:=: Samantha :=:

"We're gonna need to mix up another batch of ink, by the time we're done today." Jessica grumbled.

Sam's sister was on her knees inside their front door, a jar of ink in her right hand, pen in her left. She was carefully writing out runes along the door frame. She'd already done the left side, she was just starting work on the right.

"That's fine." Nikki said. "If we need more ink, we'll make more ink."

Jess complained, "This is not how I planned to spend Valentine's day, you know?" She then asked, "Do we really have to do all the windows as well? Why can't we just do the sliding door?"

It was Sunday, and instead of more lessons today, they were finally implementing the protective spell that Cindy developed last month, to help keep their home safe. As the Scribe, it was Jessica's job to write all the runes out, then the rest of them would take turns working the magic to enchant and activate them.

Sam had been watching quietly for a while, but she spoke up now. "Windows can be broken, sis. And if someone wants in and can't get through the door, they'd just force a window."

Jessica sighed again, and complained "Well why's it have to be me doing all this, then? It's not so bad writing at the table, but doing this at all odd angles hurts my wrist and my back."

Kara then offered, "I'll give you a massage afterwards. How's that sound?"

Jessica grinned, "Ok that's making this more appealing. Do I get a happy ending with my massage?"

Kara chuckled, "Absolutely."

Sam rolled her eyes and decided to leave her sister alone for now.

Cindy was sitting at the dining table looking through the old book again, and Sam decided to join her.

She pulled out a chair and sat down next to the girl, then commented "You did really well with this new spell, Cindy."

The small blonde shrugged, "It's what Nikki wanted. It wasn't anything that special."

"It's more than the rest of us could have done," Sam stated. "How do you figure this stuff out?"

Cindy shrugged again. "I look at the different spells, and I see how they're sorta made of different bits? And you can take the bits apart, and put them back together different. Then you get a different spell, or the same spell but it works different. Or mix bits from different spells, to make something totally new."

She was still looking through the old book as she spoke, then added, "I haven't tried creating my own bits from nothing yet. So far I just see stuff that's already here, and figure out how to take it apart and put it back together different. Maybe that's enough, cos there's lotsa different things in this book. Lotsa building blocks I guess, that I could work with."

Sam considered that for a bit. She then asked, "Do you think this is a skill the Goddess gave you? As I said, none of the rest of us seem to be able to do this. I mean, when you explain it, we can see how it works and how you got there. But I don't think I could figure out this stuff myself."

Cindy looked thoughtful for a few moments, frowning slightly.

Finally she said, "I don't think She gave me this. She never said anything about it. I just kind of stumbled onto it. And this protection thing was a lot of work to figure out."

She added, "Anyways you all were making new spells without me, right? The transformation spell, clairvoyance spell. You guys came up with all that from nothing. And Nikki made that other spell on her own, right?"

"Nikki had four or five months of magical experience and a Goddess whispering in her head, and her spell is basically just reciting the truth spell backwards." Samantha pointed out. "And the transformation spell took three of us over a month to figure out, with the Goddess giving us tips and guidance. You turned that into something very different in fifteen minutes by yourself, without any experience at all."

Sam then asked, "Can you sort of walk me through how you do it? Show me the process you use?"

Cindy shrugged, then said "Ok. Here's one that's like, a kinda obvious spell from games and stuff. Fireball? That's where the wizard creates like a ball of fire, then they can throw it at the monsters or whatever."

"That sounds dangerous, Cindy." Sam frowned.

The girl shrugged, "We'll be careful. It's just an example." She then turned the pages of the book back till finding the light spell. "So here's the spell for conjuring a ball of light, right?"

Sam nodded, it was one of the simplest spells, one of the first she'd learned.

"And here's the spell to conjure fire." Cindy turned to another page, where the other simple cantrip was described.

Sam nodded again. That was the first spell she'd successfully cast, accidentally setting a book on fire in her bedroom.

Cindy explained, "So I'd wanna figure out what bits of the light spell make it into a ball? And what bits actually conjure the light from nothing. But I don't need the light itself. And then I want the bits of the fire spell that actually create the fire. I'd wanna combine that, so instead of needing something combustible, I'd be creating fire from nothing, and shaping it into a ball."

