Boys Don't Cry
Chapter One
Los Angeles was warm with a cool breeze blowing in from the sea. For Dana Cruz, the morning had been dragging on far too long. Around PCA, so many people saw her as angry, a tomboy, and hot-tempered. Shutting the water off, the teenager wrapped herself in a towel (which was pink, thanks to Nicole). Quickly brushing over her shining tasseled hair in front of the mirror, Dana walked out of the bathroom, then entered her dorm room. "Hey, Dana," Zoey greeted, looking away from her book.
Dana groaned, and sat down on her bed. "Ah, what happened to my clothes?" she yelled, growing angry.
"Nicole put 'em in the wash," Zoey answered. "You can borrow some of mine if you want."
"...Thanks," the light brunette replied. "Um...do you have any underwear in my size?"
"Sure," Zoey answered with a giggle. "Hope you don't mind Victoria's Secrets." Dana let out a defeated groan, and accepted the frilly pink bra her friend offered her. "Why would she do the wash today? She is really getting on my nerves lately."
"I can't believe you two still aren't getting along," the blond said. "But...she's doing that foreign exchange project...so we get Quinn back, and Nicole goes to Tibet for three months."
"Think she'll stay there?" Dana asked, slipping on the bra.
"Come on, you have to admit she's starting to grow on you," Zoey replied.
"Like a sist," the brunette added. "One less tramp in PCA."
"At least you and Quinn got along well," Zoey tried to lighten the mood.
"Except for all her crazy experiments," Dana retorted. "She's made me gain twenty pounds, turned me into a baby, and even made me into a ballerina for two days. I mean, what's with her, anyway?"
"She's just really into experiments, and doesn't have any way of testing them," the blond explained. "I think she looks up to you, though." Silence entered the room, and remained there for awhile.
"...Thanks for lending me the clothes," the brunette finally said.
"Any time," Zoey happily replied. "...Well, not the Victoria stuff...Hey, you wanna spend some time with Nicole?...She's only gonna be here two more days."
"No, thanks," Dana answered, picking up a book. "Tell her...'bye' for me, will yuh?"
"Sure," the blond agreed. "...Sure you don't wanna tell her yourself? It is three months." Dana didn't respond. Defeated, Zoey walked out to meet Nicole in the laundry room.
Meanwhile, Quinn sat in the tent she was given, listening to the thunderous winds rage through the frozen mountains. The protozoa she'd been testing her formulas on hadn't been responding. If they find out I'm doing this, they'll kill me, she thought, growing nervous.
"Hey...Quinn," asked a shy, hushed voice. The boy Quinn had been helping for the past two weeks entered the tent, clad in a heavy hooded jacket and ski goggles. "Any progress?"
"Not yet, Ned," the dark brunette answered, regret in her voice. "I'm sorry." The boy leaned against the wall, obviously too upset to be cordial.
"...It's okay," he said, withholding his emotions; Ned had gotten good at that. "Thank you."
"What do you mean?" Quinn asked. "I'm not done yet. I still have two more days...sorta."
"But I don't," Ned sorrowfully replied. "People are catching on...Thank you so much for...everything."
"Will we meet again?" Quinn asked, knowing she was acting like more than a friend, despite Ned's wishes.
"...Bye Quinn," a saddened Ned replied before departing.
"This is so stupid," Nicole giggled, looking at herself in the mirror.
"I know, but I won't see you for three months," Zoey replied, working her gel-coated hands through Nicole's long, straight hair. "And my parents never let me do this to Dustin."
"Shouldn't we have outgrown this kinda stuff by now?" the light brunette asked.
"Probably," Zoey giggled. "Oh, here...you need more blush." The blond dusted her friend's cheeks with the brush, giving her a lightly pouty look.
"Get my lips," Nicole said before puckering like a fish. Zoey laughed, then painted over her friend's lips with glossy red lipstick. "Thank you...I getta do your makeover next."
"...You're done," Zoey said. "Stand up." Nicole stood up, and looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing how rediculous and overly made-up she looked, Nicole threw her left hand into the air, letting the pink, plastic bracelet flop, and went into a superstar pose, her lips stuck outward.
"I look like such a dork," Nicole giggled.
"Miss Nicole Bistrow," Zoey announced. "Super Model of..."
"The freak capital of France," the brunette completed. "Oh, I am gonna get you so bad."
Dana remained in her room, reading over her book. She could never get why Zoey even got along with Nicole. They were complete opposites for the most part. The next day was more of the same; Zoey and Nicole talked while Dana stayed in her room. Christmas vacation was still in full swing, and hanging with Nicole was not going to ruin it for her.
Finally, the day of the takeoff arrived. As the sun set along the clouded crimson horizon, Zoey gave her oldest friend a hug, then big her farewell from herself and Dana.
"I'll miss you," Lola said, giving Nicole a brief hug. "Good luck with everything."
"Thanks, guys," Nicole replied. "I'm gonna miss you two so much."
