A Change of Perspective

by Optimizer

Part 9

Erica was a little surprised to see Cora on the bus home. She'd expected her to get another ride home with Brandon. For that matter, it was unusual for Erica to be on the bus, too, but David had baseball practice so she couldn't go in his car.

They chattered on the drive, as usual, but something was very off. She would have expected Cora to be bouncing off the walls, to be ecstatic. Instead she seemed preoccupied. So Erica braced her as soon as they were out and on foot. "What's wrong?"

Cora didn't dissemble. She walked slowly for several seconds, staring at the ground. "I was gonna break up with him. Once Danielle got hers, I mean." After another pause, she continued. "I wanted to get him back, too, for being so fucking stupid."

Erica waited as long as she could, then probed. "You were gonna?"

Cora took a while to speak again. "If I break up with him now, he'll think I just went after him to get at Danielle."

"Uh... you did."

Cora flinched. "Okay, yeah, but he apologized. And he feels bad about it." She was talking fast. "I don't hafta make it any worse, y'know? He's not a bad guy. I don't wanna, like, mess him up for later. Y'know, when he finds a real girlfriend." Her voice had run down somewhat. More quietly, she said, "He should be able to trust somebody, someday."

Erica wobbled, uncertain. She had been ordered not to pay any attention to Cory. But the poor girl looked so troubled...

She couldn't help herself. "What does Cory think?"

Cora's voice was very soft, now, almost inaudible. "He's decided Brandon deserves to be tricked."

Erica pondered that for a moment. "Is that what you think? That you're tricking him?"

"I dunno," Cora replied, sounding haunted.

~~~~~

The evening was a busy one. The police were talking to the lawyers that Danielle and Mindy's families had retained. Becca was willing to testify, and hadn't even pressed for immunity.

Jacqui had managed to supernaturally procure copies of Becca's confession, and drove down with Bronwyn to confer; Laurie stayed home with the girls. Cora cackled all through the transcript, reading aloud her favorite bits. But she paused with rising eyebrows when she came to:

Detective: So, why are you telling us this now? Why change your story?

Rebecca: I just wanna sleep through the night again. And Brandon's with Cora anyway.

Jacqui met the girl's eyes steadily, with a confident smile. "My Mom said dreams could do the job."

"Huh," Cora had said, not disagreeing. The discussion moved on to legal strategy. The lawyer who'd helped with the restraining order was there, a woman named Adelle. She was young for a lawyer, only in her mid-twenties, but seemed very competent. Again no one actually admitted she was a Sister, but the girls weren't stupid. She'd been allowed to see the confession.

While Adelle covered a fine point of evidence law, Erica took Jacqui aside, into the kitchen. "Um, like... how long did... how long was, uh, y'know, 'Jack' like... hanging around? "

Jacqui nodded, a wry little half-grin twisting her lips. "Right," she said knowingly, stealing a glance through the door at Cora. The girl was focused on what Adelle was saying, with all the sharp intensity she was capable of.

Jacqui turned back to Erica, but her eyes were distant, remembering. "With me, it was at least a year. I don't remember exactly when 'he' left. One day I just realized I hadn't heard from him for a while." She smiled, back in the present. "I won't be worried about 'Cory' - well, more worried - until maybe early next year."

That made Erica feel a lot better. The pair came back into the den, where Cora was learning about testimony.

~~~~~

Danielle, Mindy, and Rebecca didn't show up at school the next day. Rumors were flying even more frantically and Cora was a center of attention again, naturally; even more than after dating Brandon. She was far less disconcerted this time, though. Erica would have sworn the girl's smile hadn't faltered once since she woke up this morning.

Maybe she'd decided to ignore 'Cory'. In any case, Cora's friends were just as excited and immediately pounced on her for details.

To Jacinta and the rest, they couldn't share everything. But the public information was juicy enough. "Our lawyer says it probably won't go to trial. It'll be a plea bargain."

"Why?" Gabriela asked, looking confused.

Erica jumped in. "She says you never know what might happen in court, so most of the time it's better not to take the chance."

Cora shrugged agreement. "It's still my and Becca and Brandon's word against theirs," she pointed out. "The phone's gone. A jury might not buy it."

Jacinta was almost sulking. "So that puta gets away with it?"

"Nobody said that," Cora said with a feline grin. "Danielle's parents are almost pissing themselves thinking what could happen if she did get convicted on the full charges." She caught the meaning of Erica's sudden sharp glance, and backtracked. No need to reveal telepathic surveillance. "That's what our lawyer thinks, anyway. Probably jail, and she might even go on the sex offender list. And that means she'd have to move out of her neighborhood, and a lot of schools wouldn't accept her."

Jacinta now had a smile scarcely less satisfied than Cora's own. "That's more like it!"

"She fucking deserves it, yeah, but... I don't really wanna have to testify, anyway," Cora admitted, looking somber for the first time that day. "So they'll probably settle for criminal harassment. Only probation and community service, but a record." Her smile was back. "Which still makes it harder for her to get a job or get into a good college."

"What about Mindy? What happens to her?"

"Accessory. Maybe just community service." Before Jacinta could ask, Cora went on. "I'm not pressing charges on Becca. Getting expelled is enough. She didn't really do anything but keep quiet anyways."

Gabriela broke in. "They gonna get expelled? Like, for sure?"

"Oh, yeah. Mrs. Schimke called me last night. She's already suspended them. And she's, like, starting the expulsion process first thing today. Doesn't need charges for that."

"Told you the Goddess would provide," Erica said, smug.

"Hey, we were praying for you too!" Jacinta noted. But she was smiling too.

The warning bell rang, cutting short any religious debate. The girls hugged and said their until-lunch goodbyes, heading off to class.

~~~~~

Cora came out of the door and headed toward him. Seeing her from a distance, next to other girls, Brandon was struck by how she walked. Some girls strutted, some bounced, some even sashayed. Prancing, almost, like they were on a runway.

Cora just... walked. Covered the ground.

She didn't walk like a boy, of course. Her hips swung and all that; she was unmistakably female. But there was nothing practiced or exaggerated or stylized about it. It was all her. Just how her body was put together.

It was put together very nicely, too. He liked her gait.

"Hey," she said as she stepped up to the bike. "Give a girl a ride?" She'd worn jeans again today. The first time he'd invited her, she'd had to explain that skirts didn't really work on the back of a bike with all the wind. He'd felt pretty stupid. Thankfully, she'd seemed more amused than annoyed. And the next day she'd worn jeans.

"Certainly, milady! Allow me to present your riding bonnet," he said, grinning as he pulled out his spare helmet. She'd seemed so preoccupied when she'd begged off riding home with him yesterday. But today in calc class she'd asked him. He still couldn't quite figure her out sometimes. Of course, I never had that good a handle on any girls before.

She scoffed and punched his arm, but she grinned, too, as she swept her hair back with a hand and slipped the helmet on.

Danielle had only ridden with him a couple times. A helmet screwed up her hair, she said. Cora didn't seem to give a fuck. She jumped up behind him and pulled in close.

Oh, well, they can't predict the weather that great either. Just gotta enjoy it when it's sunny. He gunned the engine a little more than he had to and aimed for the street, still smiling.

~~~~~

Jacinta concentrated, determined to focus and write down the customer's order correctly. She couldn't afford to turn and stare, no matter how much she wanted to.

Only when she was sure she had it right did she glance at Cora and Brandon. Cora had brought him to the taquería for dinner. Cora smiled and gave a little wave, and she smiled back.

She turned and navigated around tables to the kitchen. They made such a cute couple. And Cora seemed to have gotten more comfortable with him. If Jacinta was right and the girl had been assaulted or maybe even raped, that was no small thing. She still worried that Brandon might not have the patience to let Cora come around at her own pace, though.

She handed in the order and peeked at them past the door. She couldn't hear anything of what they were saying from across the room. All she could see was body language.

Cora smiled and laughed at something Brandon had said. She had a killer smile, but she didn't seem to know just how powerful it was. Or she'd use it more. Brandon gave her hand a quick squeeze, then stood and headed towards the restrooms in back.

Cora watched him as he walked away, a relaxed grin on her face. And Jacinta was ninety percent sure she saw Cora's eyes track that tight runner butt for a couple seconds.

Jacinta felt her mouth curving into a sly grin. Brandon was hella cute. And maybe Cora was finally noticing it.

~~~~~

"So, an extra-large meat-lovers and a small veggie," David told the waitress.

"You got it," she said, and went to place the order.

"I get one of your slices," Cora told Brandon. Erica sighed.

It wasn't quite a double date, but close. A bunch of guys from the baseball team had gone to play Whirlyball and needed to fill out the field. So friends and girlfriends could come, too. They'd had fun with the group, and that weird cross of polo and basketball and bumper cars, then the four of them went out for pizza.

Brandon said, "I don't owe you anything. Miss an easy pass like that, you don't deserve meat lovers."

Cora scoffed and threw in an eye-roll. "We ain't all six foot one, y'know. I don't exactly have your reach."

They went over a little more post-game analysis, bit then the conversation lulled for a moment.

"Good thing that whole cluster with the movie went down, or we might not have hooked up," Brandon mused. "It totally pissed Danielle off."

"The Goddess provides," Cora said with a haughty grin. "Wish it coulda been a better movie, though. Usually they save the sequel hook for after the credits," she went on, not missing a beat. David couldn't show it, but he was a little impressed. She'd wrangled that redirection like a pro, no hint in her face or tone she was avoiding anything.

Erica didn't handle it quite as gracefully. She was sounding a little too bright and cheerful as she seized on the topic change. "At least they aren't rebooting the whole franchise again!" David suppressed a smirk; Erica was fundamentally honest, a terrible liar.

Brandon didn't pick up on it, though. "Gonna be enough of those. You see that timeline Savion posted? Ten superhero movies a year, for the next five years!"

"Of course they're gonna make super flicks. They can finally do the special effects, that's all," David said. "You ever check out the first Superman? That's the only half-decent one. All the others look totally fake."

"Man of Steel had good effects, but the story sucked. That Justice League thing ain't gonna work."

Cora swallowed a sip of diet. "DC's been doing OK on TV. Those animated movies are pretty decent. And Flash and Arrow."

David spoke up. "Haven't done much of anything good besides the Batman stuff."

Erica backed him up. "Green Lantern." They smiled at each other. "Marvel's the opposite. They do the movies right but Agents of Shield got old fast." She frowned. "'Cept now, on Netflix. Those shows were good."

"I dunno if they can keep it up, with the movies I mean. Only so many guys work for a movie. I mean, Ant-Man was barely hooked into anything else," Brandon said, shaking his head.

"Can't fuckin' believe there was an Ant-Man movie before a Wonder Woman movie," Cora said darkly. "Howard the fucking Duck has been in more movies than her."

David shrugged. "Well, only one of them was good..."

Cora was on a rant, though. "There's only ever been one female super hero that got any attention outside us comic geeks," Cora said. "Wonder Woman. She's more famous than frickin' Iron Man or Thor, that's for sure. Or Green Lantern. But they all got movies, and none for her."

"Just a couple more years," Brandon said soothingly. Erica was astonished to see Cora smile, instead of snarl at him.

"Superman, Batman, Spider-Man - they can be superheroes, but they don't have to represent all men, everywhere," Erica pointed out. "But no matter how they make her, somebody's gonna be pissed."

"Well, looks like she's gonna be the first one in the Justice League after Batman and Superman. A founding member, like in the comics."

"Founding member," Cora muttered. "In the comics, when she joined, she was the secretary."

"Well, anyway, at least Marvel's doing good. Jessica Jones was bangin'. And the Wasp is coming." Brandon gave her a smile, and that seemed to calm Cora down a little. Shortly after, the girls went off on one of their joint trips to the bathroom. The boys sat and ate, bemused.

"What's Cora like, anyway?" David asked. "She's always so quiet at school." Brandon was a necessary intel channel.

"She's a little, I dunno, shy sometimes I guess." Brandon spread his hands, palms up. "But how many hot girls actually know anything about comics? And like action movies, and play shooters?"

David reflected that Brandon was the only one of the four who was entirely who he appeared to be. I guess what he doesn't know won't hurt him. And David really hoped he was the only one who knew who everyone really was. "They're a rare breed," he agreed.

"Yeah, Wiccan chicks are usually so fucking granola they don't even shave their pits."

The girls came back and Cora managed not to give any more speeches. It was actually a lot of fun, and the only thing remotely resembling conflict came when it was time to pay. The boys insisted on buying the food.

"Fine, but we'll get the tip," Cora said. She and Erica were already pulling out their purses. They left a generous gratuity; David wasn't surprised since both of them had experienced the restaurant world.

