My brain: hey you.

Me: what?

My brain: about this story of yours... It's not silly enough.

Me: you crazy, dude!? It's totally idiot! It's finest nonsense juice!

My brain: Not. Enough.

Me: *rolls eyes. What do you want me to do?

My brain: add that scene.

Me: which scene?

My brain: the one I showed you while you pretended to be studying. The silly one. That one.

Me: uff... ok. But it's totally inopportune.

My brain: no, it's just smut with minor plot. Do your research, girl. And don't forget that corny joke. Also don't forget to mention that you were inspired by Xaori's Complaints at some point of the story. And thank Irithyll for the sweet Leon vibes.

Me: Yes sir!

LITTLE EDIT: obviously my dumbass brain forgot to mention all the copious vibes of The Lady Frost's Glimpses. While writing that part, I had in mind that fiction, one of the firsts I read on this site. So, my thankfulness goes to our Lady.

DON'T MISS THE PROLOGUE (SWIPE TO THE PREVIOUS PAGE).

CHAPTER 10 - Roller Coaster

The bus stopped and opened its sliding doors, releasing a horde of loud boys and girls after a long day spent at school.

"Hey buddy!" Carlos said, leaving a heavy-handed pat on the Redfield boy.

"Sup?" fake Chris replied, trying to repress a yawn.

"About that fucking group project Burton assigned… we can go to Kevin's to do it. He just texted. Those two little twin pains in the ass of his brothers won't be home tomorrow."

The group project. Professor Burton wanted his students to present an essay about the American Civil War and he wanted it on his desk on next Thursday. This means, they had only two days left to accomplish it.

"Oh… uuuuh…" fake Chris hummed, glancing at fake Claire, so busy in waving at Jill and Rebecca. Real Claire would have traded her whole house and garden even not to go there alone. That would have meant to prolong her school day, her forced separation from her brother, thus her anxiety, but she couldn't allow any more damage to her brother's grades. Not in history at least.

"Ok, chico. See you tomorrow." she said shrugging, faking an easiness she could never really muster, before lacing her virile hand together with her brother's delicate one and walk home, frowning badly as she turned her back at his friends.

Dammit.

The following afternoon real Chris returned home all alone. At the bus stop fake Chris hadn't got off, instead she continued the ride to go to Kevin's for the history group homework. He was pretty worried about his sister. It seemed to him that she was really tired and broken when he met her by the bus, or even before, at the cafeteria, she just seemed to be weak and tired. She still hadn't had the time to tell him anything but he could've bet his head she had had a hell of a school day. He almost hoped she'd have changed her mind and went home with him but, predictably, she had no intention of skipping that homework.

His homework.

He knew she did it only for him. He knew she would've stepped out of the bus if she had the choice. But choices were expensive goods they couldn't afford lately.

His mother had returned from work too just as he had finished his homework. Her homework. Well, not really finished. He had studied what he had to, but the short text about Shakespeare that his English teacher assigned to write down had to be written by Claire.

He sighed out a downcast huff.

Handwriting was another big problem in their lives, as that was another thing that had followed their souls in the swap. It wasn't something they had figured out immediately, but as school days went by, it appeared being a big, big problem.

Claire had always had a round, neat, harmonious handwriting whereas Chris' one was… well, horrible. It hadn't changed much since the one that teachers strived to teach him during first grade and, when he had to take notes quickly, it just seemed a tornado had messed up the letters on the page. He had desperately tried to imitate Claire's one but unsuccessfully, unlike Claire who was pretty good at worsening her calligraphy and imitating his.

Anytime he had to take a note during classes he would've fast scribbled something on the paper and immediately hidden it with the hand or another sheet. But that was a weird behaviour, so weird that it didn't went unnoticed. That's why he stopped taking notes at all and tried to memorize the most he could of what teachers explained. But that was as well weird and it was noticed too gaining Claire Redfield many many reprimands from teachers. Especially Wesker, who seemed to be strangely attentive about fake Claire's education.

He felt so useless. Because of it his sister had the double of homework to do: not only both of them had to continue studying their old subjects but he couldn't help her with anything that had to be written by hand.

He was in Man's Cave doing these depressed reasonings when Lily called him by his sister's name.

Real Claire took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell at Kevin's apartment. Kevin lived on the sixth floor of a condo with his mother and his two younger twin brothers.

Her brother's friend welcomed her in his usual laid-back manner.

"Man! We were gonna send a cab to pick you up!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry buddy. Have you already started?" she said while splashing her hand on his in the typical boyish salute. She couldn't tell him that, as she had never been there before, it had been difficult to find the right building.

"How could we start without our top student?" Carlos' distant shout hit her ear from the nearby living room.

Real Claire frowned inwardly. Their top student was many blocks away from there, studying British literature inside Girly Room. She incited herself to remain calm. They only had to write an essay. Civil War couldn't be that difficult, she had read many books on that issue before. Chris' knowledge wasn't necessary, she could muster something herself, and after all, it was a group project and that global blessing of internet existed! There were a total of three brains working on it, albeit she feared her brother was the one guy that did all the work in cases like that.

"Imma make you work your asses off, guys!" she said, faking an amused laugh.

"Ho ho hooo… have you heard that Ryman? The boss here is threatening!" Carlos shouted, huffing and waving his hand as if he had just got burned by boiling water.

