Hey there, dear readers! The holidays sure are one hectic time of year! Sorry for the long time in between updates, but here's the newest chapter of Hairball for your reading pleasure! Please enjoy!

 

 

Hairball (Chapter 4)

by

Elite Shade

 

 

 

So far today, I've been shot at, made homeless, and been turned into a catgirl. Now I'm staying in the home of two total strangers who just so happen to be the parents of the guy that caused all of this in the first place. And yet I find that despite all of that, the focus of my attention is presently residing on the two black fur-covered mounds on my chest. Breasts... my breasts...

Rebecca said that...my breasts...were a size thirty six B, after she had measured them. I can't stop the shudder at the memory from not too long ago of having my shirt off with Rebecca gently, but snugly, wrapping that cloth measuring tape thing around my chest and its... uhm... contents... uh... thoroughly...

Anyways, before she took the notepad that all of my measurements were written down on to go shopping for some new clothes to fit me, she explained that while not really big, they weren't particularly small either. Since Ben's the one who made me look like this, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that he doesn't like really big boobs. Wow... I didn't think I could start hating the bastard any more than I already did... and yet now I find that I totally can.

I poke and prod them, amazed at how foreign they feel. Sitting upright on the edge of the bed, I can feel their slight weight. I never really paid too much attention to girls' chests before, so I kinda don't have much perspective on it myself. To make one thing clear, I am straight. I have found myself staring at girls in the past. But crushes and awkward attempts at asking someone out are always going to take a back seat for me. If I want to have any kind of life after I graduate, then my focus has to be on preparing now, and I have to be realistic about it. That's always been my...well, drive just doesn't seem like the right word to me here, but I think you get it. Hence my community college-only aspirations to learn a skill or trade I can make a comfortable and reliable living off of.

Or at least, those were my aspirations...

I look down at my shirtless chest and take in a shuddering breath; already the tears are beginning to threaten to start up again. I choke the urge and all of my feelings down once more, something I'm used to doing from time to time. It's not going to help me any to just sit around wailing about what happened to me. I learned that very early on when I-NO!

"Just move on already," I angrily whisper to myself.

Okay, so just keeping my head down at school, going mostly unnoticed, has proven to be a very reliable game plan in the past. Sure...looking like this is going to make doing that impossible...initially. But after everything calms down, everyone will find something else to talk about and focus on...hopefully. Yeah, I'm a walking, talking catgirl, and that's probably going to attract a lot of unwanted attention...but it's not like I have a lot of options available to me.

I let out my pent-up breath and head on over to my new private bathroom. I flip on the light switch as I enter and look around. Every surface is spotless and polished. The floor is white linoleum, with a shower easily three times the one back at my old foster home. There's a clean toilet with, oh yes, this one actually has a lid to its tank. This bathroom is really...highlighting how awful the one back at the foster home really is. I look at my reflection in the uncracked mirror over the sink, before turning away, ashamed.

As curious as I am, I just can't stand the sight of myself just yet. Overall though, I just feel kinda... gross... but that could just be because I still haven't taken my morning shower. Without looking down or thinking about it too much, I slide my pants off and turn on the faucet in the shower. The water very quickly warms, another nice change of pace, and I step inside, sliding the curtain closed behind me. The spray feels good as I let the water run all over me. Although, if I'm a cat now, shouldn't I hate getting my fur wet like this? ... Meh, I'll just chalk it up to me not being a full cat or something.

I eye a bar of soap and reach for it, until I notice the fur on my arm once more and think better of it. Oddly enough, there's also a full bottle of some kind of shampoo. Since none of the writing on the bottle is in English, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that it's some super ritzy expensive shampoo. I squeeze out some in my hand and get started, first gently scrubbing it into the fur on my head. My new ears which are so flat and thin, and perched so much higher on my head than I'm used to, do get in the way a little. Okay, look, I'm not going to describe what it is like to wash my...everything...so let's just say that it is a strange experience. I have to use shampoo everywhere because of the fur, and of course when I get to my injury, I wash very gently. And yeah, I wash down... uh... I'm just gonna stop talking now...

I rinse myself off and feel a little bit better and a little bit less...gross. It does take me a while to dry myself with the towel though, which is hanging from a nearby rack, and it makes my fur poof out a bit. I drape the towel around my body like I've seen girls do in movies and on TV before leaving the bathroom. I pad into what is apparently my new room and start to look around. I make my way over to the bed just as there's a knock at the door.

"Alex, honey?" Rebecca's voice calls through softly, "Are you decent? When I got back, I thought I heard your shower running."

Wow, that was quick... or I was in there longer than I thought I was gonna be... I think to myself before I answer her.

"Uhm, I'm kinda just wearing a towel," I answer.

"Oh, good," she says as she opens the door and enters with several shopping bags, quickly closing it behind her. I let out a girlish squeak and instinctively my hands go to cover my chest...when the hell did I start doing that?!

"Oh, calm down, honey, it's nothing that I haven't seen before," she says while waving a dismissive hand, before noticing the unamused expression on my face. "Oh, well, I guess that that's not entirely true exactly, after all," she reasons. I blush under my fur but say nothing. She looks me over with a smile on her face.

