==========More Apparel Than The Man==========

Copyright 2024 by Jen Simons.
All rights reserved.

This story is the sole intellectual property of Jen Simons.  Do not 
change or modify this file in any way noncompliant with copyright law. 
Beyond that requirement, save it to your computer, send it to your 
friends, send it to your enemies, print it out and burn it, whatever.


More Apparel Than The Man

###
15:10 25 Oct

     "Alexis, Flynn- er, _Katherine_," Lindsay wiggled her eyebrows at 
me, "did you want a ride to my house, or did you want to come later?"
     Alexis shook her head.  "My mom should be here soon, and I ought 
to at least drop off my homework, so I might not be there until later.  
I could use some directions, though."  She cocked her head, glancing at
me.  "You?"
     "Well, my folks are out of town so usually I'd go home with you, 
but I'm not sure I want to see your mom dressed like this again."  
Alexis snorted.
     "Again?"  Lindsay asked.  Lexi nodded.
     "Yeah, we did a costume test on Wednesday, took my mom _half an 
hour_ to figure it out."
     "Then she just kinda _stared_ at me the rest of the night," I said 
while Lindsay giggled.  "So yeah I think if you don't mind I'll take you
up on that."
     "Yeah, 'sfine, that's why I offered.  My dad should be here any 
minute."

###
15:13 25 Oct

     A green mini-van pulled into the school parking lot, and Lindsay 
waved it down, so I figured it was probably her dad and not a band of 
kidnappers.  I waited until she bounced over and opened the passenger 
door with a "Hey, Dad!" just to be sure before I waved to Alexis and 
followed.
     "Hey, pumpkin.  Who's this?"
     "Oh, this is Katherine, she's one of the Theater girls coming over 
tonight so I figured we could give her a ride?"
     I leaned around her and waved.
     "Sure thing.  Hop in."
     I pulled open the rear door and climbed in like Alexis showed me, 
then stuck a hand to shake when I saw him doing the same.
     "Hi, Katherine.  I'm Richard."
     "Hi!  Call me Kate, everyone does," I invented.  Nobody ever had, 
but if I was going to get a nickname (and with Alexis around, I would), 
I preferred it to Kathy.

###
15:19 25 Oct

     Lindsay and her dad kept each other occupied for a while with her 
recounting of her day at school, and I sorta tuned them out and tried to
focus on my breathing until he asked a question I wasn't sure I wanted 
Lindsay to answer.
     "And how did the costume thing go?"
     "It went okay, I got a lot of tips I think will really help."  
She'd done some dark makeup and added fake vampire fangs, which had 
looked kinda cool, but freely admitted she wasn't done.  "And there was 
ice cream after!"
     "How about you, Kate?"  he asked.
     Sugar and nerves combined, and I opened my mouth and let words fall
out.  "Oh, I just dressed up as a boy," I said casually.  "First place, 
can you believe it?"
     "I'd have to see that!"  he said with a laugh, while Lindsay almost
choked for an entirely different reason.
     *Well _now_ you've done it, Flynn.*
     "Er, I left my costume stuff in my locker.  Sorry."  *Oh crap 
Alexis still has my clothes.*  I really hoped nothing came up to stop 
her from making it to this party.  *Dammit, Flynn, don't think like that
or it'll happen!*

###
15:31 25 Oct

     Lindsay's house was a little way out of town, with a big lawn 
surrounded by trees.  The house was pretty big, and looked like an 
overgrown cabin, built of some truly impressive logs.  We pulled into 
their garage, and she and I hopped out of the van.
     "Oh good, I can take these boots off," I said as she opened the 
door to the house.
     "You know, you should really get a good pair of flats."
     I just looked at her.  "Lindsay, I have sneakers, and no plans to 
ever wear _any_ of _this_ again after Halloween."
     She pouted.  "But you're so CUTE!"
     "Thanks," I said flatly.  If her dad hadn't walked in just then, I 
would have added 'just what a guy wants to hear.'  Instead, I focused on
taking my boots off.
     *Wait, since when were they 'my' boots?*
     This week was seriously going to mess with my head.
     "C'mon, come see my room," Lindsay said once my socks were free, 
grabbing me by the arm and tugging.  We headed up a couple flights of 
stairs, to a big loft that overlooked the second-floor living room.  The
peak of the roof ran down the middle of the loft, which had 
honey-colored shag carpet, a coffee table, a bunch of beanbags and 
cushions, and its own TV, a big old projection thing hooked up to a 
couple of game systems.  "Those are my sister's," she mentioned when she
saw me appreciating, "she's off at college.  She's kind of a geek."
     "Hey, _I'm_ a geek," I protested.
     "I didn't say it was a _bad_ thing, jeez, Kate."  I wasn't sure I 
liked how quickly she'd switched to calling me that.  "Anyway, here's my
room."  At the back of the loft was a wooden door, and she opened it to 
reveal a room almost as big as the loft, with a slightly more modern 
carpet, a queen-size bed under a window in the middle of the far wall, a
desk, a walled-in closet on the left with mirrored doors, a vanity, and 
her own bathroom.  A few books were scattered around, and some fancy 
Oriental-type tapestries or something were hanging on the walls.
     "We'll mostly be in here or out in the loft later, but until my 
folks go to bed we've got the whole house."
     "Wait.  How late is this going?"
     "Oh, gosh, I totally forgot when I was inviting you.  Yeah, um, 
this is a sleepover.  Well, not that we ever sleep much, really.  But, 
um.  Yeah.  That's why my folks have to think you're a girl."
     *A sleepover.*
     *...what even is my life.*
     She made a face, somewhere between awkward and a bit embarrassed, 
possibly misinterpreting my groan.  "I guess you didn't bring any 
pajamas, huh," she asked rhetorically.
     No, _definitely_ misinterpreting my groan.
     I thought about going home, but honestly I'd just sit in front of 
my computer, and I'd already agreed to this.  All the girls were 
apparently fine with it.  Plus Alexis would do her best to be _very_ 
annoying if I backed out, and her best was VERY good.  And, well...  the
guys' reactions were still a relevant factor.
     "Um.  No," I eventually went with.