Sam nodded slowly, and the teen continued, "From there, it's just a matter of figuring out a safe way to throw it, so it goes where you want. And then maybe increasing the intensity. Like when the light spell goes out, it's like popping a soap bubble? Maybe we could supercharge a ball of fire, so instead of dying with a little 'pop' it goes off like a bomb."

"Wow." Sam sat back in her seat, and looked at the small teen, feeling impressed and a little worried. "Was that just speculation, or could you actually do that?"

Cindy frowned, staring at the fire spell in the book for a few minutes. She looked like she was lost in thought. Then finally she held her right hand up and focused.

Sam's eyes widened as she saw a few little yellow sparks in the air above the girl's hand, and then a small ball of flames appeared, floating in the air just above her hand. It was smaller than the average light spell, only about the size of a golf-ball right now.

Cindy grinned, "So, that's half-way there. I'm not gonna try throwing it in here of course. And I'm not gonna try making it any bigger either."

"Uh, yeah. Good idea, Cindy." Sam watched as the girl played with the little ball of flames for a minute or two, then let out a quiet sigh of relief when Cindy finally dispelled it.

Samantha glanced at the others. Jessica and Kara hadn't seen any of this, but Nikki had, and she looked impressed.

By now, Jess had finished drawing the runes around the front door, and was at the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living-room. She was about halfway along, still on her knees, working on the bottom of the windows. Then she'd have to do the tops as well, and then the windows in her bedroom and in Sam and Nikki's bedroom.

Sam figured her sister would be busy for another two or three hours, assuming her wrist and back didn't give out first.

"Hey Jess." She called, "Why don't you finish that, then take a break? I'll put on a fresh pot of coffee and fix some snacks."

Jess grumbled a bit, "Rather have wine."

Sam smiled, "Not till tonight, when the work's all finished. We don't want wobbly runes."

:=: Tanya :=:

Tanya sighed as she knelt on the floor and started gathering up the loose papers that were scattered around, while Cindy slowly got to her feet then began picking up her books.

The culprit, Susan, was walking away giggling. "Who knew shrimps were so clumsy!"

Her boyfriend Bill was walking alongside her and let out a laugh. Then he added loudly, "Well we already know shrimps can't count!"

As they both disappeared around the corner, Tanya asked quietly "Why don't you do something? Zap them or something?"

Cindy shook her head. She whispered, "It's not worth it. Sam and Nikki would be mad at me. You know the rules and stuff. No doing magic in public, stuff like that."

Tanya sighed. "Well then why don't you talk to the teachers? Or the principal, someone in the office? Why do you just keep letting those two get away with it?"

Her friend shrugged and replied softly "I used to be like them. I used to dish it out. I figure, it's my turn now to take it."

Tanya frowned a little and replied quietly but firmly, "That was him, not you. You're different, Cindy."

The small teen just shrugged again, then took the papers Tanya had gathered up. "Thanks for helping, Tanya. I'm glad they stopped bugging you at least. Don't worry about me. I can take it. It's no big deal."

Tanya just shook her head and sighed. Cindy was trying to act brave, tried to pretend it didn't bother her. But she knew it did, and the bullies could see it too. That's why they kept at it.

They'd been making fun of her size from the start, but last week they'd found out about her dyscalculia too. One of them had spotted her counting on her fingers, and that was now one of their favourite ways to torment the small teen.

Bill was the mouthier of the two, but Susan had started getting physical. She'd give Cindy a shove, or trip her in the hall. They thought it was hilarious when she sent the girl tumbling to the floor.

Tanya hated them, and hated that they kept getting away with it. The only positive thing was that the protective amulet meant Cindy was never actually hurt when she was tripped or knocked down.

The bullies were always careful not to do anything where teachers or staff would see. And they were both popular, so none of the other students would say anything or come to Cindy's aid. A few would even laugh along with the bullies.

Tanya sighed as she walked with Cindy towards their next class. "I wish you'd tell someone. If you won't talk to staff or teachers, you should at least tell the rest of the coven. They'd want to know."

Cindy shook her head again. "I said it's fine, Tanya. Just let it go, ok? I don't wanna talk about it any more."

"Ok Cindy." Tanya sighed again. "Sorry. It just really bugs me when they do that stuff to you."

Their next class was English and they were both fairly bored. They sat next to each other at the back of the classroom and usually just read quietly, or they'd text each other if they were sure the teacher wasn't looking.

English was also their last class of the day. And today was Wednesday, so they'd be seeing each other again after dinner, at baking class.

