Chapter XIV - At the Mall, Part 1
You can see the wheels turning in Brooke's head, and slowly her eyes begin to widen and a huge grin forms on her face. "You're a fucking genius!" She grabs your shoulders and kisses you on the mouth. "Oh man... We just actually have to make sure they're here," she says.
"Well the easiest way would be for you to scope out the food court, and I can check in Victoria's Secret," you say. "That way they won't recognize our bodies." Brooke nods, and you can tell by the look on her face just how much she's going to enjoy this if your plan actually works.
"Alright, alright, but how are we going to get them to actually wear the bracelets?" Brooke asks.
"Hmm... I think I could give the blue one to Payton and just say that Jake asked me to take it to her. She'd probably wear it for a while if she thought it was from him, which would give us enough time to get the pink one on him. I don't know how exactly to do that, though..."
"I'll bet I can get it on him. I have a plan," Brooke says confidently. "I'll go see if Jake's there. Shoot me a text when you find out if she's working, alright?"
"I will," you say with a small smile. You stand up a little higher on your toes and kiss her again before she walks away. "I love you, babe."
"Love you too," she says. "And no cheating on your challenge!" She says, beginning to walk away.
"Oh no, I'm wearing these heels all day, like a real man," you say, sticking your tongue out. Brooke smiles and turns away from you, headed to the food court.
You hoist the purse back up onto your shoulder and turn to face the Victoria's Secret entrance. You hesitate for a moment, trying to prepare yourself to see Payton again. After all, you haven't seen her in over half a decade. Swallowing hard, you force yourself forward, stepping into the store.
The store is everything you remember it to be. Modern music targeted at millennials playing through the speakers, rows of bras, panties, and various what-have-yous, almost all of see-through and/or skimpy as hell.
"How ya doin' today, hun?" A very flamboyant man asks from behind the register.
"I'm good," you say, offering a small smile. "Just looking around."
"Alright, let us know if you need anything," he says, going back to filling out paperwork.
"Will do," you say, stepping down one of the aisles. You admire the selection, one or two pieces even catching your eye as you pass them. "I wouldn't look bad in this," you say to yourself, your eyes widening as you realize what you've just said. Maybe you've been in Brooke's body just a bit too long.
As you reach the back row, you look to your left and see an employee rearranging things on a shelf. You can't tell from your current angle if it's really her or not, although her body shape does look familiar. You step over to a rack and pretend to look through some clothes, watching her intently. For the first minute or so, nothing happens, until finally the girl bends down. You have to squint, but you can make out a red and black tattoo on her lower back. Your heart begins to race - the chances of this being Payton just skyrocketed. She stands back up and turns from the shelf, your heart skipping a beat as you finally see her face. There is no doubt any more - you've found her.
"Did you need help with something?" She asks. Her voice sends a shiver up your spine, and you realize you were staring at her just a bit too long. Shit, you think. Be calm, she doesn't know it's really me.
"N-no, just um, just looking," you manage to say.
"Okay, well, let me know," Payton says, turning and walking down another aisle. You let out a sigh of relief once she's out of earshot. Why am I acting like this? You think. I can't possibly still have feelings for her... Can I?
You pull Brooke's phone out of her purse and send a message to your phone. "She's here."
You walk out of the store, trying not to bring attention to yourself by keeping your head down and in your phone. Once you're out of there, you step over to the railing and look down - about 20 feet or so to the bottom floor of the mall. You feel your grip tighten on the rail just a bit as your fear of heights makes its return, when Brooke's phone goes off.
"So is Jake. Coming back to you."
You stuff the phone back in the purse and start walking toward the food court where Brooke is. You meet her halfway, in front of an acne cream kiosk, and step off to the side where no one will hear your conversation.
"So," you say, putting your hands behind your back and gently swaying your hips. "I think the best way to do this would be for you to run home and grab the bracelets. You'll get there faster if you go without me."
"So you can stay here and cheat on the challenge?" Brooke raises an eyebrow.
"Ew, no. There's no way in hell I'm gonna walk around this place barefoot. Your feet will fall off your legs LONG before that happens," you say, looking down at your pedicured toes. "No, I'll stay here and make sure Payton doesn't leave. I doubt Jake's going anywhere, it's still early and he's the GM of his store, but who knows what her schedule looks like?"
"Alright, fair enough," Brooke says. "I'll run home and grab them then. Do you want me to grab anything else?"
"Maybe just some water," you say.
"Okay," she says. She leans down and kisses you, wrapping her arm around your waist and behind your back to pull you in close. For a moment, the world seems to melt away and it's just the two of you, leaning up against the wall, lips locked tightly together. Like all good things though, it must come to an end. You look up at Brooke, feeling the butterflies in your stomach again as a smile forms on your face.
"Be safe, baby," you say, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it tight.