~~~~~

He'd been steeling himself the whole ride home from school, but he almost wimped out at the last second. He forced himself to speak up right when Cora handed him the spare helmet.

"Um, I was wondering..." Brandon said, then fell silent. "I know you're, like, Wiccan and all, but..."

Cora just looked at him, expectantly. Finally she said, "Yeah, what?"

He gathered his courage. "For Easter, my church... well, we take shifts over the weekend, making big meals for homeless shelters." He shrugged. "We're supposed to invite someone who hasn't come before. And, um..."

She tilted her head and squinted. "And you want me to come?"

"Well, yeah." He spoke quickly. "It's not a hard sell or anything. Our pastor's actually big on that. You're not supposed to even talk religion unless they ask. 'Show you're Christian by what you do, not what you say,' and all."

"Trying to save the pagans?" But she was joking. He was almost positive.

"We're Episcopalian. Super liberal. Talk to the Catholics or the Baptists, they'll tell you we're pretty much pagan too."

Cora smiled but didn't say anything.

"I'd just... like you there. I think you'd have fun. You know I'm not super-religious." He waved a hand. "I believe in God, but I think God cares more about trying to do good than which church you go to." He looked in her eye. "And you're a good person. So's Erica and her mom."

She looked down and actually blushed a little. "Even if we dance naked in the woods for the Spring Solstice?"

"Okay, that's a dealbreaker." Her head popped up and she looked at him, startled. "You didn't invite me?"

She laughed. Thank God. Then she pursed her lips, considering. "What time are we talking about?"

"Saturday. Um. Pretty early, we're doing breakfast."

~~~~~

Saturday afternoon, when Brandon dropped Cora off at home, Miranda was out doing the grocery shopping with Haylie. So Erica was the only one home. This was not entirely an accident; she was eager to know how Cora had gotten on.

"So. How'd it go?" she asked as she followed Cora upstairs to change.

Cora's head canted as she considered the question. "Brandon really enjoyed it. I mean, you could see it. Just... helping people."

"What about you?" Erica probed.

Cora waved a hand. "I did too, mostly. After a while."

Erica peered at Cora uncertainly, inviting elaboration.

Cora shrugged. "I was a little scared, at first. Strangers, maybe crazy. And I'm pretty small." She saw Erica nod slowly, and went on. "I mostly stuck close to Brandon. It was weird. I finally realized that, like, if, y'know, any shit started... I was counting on him to protect me."

Erica nodded again, remembering that night at the movies with David.

"Cory wouldn't'a even thought about it. But he was a foot taller and had, oh, at least sixty more pounds of muscle and bone." She shrugged. "But nothing happened except some creepy looks."

The two girls sat down on Cora's bed. She continued. "Anyway, that was later. The ride down was okay. It was a little weird. I mean, I met his parents already, for a minute. But it was, like, an hour with just me, him, and them. Cory met parents before, but I never had to figure out how to act like a girl that won't scare her boyfriend's parents."

Erica was suddenly glad that David's parents seemed pretty hands-off. She'd only met them a couple times, checking in or out for dates. But Cora was still talking.

"So I just tried to act, like, totally non-sexy." She grinned. "I can still do that."

Erica smiled too. "You got a lot of practice," she teased.

Cora shook her head and mock-glared. "Anyway we got there and carried a bunch of stuff in and started cooking." It warmed Erica's heart to see Cora's smile when she said, "Brandon and I got put on the waffle maker. Spent about an hour making a big pile." It was the smile of a girl happy to spend time with her boyfriend.

"And it actually was sorta chill when we served the food. It wasn't all street crazies, like I'd kinda been imagining. It was just... people, y'know? They were just unlucky, most of 'em."

Cora looked somewhat pensive. "Cory's sorta, like, Libertarian. But it's easier to believe in 'level playing fields' when you're a guy. Especially a straight white guy." She touched Erica's hand. "Did you see that thing I linked to on Facebook? How if life was an RPG, 'straight white male' would be the easiest setting?"

Cora half-shrugged. "Anyways. Brandon looked 'em all right in the eye, and smiled. A real smile. A couple older people, he carried their food for 'em."

Erica had seldom seen Cora gush before. "Even the kids liked him! Have you noticed how little kids trust strange girls more than boys, mostly?" Erica nodded firmly. That was hard to miss. "There was this one little girl." Cora's eyes got vague - almost dreamy - as she reminisced. "We were out serving, and it was almost over. This one family came up, and she asked for another cookie, but her mom said no. But she came over by herself just a minute or two later, and she asked again."

"And Brandon got this grin, like he was six years old too. And he slipped her three cookies and said 'I won't tell if you don't.'"

"She giggled and ran off to the corner. And I saw her looking at him a couple times while she was eating them."

Oddly, Cora turned somber. Then she began to speak, and Erica understood. "He invited Cory once. When they were both freshmen. Cory blew it off, and he never asked again." She gently shook her head. "Cory never thought about it after that. I only remembered 'cause he asked me now." She looked at Erica. "Was Cory a dick? Or does he just look that way to me anymore 'cause he hates me so much?"

Erica took Cora in a hug, responding to the pain she saw in those eyes. "Oh, Cora, you weren't a dick. He wasn't a dick." She swallowed a lump in her throat, holding back tears.

Cora didn't cry either. But she didn't say anything.

"I liked Cory. I was sad when he was avoiding me." She gave Cora a squeeze. "So he wasn't perfect. He could be a little... arrogant, I guess. And maybe he focused a little too much on his own goals. But I never saw him go out of his way to hurt anyone."

"But he never went out of his way to help anybody. Not like Brandon."

"That's not true!" Erica said, pulling back and taking Cora by the shoulders. "I saw him help Josh and Derek and Sunny with programming stuff. And he was good with the track team, from what I heard."

Cora seemed to feel a little better then. "Okay, yeah, that's true." Her smile after that was wan and wry, but genuine. "So he never went out of his way to help a stranger. Brandon's got him on that one."

"Brandon's a good guy," Erica agreed.

They talked a bit more, and then, Erica being half naked, they wound up releasing some tension in their accustomed way. Cora seemed a lot more at ease when she went to her room.

~~~~~

Linda and Kristina were over at Erica's house for a little visit and study session. Cora was hanging with them; Erica had a moment of pleased reflection on how Cora didn't mind female conversation so much anymore.

"Paul's stepdad has a cabin way up north, near Redding. They go, like, one weekend a month. And he said he could invite me in April."

"Sounds tight," Cora offered. "Supposed to be good hiking up around there."

"Maybe for you!" Linda laughed. "I don't run miles and miles every day! Paul marches around all the time. He'll think I'm a flabby cow."

Cora scoffed, but smiled. "If you can run a mile with Erica, you can walk a bunch more."

"Maybe we can go for some walks next week instead of jogging," Erica said. She was glad Cora picked up on how Linda was partly fishing for encouragement. "David's got an away game Thursday night."

"Brandon and I were gonna go run that trail again that night. You two could walk it."

"Huh," Linda said. She and Erica negotiated schedules for a few seconds.

Then Cora's foot brushed Erica's. She glanced over, and Cora nodded subtly toward Kristina. Erica realized her friend had been quiet for a while now. And she was looking down at the table sadly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

"'s nothing," Kristina said. Her face had gone wooden again.

"Oh, come on," Linda said, reaching for Kristina's hand. "Something's bugging you."

The girl's reserve was cracking a little, but she pulled her hands away. "It doesn't matter. Just leave me alone, okay?"

Cora was clearly unsure what, if anything, to say. Erica shifted a little closer and said, "Come on, we're your friends. Let us help."

"Nobody can 'help'!" It came out in a rush. Kristina had real tears flowing now. "You've all got boyfriends and I'm never gonna have one again!" she wailed.

Cora looked to be at a complete loss. Erica was dismayed, too, but couldn't afford to be silent. She moved to hug Kristina and said, "That's not true!"

Linda was moving in, too. "Look at Natasha's sister! She's got two baby daddies and she's getting married in September!"

Cora spoke up from the other side of the table. "Lots of girls with kids get boyfriends," she said. "Especially these days. I knew, like, three back in New York." Her tone was perhaps a shade too practical - Erica thought about guys who tried to solve problems rather than just be supportive - but there was no doubt she was sincerely trying to help.

"And there's some good bits," Erica volunteered. "At least you won't waste any time with the immature assholes."

"Yeah, you'll just get a better class of guy," Linda agreed. "Only guys who can handle it will stick around."

Kristina snorted her derision. "And how many really good guys are there?"

Cora seemed taken aback, thinking about it.

"They're out there," Erica insisted. She looked around the table, and realized the other two were thinking about the same thing she was - Could my guy handle it? It gave her pause. What if she got pregnant? Would David skip out like Jimmy had? She'd have to reflect on it later - now was not the time, not when her friend was hurting. "Maybe not in high school, but there's college and work. It'll happen."

They managed to calm Kristina down, after a while, and made plans to spend some more time with her. Once Linda and Kristina went home, Erica said, "Whew!" She looked at Cora. "Sorry, she's not usually so high-maintenance."

Cora shrugged. "She's got a fuck of a lot to deal with. I'd be a total basket case if I got preggers."

"Thanks for understanding," Erica said, with feeling.

They went to the kitchen to start dinner. "Least I don't have to worry about it," Cora mused. "Brandon ain't gettin' where Jimmy got."