Mr. Moore was watching a little too closely today to risk their phones, so Tanya had to wait till the class was over to mention her idea.

"Hey Cindy? Wanna just hang out together till we go to baking? We can go back to my place. Or over to the mall or something, find something to eat there?"

The two of them were walking towards their lockers, and Cindy thought for a bit. She then nodded, "Yeah, ok. I'll let the others know I won't be home for dinner."

She fished her phone out of her bag and started tapping out a message, when she suddenly tumbled to the floor again. Her books scattered, and her phone hit the floor and slid away into a corner.

Susan and Bill walked past, as Susan giggled "Hey Tanya, you should get your baby sister some knee-pads or something."

As they walked away, Bill chuckled, "She's fine. It's not like she has very far to fall, right?"

Tanya was grinding her teeth as she leaned down and helped Cindy up. "Fuck those two! I so hope they get what's fucking coming to them!"

Cindy just sighed and started gathering up her things. "Sooner or later I'll remember to keep an eye out for them. Don't worry about it Tanya."

Cindy sighed again when she picked up her phone. There was a big crack across the screen.

"Oh fuck." Tanya frowned.

It still seemed to work, Cindy tapped it a bit and the screen responded. She then put it away, and said quietly "I'm just gonna go home, Tanya. I'll see you at baking."

Tanya's shoulders slumped but she nodded, "Ok Cindy."

She walked her friend to the bus stop and waited till Cindy was on the bus, then she turned and headed for home.

:=: Samantha :=:

"Cindy?" Sam called. "Come on out here, dinner's on the table! You can finish your homework later."

The girl had gone straight into her room when she got home from school, and hadn't come out since. It was Friday and there was all weekend for her to finish her assignments, but she'd seemed eager to tackle them right away.

Sam was glad she was taking her school work seriously, but Nikki had just served up her home-made lasagna and they were waiting for the teen to join them.

After a long pause, Cindy's bedroom door finally opened and she quietly came to the table. She had her head hanging low, and seemed moody or upset about something.

As she sat down, Jess asked, "Hey Cindy, what's wrong? Something happen at school today?"

Cindy sighed and looked up, and then everyone saw what the girl had been trying to hide. She had a nasty bruise on her forehead, over her right eye.

Jessica gasped, "Woah, what happened!?"

The girl sighed again, "Nothing." She then added quietly, "I fell."

It was obvious by her tone and behaviour that there was a lot more to the story than that.

Kara frowned, "Why weren't you wearing your amulet?"

Cindy sighed once more, then said quietly "I thought if I let them hurt me, then they'd leave me alone."

Everyone was staring at the small teen now. Kara was frowning more, Jess looked confused and concerned. Nikki's expression reflected Sam's worry.

"If you let who hurt you?" Samantha asked. "Cindy, what's going on?"

Cindy shrugged slightly, "Some kids at school have been picking on me. One of them's been tripping me and stuff. It's just been annoying, cos the amulet wasn't letting me get hurt... But they wouldn't stop. I thought maybe if they saw me get hurt, they'd finally leave me alone..."

Kara stated, "You didn't get a bruise like that from falling in the hall."

The small blonde shook her head. "They tripped me on the stairs today..."

Jessica gasped again and Kara looked angry.

Nikki asked quietly, "And who are 'they', Cindy? Who's been picking on you?"

The small teen hesitated, then answered, "Susan Hodges is the one who's been... She trips me, or knocks me over, then laughs and tells everyone how clumsy I am... And her boyfriend, Bill Eckhart... He won't trip me or whatever, but he's always saying stuff about how I should be in primary school, I'm too small to be in grade eleven, I should have a babysitter... Sue says that stuff too. And last week, Bill saw me counting on my fingers, so him and Sue haven't stopped teasing me about that yet..."

Samantha knew Cindy was sensitive about her size, and her learning disability. She could tell the girl was upset, but fighting to keep it from showing. Then Sam remembered something from Wednesday and asked, "Is that how your phone got broken the other day?"

Cindy sighed but nodded. "Susan tripped me when I was holding it, and it hit the floor pretty hard..."

Nicole asked, "Have you talked to any of your teachers about this, Cindy? Why haven't you told us any of this before?"

