Spotlights and Receipts
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As I made my way towards the bus stop the next morning my thoughts were spinning up a storm in my mind, as they had when I was supposed to be sleeping the previous night. What the hell was that thing? It’s image was burned in my mind, a terrifying amalgamation of lighting and a humanoid form made whole. What did it want from me? Why I couldn’t fully rule out violence, it didn’t seem like it wanted to hurt me or else that teleport it made wouldn’t have stopped so short. Even as I recalled the events immediately leading up to the incident; parting with Kayden, grabbing a couple hot dogs from a street vendor and heading home, I couldn't single out any one cause. It hadn't even been overcast that night. I sighed heavily. With the information on hand the best I could do was hope that thing wouldn’t ever show up again.

I rubbed my chest absentmindedly. The running around over the past few days had irritated my muscles again despite the undershirt I had been wearing. I really needed to figure out a solution to that.

While I was stuck on the bus, I decided I might as well pull out my phone and look up what an “Inverse” was since I had the time and had been putting off such a task until now. Once I narrowed my search to include only Alter related results, I was able to pull up a few relevant links. Inverses seem to pop up on a 1 out of 100 ratio to regular Alters who undergo less drastic or non-human transformations. There didn’t seem to be any concrete answers as to why that was.

I opened up Wikipedia to find some more information. It looked like Inverses didn’t show up very long after the first Alter sightings in France. The first documented case of an Inverse Alter seems to have been in Berlin, Germany in 1969 with Stefan Hoffmann, formerly known as Sabine Hoffmann. It looked like he first discovered his powers and significant shape changing abilities one night when attempting to help a mother cross the border wall into West Berlin. His ability to turn himself and other people intangible proved invaluable when crossing the gravel ground inside the “death strip” of the border. He went on to facilitate hundreds of crossings while maintaining the two dual identities. Authorities were never able to track him as he would shift back into his default form to fool pursuers. Upon the destruction of the berlin wall in 1989 he would go on to cement his identity as Stefan Hoffmann-- okay, let’s look at a different result.

I continued scrolling on the page and found a short summary of the life of Marceline Alvillar, an Alter who was first identified as Mariposa in 1971. They were a local hero in Valencia, Spain and prevented crimes against women and advocated for the equal treatment of women throughout the country. After the democratization of the country she went on to adopt the name Marceline on a full time basis and-- okay, next result.

Angelica Clariesse, a New York resident who came out publicly as an Inverse Alter in 1973 when walking defiantly in her Altered state alongside activist Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in the city’s pride parade. She would later adopt her altered form on a permanent basis and-- okay, I was starting to see a pattern. I read dozens more accounts of individuals who were like me, who were Inverse like I was, and almost all of them ended exactly the same way. But that couldn’t be right. I knew I wasn’t like that, I couldn’t be transgender. The way dad always spoke of them, they were always so flamboyant and, and… well Cass wasn’t like that. But wasn’t she just different from the rest of them? I closed my phone and stuffed it in my pocket as the bus rolled to a stop.

Walking onto campus this morning was immediately different than it had been the morning prior, several dozen colorful posters were plastered all over the school sign and exterior of the building itself proudly displaying a few figures playing in dim light.

The Stink Peaches!

Tonight only, Crowbar’s Keep 10:00pm

 

I smiled. Looks like Sammy was getting the word out to others after all. I’d have to try and head to that show tonight, Mom shouldn’t still be mad at me, right? Regardless, I’d try to find a way to be there.

The hallways were buzzing with voices when I entered the school, each sharing plans for the upcoming weekend. One of the students whose name I’d learned was Courtney Marsh, a taller African-American guy with multi-colored braids and very fashionable clothes seemed quite excited to be tagging along with his uncle to a fashion show downtown. Another student, Angus Clemmons who I’d seen in gym, was whispering amongst his group of nerdy friends that he’d picked up the new online strategy game and was excited to dive in after school.

I smiled and continued to my locker. While they’d be occupied with those boring endeavors, I’d be dashing through the city at top speed, helping Kayden with crime and… and— my thoughts hesitated as I opened my locker. What was that last night with Kayden? When they were surrounding me in their arms, things seemed to slow down, and not in the usual way. I’d never felt anything like that before, and if I was being honest, I wanted to feel it again. My smile returned, I grabbed my books from my locker and closed the metallic door to reveal Cass leaning against the neighboring locker with a pensive look on her face.

“C-Cass!” I gasped.

“Gavin,” she replied quietly. She looked tired, the dark rings were under her eyes on seemed to indicate that she hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. I could feel a swirl of emotions stirring in me at the thought of what she’d said yesterday. No, I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with this.

“See you,” I mumbled, and quickly made my way from my locker. Cass followed in pursuit.

“Gav, wait,” she called, struggling to catch up to me as I weaved through the bustling groups of students. Realistically I knew that she had the same first period as me as well as gym, but I didn’t really spare that a thought. I strode into Ms. Catarelli’s room and marched up to her as Cass entered.

She looked startled by my zeal as she finished a gulp of coffee from her thermos. “Good morning, Gavin. What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I know class starts in a few minutes, but can I go to the bathroom? I promise not to make a scene if you’re talking when I get back,” I asked. Her expression relaxed somewhat.

“Sure, I suppose. Do make sure to not be too visible when you get back,” she replied with a half smile. I nodded and quickly slipped out the door towards the bathroom. I caught a frustrated look from Cass in the doorway as I looked over my shoulder. A small pang of guilt registered within me. She really didn’t deserve this treatment. Nonetheless, when I returned to class I continued to ignore her through the rest of class and fled the room once the bell rang before she could strike up the earlier conversation again.

