“Is it really alright for me to borrow Grace’s clothes?”

Having gotten me dressed, we started riding our bikes to the nearest shopping centre. My dressing session turned into a full-blown educational lecture, teaching me the ins and outs of the various clothes Emily picked out for me, and how they differed from guys’ clothes. It even included a brief primer on how to properly take care of my… new found assets, featuring the basics of wearing a bra. Emily even tied up my hair for me. Although, since we were wearing bike helmets, it was only a low ponytail.

“She gets back on Wednesday, right? As long as you wash them either tonight or tomorrow, she’ll never find out.” Turning across to me while the traffic lights were red, she winked. She seemed to be enjoying my ordeal a bit too much.

I’m glad for the shorts though! I don’t think I could get used to wearing just a skirt this quickly, especially when I haven’t even got proper underwear!

The shopping centre was only around a five minute ride from my house, with mostly flat ground on the way, but I was still a little worried about my stamina. After all, I didn’t know if my muscles had changed at all with my sudden transformation. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry, as it seemed a bit…

 

“That felt way too easy.” We walked our bikes into the carpark, wrapping the locks around the metal stands near the back. I wasn’t even out of breath, after only stopping for one set of traffic lights during the ride. Emily wasn’t breathing heavily either, but she has always had much better stamina than me, since she regularly exercises.

“You alright? Woah, you’re not even sweating.” We tangled our bike locks together, just for the extra security.

“Yeah, my stamina’s way better than before.”

“Come on, let’s go.” Emily grabbed my hand and started leading me towards the entrance. “We’ll grab some lunch once we’re done.”

I flipped the backpack I was wearing to my front, pulling my hand away to rummage around inside it for my phone. Only 10:30? It feels way later than that!

 

“...hey, can I ask you something?” I grabbed Emily’s hand, tugging at it to try and get her to stop. This has been bothering me for a while now.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Why are you so enthusiastic about helping me?”

Emily’s expression turned serious for a moment, as she looked up at the ceiling of the car park.
“I guess… a while ago I had a really interesting conversation with one of my friends. I'll spare you the contents, since that infringes on her privacy, but it made me realise that… I really like being a girl.”

She turned to face me again, placing both hands on my shoulders and looking directly into my eyes with a smile on her face.

“And, if you’re stuck as a girl now… then I want to make sure that you can still be happy. Being a girl is kinda fun, you know?”

“...thanks.”

Maybe it’ll be alright.

 

*****

 

This is not alright.

“Why do we have to start here?!”

There was a very good reason why I nearly had a panic attack in the middle of a crowded shopping centre. Specifically, it was caused by the shop that we were standing just outside of.

“Exposure therapy is the most effective form of therapy!” Emily stood in front of me holding a finger in the air like a teacher, looking thoroughly satisfied with herself. “You need to get used to the way you look, and what better way than looking at yourself naked in the mirror?”

“Are you, um, listening to what you’re saying?”

We’re being stared at!

 

“Anyway,” She reached forward and grabbed my hand, forcefully pulling me into a shop that, unfortunately, specialised in underwear. “This is the most important thing right now, so let’s go!”

 

Three steps in, and my face was already bright red.

 

I tugged on Emily’s hand a little, desperately trying to not look at either the racks of clothes, or the mannequins.

“Um, can you… pick things out for me? Please?”

“Woah, you’re… yeah, maybe this was too much. My bad, I’ll pick a few things out for you. But, “

She lifted my face with her hand, forcing me to look directly at her. “You need to try them on yourself, okay? I gave you all the primers, so you should be fine.”

Pulling me over to the changing rooms, she told me to “wait there for a bit,” and ducked into the maze of clothes racks. A few moments later, she returned carrying a few coat-hangers, all containing various kinds of bras.

That was quick!

 

“Here, I got you a few sports bras, and a few t-shirt bras. They should do you for a while. They’re all the same size, so go try this one on.” Picking one out, she held it out towards me. Well, best to try and get it over with.

She saw me off into the changing rooms with an energetic pose and a “Do your best!”

 

Stepping inside the changing room, I froze for a moment upon seeing the mirror. Wow, when I’m wearing these clothes, I really do look like just any other girl you’d see on the street. Placing my backpack on the ground, I slipped off my t-shirt, followed by the camisole, before picking up the bra Emily had handed to me. I stood there staring at it for a while, as if I wasn’t quite sure of the actions to take in order to proceed. Of course, I knew how to put it on, but it still felt like I was holding some kind of mysterious object, rather than an everyday piece of clothing.