Erica shouldn't have doubted that. For the most part, she didn't - she knew Cora wasn't into guys. And yet, somehow... some tiny corner of her mind stubbornly, against all reason, kept its own counsel. Erica didn't even bother arguing with herself. If anyone was going to get pregnant, it'd be her. Sometimes, next to David... if Kristina hadn't been her friend, she might have gone all the way already.

~~~~~

Erica was in the middle of two texting conversations at once, with Kristina and Trahn, enjoying a rare Friday night off. Cora came through the door, a bit earlier than she'd been expecting. She and Brandon had gone off on his bike after school for a longer ride.

She looked up and said, "So, how'd it..." But she got no further. Cora's teeth were grinding and her eyebrows were practically touching, so pinched were her features. The girl seemed to radiate anger... and confusion. It was not a mix often seen on that face. Cora usually knew exactly what she was angry about.

Erica bolted up out of her chair and rushed to her friend. "Oh, Goddess, what happened?! Are you okay?! What did he -"

But Cora just threw a hand up. "It's not him. Get your Mom into the library. Now. I'm calling the Sisters."

By the time Erica rounded up Miranda and met Cora, the girl had fired up the desktop and initiated a Skype conference. Jacqui and Laurie were just appearing. "What's up, Cora?" Jacqui asked, concerned.

Cora didn't answer for a second, giving the Mother and Daughter a very considering glance. Then she just said, "Not until Bronwyn's on."

That took only a couple more minutes, which passed in uncomfortable silence. Goddess, what happened? Erica wondered. She hasn't been this tense in forever. Suddenly, with a horrible sinking feeling, she wondered if somehow Cora knew about the binding spell.

Finally, Bronwyn's image appeared in a new window. "Yes, Cora, what's wrong?" she said quickly.

Cora breathed very deeply. "I think you know," she said. It should have sounded flat and solid. But she wasn't pulling off cold anger as well as usual. Erica sensed a certain hesitation lurking as an undertone.

At that, the Sisters rapidly exchanged glances. "I assure you, we don't," Bronwyn said. Her tone suggested caution with a hint of controlled irritation.

"Fine," Cora said. "Let me set the scene. Brandon took me for a ride on his bike. We stopped by the park, and sat on a bench. And..." She paused for a second, then soldiered on. "And he got his arms around me."

Her lip had curled up in a snarl. "We were kissing. Frenching. And he was moving his hands on my back, and he kinda rubbed my ass, just, like, testing." She was almost growling, hard to do with her high-pitched voice. "And I didn't want him to stop!"

The Sisters absorbed this, with some puzzlement, a dash of amusement, and a marked lack of surprise. Cora just glared, her hands clenching to fists. Finally, Jacqui said, "So?"

The dark-haired girl seemed to explode, standing and screaming at the webcam. "SO YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING WITH MY HEAD!"

All the women flinched, even the ones watching remotely. Cora kept right on going, shouting instead of roaring. "I've been reading those spellbooks," she waved at Miranda's bookshelf, eyes still locked on the screen and the senior Sisters, "and I know what a motherfucking Suggestion is! I can't do 'em or defend against 'em yet, but I know how they work!"

Every Sister but Cora had equally dumbfounded expressions, Erica noted to herself. She was sure she looked the same.

Jacqui was the first to recover. "You weren't raised in the faith of the Goddess, so I'm going to assume you don't understand exactly how serious an insult you just handed us." Cora started to say something, but it turned out Jacqui could yell, too. "Nor how stupid you sound! When we swear that level of oath, it's Magically binding! You have no idea what the cost of breaking such a covenant is!" She might have kept going, but Laurie placed a hand on her arm.

Bronwyn looked exasperated rather than angry, now, and her face showed maybe a trace of amusement, too. "Young lady, we have not touched your mind at all. Or let anyone do a thing to it. Our vow is unbroken."

It was Cora's turn to look disbelieving. Bronwyn shrugged. "If you liked what he was doing... I'm afraid you liked it all on your own."

Though there was a brief pause, Cora was seldom stymied for long. "Bullshit! I'm not gay!" Yet her voice was hoarse. And were her eyes getting wet?

Bronwyn was unfazed, though her eyebrows lifted. "No one said you were. Of course, you have a female body now, and a female brain. They have been known to respond to males in particular ways..." She shrugged.

Cora looked deeply horrified. "But I... I've been checking out girls! Ask Erica! They caught me once!" She took a shuddering breath. "I never..."

Jacqui wasn't quite as matter-of-fact as Bronwyn. There were clear signs of amusement as she said, "Never what? Never got right up close to a boy like that, for very long?"

Laurie stepped in. "Jacqui, hush." She looked earnestly at Cora out of the screen. "I'm afraid this is an occupational hazard of being a girlfriend. Sometimes you wind up actually liking the boy. Especially if he's cute."

None of them could recall Cora ever looking so thoroughly stunned. She just sat there, mouth slightly open, eyes darting from face to face. For a few seconds Erica was sure she really would burst into tears. But then she stiffened. "You set this up! You knew this was gonna happen, you pushed me -"

It was the first time Erica had ever heard Laurie interrupt anybody. "Actually, if you recall, we advised you not to interact with him any more than you had to."

Cora had finally run out of things to say. She stood, looking from Sister to Sister, shaking with emotion, normally pale face flushed with rage and embarrassment... and then she fled from the library. Erica stood, but she heard Cora running upstairs instead of out the door. She would have sworn she heard at least one sob, too.

Miranda sighed behind her. "I think this is going to be a difficult few days. At least."

~~~~~

The Sisters talked for a little while after that, but no one would dare predict Cora's responses any more precisely than Miranda had.

After they signed off, Erica steeled herself and went upstairs, her footsteps slowed by trepidation. All too soon she came to Cora's door and knocked gently.

"Go away!" The voice was hoarse.

"It's me," Erica said. "Just me."

No response. That was better than another shout, actually.

She waited nervously. She was just on the verge of knocking again when the lock gave a click and the door opened.

She stepped in and closed the door behind her. Cora wouldn't meet her eyes; she went and sat dejectedly on the bed, sniffling. After a moment, Erica sat at her side and put an arm around her shoulder.

She didn't say anything, making a snap decision to try outwaiting Cora again. It just felt like the right thing to do.

Still, she almost broke first, holding Cora as she wept. But the tears slowed, and Cora started talking."I'm sorry about... downstairs. Losing my shit." Cora sounded miserable. Erica managed to keep from showing her shock. Cora didn't back down like that. Not that soon, anyway.

"I wanted it to be a Suggestion. I almost convinced myself. But I couldn't."

She sighed. "It's just, I really haven't been checking out boys." It wasn't a defiant declaration; she sounded defeated, almost.

Erica held her tongue but gave Cora a little hug. Cora's arm snaked around her and squeezed back.

Cora sighed. "Right after I got Transformed, I kinda... checked. In my head. I thought about guys and, like, kept an eye on how I felt about 'em. And there was nothing. Not even that; dicks were, like, totally yuck!"

She hunched in on herself. "But now, today, with Brandon? It's like that thing about frogs getting boiled slow. I think it's been going on for a while."

Erica couldn't hold herself back anymore from comforting her friend. "It kinda snuck up on me, too." Though I wasn't so scared when I realized it. "Feels weird, huh?"

Cora made no response for a while, but she didn't pull away or anything. She was looking at the floor. "Suggestions... they're planted. Makes a thought or a feeling pop up, in some particular condition." She inhaled, exhaled. "Later, though, you might wonder, 'What the fuck was I thinking?' You'll see that it was strange. Heck, if it's too out of line, you'll notice it right then. 'I should do so-and-so. Wait, what?'"

After a thoughtful pause, she said, "And that's how I knew it wasn't a Suggestion. Like, intellectually, in my head, I think liking guys should be weird and wrong. I remember it being gross."

Her arm pulled Erica close again. "But today with Brandon... it didn't feel weird. Or wrong." She shook her head slowly. "It's like... not liking guys, that feels weird. Unnatural."

Erica's eyebrows went up. That drew a genuine, if strained, smile from Cora.

"No shit. It's like, now that... now that I really noticed how cute Brandon is, I can't unsee it, y'know?" She sighed. "It's like those pictures. Y'know, a bunch of blotches, and you squint, and suddenly it's an outline of a dog or a boat or a face. And you think, 'How did I miss that?'"

Erica nodded slowly, understanding. "Good way to put it."

"And it's not just Brandon, now. It's Lucas. Javier. Or that guy who works at Cinnabon." A sly, careful look at Erica. "David." She couldn't completely stifle a strained giggle. "Fuck, all of a sudden I'm replaying Thor in my head and I'm getting a lady-boner!"

Erica giggled too, and gave another squeeze. "I think for me it was Harrison Ford."

Cora stared in doubt. "Seriously?"

"Not, like, now! Eeew!" she protested. "Like, young Harrison Ford! Raiders Ford."

"Ohhhhhh," Cora said, and then they both burst out laughing. It went on a little too long, and Cora sounded borderline hysterical at first... but by the end she seemed to have recovered a little.

"Jacqui was right. Him getting all up in my business, that's what did it. I was all, 'Wait, why am I getting wet?' And then I looked in his eyes and I knew."

Erica remembered wrestling with Silas at the waterpark, gave Cora a firm hug, and said, "Well, Brandon's a hottie. Hard to miss."

Cora wasn't laughing anymore. "Cory missed it. He never thought about kissing Brandon." She shook her head. "God, he's pissed right now," she whispered.

Erica had no clue what to say to that. But she'd fallen silent several times now, so she hoped it wouldn't show.

Cora didn't elaborate. She just shook herself and changed the subject. "And now I gotta be careful around Brandon." She waved one hand, dismissing some mental image. "I mean, he's a good guy. I can't see him, like, forcing me. To do... anything." She paused at whatever mental image she was picturing, then shook herself and forged on. "But you know how hot we get. Now I gotta worry about me attacking him. And I don't wanna end up like Kristina."

Erica smiled, and changed how she was rubbing Cora's back. "Guess I'll just have to get you so sprung all the time, you're too tired for him."

It was Cora's turn to get wide eyes. Then her hands shifted too, and she said, a little sly, "Yeah, that might work."

Erica was forcibly undressed shortly after that. No sooner had her panties been ripped off but Cora was licking furiously, almost desperately, at her pussy.

