"Open your eyes" I ordered. Alice's eyes fluttered open. For a second she seemed annoyed for some reason, but then she looked where I was pointing like a stage magician's assistant and saw her gift. Worn by a cloths store's demonstrative dummy (which I had stolen out of spite from a shop who's in store security had tackled me for using the single person women's fitting room) was the dress I had been working on for months. The sleeves were a thin light blue fabric that may as well have left her arms bare, but droopy and bell bottomed, fring out as it approached the cuffs. Big lovehearts had been stitched into the thin fabric

  The bodice was v-necked, and coloured a darker light blue. The material was shiny and silky on the outside, though with a cotton underyer to keep her warm. The skirt was more of the same cotton-silky combo, and had enough material that you could y it ft on the ground. Plenty of skirt for spinney. And yes it had pockets, with entrances above where it would sit on her hip bone. There were loops for a belt though instead of including one I had provided a long ribbon that could be tied in a bow behind her back.

  Her jaw dropped. "Vanessa… I thought you said you couldn't afford this?" she whispered, awestruck. "I couldn't. This dress took like a hundred hours to make or something. At minimum wage that would be like… more than the ones in the shop. But materials? Like sixty bucks tops" I smirked. "You… made this?" she gasped. I smiled and nodded. "For… me?" she whispered. I took her wrists and looked into her eyes. "Of course! I want to be dancing with the bell of the ball tonight. And one of the prerequisite steps for that? A fabulous fucking dress!" I smirked.

  We stood in silence for a few moments. She sniffed. "Are you crying?" I chuckled. "Yes!" she sobbed. I brought her close to my chest. Shame I didn't have boobs she could… I felt something squish. Alright then. I guess I do have boobs for her to cry into now… Groovy! I hugged her tight. "Its okay. Its no big deal. I did it because I wanted to, you don't owe me anything or anything" I said.

  "That's the… nicest. thing. anyone's. ever. done for me!" she cried. "Damn. I guess I've got to up my game now. What ever will I do to top this? Shall I have to learn to py the hurdy-gurdy so I can compose you a love bald?" I teased. She squeezed me tight. "Thank… thank you!" she sobbed. I smiled. "Why don't you change into it? Victoria will be here in a few hours to take us to the club" I said. "I… I think I'd rather cry for a while" she replied.

  I chuckled. "Understandable. You wanna cry on the couch? I kinda need to save my energy for the queue to get in the club" I noted. She nodded. With my powers I took control of two pairs of feet and moved us over until we fell over the arm of the couch and she nded on top of me. Then I held her and let her cry herself out. The position… had several advantages lets just say.

  Eventually she did calm down, and then climbed off me, which was nice for my bloodflow if not for my view. I left her to try on the dress while I picked out my own outfit for the ball. I found my gym bag and retrieved one of the bras which I finally had an excuse to wear. I mean they weren't heavy or anything but there was something exhirating about finally being able to put on a bra without it feeling like I was lying to myself. Like I was finally growing up.

  Mosquito bites sufficiently over-armoured, I moved on to my dress. Mine was not nearly so nice as Alice's. A sleeveless light green number who's skirt didn't spinney, who didn't even have pockets. I frowned. That was fixable. I grabbed a white t-shirt with several pocket shaped holes from the sacrificial fabric pile and my needle and thread and proceed to sew a hoodie style monopocket to the front, with little extra lip on each side so my phone wouldn't fall out assuming I didn't do any cartwheels.

  I looked up from my sewing and realized that I was wearing a bra and jeans and Alice was watching me. She was wearing her new dress. That she looked absolutely stunning goes without saying. "Dresses need pockets…" I mumbled. "Why? she asked. "To hold your phone and stuff" I replied. "Why can't you just hold it in your hand?" she asked. "That gets annoying after a while" I replied.

