Santa's Secret Transfic Anthology Vol. 2 / Holiday Treats #6

 

A Cutie for Christmas

by PunchlinePress

Chapter 1

“Goooooood morning!” an over-the-top male voice said over the radio positioned precariously upon the nightstand.

“It’s finally here, folks, December is upon us, which means it’s time to get in the ho-ho-holiday spirit,” his female co-host chimed in brightly.

I reached to swat the snooze button and buy myself ten more minutes of blissful sleep. The slap of flesh against plastic was not met with silence, though - rather with a sudden give, and then the sound of a heavy chunk of plastic and circuitry crashing to the floor. Then came the quiet. 

Shit.

I opened my eyes to see the blurry alarm clock laying in a busted heap on the cold tile floor of the dorm room. Well, that was going to be a problem. Next check isn’t coming until Friday. Guess I’m using my phone’s alarm until then. 

Heaving myself out of the warm, comfortable embrace of my bed and into the cold, harsh world we call reality is always a chore. This morning it was even colder than usual. Putting on my glasses, I could see that the small space heater in the corner of the dorm room had gone dark - throwing no blessed heat.

Great. Guess I need to replace that, too…

I groaned and shuffled over to my dresser, fishing out a clean pair of boxers, jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, and my trademark oversized hoodie complete with pins and patches. A quick glance in the mirror told me that my hair was as bland, brown, and unkempt as ever. There wasn’t really much point in putting effort into it, seeing as nobody was going to take an interest in a gargoyle like me.

Ever since the dreaded adolescence had come and gone, I’d shot up to six-foot-two, and was roughly as wide as a small barge. I didn’t work out or anything, but somehow my body still packed on a modest amount of muscle. The overall effect was to make me one tall, terrifying monster that everyone steered clear of.

Okay, maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but you learn to pick up on the fear in people when you see it often enough. Women moving further away, clutching their bags tightly, resting their hands on their keychain mace.

Life sucks when everyone sees you as a threat. Not that I can blame them, of course. I understood that women had to treat every guy as a threat because you couldn’t tell the good ones from the bad ones.

I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door, stopping to slip on my boots before heading out to my first class of the day.

The early December chill was real, and I wished I’d grabbed a heavier coat than just my hoodie. Oh well. I pulled the hood up against the cold breeze and shoved my hands into the front pocket. Waiting for the bus, I couldn’t help but notice the girl at the far end of the bench in her long coat, bundled up with a cute scarf and a knit cap. She looked so cozy, and despite all the layers, undeniably pretty. I wish that guys had more options like that. All we get are big blocky shapeless body bag jackets to insulate ourselves. Would it kill them to make cute clothes for guys?

I grumbled inwardly and did my best to minimize myself, as usual. I could already tell that the lady at the end of the bench was holding her bag closer, and had taken a few furtive glances at me. Granted, I had been looking at her outfit and she probably thought I was checking her out like some kind of creep. Great job being a neutral, non-threatening presence, Leon. I kicked myself and pinned my eyes to a spot on the pavement to wait for the bus.

When it arrived, I slunk to the back with the other scary dudes that sit at the back of the bus. It always freaked me out to hang out back here - like one of them might shiv me or something, but I couldn’t expect a normal person to share a seat with me at the front of the bus, and it would be rude of me to force my presence on some girl by sitting next to her.

Thankfully, this route wasn’t super crammed full of people, and it was a short ride from my dorm building to the campus.

When the bus pulled up to the campus stop, several of us got up and shuffled our way to the door. I took the rear door to avoid having to move past anyone and make them uncomfortable.

The campus was always beautifully decorated and laid out, but I wish they’d thought to perhaps not put the Programming course in the building farthest from everything else. By the time I made it there, I was practically frozen, and the thin lining of my hoodie was doing absolutely nothing to keep me warm. I really need to get a new hoodie, but this one is so comfy. I’ve been wearing it since like, freshman year of high school. The pins and patches all over it were a tapestry of my life thus far!

As I reached for the door that would take me to the warm sanctuary of Programming class, a hand caught the door knob ahead of mine. It belonged to a girl with an undercut, her remaining hair was short, spiked, and tipped with purple. She paused when our eyes met, then smiled. 

That smile… normally when I meet eyes with a girl, I look away. I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable, after all, but this was different. Her eyes were the deepest green, and her smile was perfect. Not showing too much teeth, it didn’t look forced, and it just drew me in like a magnet. I wasn’t cold anymore. My entire body was heating up just from basking in her smile.

“Ladies first,” she said, holding the door open.

Ladies? My heart buzzed for a moment at the word. Were there other girls trying to come in behind me? Nope, just me. There’s no way she meant me, right? Oh, duh, she’s being sarcastic. Of course.