###
15:41 25 Oct

     Lindsay held something up to me.  A pajama set, pink with black 
cats.  The pants were slightly long, since she was taller than me, but 
that wasn't unusual - that was why Alexis and I could share clothes, 
though we'd only done it one way until this week.  I assumed the clothes
I was wearing were Lexi's anyway, though now that I thought about it I 
couldn't directly recall seeing her wearing any of it except maybe the 
flannel.  *Aw, hell, did she _buy_ clothes for me!?*  When had she even
had the _time_?
     "Yeah, this should work," Lindsay said, satisfied.  "I'll leave it 
on my dresser until later."
     Honestly at this point the cutesiness of the pajamas barely 
registered as an issue, considering I'd, somehow, actually briefly 
forgotten I was wearing a bra.  And a skirt.
     At least the pajamas included pants.
     Lindsay clapped once, then flourished an arm to point out of her 
room.  "Okay!  Back to the tour!"

###
15:42 25 Oct

     Lindsay led me back down the stairs to the living room.  The wall 
we were facing was a bunch of plate-glass windows running up to the 
ceiling, with a view of the forest and a lake.  To the left was a big 
dining room, and then a kitchen.  Honestly with the rustic theme and 
wood paneling her whole place gave off this impression of like... a 
Cascadian lumberjack's approximation of an Adirondack house, with less 
overall pretentiousness.  Though I did still kinda get the feeling she 
was loaded.  The size of the TV in the living room was another clue.  We
rummaged through their VHS collection for a while before the tour 
continued.
     She pointed out a few closed doors - bathroom, home office, 
parents' bedroom, sister's bedroom.  Also on the second floor was their 
home library, which we spent about as much time in as we had with the 
VHS tapes.
     We ended the tour back on the first floor - laundry room, storage 
room, guest room, and then the game room, which was vastly more 
interesting.  There was a dartboard on one wall, a pool table, _and_ a 
foosball table.  The back wall had a sliding door that led outside to 
the back of the house, and one side was entirely windows looking out on 
the lawn.
     We played a few rounds of pool, but I'd never really been great at
it, and she presumably got bored of winning all of them.  I was mostly 
just happy I hadn't put a cue through one of the windows.  Or a ball.
     "Wanna hang out on the lawn for a bit?"
     I shrugged.
     "Sure."
     The sun was out, and it was pretty warm for October, so I'd 
probably be fine with 'my' flannel.  I headed out through the sliding 
door while she ran through the front and came around wearing a loose 
fluffy-looking hoodie.

###
16:45 25 Oct

     We'd been talking about adapting movies to the stage for a while 
when the crunch of tires coming up the gravel driveway made me turn.
     *Oh, cool it's Alexis and- SHIT!*
     I jumped up and darted behind the house, out of sight of the 
driveway.  Lindsay shot me a confused frown but turned back toward the 
front instead of saying anything.
     "Hey, Linds!"  Alexis called from out of sight.  "Where's-"
     "Kate's hiding behind the house," Lindsay waved, cutting her off.
     Alexis stuck her head around the corner a moment later.  "Kate?"  
she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
     "Better than 'Katie'."
     "Okay.  And... what are you doing back here?"
     "Hiding from your mom.  I figured if she saw me at what is 
apparently an _all-girls sleepover_, she might have some questions."  
She'd started nodding in wide-eyed agreement, so I guess she got it.  
"Let me know when she leaves."