Second period turned to third as my insides churned in anxiety over how I’d keep avoiding Cass. It was clear I wouldn’t be able to do so forever, but maybe if I bought myself enough time I could figure this out. I walked into the breezy gymnasium and found most of the students filing into the locker rooms as usual, however Mrs. Bittinboulder was standing in front of a light blue cloth bin on wheels, scowling down at her clipboard. I gave her a quick greeting as I passed.

“Morning, Mrs. Bittinboulder.”

“Get dressed, Mr. McArthur,” she spat, clearly frustrated by something.

“Ma’am?” I questioned, stopping in my tracks. She looked up at me with a deep frown lining her face.

“I said get dressed, Gavin. I want everyone to have their suits on today.” I nodded hesitantly and continued into the locker room. Thank god I’d stolen that suit. Despite all the problems stealing that spare suit had caused I felt justified in the face of this new hostility from Bittinboulder. I immediately found myself missing my reprieve from the locker room as the scent of man B.O. hit me like a wall upon my entry into the room. How wonderful.

Despite Bittinboulder’s requirement that I change for gym, I still sat up on the bleachers during class as she conducted exercises below. It was weird, when either myself or any other student came back into the gymnasium with our suits on Mrs. Bittinboulder only scowled harder and checked something on her clipboard. Did she know about the missing suit? If she did it didn’t look like she knew who took it, though, so maybe I was in the clear? I figured I’d keep my head down in the meantime until I was able to get more information.

Another game of dodgeball commenced below and once more I found myself fending off my idle thoughts in my boredom. Another stray pain shot through my chest and I struggled to keep my composure. I gritted my teeth and screamed internally. “HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO RUN WITH TITS ATTACHED TO YOUR CHEST?!”

A commotion drew my attention to the gym floor below. Angus Clemmons sat on the ground, nursing a reddened nose and grabbing for his glasses as a dodgeball rolled away from him.

“Thanks for the head shot, Mark-Ass,” he groaned. Markus was laughing loudly from the other side of the gym, clearly tickled by the hit he’d gotten on Angus. His goons on the other hand were shooting Angus a dark stare. Bittinboulder gestured for him to head to the sidelines which he obliged. “Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he looked around his team once he arrived back at the sidelines. “Did someone just think something really weird?” he asked in a small voice. Was his power telepathy? I pursued my lips, I’d have to be more careful about what I thought about in his presence. He looked around again, seeming to confirm he heard that thought at well. I groaned in frustration.

Cass was pretty involved in the class’ activities that day so thankfully I didn’t have to work too hard to avoid her. I was able to slip out of the gym after placing my suit in a bag with my name labeled on top and into the bin Bittenboulder had been standing around. I slipped out through the doors and into the hallway, confidently heading towards my next class before a clattering of metal caught my ear. I rounded a corner and encountered a small crowd of students facing inward towards some sort of argument. It didn’t take long for the annoying laughter of Kip, one of Markus’ boys, to ring out and alert me to what was up. I cut through the crowd to find Angus shoved roughly against a locker by Vince Marson with Kip Drew and Buckly McDonald making up the rear.

“Heard you call Markus a name, ey dickless?” Kip teased. Vince pushed Angus harder against the metal, causing Angus to groan. My blood began to boil as I watched pain flash across Angus’ face.

“Not cool, shrimp. You’re in no position to insult anyone,” he added, his deep voice echoing off the metal.

“Markus and us, we have an understandin’, we crack down on any piss-ants like you who disrespect him and he gives us the safe pass. You know how it goes,” Kip continued.

“Sure,” Angus wheezed, “I get that. Everyone has a boss.” I couldn’t just let Angus get hurt anymore by these dicks, especially since it seems like the whole thing was caused by me.

“Hey,” I called out, causing them to flinch. “Get off of him. What are you guys even doing, re-enacting the most cliche bullying scene from every teen movie ever?” The trio scowled at me and Kip made a grab in my direction, but his grasp slowed as it neared me. It wasn’t exactly the same sensation as when I was in my Alter form, it felt watered down and diluted. I remembered as I stepped to the side that this had happened before, when Markus had thrown a stray ball in my direction. I guess my reflexes were still enhanced even out of my Alter form. Maybe a good thing finally came of of all of this.

Kip shot me a quizzical look. “What was that?”

“What?” I shot back, “surprised by your sluggishness today, Drew?” He gave me an appraising look. Something was nagging at me. Was I forgetting something? Kip and Vince were in front of me, but where was...

“Something about you is off, McArthur.” I was about to say another smarmy comment before a rigid arm slammed me against the locker next to Angus.

“Ohhh, that’s where Buckley was,” I groaned into the locker door.

“That’s my specialty, sneaking up on dipshits like you, McArthur. Don’t think Markus hasn’t told us about you.”

“Oh, you guys talk about me, I’m flattered,” I said sarcastically. It probably would’ve sounded cooler if it didn’t need to reverberate off the locker surface first. I felt the elbow in my ribs push down harder.

“You’re lucky Markus has dibs on you, and who knows, he won’t be around forever. When he isn’t, then you’re mine,” Kip gloated. I groaned, the cold metal against my cheek was starting to chafe.

“Jesus, dude, fine I guess I’ll go on a date with you, but you really need to work on your pick-up style,” I continued. I felt the elbow in my ribs recede, and Angus and I slid down onto the floor in exhaustion. I looked up to see why they’d stopped antagonizing us and found Ms. Catarelli standing behind them looking quite cross.

“Get a move on, now,” she demanded. The students around us began to dissipate, including Kip, Buckley, and Vince. “Are you boys okay?” she asked in a concerned voice.

Angus and I shared a glance and instantly agreed, telling on them now would only bring more of their attention on us later.

“Yeah, they were just sour about a bet they’d lost,” I lied.