Cindy shrugged again then shook her head. "I haven't told anyone. Tanya knows, cos she's with me and sees when they do it. And they teased her a bit at first too, cos we're close and all? Bill was trying to tease us about being gay and stuff. He stopped when he saw that sorta stuff didn't bother Tanya or me."

Sam asked, "But why haven't you told us? Or the teachers, or principal?"

Cindy shrugged once more. "I figured I deserve it? I used to pick on people, I used to be just like them. I figured, it's just my turn to be the victim."

Sam sighed, unsure how to respond to that.

Jessica spoke up. "You don't deserve it, Cindy." Her sister's voice was firm. "Scott made mistakes and he was punished for them. But you aren't him, and you don't deserve to be bullied. No-one does."

Kara stated, "Knocking you down the stairs isn't just bullying. That could have killed you." Then they added, "You keep your amulet on, Cindy. Don't take chances like that again."

Sam nodded, "I agree. With both Jess and Kara."

After a pause, Nikki said, "Cindy, if you want to use magic to settle things with these two, you have permission. Just try and keep it subtle, ok? If you'd rather not, then Sam and I will take care of it."

Samantha gave her fiancée a questioning look.

Nikki nodded to her, "That's what She wants. She doesn't take threats against Her children lightly, as we all know."

Sam nodded, "I understand."

Cindy was frowning, then finally said, "If you two say it's ok, and the Goddess says... Then I'll think of something, for when I see them both on Monday."

:=: William :=:

Bill was enjoying a rather nice dream featuring his girlfriend, when he was jolted awake by a sharp knock on the bedroom door.

"It's half past seven, you're going to be late!"

His heart skipped a beat. That wasn't his mom's voice, that sounded like Mrs. Hodges! There was another shock as he realized he was in Susan's bed. Her long hair was partially draped over his face.

Bill's mind raced. What was he doing here? Did he sneak over to visit Susan last night, then fall asleep in here? He didn't remember doing that. However he got here, he knew he had to sneak back out again, before Sue's parents caught him.

He couldn't understand why Sue hadn't said anything yet. She ought to be panicking as much as he was. He figured she'd have shoved him out of the bed already, and pointed him towards the window to make his escape.

He glanced to the side, and frowned in confusion. Susan wasn't even here? He was alone in her bed... But then, why was her hair in his face?

Bill sat up, and suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming. The feeling of weight shifting on his chest, seeing the lavender-coloured nightie he was wearing, the small soft hand over his mouth... His heart was pounding as he looked down at himself, not wanting to believe what he was seeing.

The unfamiliar body moved awkwardly as he got out of bed, and stumbled towards the full length mirror that Susan had hanging on her closet door.

He still had a hand over his mouth, but let out a squeak of horror as he saw his reflection. He was staring at Susan in the mirror.

Suddenly the bedroom door swung open, and Susan's mother was there. Bill let out a yelp.

"Why didn't you say you were up already? You've got half an hour to get ready young lady, or you won't have time for breakfast."

"Yes M..." He'd almost called her Mrs. Hodges, but hearing Susan's voice coming out of his mouth had shocked him enough to stop talking. He then nodded and said quietly "Ok."

Sue's mother closed the door again as she left.

Bill's hands were shaking. He looked around, and found Sue's phone on her desk. He franticly tapped out a message, texting his own number.

>>Susan: Are you there?! WTF is going on? I'm you?!

The reply came back after a minute or so.

>>Bill: Yeah, pretty weird. Let's meet before class.

Bill sighed a little. It seemed like Susan was in his body. He had no idea how this happened, or what was even going on. But he had to get to school and see her, and maybe they could figure it out together.

He opened the closet door and stared. Like ninety percent of Susan's wardrobe was dresses and skirts and heels.

"Oh fuck." He whispered to himself. "How the fuck am I gonna do this..."

He dug through the closet and finally found a pair of jeans tucked behind some dresses, and spotted some sneakers on the floor at the back. And there were some t-shirts back there, that he'd never seen Sue wear. That would work.

He then checked the dresser, and quickly found the underwear.

He pulled off the nightie and let it fall to the floor, then stopped and stared. His mind sort of seized up a bit, frozen in a mix of horror and curiosity. He shut the closet door and stared at the full length mirror again.

"Holy shit..."

As he stared, he started to notice a little fluttering in his stomach, and a warm tingling sensation between his legs. He knew if he was in his own body staring at Susan like this, he'd be standing fully erect now. The way this body responded was very different.