###
17:05 25 Oct

     Jodie finally left, and Lexi and Lindsay and I moved back into easy
view of the driveway, so we all jumped up when another car showed up and
disgorged a de-costumed Stephanie and Kelsey.  Kelsey stopped short when
she saw me, then cheered.
     "You came!"
     "Like I had a choice?"  I said, with a grin at Alexis.  Alexis gave
me a tap on the arm for that, and then skipped out of the way when I 
tried to kick her in the shin about it, so I whacked her in the bicep, 
so she hit me in the shoulder, so I hooked a leg behind her knee and 
yanked, at which point she grabbed me by the shoulder and then we were 
both on the ground wrestling.
     "What the FUCK?"  from someone stopped us, and we sat up and 
untangled and did a quick sweep in case there was something going on.  
Everyone was staring at us, including Emily who had apparently shown up
while we were busy.  Wearing normal clothes, though her eyes were still 
glittery.
     "What?"  I asked.
     "What... what were you DOING?"
     "Oh.  That."  Alexis shrugged.  "It's how we show affection."
     "Well, that and hitting each other with sticks," I input, once I'd 
figured out what they meant.
     Emily goldfished for a second.  "Haven't you nuts ever heard of 
_hugging_?"
     "Luca's never been big on it."  He didn't really like touching 
people much unless he could initiate it, and us Rangers were pretty much
the only people he felt comfortable getting touched by unannounced, so 
we tried not to do it to him in public in case people got ideas.  
Somehow he didn't have the same problem with beating up on each other; 
different drivers, I guessed.

###
17:35 25 Oct

     "Why are you all cool with me being here, anyway?" I figured now 
that everyone was here I might as well ask.
     A couple of the girls looked at each other, and Courtney shrugged.
"I dunno, I guess... it just, it seemed like it would be fun to have the
whole club for once?"
     Stephanie nodded.  "Yeah, we've all been getting together for ages 
but we never see you outside of school!"
     "Wait.  All?"  I looked at Alex.
     "First I've heard of it."
     "Well, we knew you two were already friends, and we didn't really 
want to invite Alexis and leave you the only one out, but we could never
figure out a way to actually work it out so you could come, until now," 
Lindsay explained.
     It had never really occurred to me that any of them would _want_ 
to spend time with me; besides Alexis, being in Theater club where the 
girls _had_ to talk to me, and occasional class assignments, it was a 
rare event that any girl would speak to me at all.  I figured it was on 
account of 1, being a Geek and thus To Be Avoided, and 2, not being the 
sort of person who threw myself at them desperate to get laid.  Though 
the second one might also explain how I'd ended up wearing a skirt at an
all-girls sleepover.

###
17:42 25 Oct

     "Yeah, Mom says we gotta, if we're gonna do stuff like this during 
the school year," Lindsay explained while we all spread various contents
of our assorted bags and backpacks on her living room floor.  And on 
Sarah, who'd swooned dramatically when the word 'homework' was mentioned
and was still pretending unconsciousness.  "So we help each other with 
the school stuff-"
     "And _then_ we get to do the _fun_ stuff!" Courtney said.
     "So, what do you class as fun?"  I had a feeling it didn't involve 
swords, unlike many of _my_ definitions of fun.  Though we _were_ in 
Theater, so you never knew.

###
17:43 25 Oct

     "Ah, the fair damsel awakes!"  Amanda gushed when Sarah sat up.
     "Got tired of being used as a table.  Oh, and Ff-Kate - nice 
panties."
     "Do what?  Oh, right, skirt."  I moved my legs around and folded 
them like Emily had hers, which met with general approval.

###
17:53 25 Oct

     "No, see, you need the _sine_," I told Heather, pointing out the 
relevant section.  
     "What math class are you in, anyway?"  she asked while she started 
erasing.
     "Algebra II."  Next to History, my favorite class of the day.  
Sure, I got some weird looks from all the sophomores and juniors, but 
I'd tested into it fair and square.  To be honest, I took it more for 
fun than for the credits; I'd be taking calculus if they'd let me.
     Heather shook her head.  "Jeez... I barely understand _this_ 
stuff."
     "Aw, come on, math is fun!"
     "For _you_, Kate.  Math is fun for _you_," Alexis said.  Judging by
the face she was making, she was doing her math homework.
     "Need some help?"
     She gave me the finger, which I guess was confirmation.
     "Uh, I could actually use a hand with geometry...?"  Amanda asked, 
trailing off when I leaned over to see and started shaking my head.  
"What?"
     "Proofs are EVIL," I explained.  A lot of geometry was fun, but it 
was also the only math-adjacent class I'd ever gotten less than an A+ 
in, which was entirely the fault of having to prove things that were 
self-evident to anyone with a brain, presumably to people _without_.  It
was like an entire section about showing your work, without the easy 
part of doing the actual math.