"No threats Carlos. That was just to make things clear." fake Chris replied trying to sound neutral.

"Don't worry Chris. We're here to help you. You won't do this alone. We'll be right here making sure you'll write it properly." Kevin said winking.

"Is that supposed to sound sarcastic?" she asked chuckling a bit.

Kevin widened arms and smile "Man, Sarcasm is my second name!"

"I thought it was Leon's!" Carlos sneered.

"No, his stands for Shithead." Kevin pointed out.

Real Claire growled out a little laugh and slumped onto one of the chairs by the wide table. "Let's get this shit done." she wearily sighed out.

"Claaaaaire!" real Chris heard his mother say aloud "Claire please come downstairs..."

Why on Earth was she calling him by her name? If she was joking or making fun of him, she had to stop. He wasn't in the mood for jokes.

As he took the last steps down the staircase he spotted Rebecca and Jill talking with his Mom in the dining room.

"Claire!" Rebecca exclaimed, jumping towards him "long time we no see!"

Long time?! He had waved at them less than a couple of hours before! Why were them there?

He tried to grin at her sarcasm and took a glance at his mother. Lily was looking back at him with increasing concern and a stern gaze.

"Hi Becky... yeah... two hours is quite a long time uh?" He tried to joke, while glancing at his mother striving to read what surfaced on her worried face.

Rebecca laughed in her usual jolly manner and Jill handed him a paper bag. "This is for you!"

Fake Claire was pretty surprised in front of that unexpected gift. "Is it my birthday yet? I thought it was October and not already February..." he feigned a laugh, fearing he had forgot some kinda girl tradition Claire didn't warn him about.

"Do we need an excuse to make you a gift?" Jill replied, winking with her stunning grey eyes.

Fake Claire took a quick glance at the inside of the bag, there was a big white jar and some other mysterious things wrapped up in paper. "What is it?"

Rebecca beamed at him and, grasping his arm, she pulled him towards the staircase. "Something to use in the bathroom" she singed.

Despite Lily's insisting invitations to remain downstairs and have a snack, in the end real Chris had to give up to his enthusiastic friends and headed upstairs, right after a reassuring glance at his alarmed mother. As to say I can handle it.

But he had no idea of what awaited him, unlike Lily who had guessed exactly what was going to happen and, according to her, it was of no good for her son.

They were in Girly Room and real Chris fully opened the paper bag. A body scrub. They had brought him a whole big jar of body scrub. He recalled all his sister's explanations about skin care products and he guessed it was something with oil and salt mixed together.

"A body scrub? Why?" He asked, trying to sound amused.

The two girls exchanged a quick glance and a determination imbued nod.

"Because you need to feel good, Claire. You deserve a moment to take care of yourself." Jill answered, smiling softly.

"Thanks but... you didn't have to... I'm good." He lamely replied.

Rebecca came closer to him and, with the sweetest and gentlest hug he had ever received by someone who wasn't his sister, she pulled him in her embrace and muttered on his shoulder "I know you're hiding me something, and I know I can't force you to open your heart to me. But I won't just stay here looking at you while doing nothing! You're not good and you won't get rid of me that easy. I'm here to take care of you anyway, no matter how you lie at my face."

Hearing those stern words yet muttered with sweetness, fake Claire sighed and hugged her a little tighter. "Thanks Becky." He whispered. "I appreciate that."

Too many mixed feelings were storming in his heart in that moment. He was deeply moved by their little act of kindness but he felt sad too. Rebecca was surely suffering for her friend's sudden standoffish attitude, and he was sure she was missing the old Claire so bad, and to make things even worse, the poor girl didn't even know why her friend was so strange and different, she could only miss her and get no answers to her questions. She didn't deserve it. And surely even Jill had the same worries, even if she didn't let transpire much of them. The most he could do to help them back was to share a bit of his time with them and try to reassure the girls that Claire Redfield was fine.

"Let's go to the bathroom!" Becky exclaimed while pulling away, trying to hide with an exaggerated smile the small tears that had formed in her green eyes. "It's spa time!"

Real Chris smiled at her and pulled her back in his hug once more, reaching with an arm to welcome Jill too. His sister was a lucky girl and he couldn't have been happier that she had such precious and loyal friends in her life. He knew Claire would be just caring and lovely with her friends as well and, as now he was her, his duty was to take care of the girls his sister loved so much. He owed it to her.

The three of them went in the bathroom and there the two guests started to get undressed. Real Chris was confused. Suddenly the air seemed to get warmer and he could feel his cheeks burn like fire. He looked at them undecided about what to do.

Determined to act as natural as possible, he started to undress too, hoping the blush on his face wouldn't be too evident. He casually pulled off his clothes but was aware only of the fact that... he had no clue about what was really happening. He could just acknowledge that the room was getting definitely too hot for him.

He had to gulp down hard when the girls started to pull off their underwear too.

No, that room had become a true sauna by now, but he was sweating cold.

"Come on, Claire!" Becky said throwing her panties on the sink and, grabbing a hair comb and using it as a microphone, she added, gesturing like a salesman "come on ladies! the RedChambentine spa is opening!"

"The fuck of a name is that?!" Jill laughed while unclipping Becky's bra.