After a few more moments he suddenly blushed as he realized what was happening. The sensation of his erect nipples and the warm wetness between his legs was almost too much for his mind to compute.

Turning away from the mirror, he picked up a pair of plain cotton panties and slipped them on. The feeling of the fabric pressing against his groin like that was very new, but he was equally distracted by the way the breasts moved and jiggled as he was bending over and then straightening up.

His hands were shaking again as he pulled on the jeans. They were tighter than he expected, and it took some wriggling and tugging to get them past his hips and over his butt. He found some plain socks in another drawer, and then pulled on the sneakers.

At first he tried to just pull the t-shirt on without a bra, but he quickly realized that wasn't going to work. Sue's breasts were too big, they bounced and moved too much, and the shirt's fabric was a little painful rubbing against his large sensitive nipples.

Muttering curses to himself, he took one of Sue's bras out of another drawer. It took almost ten minutes for him to figure out how to get the damn thing on right, and even then it felt so weird he was still sure he'd got it wrong somehow. It looked ok though. Maybe. He pulled the t-shirt on overtop of it and sighed.

There was a bunch of make-up on Susan's desk, but Bill wasn't even going to try. Dealing with the bra and panties was as much as he could manage. He checked the mirror again. Susan's long strawberry blonde hair was messy from sleep, so he ran his fingers through it a few times. That didn't fix it though.

He remembered something he'd seen girls at school do, and hunted around till he found what he was looking for. He wasn't sure what the actual name was, but he thought of it as a hair elastic. He twisted the long hair up into a sort of messy ball, then wound the elastic around twice to hold it in place.

That would do, it'd keep the hair out of his face, keep it from getting in the way.

He tried to tuck Sue's phone into a pocket of his jeans, but the damn thing wouldn't fit. After a few tries he realized the pockets were too small to be useful. Finally, Bill picked up Sue's bag and dropped the phone in there.

He didn't want to deal with his girlfriend's parents. If he couldn't sneak past them, he'd just tell them he had to get to school early this morning, no time for breakfast.

He found one of Susan's winter jackets in the closet by the front door, then shouted a quick "Bye" as he hurried out the door.

• • • • •

"Woah!" Valerie stared at him. "What happened to you, girl?"

Bill was hurrying up the steps towards the front doors of the school when he'd run into Valerie and Alexis, Susan's best friends. Together with Sue, the three of them were usually the most stylish girls in eleventh grade.

The other two looked gorgeous as always, while Bill looked like a guy stuck in a girl's body who didn't know what the fuck he was doing.

"Not myself today, kinda sick, can't talk." Bill mumbled as he hurried past them toward the doors.

Alexis started to say something but Bill didn't stop to listen as he quickly moved through the front doors.

Inside the school, he quickly got too warm and took off the jacket. He carried it along with Sue's bag in his left hand. He soon found his girlfriend standing next to his locker.

It was almost the weirdest thing he'd ever experienced, after waking up in his girlfriend's body. Seeing himself, or at least, his body standing there, leaning against the lockers. His buddies Mitch and James were there too, the three of them looking relaxed and casual.

The thing that struck him the most was, while he was doing a terrible job pretending to be Susan, she seemed to have no problem at all blending in as him. She was dressed the way he usually dressed, jeans, t-shirt, loose jacket. She was talking with James and Mitch, looking totally comfortable and chill.

Bill was nervous as hell as he approached. He wasn't even sure what to say, but Sue spotted him and spoke first.

"Hey babe. What's up with you this morning? You look like crap."

James and Mitch were both staring at him now too, and Bill felt his cheeks starting to go red.

"Feeling a bit sick this morning." He mumbled, "I need to talk with you, ok? Now?"

He watched as Sue shrugged, "Ok babe." She then looked to Mitch and James, "Catch you guys later alright?"

Bill watched as his best friends nodded, then gave him a look, staring at his chest, then his ass as they walked away.

As soon as they were gone, Bill moved closer. He opened his locker and stuffed the jacket inside as he whispered, "What the fuck is going on?! Why am I you? Why are you me? It's like some kind of Freaky Friday bullshit..."

Even if he tried to pretend he was looking at Sue, not his own body, having to look up at her felt so strange and alien. Bill had been used to being a good four inches taller, but now tilting his head up to look at Sue in his body made him feel small, and even more vulnerable.