“Thanks,” I said as I stepped through the doorway and into the warmth.

“Anything for a cutie like you,” she said, following me inside.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of me being cute in any way. I was a bed-headed walking refrigerator. “Never been called a cutie before.”

The flannel-decked girl looked up at me - she was probably a good five inches shorter - and laughed. “Guess nobody looked close enough, then.”

We came to a stop at the intersecting hallways between Programming and Engineering, and as I turned to go left towards Programming, she turned right towards Engineering.

“Guess this is where we part ways,” I said lamely.

“Guess it is. See you around campus?”

“I guess you will,” I shrugged, smiling slightly.

“Good. Looking forward to it. See you around, girl.” 

I watched her walk off down the hallway, slack-jawed.

Had she called me a girl? She definitely had to be trolling me or something, right? Teasing me and having a laugh? There’s no way anyone would see me as a girl.

I picked my jaw up off the floor and stumbled my way towards Programming class. If that was any indication of how today was going to go, it was going to be a weird day. 

Thankfully, things settled down from there on out. I slouched to my usual spot at the back of the class and started setting up my laptop. Tyrese took his seat beside me and started doing the same.

“Morning,” he grumbled, sipping his overpriced bottled iced coffee.

“How can you even drink that stuff when it’s this cold, Ty?”

He shrugged, downing half the bottle. “Just prefer it this way.”

He doffed his coat, revealing his dark, toned arms. For a Comp Sci major, the dude was built. He was the one we called any time we needed to move stuff around the dorms. It also made it really easy for him to carry his girlfriend around campus whenever he wanted to embarrass her. I’d wondered before what it would be like to be that strong. I’d also wondered what it would be like to be carried like that. Oh well. Not that I’d ever find out.

The professor showed (late, of course,) and the lesson dragged on as it usually does. Ty made a few attempts to ping me on Discord, because trying to talk over the droning of Professor Snoreton was impossible without getting caught.

My mind wasn’t on class though. I was still trying to get over the flannel girl with the blue tipped hair, and why she had called me a girl.

The thought consumed me for the rest of the day, especially since I failed to catch up with her leaving the Comp Sci center after class. I beat myself up for not at least asking her name, much less her number.

Of course, if she had been trolling me, that would just have given her more to laugh about with her friends.

She didn’t seem the type to do that though, at least not from my very quick appraisal. Not that we’d said much to each other.

Those nagging thoughts didn’t finally relent until I crashed into bed that night, ready to sleep off the day’s worries.

Chapter 2

The following morning arrived with the sharp beeps of my phone alarm. It was a solid downgrade from the perky morning show hosts that usually woke me up. Knowing that I couldn’t easily silence it, I gave in and sat up, fishing around the end table for my glasses. With them firmly placed on my face I could finally see to shut off the alarm.

My room was still freezing, so I wanted to be quick about getting changed and off to class where there would be working heat. 

Wait, shit, I have this morning off of classes… but I do have work. Okay. I guess I’m getting dressed for work instead.

I slid out of bed and stood, stretching out the kinks in my back. Except there were no kinks. I actually felt… great! Heck, I did a few stretches to limber up, and walked over to my dresser with a happy-go-lucky whistle.

I made it a few steps before my boxers started to slip down my legs. Weird. They’d always fit fine. Did I stretch them out in my sleep?

I grabbed for them and pulled them back up, glancing down. Huh… Was my sleep shirt always this baggy? Am I losing weight?

My phone alarm chimed again. Shit, I don’t have time to worry about this right now, I gotta get to work! I grabbed a change of clothes and dressed as quickly as I could. I’d worry about my laundry shrinkage situation later.

The run to the bus stop was even colder today than yesterday. I really need to invest in a coat.

I climbed onto the bus, glancing towards the ‘scary dudes’ section at the back. I’d only taken a couple steps when a hand caught my arm.

“There’s a seat here, if you don’t want to sit back there.” A smartly-dressed young businesswoman said, smiling gently up at me. 

There’s no way I can sit beside her, right? Is she hitting on me or something? Nobody has ever offered me a seat on the bus before.

The bus shuddered and began to depart, and I was in no mood to attempt bus surfing today, so I took the offered seat.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you on the morning bus before. Are you new in town?” the businesswoman asked.

“Huh?” I’d definitely ridden this bus plenty of times, and I even remember seeing this woman before. “No, I uh, I ride this bus all the time actually.”

“Really? I guess I must never have noticed before! Do you usually sit in the back with all the guys? Doesn’t that worry you?”

“What? Why would it worry me?” I asked, putting on a brave face. Clearly a brave guy like me would never be brutally mugged by back-of-the-bus thugs, and I definitely don’t spend a lot of bus rides worrying about that.

“Wow… tall and brave. Some girls have it all!” she laughed.