  Once I was finished sewing I threw off my jeans and then threw the dress on over my head. It came with its own me belt, which tied at the front. I saw Alice trying to replicate what I was doing on her own. "No sweetie. Yours ties at the back" I giggled. I had her turn around and then I tied the bow for her. "That comfortable?" I asked. "Yup!" she replied.

  I gave her a smile and then went over to the mirror to get started on my makeup. She of course just altered the colour of patches of her skin using creatine, the little cheater. I mean yeah, that must have taken SOOOO much effort to learn in the first pce but… COME ON!

  I combed my hair straight and tried putting it in pigtails. It came out badly. I started again. It came out even worse. I wet my hair in the "sink", brushed it straight and tried again. Halfway through piting I spotted some minor asymmetry and had to start again. It took me 45 minutes and over a dozen attempts to get it to the point I was even remotely happy. Not perfect, just acceptable. And then I still had a face full of makeup to put on.

  I bombed the tutorial. I bombed it again. A half dozen makeup wipes gave their lives for my folly. I tried something simplistic that didn't call for concealer. It came out looking wrong. I cursed under my breath. I wiped my face and tried again. Alice watched on in fascination. For the first few minutes she tried backseat makeupping. I eventually lost it and told her not to tell me how to do things her power did for her. She pouted for a little while then went right back to talking.

  "You look great Nessie!" she told me. "Stop fttering me, I know what I look like" I replied coldly. "No you don't. People don't notice small details. I once went to school with "fuck you Rose" written in freckles across my forehead. Rose didn't even notice when she was an inch from my face calling me a freak!" she said. "That can't be right" I said. Read my freckles!" she said. I looked up. She had freckles. That was odd, she usually didn't. I couldn't see any particur pattern though. I walked over to get a closer look. It was hard to see because they didn't stand out much against the rest of her skin but her freckles read "lv U Nesy". I could only smile and ugh.

  "Okay, but things are different on the outside. Standards are higher" I noted. "You don't seem to hyperfocus on everyone else's appearance" she said. "Not everybody is like me" I said. "So everyone but you has time to worry about everyone else everywhere all of the time?" asked Alice. I paused. That wasn't mathing. "Okay fine, maybe I'm my own worst critic but knowing that doesn't mean I can just stop caring. Brains don't work like that!" I said. "Sure they do" smiled Alice. "Easy for you to say, you can look like anything you want at a moment's notice" I said. "Which means I know exactly how much I can change without someone noticing" she replied.

  I looked at the mirror and sighed. Tried by effort of will to just accept good enough. And then I saw the asymmetry and then all I could see was the asymmetry and I grabbed another wipe and erased half of my face to start again. I was still trying to make my face perfect when Victoria arrived to take us to the club. Reluctantly I left with still drying nails and a face that wasn't quite perfect. We picked up Rose and Leah from Leah's house and Charlie from the library and then we disappeared to arrive in an alleyway in San Francisco.

  My nails were bone dry before we were close to the front of the queue. Rose was fuming long before then. "So we just stand here!" she excimed. "Yup" I replied bnkly. "This is boring" she snapped. "That's queues for you" I replied. "This better be the best party of my fucking life" she snapped. "It probably will be" I mused. "Whoa! No need to overpromise Vanessa!" excimed Charlie, who had decided upon this venue, and as such would be the one Rose spread across the road like butter if it didn't live up to her expectations.

  "Come on! Its Cali. The mountains got nothing on Cali" I said. "The mountains have a drunk bear man swimming up a waterfall because a five-year-old said he couldn't. What in the nine hells could Cali have over that?" pointed out Charlie. I pointed to the man three spaces back in the queue who had an animatronic tail attached to an e-scooter battery, which was wagging. "That's nothing a beastshifter couldn't do!" xe pointed out. I pointed to the girl behind him, who was pouring ignited alcohol between two gsses. "That's nothing a firebender couldn't do" xe grunted.