"It's a portmanteau." Rebecca pointedly explained, using her forefinger as a wand, waving it to rhythm her spelling. "Of our last names, my dear Valentine."

"It sounds stupid." Jill replied with a funny grimace "nobody would ever pay to go to a spa named like that!"

"Oh, but we're free... and by the way this is such a classy name" the brunette winked, helping her friend with her bra too "it sounds so French..."

"Remind me not to get into business with you." Jill joked pulling her panties down. "You have a twisted idea of what good marketing is."

In a blink of an eye two fully naked girls were standing in front of him while tugging their hair into a pair of floral shower caps. Their slender, creamy bodies were just one foot away from him, their breasts bounced delicately at each movement, their butts looked so... Real Chris shuddered inwardly. They looked so sexy. Too sexy.

In that moment he felt all the weight of his condition. His masculinity was howling like a pack of wolves on a full moon night, while all around him the bathroom turned into a volcano throwing flames and burning the air. He had never missed his dick more than he was by then. Though he was aware that being in a female body, his hot inner thoughts wouldn't have been betrayed by an inopportune boner.

He took advantage of their little quarrel to muster a plan to get out of that situation with grace. That wasn't like having a needed, unavoidable, hygienic shower in his sister's naked body, which he had grown pretty accustomed to. That was about being naked with her friends, her girl friends! Girls he had to meet the following day at school. He would've never been able to look at them again without picturing those breath-taking bodies in his mind.

He turned towards the sink as if he would have found his plan in there, but that usual fucking mirror fooled him once more reflecting an enthralling vision.

Oh, fuck you! Is it ever possible that a stupid mirror would always have the best of me?

"C'mon, Claire! Sicily's lemons essential oil scrub is waiting for us!" Rebecca exclaimed, hugging the poor fake girl from the back, while Jill stepped in the shower tray, stirring the lumpy mixture with a wooden spoon.

Real Chris had to gulp down a gasp as he felt her nipples squashed on his back. And another one when the girl playfully slapped his buttock and kissed him on the hair. He giggled nervously and nodded as he adjusted the shower cap on his head, wondering if his sister usually did that kind of stuff with her friends.

That was another thing about girls that genuinely amazed him: they have such an intimate way to live their friendships, a confidence that almost equals sisters' one. With his boy friends it wasn't quite like that. At all. Three naked boys under the same shower, massaging, hugging and caressing each other was absolutely... No way.

"Y-yeah..." he sheepishly stuttered, pulling down his own panties.

It's ok, Chris. Don't be embarrassed. They're girls. You are a girl... They already know your body... They have your same body...

He was naked. He couldn't believe that one of his wildest, most forbidden dreams was materialising in front of his eyes and he was so fucking unlucky that he couldn't make it come really true: two astonishing naked girls with him in the shower, all touching and rubbing and tickling and not only he couldn't fuck them, but also he had to pretend he wasn't horny as fuck!

Fuck. Indeed.

Their work had gained the features of a real essay, enough long and enough well written to make the three guys feel satisfied about it, even if it took them more than one hour to accomplish it. Real Claire didn't have to struggle at all to make the others work. They parted tasks and soon they were all working like a real, experienced team. Real Chris had reassured her that Carlos and Kevin were actually two good guys, despite their weirdnesses, but her anxiety didn't let her relax until the printer spitted out two warm sheets with their essay on it.

"Uff…" Carlos huffed, wiping an imaginary sweat off his forehead "can't quite believe we did it!"

"Yeah…" real Claire sighed, giving one last check to the papers before stoving them off in her bag. History grades were safe. Until next test.

"Hey, Leon and Piers are coming over. They'll be here in minutes." Kevin said while tapping on the screen of his phone. "we deserve a goooood gaming session now."

"Wait, weren't we supposed to study for the English test too?" Fake Chris asked.

"Nah..." Kevin and Carlos said in unison after a quick glance at each other. They had had enough studying for that day.

Some pop music was playing while they started smearing their bodies with the smelly mixture. Chris had to look at them to understand how to do what Claire had surely done many times before at their presence. But he just had a so fucking hard time at focusing. His sight would always fall over those breasts and curves. Never ever he had thought that one day he would've thought there were too many tits and pinkish nipples around him.

Although girls' moves had nothing erotic per se, he was arousing fast, and he couldn't help it. He feared they might have read his arousal, he feared he couldn't manage to conceal it. Rebecca had proved herself to be pretty skilled in reading fake Claire's mind through his face.

What if they figured out the truth? He had literally got naked, uncovered himself before them, he was scared some other truths could come out, like his nocturnal, erotic, secret encounters with his sister's reflection.

With his skin fully exposed, with his - her - nudities uncovered, he felt vulnerable. Maybe that was what real Claire felt when he had to take his first shower as her. Vulnerable and exposed.

He felt sorry for her, as now he could relate to her and a mild smile appeared on his gorgeous face at the remembrance of his sister's embarrassment. He crossed his arms around his chest as to hug himself. As to hug her.

Claire, honey…

Real Claire was too tired to focus on killing zombies and running away from misshapen monsters and, after having made the virtual hero die many times, she just tossed the controller on the couch and leaned back, idly rubbing at her hazel brown eyes.

Fucking migraine.

"Hey Leon! HA HA HAAA… Look! That dude has your same hairstyle!" Carlos shouted, laughing his ass off in front of the big screen. "Someone in Capcom has been stealing your playboy vibes!"