###
18:09 25 Oct

     "How's it going, girls?"  A lady who I figured was Lindsay's mom 
walked in from the direction of her parents' bedroom, wearing a sparkly 
sort of silver-blue dress and putting an earring in.
     "Oh, great!  We're almost done," said Kelsey.
     "That's good," Lindsay's mom said warmly, smiling at us.  "It's 
nice to see you girls again.  I don't think I've met you two, though?" 
She raised an eyebrow quizzically at Alex and I.
     "Oh, these are the other two in Theater club," Lindsay explained. 
"This is Alexis and that's Katherine.  Lexi, Kate, this is my mom."
     Alexis gave a florid bow.  I just waved.

###
18:30 25 Oct

     "Let's get some _tunes_!"  Liz demanded as soon as Lindsay's 
parents drove away.  "I wanna _dance_!"
     "Sure, start setting it up," Lindsay told her.  "Anyone want a rum
an' coke?  Just 'cause we aren't going out doesn't mean we can't party!"
     "God, yes."  It was less of a want; I needed the coke, and alcohol
sounded like either the worst or the best idea I'd heard all day.

###
18:45 25 Oct

     Never having danced, really, at least not where anyone else could 
see me - what I did in the privacy of my own room was nobody else's 
business - I just sort of shuffled awkwardly in place, a lot like Alexis
was doing, watching the girls start to throw their arms up and shimmy 
and bounce.  I would have been fine continuing to watch - it was a nice 
image, the action and the way the light played on their moving forms, 
and I was wishing I had my sketchbook or a video camera, but Kelsey 
stopped in front of me and grabbed my hands, which startled me back into
focus.
     "Come _on_, Kate!  Don't just stand there like a lump - _dance_!"
     "I, I don't really..."
     "No big - just do what we do!"
     "And _sing_!"  Sarah suggested.
     Awkwardly at first, and disregarding Sarah's suggestion, I started
to sort of do what they were doing, copying the motions I'd been 
watching.  The girls were drawing me and Alexis into the middle of the 
room, grinning and nodding at us, and I was starting to get into it, 
when the song changed.  I recognized the beat - Twist and Shout, by 
Salt-N-Pepa.  And Alexis, the only person who knew that I sang in the 
shower when I was alone, was grinning at me.
     *Oh, Crom.*
     But there was this energy, electricity, in the air, and I was 
pleasantly buzzed, and I liked these girls; and, in the unlikely chance
they decided to fuck me over, they had plenty of blackmail on me already
at this point.  So when Alexis pointed at me and started singing the 
intro, I just gave up and howled and joined her.  I put my arms up and 
swung my hips and pumped my arms in the air, then back down by my sides
while I shimmied like the girls were doing and sang along; Alex danced 
over to me, and then we danced around each other and mimed holding up 
microphones for each other to sing into, and dammit, I was having _fun_.

###
19:15 25 Oct

     Synchronicity I by the Police pounded through the room, and I was 
dropping, one leg forward and the other planted solid on my heel as I 
spun, once around, twice, leap up, land, other leg, kick, throw my head
back, howl-

###
19:25 25 Oct

     "Man," Liz said, "now if we only had some _guys_."
     "NO!"  I informed her.
     "Aw, c'mon!"  She hoisted me up by grabbing me under the armpits.  
Which was annoying, and embarrassing because it was the only way I could
look her straight in the eyes.  "YOU don't have to dance with any!"
     "Dance with _me_ instead," I output.  Ace of Base was playing 
Beautiful Life.  I wasn't sure whose mix this was, but it was not at all
homogenous.
     I didn't mind that much.

###
20:01 25 Oct

     "Oh god," I decided, and threw myself down on the couch by Steph. 
I felt wrung out, limp, like a dishtowel after Thanksgiving dinner.  I'd
_never_ done _anything_ like that before, and the sane part of me hoped 
I never would again; but then, the crazy part of me was the one that had
agreed to this whole thing in the first place.
     "Who wants drinks?"
     "Please!"

###
20:19 25 Oct

     "Kate!  Get the door!"
     "Jeez, fine!"  I got up - the room swayed a little, meaning either 
the floor was unusually unsteady or I'd had Enough - and made it to the
front door once I'd gotten my sea legs.  There was some guy on the other
side, standing on the front porch.
     "Liz!" I yelled, annoyed.  "Did you order guys?"  I'd _told_ her 
not to.
     "Uh," Some Guy started.
     "Pizza, you ditz!"  a girl yelled back at me - rude - and I 
realized Some Guy was, in fact, holding an insulated pizza carrier.  
"Money's on the kitchen table!"
     "Oh, right.  Hold on," I told him, holding up a finger, and closed 
the door while I got the money.

###
20:20 25 Oct

     "How much?"
     "Uh, twenty-three fifty?"
     "Mmmmkay," I checked, and conveniently, the money was just the 
right amount to cover that and a tip, so I traded it for the pizzas.  
"Here ya go."
     "Thank you, miss," Some Guy said.
     *Nuh?  Oh, right.*
     "Uh, you're welcome," I said, and shut the door in his face.  
"Pizza!"  I yelled at the girls.