I was about to agree with her until I realized what she had said. Was she calling me a girl? Why did that make my stomach do little flips and get all buzzy inside? Two different women in two days calling me a girl. That had to be a coincidence, right? Like, nobody ever mistook me as a girl before. 

I brushed an errant lock of hair behind my ear, making a mental note to get a haircut soon, and nodded a half-hearted agreement to her previous comment.

Thankfully, she was distracted by her phone a moment later, and remained so for the rest of the bus ride. Trying to make small talk with someone that had called me a girl would just be embarrassing, because she’d eventually realize she was wrong… and that she had invited some creepy guy to sit with her. 

I climbed off the bus at the downtown stop and made the three block walk to the coffee shop that I called my part-time employer. Stomping Grounds was one of those ‘trying really hard to be casual and hip’ coffee shops. The owners were a couple of really nice girls who had started it up after they had escaped from the corporate rat race elsewhere. 

Thankfully, they believed in keeping uniforms minimal, so it was just jeans and a company t-shirt, plus an apron. I stepped into the back to change out of my hoodie and into the apron.

“Hey Lee,” Anna said as I joined her behind the counter.

“Morning,” I replied, putting on my cheerful customer service face and voice.

Thankfully, the clientele here was pretty relaxed. Mostly college students looking to caffeine powerload and take advantage of the superior WiFi. That being the case, we had our regulars that we got all the time, and the occasional stray new face checking the place out.

It was nearly three in the afternoon, the end of my shift, when she came in. Those purple highlights were very distinct. 

Of course Anna was busy with another customer, so it fell to me to take her order as she approached the counter.

“Welcome to Stomping Grounds, what can I get for you?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t remember me.

“Oh, hey!” She beamed her amazing grin at me, instantly blasting through any defenses.

“H-hey,” I stammered, smiling awkwardly. “Never seen you around here before…”

“Oh, yeah, I decided to check it out for the first time. I’ll definitely be stopping by more often now that I know cute girls work here.” She winked, leaning on the counter slightly.

Okay… what’s this girl’s problem? She keeps calling me cute, calling me a girl, and then that businesswoman today, too…

“I think I’ll have the Metro Mocha Mambo,” she said, pointing at the menu board.

Shit. Okay, now I can’t bring it up because it would be awkward. “Sure thing, uh, that’ll be nine ninety-five. Name for the order?”

“Sure, it’s Molly.” She pulled her card out of her wallet and waited to swipe it.

I set the transaction in motion, waited for her to swipe her card, tapped a few more buttons, asked if she wanted a receipt, and then saw what she’d written in for a tip. 

“Wait, are you sure you wanted to put that much? That’s half the cost of your drink…”

“Of course. Cute girls get good tips.” She smiled and took her receipt from my stunned fingers, moving back to wait for her drink.

My brain was stuck in some kind of white noise loop. 

Why does she keep calling me a cute girl?

Why does it make my stomach feel funny when she does?

Why do I want her to keep doing it?

A few minutes later, Micah handed me her drink from his mixing station in the back. I placed it on the pickup counter “Molly?”

She returned swiftly to pick up her drink, grinning at me. “I could get used to you calling out my name, cutie.”

I felt my face burning as it lit up with a blush. Nobody was ever that forward with me!

“What would you say to grabbing a bite and a drink tonight? Eight p.m. at the Quayside?”

I nodded numbly, still stunned by her flirtatious nature. At the very least I could use this as a chance to talk to her about this whole ‘girl’ nonsense. 

“Great,” she put down a slip of paper that had been folded in half. “My number, just in case anything comes up.” She turned with drink in hand and left the coffee shop without another word or a backwards glance.

“Dang, that girl was hardcore flirting with you,” Anna said, grinning as she nudged me out of the way so she could grab something from under the counter.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “That never happens to me.”

“I don’t believe that, girl. You’re freaking cute.”

My brain sank back into the white noise again. I’d known Anna for a little over a year since I had started working here, and she knew I was a guy. She only called me Lee cause it ‘sounded better than Leon’ or something.

So why is she calling me a girl now, too?!

“Did you just call me ‘girl’?” I asked incredulously. 

“Huh? Oh, I guess I did. Sorry. You just kinda remind me of my girlfriends. No offense.”

What was that supposed to mean? I mean, not that I was adverse to it. I’d always wanted to be that guy who earned honorary ‘one of the girls’ status, but I was just too intimidating to do so. 

It’s all just a coincidence that two people called me a girl after Molly did, right?

I’ve definitely got to ask her about it on our date tonight.

Shit, do I even have anything nice enough to wear on a date?

I’ll have to dig through my closet when I get back to my dorm.