Sue shrugged a little, "No idea. And today's Tuesday, not Friday. Anyways, I woke up at your place, and I've just been going with the flow, trying to figure stuff out. I kinda figured maybe you'd have taken my place."

After a pause, Sue grinned "Look at you girl. No make-up, hair's a mess. You obviously snuck out of the house without my folks seeing you like that, right? There's a reason those clothes were hidden at the back of the closet, you know?"

Bill glared, "Don't call me 'girl'! I don't know what to do with your hair, or your make-up! And there's no way I was putting on a skirt!"

Sue just chuckled a little, "If we're stuck like this, you're gonna have to get used to it, babe. My folks won't be happy if they catch you looking like that."

Bill frowned. He couldn't understand why she was so calm about all this. Then he asked, "Maybe if we touch each other, we'll switch back? Or something?"

Sue shrugged again, "I dunno. Maybe?"

Bill reached out thinking they'd touch hands or something, and was totally unprepared when Sue put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a close embrace. He felt his breasts pressing against her muscular chest, and her strong lips against his.

He gasped and struggled a moment, but this body wasn't strong enough to resist his own body's advances.

Finally Sue let go and he stumbled back, gasping. "What the fuck?! Why would you do that?!"

Sue grinned, "I thought we were going steady? And I kind of wanted to try that. Your lips are nice and soft."

Bill sputtered, blushing, "They're your lips!"

Sue just grinned. She was about to say something else but instead whispered, "Shrimp ahoy."

Bill turned, and spotted the runt. Cindy whats-her-name. She was walking past by herself, her backpack over one shoulder. She wasn't normally here this early, and it was weird seeing her on her own. Usually she was with that Fleming loser.

As she passed them, she smiled, "Good morning Bill, good morning Susan."

Bill's heart skipped another beat. The shrimp had been looking right at him when she said his name! Did she know? He had to find out.

He darted after the small girl and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back towards his locker where Sue was still standing.

"Hey! Lemme go!" Cindy complained, though she wasn't actually putting up a fight.

Bill hissed at the kid, "What do you know? Did you do this? What the fuck's going on, shrimp?!"

Sue stayed quiet, but was watching and listening.

Cindy was starting to smile now, and she said quietly, "Let go of my arm, and we'll talk."

Bill's heart was starting to race. The brat had to be involved somehow. He let go though, and demanded quietly "You better start talking, or you'll be taking another trip down the stairs, you little shit!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Cindy smiled. She then said softly, "You see, I'm a witch. Not just any witch either, I'm pretty damn powerful. You two spend your free time on sports and fashion. I spend all mine learning magic."

Bill glanced at Sue. He didn't want to believe any of this, but the fact that he was currently in Susan's body gave a lot of credibility to what the runt was saying.

Cindy then shrugged, "The thing is, I wasn't actually gonna do anything to you. But my coven found out you've been bullying me. They said if I didn't do something about it, they would."

Bill's eyes widened and he glanced at Sue again. She looked surprised and curious, but otherwise still seemed calm, relaxed.

He then looked back at Cindy and growled, "Ok you've had your fun, now change us back!"

Cindy shook her head, "If you two are nice to me, leave me and Tanya alone, then maybe I'll swap you back in a day or two."

Bill cursed silently, "Listen shrimp, you fix us now or I'll fucking kill you!"

Cindy smirked, "Try it, and we'll make it a month. Anyways if you actually did kill me, you'd be stuck that way forever, so it's not a good idea."

Bill looked at Sue, and whispered, "Why're you so quiet about all this? We can't let this bitch get away with this!"

Sue looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "To be honest, I'm kind of ok with this? It'll take some time to get used to living with your folks, but really, it hasn't been all that bad yet."

Bill stared at Sue with eyes wide and jaw hanging open.

Cindy blinked in surprise and looked up at Susan-in-Bill's-body and asked, "Wait what? You don't wanna be switched back?"

Sue shrugged, "Nah. It's been kind of fun so far. And a lot of stuff is just... Better." She grinned. "It took me like five minutes to get dressed this morning! No messing around with make-up and hair, no fussing about what outfit to put together. Guys have it so easy, you know?" She then reached out and put an arm around Bill's shoulders and grinned, "Plus I like being the tall, strong one. This is pretty cool."