###
20:31 25 Oct

     Lindsay's fridge had a neat digital panel over the ice-and-water 
dispenser, with a bunch of fancy adjustable settings that I was trying 
to resist fiddling with.
     Cold water tasted really nice, I'd discovered.  Especially with 
pizza.  Especially when it _wasn't_ rum and coke.

###
21:02 25 Oct

     We'd migrated upstairs to the loft, to drape ourselves over various
beanbags and cushions.  I'd sort of burned off the alcohol, I thought, 
but I still liked the idea of stopping for a while.
     "Pajamas," Courtney declared, loud enough that I glanced briefly up
from my conversation with Sarah.  I kept looking when I realized 
Courtney had stripped to her underwear and was taking her bra off.
     *Huh.  So _that's_ what boobs look like.*  The only other time I'd 
seen a girl topless, post-puberty anyway, was when Phil was showing off
his porn collection; which I'd disbelieved partly on principle, and 
partly on the basis of Alexis laughing her head off.  I still didn't 
really see the point.

###
21:03 25 Oct

     Somebody screamed or yelped or something, so I looked up, and 
Courtney was blushing wildly, holding her bra to her chest, and staring 
at me like I was actively mutating.  Everyone else was either looking at
her or at me.
     "...what?"  I asked, after a quick glance to determine that I was 
not, in fact, undergoing metamorphosis.  At least not visibly.
     "Er... nothing, I guess."
     She pulled on a long t-shirt, and then took her bra off from 
underneath it.

###
21:05 25 Oct

     Courtney dropped down in front of me cross-legged.
     "Flynn, are you gay?"
     "I- what?  NO!  _Why_?"
     "Um, because I was practically naked a minute ago and you barely 
reacted?"
     "I mean, I just don't get what the big deal is.  Uh, not that you 
aren't pretty, just-"
     "Katie-cat here thinks sex is weird and gross," Alexis elaborated.
     "Pretty much.  I've never really dated anyone, but if I did I'd 
rather talk and cuddle and maybe kiss a bit than do anything more.  I 
think people mostly look better with clothes on."  That said, if I ever 
did get a date, I probably wouldn't exactly _complain_.
     "You are _weird_, Flynn," Kelsey pointed out.  Alexis snorted, and 
I said,
     "You're just learning this now?"  The only thing Kelsey and I 
shared at school was Theater club, but it _had_ been like two months, 
which I'd assumed was enough for her to figure that out.  "Besides, 
we're theater geeks, how's that a surprise?"

###
21:10 25 Oct

     I ended up going into Lindsay's room to change into the pajamas 
she'd gotten out for me.  I left the bra and wig on at Lindsay's 
insistence, since she said her mom might come up after they got home and
it would be best if there wasn't anything obviously amiss.  Or 
not-a-miss, as the case might be.  
     Still, I got to get out of the skirt and into a pair of pants, even
if they _were_ pink, and then traded shirts.  The shirt took me a minute
- the buttons were on the wrong side for some reason.
     By the time I came back out, the girls had all changed too; they 
were all in old pajama pants and button-ups like mine or long t-shirts, 
which didn't really fit my image of a slumber party.
     *Though, what do I know?*
     Heather must have seen something in my expression as I walked 
through to sit back down, because she raised an eyebrow.
     "Were you expecting something?"
     "I dunno... lingerie and pillow fights?"
     She snorted.  Then Emily beaned me in the face with a floor pillow,
which I suppose I'd walked into.  It fell into my lap and I gave her a 
flat look while she giggled at me.

###
21:14 25 Oct

     Sarah was Grinning at me.  "Truth or dare?"
     Everyone else looked at me too.  Which didn't bode well.  Even 
Alexis, who possibly knew more about me than _I_ did, so I could tell 
which of the choices was _her_ priority.
     "I hate you all."
     Lindsay frowned.  "You're not having fun?"
     *Now why'd she have to put it like that?*
     "...I didn't say that."

###
21:16 25 Oct

     "Truth."
     All the people who weren't me made disappointed noises.
     "Alright..." Kelsey said, narrowing her eyes.  "What's your _real_ 
name?  It has to be something besides just 'Flynn'."
     "Aw, man.  Alright, this does not go beyond this room.  I'm 
serious, it's embarrassing."
     Alexis nodded, backing me up.
     "We wouldn't!"  Lindsay said firmly.  "What happens at the 
sleepover stays at the sleepover.  Especially if it came out in truth or
dare."
     She looked serious, so I admitted, "Peregrine Jacob Flynn."
     Lindsay blinked.  "Peregrine? Like-"
     "The hobbit, yeah."
     A couple of the girls looked confused.
     "I was thinking the bird," Heather said.
     "She's that, too!"  Amanda giggled.  I stuck my tongue out at her.