"There's the plane," Zoey sadly announced. A large, shining silver plan flew in from the west, appearing as a giant shadow in the lighting. The wind blew in the teens' faces.
Once the plane had docked, Quinn walked down the steps. "Hey, Quinn!" the three called out, warmly greeting their friend.
"Hey guys," the dark brunette replied. "Oh, you're gonna love Tibet, Nicole."
"I know I will," the light brunette warmly replied. "Keep my part of the room in one piece, okay?"
"You know it," Quinn answered. "I won't touch your Pokemon comics." The two hugged, then parted. Zoey, Lola, and Quinn stepped back as Nicole walked up the platinum steps into the warm airplane. As her friends waved her off, Nicole returned the gesture, then walked back to the left side of the plane, taking a window seat next to an empty chair. Looking out the small, circular window, Nicole took in the sunset, then pulled out her iPod. It didn't take long for the plane to take off into the sky. This is it, she thought. No turning back now. Finally, the airplane broke through the layer of clouds, practically entering geospace, and glided along in the scarlet atmosphere.
Dana walked out a little too late, and watched the shadow of the plane disappear in the black-hued clouds. Maybe she wanted to say her goodbyes in person. Maybe she wanted to know Nicole would be out of her hair for real. Or maybe she just needed some air. Soon, the tomboy met up with Lola, Zoey, and Quinn. Lola was currently staying in a dorm with Stacey, so it would just be Zoey, Dana, and Quinn; just like junior year.
"Would you guys like to hear about my newest project?" Quinn asked, excited as usual.
"Sure," Zoey replied. "Is it that super-hot formula you started?"
"No, but that is done," the dark brunette answered. "Care to test it out for me?"
"What's the new experiment, Quinn?" Dana interrupted.
"Okay, it's a natural alternative to performance-enhancing supplements," Quinn explained. "It increases the body's ability to produce adrenal glands, and a slight increase in testosterone."
"So we'd all wind up growing beards?" Lola asked.
"Only if you took too much," Quinn answered. "It's actually continuing on a failed project one of my friends started awhile back."
"Just keep it away from me," Dana replied, not sounding amuzed. "There's no way I'm shaving anything but my legs." The other three girls laughed. Finally, they arrived at Room 101. Lola was invited to spend the night, which she accepted.
"I'm going to leave my strength-enhancer on the bedside drawer," Quinn said, setting the vile of blue liquid on the counter top. "Zoey, Lola, would you like to test my Beautification Formula?"
"Sure," Lola said, taking Zoey's hand. "Let's rock." The three walked into the bathroom. Dana changed into her pajamas, layed down on her bed, and picked up her book. Reading at night was her favorite way to fall asleep; it relaxed her. "Natural strength enhancer," she said. "What a stupid idea."
Later that night, Quinn walked into the room. "I said I was sorry, you guys," she said, looking back at her friends. "It'll wear off in about two hours."
Zoey and Lola walked in, their lips swollen, their eye lids colored dark purple their hair big and poofy, and their stomachs pudged out in the center (similar to Ginger Fox at her revival show). "Whatever," an exasperated Zoey replied, obviously unhappy.
"Hope no one saw us," Lola said, getting into her sleeping bag. "We look horrible."
Dana snickered at the two, then continued reading her book. "Sure you don't wanna try?" Zoey jokingly asked. "Might help give you that pouty look you're always going for." Giving a disgusted look, the curly brunette went back to her book.
At about ten thirty, the lights were turned off. However, Quinn decided to move her formula into a more secure container. Luckily, there was a bottle of blue PowerAid on the bedside counter. Thinking it empty, Quinn took off its lid, and cautiously poured the vile into it before tightly putting on the lid. "Another day, another unhappy result," she whispered, walking back to her bed.
Dana woke up, feeling groggy and sore in her joints. Hope I still have some PowerAid left, she thought. If not, I'll be really ticked. Knowing how early it was, Dana just felt around for her drink, picked it up, and gulped it down. "Ah," she silently exclaimed, feeling refreshed. "Hmm...I feel better already." The girl headed towards the bathroom to take a shower.
Come six o'clock, the room was lighting up with the sunrise. Quinn, as usual, was wide awake and ready to start some experimenting. Taking a quick glance at her roommates, she could see her failed "super-hot" formula had worn off. Wonder where Dana is, she thought. Oh, I forgot about my strength-enhancing...Oh no. "Zoey, Lola!" she shrieked. "Wake up!"
"What?" asked Zoey, rubbing her puffy eyes.
"Do either of you know what happened to my vile of strength enhancer?" Quinn asked, getting worried. "I-I left on the counter last night."
Dana walked in, clad in Nicole's pink towel with her hair folded up into another pink towel. "Hey, guys," she greeted. "Looks like Nicole took my towels to Tibet. Too bad I hate pink."
"Dana, do you know where Quinn's strength goo is?" Lola asked.