Bill pulled free and stepped away from his girlfriend. He demanded, "Well I don't fucking wanna stay like this! Holy shit Sue, what's got into you?!"

Susan shrugged, "Dunno? Anyways, you should stop calling me Sue. I'm Bill now, you're Susan." She then added, "Hey are we still on for movies tonight? Tuesday date night?"

Cindy tried to interrupt, asking nervously, "Susan, are you trans?"

Bill ignored the runt, staring at Sue. "No way! No fucking way!" He couldn't believe his ears. His girlfriend was acting like she was going to just take over his life, like she was enjoying it, and expecting him to just go along with it. And she wanted him to play the girl and go out on a date?! He frowned, "Wait are you into girls?"

Susan shrugged, "Sometimes. Me and Valerie were a little closer than friends last year, before I hooked up with you. Why, don't you like guys?"

Bill shook his head "Fuck no!"

"Guess I need to find a new girlfriend then." Susan shrugged.

Cindy was still watching and listening, her expression was a mix of amusement and worry.

Bill had had enough. He grabbed the runt and shoved her backwards into the lockers, then growled, "Listen shrimp! You're gonna fix this, now! Or I'm gonna fuck you up, and I don't care what happens afterwards! I'll go to my folks, the principal, the fucking cops!"

Cindy rubbed the back of her head where it'd hit the locker, and sighed. "If you do, you'll probably just wind up spending a bunch of time in therapy. No-one's gonna believe you."

Bill wanted to hit the kid, he wanted to swear, curse, scream even. He could feel his emotions going all over the place, and his cheeks were red again. Then he realized his vision was getting blurred, and had to blink to clear his eyes.

It finally hit him. He was crying! Between Sue claiming she was going to just take over his life, and the shrimp gloating and acting like this was all a joke, and his own frustration and fear... It was like his emotions just overloaded and he was fucking crying. Like a girl.

He let go of Cindy and wiped his eyes, swearing quietly. "Fuck... I can't fucking deal with this..."

Cindy watched for a few moments then sighed. "Ok... Now it's not as fun anymore." She glanced at Sue and added, "I totally didn't expect he'd wanna stay a guy. I thought you'd both be begging me to swap you back."

Bill wiped his eyes again and asked, "So, are you gonna fix this?"

The shrimp sighed, "I can't. If he doesn't wanna swap back, then I can't undo it."

Bill looked up at Sue, who just shrugged. "Yeah I'm good here. Sorry 'Susan', looks like you're stuck."

Tears started welling up in Bill's eyes again, and he could feel his lower lip trembling. Fear, frustration, and the fact that his girlfriend had betrayed him, it was all threatening to overwhelm him again.

Cindy sighed again, "Ok. Crap. Lemme text a friend, maybe she can help. We gotta find somewhere really private though, ok?"

Bill wiped his eyes again and just nodded quietly.

Sue said, "I know somewhere. C'mon." She led them through the halls, to one of the maintenance rooms. "The lock here's busted, so..." She jiggled the knob a bit, and the door opened up.

Bill frowned and looked up at his former girlfriend, "How'd you know about this?"

Sue shrugged, "Me and Valerie discovered it last spring."

Cindy had her phone out now, and was texting someone. It looked like the latest model fruit-phone, not the older off-brand model she had before.

"New phone, huh? Nice." Susan commented.

Cindy glared a little, "Yeah. Someone broke my old one last week."

Bill just watched, rubbing his eyes again.

After a couple minutes of texting back and forth, Cindy announced, "Ok she's gonna come and help."

Bill frowned, "How's she gonna-" Then he yelped "Holy shit!"

A strange woman was suddenly in the room with them. She just appeared out of thin air like it was nothing.

The woman was about the same height as Bill was now, or a couple inches shorter than he used to be. She looked to be in her early twenties, and had pale skin and long straight jet-black hair. She was wearing a black knee-length dress, ankle boots, and her make-up was kind of goth.

The goth glanced around at the three of them then sighed, "Cindy... Is this your idea of subtle?"

It looked like the shrimp was in trouble, as she sighed and stared down at her feet. "Yeah, I guess? I thought... It wasn't like anyone would notice cos no-one went missing or anything? There's still a Bill and there's still a Susan..."

The goth sighed and shook her head. "How'd you even do this?"

Cindy shrugged, "New spell? I figured it out." She then added, "It was complicated though, and something unexpected came up." She nodded towards Sue.