“Yeah, a bet.” Angus agreed. We’d both been the target of bullying before I surmised, so we both knew how this went.

“Okay,” Ms. Catarelli relented. “Just… if they give you any further trouble, please let me know.” Angus and I nodded. “Promise?” she added.

“We promise,” we agreed. Ms. Catarelli looked satisfied with our answer and continued on down the hall.

“Thanks, Gavin,” Angus said as he picked up his books.

“No problem, in my experience bullies tend to go easier if there’s more than one target.”

“Noted, thanks again!” he called as he ran to his final class of the day. Looking at the clock, I didn’t have much time myself, either.

 

* * *

 

I rubbed my neck as I walked out of the front school doors at the end of the day. Finally, this crazy day was over. A hand quickly gripped my arm right and yanked me off my balance away from the doors and around the side of the entryway exterior. By the time we’d made it to the more secluded spot, I was able to ascertain the identity of my assailant.  

“Cass!” I hissed, ripping my arm from her grasp. She stood in front of me with a determined look in her eyes.

“Gavin, this is stupid. You’ve been dodging me all damn day and I’m sick of it. Please, just hear me out,” she pleaded. I groaned.

“Put yourself in my shoes Cass. Have you ever had your entire sense of identity challenged like what you fucking said to me yesterday?” I answered angrily, shaking her hands off me.

“Yes! Constantly,” she shouted back, “Even here in Crescent City people still don’t gender me correctly all the time, I still get sir and— no, that’s not what this is about,” she paused and collected herself for a moment. “Gavin, I’m sorry that I assumed things about you that may have been inaccurate, and I want to formally apologize for that.” I crossed my arms indignantly.

“Such as?”

She groaned under her breath. “Such as calling you a girl when you say you aren’t. I should have respected that.” I searched her face for any indication that she wasn’t being sincere but thankfully found no reason to assume she wasn’t being up front about her feelings.

“Thanks, Cass. I’m sorry I avoided you, I just—“ I cut off, unsure how to say what I had been feeling.

“You just…?” she questioned.

I sighed. “I just… I don’t know how to deal with all of this. I was doing research on the bus this morning and they keep saying the same thing you’re saying; that I’m not Gavin. That I’m someone else. And I… I just don’t know what to do with that.”

Cass’ expression dropped. “And I was only doing the same thing. I’m sorry Gavin. I didn’t even realize that I was invalidating you like that. Can you forgive me?” she extended her hand towards me. I grabbed it without hesitation.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Cass. You’re the first real friend I’ve had in a long time and I don’t want to lose you.” She abruptly pulled me into a hug and held me tight.

“Same here, Gav. Same here,” she mumbled. We stood like that for a while as the city around us fell into a chorus of car horns and birds chirping overhead. We finally parted and I noticed tears in her eyes. I decided to change the subject.

“So, are you going to Sammy’s show tonight?” I asked.

“Hell yeah, I promised her I would,” she smiled. “Are you going?”

“Yeah, I was planning on it. I’ve never been to a rock show though, what are they like?”

Cass thought for a moment. “Well, they’re usually pretty tightly packed and the couple of times I’ve gone I went with my Dad and a friend or two. We would usually dress up in cool rock gear,” she trailed off and shot me a mischievous look.

“What?”

“How would you feel about dressing up in cool rock gear?” she asked in a sing-song tone.

“What, like, leather pants?” I replied.

“No… more like a leather jacket and a dress?” she looked at me pleadingly.

“Cass,” I countered, understanding what she was implying.

“Oh come on, I’ll refer to you as Gavin and use he/him if you want,” she continued.

“W-wait,” I shook my head, “that’s not really the name I use.” Cass turned her head to the side.

“Hold on, you use a different name for your Alter form?”

“Well, er, I… uh,” I stuttered.

“What is it?”

I exhaled frustratedly. “G-Gabrielle.” Cass’ sly smirk became a nigh-insufferable grin.

“That’s such a cute name! Where’d you come up with it?”

“I uh, it was a spur of the moment thing,” I admitted. She gave me a knowing look.

“Just came from nowhere, right?” I returned her look with a disbelieving frown.

“Yeah, how’d you know that?”

“Just a guess,” she winked. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Don’t tell me…” I groaned.

“Come to the show tonight as Gabrielle!” she pleaded.

“Cass…”

“I promise that you doing so won’t mean anything about you. You’re still Gavin on the inside, it’s just like Halloween.”

“How so?”

“Well, on Halloween you pretend to be someone else for a night basically. That’s all this is. You get to pretend to be Gabrielle for a night and do something ‘Gavin’ has never done before.” I considered her idea for a moment.

“I don’t know Cass, this feels like you’re still pushing me on this.”

She held her hands up in deference. “Okay, okay. How about this; if you do this and don’t get anything out of it, I’ll drop this forever. I’ll never bring up your Alter form unless you want it brought up. And no matter what, unless you say different, you’re still ‘Gavin’ to me. Deal?” I hesitated. Her deal was very enticing… and what if I was Gabrielle for a night? That wouldn’t mean anything. If I didn’t like it, which I was sure I wouldn’t, she’d let this lay.

“Okay.” I finally agreed, causing Cass to squeal and grab onto me.

“Yes! Shopping trip!” She looked around the shadowed part of the school exterior. “Let’s continue this somewhere more private, I want to see her!”

I sent Mom a text as we walked.

“Will be home late, heading to a friend’s house to study.”

 

* * *

 

We ended up outside an upscale thrift store called Dark Possessions, Cass gleefully leading the charge forward with my hand caught in her vice-like grip.