  "You know you have a real negative streak for anything that doesn't involve literal magic" I noted. "Um hello! Are you listening to yourself? Its freaking magic! What could possibly compare to that?" xe demanded. "Did you know the Spanish conquistadors dug up millions of dolrs of ptinum and then threw it in the sea because it wasn't yellow?" I asked. "Yeah, so what?" asked Charlie. I sighed. "Ever hear that those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them?" I asked. "I have. So what?" xe said. "So maybe study some history" I said.

  Finally we came to the front of the queue. "IDs please" said the bouncer. I held up a California drivers license stating that I was twenty seven. Charlie held out a Nebraska drivers license in the name "Tragedeigh Thurber". Alice held up a Yugioh card. Leah held up an expired walmart gift card. Rose held up a stale cracker. Victoria held up her "Victoria Turner" license. The bouncer waved us through. I'm not completely sure he'd have cared about our ID situation even without my power.

  After the peace and quiet of the town, the noise in the club was overpowering. The volume dramatically fell as we walked in. Not in a "the guest of honour has arrived" sort of way, more in an everyone simultaneously thinking "WHY THE FUCK IS IT SO LOUD IN HERE!" sort of way. It was still loud even then, but hearing damage comes in tiers I suppose. "Okay girls, remember. Keep an eye on your drinks. Keep an eye on each other's drinks. If someone buys you a drink don't drink it. If you feel funny, find me or Victoria. Now have fun" I said.

  I walked up to the bar. "Three beers, two cokes and a French 75" I ordered. Drinks were filled and mixed. I paid cash. The elders had thrown a few market days since and I was still the favourite stall minder considering my knowledge of outsider culture and my ability to make a tax inspector literally find a quiet pce to go fuck himself.

  I gave the beers to Rose, Alice and Charlie and the cocktail to Leah. I took a coke for myself and gave the other to Victoria. "I noticed the beastshifters were drinking different beer at the town dance" I noted. "Yeah. It takes more to get us drunk" said Leah. "I thought as much. This is a lot stronger than beer" I expined. She smiled. "Thanks" she said. "Cheers!" I replied. "Hey, why don't I get the strong stuff?" asked Alice. "Do you… need more beer to get drunk?" I asked. "Not as much as a beastshifter but… yeah" replied Alice. "Sorry. I'll get you a cocktail next time" I promised.

  "Do you not drink Vanessa?" asked Charlie. "I do not" I said. "Why don't I get to drink" pouted Victoria. "You're our ride home" I said. "So?" she demanded. "Is it safe to drink and teleport? Its very illegal to drink and drive and for good reason so…" I said sensibly. "Party pooper!" she grunted.

  "Well yes. But on the other hand there's like a hundred men you've never seen before here. This is mostly a lesbian bar but there's no strict rule that straight men can't come here and many do so… have fun!" I smiled. "This doesn't seem like a great pce to find a boyfriend Vanessa. And even if I did, how would that work anyway" she replied. "Not every retionship has to lead to something. You can just have fun if you want. And if you find Mr. Right he'll probably turn out to be a witch anyway. Or did you forget about the magic probability skewering tree on the edge of town?" I said.

  "The Siobhan tree doesn't work that way" she stated. "Does it? How would you know how it works?" I asked. She opened her mouth to expin and then shut it when she remembered she did not in fact know. "Just have some fun. Live a little" I smiled. Then I took Alice's hand and led her towards the dance floor.

  Dancing with Alice was fun. It had been fun at the town festival, but the music there was a lot more conservative, elder Maggie's preferences not withstanding. It was nice to dance to pop songs I had grown up singing. To dance the dances of my own culture, for the town was an encve unto itself.

  "Why do all the songs sound the same?" asked Alice after fifteen minutes of wordless boogieing. "They don't all sound the same" I compined. "Yeah they do. They're all “mi-sol-mi-soool-mi”" she argued. "What does that even mean?" I compined. She sighed and kissed me on the nose. "Nevermind".

