to go ahead with it. He wasn’t going to go back on his word. He got dropped off, said a distracted goodbye to his friend and went into his home. He hadn't eaten dinner yet, but he didn’t think he could stomach anything. He didn’t feel like cooking either, so he just went to sleep.
For a while he tossed and turned in bed, his thoughts refusing to quiet, before he conked out.
Chapter Three
Fred woke up early to the blaring of his alarm clock feeling like he hadn't rested at all. Instead of going back to sleep like he wanted, he went to take a shower, then put on some casual clothes and went to wait in his kitchen. His stomach wasn’t quite as nervous as before, so he thought he could stomach something.
But he was going to be taking those strange pills. They worried him enough, he wasn’t sure if eating beforehand would cause some adverse effect. Could he have coffee, or would there be a reaction with the caffeine? He didn’t want to risk it.
When Jim finally arrived at his door, he rushed to open it, all his reticence forgotten.
Jim came into the house with a small suitcase that Fred assumed was full of the women's things he'd mentioned before.
And Jim wasn’t alone.
Fred felt his jaw drop for a moment before he collected himself, stepping aside to let them both inside. Jim failed to mention his sister would be with him. It was so inconsequential considering what they were about to do, but he felt self-conscious about her seeing him in less than his best. It was ridiculous, because they'd known each other long enough that they’d both seen each other in less than stellar conditions plenty of times. He shook it off and followed the siblings into his living room.
Cody looked just as he remembered: tall, slim, and exceptionally pretty. He stared at her while trying to hide it. He hadn't had time to brace himself before seeing her, and he could feel his heart beat out of rhythm because of her presence in his house. He didn’t need to ask why she was there though — he could take a guess, seeing as he and Jim were both clueless about applying makeup and coordinating outfits. Cody would choose what looked good, because she always looked amazing.
"Sorry, I didn’t warn you about her being here," said Jim. "But she knows the plan and she's here to help."
Fred just shrugged. He would have had to see her anyway, and getting to see her sooner wasn’t exactly a bad thing. "I don’t mind," he said. "Let’s just get this over with."
Jim looked through his pockets and walked over to the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water in one hand, a little green pill in the other. Fred had to fight a flinch, staring down at it like it was going to jump and bite him.
"Are you sure about this?" Fred asked.
Jim shrugged. "It should be fine."
"Can I can eat or drink something with it without anything bad happening? How do you know this does what it says it does?" Fred asked.
He rolled his eyes. "Don’t be so paranoid, Fred, I already told you I made sure it wasn’t dangerous."
Fred glared. "That's easy for you to say, you're not the one that has to take it."
"Okay, fair enough. But I have talked to people who have had experience with it, so you should be just fine. Before or after, it doesn’t matter. I haven't heard of any side effects or conditions from taking the pill, so you should be good."
That wasn’t as reassuring as he'd probably hoped it would be, what with him throwing in the word “should”, proving he wasn’t actually 100% positive it was safe.
"Look, I promise you this is safe," Jim said. "I wouldn't put you in danger. If you feel unwell, I'll bring your directly to the hospital. But you won't, because this is completely safe."
Jim held his hands out, and Fred, reluctantly, reached for the glass first, and then took the pill. He was regretting the decision not to eat something, because he wasn’t sure if he would be able to bring himself to eat after.
He glanced over at Cody who was standing off to the side, eyeing them curiously and perking up when she noticed Fred's attention on her.
"Looking forward to being a woman?" Cody asked, smirking.
He just rolled his eyes.
Just do it quickly. Don’t think about it. He tried to psych himself up, but he knew it wouldn’t work. He gave himself a mental pat on the back anyway.
Fred put the pill in his mouth. Then he took a big gulp of water, swished it around and took the pill down his throat. It was a bitter pill to swallow. He took another couple of gulps of water to make sure it went down all the way.