"Yeah…" the blond boy laughed "I should sue 'em! How is that thing called… copyright infringement!"

"Ha ha haaa… you can ask them to hire you for the next one! You know… motion capture and all that shit!" Kevin suggested, pensively quirking an eyebrow, as if he was really entertaining the idea of prosecuting a multi-millionaire Japanese company.

"Oh, and don't forget to ask for some sexy ladies once you get there! I've had enough of steroids-fed male characters! I want to kill zombies in a woman's body! Someone with big boobs, shaking ass and all." Carlos added excited.

"Speak for yourself!" Piers snorted "I'm not done with buff heroes at all!"

"Uhm… if they'd put a wig on you…" Kevin mumbled, squinting his eyes and looking up and down at Leon, chin caught in his fingers "you could play the blondie girl to rescue too!"

Leon raised his middle finger and fucked them all off. Everyone in the room was laughing except for fake Chris who, instead, kept her sombre frown well settled on her manly face. And Leon noticed.

"Hey buddy…" he said, standing up from the sofa "what about a cigarette?"

Fake Chris hadn't the time to respond that Kevin yelled a loud "go outside! Mommy doesn't allow people to smoke inside!" waving his hand without looking away from the tv, ignoring Carlos' scoff at that Mommy.

Honestly, she wanted to get rid of the guys for a bit, and the idea of some fresh air truly entertained her, maybe it would have eased her mind. She followed Leon on the kitchen balcony, closing the door window behind herself.

Real Chris had to discover how much was displaying on his face, how many thoughts were evident. Maybe... maybe for the first time that mirror would've been useful.

He turned towards the glass, to look right in his sister's eyes. Again, his breath was taken away...

In front of him there stood not one, but three girls, completely undressed in such a small space, focused on massaging each other and joking all the while. But most importantly, there was that look again, on that girl. The girl that every night would tease him and arouse him up to a fulfilling orgasm with her enchanting body. And face. And eyes. And lips. And...

A sudden, forbidden fantasy tickled his mind. A fantasy made of his sister, naked and sweaty, all tangled up with her girls who ravished her right in front of him.

It was quite instinctive.

A small, insignificant gesture but enough to draw him back to reality: as he saw her nip at her lower lip, in the same naughty way she did anytime she was about to expose herself to his enjoyment, he slammed his eyelids closed, to prevent himself from further indulging in that vision. He tried to reason. It wasn't the right time, nor the right place.

Don't look at her. There are other people. Claire loves them. Don't act stupid. Self-control, Chris. You'll see it later. Not now Chris. It's like a shower. Focus on something else.

He opened his eyes again and tried to do as his mind suggested. The shower cap. Only in that moment he noticed how ridiculous their caps were. Shower caps are definitely the least sexy thing in the whole universe. His even had some cartoonish ducks printed on. At least it caused him to giggle.

"It's so good to hear you laugh!" Becky said cheerfully, inwardly moved by that little spark of joy her friend was showing.

"The cap you bought me... is so ugly and silly" he chuckled.

"But if you said you love ducks!" Becky protested, sarcastically placing both her fists on her hips.

"Maybe she misspelled. Maybe she meant she loves dicks." Jill deadpanned, in such a serious tone that it turned out being even funnier than a well thought joke. In fact they all laughed, real Chris included.

No, I really don't love dicks. At all. But Claire does, even more than usual lately, as she has her own private one by now. Mine.

Just a little bit more at ease, he was going to turn again and face them when he felt a big handful of mixture being splashed on his back. Becky was smearing his back, drawing wide circles with her hand, accurately exfoliating his skin.

That was comfortable. He liked that. Being massaged was so pleasant.

"Laughter and self-care are the cure, baby!" Becky exclaimed.

"Please, Claire, would you do the same to me?" Jill asked with her smooth, soothing, silky voice, turning her back towards the fake girl.

He took some mixture in his palm and started stroking the girl's back. Jill's skin was so soft he wondered if it really needed any scrubbing. Evidently he was pretty good at it as Jill curved her back and reclined her head, and he felt her unwind under his touch. His sight caressed the deep curve of her waist, the halo of her ribs under the pale skin, ascended again to her shoulders and precipitated down her spine to her butt, so round and so tight.

Highly rapt by his doing, he didn't notice how close he had become to her back or how long were his thin, curious fingers indulging and penetrating in the cleft between her butt cheeks, until the girl exclaimed with a jolly laugh "heheheyy! You humping me?"

Chris was taken aback by that and, as waking up from a daydream, he winced and took a little step back. Dammit. What was he doing?!

It's Jill, you asshole! And you're Claire! Fuck!

Trying to defuse the embarrassment, he lamely joked at his own awkward, out of place arousal "Haha... yeah?"

Jill laughed pretty loudly and shook her head "Sorry honey! You're not my kind!"

"Yeah... guess I'm the wrong Redfield" fake Claire winked with his eyebrows. Even though, inside, real Chris felt a bit annoyed and frowned inwardly. If he were the right Redfield nothing would have spared the brunette a massive dose of his fat dick, stuck between those buttocks, plowing her like there's no tomorrow.

Jill stuck out her tongue and ignored the tease and just kept joking "if you want to go lesbian why don't you try it again with Moira and leave my poor ass alone?"