"Of course," she says, squeezing your hand back. "I love you."
"I love you too," you say. "Now go on, we don't have all day!"
Brooke holds your hand just a few moments longer before letting go, turning and quickly walking away towards Macy's where the car is parked. Once she rounds the corner and is gone from sight, you turn the other direction and take the escalator down to the first floor.
As you walk, you pass by a group of five teenage boys sitting near the wishing fountain. You can feel all of their eyes on you as you walk by - part of you feels proud that you look as good as you do, and another part of you feels disgusted since you know exactly what each of them is thinking about doing to your girlfriend's body. Doing your best to ignore them, you start walking just a little faster, rounding the corner and walking into Jared, the jewelry shop.
"Hello there," a young man with a British accent says, smiling from behind the counter. It takes everything you have to not respond with 'General Kenobi.'
"Hi," you say, returning the smile. "So, I want to propose to my girlfriend," you say, taking a moment to realize you just made yourself sound like a lesbian. "Um, I know we wear the same size ring, but I don't actually know what the size is."
"Well let's go ahead and get you measured," the young man says. He walks over to a drawer and pulls out a wide string about 6 inches long, a pen, a ruler, and a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it. "May I see your hand please?" He asks, setting the ruler and paper down on the counter.
You hold out your left hand and spread your fingers. He wraps the string around your ring finger and pulls it snug.
"Normally we have an actual sizing tool, but the boss broke it last week and we haven't gotten a new one yet, so we have to do it like this," he says. "Does this feel too tight?"
"It could be just a hair looser," you say, feeling weird about saying 'looser.' He relaxes the string slightly.
"And now?" His accent sounds so posh and perfect, you feel yourself becoming attracted to it.
"Perfect," you say. He holds the string in place with one hand and marks it where it overlaps. He sets the pen down and lays the string flat up against the ruler, and studies the paper.
"Let's see here..." He says to himself. "Sixteen and a half millimeters... Looks like you're a size six," he says with a smile. "Here, let me have you try this on to be sure." He pulls a plain silver ring out from behind the counter and hands it to you.
You slide the ring onto your finger. It's just tight enough that it won't go anywhere on accident, but not so tight that it's annoying or would cut off the circulation.
"That's amazing," you say quietly, handing the ring back to the man.
"Would you like to try anything on? We have payment and layaway options, if you're interested," he says. You think for a moment, and pull out your phone to check the time.
"Oh crap, I'm sorry, I don't have the time," you say, trying to sound a bit rushed. "Thank you so much, though, I'll come back later!" You say, turning to leave.
"I'll be here," the man says. "Have a good day, miss."
"You too!" You say, rushing out of the door and around the corner. You slow down as you reach the fountain, where the same boys are still sitting. You try not to make eye contact with any of them as you pass by, holding your purse a little tighter.
Suddenly, one of the boys lets out a wolf whistle. You freeze and turn to look at them, a wave of anger washing over you. You walk towards them with determination, a few of the boys trying to stifle their laughs.
"First and last chance, boys. Who was it?" You ask angrily, putting a hand on your hip. All but one of the boys scoots away, leaving the culprit alone in the middle. He's young, only 14 or 15 at the most, and scrawny as hell. He's wearing skinny jeans and a Slayer t-shirt, with black skate shoes and hair down to his shoulders that covers one of his eyes. He looks around at his snickering friends, then up at you, his mouth trying to form words but nothing coming out.
"Haha, you fucked up now, Dylan!" One of the boys cackles.
"I... I..." Dylan stammers.
"You, you what?" You demand. "You thought just because I'm dressed like I am that I'm some kind of whore? You thought, what, if you whistle at me I'll just drop to my knees and suck your tiny, hairless dick?"
The rest of the boys bust out laughing, one of them almost falling over.
"I-it was supposed to be a compliment..." Dylan mutters.
Before you realize what happened next, your right fist connects with all the force you can muster against Dylan's nose. He falls backwards, landing in the fountain with a loud splash. The rest of the boys hoot and holler, one of them even clapping in celebration. Without another word, you turn, flipping your pony-tailed hair over your shoulder, and walk away, taking the escalator back upstairs.
When you reach the top, Brooke's phone gets a text. You pull it out and see that it's from you - your phone at least. "Just got home. You sure you don't need anything while I'm here? Any movement?" With your hand wrapped around the phone, still buzzing from the punch, you realize you accidentally broke the nail on your ring finger. Great, you think, that'll make her happy.
"Just the water please. Nothing yet." you text back.
"Ok"
You put the phone back and walk back towards Victoria's Secret. Peeking inside as you pass by, you can see Payton leaned over the front of the counter, talking to the flamboyant man from earlier. You let out a sigh of relief when you see she's still there, and head for Hot Topic next.
