Lance threw his soda away as they walked through the mall with their bags. By now, he knew, Toad and the twins would be waiting for him at the corner. Yet, he really didn't feel like going home right then. If he did, he'd have to face the fact that the answering machine wouldn't be blinking because Kitty wouldn't have called for him. So, instead, he turned towards Fred.
" Any place you wanna stop by before heading out?"
" Not really. Let's just go home,"
" Oh... A-are you sure?" he tried to keep his voice strong, but he couldn't help it. He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Fred caught the motion and realized what was going on.
" Well... I guess we could try to find some more clothes or something," he muttered, pointing over at a small little store. Lance said a silent prayer as they headed over to said store. The two ducked inside, feeling so out of place it wasn't even funny. They'd never even been in a store so girly before and now they were looking for clothes there. It was surreal.
The two drifted around all the racks of clothing together, picking up a few pairs of pants and checking the size and style. Lance was strongly reminded of Kitty and felt a pang of agony in his heart. He quickly tossed the jeans down and shuddered. The very fact that he'd been thinking of buying a pair of jeans that looked like something his ex girlfriend used to wear was not only painful, but sickening. What was he thinking? He wouldn't wear clothes that girly, even if he was a girl now.
" Let's get the fuck outta here, Fred. These clothes suck," he muttered, glancing around for his friend. However, he found that he was alone. Getting up on tippy-toe, for no apparent reason, he scanned the store for Fred. He spotted him over at a different section and he jogged over that way, " Hey, loser, what the hell are you doing?"
" They don't have my size," he just barely whispered, staring straight at the floor so Lance wouldn't see his blush.
" Huh? What? What'd you mean?"
" They don't have my size," he repeated, feeling absolutely idiotic. Lance stared, his brain taking a second to comprehend what he was saying. Then it clicked and he himself blushed deeply.
" Um... well... who cares, right? Let's go. This place is a rip off anyways," he tried to act casual about it, but he found he couldn't help but sound nervous.
He wasn't sure what he should be saying, to put it simply. Hadn't Fred been big all his life? Wasn't he used to this sort of thing? Or could it be that he'd hoped that this wouldn't happen now that he was a female and so much thinner? If that was it, this must of been a crushing blow for him. Upon realizing this, Lance swallowed and gently touched Fred's arm so he'd know he was there for him. Other then that, he said nothing. He knew Fred didn't want pity.
Fred stared at the floor for a moment longer, fighting the urge to scream or punch the wall. He tried and tried and tried, then just gritted his teeth and swung his fist into, through, the wall next to him. Lance jumped a little, then gave him the brown eyes of a leader, someone who wasn't about to judge him or tell him he shouldn't of reacted that way. Smiling a little, he ripped his hand out of the wall and shoved both into his jean pockets.
" Let's go. This selection reeks," he said, walking off and past a shaken looking girl. Lance glanced briefly back over at the hole in the wall before following him out of the store.
The two walked in silence, both giving the people around them the evil eye. A couple a boys who looked their way quickly walked off in a different direction. They only stopped so Lance could buy a bottle of water and then headed off towards the exit. As they were almost to the food court, Lance spotted a store tucked into a corner. As he read the sign, he grabbed Fred's arm and pointed.
" Check it out. Chicks have plus sized stores. Why don't we try there?" he said, giving Fred an encouraging smile.
At first, Fred wasn't so sure he wanted to walk into a store that read 'plus sized' on the glass. That was like declaring to the world that he knew he was bigger then everyone else and needed that kind of store to find clothes. Then he remembered the utterly humiliating feeling he'd had when he discovered that the other store hadn't even stocked his size. He knew that he'd prefer 'plus sized' on the glass to having that feeling every time he went shopping. Even if he only felt that way in those preppy stores, it was enough. Chances were he'd go in there a few more times with Pietro. He really didn't want to have the speedster find out about his size problem because he'd probably make a scene about how pitiful it was that people discriminated against people because of weight and then he'd start talking about how Fred shouldn't let that get to him (Pietro liked to cause drama even if he didn't really care about what he was preaching about). He really didn't want to happen. Ever.
" Yeah, okay. That sounds good," he said, heading that way. Lance tagged along after him, drinking his icy water and grinning to himself for finding that place.
The two walked into the store. To their surprise, there were a lot of pretty clothes on display and a thousand others on the racks. Fred left Lance to go find a decent pairs of jeans. Alone, Lance began to aimlessly walk around and look at all the preppy clothes he couldn't imagine Fred ever wearing. As he was looking, he drank his water and fished through the dresses hanging up.
" Um, excuse me, miss, we don't allow drinks in here," came a voice from behind him as someone roughly tapped him on the shoulder. Lance jumped and spun around.
Standing behind him was a curvy girl with lively blue eyes and dirty blond hair cut short and falling into her face. A name tag was on her chest, which bounced as she shifted positions, and it read 'Britney'. She arched an eyebrow in his direction, holding out her hand for his drink. He took one last swing, finished it off, and handed her the empty bottle.
" I bet you think you're something," she cooed, shaking the bottle. He shrugged, " I could throw you out of this store,"
" I'm waiting for a friend,"
" Then go stand by the waiting rooms," she pointed over to them with a smile just barely starting to form on her lips. Lance gave her an award winning smile, titled an imaginary hat at her, and made his way over to the dressing rooms.