“C’mon, Gavin! I come here all the time.” Once we entered I could see that was indeed true, a lot of the clothes possessed a grungier style evocative of what Cass usually wore. It definitely suited her demonic Alter form. She immediately dragged me over to the unattended dressing rooms.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“I need to know what size Gabrielle is and I can’t exactly do that without her here, can I?” she chirped.

“Do I have to?” I whined. She herded me into the dressing room and quickly closed the door behind her. The dressing room wasn’t huge, but it also wasn’t tiny either. It’s mauve walls connected to the ceiling, giving us a completely private enclosure.

“Okay, you can change now. If you’re comfortable with it, I mean,” she quickly plopped herself down onto a seat fashioned onto the wall and folded her hands in her lap.

“Seriously?” I groaned.

“Only if you’re okay with it,” she repeated. I nodded my head and closed my eyes. It was never hard to find the energy, and grasping it always felt hot, but in a soothing way. I grabbed hold and felt it run throughout my body. I waited a moment before opening my eyes to find Cass’ still sitting where she was previously, only now without any of the previous poise she possessed.

“Cass?” I asked, my voice now a melodious match for her own.

“Holy crap!” she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and rushed over to me, immediately making it clear that she was now taller than me.

“You’re so small and cute now! Your freckles are way more prominent and-- holy cow, your eyes have this brilliant green glow to them!” I blushed despite myself.

“M-my eyes are glowing?” I asked. I’d never seen that in the mirror before.

“Yeah, though it’s kind of fading now. Maybe it only happens when you use your powers?” I decided to test this theory and waved my arm around which must have been but a blur to Cass.

“Did it come back again?” I asked.

“Y-yeah, it did!” she replied in awed wonder. “So you are the speedster! I thought you might be with how fast you entered the maintenance closet the other day. Hold on.” She stepped back from me and closed her eyes. What was she doing? A second brilliant flash of light engulfed the room, revealing Cass in her own alter form, wings, horns, and all. She was now much taller than me. I hadn’t noticed it in the previous times she’d transformed in gym, but there was a definite femaleness to her Alter form that just wasn’t visible from afar. The curvature of her hips, the easing of her jawline, and the rounding of her butt. She noticed my staring and chuckled.

“Checking me out now, McArthur?” she teased.

“N-no!” I shouted back as I felt blood rush to my cheeks. She laughed and stepped closer.

“Just one moment, I know a sizing spell that I can try on you.”

“Wait, a spell? You can cast spells?”

“Well, nothing too crazy yet,” she shrugged, “Just sizing stuff, enhanced reading comprehension, and a few sigil based things.”

“Wow, I guess I’d seen a few heroes and villains on TV use powers, but I never thought that, well…” I trailed off.

“You didn’t know there was a standardized system that the likes of Magic Bryn and Johnny Spellcast used, did you?” Cass smirked at me.

“Er, no, I guess not.” I giggled. Cass’ smirk brightened.

“That giggle is without a doubt the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. You’re going to be a real danger to people telling you that you can’t have something,” she laughed.

“Cass, this is only for tonight, remember. This doesn’t mean anything about me,” I reminded her.

“Right, right. The smile you’ve had on your face for the last minute and change caught me off guard.” she replied with an embarrassed laugh. She held her hands up to me and began to chant under her breath. After a moment her hands began to glow an iridescent purple color, and wisps of light began to flow from her hands around me. After little more than a moment they faded. “Okay, got it.” She changed back into her default form and opened the door to the changing room. “I’ll be back!” she called before shutting the door and leaving me to my own devices. Once she returned she had an armful of clothes for me.

“Cass, seriously?” I tartly responded. I was annoyed at the prospect of needing to spend so much time trying all of these clothes on, but some of the more frilly numbers made my heart rate spike somewhat.

“Oh, don’t worry. This is way better than trying on boy clothes. I bet you’ve got a hint of excitement in your belly at the thought of trying these on~,” she smiled. Damn.

“N-no, way off, Cass,” I replied, hoping she hadn’t detected my faltering voice.

She muttered something under her breath, but I was unable to make it out beyond the word “egg,” which left me more confused than anything. “What was that, Cass?” I asked. She looked spooked by my question; apparently she hadn’t expected me to hear her mutter.

“Oh, s-sorry. There’s just a problem in an app I play with on my phone, you know that game Mon-Pocket?” she hastily blurted out. It seemed to be a pretty bad lie, but I had no idea what she was covering, so I let it lie. Cass pulled out a white lace dress with spaghetti straps that ran over the shoulders and had a plunging neckline. She handed it to me. “Try this on,” she said nonchalantly before returning to the pile of clothes she brought in. I turned away from her and pulled my clothes off sans boxer-briefs and pulled the dress on. Immediately I noticed how much easier it was to get on than Jules’ clothes, especially in the chest. I pulled my arms through the straps, adjusted my boobs and turned towards Cass.

“Well?” I asked. Her face lit up.

“Beautiful, it really goes with your almost neon orange hair. You actually got that on faster than I thought you would, have you worn a dress before the other day?” she asked. My entire body froze and began to turn a light shade of red.

“Uh, er, n-no,” I stammered. She raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“Okay, sure,” she replied. She walked to me and turned me around to face the dressing room mirror. “Look in the mirror for me,” she said softly. I complied and stared into my reflection. What stared back was two girls, one a bit taller than the other with dark red hair and shimmering pale skin, and one with bright orange hair and captivating green eyes wearing a gorgeous white dress that hugged all the right curves. Unmistakably two cute women.

“C-Cass--” I mumbled.

“That’s you, Gabrielle. I can see you, and so can you.” I blinked in reply, no words were forming in my mouth. “Is it okay if I call you Gabrielle?”

I nodded.

“Great! Do you want to try on some more clothes?”

I slowly nodded my head again. “Okay.”