The store is incredibly dim, as it usually is, and there's loud metal-core music blaring through the speakers. A heavily pierced and tattooed girl sits behind the counter, texting on her phone. No one else is in the store.
"Welcome to Hot Topic," she says, not even looking up from her phone.
"Hey, do you guys sell tongue rings?" You ask.
"Yeah, right behind me in this glass case," she says, setting the phone down and turning around. You walk over and begin looking through the limited selection.
"I need one with kind of a shorter rod," you say.
"These ones here on your right are the shortest we have," she says. Most of what they have is kind of dull, but you do see one that looks interesting. The decorative ball is a bright pink, with a black heart in the center of it.
"I'll take that pink and black heart one," you say, tapping on the glass with your nail. The girl pulls it out of the case and sets it on the counter.
"Is that gonna be all for you?"
"I think so, yeah," you nod. She types on the computer for a few moments and scans the package.
"$5.40, she says. You pull $6 from Brooke's wallet and hand it to her. After she gives you the change, you thank her and leave the store, stuffing the package and receipt into Brooke's purse. Checking her phone, you see a text from Brooke from a few minutes ago, saying she was leaving the house.
You go across the walkway and into the women's restroom. The fact that there are no urinals doesn't seem odd to you, but it's definitely different than what you're used to - especially the tampon and diaper dispensers mounted to the wall. You step over to the mirror, checking to make sure your hair still looks alright, and you realize you're still wearing the earrings from last night. Satisfied, you take the tongue ring out and break open the packaging. The rod is definitely shorter than the one Brooke has at home. Hopefully I'll be able to talk with this one, you think to yourself. You unscrew the ball and insert the rod into your tongue with even less effort than before, and screw the ball back on. You twist it so the heart is right side up, and try to speak.
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. She sells sea shells by the sea shore. This that there then they those," you say. Perfect, you think, no more speaking issues. You stick out your tongue and take a picture, but decide to wait on sending it since you'll see Brooke soon anyway. You throw the package and receipt away, heading back out into the walkway.
"Brooke! Hey, Brooke!" You hear someone calling out. Looking around, you can just make out someone far away waving for you. The person comes closer and you can just barely see their face with Brooke's impaired vision. It's Brooke's best friend, Krista. Shit.
"Damn babe, looking good!" Krista says, coming up to you and giving you a hug. "Boyfriend out of town or something?" She giggles.
"No," you say, putting on a grin. "He'll actually be here soon. I just gotta make sure he keeps his eyes on me today." What the hell are you saying?
"Well if this outfit doesn't do it, you'll have to find you a guy that isn't into men, because damn, girl," she says.
"I know right?" You say, now smiling for real.
"I'm surprised you're here, what with He-who-must-not-be-named working here now," Krista says, giving you a slightly concerned look. It takes you a moment before you realize she's talking about Jake and not Lord Voldemort.
"Nah, I'll be fine," you say. "I'm just avoiding the food court today."
"Good idea," she nods. "Well look I gotta run, but text me, okay?"
"For sure babe," you say without thinking about it. Krista gives you a quick hug goodbye, and goes back to the group she came with. That could have gone worse, you think, but why am I starting to think and act more like Brooke?
You look up, and see a familiar body walking toward you. Oh shit, you think. Payton walks past you, barely even noticing that you're there. Staying a comfortable distance behind, you follow her all the way to the food court, where she goes and stands in line at Roberto's to get Mexican food for lunch. You whip out the phone and text Brooke. "She's at the food court now. Must be lunch break?" Before you can even put the phone away, Brooke texts you back.
"Just parked, be there in a sec." You reply with a thumbs up emoji and put the phone back in the purse.
You walk over to sit down at an empty table and cross your legs, keeping a close eye on Payton. Just as she reaches the front of the line, Brooke seems to pop up out of nowhere and sits down in front you, causing you to jump.
"Christ, I didn't see you," you say. "Hey, you changed?" You ask, just realizing that Brooke is now wearing one of your suits. She looks really good actually, except her tie just hangs from her neck, as though she didn't even attempt to tie it.
"It's all part of the plan," she says with a smile.
"Hmm, interesting," you say. "Couldn't figure out the tie?"
"Not a chance in hell," she says. "Could you?" She sets the water bottle and bracelets on the table.
"Sure," you say. You both lean in, and you take hold of the tie. Trying to do it for someone else proves to be rather difficult, amplified by the fact that not only are you right handed now, but your hands are much smaller than you're used to handling the tie with. After a minute of trial and error, you manage a decent looking Half-Windsor.
"You rock," Brooke sits back and smiles at you.
"I know," you say, reaching for the water bottle. You crack it open and drink half of it in one go.
"Oh yeah, drink it all, you thirsty bitch," Brooke jokes. You scrunch up your face, processing what she just said. That's not something she would normally say, you think, that's something *I* would normally say. Is something happening to us?