"I'm going to go ahead and take it that it was a good thing that I got you a hairbrush," Rebecca says as she sets all of the purchases down on the bedspread. She reaches inside and pulls out a hairbrush, handing it to me.

"So let's pick out at least one outfit for you to wear so that while you're brushing your fur, I can make some modifications to it." And yes, I know that by modifications, she's talking about making a hole for my tail. I grumble a little as she starts laying out different jeans and shorts and... is that a skirt? I ask her as much.

"Well, yes, honey. When I was picking out some outfits, I just saw it and thought about how cute it would look on you!"

CUTE?!

"Uhm...thanks Rebecca, but I'm not sure if I want to...try wearing skirts yet."

Wait, why did I just say yet?! That's implying that I'll be interested in wearing them in the future.

"I understand, honey." She smiles at me some more, which I just don't get. I think about picking a pair of the jeans, but considering my fur and that I'm in Arizona, a.k.a. the sunscorched wastelands, I figure right now that the pair of white cotton shorts I see on the bed are the better option. I point at those, and then notice something else that Rebecca got for me.

"Panties?" My voice is just barely audible, yet somehow she picks up on it.

"Yes, honey. I got them to match your new... support for your chest," she says. "I made sure to get the least feminine ones I could find."
I say nothing in response as I look at the pink pair that fell out of the fallen-over bag and onto the bed. They're mostly featureless, and I guess cotton from looking at them. They don't seem to have any frills and there's no lace, so I guess that technically what Rebecca said is true. But still... those are panties... my panties.

"B-B-But don't girls have the... um... type of underwear that's kinda like boxers?"

"At the store I went to, they did. But the only kinds in stock all had flowers or were otherwise very feminine-looking," Rebecca explains as she picks up the shorts and a light blue pair of panti--underwear, I mean underwear, and smiles at me. I take a seat on the bed, after she leaves the room, having said something about a sewing kit, and start brushing my fur. I won't bore you with the details, but it's surprising me at how quickly it's going. Despite how much it had fluffed out, my fur is going down very easily with each stroke. I head into the bathroom to examine myself, and run the brush over a few more times, but other than that I am good to go.

Rebecca returns a few minutes later, simply knocking and then opening the door and handing me my shorts and my pant--underwear, dammit. I sigh as I hold them. I stretch the blue piece of fabric open, my eyes immediately looking at the new hole. Instead of just looking like a slice in the fabric, it actually looks like something intentionally made, like at the factory. Okay, I don't know what it's called, but it even has the same... uh... border like the leg holes have. I wonder if I'm really going to do this.

"Need some help in there, honey?" Rebecca's voice makes me blush again.

"Uh, no, I've got it. Thanks, though," I say. I take a breath and step into them. It's a little weird sliding this...girl underwear up my legs, made slightly more so by having to manually guide my tail through the hole with my hand. And then I pull them up the rest of the way, feeling they rest snugly, yet gently, around my waist and on my now flat crotch. I grab the shorts and quickly pull them on as well, not wanting to look at my new... panties anymore. I then look over at the bed and grab a white tank top and pull that over my head.

"Can I come in now, Alex?" Rebecca asks.

"Yes."

She enters and, after taking me in, breaks into a wide grin. "That looks wonderful on you." As she's saying this, I become aware of just how short these shorts are. I turn away in embarrassment. "Oh, uh honey, I think that you forgot something."

"Huh?" I turn my head and see Rebecca holding out a blue bra that matches the... panties.

"Do you not know how to put it on?" Rebecca asks, which I immediately realize is the truth.

"I, uh, I can figure it out," I say. Rebecca gives me a hug and then turns away. I let out a sigh and pull off the tank top. I put my arms through the straps and pull it close, but I can't quite make it latch. I grunt a couple of times before Rebecca looks over her shoulder and sees me struggling.

"You poor thing. Here, let me help you." I'm surprised that my whiskers aren't igniting into little flames at the tips at how hot my face feels from what has to be my deepest blush yet as Rebecca coaches me on how to put on a bra.

"And there you go," she says in a chipper voice as she hands me back the tank top. I slip it on quickly. Then she pulls me into another hug. Rebecca says nothing as she stands there, her arms encompassing me. I guess that this is her way of conveying to me that everything's going to be alright. I'm just not used to this kind of treatment, though, so I kinda don't really know how I'm supposed to respond. I put my arms around her as well, but that's it really. I mean it. My eyes aren't misting up again at all. I'm blinking a bunch after she lets go because of how bright it is.

Okay, so... before the... the bra... I could feel, slightly, the weight of the breasts...of my breasts...on my chest. But now... well, now I feel a difference. I guess that having this... bra... supporting me feels a bit better than walking around with them swinging free.

"It's not too snug, is it?" Rebecca asks as she looks me up and down again.

"N-No. It's fine. Thanks...for going out and getting me this stuff..." I say, looking down at my bare feet-paw-things. There is no way in hell that there is a shoe out there for me now... not that I seemed to need it earlier. I guess the pads on the bottom of my feet are much tougher than before my transformation.