"I don't know what happened to it," the dark brunette added. "I...oh, I poured it into a PowerAid bottle."
Dana froze cold. "Not the bottle I had on the counter, was it?" she asked, her heart pounding.
"...I'm afraid so," Quinn confessed. "How much did you drink?"
"The whole thing!" Dana shrieked. "But I couldn't taste anything weird in it."
"...Oh my gosh," the dark brunette replied. "There must have still been PowerAid in the bottle, and the two fused. Quick, let me see the ingredients of the drink." Zoey pulled out another bottle from the mini fridge, and handed it to Quinn. "...This is not good...The chemicals utilized in PowerAid are designed to completely rehydrate the body and give energy."
"Yeah, so?" Dana asked, worried.
"The strength enhancer could very well effect your entire body," Quinn answered, her voice grave.
Losing her composure, Dana pulled the towel outward, and looked down at her breasts.
"What are you doing?" Zoey asked.
"Oh...I don't feel good," Dana said, losing her concentration. "Man...I need to shave off my arms." The girls looked at the shining brunette's arms, which were now coated with dark, somewhat thick hair.
"This is not good," Lola exclaimed.
"Oh, I think I'm gonna..." Dana began before charging into the girl's room.
"Hopefully, she'll just vomit out the formula," Quinn said. "Otherwise, I'm afraid of what will happen."
"That stuff won't go lethal, will it?" Lola asked, her arms growing numb with fear.
"No," Quinn answered. "But it won't be favorable...especially not for a girl." Suddenly, the three heard a loud, high-pitched scream from the girl's room.
"Hey, whatter you doing in here?" another girl hollered, furious. "Get out! Sicko!" "Pervert!" another girl yelled.
Dana charged into the room. "Oh my gosh," the brunette said, terror in her voice. "I just...I pulled my pants down, and..."
"...Dana, is that you?" asked Zoey, baffeled.
"Yeah, what do you...Why is my voice so deep?" Dana asked, noticing her once-feminen, lightly sassy voice was now deeper and more masculine. "The hair on my arms...Oh my gosh."
"Um, Dana..." Lola said, nervous. "Your...boobs are gone."
"What?" Dana tried to shriek, though it came out a scream. Sure enough, her bosoms were nowhere to be seen. Throwing off her shirt, the young man saw lightly chisseled abdominal muscles; a mild Situation, a wider framed waist, and slightly muscular pectoral muscles. "Ah!" Dana yelled. Grabbing a mirror, the boy saw her hair was now short and in a sylish, lightly spiked mop-top style. However, it still maintained its shine and lighter highlights. Her once-dainty, pretty face was now handsome and well-sculpted. "I'm...I'm a guy!" he yelled.
"Oh my gosh," Zoey said, looking over her new...male roommate. "You look...hot."
"Shut up!" Dana yelled. "Quinn, I will kill you for this!"
"Y-you're still adjusting to your new hormones," Quinn explained. "Just try to calm down. Don't do something you'll regret."
"Yeah, you could punch a bag or something," Lola suggested, trying to cheer the boy up.
"Listen, I don't need this garbage from you guys," Dana snarled. "I...ugh! Turn me back! Now!"
"I'll get right on it," Quinn replied. "But in the meantime, you'd better find a way to fit in. We can get some clothes from Chase or Logan. You look...about their size."
"What should we call you?" Zoey asked. "How 'bout Dan? Daran?"
"...Dan," Dana decided. "Don't tell anyone what happened to me. Just...get the clothes." Throwing himself on the bean bag chair, Dan felt hot rage course through his muscular body. All he wanted to do was thrust his fist into something. "Do you have anything to eat?"
"There's some corn chips in the drawer," Zoey answered. "Help yourself, dude." Dan spit, then got the bag of salty chips.
"Hey, guys," called out a familiar voice.
"Nicole!" Lola shrieked, running out into the hallway.
"Don't forget my clothes!" a furious Dan yelled.
"Nicole, whatter you doing back?" Lola asked, giving her friend a hug.
"They said I didn't get the proper injection for some of the conditions I'd be exposed to," Nicole answered, somewhat let down. "So...I'm back." The brunette started to walk back into her room.
"Um, wait a minute!" Lola futilly tried to stop the girl.
"Whoa," Nicole said, seeing a muscular, shirtless boy sitting in her room, clad in somewhat tight black pants.
"Um,..." Dana began to say.
"Hey, this is Dan," Quinn said. "He's...my cousin. He just showed up last night after you left." Dana caught himself staring at Nicole; her hair, her curves, that voice.
"Nice to meet you," Nicole said.
"Yeah, you too," Dan replied, taken back. She is so hot, she thought, not understanding anything he was feeling. "I'll...catch you later?"
"Sure," a flattered Nicole replied before walking out.
"Got the clothes," Zoey said, walking in with some of Chase and Logan's old pants and shirts. "...What I miss?"
All eyes were on Dan, who just sat still, flustered and confused. There was certainly more to being a boy than Dana thought.