"Look babe, I already had to punch one guy while you were gone. Don't think I won't do it a-" just then something catches your eye. "Well well, speak of the devil," you say as you see a teenage boy with damp clothes walk slowly up to your table.
"H-hi, um, I'm sorry to interrupt you," Dylan says. You look over at Brooke, both of her eyebrows raised in surprise as she wonders what's going on. Looking back at Dylan, you can see he has a tissue stuffed up one nostril. You lean back in the chair, raising an eyebrow.
"You here to whistle at me again?" You ask coldly, bouncing your foot slightly. The look on Brooke's face is slightly amusing as she begins to piece together what all this is about.
"No ma'am," Dylan shakes his head. "I just wanted to apologize... I'm sorry for whistling at you..."
"So you understand what you did was wrong?" Dylan nods slowly, maintaining eye contact with you. "You understand that was disrespectful, disgusting, and just plain rude?" Dylan nods again. He sniffles, but you're not sure if he's about to cry, or if it's because his nose is still bleeding. "You understand that I don't dress like I do for your amusement?"
Dylan swallows hard. "I do..."
"Most importantly, I hope you understand that if it ever happens again, you'll do more than just get a little wet."
"I know, I... I'm sorry..." He looks down, tears forming in his eyes.
"You know, if you want a girl to notice you - and not immediately hate your guts - you should try using your words. Be polite, don't be a creep, and don't showboat in front of your friends like that for a cheap laugh. Okay?"
"O-okay," he trembles.
"Apology accepted. Now get out of here," you say, brushing your hair behind your shoulder. Dylan turns and walks away slowly. You turn your head and look at Brooke, her mouth excitedly agape.
"Babe, what did you do?!" She asks, sounding more excited than concerned.
"He was sitting at the fountain downstairs with his friends and he whistled at me when I was walking by, so, I might have given him a little punch in the face, and he may or may not have fallen into the fountain. On accident, of course," you say proudly.
"Oh my god, you badass!" Brooke reaches up and you give each other a hi-five.
"Sorry about your nail though," you say, showing it to her.
"Oh please, this is a badge of honor!" She exclaims. "Let me see the purse, I'll fix it for you." You hand it over, and she begins digging through a side pocket that you didn't even realize was there. She pulls out a small pair of nail clippers and a file. She tries to clip off a small section of the nail, but stops abruptly.
"Oh yeah," you say, realizing what just happened. "I forgot to mention, since you're in my body, you're left handed now." She looks at you surprised.
"Really?" She switched the clippers to her left hand and tries again with much more success. "That's so weird!"
"Right?!" You say. You look up to see Payton walking away from the register with her food in hand. "She's moving," you say quietly. "Keep your head down so she doesn't recognize you."
Brooke lowers her head and continues working on your nail, while you watch Payton walk across the food court and sit down at an empty table close to Subway. Of course she would sit there, you think. You can barely see, but it looks like she waves at someone behind the counter.
"Baby, when we're done here we're going to an eye doctor and getting you some glasses. Or at least making the appointment," you say. "This is ridiculous, I can hardly see anything that's not right in front of me."
"I know, I know," Brooke says. "I've been meaning to do that, but-"
"But you haven't had time, and you don't think you'd look good with glasses, and you don't want to stab yourself in the eyes to wear contacts," you nod, cutting off her sentence. Brooke stops what she's doing and looks at you live you've grown a second head.
"Sorry, we had that conversation before I used the watch... You kinda had to be there," you say, smirking a little. "For the record, I think you would look great with glasses, you know, get that whole sexy librarian thing going..."
Brooke rolls her eyes and shakes her head, trying not to smile. "All done," she says, stuffing the items back in the bag. You turn your hand and inspect your nails. As strange as it looks having one nail shorter than the rest, Brooke did an excellent job fixing it.
"Oh! I got you something," you say.
"With my money?" She chuckles. "How thoughtful."
You stick out your tongue to show off the new tongue ring, holding the rod down with your top teeth. Brooke leans in close to get a good look at it.
"Wow, I actually really like that, its pretty," she says, satisfied with your purchase. "It must have a shorter rod too, right? Since you're not talking all funny?"
"Mhm," you nod your head.
"Very nice," she says. "So what does Payton look like anyway? I haven't seen her yet."
You look over to see her sitting at the table, and now someone wearing black clothes and a hat has joined her, but you can't make out the features of either one of them.
"She's the brunette sitting with who I'm guessing is Jake over there, right in front of Subway," you say. "But I can't see them too well from here." Brooke sits up straight, craning her neck.
"Does she have a red and black tramp stamp?"
"That's her," you say.
"Gotcha. Well I don't think we'll be able to get the bracelets on them while they're together, so we'll just have to wait them out," Brooke says.
"Good," you say. "I'm freaking starving over here."