Chapter 3

I hadn’t really bothered with looking at my reflection apart from my face since this weirdness had started… but now, standing in front of the full length mirror on the back of my closet door, I could tell something was definitely going on.

Firstly, I was shorter. Like, noticeably so. I used to be well over the top of my dresser, even this morning when I grabbed my wallet off of it, but now I was chin level to the top of it. Which meant I had to have lost like four inches, at least, since this morning. I hadn’t even noticed.

Why hadn’t anyone else said anything, either? 

Anna and Micah had both let me work my full shift without any comment, and yet… here I was, visibly shorter, slimmer… softer?

I brought a hand to my face, touching it gently. Definitely softer.

Girlier

The thought sent my heart into a buzzing tailspin. The girl in the mirror was smiling back at me. 

Wait, but she’s not a girl. She’s not even a she, That’s me. I’m the one in the mirror.

Thinking of that as my reflection, as me, it didn’t fit. I wasn’t a girl, no matter how much I had wanted to be one throughout my life.

That’s just not how it works.

I can’t just wake up one day and be a girl.

Well, I definitely don’t have anything that’ll fit me, now.

Looks like I’m going to have to run down to the thrift shop to try to find something I can wear for my date tonight… unless…

I go digging through my drawers to find the one outfit I know should be there. Something my former roommate left behind when he graduated. A relic of his crossdressing hobby.

I have no idea why I bothered to hang onto it, but I’m glad that I did.

The knee length black dress unfolds from the grocery bag as I lift it up, staring in moderate awe at the garment.

If I had to guess, I’d say my former roomie was about the same size I am now, maybe a little broader. Thankfully this dress was bought with a male frame in mind, so it would help minimize my lack of curves - well, my lack of filled out curves. The dip at my waist was hard to miss, even if there weren’t any spectacular hips for that dip to flow down into.

Holding the dress up in front of myself in the mirror causes my heart to skip a beat and my stomach to roar to life with its buzzing flippity-flops. The girl in the mirror is blushing again, and smiling ear to ear. She looks so happy.

But she’s not me, she isn’t me, I’m not her. I want to be so badly, but I’m not.

Why am I even thinking about wearing this? What’s Molly going to think if I show up wearing this? I can’t do it. 

I return the dress to the bag as if it were a sacred artifact, and grab a pair of ‘presentation clothes’ - khaki slacks and a white button down shirt - from my closet. Thankfully, I had learned how to sew from YouTube tutorials when I was in high school, so it’s an easy fix to hem up the pant legs and shirtsleeves. 

The shoes would be a bit harder. Even slipping them on I could tell my feet were practically falling out of the now oversized size twelves. 

I settled for balling up some socks in the toes of the shoes to make them a snugger fit, and stepped in front of the mirror to see the overall result.

My heart sank when I saw the scrawny gi- person in the mirror. I looked androgynous, bordering on feminine, but in a way that screamed ‘forced to wear guys clothing’. Like a trans girl being forced to go guy mode to make her parents happy, or something.

My eyes stung as I held back the tears that wanted to come. I wondered what I would look like in that black dress. I wanted to rip it back out of the bag and pull it on.

I wanted to show up and have Molly call me a girl again.

Instead, I was going to arrive dressed like some pre-pubescent boy trying to impress his date by seeming more mature.

I fished a jacket out of my closet to hide in the confines of and hopefully bulk up my appearance somewhat. 

Unfortunately, it was also rather oversized on me, and with it all buttoned up, it did little to help the whole ‘boy-dressing-older’ look I had going. 

Oh well, fuck it. I’m not going to get any better than this. I’ll just go to lunch, find out what Molly’s deal is, and move on with my life. I’m sure once I call her out on her completely unfunny joke of calling me a cute girl, she’ll stop.

=====

Quayside wasn’t a place I particularly went to often. It was a more upscale surf-and-turf style place, which put it well outside of my college kid budget. 

Molly was waiting for me in the lobby, and smiled as she saw me enter. “Hey there, cutie,” she said, winking.

“Uh, hey.” Woah. She looks incredible in that womens suit jacket. I was expecting her to wear a dress or something, but… wow. She clearly didn’t need a dress to look feminine and beautiful.

“I’m a little disappointed you didn’t wear a dress or something nicer, but I guess your awkward boyish charm is just part of the package,” Molly teased.

“About that, I-” I started, only to be interrupted by the maitre d’.

“How many in your party?” he asked.

“Two,” Molly replied quickly.

“This way, ladies.” He smiled, leading the way through the restaurant to our table, nestled in the back corner. 

What was the deal with everyone else being in on this weird joke of calling me a girl? Did I have some kind of cosmic sign on my back?

“Your waiter will be with you in a moment. Enjoy your meal, ladies.” He smiled and departed back to his podium in the lobby.

“So,” she ventured, smiling at me across the table. “Have you ever been here before?”