That was okay. Cora had gotten very good at that stuff.

~~~~~

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Miranda looked up from her work, surprised. Cora usually was on her laptop or on the phone with one of her girlfriends this time of night. She could hear Erica doing exactly that, chatting on her cell in the family room.

Cora looked as anxious as she'd been in the first weeks of the Transformation, or the first weeks of school. Miranda said, "Of course," and put down her notes. Cora shut the door behind her and sat on the couch.

But she didn't say anything, she just sat there looking miserable. The silence stretched out, until Miranda said, gently, "How can I help?"

Her voice was very quiet, nearly a whisper. "If I... y'know, like boys now... I mean, now, as Cora..." She paused. "Does that mean when I change back, I..."

Miranda's expression didn't change; the topic was hardly a surprise, though the fact that Cora would talk to her about it was a shock. She realized just how carefully, how delicately, she'd have to handle this. Normally, Sisters would quietly ignore or gently downplay talk from novices of 'turning back one day'. But that simply wouldn't do here. "It's possible, yes. But that is something you'll have to decide for yourself, when the time comes."

"Cory wants to kill me for even thinking about it," she confessed.

Miranda decided not to confront that directly. Still, she thought she saw a possible avenue to address the girl's tension.

"Is there something wrong with gay people?" she probed.

Cora looked away, thinking. "Uh... no, I don't have a problem like that. Cory had a friend who's gay." She chuckled, her laughter lightly sprinkled with hysteria. "And I sure understand what lesbians go through now!"

"So you haven't stopped liking girls, correct?"

A wry grin lingered, which lifted Miranda's hopes considerably. "Not even a tiny bit!"

"As I'm willing to bet you proved with Erica last night." Cora looked a little embarrassed, and Miranda smiled, grateful the girl would allow occasional teasing. But it was time to be serious. "Would it be such a problem if you did turn out to like boys as well as girls when you're male again?" It almost killed Miranda to say 'when' again instead of 'if'; it went against all her training, millenia of Sisterhood tradition. In Cora's case, though, the hope of becoming Cory again was the only handle they had to motivate her. Seeding any doubt it might happen would almost certainly prove catastrophic.

Cora's nascent hilarity had vanished. She didn't answer for a while. "Thing is... Cory's straight. All the way straight."

"So, Cory knew everything about himself already? Life all planned out?"

Cora bit her lip, a heartwarmingly girlish sight. "No, but... he knows that for sure. A bisexual Cory isn't a Cory at all."

Miranda almost laughed. Sisters were more familiar with the unexpected ways life could turn than most. Blithe teenage certainty could be difficult to dislodge, however. "Do you really think Cory would never have changed, grown in surprising - unimaginable - ways? Even if the Transformation had never happened?"

Cora was showing signs of her wonted obstinance. "In math - topology - you can take a shape and twist and turn it, grow it and shrink it. But there are invariants. You can stretch a sphere into a cube, but you can't turn it into a torus. Uh, donut." Her mulish frown had definitely resurfaced now. "Not without cutting it."

Miranda was silent for a few moments, digesting the idea. Mathematical metaphors weren't her forté. Eventually, she said, "I think I see. But I think... perhaps you're holding onto some things that aren't necessarily 'invariants'?"

"I... didn't think so," Cora said, with less surety than before. "Cory's sure. About that, at least."

An idea occurred to Miranda. "If someone lived in the desert all their lives, they might never see ice. They might not believe that water could freeze." She smiled. "But water doesn't stop being water when it's cold."

Cora got the focused, concentrated expression she displayed when absorbing a new concept, examining it from all angles. "Huh. A phase change."

"If that's the term, yes."

Cora stared at nothing, teasing out implications. "The same substance behaving totally differently, depending on the conditions."

Miranda spread her hands. "And you certainly find yourself in new conditions, now."

"So when I'm a boy again..."

"Your conditions will have changed. Again. And if you're right about Cory... well, water can melt, and then freeze later."

Cora sat in silence for a while. Miranda let her ponder. Eventually the girl looked up. "I guess I'll hafta think about it." She stood, turned for the door... but then turned back. She reached out and squeezed Miranda's hand for a second, and said, "Thanks."

Cora wasn't smiling when she left. She didn't even look less troubled. But she didn't look quite as... lost, either. Miranda said, "You're welcome, dear," as Cora opened the door and left.

Miranda turned back to her work, but just for a moment she rubbed her hand where Cora had touched her, feeling more hopeful than she had in many weeks.

~~~~~

Cora wandered into Erica's room as she was changing out of her hostess clothes. Erica, curious, asked, "So what'd he think?"

Cora didn't quite manage to stifle a laugh. "It had the desired effect."

"You mean, to make you desired?" Erica drawled as she wriggled off her slacks. Cora had gone out on a ride with Brandon, and had dressed to impress. Dark leather boots - a very recent purchase - exceedingly tight denim jeans, a white strap shirt under a denim jacket. Hair teased some, dark sunglasses, red lips. The only way she could have looked more like a biker chick stereotype would have been actual chaps, an investment she hadn't quite dared broach to Miranda.

Cora didn't even try to suppress her laughter this time. "I thought he was gonna howl like a wolf in an old-timey cartoon. It was stupid funny, I wish you coulda seen."

Erica had helped with the clothes, but had to leave for work before Brandon arrived. "I saw the selfie he put up on Facebook." He had, indeed, looked proud to have Cora perched behind him on the bike.

"Probably made him feel like a stud. You know, riding around with a hot girl wrapped around him."

"'Hot', huh? Getting a big head there?"

Cora punched her on the shoulder, playfully. "Shut up! You know we look good. We both know exactly what guys are looking for."

Erica couldn't dispute that. For that matter, she wanted to make out with 'biker Cora' herself. But... "Did you have fun?"

Cora sighed. "It felt... good. I mean, I like him. I was kinda, like, eye candy... but I was sorta okay with it."

"Seriously?" Erica blurted in surprise. Then she realized that questioning Cora's feelings might be taken amiss.

But Cora's lips just curled up a fraction. "Seriously. Fuck, I was even wondering what I'd look like in leathers."

The notion was appealing... and Erica noticed she was pondering some additions to her own wardrobe. "I bet if we both asked, we might pull some money out of Mom."

Cora shrugged, taking it under advisement. She seemed to be in a philosophical mood. "It used to bug me a little that the Sisterhood isn't gonna erase me - y'know, Cora - after Cory's back." She sighed "I didn't, like, want there to be any trace this shit ever happened."

Erica was pulling on some forgiving sweats. This made her pause. "But not now?"

"Not so much, the last couple weeks. I mean, I started wanting Danielle to know for the rest of her life how totally she got fucked, and who by." For a moment, the smug malice was so evident that Erica was inwardly grateful that Cora had accepted the Sisterhood's words on the inadvisability of homicide.

And just a moment later, Cora's expression wasn't malicious at all. Rather, it was simply happy. "But today, Brandon was smiling at me. And I got to thinking... I was glad. That he'd still remember me, I mean, more than just in a dream every so often." She shrugged in confusion. "I make him happy, sometimes. You can see it. He deserves to remember riding around like a boss with that crazy chick he dated while Cory was gone away."

Erica wasn't sure what to think about all that. It was certainly something to reflect on, and possibly to report. For now, she would just be glad Cora had a good time enjoying being an attractive girl.

~~~~~

The senior Sisters and Miranda were having a little afternoon Skype conclave while their children were at school. Overall, the news was good.

"So Cora's become quite the little gamine!" Bronwyn marveled.

"If I hadn't done all that training with her myself, I'd be frightened," Miranda said. "I'm still surprised. The way she fought me every step of the way, it's amazing how much she actually retained."

Bronwyn nodded. "And now that she's making such progress in womanhood, it shows in her Magic. She definitely has a Gift for illusion. Frankly, Jacqui, in that one area she's actually learning faster than you did."

"It won't do to underestimate her," Laurie said quietly. "She doesn't have anything like your sheer power, Jacqui, but she's dangerously clever." The other witches were frowning with her now. "The more she accepts being female, the stronger her intuition will become." Miranda and Bronwyn saw her turn to Jacqui. "You figured out the binding spell on intuition alone. What if Cora does, too?"

A shadow had definitely been cast on all the women's moods. Miranda said, hesitantly, "We have a much better relationship now. I don't think she'd be, er, murderous at this point..."

"We can hope," Bronwyn said. After a moment she took a deep breath. "Well, all we can do for now is keep monitoring the situation." She looked up.. "Speaking of which... Miranda, how's Erica doing?"

"As well as can be expected, given how much she's had to deal with." Miranda said, Motherly concern showing. "No Novice should have to confront every aspect of Sisterhood at once. And caring for Cora, too..."

"She's okay, though, right?" Jacqui asked quickly.

"Oh, yes, I just worry." Miranda brightened. "She's quite happy being a girlfriend, now."

"What's his name? David?" Bronwyn said, smiling herself.

"He's such a nice young man. Almost gallant. I wish there'd been one like him around when I was Transformed." Miranda grinned impishly. "And they are so cute together!"

"You checked him out, I hope?" Laurie's own Motherly instincts were aroused.

"Of course." She sniffed in amusement. "I think Erica suspects that I've peeked in his mind, but she hasn't asked." She spread her hands. "Anyway, he's not going to force himself on Erica, if that's what you're worried about."

"What if Erica forces herself on him?" Jacqui asked, only half joking.

Miranda didn't look worried. "She understands what that entails. I think we can trust her that far." She chuckled. "She's certainly explored a few other outlets with her beau."

"Outlets? Is that what the kids are calling them now?" Bronwyn drawled. The ladies shared some ribald laughter.

Miranda sighed. "So long as she waits to use her main inlet. Even if she got pregnant now, I think she could probably finish her training in time, Goddess be praised. But I'd like to wait just a bit longer to be a Grandmother."

"I thought so too," Laurie said, smiling at a sheepish Jacqui, "but it's not all bad."

~~~~~

One of the upsides of macking with a small girl was you could both fit in the back seat of a car, even his dad's sedan. Well, nearly. Brandon's neck was cricked and one leg had to be kinda curled up in the footwell, but they could get a lot of contact. He could taste a little lip gloss or something as they kissed. Cora barely used any perfume, unlike other girls he'd made out with. She just smelled like... girl.

The time had come for an experiment. He rubbed a couple fingers on the outside of her panties. She wasn't a screamer like in the pornos, but she made a soft, low moan. It was almost reassuring now to see how quiet she was even when she got into it. He'd been wondering if she really was a lesbo. Especially the first couple times, she hadn't exactly seemed all that enthusiastic. So he hadn't dared try much.

Lately, though, she'd been acting a bit more into him. Touching him more, not shying away or stiffening up if he put an arm on her shoulder or leaned in for a kiss.

He didn't like to think about it, but he was more and more sure that she'd been abused or something. If so, she was giving him a shitload of trust. He resolved - again - not to hurt her. But fuck it was hard sometimes. Particularly when they got close. That tight little body...

Her hips adjusted under his fingers. He pulled back, cautious.

But she looked in his eye for a second and whispered, "No, it's... it's okay." Apparently sensing his doubt, her lips curved up at the corners and she reached for her waist. In a single sinuous movement, her panties were yanked down past her knees. Her legs opened again.

She settled back onto her side and gently grasped his wrist. Then she pulled his hand toward her exposed pussy. She didn't shave it clean, another difference from the porn girls.

But then, Cora wasn't quite like any girl he'd ever known.

He hesitated, even still. But she scoffed - almost snorted - and moved his hand up and down. Trying to be gentle, he started using his fingers.

Her breath caught, her hips flexed a bit, her eyes closed. But that half-smile hadn't gone away, so he kept at it.

The smile did go away after a bit. Since it was replaced by a lick of her lips and faster breathing, he didn't worry overmuch. He added a touch more force to his movement.

Another quiet moan for reward. He'd take it. Plenty of juices; didn't seem likely she was faking.

Soon after that, she put one hand over his. He froze, but she quickly pushed on it again and got him moving. Gently guiding, she made him move faster. Her eyes never opened, but she bit her lip.