"This is all just one great big change after another for you, honey." I look up to see Rebecca looking at me with a sad smile on her face.

"I guess," I mumble while looking down again.

"It just amazes me how brave you are." That makes me snap my head up, albeit in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"I mean, not just anyone could wake up and find themselves in the situation that you're in and just... handle it like you have..."

"Oh... I guess I'm good at dealing is all."

"Dealing?"

"Well, yeah... with stuff." I shuffle my feet uncomfortably. Okay, I'm really starting to feel uncomfortable now.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Rebecca asks, in what I'm now assuming is her mom voice.

"There's nothing to talk about, really. Sitting around crying isn't going to solve anything, so I don't waste time doing it."

I look up to see Rebecca looking troubled now. "Does that mean that you feel like crying a lot, sweetheart?"

I hang my head in shame. "W-W-Well, no, I mean, I just don't want to let stuff get to me and focus only on that. I got more important things to worry about is all," I say.

"What kinds of things get to you?" Dammit! Why is she pressing the issue here?

"Just normal stuff, I guess." Why do I suddenly feel like there's something pushing down on me? "And I guess maybe some other stuff, but I'm okay." Without looking up from my tail that I'm just now realizing that I've been playing with, I feel Rebecca place a hand on my shoulder again.

"Please, honey, please know that you don't need to put on a brave face all the time. It's not healthy to just ignore your feelings," she says.

"I'm just not wasting my time on stuff I can't do anything about is all. I'm not ignoring anything!" I look up, my eyes feeling hot and prickly. "I can't change the fact that my folks joined a cult and ended up committing mass suicide, I can't change the fact that I'm all alone now, I can't change the fact that I was just shipped from one shitty place to the next with no one ever wanting me, I can't change the fact that someone who I thought was the only friend I had ever had just tried to use me as a scapegoat, and I can't change the fact that I'm now a damn freak!" I totally did not mean to just spill all of this to Rebecca... nor did I mean for the tears to start up... or the sobs. But here I am... 
Rebecca looked shocked when I started my mini-tirade, but she seems to have recovered from it, as she is now hugging me close, yet again, while I sob into her chest. Admittedly... it kinda feels... a little good... I guess that maybe that's been building up for a while now.

I'm starting to calm down now, my facial fur wet with tears. As I get myself back under control, I realize that Rebecca is still hugging me close, gently rubbing my back. I know that I should be asking her to stop...but it does feel nice.

"You poor thing," she croaks out, and I look up to realize that she's been crying as well.

"I-It's fine, Rebecca," I sniffle.

"It most certainly is not fine, young lady." I'm so surprised, that I think I forgot to wince at being called a young lady.

"It is not fine for anyone to be made to feel as you have."

"M-Maybe, but like I said, I can't change--"

"No, sweetheart," she cuts me off, effectively shutting me up, while looking me dead in the eye again.

"Just because you feel that you cannot change something, that doesn't mean that you have to pretend that it's not affecting you. As painful as it can be, it's important to feel what you feel, and not simply write it off."

"But it won't make anything better for me. There's no point in wallowing in my own self-pity."

"It's not wallowing to not just ignore your feelings."

I don't really have anything to say to this... at least not anything that's not essentially just going to be me repeating myself. Why is it so important to her whether or not I'm ignoring my emotions? I just... don't get it... NO! Not more tears!

Rebecca leans down a little and plants a gentle kiss on my forehead before grabbing a couple of tissues from the nearby nightstand and wiping my tear-stained fur. My ears twitch as I hear a light thud just outside the door. I turn my head away from Rebecca's fussing over me and catch a glimpse of movement from the door, which was now slightly ajar. My ears slowly turn as they automatically track the movement of light and quick footsteps down the hall, followed by a door being shut very gently.

"What's the matter, honey?" Rebecca asks me. I turn to look back at her, confused.

"Nothing, I just thought I heard something."

I think for a moment.

"Uhm, where'd you say Ben's room was again?"

"Down at the other end of the hall. Why?"

My ears flatten to my head. "No reason, I just thought I heard footsteps." They perk right back up at the sound of Rebecca giggling a little.
"What's so funny?" I ask, a little indignantly.

"I'm sorry, honey, I really am. It's just that you are so cute sometimes."

"Uhm...thank you?" I'm really not sure how I feel about that, being called cute.

"I promise you, it's a compliment." I'm going to go ahead and take her word on that. Right now, I'm feeling really...well...drained seems like the best word. Not exactly exhausted. I don't really know how to describe it. But whatever it is, I think Rebecca picks up on it.

"Now, how about we relax. I'll go get my sewing kit, and show you how to modify your new clothes!" she suggests, her mood brightening. I guess that it's something I am going to have to learn sometime, and since Rebecca's apparently very skilled in that department, I might as well learn from her. Plus... maybe it's a little... nice... being around her.

 

 

And there you have it, dear readers! As I always say, I truly hope that you enjoyed the new chapter! Please feel free to leave me a review!
Once more I would like to thank my awesome proofreader, Trismegistus Shandy!