...Alright, enough staring. Time to get this actually over and done with.

 

A few minutes and a very red face later, I called out Emily’s name, to which she stuck her head through the curtain.

“How is it? Comfortable?”

“Weird, mostly.”

“Try moving around a little, like twisting your body.”

I followed her directions, moving around in the small space of the changing room.

“Any discomfort?”

“...not that I can tell?” I really don’t know, since I’m not sure what I should be looking for.

 

“Well, let’s go with that. Get dressed again, and we’ll go pay and move on. Hopefully, the next shop should be a little easier.”

“Is it really alright to not try the other ones on? I mean, I’m not complaining, but-”

Emily flashed a smirk before replying.

“They’re all the same size, so as long as that one fits, you should be fine.”
After she pulled her head out from the curtain, I busied myself putting my clothes back on, trying the best I could to follow the same process Emily had put me through earlier.

 

Grabbing the bra I had tried on, now back on the hanger, I strolled out of the changing rooms to where Emily was waiting. She pushed the rest of the hangers she was holding towards me.

“There’s a few pairs of undies here too. You brought money, right?”

I didn’t actually know how much this was going to cost, so I brought both some loose change, and the card my parents were transferring my allowance to. Hoping that it didn’t dig in to my budget too much, I made my way to the counter. Emily followed a short distance away.

 

“How may I help you?” The clerk greeted me cheerfully, and I tried to respond while placing the bundle of bras on the counter. My voice caught in my throat as I realised, someone else is watching me buy A BUNDLE OF BRAS!

“Ah, I’m, uh,” I had a brief moment of panic before Emily swooped in, steadying my shaky hands with her own.

“You alright? I’m sorry, she’s very shy.” While talking to the cashier, she helped me open my bag and find my wallet.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” After the items had been scanned, the cashier continued. “That come to $183.70.”

Expensive!

 

“C-can I… pay by card?” I timidly held out my bank card.

“Yep, that’s fine.” The cashier reached around the counter to grab the requisite machine, holding it out towards me. After confirming that the transaction was completed, she neatly removed all of the hangers, before sliding all of my new acquisitions into a bag.

Wait, this bag has the shop’s logo!

I hurriedly stuffed the bag inside my backpack.

“Have a nice day.”

“Um, thanks!” I responded in a quiet voice. Emily placed a hand on my back, comforting me.

 

“You did great. Did you wanna take a break, or are you fine to keep going?”

It might be better if I took a break, but if I’m being honest, I just want to get this over with!

“I should be fine to keep going.” I flashed a weak smile towards Emily, who returned a much brighter one towards me.

“Alright, let’s go then. Onwards!” Grabbing my hand, she pulled me along to the next destination.

 

*****

 

“This store should be a bit easier, right?”

The store in question was a fairly standard clothing store, one that you would find in just about any big shopping centre.

Well, I don’t have to be naked as much, so I guess it’s easier?

Halfway through walking into the store, I froze. There was a prickling sensation on the back of my neck, and I saw something out of the corner of my eyes. I flicked my head around towards it.

Nothing…

“What’s up? Everything okay?” Emily turned back towards me, looking slightly concerned. I faced her again, giving her another smile.

“No, it’s nothing.”

What was that? It was flying just around the corner… a drone? I don’t even know if you’re allowed to fly a drone inside this place.

 

Moving inside, Emily started pulling me towards the women’s clothing section. I might still feel out of place here, but at least I’m not surrounded by underwear! Dragging me around a bunch of different shelves, she occasionally took pairs of pants and shorts from the racks we passed, before stopping near a shelf that had a number of generic blank shirts.

“Is this just because I don’t have a fashion sense?”

“Yep!”

Rude! I mean, I agree with you, but still…

“These are cheap, and easy to look after. Since you’re cute, you can get away with simple clothes like these.”

I started browsing through the various types of shirts sitting on the shelves. About five seconds later, my brain finally processed what Emily had said.

 

“Wait, what?”

“Like I said, you’re cute. You don’t have to dress up that much to get attention. With your face, you could pull off just about anything.”

I felt my cheeks slowly heating up as Emily was talking. Slowly turning my head, I spoke to her in a small voice.