Still no screams. Just an "Uhhhhhhhhhhh..." and some shudders. Then she took a deep breath and gave him a look.

A strange look. Like she was amazed that he could make her come. Maybe even disturbed.

He ventured a grin and leaned in to kiss her. That, she accepted, even returned. Her hand brushed his crotch, in passing, and he couldn't keep his breath from hitching a little. He'd been pretty damn hard for a while now.

Cora's hand pulled back for a moment, her eyebrows went up. They both kind of froze; he wasn't sure, after, how long. He had a sense that she was at a cusp, trying to decide...

And then her hand moved again. Rubbing his pants, deliberately.

He groaned. She swallowed but her fingers moved to his belt. "Fair's fair," she said in a low voice. Her light tone didn't quite mask apprehension. But she wasn't stopping.

Getting his pants down wound up being a team effort, in the cramped space. And during the rearrangement, he noticed her panties wound up back in their starting position. Then she had him dig through her bag for some tissues.

He didn't get limp at all, though. And then her hand wrapped around his cock and got to work.

Some part of him had room to be impressed. A couple previous girlfriends had given him handjobs before. One had been decent, one had been frightening. Girls didn't always understand how much pressure to use, or when.

Cora seemed to know.

It was a little embarrassing how quickly he shot off. She anticipated it, though, and caught all of his cum in the tissues without spilling a drop.

She acted kinda embarrassed, after. Still willing to mack for a few minutes more, though. They composed their clothes and he drove her home. The final kiss by her door was long and lingering, at least. He thought about it all the way home. She was such a weird mix of bold and shy, confident and skittish. Just when he thought he had some idea what to expect, she surprised him.

Which wasn't all bad, though. And he didn't think she was jerking him around on purpose. It was simply that... well, Cora was special.

~~~~~

The Cora Conferences had become weekly affairs now. Bronwyn dropped a bomb right at the start. "Cora gave Brandon a handjob last night." At Erica's gasp, she said, "She didn't tell you about it?"

Erica nibbled her lip. "Well, she never wanted to hear about what I did with David. And later when she started with Brandon, I... I never knew how..." She stopped. Started over. "We don't really talk about, um, sexy stuff. Not with boys."

Jacqui let out a little shriek of frustration. "I think I'd cut out my own left ovary, with a rusty scalpel, for just five minutes looking around in her head!"

Bronwyn sighed. "Well, I suppose it's confirmed that dating a boy has had an impact..."

"But without being able to check, we can't be sure how she's taking it. Not really!" Jacqui looked from one window to another on her screen. "She's still studying psychology. She could practically get a degree in it by now. How much of what we see is just an act? And how do we tell?"

She took a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry, I'm gonna get my Flow soon. It's not helping."

"We don't know exactly what she's thinking, but she's making quite an impression on Brandon," Bronwyn said, changing the subject slightly. "He's almost falling in love with her."

Erica squinted, interrupting. "You sound pretty sure."

In the window on the screen, Jacqui's image shrugged. "We've been keeping an eye on things."

"On his mind, you mean," Erica said flatly.

Jacqui was unrepentant. "We haven't made any changes, if that's what you're worried about. Just observing, looking out for potential problems." At Erica's continued frown, Jacqui's own brow furrowed. "Look, can you imagine what it'd do to Cora if she got assaulted?"

That took Erica aback. "Okay, yeah, I guess I see what you mean." She squinted quickly. "You mucking with David's head?"

The senior Sisters were briefly silent. Then Jacqui said, carefully not looking at Miranda, "Just a little light surveillance. We haven't messed with his mind either."

Erica had a pretty sour look on her face, but didn't argue the point.

Laurie changed the subject back. "Overall, it seems a positive sign. I'd never have imagined she'd do something like that so soon." She sounded hopeful.

"That's for sure," Miranda said with feeling.

Bronwyn had an expression of concentration that rivaled the ones Cora had at times. "Well, Erica. Keep us appraised, please, whatever you do hear."

"Will do." The Sisters went over a few other things, then Erica and Miranda said their goodbyes and signed off.

The senior witches kept Skyping. "We have to put in some failsafes now. Tonight." Laurie was intent, even as she shook her head in astonishment.

Bronwyn and Jacqui nodded. "Absolutely. You wanna do it, or should I?" Jacqui said.

Bronwyn held up a hand. "I'll do it." The High Priestess sighed. "We did that with Marcus, you know."

"I figured, later." Jacqui said, smiling. "Thanks. A couple times there, we came that close..."

Laurie shivered. "Can you imagine trying to explain to Cora that she got pregnant too soon? And that she'd have to do it again, later, after she'd Transitioned some more?"

Bronwyn and Jacqui shivered, too. Then Bronwyn spoke. "Well, if they decide to go all the way, and Brandon becomes impotent, it would be hard on both of them..."

"Or, more to the point, not hard," Jacqui quipped with forced humor.

Bronwyn's chuckle was just as forced. "...but Cora isn't ready to carry a child yet." There was a pause, as all three Sisters made a voiceless prayer to the Goddess that she would someday be ready.

The trio said their own goodbyes and logged out. Bronwyn went off to the altar in her den to cast spells on Brandon. It was tricky to ensure that he would still be able to perform every way but vaginally...

~~~~~

Jacinta rolled over the speed bump and pulled out onto the road. Gabriela, sitting next to her, winced and breathed, "Unh. Take it easy."

Cora, from the back seat, said, "What's wrong? You okay?" They were all heading home from school after choir practice, enjoying some girl time together.

Gabriela, with a little regret, said, "Ricardo got a little too excited last night."

It took Cora a second to get it. When she did, she looked away uncomfortably. Gabriela had to fight not to roll her eyes.

All three girls were at least technical virgins. Jacinta and Gabriela had been raised Catholic, in a Latino subculture that was less accepting of teen pregnancy than the general run of Americans. Vaginal sex was going to wait until later. College at least.

Gabriela was sometimes willing to use a different hole, though. For special occasions. She had gone out with her boyfriend last night; but only to dinner, not a movie after as she'd told her parents. Ricardo's mom was out for the evening, so they'd gone back to his place and taken advantage of the empty apartment. The occasion had become intensely special, as she related it to her friends.

Jacinta hadn't gone that far herself, but she understood. Cora... Cora might as well have been still in middle school, so far as they could tell. Barely past holding hands. Indeed, frank discussion of sexual details, even among friends, seemed to embarrass Cora. Her eyes were downcast for the whole story, though she listened carefully. And she was getting better - as she proved by turning back when Gabriela was done and asking, "Does that really feel good?"

Gabriela scoffed, but she had a grin. "Most times, yeah." She shrugged. "I guess not for everybody."

Jacinta snorted. Cora shrugged, and said, "I guess."

"Forget about anal. You ever gonna do more than kiss Brandon?" Gabriela asked pointedly.

Jacinta kept her eyes on the road but Gabriela saw them widen at her bluntness. Gabriela liked Cora, but they'd been pretty fucking gentle with her for a while now. Maybe it was time to push some.

Cora looked startled, too... but, thank God, only a little upset. Maybe even a contrite. "I jerked him off last week," she admitted. Was there a hint of defiance in her tone, too?

"No shit?" Gabriela said, surprised. "You've been holding out on us!"

Jacinta looked into the rearview mirror. "Deets, sister. Now." But she was smiling.

With her pale skin, it was obvious when Cora was blushing. But she told them the story with reasonable detail. It came out that she'd let him get an actual hand on her pussy, too.

"You slut!" Jacinta laughed. She exchanged a glance with Gabriela - whether or not Cora had been assaulted, which they both suspected, this was major progress. "Didja come?"

Her face burning, she said, very quietly, "Yeah."

Gabriela squealed, and Jacinta joined her. Cora seemed to accept the teasing that followed in the spirit of fun, thankfully.

~~~~~

Snuggled up against Erica after some lovemaking, Cora told Erica about the conversation with her friends. Erica couldn't help but notice that she avoided most specifics, and part of her actually felt a little hurt. She was almost jealous that Cora would talk more frankly about sex - well, boy sex - with her friends than with Erica.

But Jacinta and Gabriela doubtless put more pressure on her in that regard. And
there were enough particulars that she got the gist. Some background part of Erica's mind wondered about letting David imitate Ricardo. But that was an idle thought. Cora was more important right now. "Sharing secrets is, y'know, a bonding thing with girls. It shows you trust them." She frowned. Partly it was because of the implication that Cora didn't trust her fully. But mostly it was because she had to put out a warning. "Though you gotta be careful. Passing on secrets is almost like... like social currency. If you piss somebody off..."

Cora was thoughtfully nodding, recognizing what Erica was talking about. "Is that why they..." She paused, and embarrassedly changed pronouns, "we trade secrets so much? Like, 'mutually assured destruction', kinda?"

"Partly. I think grown-up women are a little more careful than girls our age." She shrugged. "I think. Remember, I'm only a few months ahead of you on this whole girl thing."

~~~~~

David changed his clothes slowly. By chance track practice and baseball practice had ended at the same time, so the locker room was crowded. And he was trying to monitor what was going on the next lane over.

He had to balance things. He was supposed to gather intel about Cora when possible, but do nothing to jeopardize his relationship with Erica. And especially nothing to risk exposure.

He wished he could just put Brandon in a trance and suck the information out of him. It wouldn't do him any actual harm. That was completely off-limits, however. Subtle emotional pushes were the very most he could hazard. Anything beyond that might leave traces the Sisterhood could pick up on. Just passively, he'd sensed indications that they'd sent Brandon some dreams. Probably not Suggestions... though either way, Brandon's mind was too conspicuous to dare manipulate.

He couldn't hear everything with his ears, but with his mental talents ears weren't necessary. He could hear and see through their senses... and he could pick up surface thoughts and emotions clearly.

Few of those emotions were positive right now. Some idiot sprinter named Carter was annoyed at Brandon - David could see memories of a recent, well-deserved chewing out - and had chosen this venue to retaliate.

The guys had been discussing girls - parts of girls, at least. Who had the best ass, or face, or legs, or whatever. Then Carter'd brought Cora into it.

"Hey," he'd said loudly, catching Brandon's eye, "which one's got the better tits, Danielle or Cora? We've all seen Cora's, but..." He trailed off with a smirk.

Brandon had stiffened for a second, then snorted and turned away, just shaking his head.

Carter was undeterred. "C'mon, she's got a sweet little body. I like 'em shaved, though. She started doing that?"

Brandon's anger was so clear and close to the surface that David was amazed it didn't show in his voice when he said, "A gentleman never tells." He even sounded a little amused. "And you sure as shit ain't gonna find out."

Carter wasn't happy with that response. So he escalated. "Did you? Or is she really a dyke?"

David was impressed again. Brandon was even more pissed now. But there were undertones... he felt protective of Cora. He wasn't worried about his own rep much at all. Damn, I think that boy might actually be falling for her...

He blew off what Carter had just said, with his own contemptuous smirk. "You'll never find out 'cause you couldn't catch her. Like, physically." Then he just sounded bored. "You better start showing up for practice if you ever want to outrun her." Brandon gathered up his bag and walked out, leaving Carter to hear a few chuckles from the crowd.