“A couple times, but not recently. Money has been tight this semester. Easier to just survive on cup ramen.”

“Ah, yeah, I feel that. That was me last semester.”

The waiter arrived to take our drink order, and left us with our menus to decide on food.

“So, uh, I wanted to ask you,” I began, nervously tapping the menu. “Why, uh… why do you keep calling me a girl?”

“Huh?” She looked genuinely perplexed. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re a girl, aren’t you?”

Yes. Oh god, yes. I want to be a girl so badly!

“No, I’m clearly a guy!” I said hastily before my thoughts could betray me further. 

“Oh,” she frowned, looking me over thoroughly. “Are you sure?”

“What? Of course I’m sure, I mean, I was born a guy.” Which meant I couldn’t be a girl. That’s just how it was. My pastor had told me when I was little, when I told him I wanted to be a girl. Shortly before we stopped going to that church.

At that moment, the waiter returned for our orders. Molly got some lobster thing, and I opted for the shrimp scampi.

The moment he was gone, she leaned in a bit. “Okay, look, I have something to confess,” she said.

Great. Finally, some answers. The big reveal that this was all some stupid prank her friends put her up to, or something.

“I can see soul auras, and, uh, help people whose body doesn’t fit their soul to, uh, fit better.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “So you’re just crazy then?”

She scowled. “First off, rude. Secondly, no, I’m not crazy. Are you trying to say you haven’t noticed the changes to your body?”

“Er, well…” Of course I had noticed them. “I did, but what am I supposed to believe, that some cute girl I met on campus is turning me into a girl by calling me cute and treating me like a girl?”

“Pretty much,” Molly nodded. “I’m a witch who’s big on being happy with your body, and I could tell right away how miserable you were in yours.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I said, folding my arms below my tender chest. “I’ve always been happy with who I am,” I lied.

Why was it so hard to tell her the truth? That I wanted to be a girl? That I loved the idea that she could make me one?

“Right, well if you were so comfortable, I can just reverse everything I’ve done and–”

“No!” I snapped - perhaps a bit too loudly - drawing attention from nearby tables. “Er,” I lowered my voice again, “I altered these clothes to fit, so if you changed me back they’d look stupid.”

Molly shot me an impish grin. “Of course that’s why you don’t want me to turn you back. What if I told you I could fix your clothes at the same time so you wouldn’t ‘look stupid,’ huh?”

My heart was aching in my chest at the idea of changing back. Further away from how I wanted to be. 

“Please don’t,” I said, barely above a whisper.

Molly didn’t fire back a quick quip, or a cutting remark. She nodded and smiled. “Alright, I won’t. Now, are you going to settle down and enjoy a nice lunch date with me, or not?”

“Uh, yeah… I’ll settle down. Sorry.” I folded my hands on the table and fidgeted with them.

“Good girl,” Molly said with a smile.

Oh…

Oh man, that was…

My stomach was on spin cycle, the butterflies inside of it zooming around like they had places to be and no time to get there. 

I felt my face heat up with a blush, and I tried to look away to hide it from her.

“You’re cuter when you blush,” she giggled.

Aaaaaaa…… the world was all soft white noise and warm bubbly feelings again.

When the waiter finally returned with our food, I had actually managed to recover enough to thank him, and eat without making a fool of myself.

Molly relented in her teasing (flirting?) and let our conversation drift to small talk about classes, the weather, and other such banal things.

When the check came, she snagged it before I even had a chance.

“Hey, wait, it’s, uh… the guy’s place to pay…” I said lamely.

“What is this, the nineteen twenties? Besides, I don’t see any guys at this table.”

I felt my face warm again. Why was she so good at making it do that?!

She took out her card, signed the receipt and added a tip before putting it aside for the waiter. He quickly handled the transaction, and we were free to go on our way.

“Did you enjoy your lunch?” she asked, walking with me to the bus stop.

“I did,” I nodded, hands shoved into my coat pockets.

“I’d love to do it again some time… maybe something a little later? Like dinner at my place?”

I tripped over my own two feet, taken aback by her forward invitation. First off, she might be nice out in public, but what if she was some kind of crazy person that tried to murder me the moment I got to her place?

But then… why bother with the whole turning me into a girl thing? Did she only want to murder girls?

More importantly, why her place? No, I’d flip the tables. “How about my place instead?” I asked. At least I knew my place. I knew where I could run if she broke out the murder knife.

“Oh? Sounds good. Text me your address. What time should I come over?”

“How about seven?”

“Seven it is. See you then, beautiful.”

I felt my face ignite again as she continued walking past the bus stop, leaving me with a bunch of other people waiting for mass transit.

And so it was that I had set up a date for dinner and/or a bit of casual murder.