We proceeded to work our way through the rest of the pile Cass had brought in and each reduced me to some form of speechlessness. Each dress hugged me in just the right places, the jeans lacked any sort of unsightly bulge, the tops each flowed around me. It was perfect. By the time we had reached the end of the pile, we had sorted my choices into hypothetical yes’s and no’s on what I liked best. Cass took the white dress from earlier along with a dark red jacket and some simple canvas shoes and made her way towards the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

She smiled, “I’m gonna buy you these so you can wear them out.”

“W-wait, what?” I stuttered in reply.

“Too late!” she exclaimed before walking out the door. She halted her advance towards the registers and turned back towards me. “Do you have a bra?”

“Do I look like I’ve got a bra hidden on me?” I snarked. She stifled a laugh and looked down at my chest. “Yeah, you’re going to need one. Good thing I got that measurement too,” she winked. Despite my continued protests she was soon out of my line of sight, leaving me to my fate while she looked around. Eventually she returned with the clothes and two things, one was a simple cotton bra that looked to be in almost new condition along with a pack of panties and something that looked similar to a bra but was thicker and resembled a band with straps on it.

“Okay, I got you some underwear that you can wear underneath this stuff.” She threw the bra and package of underwear at me. “Put these on first, you need some supportive underwear with those puppies dangling from your chest,” she laughed. I crossed my arms over my chest defensively, but obliged her request and pulled on a pair of underwear from the package labeled “Bikini”. As I slipped a white pair up my legs, I felt an odd chill. This was… special. I couldn’t really describe it. But as I let the waistband snap around my hips, something clicked inside of me. This felt right. With Cass’ help I was able to pull the bra on as well, and she showed me how to make sure my breasts were properly sat within the cups. I then pulled the dress on again along with the jacket and the shoes she’d given me.

“Aw, Gabrielle, you look so beautiful,” she gushed. As I looked longingly in the mirror, I had to agree. I really adored the reflection staring back at me for perhaps one of the first times in a long time. Cass held out the thicker looking bra. “Okay, so this is a sports bra, Gabby. I figure since you seem to be a speedster I figure this will be super important.”

I laughed nervously and crossed my arms below my chest. “Yeah, definitely need that. I’ve been getting some pains from running without it.” Her expression immediately grew puzzled.

“Wait, have you been using your powers outside of school? Have you been-- Gasp,” her eyes grew wide, “Are you the one the school is looking for?” I thought for a moment about what I could say to throw her off before I came to a rather obvious conclusion. At this point, she knew almost everything anyways.

“Er… yeah,” I admitted quietly. She grabbed my hands within her own.

“You’ve got to tell me about it later,” she said gleefully. I laughed softly and nodded.

“Sure.” We made our way out of the dressing room with a few more outfits by Cass’ decree, she wanted to make sure I had “options”, as she put it, for later much to my chagrin. She and I decided to split the bill at the cashier.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” the older woman smiled a half smile, her eyes somewhat vacant and spacey. Clearly she enjoyed her job. Nevertheless, her ‘ladies’ comment brought a giggly smile to my face. Why did that feel so good to hear? She quickly rang up our purchases and we were on our way out the door again only to hear her call again, “Have a nice day, ladies.” causing me to yet again smile and laugh. Cass only gave me a knowing look and laughed herself. We made our way outside, all of my new purchases stuffed into my backpack.

“So it’s 6pm now, the bus ride to the show will take around an hour or so… did you want to grab food? You can fill me in on everything over some tacos.”

I nodded. “Hell yes, you have no idea how hungry I am.”

 

* * *

The blue sky overhead grew dark as we rode the bus towards Crowbar’s Keep down near the industrial district while we munched away on tacos on the back of the bus. We had stopped at a food truck near the thrift store at Cass’ suggestion. They had given me a receipt with ‘Gabrielle’ scrawled on it in permanent marker, which caused me to smile warmly and stick it in my coat pocket for later. Each stop seemed to add more and more individuals who were dressed similar to us who I could guess were heading to the same destination as us. I was receiving a few lecherous stares from our compatriots on the bus as well, mostly men which would’ve creeped me out if I couldn’t knock them flat on their asses if I needed to. I couldn’t help but groan inwardly at the snails pace we were making across the city, I could run so much faster than this. Cass was shaking her head.

“I still can’t believe it, you’ve stolen school property and almost died like, two times already? And you’ve only had your powers for a week?”

I shrugged, “Yeah, I just… yeah.”

“Gabby, I deal with literal demons and even I haven’t been in as much danger as you,” she leaned back in the plastic seat.

“Oh, that reminds me,” I said as I swallowed another bite of my fourth taco, “why were you hiding in the maintenance closet all transformed and stuff?”

“Gabby, I… that’s kind of personal,” Cass looked away towards the window.

I frowned. “Cass, I just spilled the beans on literally everything that’s been life changing for me this week. I think I’m owed a bit of trust here.” She rested her head against the bus window.

“Fine,” she relented. “Just… don’t tell anyone.”

“Wouldn’t even if I could,” I smiled reassuringly.

She took a deep breath. “I was practicing magic.”

“The same magic you did earlier at the thrift store?”

“Not… exactly the same kind of magic,” she replied slowly. “It’s magic that the school wouldn’t approve of.”

“What kind of magic then?” I inquired.

“It was--” she hesitated for a moment. “I was channelling my power to plead with the demons I got my powers from.”

“Plead for what?”

“I… to make sure my dad could find another job here in the city,” she turned away from me and faced the window.

“Why would you want that?” I asked.

“It’s just… we moved here for the Academy from Pickrock over in Nevada. Our hometown. My dad had a lot of friends there, and a lot of former friends too, now that I think about it. That place was his life, and when we found out I was an Alter, he willingly picked his life up and shambled over here to Crescent City with me so I could go to the Academy.”