“...am I red?”

“Yes, very. All the way to your ears. It’s kind of adorable.” Pausing for a moment, she looked directly into my eyes and continued.

“You’re probably going to get a lot of attention, whether you reveal that you used to be a guy or not. You give off the air of ‘someone to be protected’, so a lot of people are gonna talk to you, some of whom will have… ulterior motives.”

“That sounds rough.”

“That’s just what life is like for a girl.” The smile reappeared on her face soon after, as she kept going.

“Well, you’ll get used to it. And I can introduce you to some of my friends. If I just say that you’re really shy, they’ll help you out. They’re good girls.”

“Thanks…” I can’t just rely on her forever though. Hopefully, I’ll be able to stand properly on my own two feet soon enough.

 

“Anyway,” Emily grabbed a plain white shirt from the shelf and held it up against my torso. “Hold your arms up a bit.”

After staring at it for a moment, she put it back and took out a different shirt, this time a dark blue colour.

“Yeah, these should be fine for now. Go and try them on.” Taking a few more shirts out from the shelf, she held them out towards me. Receiving the bundle, I turned to walk towards the changing room. But, before I could move, Emily grabbed my arm.

“Not that way, remember? That’s the guys’ room.”

Ah. Right. Girls’ room.

 

Heading into the girls’ changing rooms, I closed the curtains and placed the small pile of shirts on the seat inside. Slipping my own shirt off, I paused for a moment. Should I take off my camisole too, and put on one of the bras? Inevitably, however, I decided against it, choosing to expose myself as little as possible.

I know it’s my own body, but I’m allowed to take baby steps in getting used to it, right?

 

The shirt was a little tighter than I was expecting. Though, the shirt I borrowed from Grace was fairly loose, since she was both taller and broader than I am now. I turned to face the mirror, and froze, feeling the same prickle on the back of my neck as before. Looking around rapidly, I tried to identify the source of the feeling. I could hear a faint noise, as well, like buzzing or fluttering, but I couldn’t find the origin of the sound. Presumably, whatever was making that noise was also the origin of the mysterious prickling feeling.

What was that? It felt like I was being watched or something. Haven’t got a clue what it was, though.

Soon after, the sensation receded, and I returned to trying on clothes.

 

Partway through the trying-on session, Emily popped her head in through the curtain. After startling me quite badly by doing that, so much so that I jumped and nearly hit my head on the wall, she handed over a few dresses while giggling uncontrollably.

Please don’t pay attention to the fact that I had taken my hair out of the ponytail, and was halfway through playing with it!

Taking the dresses Emily was holding out with a hand shaky from embarrassment, I began to have a troubling thought.

This… is actually kinda fun!

What was going on? I never would have expected… My train of thought was cut off halfway, as the light bulb above me loudly sparked, and went out.

“What happened? Why’d the light go out?” Emily peered her face, the only part of her sticking through the curtain, up towards the ceiling.

“I don’t know… Lemme just try these on and we can go grab lunch.”

Maybe it’s best not to worry about it! I’ve got bigger things going on than electrical issues. Though, the lights were acting weird back home, so… Nah, it’s probably nothing.

 

*****

 

A few more clothes and a slightly less stressful chat to a cashier later, and we were ready to head to the food court.

“As long as you wash them regularly, you should be able to get by with just those clothes.”

I couldn’t fit all of the bags into my backpack, so we were carrying one each. Reaching the food court, Emily grabbed my arm, trying to get my attention.

“I just thought of something. Just to be on the safe side, maybe get a smaller meal than you usually do. Girls eat less, after all, and your body is quite a bit smaller.”

“That’s true. I’ll…” What should I get?

“I’ll just get the same thing as you.”

Emily moved her grip down to my hand, pulling me along to the store of her choice.

“In that case, let’s go.”

 

We bought two hand rolls each from a sushi place, and made our way to an empty table. Sitting down to eat our meal, we were silent for a while, before Emily spoke up.

“How are you holding up so far?” The concerned look had returned to her face. Apparently, I looked rather stressed throughout this whole day.

“I’m alright. I’ll be glad when it’s over, though.”

“That’s good. We’ve got you all the clothes you’ll need for a while, so it’s just small items left, like deodorant, and a comb. We can-” Emily was about to continue, when she noticed a girl approaching our table. The visitor called out to her.

 

“Emily? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Zoey! Hey!”