Jim took the glass back and they all waited, the other two staring at him so intensely he started to squirm. It took so long for any effect to occur (or at least it felt like it to him) that he felt hope spring in his chest. Maybe the pill wouldn’t do what they expected it to. Maybe, he wouldn’t have to go through with this. Maybe it would do nothing at all and he could just stay in town for the weekend.
Of course, it was right then that he felt it. A dull pulse that started in his stomach and spread to the rest of his body. It didn’t actually hurt, it just felt uncomfortable and strange. And then he could feel it: the transformation.
It scared him for a second, the feeling of muscle and bone shifting under his skin. He thought about going to look in a mirror, but did he really want to see it? His hands reached up instinctively to touch his face where he could feel the change most, only to stop because he decided last minute he didn’t need to feel that under his hands. But then he looked down at his hands, and realized they were changing too. They were shrinking.
Actually, he was pretty sure his whole body was shrinking. His clothes suddenly didn’t fit him so perfectly, the t-shirt growing loose around his shoulders and arms, the hem of his tracks bunching around his feet. He was a little too aware of the feeling of his face morphing slower than any other part of him, and his waist was tucking in. He lifted his shirt a bit, only to release it when he noticed he was also growing softer, not just smaller. He reached up to touch his hair, feeling a bit of relief when he realized it was probably the one thing about him that hadn't changed, as it was still as short as he'd had it.
None of that was the weirdest part, though. The weirdest was feeling something grow from his chest. It hurt a little more than everything else, and he moved his eyes to his chest, watching the t-shirt stretch outwards. Fuck, he was growing boobs.
He glanced up, feeling a little like panicking, to find brother and sister staring at him with their mouths open in amazement. He could feel his heartbeat and breath ratchet up, barely managing to keep his voice in despite the sudden urge to scream. It felt like forever before everything settled and the bone and muscle shifting stopped. The siblings just continued to gape at him.
"Guys," he snapped, jumping a little when his voice came out… different —don’t think about it he told himself — only to narrow his eyes at them when they only looked even more amazed. "Would you stop it with the staring, already? I'm not a circus act."
Feeling a little annoyed as the panic lessened, he crossed his arms over his chest when he noticed them staring there in particular. He jumped a little i
n surprise and almost disgust. Fuck, he never would have thought having breasts was this weird. And he felt them, even when he touched them through the fabric of his t-shirt; he hadn't expected that either, even though he should have.
They snapped out of staring, Jim looking a little sheepish, Cody a little amused.
"Can I just try out the clothes now so we can leave?" he prompted.
"Right, sorry," Jim replied.
Jim opened the suitcase so Fred could see what was inside. He got down on his knees and rooted around inside, picking out a few outfits. Jim had brought a lot, way too much for just three days. He didn’t know what he was doing though, but Cody helped him out.
Just don’t think about it. Pretend it’s a dream—or a weird game. A temporary one.
He just had to get through three days. Ignoring the squishy masses on the front of his chest would be hard, especially since they kept moving, bouncing with his every move, but whatever. It was temporary, so he could just live with it for the time being.
Fred tried out some of the clothes in front of Jim and Cody. It was a little weird, being naked in front of them. But he'd known Jim long enough to have been with him in a communal shower, and Cody was a woman, as was his new body, so it wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. It was also not really his body, so there was a bit of a distance to it all, because they weren’t exactly seeing him.
The clothes were, thankfully, a good fit. They coordinated the outfit he'd be wearing for the day and put away the rest. The bra felt… as weird as having breasts really, and restrictive. But he felt some relief when his chest wasn’t just hanging free. The panties were surprisingly soft and snug. He finished the look with a top and a pair of skinny jeans that showed off his new figure. He felt awkward, but it wasn’t that bad.
Jim and Cody both looked a little impressed, and from what little of his body he could see, he was now curious to see himself in a mirror. But then Cody moved in front of him, pushing him back so he was seated on the coffee table.
"I'm doing your makeup, and we need to do it quickly. Mom and Dad are expecting us to be on time and we've taken long enough already." She shot a look at her brother. "You know what Mom is like when we're late."