Chapter 4

Keeping my mind on my homework that evening was nearly impossible. I couldn’t get Molly’s words out of my head, and the idea that I’d keep changing.

Would I be completely female by the end of this?

I smiled at the thought and twirled a lock of hair around my finger. 

Wait, since when was my hair long enough to do that?

I went to the mirror and checked. Sure enough it had grown since earlier in the day. It nearly touched my shoulders now, hanging in cute waves.

I smiled at the girlish reflection, turning side to side.

“Hi, I’m–” I immediately cut myself off. The masculine voice didn’t fit my face at all, and it made my heart sink through the floor. I was suddenly and painfully aware of all the things about my body that screamed male. 

My eyes stung as tears built, and then spilled forth down stubbly cheeks.

I couldn’t handle this anymore. I just wanted to be… to be different. 

I flipped off my lights before shucking my clothes and climbing into bed, hoping for a better tomorrow.

==========

The shrill alarm of my phone dragged me once more from slumber. I really need to get a new alarm clock.

Rolling over, I was immediately met with a sharp pain in my chest, causing me to yelp and flop back from whence I had come.

What the fuck was that?!

The pain, sure, but also that girly yelp!

“Testing, testing?” I felt my heart leap in my chest. I sounded like a girl!

I sat up quickly and flung myself out of bed, immediately feeling weight settle on my chest with a new jiggling sensation that accompanied a similar sensation from my behind and legs.

I ran to my mirror, eager to see the results of a night’s rest.

Woah.

I’d lost even more height! I couldn’t be more than five-foot-four, tops.

Furthermore, the shirt I’d worn to bed was now practically hanging off my slim frame. I wrapped my arms around myself in a hug, revealing just how slender I was now. Looking at my reflection, there was no doubt that I was a girl.

I did a spin right there, watching my makeshift t-shirt dress spin and flare out.

Hehehe…

I spun again, faster this time, causing the curtain of shoulder length hair to flare out like my skirt had, which was cute until it all slapped me in the face when I stopped.

I couldn’t hold it in, I broke down into a fit of giggles that sounded so right to my ears.

How had I lived my life without this until now!?

I practically skipped to my bathroom, and leaned in close to the bathroom mirror.

“Good morning~” I sang to my reflection, giggling again.

This was amazing!

I felt so light. So happy!

My phone rang in the other room, so I ventured back out to retrieve it.

Molly’s name flashed up on the screen and I quickly answered it.

“Good morning, cutie,” Molly said.

“Good morning!” I cheerily replied.

“Wow, you sound adorable, I can’t wait to see you tonight. We’re still on, right?”

“Definitely! Oh, but I need to run out and get some clothes… nothing I own is going to fit me right anymore. Well. Almost nothing.” I thought back to that dress in the bottom drawer. I wondered how it would fit me now.

“I can’t wait to see what you pick out! See you at seven.”

“See you,” I said, hanging up.

Okay. Now I just need to get clothes… which means I need something to wear out to get clothes.

I guess that little black dress is my only hope.

But I don’t have any underwear to wear under it, and it’ll definitely show off everything.

Okay, one last trip in guy mode then!

I fished out some athletic Under Armor shorts and slipped them on, followed by an undershirt, jeans (with a belt I had to cut a new notch in so they’d stay up) and a long sleeve t-shirt.

I looked like a girl wearing her boyfriend’s clothes, which made me giggle all over again.

The shoe situation was somehow even worse than the day before, so I padded them out a bit more and checked to be sure they wouldn’t go flying off my feet while I walked.

Now I just had to get to the mall and get an outfit or two before tonight!

Waiting for the bus, I realized just how weird it was to be the shortest person in a given crowd. There were a couple other ladies at the bus stop waiting, but they were all taller than me by an inch or two, or more, and the two guys at the other end of the bus station were huge.

Was I that tall as a guy, or were these guys like giants!?

When the bus pulled up, I was easily able to snag a seat towards the front, and a girl swung in beside me without a second glance.

I was here. I did it! I belong! I’m a girl!

I had to remind myself not to burst out giggling joyously because everyone would definitely think I was crazy.

Instead I just celebrated in my head, reveling in the moment.

==========

Shopping had been an absolute blast, but a huge drain on my finances. Even just getting the underwear and bras at the mall and saving the rest of my spending for a thrift shop was pricey.

I guess dinner tonight is going to be a bit more budget than I thought.

I stopped by the market on the way home, grabbing a few packs of instant ramen, some chicken, and some veggies for a stir fry. A quick stop by the sauces aisle got the last of what I needed, and I was outta there with a reasonably affordable meal for Molly and I to enjoy.

I’d nearly died when the cashier said ‘have a nice day, ma’am’ to me on my way out.

Ma’am.

I was a ‘ma’am’ now!