###
21:40 25 Oct

     "Wait, Alexis, you've never been to a sleepover either?"
     "Not unless you count staying the night at Flynn's," Alexis said.  
Which I didn't, unless she and Luca had been keeping some big secrets 
about what they did when I was asleep.  "If Flynn or Luca haven't done 
something, it's a pretty safe bet that I haven't either," she admitted.
     "Bra shopping!"  Stephanie crowed, to general laughter.
     "I do have my car, we could fix that," said Liz, grinning and 
pointing at me.
     "Uhm.  My boobs are sort of one-size-fits-all."  My boobs were 
socks.
     "Can fix that, too!"  Kelsey said.
     I didn't especially want to ask what she meant.

###
21:59 25 Oct

     I was not clear on why we had agreed to 'the quintessential slumber
party experience.'
     Or why I had to go first.
     "Light as a feather, stiff as a board -- light as a feather, stiff
as a board --"

###
23:07 25 Oct

     "Girls, we're home!"  Lindsay's dad yelled up at us.
     "And we're going to _bed_!"  her mom added.  "Goodnight!"
     We managed to peer over the banister in time to see her mom grab 
her dad - Richard, I remembered - by the tie and drag him off, 
presumably back to the cave to molest him.  Us teens responded with 
various grossed-out noises, and Lindsay buried her face in her hands and
groaned.

###
23:50 25 Oct

     "Yeah, but I mean... it's just kinda geeky, isn't it?"  Heather 
asked over the air-popper.
     "I guess."  I couldn't really _argue_ that point - it wasn't like
D&D was something the jocks did, habitually.  "It's really just codified
make-believe," I said, moving aside for Amanda to get to the fridge.  
"Uh, and math."  It depended on what you were playing exactly, but D&D 
or GURPS, there was a lot of adding up dice.  SCA stuff it was mostly
simple subtraction, but whether that counted as a role-playing game was
sort of disputed.
     Heather scrunched up her nose.  "No thanks."
     "It's not that bad, really.  My mom and dad played in college."
     She looked at me weird.
     "Seriously?"
     "Yeah?"
     She shook her head.  "No _wonder_ you're a geek."
     "Ooh, hey!"  Amanda said.  "Wine coolers!"

###
08:47 26 Oct

     *Gngh?*
     Someone's knee was in my ribs.  Also, I needed to pee.  Badly.

###
08:50 26 Oct

     "Mnrgh," said something Alexis-shaped when I staggered out of the 
bathroom.
     "Nnng," I told it, and went to find somewhere to plug my brain in 
and boot up.

###
09:02 26 Oct

     *Or a coke, that works too.*
     "Did last night... happen?"  I had a feeling there was a lot of it 
I didn't remember, like how I ended up on one of four mattresses in 
Lindsay's bedroom, curled up next to Alexis.  I also had a headache.
     Alexis shook her head, looking stunned, or at least like she was 
still making her IQ roll.  "Man..."
     "Good morning, girls!"  Lindsay's mom chirped when she walked into 
the kitchen.  "Have fun last night?"  She gave us a little smile and 
kinda wiggled.  "I know _I_ did!"
     *Ah.*  That was one thing I DID remember.

###
09:10 26 Oct

     "...so I thought, since we all had a lot of good ideas yesterday, 
we could go shopping together and help each other find what our costumes
need," Courtney explained while she started toasting Eggos.  Then she 
frowned.  "We talked about this last night, remember?"
     I didn't, but I decided not to say so.
     "Yah, okay."  I looped the duffel bag strap over my arm and started
to pick it up.
     "What are you doing?"
     "Getting dressed?"
     "You can't!"  Lindsay hissed.  "My mom's still here, she can _not_
know I snuck a boy in here all night!"
     "Well, what am I supposed to wear?"
     "The stuff you wore yesterday, duh."
     "What?  No!"
     Her eyebrows went up.  "Why NOT?"
     I stared at her.  From her interest in theater and our past 
conversations, I'd assumed that she was fairly intelligent, but maybe 
I'd been wrong.
     "I'm a big fan of _not_ getting the crap beat out of me!"  I 
explained.  "School is one thing, but the MALL?"
     "Come on, nobody will recognize you, remember?  It's totally fine!"
     I didn't really believe that, and, awake and sober, fully admitted
I had not thought this whole thing through.  The club costume contest 
was after school, essentially restricted to one classroom, with a 
generally-responsible teacher in it; and Wednesday, I'd had Alexis' mom 
to ward off the assholes... but this?  Walking around in girls' clothes,
in public, for anyone to see?  Including certain people who hated me and
might be at the mall on a Saturday?
     *This could get me KILLED!*

###
09:17 26 Oct

     "Because if I'm gonna go out in public like THIS, I better be in a 
darned good disguise, and the only part _I_ can do is the eyeliner."
     I brandished the makeup kit.