David had mixed feelings about the whole incident. On the one hand, that had been fairly smooth. Brandon'd served Carter, while reminding everyone of the real reason he was sniping at the team captain.

But David knew who and what Cora really was, and he couldn't be happy about Brandon getting so attached. Of course, how would I feel about Erica if I didn't know what I knew?

Then a little voice inside asked, And how do you feel now? He didn't answer.

~~~~~

Cora put her lunch tray down and sat at the table next to Jacinta. Gabriela spoke up immediately. "Didja hear about Brandon after track yesterday?"

Cora looked very surprised. "No, what?"

Jacinta took Cora's nearer hand. "Carter was being an asshole. Talking about your tits and stuff. That picture again."

Cora inhaled sharply but didn't look horribly shocked. "In front of Brandon?"

"Right in his face," Gabriela said, clearly annoyed. "Trying to piss him off."

"Who says?" Cora asked. Evaluating the reliability of the reports, no doubt.

Jacinta piped in. "Gavin told Cheyenne about it. And Trinity got it from Mason."

That was reasonable confirmation. Cora frowned. "He didn't say anything last night when he called." Her scowl deepened and added some concern. "Maybe he sounded a little weird..."

"He didn't lose it," Gabriela assured her. She went over the confrontation, repeating the slightly different versions she'd been told; the reports were fairly congruent.

"That's bullshit about me running faster than Carter," Cora said, though she didn't sound unhappy about Brandon's spirited defense. "But fuck him." She was noticeably less happy when she went on. "Brandon doesn't need any more shit 'cause of me."

"It's okay, he's not gonna ditch you 'cause some asshole throws him shade." Jacinta said, squeezing Cora's hand. "He really is a fucking gentleman."

"We're gonna hook up tomorrow night," Cora mused. She looked a little abashed. "Not, like, hook up hook up, but we didn't make any plans."

Jacinta and Gabriela exchanged a glance. "You might wanna think about some," Jacinta said.

~~~~~

They were parked in the lot of the community college. It was late and there weren't any cars within a hundred yards.

Brandon was really happy Cora had insisted on borrowing Erica's mom's car. A motorcycle was fine and all, but it didn't hide your lower body. Right now, somebody would have been able to see they were kissing. But nobody could see his pants were down around his ankles, or that Cora was stroking his dick.

She was so tiny, she fit in front of him even in the front seat, if it was all the way back. She was straddling his left knee, humping it almost. Her left hand moved smoothly up and down, her right held his shoulder for balance. Her mouth and tongue frolicked with his.

Fuck she was doing a number on his cock.

And then she pulled her face away, and stared in his eyes. She looked so serious all of a sudden, and he had just a moment to get concerned.

Then she looked down at her hand, still gliding on his prick. And she moved to get off his leg.

"Is everything cool?" he asked, voice husky.

She had a look of intense concentration on her face as she shifted over to the passenger seat. Still holding him with her hand. "Yeah. Just chill. Stay there."

~~~~~

The only thing Erica liked about the end of a date with David was the goodbye kiss. Kisses. As many as she could get.

"See you tomorrow," she said, giving him one last hug. If she kissed him again it would just start another round and she was all stirred up as it was.

"See you," he said, stepping away slowly, letting her fingers slip from his hand.

She leaned back on the door as it closed, sighing and smiling. She'd long ago gotten used to feeling like a girl. She was becoming accustomed to feeling like a girlfriend. But David completely disarmed her every time he made her feel like a lady.

He had taken her to a very expensive restaurant, and then to an actual live play, on stage. Just community theater, but still. The play was 'Arcadia', sophisticated and fascinating. She was pretty sure they had been the youngest people there.

Hot, smart, funny, and a gentleman, too, she thought smugly. And he's mine. Almost too good to be true.

At that, her thoughts seemed to trip a little. She remembered her early intuitions and misgivings. Danger alongside him, attached to him. There was something she was missing.

Although, the Sisters had gone poking around in his head and cleared him. How bad could it be, really? Besides, she still didn't have a real handle on this intuition thing anyway.

She saw the light in the study, and swung by. Her Mother didn't always stay up to make sure she or Cora got home at the appointed time. So Erica made sure to check in when she did.

"Hey, Mom," she said. Miranda was working on some kind of recipe layout on the desktop.

"Hello, dear. Did you have a good time?" A little knowing Motherly smile crinkled the corners of her mouth and eyes.

"Yeah, it was great. He spent a lot of money."

Her Mother's voice had definite sardonic overtones. "And that's the measure of a good boyfriend."

Erica smiled. "Moooom, gimme a break. It's just, like, nice that he thinks I'm, y'know, worth the investment."

Miranda's smile showed she was mostly teasing. "Just be careful what dividends you pay out."

"For sure," she said. Then, after a beat, "Well, I'm gonna head up to bed." She'd meditate on David in private. Her intuition was so vague - and somehow she still couldn't picture him harming her voluntarily. Indeed, she could visualize him making her feel very good, too... it was just a niggling little concern, almost buried in the contentment she felt from the evening.

Miranda said, "Cora got in a few minutes ago. You might want to stop by her room. She seemed a little... distracted."

Erica squinted. "Something wrong?" She couldn't help but think of Cora's blowup almost a month ago... but she refused to let go of her good mood without a fight.

Miranda shook her head slowly. "I don't think so. I just got the sense that something was on her mind."

"Okay. I'll check on her. Good night," she said, giving her Mom's arm a squeeze.

"Good night," Miranda replied, turning back to her computer. "I'll be up in just a few."

Erica made her way up the stairs, savoring thoughts of the date and the kisses at the end. She'd never gotten any indication that David was bi. It was almost a crime that he couldn't see how sexy he was.

She tapped lightly on Cora's door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," came Cora's voice from inside. Erica stepped in and closed the door.

She saw immediately what Miranda had been on about. Cora was distracted, in 'deep think' mode.

She came over and sat on the bed. Cora was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She laid a hand companionably on hers and said, "Did you guys have fun? What did you do?"

Cora shrugged just slightly. "I sucked his dick."

Erica felt her mouth open in a little 'o'. She could tell her eyes were open very wide.

And here I told Bronwyn we don't talk about that stuff. Until now, apparently. After only a brief pause, Erica got her expression under control and said, "Shut up! Seriously?"

"For real," Cora said. "I swallowed and everything."

"Wow," Erica said. She had a hard time coming up with something to say beyond that. "What... um... what'd'ja think?"

Cora licked her lips, still examining the ceiling. "It got me wet," she whispered.

"Oh," was all Erica could manage.

"It was so fucked up. I... Cory used to love getting blowjobs. Half the time he jerked off, he was imagining getting sucked by some girl."

Erica stayed quiet, just holding her arm, being there.

After a pause, Cora spoke again, still in a quiet voice. "But he never wanted to suck another guy's dick. I mean, not ever."

She sat up, now staring at the foot of the bed. "Thing is, Brandon... he left Danielle for me. He's been getting by with just sucking my tits and handjobs and me letting him rub me off. And now he's getting shit from other guys about me. He's been... he's been a fucking prince. And I... I..." She paused, then rushed on, "I can't let him fuck me. I think I might actually get pregnant."

Erica couldn't have said anything if she'd wanted to. If she'd been able to think of anything to say.

Cora was shaking her head gently, and swallowed hard. "It's not fair. This isn't just 'girl meets cute guy' or anything. Cory was friends with him for years. But now I have to look at him in a totally different way. Every day. With this body and its stupid hormones."

She took a deep breath, let it out. "So I can't totally say I'd hate to have his baby. Well, I mean, I would. It's just..." Another deep breath, then she talked faster. "It's like, if I got knocked up, and I totally don't want to and it'd suck epically, but if it happened... I'd want it to be his." She swallowed again, close to unaccustomed tears. "'Cause I couldn't get an abortion and he'd do the right thing and be a totes amazing dad. He could actually handle it. How many guys around here could? Look at Kristina."

Her breath hitched, but stabilized quickly. "So is that enough to get pregnant? I dunno."

Cora's voice had become eerily calm, but the tears were leaking now. "This all scares the fucking shit out of me, bee tee dub. And if you think I'm scared, Cory's ready to..."

She fell silent for a while, then. Erica fought not to swallow the lump in her own throat. This was huge; she sensed she was swimming in deep waters indeed, with dangerous undercurrents. She was on the verge of saying something when Cora started up again.

"Anyway, a blowjob's the best I can do for him." She shook her head again, wonderingly. "I'd thought about it a couple times, but I couldn't... I was scared. But it was right there, and I just started in." Even as the tears kept slipping down her cheeks, she smiled and made a brief sound that might have been a laugh. "Would you believe he actually tried to stop me? Said I 'didn't have to'."

Erica was still too frightened to say anything, but her eyes were wide again.

Cora saw, and gave an honest laugh. "He sure didn't try very hard! I told him to shut the fuck up and he got real quiet."

She wasn't laughing anymore. She sounded faintly amazed. "I was all determined to do it right. I was psyching myself up, trying to remember all the slutty tricks from all those videos Cory used to watch. And then, like, a minute in it suddenly hit me."

Erica dared a quizzical look.

"It wasn't disgusting! It was sorta weird, I guess. But..." She paused, searching for words. After a second, she found them. "I was working at it, but I didn't have to work through it, y'know?"

Erica nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, you slut, I just bet you know!" She gave Erica a quick hug, finally, astonishingly, smiling. "We gotta start comparing notes sometime." But she got serious again quickly.

"And pretty soon it wasn't work at all, y'know? Like, it was totally hot." She shook her head. "Remember back when we were looking at all of Cory's porn? You said something about power dynamics and shit."

Erica knew she looked embarrassed, and opened her mouth to say something, but Cora didn't let her start. "No, you were right! Cory really does look at a beej as... not degrading the girl, I guess, but dominating her."

"But there I was, gobbling his crank like a goddamn ho, and I just felt... proud, and glad I could do something nice for him!" She shifted her hips and smiled her own embarrassed smile. "And fucking horny. I'm getting all wet now just thinking about it."

She kept going. "And when he came, I didn't care! I swallowed it all, and I almost creamed too!" She snorted. "It was actually kinda awesome. Not like he could fake it. Pretty direct feedback, y'know?"

Erica recalled her own similar thoughts about gay porn. She summoned her courage and tried a joke. "Achievement Unlocked?"

To her intense relief, Cora laughed with her. The tears had stopped. "He looked like he got kicked in the head. Just all... amazed. He started to thank me and I said he deserved it, for putting up with all my shit. Something like that."

Erica pulled Cora into a hug. She suspected she was nearly as amazed as Brandon had been.

Cora was still analyzing like always, even as she hugged back. "I think if he had been like Cory it wouldn't have worked. But to him, it wasn't... it was a present. Not something he was making me do." She didn't let go of Erica as she pulled back. "He's a better guy than Cory. More grown up, sorta."

Erica didn't know what to say to that. She just shrugged in Cora's arms. The girl smiled a little and Erica realized that Cora had some idea how 'Cory' talk was received. But she didn't push it. "So how was the play?" she asked, as brightly as any gossipy girlfriend.

Erica laughed then, and Cora joined her. When they'd settled some, she said, "Well, I didn't blow him after. But it was actually really boss. There was this girl math prodigy..."

They just talked. They didn't make love, just dishing together. Later, Erica went to her own bed, thoughts of David completely forgotten for the moment.