You can see the wheels turning in Brooke's head, and slowly her eyes begin to widen and a huge grin forms on her face. "You're a fucking genius!" She grabs your shoulders and kisses you on the mouth. "Oh man... We just actually have to make sure they're here," she says.
"Well the easiest way would be for you to scope out the food court, and I can check in Victoria's Secret," you say. "That way they won't recognize our bodies." Brooke nods, and you can tell by the look on her face just how much she's going to enjoy this if your plan actually works.
"Alright, alright, but how are we going to get them to actually wear the bracelets?" Brooke asks.
"Hmm... I think I could give the blue one to Payton and just say that Jake asked me to take it to her. She'd probably wear it for a while if she thought it was from him, which would give us enough time to get the pink one on him. I don't know how exactly to do that, though..."
"I'll bet I can get it on him. I have a plan," Brooke says confidently. "I'll go see if Jake's there. Shoot me a text when you find out if she's working, alright?"
"I will," you say with a small smile. You stand up a little higher on your toes and kiss her again before she walks away. "I love you, babe."
"Love you too," she says. "And no cheating on your challenge!" She says, beginning to walk away.
"Oh no, I'm wearing these heels all day, like a real man," you say, sticking your tongue out. Brooke smiles and turns away from you, headed to the food court.
You hoist the purse back up onto your shoulder and turn to face the Victoria's Secret entrance. You hesitate for a moment, trying to prepare yourself to see Payton again. After all, you haven't seen her in over half a decade. Swallowing hard, you force yourself forward, stepping into the store.
The store is everything you remember it to be. Modern music targeted at millennials playing through the speakers, rows of bras, panties, and various what-have-yous, almost all of see-through and/or skimpy as hell.
"How ya doin' today, hun?" A very flamboyant man asks from behind the register.
"I'm good," you say, offering a small smile. "Just looking around."
"Alright, let us know if you need anything," he says, going back to filling out paperwork.
"Will do," you say, stepping down one of the aisles. You admire the selection, one or two pieces even catching your eye as you pass them. "I wouldn't look bad in this," you say to yourself, your eyes widening as you realize what you've just said. Maybe you've been in Brooke's body just a bit too long.
As you reach the back row, you look to your left and see an employee rearranging things on a shelf. You can't tell from your current angle if it's really her or not, although her body shape does look familiar. You step over to a rack and pretend to look through some clothes, watching her intently. For the first minute or so, nothing happens, until finally the girl bends down. You have to squint, but you can make out a red and black tattoo on her lower back. Your heart begins to race - the chances of this being Payton just skyrocketed. She stands back up and turns from the shelf, your heart skipping a beat as you finally see her face. There is no doubt any more - you've found her.
"Did you need help with something?" She asks. Her voice sends a shiver up your spine, and you realize you were staring at her just a bit too long. Shit, you think. Be calm, she doesn't know it's really me.
"N-no, just um, just looking," you manage to say.
"Okay, well, let me know," Payton says, turning and walking down another aisle. You let out a sigh of relief once she's out of earshot. Why am I acting like this? You think. I can't possibly still have feelings for her... Can I?
You pull Brooke's phone out of her purse and send a message to your phone. "She's here."
You walk out of the store, trying not to bring attention to yourself by keeping your head down and in your phone. Once you're out of there, you step over to the railing and look down - about 20 feet or so to the bottom floor of the mall. You feel your grip tighten on the rail just a bit as your fear of heights makes its return, when Brooke's phone goes off.
"So is Jake. Coming back to you."
You stuff the phone back in the purse and start walking toward the food court where Brooke is. You meet her halfway, in front of an acne cream kiosk, and step off to the side where no one will hear your conversation.
"So," you say, putting your hands behind your back and gently swaying your hips. "I think the best way to do this would be for you to run home and grab the bracelets. You'll get there faster if you go without me."
"So you can stay here and cheat on the challenge?" Brooke raises an eyebrow.
"Ew, no. There's no way in hell I'm gonna walk around this place barefoot. Your feet will fall off your legs LONG before that happens," you say, looking down at your pedicured toes. "No, I'll stay here and make sure Payton doesn't leave. I doubt Jake's going anywhere, it's still early and he's the GM of his store, but who knows what her schedule looks like?"
"Alright, fair enough," Brooke says. "I'll run home and grab them then. Do you want me to grab anything else?"
"Maybe just some water," you say.
"Okay," she says. She leans down and kisses you, wrapping her arm around your waist and behind your back to pull you in close. For a moment, the world seems to melt away and it's just the two of you, leaning up against the wall, lips locked tightly together. Like all good things though, it must come to an end. You look up at Brooke, feeling the butterflies in your stomach again as a smile forms on your face.
"Be safe, baby," you say, taking hold of her hand and squeezing it tight.