Real Chris widened his blue eyes and gasped in air but couldn't say anything. His mind started running fast. Go lesbian? Again? Had his sister had lesbian sex?! With her friend? Was Jill joking? Was it true?

He couldn't ask.

Damn, that was a hell of a revelation! He'd have never guessed his sister would've done something like that. He couldn't help thinking that his fantasy of just few minutes before had already become real once. Claire naked with a girl... Claire kissing a girl... Claire moaning under the languid licks of a girl.

Feeling that he was falling again in his spiral of indecent thoughts, he shook his head as to dispel it, but that hot daydream would've haunted him for the rest of the day.

And for the whole night, too.

The sight from that apartment was breath-taking. The sun had already set but the air was still brightened by a straw yellow glow. Only few other buildings were as high as the one they were in and they were all quite distant, rising up from the ground like gigantic white pillars sprayed with rambling plants. It was all roofs, trees, streets, cars and, in the distance, the contour of the Arklay Mountains.

Leon offered her a cigarette and passed her the lighter. Real Claire realised only in that moment that she had to muster an excuse to avoid smoking. But she didn't find any. She was too tired to strain her brain to invent things. She picked the small roll of tobacco and, tugged it between her lips, she lighted it.

After all, Chris' lungs are already screwed.

She coughed a bit but got to feign it as a normal cough. She handed the lighter back and leaned over the banister, resting her elbows on the steel tube.

The two boys smoked silently for a while. Leon standing up, few steps behind her, back leaned against the window, a look of concern embroidered on his face. He stared at his friend, standing in front of him with her back curved down and head low. Her every whiff of smoke was a quiet sigh.

Real Claire was trying to send away all the torments of a long school day that attempted to surface and torture her mind. Day by day it was getting harder and harder for her to remain calm, to keep faking, pretending to move like a boy, to think like a boy, to laugh and burp and fart like a boy, and now even to smoke like a boy.

Fortunately, she had seen her brother smoke a trillion times, thus she was able to replicate pretty accurately the way he grabbed the cigarette and blew away the white stinky vapour by his just slightly parted lips, letting it idly graze them before ascending to the sky.

She had begun to loathe being in situations where she had to play the Chris role and was forced to eclipse her being Claire, to have to deny and overshadow herself. Only when home she was free to be the girl she was, if not in the outer appearance, at least in her behaviour, her thinking and speaking and moving. But on that balcony she had to pretend and all she wanted was to fuck off back home and try to forget that shit of a day, the last one of a long series of shitty days, maybe even with a good wank right under the shower.

"Hey man…" Leon said softly, taking place beside his friend by the bannister, turning his back towards the panorama. "are you alright?"

"Yeah." fake Chris groaned absentmindedly, letting out a ruffle of smoke.

"You sure?" Leon insisted.

"I said yes." the big boy grunted.

Leon lowered his gaze to the below tiles and took another drag. "If you… if you need to talk…"

Fake Chris grunted angrily, gritting her teeth and tossed away the cigarette, launching it from the sixth floor. She grabbed tightly the bannister until her knuckles turned white. All her frustration needed to be roared out but she knew she had to continue to lie at other people's faces. She wanted to scream. She wanted to follow that fucking cigarette and pierce a whole in the ground until the fucking centre of the Earth with her bare hands.

She closed her eyes trying to recover her cool.

Breathe in… breathe out…

"Chris. I'm not the only one that noticed you've been acting so weird lately… and you're tired. You always look so fucking tired" Leon continued.

He had made up his mind to force his friend to confide his troubles. Because Leon could've bet his balls that Chris was in some kind of trouble he wouldn't or couldn't talk about. "I just want you to know that whatever may be happening to you, you can trust me, just like I know I can trust you. You know, you helped me so many times in the past… now it's my turn to try to be helpful."

Fake Chris just stood up there, with his hands firmly gripping at the railing and her head facing the overhanging. Metaphorically, that position somehow homaged what she was feeling inside: she was on the edge of the cliff and she could've fallen any time if she didn't fight with all her strength to prevent fucking panic from assaulting her once more.

"I… Chris, I just hope it's not about something I may have done without realizing it… I'd never be disrespectful towards you. If it's about me, please tell me." Leon whispered, fearing that his friend might have been pissed off with him for having tried to kiss his sister few days before, maybe Claire had told him everything.

Poor Leon, if only he knew the truth! The boy in front of him knew perfectly everything that had occurred on that veranda, only detail: that guy was everything but the boy he supposed to be.

Fake Chris saddened even more, she understood what the blond's fears were about. That fucking situation was not only destroying her mental health, her bowels and her life but was even causing tons of grief to people that surrounded them and loved and cared about them. Leon was one of those. And he was suffering immensely.

The boy, so loyal and sincere, thought it was him somehow, if not the main cause, at least one of the reasons of his friend's sorrow.

"If I did anything wrong, whatever it may be, I'm sorry." Leon murmured heartbroken.

Real Claire couldn't hold back anymore. She was the cause of Leon's sorrow, and she hated herself for it. He didn't deserve it.

She burst into tears as she heard the boy's apologies.

But she didn't cry like a boy. She would never cry like a boy. In moments of big discouragement like that, when she was most vulnerable, there her being a girl would resurface and the fake guy would disappear.