###
09:19 26 Oct

     "You know, you _are_ gonna need to learn how to do this yourself 
eventually," Emily said, while she did something to my eyeliner, my 
own efforts having impressed no-one.
     *Huh?*
     "...why?"
     She looked at me for a second, blinked, then shook her head.  
"Nevermind.  Stop squinting, would you?"

###
09:33 26 Oct

     We all split up and got into Liz and Kelsey's cars.  Somehow, I 
ended up with Kelsey and Alexis was with Liz, so I was stuck between 
Stephanie and Heather, with Emily in the passenger seat.  Which would 
make it a lot more difficult to bail out of the car in transit.
     Her music selection was okay, though.  I'd never have pegged Kelsey
as someone who listened to Rusted Root.

###
09:50 26 Oct

     Liz's car was nowhere in sight when we got to the mall.  I was in 
favor of waiting, mostly so there were more girls for me to hide behind 
in case I saw anyone I knew, but the girls wanted to get started.
     "Come on, don't be a chicken."  Stephanie had her arms folded and 
was tapping her foot.
     "B-kaw," I suggested.
     They grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the car.

###
09:52 26 Oct

     "There, see?"  Alexis was inside, waving at us.  Kelsey waved back;
I sort of tried hiding behind her.  There were a lot of people here.

###
09:53 26 Oct

     "That's it!"  Kelsey said from behind me.  I carefully didn't yelp.
     "What's what?"
     "What was bugging me!  You gotta move your hips more, girl!"
     "I'm a guy," I reminded her.
     "And you're _walking_ like one.  I thought you were afraid of 
getting figured out?"
     "What?"
     "Here, c'mon."  She grabbed my hand and aimed us at a shoe store.
     *Uh-oh.*

###
09:55 26 Oct

     "Wait, I'm a size six!"
     "Eight in women's, the sizes start smaller.  Um... here, try 
these."  She held up a pair of actual heels, around three inches high, 
and incredibly pink.  I sort of hoped someone would say something, like
maybe 'psych!', but they just looked at me expectantly until I sat down 
- sweeping the skirt under me, I'd learned THAT lesson already - and 
took off my boots.  I had to take off my socks to slide my feet in the 
heels, then Heather took my hands and pulled me up.
     "Whoa!"
     "Great, now walk over to Alexis and come back."  I looked up; 
Alexis had moved about fifteen feet further away while I was distracted,
and seemed incredibly amused.  Not that I could recall ever seeing _her_
in heels.  Which may have been the reason.
     I wobbled until I figured out to put my weight on my toes, and then
my feet sort of migrated closer together until I was putting them almost
one in front of the other.  Annoyingly, it made the heels a lot more 
comfortable.  For a given definition of 'comfortable'.
     *Oh, hey!*
     I smirked down at Alexis from three inches up.
     "THIS, I could get used to."
     She narrowed her eyes, and then pushed me.  I somehow managed to 
convert the following stagger into turning around and going back to 
Heather.
     "Perfect!  You see?"
     "Yeah," I had to admit, but I didn't want to.

###
09:58 26 Oct

     It took me a minute to get down the walk once I had my boots on 
again, but it was that or go back and buy those heels.
     *At least I already have my costume.*

###
10:09 26 Oct

     I was expecting to find something at the bookstore, buy it, and 
then hang out by the water feature and read it while I waited for the 
girls to finish shopping.
     I was _expecting_ that; I really should not have been.
     "No way!"  I complained.  "Look, if it was just wearing girls' 
clothes, it's like 'oh, yeah, he borrowed something from that chick he 
hangs with'.  If it's a COSTUME, people'll realize I went out and BOUGHT
something!"
     "Look, _Kate_, if you just dress up as a girl, everyone'll look 
closer 'cause they'll think you're not in costume, and then they'll 
figure out it's you," Sarah retorted.  "But if you dress up as a girl 
_in costume_, then people will see 'costume' and not look further than 
'girl'!"
     I hated how much sense that made.
     And I didn't have a counter to it, which I sort of hated more.

###
10:21 26 Oct

     "Gak!"
     "Oh, for the love of - it's just a changing room, Kate!"
     I was fully aware of that, thanks to the mental image I had of a 
swarm of girls and women tearing my eyes out and ripping some important 
bits off.  Or, maybe worse, calling their boyfriends about the pervert 
in the changing rooms.
     "Relax, we're right here with you," Sarah said, and squeezed my 
hand.  I squeezed back, hard, and she tugged me into a stall.  "Now 
stay right here."
     THAT, I could do.