"Of course," she says, squeezing your hand back. "I love you."
"I love you too," you say. "Now go on, we don't have all day!"
Brooke holds your hand just a few moments longer before letting go, turning and quickly walking away towards Macy's where the car is parked. Once she rounds the corner and is gone from sight, you turn the other direction and take the escalator down to the first floor.
As you walk, you pass by a group of five teenage boys sitting near the wishing fountain. You can feel all of their eyes on you as you walk by - part of you feels proud that you look as good as you do, and another part of you feels disgusted since you know exactly what each of them is thinking about doing to your girlfriend's body. Doing your best to ignore them, you start walking just a little faster, rounding the corner and walking into Jared, the jewelry shop.
"Hello there," a young man with a British accent says, smiling from behind the counter. It takes everything you have to not respond with 'General Kenobi.'
"Hi," you say, returning the smile. "So, I want to propose to my girlfriend," you say, taking a moment to realize you just made yourself sound like a lesbian. "Um, I know we wear the same size ring, but I don't actually know what the size is."
"Well let's go ahead and get you measured," the young man says. He walks over to a drawer and pulls out a wide string about 6 inches long, a pen, a ruler, and a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on it. "May I see your hand please?" He asks, setting the ruler and paper down on the counter.
You hold out your left hand and spread your fingers. He wraps the string around your ring finger and pulls it snug.
"Normally we have an actual sizing tool, but the boss broke it last week and we haven't gotten a new one yet, so we have to do it like this," he says. "Does this feel too tight?"
"It could be just a hair looser," you say, feeling weird about saying 'looser.' He relaxes the string slightly.
"And now?" His accent sounds so posh and perfect, you feel yourself becoming attracted to it.
"Perfect," you say. He holds the string in place with one hand and marks it where it overlaps. He sets the pen down and lays the string flat up against the ruler, and studies the paper.
"Let's see here..." He says to himself. "Sixteen and a half millimeters... Looks like you're a size six," he says with a smile. "Here, let me have you try this on to be sure." He pulls a plain silver ring out from behind the counter and hands it to you.
You slide the ring onto your finger. It's just tight enough that it won't go anywhere on accident, but not so tight that it's annoying or would cut off the circulation.
"That's amazing," you say quietly, handing the ring back to the man.
"Would you like to try anything on? We have payment and layaway options, if you're interested," he says. You think for a moment, and pull out your phone to check the time.
"Oh crap, I'm sorry, I don't have the time," you say, trying to sound a bit rushed. "Thank you so much, though, I'll come back later!" You say, turning to leave.
"I'll be here," the man says. "Have a good day, miss."
"You too!" You say, rushing out of the door and around the corner. You slow down as you reach the fountain, where the same boys are still sitting. You try not to make eye contact with any of them as you pass by, holding your purse a little tighter.
Suddenly, one of the boys lets out a wolf whistle. You freeze and turn to look at them, a wave of anger washing over you. You walk towards them with determination, a few of the boys trying to stifle their laughs.
"First and last chance, boys. Who was it?" You ask angrily, putting a hand on your hip. All but one of the boys scoots away, leaving the culprit alone in the middle. He's young, only 14 or 15 at the most, and scrawny as hell. He's wearing skinny jeans and a Slayer t-shirt, with black skate shoes and hair down to his shoulders that covers one of his eyes. He looks around at his snickering friends, then up at you, his mouth trying to form words but nothing coming out.
"Haha, you fucked up now, Dylan!" One of the boys cackles.
"I... I..." Dylan stammers.
"You, you what?" You demand. "You thought just because I'm dressed like I am that I'm some kind of whore? You thought, what, if you whistle at me I'll just drop to my knees and suck your tiny, hairless dick?"
The rest of the boys bust out laughing, one of them almost falling over.
"I-it was supposed to be a compliment..." Dylan mutters.
Before you realize what happened next, your right fist connects with all the force you can muster against Dylan's nose. He falls backwards, landing in the fountain with a loud splash. The rest of the boys hoot and holler, one of them even clapping in celebration. Without another word, you turn, flipping your pony-tailed hair over your shoulder, and walk away, taking the escalator back upstairs.
When you reach the top, Brooke's phone gets a text. You pull it out and see that it's from you - your phone at least. "Just got home. You sure you don't need anything while I'm here? Any movement?" With your hand wrapped around the phone, still buzzing from the punch, you realize you accidentally broke the nail on your ring finger. Great, you think, that'll make her happy.
"Just the water please. Nothing yet." you text back.
"Ok"
You put the phone back and walk back towards Victoria's Secret. Peeking inside as you pass by, you can see Payton leaned over the front of the counter, talking to the flamboyant man from earlier. You let out a sigh of relief when you see she's still there, and head for Hot Topic next.