~~~~~

Erica called for a full conference the next night, the earliest moment she dared. Which turned out to be while Cora was at choir practice.

When she told them what Cora had said, the senior Sisters were surprised, and that surprised her. Laurie noticed, and said, with mixed rue and amusement, "I think both you girls have rather lofty ideas about our surveillance. We don't watch Cora all the time."

Bronwyn nodded. "We'd have found out next time we checked in on Brandon. But we do try to respect their privacy as much as possible."

The conversation lulled, then, as the witches processed her news. Erica had the distinct impression at least a couple of them were reminiscing, too. At last Erica prompted them with, "So... whatcha think?"

Miranda spoke first. "I hardly know what to think. I'd almost despaired of her ever getting this far."

Jacqui was nodding. "Though I'm still waiting for Brandon to figure out who she was. Or at least, what she was."

"She's still, er, tomboyish, but she's softened a lot. Around him, especially," Bronwyn noted, eyes narrowed in thought.

Erica spoke in defense of her friend. "Don't forget, she's smart. We taught her a lot in the past few months. You all thought she wasn't really listening, learning. Even I kinda wondered, but... I used to see Cory in class. He never forgot much, even when you thought he wasn't paying attention."

Jacqui said, slowly, "Usually, sexual activity with a guy is... kind of a milestone in a Transition." The screen showed her squinting. "Erica, we wouldn't normally talk about these kind of details with a Novice, but..."

Erica squared her shoulders and waved a hand dismissingly. "I just want to help Cora." She shrugged, slightly embarrassed, and said, "It's, um... a milestone I passed a while back anyway."

That didn't seem to take anyone by surprise, not even her Mom. And, well, so what? It wasn't like she was hiding her relationship with David, and she hadn't been kidding about wanting to help Cora either.

With only a brief hint of a grin, Jacqui kept going. "Normally it's a sign the Novice has really started to come to terms with being a girl. Or at least that she's not holding on to old male attitudes." She tossed her head. "Doesn't mean she's done Transitioning or anything, but... well, I think you understand."

Erica did. Even if she hadn't had quite as much anxiety as Cora - and the process had been more gradual - she'd had to adjust to wanting to be sexual with boys. She'd had to decide how she felt about such feelings, and what to do about them. It had been a significant accommodation.

Jacqui went on. "The thing is, almost all the time, they think about it a lot before doing anything about it. Very few Sisters wind up getting physical with a guy before they've, y'know, decided they want to."

Erica bit her lip.

Jacqui noticed. "Yeah, right. Cora got that backwards. Sometimes it can... Well, once in a while there's a backlash. Or backslide, maybe."

"She already has a tendency to fight her new instincts." Laurie sounded both sad and concerned.

Their worry was contagious. Nevertheless... "She didn't act, like, traumatized or anything."

Bronwyn stepped in. "We'll watch, but I don't think we should borrow trouble. She already exploded over this once. If she were going to break up with Brandon and retreat from the Transition, I think she'd have done it then."

That made Erica feel a lot better.

Her Mom wasn't entirely convinced. "Very little about her Transition has been typical. I hope you're right."

That made Erica feel less better.

~~~~~

Erica walked into Cora's room, grateful for a Saturday where she only had a practice. "Hey, can I borrow that scarf with the..." She trailed to a halt. Cora had slammed down the cover of her laptop before Erica could glimpse the screen.

"Can't you friggin' knock?" she wailed.

"What?" Erica said, laughing. "You playing a boys-love eroge or something?"

Cora glared. "It's not that!" Grudgingly: "I'm working on something."

Erica tilted her head dubiously. "Extra credit?" she hazarded.

"It's a surprise," Cora said defensively. "For Brandon."

Possessed by curiosity, Erica switched immediately to 'wheedle' mode. "Oh, c'mon, let me see!"

Cora's hand pressed down on the laptop. "No. He sees it first."

Reminded of the conclave the night before, Erica backed off and went on a tangent. "You're really getting into the whole girlfriend experience."

She'd expected Cora to look away, to evade. Instead she held Erica's gaze and said, "Fuck it. I gotta become a girl, right? This's gotta be part of it. Exploring it." Cora shook her head in wonder. "I like being his girlfriend. I make him happy, you can see it. I like that."

She actually smiled. "So if I gotta do it anyway, might as well have fun with it."

Erica resolved to pass this hopeful tidbit on to her Mother tonight.

~~~~~

It was Wednesday night, and Erica was out with David yet again. On a school night, they couldn't go far, but that was no problem. They wound up playing minigolf.

Erica was doing surprisingly well. She wasn't even sure why; she didn't remember Eric having any special putting talent. Nevertheless, for some reason she was getting par or close to it on most of the holes.

David, on the other hand, proved unexpectedly inept. The easy grace with which he'd taken to Ultimate was nowhere in evidence when a golf club was in his hands.

She sighted, swung, and connected. Her yellow ball rolled smoothly into a pipe and emerged one level down, coming to rest less than two feet from the hole. She stepped back. David took his place, peered back and forth a few times, swung... and the green ball pocked off the cement edge and rolled back to him.

He snorted and smiled self-deprecatingly, glancing in her eyes for a moment. His face hardened the moment he lowered it, however, losing its humor. He made a second attempt on the ball. Again it rebounded, off to the side this time. He tacked on an unconvincing wry smile and stalked over for another try.

For the first five holes or so it had been kind of funny. By now she could tell David was getting frustrated. She had a strong intuition that he wanted to impress her, that he wanted to show his competence. She wished she could tell him that his golf skills didn't matter to her, though she didn't actually do so. Boys didn't react well to perceived condescension from girls. She could just imagine how Eric would have felt if his date took pity on him like that.

It was pretty silly. She didn't expect David to be some ultracompetent James Bond type! She didn't even want a guy like that. For some reason she couldn't quite fathom, though, she found it was hard to shake the idea of David trying to be a spy. Perhaps it was the definitely-intriguing mental image of him in a tux.

So she held her tongue while, after two more tries, David finally got his ball down to the section with the hole... and it rolled off into an awkward corner.

What could she do? Could she throw the game without being obvious about it? Not now, she reluctantly decided, not when she'd been doing so well already. David might be acting a little stupid about his ego, but he wasn't generally stupid.

So, if she couldn't mute her own competence, and she couldn't gracefully abort the game, there was only one other avenue open to her.

She dithered about taking that avenue for another hole. David needed eight swings to finish that one, however, and she decided to go for it. They went to the next hole. She let David go first.

"You should take my keys, come back and get me tomorrow," he said, trying to joke. She could sense the tension and anger anyway as he set up.

She focused and relaxed, summoning her power. It was harder when you couldn't vocalize, gesture - when you had to do it all in your mind - but not impossible. David swung, and she let the energy flow.

The ball took a strange curve. Unerringly it looped over the ridge, bounced off an edge, missed the concrete obstacles, and rolled straight into the hole. David stared, mouth open slightly.

"Dang. You really put some spin on that one!" Erica gushed.

For just a moment - less than a second - David frowned suspiciously. It was so fast Erica couldn't be certain she'd seen it. In any case, the very next instant he was smiling. "All in the wrist," he said, shrugging modestly.

She helped him a few more times, and flubbed two of her own shots. They joked about 'trading luck'. He actually got a few shots on his own, now that he'd calmed down. David seemed to be in a much better mood as they turned in their clubs.

And he didn't seem even the slightest bit angry as they kissed rather hungrily in his car before she went in that night. Possibly a little frustrated - which made her grin as she closed the door, blowing him a final kiss - but not angry.

~~~~~

Later, in bed, David wrestled with two dilemmas.

He wasn't supposed to call his handler every night. That was a general security protocol - the fewer traceable contacts, the better. Still, he was supposed to promptly report anything significant.

Now he just had to figure out if the fact that Erica had used Magic to help him win at minigolf was 'significant'. The first time, he hadn't been sure, and he could hardly engage in Magical forensics right in front of her. Two holes later, though, he'd summoned just enough power to passively sense the Light working. The moment he'd been certain, he'd shut down all Magical operations and put all his efforts into a plausible front of satisfied machismo.

It bothered him. In some ways, it was embarrassing. He had allowed his anger to get the better of him. His assignment was to be her boyfriend, and she wasn't into boys who acted like spoiled brats.

On the other hand, she hadn't dumped him or otherwise expressed displeasure. No, she'd gone to some trouble to make him feel better and build up his ego. That implied some emotional investment, that she cared about him, right? If so, that was a good sign.

He decided he'd report it. While it might not show him in his best light, you never knew what nuggets of data would prove crucial.

He wouldn't report the other dilemma, a problem that was common to teenaged boys everywhere. He was horny and having a difficult time falling asleep. The petting session in front of her house kept coming to mind. He had to remind himself - repeatedly - that Erica wasn't really a girl. A few months ago she'd had the same equipment he had.

His body - his equipment in particular - didn't seem to entirely believe that. Those breasts sure felt real...

~~~~~

Brandon walked with Cora toward his bike, a pleasant burn in his lungs and legs. It had been a good run, at another spot he knew. Cora had enjoyed it, too.

As they stepped up to the bike, he went with a whim. "Wanna drive a bit?"

Cora looked startled. "You mean, your bike?"

What else would I mean? he thought, but kept to himself. "Give it a try. Sit right up here."

"I dunno," she said. "I'm kinda small, I don't think I can reach." But he thought she sounded like she wanted to be persuaded.

It actually worked out pretty well. Sitting behind her, he could reach around and guide her without much stretching. A bonus to be pressed right up against her back, distraction though it was. For a few minutes they tooled around the parking lot.

She didn't feel up to taking the road, but when they switched places he saw her smile, and the excited look in her eyes. Yes, it had been a good idea.

They stopped by a Sonic on the way and got slushes. Of course they'd worked up a thirst.

She kinda snuggled into him as they sat on a bench and talked. He was a little surprised. She really wasn't shy anymore in private, but she tended to be standoffish in public, except for a couple of memorable macking sessions in the park.

~~~~~

Erica walked into her bedroom and almost tripped over herself. Scarlett Johansen, model and actress and fantasy of millions of boys, stood there regarding herself in the full-length mirror. She was clad in the iconic 'Black Widow' skintight catsuit from "The Avengers". A poster of that image had graced this room, back when it had been Eric's.

She turned to look Erica's way, and said - in Cora's voice - "Whaddaya think? Not bad, huh?"

"Cora?" Erica gasped, trying to pierce the illusion.

The vision rolled her eyes. "No, Scarlett Johansen drove up from Hollywood to surprise you in your bedroom. Of course it's me." She passed her hands in front of her face and down her front, and the illusion faded. The catsuit became black leggings and a tight, thin, long-sleeved sweater. The utility belt morphed into a regular belt - one of Erica's, which explained why Cora was in her bedroom. The boots seemed to slide down her calves, becoming much shorter.

"Wow, that was trippy," Erica breathed. "You looked just like her."

"It helps my hair's right around the same length. And the clothes weren't super hard. Was hella rough getting my boobs looking that big, though." She turned and looked at herself sideways in the mirror. "My hips didn't need as much," she said, sounding a little surprised.

Erica had to shake her head. "I can't believe you've gotten so good! And in only five months!"

"Bronwyn says that's my special talent, my 'Gift'. Glamours and tricks and illusions." She looked pensively out the window. "Real Transformations are harder."

Erica didn't want her friend to dwell on the negatives, so she sidled closer. "Can you do that for me?" she asked.

"What, you mean shapeshift you?" She frowned, considering. "Maybe. Other people can be harder. Why?"

"Obviously you memorized what Miss Johansen looks like." Her grin was quite saucy. "How'd you like to fuck her?"

Cora's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Well, you've got the tits for it, at least..." she drawled.

"You little bitch!" Erica cried, not quite hiding her smile.