“What’s so bad about Crescent City? I’ve lived here with my mom and, well, just my mom for my whole life,” I countered.

Cass continued, “It’s not that living here is bad, it’s that is incredibly different to living in Pickrock and if it were just the lifestyle he could probably adjust but, well, it’s more than that. He had to get a new job here as a factory worker and I can just tell that he absolutely hates it. It radiates off him when he gets home at night and almost immediately passes out on the couch. I feel like I ruined his entire life by becoming an Alter, so I figure the least I can do is help him get a new job.”

“Oh, Cass, he totally did all of that because he loves you. I’d kill for my dad to do something like that for me,” I remarked.

“I know, I know,” she made a defeating gesture, “but the guilt is still there.”

“Doesn’t making additional deals with your demon pals put you at greater risk, too?” I asked, suddenly thinking of crossroad demon myths and what that kind of stuff could mean for Cass’ wellbeing.

“Not if you’re being careful, which I am by the way. I’m just asking for a little extra luck for him is all.”

“Is there any way I could get you to reconsider that plan of action?” I asked. She smiled and shook her head.

“As it stands, not likely. This is too important.”

I nodded in reply. “Okay, just--,” I suppressed a sigh. “Just be safe, okay? Promise me you’ll at least take it easy for a little while longer,” I pleaded quietly. She stared at me for a long moment. The bus lurched to a halt and started up again. It looked like our stop was coming up.

“Okay, I promise,” she smiled. “What about you?”

“What about me?” I replied.

“Your dad, what’s he like?” I blinked a couple times.

“My dad?” I repeated, prompting her to nod. I leaned back and closed my eyes. “He’s… well, he’s my dad. I don’t get to see him very often, mostly birthdays and stuff.”

“Are he and your mom divorced?”

“Yeah, since I was about nine or so,” I said offhandedly. “My brother and sister don’t really remember what it was like for our Mom and Dad to be married, but I do. It wasn’t all bad…” I admitted.

“Gabby, that’s not usually the most healthy thing to think about when considering the relationship of one’s parents.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I know he’s an ass sometimes, but he’s still my dad, you know? It’s still important to me what he thinks of me as a person. But now…” I trailed off. I really didn’t want to talk about this. Why was this bus so damn slow?

“Now?” Cass pressed.

“Now things are different, and I doubt he’s going to be excited for me with this Alter form.” I said softly, casting my eyes to the floor. I really would like to stop talking about this and get this bus moving.

“What makes you say that?” she asked just as our bus rolled to a stop about a block away from Crowbar’s Keep. I took the opportunity to change the subject and pulled her to her feet.

“Let’s go see Sammy.”

The bar itself was pretty shoddy looking, it was a two-story building with wooden exterior whose paint was peeling off in excess. A large sign that read Crowbar’s Keep was lit up by old-looking light bulbs in a dark gold color. The buildings around us weren’t in much better condition. Cass and I walked along the cracked cement towards the entrance and moved to get into line. A few people were bumping into us from both sides, all likely some level of drunk. Wind began blowing up my skirt while we waited which gave me the shivers and sent Cass into a fit of giggles in response to the uncomfortable face I was making.

“Shut up, it’s my first time having the breeze shoot up my ass,” I fumed.

“It’s always someone’s first time,” she teased. Eventually we made our way to the front of the line and, after encountering a bit of a hassle with the bouncer due to my lack of any matching ID on my person, we made it inside with bright orange wristbands stating “Minor” in bright, bold lettering. Ugh, great. The inside of the bar itself smelled a bit musty and old, no doubt due to the length of time the bar had been open. There were a ton of people moving all around us and immediately I began to feel pangs of annoyance at how long it was taking me to move anywhere. My vision began to turn double as it had when I fought the burglars. Maybe coming tonight in my Alter form was a bad idea? After we pushed through to the middle of the crowd we were able to see Sammy on stage in a ripped tank top with torn canvas pants and black combat boots with her pink side shave glowing in the light. She stood next to three other people I didn’t recognize but who all were wearing similar styles of clothing. Sammy stepped up to the mic while tuning the bass slung over her shoulder.

“Hey, thanks for making it out to this shithole tonight, we really appreciate it. I know old-lady Donna back by the bar really appreciates it too,” Sammy pointed back at the bar towards a tall muscular woman with dark hair peppered with gray strands tied into a tight bun. “That bad bitch has been keeping this place running for years and gave us assholes a chance to perform tonight which we’re super grateful for and shit.” She gestured to the group around her. “We’re the Stink Peaches, I’m Sammy, the big ‘ol hunk of African American sweetness behind me is Tank, our co-singer,” she leaned into the microphone with a sly grin, “Fellas, he is single and ready to fuck,” she winked before gesturing to a shorter blonde girl. “Tinker is to my right, she’s our equipment specialist, our secondary bassist, and a kick-ass backup vocalist.” She kicked a metal can behind her, narrowly missing the head of a perpetually frowning blonde lanky guy in the back seated at a drumset. “In the back we’ve got Fuckin’ Craig, wave hello to the crowd Fuckin’ Craig,” she smarmed. Craig rolled his eyes and gave a curt wave to the crowd, eliciting some laughter from the audience.

Cass behind me cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “We love you, Sammy!” Sammy squinted and laughed.