The store is incredibly dim, as it usually is, and there's loud metal-core music blaring through the speakers. A heavily pierced and tattooed girl sits behind the counter, texting on her phone. No one else is in the store.
"Welcome to Hot Topic," she says, not even looking up from her phone.
"Hey, do you guys sell tongue rings?" You ask.
"Yeah, right behind me in this glass case," she says, setting the phone down and turning around. You walk over and begin looking through the limited selection.
"I need one with kind of a shorter rod," you say.
"These ones here on your right are the shortest we have," she says. Most of what they have is kind of dull, but you do see one that looks interesting. The decorative ball is a bright pink, with a black heart in the center of it.
"I'll take that pink and black heart one," you say, tapping on the glass with your nail. The girl pulls it out of the case and sets it on the counter.
"Is that gonna be all for you?"
"I think so, yeah," you nod. She types on the computer for a few moments and scans the package.
"$5.40, she says. You pull $6 from Brooke's wallet and hand it to her. After she gives you the change, you thank her and leave the store, stuffing the package and receipt into Brooke's purse. Checking her phone, you see a text from Brooke from a few minutes ago, saying she was leaving the house.
You go across the walkway and into the women's restroom. The fact that there are no urinals doesn't seem odd to you, but it's definitely different than what you're used to - especially the tampon and diaper dispensers mounted to the wall. You step over to the mirror, checking to make sure your hair still looks alright, and you realize you're still wearing the earrings from last night. Satisfied, you take the tongue ring out and break open the packaging. The rod is definitely shorter than the one Brooke has at home. Hopefully I'll be able to talk with this one, you think to yourself. You unscrew the ball and insert the rod into your tongue with even less effort than before, and screw the ball back on. You twist it so the heart is right side up, and try to speak.
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. She sells sea shells by the sea shore. This that there then they those," you say. Perfect, you think, no more speaking issues. You stick out your tongue and take a picture, but decide to wait on sending it since you'll see Brooke soon anyway. You throw the package and receipt away, heading back out into the walkway.
"Brooke! Hey, Brooke!" You hear someone calling out. Looking around, you can just make out someone far away waving for you. The person comes closer and you can just barely see their face with Brooke's impaired vision. It's Brooke's best friend, Krista. Shit.
"Damn babe, looking good!" Krista says, coming up to you and giving you a hug. "Boyfriend out of town or something?" She giggles.
"No," you say, putting on a grin. "He'll actually be here soon. I just gotta make sure he keeps his eyes on me today." What the hell are you saying?
"Well if this outfit doesn't do it, you'll have to find you a guy that isn't into men, because damn, girl," she says.
"I know right?" You say, now smiling for real.
"I'm surprised you're here, what with He-who-must-not-be-named working here now," Krista says, giving you a slightly concerned look. It takes you a moment before you realize she's talking about Jake and not Lord Voldemort.
"Nah, I'll be fine," you say. "I'm just avoiding the food court today."
"Good idea," she nods. "Well look I gotta run, but text me, okay?"
"For sure babe," you say without thinking about it. Krista gives you a quick hug goodbye, and goes back to the group she came with. That could have gone worse, you think, but why am I starting to think and act more like Brooke?
You look up, and see a familiar body walking toward you. Oh shit, you think. Payton walks past you, barely even noticing that you're there. Staying a comfortable distance behind, you follow her all the way to the food court, where she goes and stands in line at Roberto's to get Mexican food for lunch. You whip out the phone and text Brooke. "She's at the food court now. Must be lunch break?" Before you can even put the phone away, Brooke texts you back.
"Just parked, be there in a sec." You reply with a thumbs up emoji and put the phone back in the purse.
You walk over to sit down at an empty table and cross your legs, keeping a close eye on Payton. Just as she reaches the front of the line, Brooke seems to pop up out of nowhere and sits down in front you, causing you to jump.
"Christ, I didn't see you," you say. "Hey, you changed?" You ask, just realizing that Brooke is now wearing one of your suits. She looks really good actually, except her tie just hangs from her neck, as though she didn't even attempt to tie it.
"It's all part of the plan," she says with a smile.
"Hmm, interesting," you say. "Couldn't figure out the tie?"
"Not a chance in hell," she says. "Could you?" She sets the water bottle and bracelets on the table.
"Sure," you say. You both lean in, and you take hold of the tie. Trying to do it for someone else proves to be rather difficult, amplified by the fact that not only are you right handed now, but your hands are much smaller than you're used to handling the tie with. After a minute of trial and error, you manage a decent looking Half-Windsor.
"You rock," Brooke sits back and smiles at you.
"I know," you say, reaching for the water bottle. You crack it open and drink half of it in one go.
"Oh yeah, drink it all, you thirsty bitch," Brooke jokes. You scrunch up your face, processing what she just said. That's not something she would normally say, you think, that's something *I* would normally say. Is something happening to us?