After a few moments of waiting there, telling Fred to hurry up, he walked back over to the same spot he'd been before. He watched as Britney watched him walk over there, blatantly disobeying her orders. He waved over at her, then started to shift through the dresses once again. A second later, he heard her heels walking over and heard them start to tap.
" You don't seem like the dressy type," Britney said, turning Lance around. He gave her a look, " What's your name? I like you,"
" Uh... my name's... Avalanche," he muttered, not quite sure how she'd take his real name and the story that came after. She arched an eyebrow again before leaning in and putting her fingertips on his chest.
" Oh, so are you gonna rock my world, eh, Avalanche?" she breathed out, batting her lashes at him. He swallowed, caught up in the smell of her perfume. Before he could answer, however, she backed up, chuckling, " You can call me Brit. I like your kind, Avalanche. You got a real name to go with that shake, huh, honey?"
" Call me Alvers and we'll be fine, for now,"
" A bit paranoid, then?"
" Tiny bit,"
" Well, that's fine. I'm not. Here," she uncapped a pen that was in her back pocket and wrote a number on his forearm, " Call me sometime, babe, and I'll let you rock my world, Alvers. You are single right?"
Lance's face burned bright at that question. There was a flash of Kitty's face, and then there was nothing but the guilt he felt for leading this nice girl on. Brit gave him a strange look, but he swallowed and nodded his head. She broke into one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen in his life and he felt his heart melt and his knees begin to shake.
" Don't worry. If you're nervous, we'll take it slow," she said, patting his arm, before turning away, " Oh, look, a customer,"
" Oh, that's my friend... Dukes," Lance quickly said the name, walking ahead of Brit. She shook her head, muttering how weird it was for friends to call each other by last names, but followed him to the register, " Dukes, this is Brit. She's a... friend of mine,"
" That was fast," Fred teased him, nudging him in the ribs. Lance gave him an evil glare as Fred shook Brit's outstretched hand and then paid for his clothes.
" I'll see you around, ladies. Remember, Avalanche. Call me," Brit breathed out, blowing him a kiss and a wink as they left the store. He waved back, before turning a bright red and walking stiffly next to Fred.
" What about-"
" Let's not talk about it, okay? Let's just say... I... lost my head," was all he said and he looked down at the number on his arm. Fred shut up, knowing how he felt. He'd felt like he'd lost his head when he was in that changing room, trying on all those clothes. He could've swore he felt just like a girl.
" Yeah, let's not talk about it," he said, nodding his head, " Think the others had an interesting time too?" Lance laughed at that, assuring him that if anyone could find an interesting time on their first day as females, it would be Pietro and Toad, no doubt about it. Fred laughed with him, knowing it was true.
Wanda walked into the kitchen, plugging up her ears to block out the noise coming from the living room. She contacted Xavier, dying to ask him how everything was going with the counter experiment. Fred walked in as she got an answer from the professor and she motioned for Fred to be quiet so she could concentrate on what was being thought.
Xavier? How're things going? Things are really wild around here. The boys are acting really weird.
Well, Forge may have an answer to that, Wanda, don't worry.
Oh, good. Then they'll be boys soon?
No. Forge has found a bug in the system.
A bug? What bug?
Fred looked through the selection in the kitchen pantry and left with one of Pietro's fruit bars instead of his usual chips. Wanda stared in confusion, watching him walk out. Toad ran out of the living room, holding the phone over his head. Pietro and Lance chased him, screaming swear words.
Forge says that he believes the experiment can cause the Brotherhood to start feeling and acting as though they'd been female all their lives. Of course, this can be countered when we change them back. However, they may start-
Acting fruity?
" GIMME THE PHONE, TOAD!!! I'M WAITING FOR AN IMPORTANT CALL!!!" Pietro yelled, grabbing Toad quickly. They fought for the phone but Lance snatched it from their hands and began to punch in the numbers that were on his arm.
" Back off, losers. I need to call Brit back," he said, putting the phone to his ear. Toad's tongue wrapped around it and he had it. He turned it off and held it close to his chest, looking rather defensive.
" YA CAN WAIT!!! MY BOYFRIEND'S GONNA BE CALLIN' SOON!!!" he shouted at them, backing away from the two.
" GIMME THE PHONE!!! THAT BOY'S GONNA CALL ME!!!" Pietro yelled, tackling Toad to the floor. Lance grabbed the phone again but was suddenly on the floor with Pietro on top of him. Toad took hold of the phone and the three started to wrestle the other for the right to have the phone.
Fred took a bite out of the fruit bar and stared at the three, the phone falling at his feet.
Don't worry, Wanda. They should be almost completely normal.
Oh, trust me, they are.
Then there's nothing to worry about.
Who said I was worried? I just wanted to know why they were all suddenly acting weirder then normal. Thanks for the answer, Xavier.
Wanda unplugged her ears and turned just as the phone started ringing. The three stopped in their tracks, all holding someone else's hair or neck, as Fred leaned down and answered the phone. They untangled themselves and hurried over, demanding to know who was on the other line.
" It's for Toad,"
" BITCHIN'!!!" he cheered, snatching the phone and flicking the other two off. Lance punched him in the arm, storming off outside to go work on his car. Pietro zapped off, shouting that if an Adam called, it was for him. Fred ignored them and left too, " Yo, Wally, how're ya been, baby?"
" This whole thing is so wrong on so many levels," Wanda said to herself as Toad trooped off into the living room to talk to Wally. She sighed and went back into the kitchen, reminding herself that it was only temporary.
Or so she hoped.