  We danced for another song or two before getting bored and returning to the bar. Leah was drinking something that wasn't the cocktail I had bought for her. "Where did you get that?" I asked with an uneasy feeling. "She bought it for me" said Leah, pointing to another tall butch dy nearby. "What did I tell you about accepting drinks from strangers" I groaned. "Eh. I figured if my system burns off alcohol faster it would burn off whatever they use to drug people's drinks" said Leah. "Besides, lesbians don't drug people's drinks" added Charlie.

  I let out a strained sigh. "You: don't be so careless. You don't know how you'll react to something until you take it and you should probably try it in a safe setting first. And you: don't rely on stereotypes to keep you safe, you'll get yourself killed" I said. "If a hot woman wants to kill me I'm fine with that. I probably deserved it anyway" said Charlie. "That a promise?" asked the admittedly very hot goth bartender. "Cross my heart and hope to die" smiled Charlie. "Mmmmm. Excellent" she smiled.

  "Are you allowed to flirt with customers on the clock?" I asked. "You think I'd work here for twelve dolrs an hour if I wasn't allowed flirt on the clock?" she asked. "… Well I guess I wouldn't" I conceded. "What about you cutie? You willing to let me sacrifice you to Satan?" she asked. "No I am not. And if you kill Charlie I'll drown you in the bay" I threatened. "Kinky!" she grinned. I sighed.

  "Wait, where'd Leah go?" I excimed. "The butch supermodel? She's dancing with the dy who bought her drink" replied the bartender. I gave a nod. Good. She deserves to have some fun. You good Rose?" I asked. "I'm going to kill her!" seethed Rose. "You want help hiding the body?" asked the bartender. "She's not joking" I warned. The bartender just gave a grim smile. "Its okay Rose. Its okay. Lets just… you and me dance for a little while. Okay?" I asked. "HEY! What about me? pouted Alice.

  "A pi?a coda for the pretty little ss" I told the bartender, handing her some money. "ID" she asked. I fshed it. "You're 27?" she asked incredulously. Yes I am. I've also never killed anyone" I smiled. She shrugged. "Eh, fine".

  I left Alice and Charlie to their drinks to go dance with Rose and calm her down before she decided to force choke someone who'd done nothing to deserve it or something. "You think the bartender was serious about helping me hide a body?" asked Rose. "Honestly? I have no idea" I answered truthfully. At some point I managed to swap partners with Leah. My new dance partner gazed down at me with piercing eyes. "Now you're definitely using a fake ID" she chuckled. "Guilty as charged" I admitted.

  "Aren't you afraid of getting kicked out?" she asked. "Getting hit on by an old dude ranks higher on my list of fears than someone sussing my ID actually" I replied. "So you're not looking to get taken home by an older woman?" she chuckled. "I can't say I am, no" I replied. She smiled. "Gd to see some of the youngsters have some sense left in them" she said. I debated whether answering "thanks" was betraying my generation or something.

  "Do your parents know you're here?" she asked. "One thinks I'm dead and one can't remember her own name" I said evenly. "Oh. Do you have somewhere safe to stay?" she asked. "Yes. But its a secret. Don't want my father tracking me down" I said. She smiled warmly. "Well if you ever need a pce, my home is always open to those in need" she said. "Um… thanks. Nice to know there are some good people left in the world" I said. The dance ended and I returned to the bar.

  "Hey Vanessa, funny story" said Charlie. I fixed xir with an exhausted stare. "Um… I kinda ran into an ex, who kinda went to Juilliard and I kinda lost my temper and said me and my friends could beat him and his bros in a dance off" expined Charlie. Well that was not what I was expecting. "Tell him you forfeit" I said. "But I can't forfeit! He's my ex, we can't let him win!" xe said.

  "Why not?" I asked. "Have you never been broken up with before?" asked Charlie incredulously. "Not really. I barely had friends before I met Alice, let alone girlfriends" I said. "Did you never have a friendship end badly?" xe asked. "A few, yeah" I granted. "Imagine that but a hundred times worse" xe said. "Oh that kid is going down!" I said.