"Look babe, I already had to punch one guy while you were gone. Don't think I won't do it a-" just then something catches your eye. "Well well, speak of the devil," you say as you see a teenage boy with damp clothes walk slowly up to your table.
"H-hi, um, I'm sorry to interrupt you," Dylan says. You look over at Brooke, both of her eyebrows raised in surprise as she wonders what's going on. Looking back at Dylan, you can see he has a tissue stuffed up one nostril. You lean back in the chair, raising an eyebrow.
"You here to whistle at me again?" You ask coldly, bouncing your foot slightly. The look on Brooke's face is slightly amusing as she begins to piece together what all this is about.
"No ma'am," Dylan shakes his head. "I just wanted to apologize... I'm sorry for whistling at you..."
"So you understand what you did was wrong?" Dylan nods slowly, maintaining eye contact with you. "You understand that was disrespectful, disgusting, and just plain rude?" Dylan nods again. He sniffles, but you're not sure if he's about to cry, or if it's because his nose is still bleeding. "You understand that I don't dress like I do for your amusement?"
Dylan swallows hard. "I do..."
"Most importantly, I hope you understand that if it ever happens again, you'll do more than just get a little wet."
"I know, I... I'm sorry..." He looks down, tears forming in his eyes.
"You know, if you want a girl to notice you - and not immediately hate your guts - you should try using your words. Be polite, don't be a creep, and don't showboat in front of your friends like that for a cheap laugh. Okay?"
"O-okay," he trembles.
"Apology accepted. Now get out of here," you say, brushing your hair behind your shoulder. Dylan turns and walks away slowly. You turn your head and look at Brooke, her mouth excitedly agape.
"Babe, what did you do?!" She asks, sounding more excited than concerned.
"He was sitting at the fountain downstairs with his friends and he whistled at me when I was walking by, so, I might have given him a little punch in the face, and he may or may not have fallen into the fountain. On accident, of course," you say proudly.
"Oh my god, you badass!" Brooke reaches up and you give each other a hi-five.
"Sorry about your nail though," you say, showing it to her.
"Oh please, this is a badge of honor!" She exclaims. "Let me see the purse, I'll fix it for you." You hand it over, and she begins digging through a side pocket that you didn't even realize was there. She pulls out a small pair of nail clippers and a file. She tries to clip off a small section of the nail, but stops abruptly.
"Oh yeah," you say, realizing what just happened. "I forgot to mention, since you're in my body, you're left handed now." She looks at you surprised.
"Really?" She switched the clippers to her left hand and tries again with much more success. "That's so weird!"
"Right?!" You say. You look up to see Payton walking away from the register with her food in hand. "She's moving," you say quietly. "Keep your head down so she doesn't recognize you."
Brooke lowers her head and continues working on your nail, while you watch Payton walk across the food court and sit down at an empty table close to Subway. Of course she would sit there, you think. You can barely see, but it looks like she waves at someone behind the counter.
"Baby, when we're done here we're going to an eye doctor and getting you some glasses. Or at least making the appointment," you say. "This is ridiculous, I can hardly see anything that's not right in front of me."
"I know, I know," Brooke says. "I've been meaning to do that, but-"
"But you haven't had time, and you don't think you'd look good with glasses, and you don't want to stab yourself in the eyes to wear contacts," you nod, cutting off her sentence. Brooke stops what she's doing and looks at you live you've grown a second head.
"Sorry, we had that conversation before I used the watch... You kinda had to be there," you say, smirking a little. "For the record, I think you would look great with glasses, you know, get that whole sexy librarian thing going..."
Brooke rolls her eyes and shakes her head, trying not to smile. "All done," she says, stuffing the items back in the bag. You turn your hand and inspect your nails. As strange as it looks having one nail shorter than the rest, Brooke did an excellent job fixing it.
"Oh! I got you something," you say.
"With my money?" She chuckles. "How thoughtful."
You stick out your tongue to show off the new tongue ring, holding the rod down with your top teeth. Brooke leans in close to get a good look at it.
"Wow, I actually really like that, its pretty," she says, satisfied with your purchase. "It must have a shorter rod too, right? Since you're not talking all funny?"
"Mhm," you nod your head.
"Very nice," she says. "So what does Payton look like anyway? I haven't seen her yet."
You look over to see her sitting at the table, and now someone wearing black clothes and a hat has joined her, but you can't make out the features of either one of them.
"She's the brunette sitting with who I'm guessing is Jake over there, right in front of Subway," you say. "But I can't see them too well from here." Brooke sits up straight, craning her neck.
"Does she have a red and black tramp stamp?"
"That's her," you say.
"Gotcha. Well I don't think we'll be able to get the bracelets on them while they're together, so we'll just have to wait them out," Brooke says.
"Good," you say. "I'm freaking starving over here."
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