Well. That made me sound kind of old, so maybe more like a ‘miss’, but dated customer service language is what it is.

I returned to my dorm and its tiny kitchen, tossing everything into the fridge to hang out until I was ready for it.

The meal I had in mind wasn’t going to take long to prepare, which was great because I needed that extra time for something more important - learning how to style my hair and get pretty for my date!

==========

I really wished I could have afforded some makeup, but it was way out of my budget, and I had no idea what I was doing with it anyway. At least my hair looked decent by the time I was done.

Dinner was almost ready, and I looked amazing (if I do say so myself) in the little black dress I’d picked up at the thrift shop - I wanted one of my own, not a roomie’s old crossdressing leftover - and matching-ish strappy black one-inch heels. I had to keep it modest. Breaking an ankle was not a good date night.

The doorbell rang at seven on the dot, and I hurried over, smoothing out my dress before I opened the door.

“Hi,” I said timidly.

“Wow,” Molly replied, eying me from head to toe and back again. “You look incredible.”

“Thanks,” I blushed, “so do you.” It was true. She looked stunning in her fitted button-down, vest and black slacks. I wondered if she always dressed more masculine.

Not that it mattered. I think she was just as beautiful in her current attire as she’d likely be in a dress.

“Nice place you have. I assume. I haven’t really seen much from the hallway,” she said, grinning.

“Oh,” I blushed harder. “C-come on in.” I stepped aside to let her in, then closed the door behind her.

“Okay, so it’s a little spartan in here, but that’s fine. Little decoration and it’ll be perfect.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry, I uh, I hadn’t… really decorated much. I was afraid to put up the kinda stuff I liked.”

“Because it’s too girly?” Molly asked, grinning.

“Y-yeah,” I nodded.

“Well, no worries about that now, huh?”

“I guess not,” I smiled nervously.

“You sure have come a long way from yesterday’s whole denial and ‘being a guy’ thing. Not that I mind.”

“Well… yeah… after we talked, I got to thinking, and uh, I really didn’t want to go back to being how I used to. I wanted to… well, I wanted to be this.”

I threw my arms wide, doing a little spin. Hehehe. I’ll never get tired of the way skirts spin with me~

“Skirt goes spinny,” Molly said.

“Huh?”

“Nevermind,” she laughed. “So what’s for dinner?”

“Chicken stir fry ramen!”

“Seriously? Ramen? Romantic,” she giggled.

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it! It’s pretty good budget food!” I swept back to the kitchenette and tossed the finishing touches on the bowls, setting one out for her and one for me, followed by some chopsticks - the reusable kind that you wash, not the disposable kind. I do have some class for a date night meal!

“This is actually really good,” Molly said between mouthfuls.

“Right?” I smiled. “I can’t do much but I can definitely cook!”

“And sew, apparently. Someone’s training to be a good housewife~”

I laughed, tossing her own words back at her. “What is this, the nineteen-twenties?” 

“Touché. Still, I can’t do any of that stuff, so I think it’s cool that you can.”

“Nobody ever told me it was cool before. Just that it wasn’t ‘expected’ of a guy like me.”

“Well, that’s just bullshit. Any gender can and should learn to cook. Sewing is a cool bonus.”

“I guess so. I just uh, I wanted to learn to do it because I used to help my mom in the kitchen until I started getting older, then it wasn’t “cool” anymore.”

“Oh? Such a good girl helping her mom in the kitchen~” Molly teased.

I blushed, smiling. “Y-yeah, I guess so.” 

The cheerful ringtone of my phone (which had always gotten me weird looks for being ‘girly’ pop-punk) broke up the smalltalk.

The name on the screen broke everything.

“Mom”

Chapter 5

The ominous ringing of the phone had completely killed the conversation.

“Are you gonna answer that?” Molly asked, chuckling.

“It’s my mom.”

“Oh,” Molly quirked a brow. “Are you not speaking to her, or…?”

“How am I supposed to speak to her when I sound like this!?”

“What? You sound cute!” Molly insisted.

“I sound like a GIRL!” I pouted.

“Oh, right. I guess the spell isn’t finished yet… so that could be an issue.”

“How can the spell not be finished? I’m fully a girl!”

“Physically, maybe, but uh… did you think I was going to cast a spell to give you your preferred body and then not have it change you to always being a girl in peoples’ memories? Do you even know how poorly coming out as trans goes for some people? I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” Molly looked momentarily haunted by something, but it quickly passed.

“Wait, so you’re making it so that nobody will remember I was a guy?” I asked.

“Something like that, yeah. Well, you and I will.” Molly waved her hand as if to dismiss any other questions.

“Wait, but what are they going to call me?”

“Guess that depends on you. What do you want them to call you?”