Leon looked at his sobbing friend who covered her mouth with a hand while the other one would try to catch her heart and press on the centre of her chest as to calm her maddening pulse, she squeezed her tears filled eyes and furrowed her brows in an expression of pure grief and desperation, while trying to hide her face from his sight.

It was such an unusual vision. Leon had never seen Chris cry, but surely he didn't expect that the big badass boy of Chris Redfield would do it that way.

There was something in his feminine crying, however, that moved him profoundly, tickling his most emphatic side, thus, when a beaten fake Chris turned to throw herself in his arms, Leon was found standing with his arms already wide open, ready to welcome his friend in his hug.

Fake Chris was taller than Leon and, certainly, bigger and more robust but, nevertheless, she let herself draw in his embrace, sobbing hard and grinding his torso with her out of control strong grip.

Her whole big body was shaking, in the throes of her desperation, exhaustion and sorrow. She couldn't help the frantic twitching of her sobbing chest.

Leon gave her some little pats on her back, whispering comforting words with the little air that grip left in his lungs, but it seemed that his cares had no effect on his friend. Instead of diminishing her whines, they just grew louder so much so that she started soon to tremble so terribly that Leon was forced to make her accommodate on the only little stool present on the balcony. Now Leon was truly terrified. That reaction was alarming him.

Chris. The hell is going on with you?

Real Claire had by then abandoned herself crying her eyes out and, although she hadn't forgot she had to pretend being Chris, she was too broken to think that grabbing Leon's hand and pulling him closer to hug him just like she was doing on that stool, placing her big bearded head against the other boy's abdomen, was something totally out of place and inopportune, it was unlike Chris. Real Chris would've never done it. And Leon knew that.

Despite the strangeness of that position, the boy continued to try to comfort his friend and to help him overcoming what he was certain being a panic attack. He wasn't succeeding at all, alone as he was, maybe the help of the other guys could've been resolutive, especially from a sensitive guy as his cousin Piers, whom Leon relied on a lot, but he'd never left Chris alone on that balcony in that condition. Not that he really feared Chris could've committed any insanity, but his own nature prohibited him to leave alone someone suffering and needing for help.

After a while, it seemed his cares managed to pierce a hole in the crying crisis of his friend and fake Chris slowly calmed down, weeping quietly at first, before stopping completely and staring at the floor silently. She was now dramatically assaulted by the shame she had exposed her brother and his reputation to with such a pathetic scene.

Leon bowed beside her and, placing his hand on her round thick shoulder, he said "Buddy, now I'm sure you're really going through something big. But I know you, and I know what kind of a fucking stubborn dickhead you are and that you won't tell me anything. I just implore you to swear me that, whatever it is that makes you suffer this way, there's someone you've talked with and that you're not facing it alone."

Fake Chris sniffled and nodded coyly.

"Swear it." the blonde insisted with a serious, resolute tone, shaking her shoulder.

"I swear. We're not alone." She languished at him with a slightly broken voice.

"W-we?!" Leon stuttered, taken aback.

Fake Chris bit her tongue and mentally cursed herself for having been that incautious. Leon would've never guessed it concerned both her and Chris, there was no need to reveal that.

Leon didn't like to hear that. At all. He hated hearing that Claire was in the same shit that had just almost made his best friend have a heart attack.

He stood up and remained silent for few seconds, clenching his jaw closed, before spelling an earnest "Is Claire this bad too?"

Fake Chris didn't muster the courage to look at her friend in that moment. The tone and the faint flickering in his voice were more than enough to make her feel bad for him once more. Before she could even open her mouth, the blond resumed speaking in a wrathful, shaky voice.

"Chris, dammit! If you want to keep your secrets from your friends, you're welcome. Do whatever your motherfucking head commands, but if your shit is hurting Claire..." Leon's voice flickered for his ire and he fell silent again. He leaned against the bannister with his eyes clutched on a grievous face, gritting his teeth for the rush of anger that pulsed through his veins in that moment. He had to relent his wrath, as flaming on his friend after a crisis like that was of no use. He calmed down his tone and added solemnly "You said you'd die for your sister. You must accept to be helped, whatever is fucking with your lives. If you're too proud to accept to be helped... then do it for her!"

Fake Chris' lips pursed into a faint smile, more a shadow of the inner warmth induced by that caring scolding than a real smile.

Nevertheless, she had to relent his worries somehow.

"She... uh... she's stronger than me." She lastly sighed, flinching at the wavering in her own voice and at how lame she sounded.

"Swear to me you're helping her!" He muttered, shaking his head.

"I try to do my best..." she whispered with a shrug. She raised her gaze and looked at him. "I really do…"

"She's in good hands then." Leon said trying to alleviate fake Chris grievous expression and to defuse the tension his scolding aroused.

The two of them had another cigarette, this time even Claire enjoyed it just a little bit, before walking back inside the apartment.

While Leon opened the window door, fake Chris said "Leon… just one thing… about what happened… don't mention it to the others. I don't want them to worry more."

Leon smiled and nodded "You don't even have to ask. But if you'll ever change your mind, you can rely on us. You know that."

"Thank you ever so much, my friend."

"I wished I could do more to help you, brother."

In the end, among torments, shyness, girls talking about periods, bras sizes, boys, hair lotions, schoolmates and many other feminine topics, real Chris made it out alive.