The woman frowned and shook her head again, "We'll talk about this later."

Bill then asked nervously, "Uh, so can you fix us?"

Susan stated again, "I don't really want to be fixed, I'm good with this."

The woman looked at the two of them and sighed. "Ok... Introductions first. Who are you two?"

Sue spoke first, "I'm Bill now. Used to be Susan, but I woke up in Bill's body and I'm pretty much ok with it."

Bill glared and stated, "I'm Bill! And I want to be me again!"

The goth sighed and scratched the side of her head. She looked at Cindy again, and commented, "You know kid, I've lost count of how many magical gender swaps there've been over the past year..."

Cindy looked embarrassed and said, "Well this is only the second one that's my fault..." She then added, "Or I guess second and third, if you count these two separately..."

Bill demanded quietly, "Can you fix us? Me? Now, please?!"

The goth then turned back to face Bill and Susan. There was suddenly something different about her. Her blue eyes seemed brighter, her back was straight, shoulders set. She looked the two of them over. When she spoke, there was something new in her voice. It was powerful, full of authority.

"Susan and William. I am aware of the torment the two of you have brought upon Cindy. Do you both swear to end your aggression towards her?"

Bill nodded "Yes! If you fix us, I'll never bug her again!"

Susan shrugged, "I'll leave her alone if I can stay like this."

Bill cursed at his now ex-girlfriend, "Damnit Sue you can't keep my body! It's mine!"

The woman stated, "I have a solution which will satisfy both of you. You will both be comfortable with the outcome. Do you agree to My terms?"

"I won't be comfortable till I'm in my own body," Bill stated, "Do that, then I agree."

The goth nodded towards Susan, "You wish to stay like that," then she looked to Bill, "And you wish to be in a body that belongs to you." She then smiled slightly, "So be it."

Bill noticed Cindy was smirking a little, and was about to ask what so funny. Before he could get the words out, everything went white.

:=: Rebecca :=:

Becky blinked a few times and looked around. She was still standing in the maintenance room with Cindy and Sean, but the goth woman was gone.

She frowned, "What the fuck just happened?"

Sean chuckled, "Holy crap! I still look like you used to Beck, but it's really me now! Cool!"

Becky's eyes widened and she looked down at herself. Her body still looked like Sean used to, but it wasn't Sean's any more. It was hers now. She realized she'd always been Becky, this was the body she'd always had. She was still wearing the same jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. She was still holding the same bag in her hand. But it was all hers.

And she knew she was still an Eckhart, she lived with her own family, not with Sean's folks.

The other memories were still there too, the stuff about Bill. It all seemed very distant now though, sort of unreal. It wasn't her, it was just some guy who's life she knew about.

"Holy shit... Holy shit!" She looked at Cindy, "What the fuck?!"

The small blonde shrugged. "She couldn't switch you back because Sean didn't want to swap. And there couldn't be two of you looking like Sean. So She changed the rest of reality to match you like that, and made sure you'd be comfortable with it."

Becky stared down at herself again. She sort of knew she should hate this, but she didn't. It felt right. This was how she'd grown up, this is who she was. This is what she was comfortable with.

Sean then asked, "Hey Beck? You still just into girls? Or do you like guys now too?"

"Fuck Sean, is that all you ever think about?" She glared at him, then shook her head. "Not interested. Even if I did like guys, I wouldn't be wasting my time with you. You're a dick."

He chuckled, "Whatever. Well, no hard feelings from me. Have a nice life." He walked out of the maintenance room, saying "See you around, Cindy."

Becky watched him leave, still in shock, her mind still reeling a bit. Then she looked at Cindy. "Who was that goth chick?"

Cindy shrugged, "A friend." She then asked, "You're not gonna try and tell people about this stuff, are you?"

Becky slowly shook her head. She knew no-one would believe her. Finally, she just sighed and looked at the tiny witch, "This is fucked up."

Cindy shrugged, "Sucks, but that's what happens when you bully the wrong kid. Anyways, I gotta get going." She then added, "If you wanna talk later, that's fine. Like my friend said, this sorta thing's happened a few times before, so uh, we have some experience with it."

Becky just stood there watching as the short teen slipped out the door. She was left there alone, still feeling stunned.

After another minute she finally set her bag on her shoulder and shuffled out of the maintenance room, towards her first class.