I hadn’t thought of that… What did I want them to call me?

Leon was a fine name, but it wasn’t a girl’s name, not for me at least.

I thought back to when my parents were going to have another child - before mom miscarried. They had said if it was a girl, her name would be…

“Meghan.”

“Ooo, cute, I like it. Nice to meet you, Meghan.” Molly smiled brightly.

Just hearing her say that name… my new name. It all clicked. It felt right. Meghan hadn’t been born, hadn’t had a chance at life, but I did - I was going to give life my all, for her sake, and mine.

“You should really call your mom back though, or at least listen to the voicemail,” Molly added.

“Oh, right,” I grabbed my phone and swiped to unlock it. Facial recognition immediately recognized me, which it had been doing, but somehow I didn’t realize that was weird until this moment.

Steeling myself, I tapped on the voicemail from mom and let it play.

“Hey Meg, it’s just mom, I guess you’re busy. I know we have’t talked in a while, but still, I hope you’re doing well, sweetie. I was just calling to see if you were planning on coming home from college for the holidays. We’ve got more than enough room for you, if you want to come home to stay, or visit, or… you know, anything. We miss having our little girl around the house. Anyway, call me back when you get this, if you can. Love you, Meg. Byebye!” 

I felt tears build and spill forth. My mom and I hadn’t really been on good speaking terms for a while, so this call was very unexpected. 

Suddenly my phone was making a call.

“What the?”

“Oh oops looks like someone hit the call button on the voicemail~”

“Molly, you–”

“Hello? Meghan? Oh dear, I’m so glad you decided to call back!”

“Ah, h-hey, Mom,” I forced a smile even though she couldn’t see it. 

“Did you get my message about Christmas and the holidays?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, Mom. I uh… wanted to let you know that I’ll, uh… I’ll be there.”

“Oh sweetheart, that’s wonderful news, your dad’ll be so happy.”

“She won’t be alone, either,” Molly chimed in. “She’s bringing her new girlfriend!”

Both my Mom and I went silent for a moment, and then in unison said: “What?”

Molly giggled fiercely. “You two are definitely mother and daughter. Yeah! Meg was just telling me that she wanted me to come home to meet her family! Right, Meg?”

It took a minute for my brain to restart. “O-oh, yeah, sure, definitely.” 

“Oh, lovely, I look forward to meeting her then, dear. I’ll let you go, I know you two are probably busy! It was so lovely talking to you again.”

“Yeah. Nice talking to you again, Mom. See you soon.”

I hung up and looked over at Molly.

“Now wasn’t that easy?” Molly asked. 

“It really wasn’t your place to set that up… but thank you.”

“No problem, babe.” Molly winked.

“Wh-what? Babe?” I blushed fiercely. 

“What, do you not like ‘babe’? What should I call my cute new girlfriend then?”

Her girlfriend. Oh shit, right, she’d told Mom we were dating. Wait, are we dating? I don’t know!

“G-girlfriend? Uhhh…”

“I guess that was a little forward, huh?”

“Y-yeah, a little, but uh… I don’t hate the idea. I mean, I’d be okay with… being your girlfriend.” I blushed harder.

“Good. I’d be happy to be your girlfriend, too. Now come here, cutie.”

==========

“Girls, breakfast!” Mom’s voice came through my childhood bedroom’s door. 

I stirred from sleep to find Molly’s arm draped across me.

“Moll… Time to get up,” I nudged her. 

She nudged me back. “You first. Five more minutes.” She grinned.

“Okay, okay, fine. Needy brat.” I got up with a giggle, rummaging through my suitcase to grab a change of clothes. 

A quick shower, some makeup and hair styling, and I was set for Christmas morning with the family.

Molly took her turn after me, and came out looking as radiant as always.

“Ready?” Molly asked.

“Ready,” I nodded, taking her hand. We ventured downstairs to find my parents waiting in the dining room with a spread set out for Christmas breakfast.

“Good morning, girls,” Mom and Dad said shortly after one another.

“Morning Mom, Dad,” I smiled, giving them both a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Good morning, Mister and Missus Bradford,” Molly said charmingly.

“Have a seat, girls. After we eat, we’ll open presents!” Dad said, as if we were still easily excitable kids.

“Ah, but I already got my present,” Molly said. “I got this cutie!” She leaned over and gave me a quick kiss.

I felt my face go red with a blush. “Aaaaaa…..”

Mom and Dad laughed, and aside from my embarrassment, I felt like things had finally taken a turn for the better. 

Life could only get better from here on out. I’m looking forward to it!

~The End & Happy Holidays!~

 

Santa's Secret Transfic Anthology Vol. 2 / Holiday Treats #6

Follow to catch Guardian Angel on May 7th

Support the authors and get instant access to all stories and more for $6 on itch.io