“I can’t see you with the stage-lights and all, but hell yeah, please continue to feed my ego.” The crowd began to laugh even harder, myself included. “Okay, we’re going to go ahead and start this bullshit. This is ‘Her Nuclear Package’,” she looked back behind her to Tank, Tinker, and Fuckin’ Craig and counted down in rhythm before the speakers around us erupted in loud, messy, beautiful punk rock. Cass immediately started jumping up and down, cheering along to the hum of Sammy’s bass and vocals. She grabbed my arm and encouraged me to dance too, which I obliged with a hearty giggle. Tinker pressed a petal down on stage causing a light show to erupt from mounted lights overhead in synchronized time with Tank’s guitar riff. While this proved even more annoying and headache inducing for my senses, it was absolutely amazing watching them go at it. Was this what being with friends was like? What it felt like to leave that background darkness in the dust and just be me? If it was, I needed to have more of this feeling; this feeling of everything being right.

As their song wound down, I took a look around. A lot of people were drinking, and pretty copiously, too. I bet I could swipe one so fast they wouldn’t even notice, some of them were certainly drunk enough already. I elbowed Cass and leaned in close to her ear.

“Bet you I could swipe someone’s drink and they wouldn’t even notice,” I shouted, thankfully the music was still loud enough that only Cass would be able to make it out. She looked at me incredulously.

“What, no way, you’re not that fast,” she shouted back, though curious grin was forming on her face. I winked at her and looked around for the drunkest looking guy in the bar. With my spitfire metabolism I figured I’d need to aim for the heavy drinks, potentially even just shots and straight liquor. I spotted a guy who was pulling his friend close as the bartender slapped down a triple shot behind him. I quickly zipped over to him and snagged the shot, downing it in the blink of an eye before running back to Cass, still blanching at the disgusting taste of the liquor. She stepped back in surprise once I returned.

“No way,” she gasped.

“Way!” I squealed before returning to my coughing fit. God it burned so bad in my throat. People drank this stuff for fun?

“Yes, Gabby!” she cheered, “Get it, girl!” Sammy once more came over the microphone. “Okay, now for some duet shit,” Tank joined her at the front of the stage and stepped up to a second microphone. “This is ‘Butt Stuff’.” They jumped right into the song, and immediately Sammy’s somewhat pitchy higher voice was a clear match to Tank’s dulcet tones and restrained performance. I nudged Cass again.

“Want to see me do it again?” I asked. She laughed and nodded her head. This time I swiped a drink from a girl who appeared to be on the fast track to becoming the “Everyone is my best friend” drunk girl. Upon approaching her however, she swung her hand wide across the table and knocked her drink towards the floor. I was quick to pick it up as it fell slowly to the floor, some of the liquid already spilling into droplets above the rim of the smudged crystal glass. I decided to down the drink, gently lay it on the ground and bolt, hoping they’d see the liquid next to the glass and assume it had leaked through the floorboards or something. I was starting to feel a slight buzz within me, but nothing to serious. Over the course of the next forty-five minutes I had swiped somewhere around 15 double or triple shots, 14 for me and one for Cass who was already a giggly mess. I wasn’t much better, the last time I’d attempted to swipe some booze I’d nearly tripped and thrown myself out a window. Interestingly enough, my senses were finally calming down due in part, I suspected, to the alcohol consumption and I could focus on Sammy and Cass and the music without issue.

Cass and I only danced harder, ensuring that during an odd quieter moment Sammy was able to spot us in the crowd, eliciting an excited wave on her part.

Sammy’s band’s set list only made Cass and I more giddy by how absolutely balls to the wall it was. They went on to play ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’, ‘I Will Fist Fight Jesus’, ‘Toad Storm’, ‘A Song About Gay Sex’, ‘What’s This Smell Like?’, and ‘That Queer Fuck’. By the end of the final song Sammy was fondling the microphone stand akin to a Freddie Mercury cover artist when the metal rod snapped in half between her hands with a loud squelch.

“Dammit, this equipment is so shitty!” she screamed before falling right back into key with Tank. She kicked the broken stand pieces off the stage, unfortunately one piece happened to land on the foot of a guy in the front row.

“Hey, what the fuck you dyke?” I heard him scream, even over the music. Sammy responded by flipping him the bird, somehow still in perfect key. The guy threw his drink at Sammy who, thankfully, deftly dodged to the side. The man then rushed forward towards the stage and suddenly the only instruments left playing were Tinker’s bass and Craig’s drums as Sammy and Tank both rushed forward to meet the heckler and his group of rowdy guy friends, which resulted in a large but quick bar fight between the two groups. Sammy and Tank put them down pretty quickly and even only resulted in one broken chair which was slammed over Sammy’s back to seemingly no effect before she knocked the guy responsible flat on his ass. Needless to say, the show was probably finished.

Sammy crawled back up on stage and grabbed the microphone she’d dropped.

“Kay, that’s it for our fuckin’ show, thanks for showin’ up or whatever the hell. We got CD’s if you assholes wanna buy ‘em,” she growled. A smattering of applause rang out and echoed on the wooden walls. Sammy quickly stepped off stage and wandered our way through the crowd. Suddenly my stomach began to turn. It was easy being a girl in front of people I didn’t know, but what if Sammy recognized me? My drunken haze didn’t help much.

“Sammy,” Cass yelled, drawing her attention to us.

“Cass!” I hissed.

“What?” she laughed. Yeah, that drink definitely got her buzzed.

“It’s-- Sammy, I.. ugh,” I tried to elaborate, but words weren’t really my forte at the moment. Sammy had a large smile on her face when she finally made it through the crowd to us.

“Cass, ya made it,” she hollered.

“What, did you seriously think I would miss you performing?” she replied and wrapped her arms around Sammy in a tight hug. After a moment Sammy’s attention shifted to me.

“Who’s this chick?”

“Oh,” Cass exclaimed as if she had forgotten Sammy didn’t know this version of me. “This is my friend Gabrielle.” I hesitantly raised my hand to Sammy.