He had never been that interested in gossip in his whole short life, as it helped him to ignore how fucking wet he was.

He focused at his best on their chit chat succeeding to not provoke too much his aroused self and involuntarily deceive the girls making them believe he was a quite normal Claire and that their cares had been a success.

Albeit the two girls believed fake Claire was having his deserved dose of relax, he was actually getting tired to death, as focused as he was in playing his girl role and repressing his instincts.

Once their skins had been properly exfoliated, they rinsed away the oily layer and applied a moisturizer.

They finally headed back to Girly Room wrapped in big towels, the fake girl eager to burrow in his bed and do absolutely nothing. He frowned and rolled his eyes when he saw them pull out of the bag some nail polish bottles, as he had naively believed girlish time was over.

Oh, c'mon! You must be kidding me!

As the chatty girls left, Lily ran upstairs and found her son in Girly Room, outstretched on the pink bed, with only his lace underwear on, his auburn long hair spread all over the pillow and some wadding among his toes to let the nail polish dry up.

Lily knew that it was usual that her daughter would invite her girls home for that kind of stuff but she also knew that it wasn't her daughter this time and... that her son was a boy. A boy attracted by girls. A boy who knew he had to pretend to be a girl. A boy who would fall apart even not to make others suffer, especially his sister.

She had tried to spare him such a difficult situation, but unsuccessfully.

He lazily turned his head towards her and covered his eyes with a hand "hey Mom..." he whispered, a low tremor suffusing his voice.

Lily couldn't curb a malicious yet melancholic little grin.

"Do they do it often?" He asked.

"You mean being naked together and be so... girlish?" She chuckled without putting much effort in sounding amused.

He nodded under his hand.

"Girls take skin care pretty seriously, honey." She tried to joke, cringing at how corny it sounded. She leaned closer and sat on the edge of the bed and caressed his long ruffled tendrils. Oh, little boy...

With a sweet whisper, she asked "how was it?"

Chris didn't know what to answer. Did she want to know if he got horny around not only two but three naked and hot female bodies? If he felt shivers anytime they brushed his skin? Did she want to know if that body scrub worked? If it smelled good? Did she want to know if her daughter's friends acted naughty when showering together? Did she want to know if he acted naughty when naked? If her daughter had incredibly hot sex with another girl? If he would touch himself to death at such a fantasy?

"I'm wrecked." He sternly replied.

Lily's smile became even more melancholic and she bowed to leave a small peck on his forehead "I'm sorry, little boy..." she whispered.

He forced an unconvinced smile "it's ok, Mom."

She left the room, closing silently the door and descended downstairs once more, eyes filling up with sorrowful tears for how worried she was about her son and his having to get intimate with female nudity in such an unnatural way.

She needed Chris. Coming home from Kevin's seemed to never end. When the bus that had brought her back in her neighbourhood stopped, she got off running, and running she went home.

Towards her shelter. Chris.

As if she somehow expected to find him there, she went straight to Girly Room and found him standing up in the middle of the bedroom, topless, in cute panties, with his bra laying on the ground before his small feet.

"Claire!" He flinched, surprised by her sudden appearance and, hastily picking up the little piece of fabric from the floor, he hurried to explain "I... I was going to grab a m-more comfortable one..."

But she ignored everything he said and simply bucked towards that barenaked slim body and tugged it in her embrace, holding him tight, but being careful not to squeeze him too much lest to hurt his breasts.

Real Chris raised on his toes and stroked her curved shoulders, downcast with the certainty that his sister had had a disastrous day.

"Why do you smell like dish soap?" She muttered while sinking her face in his auburn loose hair.

He sighed and briefly told her about his last tiring experience with the girls.

"Well... at least your skin is smoothest now..." she said, trying to look at the bright side of it, while trailing a finger down his spine.

"Yeah... it is..." he sighed.

Without letting that petite body go, she pulled him towards the bed, lifted him, grabbing him by his buttocks and climbed on it, with her naked brother clung to her muscular body. In few seconds they were tangled in a sweet Redfield roll.

Fake Claire laid down on his back, with his legs spread open and fake Chris' portly body outstretched between them. The fake boy lowered her head and rested it on his prosperous cleavage, holding that feminine barenaked body with her brawny arms, while fake Claire draped his around her broad muscular torso and stroked it gently, while streaming dainty, pinkish fingers through her short dark strands.

They were shattered, but they were together, at the end of a wrecking day. That's why their usual sick attitude and role play started again.

"My boobs are so smooth right now!" She sighed grazing his breasts with her lips.

"Yes they are! That thing works!" He replied, gently squeezing one of his tits with his hand. The chill air brushed his bare skin and he felt his rosy nipples get turgid under his palm and fingers. He kept kneading his boob for a bit before chuckling "wanna kiss it?"

"Mmh?" She questioned, raising a dubious, amused brow but keeping her haggard brown eyes lazily closed.

"You know... it turned out that you seem to like boobs..." he suggested, pushing the tit against her bearded muzzle.

"What do you mean?" She laughed, not seeing what he meant.

"Jill told me you had sex with Moira..." he whispered in a hot, seductive tone that had the only result to arouse him and annoy her.

Real Claire rolled her eyes. Shit. He knows.