###
10:27 26 Oct

     "Well?  Put it on!"
     "I, uh, I did."
     "Then come out and _show_ it!"
     I took a deep breath and opened the curtain.  I'd never worn a 
dress before, and I hadn't expected to change that, but somehow I ended
up in a long-sleeved black dress that went down to my ankles.  Liz 
motioned for me to come out of the cubicle and turn around, so I did; 
getting on her bad side seemed like a bad idea.  Somehow I managed to do
it without setting off any screaming from the women over by the big 
mirrors at the end of the changing area.
     Kelsey frowned.  "Mm, no.  Too..."
     "Frumpy?"  Liz suggested.
     "Yeah, sort of," Lindsay said.  She waved me back into the stall.
     "Although, if they have one in my size..." Liz started, but I lost
whatever she finished with.

###
10:34 26 Oct

     "Try this next."

###
10:46 26 Oct

     This dress would require a bit more cleavage than I could provide. 
Which I pointed out when I opened the curtain, so they'd let me move on
 to the next one.  Or, if I was lucky, give up.
     "Let me handle that," Kelsey said.  She sounded confident, which 
didn't bode well.  She gestured for me to turn around, so I did, slowly;
when I was facing her again, she was nodding.
     "Yeah, that's perfect," said Heather.  I very much disagreed, but 
nobody was asking _me_.

###
11:20 26 Oct

     "What do you think?"  Lindsay turned a little and smoothed the 
dress over her hip.  It was sort of a floaty gothy thing that went down
to her knees and had a bunch of lace and gauze, all of it in black.
     "It's, uh, nice?"
     "Oh, come on, Kate, you can do better than that!"  She frowned at 
me with her hands on her hips.
     "Uh, were you gonna do the same kind of makeup you had yesterday?  
That'd look good," I tried, and she was nodding.
     "Yeah, I thought so.  Is it too low in the chest, do you think?"  
She tugged at the bodice.
     "I, uh... no," I decided.  "Not if you're going for 'sexy goth 
vampire', anyway."
     She smiled.  "Yeah, that's what I was thinking.  Oh, and maybe I 
can make a cape..."

###
11:26 26 Oct

     "Thanks!"  She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
     *Uh?*

###
11:38 26 Oct

     We all met back up at the mall food court, most of the girls with 
shopping bags.
     This was a very weird day, but at least I could get Subway.
     "Oh, you're right," one of the girls said when I got my wallet out 
of the pocket of my flannel.  I pretended it hadn't sent a nervous 
shiver up my spine.
     "Who's right?"  I asked, once I had my food.
     "Stephanie," Alexis said.  "She said you need a purse."
     "I assure you, I do not."
     She said something else, which I carefully ignored.

###
12:08 26 Oct

     "Uhm, I need to pee."
     "No sweat, I was headed to fix my makeup anyway, c'mon."  Emily 
grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the bathrooms.  I pulled up short 
when she started to go into the women's.
     "But-"
     Courtney and Kelsey ran into me from behind.
     "You can't go in the men's room like that," Courtney pointed out. 
"Just don't forget to sit down."
     *Ugh.*  There were reasons I avoided public restrooms, and toilet 
seats were the biggest.

###
12:09 26 Oct

     *Why do girls go to the bathroom in packs, anyway?*
     There appeared to be a club meeting in the bathroom that I hadn't 
been informed of, going by the way all the girls were either in a stall
or doing their makeup at the mirror. 
     *Didn't they already do their makeup?*
     "Hey, Kate, fix your makeup."  Emily started digging through her 
purse.
     "What?"
     She gave me the fish eye.  "You ate.  That means you messed up 
your lipstick.  Fix it."
     She held out the same tube she'd used on my lips earlier.

###
12:10 26 Oct

     "Why am I doing this?"  I wondered.  The cute girl in the mirror 
didn't answer.
     Emily peered at my face and nodded approvingly.

###
12:24 26 Oct

     I looked at Stephanie.  Her hair looked about the right length...
     "What?"
     "Uh, were you still thinking zombie?"
     She squinted at me.  "Why?"
     I pulled out the dress I'd seen.  "Wednesday Addams."
     She grinned.

###
13:20 26 Oct

     On the way out to the parking lot something occurred to me, and I 
pulled Alexis aside.
     "Lexi, did you, uh, buy these clothes for me?"
     "What?  No, you dork.  I bought them for me.  I _gave_ them to 
you."
     "Oh."  That was a relief.
     *Wait.*
     "Gave?  You can have them back, I have another costume - remember?"
I think the face I made showed how happy I was about that.
     She put a hand on my shoulder and looked serious.  "Flynn.  I love 
you, but I am not sharing your panties."
     "Wh- I _meant_ the _rest_ of them!"
     She grinned and waved me off.
     "Nah, keep 'em.  Besides - you never know."  She winked.
     "Never- never know what?  ...Alex?  Never know WHAT?"

###


Jen Simons     kickaha.neocities.org