“G-Gabby, for short,” I smiled faintly. Sammy looked between Cass and myself and began to laugh before grabbing my hand and shaking it roughly. “What is it?” I asked nervously. Did she see through my disguise?

“Always figured ya’d go for the manic pixie type, Cass.” she said.

“W-what?” we replied in unison, our cheeks each turning scarlet.

Sammy gestured at her head, “Almost neon-orange hair, lace dress with sneakers and a leather jacket. Real vibe yer giving off. Not that it’s bad, hell naw, I like it actually.”

“Thank you?” I said in a questioning tone.

“No problem, I gotta go back and talk with old lady Donna, you guys gonna stay ‘round for a bit?” I was about to shake my head and tell her we had to leave, but Cass thankfully beat me to the punch.

“Sorry, but I promised my Dad I wouldn’t be out too late.” Cass said sadly. Sammy’s expression dropped a bit, but she quickly pulled back.

“Ah, that’s totally chill. Told the Colonel that I was helping with youth army bullshit tonight myself.” She looked around at the crowd and leaned in next to Cass. “Have you seen Gavin tonight? He told me he’d come.” She said quietly. My heart dropped; she thought I blew her off.

“N-no, I haven’t,” she replied, sharing a glance with me. Sammy sighed.

“I was hoping to break ‘im out of his shell a bit, but I guess he’s more stubborn than I thought.” I don’t know what possessed me to do it, maybe drunken logic or perhaps my guilt, but at that moment I grabbed Sammy’s hand.

“I’m sure he was here, but maybe he left already? You should talk to him next time you see him to check.” She looked at me weirdly for a second before nodding.

“Sure… okay Gabby. I’ll do that.” She began to walk backwards towards the bar. “Have a nice night!” she winked. Cass and I looked at each other uncomfortably. Even though I was still pretty drunk, I assured Cass that I could get home on my own without the need for the slow-ass bus. She agreed, it was an incredibly slow way to get around. Once we were away from the buzz of the bar she transformed into her Alter form and began to levitate off the ground thanks to her wings which popped right out the back of her dress thanks to a low-rise back panel.

“Especially when you can fly,” she smiled, and took off into the golden-dark city sky. Guess I wasn’t the only one who used my powers outside of school. I raced back home, basking in the warm memories of the night. I had been happy, really, actually happy through everything. I didn’t feel like I was watching everything through a dirty window, I was there and I was me, and I felt wonderful and fantastic and resplendent. I bathed in these wonderful feelings as I came upon first my street, then my home, then finally my home’s backyard. All the windows were black, seeming to indicate everyone was asleep. I looked at my window on the second floor and quickly decided I was far too drunk to make it up there. I shrugged and walked towards the backdoor, content to take it easy for once. A quick look at my phone told me it was a little after midnight. And... ugh. Several mixed texts from Mom.

Eh. A problem for tomorrow, I decided.

Leaving my backpack by the steps, I began to look for the hide-a-key Mom kept out here, though my drunken stupor prevented me from being able to remember exactly where it was. I stumbled around for a few minutes becoming increasingly frustrated by both my lack of success and by the fact that my backpack kept falling off my shoulders each time I leaned down. In a fit I threw it down on the ground near one of Mom’s planters and continued looking before finally finding the hide-a-key stone. I moved to retrieve the backpack before I remembered that it was packed to the brim with dresses, bras, and other girl stuff.

“Oh, hah, duh,” I mumbled drunkenly to myself, “What if Mom wanted to look at my homework or whatever? I’ll just leave it out here until tomorrow.” I patted myself on the back for my clever thinking as I gingerly unlocked the door and stepped inside. I stretched casually, I was going to sleep so well tonight. I walked over to the pantry cabinet for some food and frowned.

“This is higher up than I remember it being,” I remarked quietly.

The kitchen light flicked on and revealed a frightened looking Mom standing in the doorway dressed in a power blue robe with black pajama pants leading down to a pair of grey slippers.

“W-who are you?” she asked quietly, though her tone was stern and fierce. My insides collapsed beneath me, leaving me in a perpetual state of free-fall in which no words could form.

“Uh-- um, w-wha…” I managed to verbalize. Mom took a step forward.

“I said, who the hell are you?” she repeated, her tone starting to become a bit frayed. “How did you get in here? Did you find the hide-a-key?”

“G-guh, er, M-mom,” I continued. She wrinkled her nose at me.

“Oh, god. You reek of booze,” her tone softened somewhat and her eyes took on an empathetic gleam. “Listen, I think you’re in the wrong house.” She grabbed the phone on the wall. “What’s your name?”

I didn’t say anything as I was unable to further make the words in my head come out in a comprehensible format. Mom was growing impatient. “Come on, either tell me what you’re doing here or I’ll leave it up to the cops.” She began to dial on the phone. I took a step back in fear. She must’ve noticed as her expression loosened. “Wait, no, hold on. I--” she exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose. She lowered the phone but kept it grasped tightly in her hand. “I won’t call the cops, but let me help you. Can you please tell me your name?”

I couldn’t do this, I needed to get away from her before she figured me out. I wasn’t ready for this. Mom’s attention focused on a piece of receipt paper on the floor with permanent marker scrawled on it. She kept her eyes on me as she knelt down and picked it up. As she began to read it aloud, my veins turned to ice.

“Gabrielle? Is that--” she began, but I didn’t hear the rest. I was quickly out the back door and tearing town the road. I had to go, I needed to be anywhere but there. I stopped a dozen or so blocks away from my house and steadied myself against a tree, trying and failing to prevent tears from spilling down my face.

I pulled out my phone and called the only person I could talk to.

“Hello? Gabby?” I heard Cass’ voice pick up on the other end.

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