"It happened ages ago." She cut off with a breathy huff, as she was too tired to confront her brother's jealousy.

"How was it?" He asked.

She growled out a laugh and dipped her head in his cleavage even more. She decided to dodge the question with irony. "Mmmmh... my boyfriend's tits are better than hers."

"Oh c'mooooon! I'm curious! Tell me more!" He incited, not willing to accept any refusal to share her hot secret with him.

She sighed and replied, spelling her words lazily and against his tender skin. "I didn't like it that much."

"Honey. You're boyfriend here is asking for details! Gimme details!" He insisted, laughing loudly.

She hummed a laugh in her throat "why? Isn't he jealous?"

"Of a girl? Not at all! Geez, Claire! Lesbian sex is so damn hot! I watch tons of lesbian porn!"

"Well then... we did it in this very bed." She said, slowly, putting on a raw, warm, tantalizing voice and whispering her words as to deliberately provoke his arousal. "We were naked... and close. And curious. And wet."

"Woah!" He replied astonished, picturing the scene in his mind.

"She just confessed me she was lesbian. I was curious to know if I was too..."

"How old were you?"

"Fourteen."

"Mh... little naughty girl" he joked "aaaaand...?"

"And nothing, honey. We kissed. A lot. But I just didn't feel the same pleasure as her. I'm just not lesbian." She shrugged.

"But Jill said sex..." he mumbled, confused.

She raised her masculine head and put up one of her brother's typical sly smirks "Moira licked my pussy up to orgasm. But I had to think of Leon to come. Jill knows even that but as Rebecca was there with you..." She shrugged, aware that such a confession would have triggered him. You wanted to know? Now you do.

Real Chris frowned a bit and snorted, gaining an amused laugh from his sister who kissed his collarbone and joked "don't be jealous honey, that's not cheating. That was before you."

"I know... but still I'd pay tons of money to see my girl fuck another girl. Mmmh..." He said, accompanying his last words with a sexy little moan.

"Next time I'll be mating with a girl I'll call you then, so you can watch me." She whispered hotly.

The conversation had definitely become pretty nasty, once more. But that was alright for them as long as it made them feel a little better. That day had been a true emotional roller coaster, especially for real Claire who agonized the whole morning in a seemingly endless swirl of tension, then had a little relief when her brother approached her in the school cafeteria, then again a whole afternoon of just anguish and a panic attack on a balcony, then that little chat. Lots of hurt and sparkles of comfort, all day. She was exhausted.

They shared a bit of relaxed, comfortable silence during which real Chris just kept caressing her and she kept nuzzling his breasts and engulfing him in her wide, strong embrace.

"I'm sorry I screwed your wank" she said in a low, guttural voice after a while "But I missed you."

Real Chris let out a quiet laugh. "Nevermind, honey. I have all the night for that. I missed you too." And bowed his neck to leave a precious kiss on her head. "Tell me about your day."

Real Claire rose her head and shifted her whole body upwards, that bit enough to take his round cheek in one hand and fondly kiss him on the other cheek.

"It's not important. It's over." She whispered.

She didn't want to add her own problems to his. She actually wanted to leave all behind and forget.

After all, he could easily guess what her day had been like. He perfectly knew about her panic issues and all the rest.

"'Bout Leon..." she sadly sighed "you're so lucky you know? He's such a good friend! He worries so much about you, Chris. And I'm so sorry for him..."

Real Chris' expression saddened. All their friends were worrying. "I know... you're lucky too. Becky would even never stop talking but... she's a true angel."

"I wish I could spare them all of this... I mean, I can deal with this shit, but I don't want them to worry for me." she sighed.

"Me too."

They just kept exchanging soft kisses on the cheeks and delicate caresses for a little while, before she spoke again.

"You look so tired, honey." She added stroking his face with the pad of her thumb and looking straight at his weary blue eyes "Those dark circles..."

He tried a laugh "good to know my girlfriend thinks I'm still sexy after a hard day!"

She giggled too and let her bearded head collapse on the crook of his charming neck, humming on his skin "I'm sure I look as wrecked as you too!"

"Those dark circles though..." he mocked.

She laughed more heartedly this time and tightened her grip on him. "I didn't sleep at all last night..."

"Bad dreams?" He whispered, enfolding her head within his arms, as to protect her from the misery that surrounded them.

"You can't have nightmares if you're awake."

"Mmmh... outstanding move!" he joked "my girl is a genius!"

"And my man is a dork! I didn't it on purpose!" She replied. "I just couldn't sleep. And now I'm pooped but it's almost dinner time."

"If it can make you feel better, just know that I slept only a couple of hours..." real Chris said.

She raised her head once more and locking her hazel brown intense eyes to his impossibly blue ones, she whispered with her low, growling voice "how is that ever supposed to make me feel better?"

Long silly chapter for a silly fanfiction. My brain will let me rest now.

I just realised I still haven't done the mandatory disclaimer. As I don't want to begin any quarrel with any Japanese developer (hold your horses, Ryman!) I, a Fangirl, solemnly declare that Chris, Claire, Leon, Jill and all the rest are awesome characters who belong to Capcom.

If they were mine, instead, I would produce a good RE game where Claire rescues Chris from zombies and happily fuck together in every single cinematic scene (yes, Code Veronica, I'm looking at you).