~~~~~

"Sucks Brandon's on the other lunch hour." Cora actually sounded a little wistful.

Overall Jacinta felt very satisfied. She and Gabriela had finally gotten more than just a précis of Cora's momentous parking-lot date with Brandon. She had at last been persuaded to part with details. Juicy details.

They'd both noticed Cora being more openly affectionate around him in the last week or two. And this morning, before school, she'd given him what they could only see as a heartfelt kiss.

Indeed, Cora was much more willing to discuss her boyfriend with her girlfriends now. Almost to the point of tedium, but she'd listened to them do the same thing so allowances had to be made. "Y'know what he said, right before the first bell? He said he likes it when I don't wear makeup."

All three girls rolled their eyes. Cora had on eyeliner, lipstick, and blush. Not much of any, of course - Cora very seldom went all-out. Still, no girl would fail to see the extra definition.

"Guys just don't get it, do they?" Gabriela muttered.

Cora nodded firmly. "Word."

~~~~~

"Be careful," Cora said uncertainly.

"It'll be okay," Erica said, trying to sound chill and unconcerned. "He's a good guy."

Cora's lips quirked as she gave her a quick hug. "I mean make sure you don't stuff it in yourself!"

Erica groaned, but didn't otherwise protest. She took a deep breath and did one last check to make sure Haylie was still watching a show in the den. Then she flashed Cora a nervous, excited smile, picked up her purse and a small overnight bag, and stepped out the door.

Her hair was in an up-do. It included a ponytail, along with braids and other elaborations. She'd dropped a good chunk of change at the hairdresser. She wore a khaki dress that went with the pink stockings and heels she wore. Her makeup was applied in 'night on the town' style and quantity.

David waited in the driveway, leaning against his car. A collared shirt, slacks, combed hair, loafers. Boys 'night on the town' attire was far less trouble - and expense - than for girls. She couldn't hold that against him, though.

He stood up and opened the door for her. "Hey, babe," he said as she gave him a quick kiss and slid in. He closed the door, came around, jumped in, and backed out onto the road. "Everything still chill?"

She smiled, suppressing the butterflies in her stomach. "All good!" Circumstances had aligned. Miranda did most of her work from home, but once or twice a year she had to fly to New York for meetings at the publisher's headquarters. In years past she'd taken the girls and they'd stayed at hotels, or she'd left them with a babysitter. Now Erica was old enough to watch Haylie, for a few days at least. So Miranda had set off during the day Friday, and would be back Tuesday.

She had planned on having David visit, but then he'd said his parents would be gone the same weekend. And Cora was available to watch Haylie...

Miranda and Haylie believed - or at least, had been told - that Erica was going to sleep over at Kristina's. Instead she and David were going to get an entire night together. An overnight.

~~~~~

All evening she'd been waiting for and wondering about this moment. They had gone to dinner first, as upscale as high school students could manage, then come to his house. They'd hung out for a while in the living room, playing games. And now they were at the door of his bedroom. She'd never actually seen it except in the background of Skype chats.

He opened the door and led her in. She immediately deduced that he'd straightened up a bunch. However mature he was in some ways, she refused to believe that any teenage boy kept his room that neat.

Two steps in, she felt something very strange, a feeling she didn't have a word for. It was like... the opposite of déjà vu. Something that should be familiar somehow wasn't.

It was the smell, she realized. The smell of a teen boy's room. It was perfectly recognizable; Eric knew it well, had slept in it every night for years. Not overpowering here - David wasn't a slob - but even daily showers and weekly laundry couldn't eradicate it.

Yet it was peculiar at the same time. She hadn't whiffed it in months, but that was only part of the strangeness. A small part. The really strange thing was her own reaction to it. Eric would probably not even have noticed it. If he had, he might have found it mildly unpleasant at most. To Erica, though, it was... not unpleasant. Maybe even... interesting.

The walls were blue and gray, with a few action-movie and game posters on the wall. She noticed Black Widow on the Avengers one, with mixed feelings. A computer occupied a desk by the window - it didn't look as powerful as hers, actually. A bookshelf against one wall; she'd definitely have to look that over in detail sometime. A dresser, closet, hamper. And the bed - queen-sized, she judged, with a navy blue comforter.

"So, uh, welcome to my boudoir," he said, waving a hand to indicate his domain.

She grinned. "That actually means a woman's bedroom."

"Oh." He gave a little discomfited shrug. "Well, uh, 'be it ever so humble' and all." Erica suddenly realized that he was nervous, too. Confident, unflappable David was worried about how she thought of him. It threw her back to that first day when he'd asked her out.

She couldn't resist teasing him a little. "So is this your bed?" she said, archly.

That wrung an ever-so-slightly pained smile from him. But he soldiered on. "Yeah, this is where the magic happens."

She smiled. "Promises, promises." She was too excited - and, by now, too uncomfortable - to draw things out much longer. "Well, let me show you a magic trick then." She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him toward the bed. "Sit down and close your eyes."

He squinted in sudden doubt, but let himself be pushed down. After a moment, he said, "All right," and his lids came down.

Erica stepped back, tracking his eyes carefully. "No peeking! I mean it!" She unzipped the back and carefully pulled the dress up and over, going slow to make sure she didn't mess up her hair or her face. Underneath she was wearing her fancy, sexy lingerie. Anticipation for this moment had been building all day long. The undergarments had proven quite as impractical and uncomfortable as she'd expected... but she had hopes they'd prove worth it. She struck what she hoped was a sultry pose and said, "Okay, now you can look."

He opened his eyes and stared. Unexpectedly, out of nowhere, she felt shy and uncertain and very vulnerable. She didn't have the body-image issues of a lot of girls; she knew she looked good, thanks to the perspective lent by her former life as Eric. But looking good in general is different from being attractive to a particular individual. It was suddenly very important that David would find her sexy...

He was just staring. Staring. She bit her lower lip slightly, unbearably tense. She remembered how her breasts were slightly different sizes, and wondered if he'd noticed. She'd only been undressed with him in cars, all bent over and cramped...

David shook himself. "Oh my God, you're beautiful, Erica," he exclaimed in evident wonder.

She smiled a goofy smile. She knew it was goofy, could feel how silly and undignified it was.

She didn't care.

He stood up, leaned in, and kissed the smile off her face. It moved into her heart instead.

~~~~~

Cora and Haylie were lounging on the couch, eating popcorn and watching Toy Story 2, still in their sweats from kicking around a soccer ball earlier.

They were almost out of popcorn when they got to the scene of Emily growing up and abandoning Jessie. Haylie watched the compressed, sped-up version of a girl maturing into a young woman. She recognized it, felt it coming soon. For the most part she was excited to grow up. And yet... and yet...

This opportunity would not come again soon. She paused the movie. "What's it like? Being a boy?" she asked Cora.

Cora blinked. She took a few seconds to answer. Haylie was relieved she took the question seriously.

"I... look, I can't tell you what it's like for every boy. Just me. Or, what it was like for Cory."

"No, I get that," Haylie said.

Cora frowned. "Well... fish don't think about water. There's a whole lot guys don't have to think about. They really don't have a clue what girls do or think or go through a lot of the time. Guys are kinda... kinda the 'default', y'know? Socially."

Haylie nodded. She'd seen some of that already. People took what boys said more seriously than girls a lot of the time.

"Girls hormones go crazy around their period, right? You'll find out about that pretty soon," she said with a rueful grimace. "But, like, looking back... guys ain't so different." She paused. "When puberty kicks in, guys go just as crazy as girls do around their period. But it's all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"Like, you've seen me or Erica or your Mom. Getting weepy or angry or whatever." She spread her hands. "Boys get horny."

Haylie giggled, a little nervously.

Cora shrugged, grinning herself. "It's true. You can't even imagine how much guys think about, about girls." Her brow furrowed. "I... well, I kinda researched, like, transsexual stuff after I got Transformed."

Haylie wasn't surprised. She gestured for Cora to continue.

Cora did, carefully. "I remember this thing I found on NPR, a woman who became a man. When she... he started taking hormones he was totally shocked at how horny he got. Couldn't stop staring at chicks." She chuckled. "Said it gave him more sympathy for teenage boys."

Cora cocked her head, her hair shifting. "I guess it's supposed to settle down some, eventually. But Cory sure as heck had plenty of, like, testosterone and stuff."

Haylie hesitated, then said, "So it's different for you now? As Cora?"

Cora thought about it for several seconds, looking around the room as if she'd find the right words hiding somewhere. "I don't wanna... I mean, I dunno how much your Mom wants me talking to you about that kinda stuff." She squared her shoulders. "For me, it's not so different, I guess. The, um, level. But I don't think Transformees are, y'know, typical." She put up a hand. "And that's all I'll say about that."

"No prob," Haylie said, ready to give up that topic herself. "What else?"

"They're not as... I dunno... like, 'socially aware', I guess." She was frowning. "Not all of 'em, but... girls have BFFs and all, but they know more people. Boys mostly are tight with their bros, and don't really, like... bond with anyone else." She shrugged. "I'm not explaining this so great. Boys just don't notice or care so much about how other people feel. Except for some."

She looked at Haylie. "I bet there are girls in your class that you don't hang with, barely even talk to. Right?"

"Yeah..." Haylie said, not sure where Cora was going.

"But you know something about them, right? Just from talking? What they're like, who they're friends with, who they hate. Maybe a story about something funny they did or said. Right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Boys... if someone's not in one of their, y'know, circles, they don't care. They don't pay any attention." She sighed. "I can't remember where I saw it, but somebody said that stories for guys are about bodies in motion, what people do. Stories for girls are about how people feel, what they think about stuff."

"I guess I see. I think." Haylie shook her head. "What else?"

Cora was looking up at the ceiling. "I think... well, a lot of things are easier for guys. But it's not like they don't have their own problems. There's a lot of pressure on 'em. They've gotta be strong and smart. They're supposed to be important. Better than anybody at something." She shook her head, still not looking at anything in the room. "And they can't cry. Most of the time they can't even admit something hurts."

The girls sat in silence for a while. Then Haylie asked the main question. "So why do you want to go back?"

Cora, eyes wide, just sat there.

She pressed on. "Erica wanted to be Eric again, for a while. I think sometimes she still does. You can't freakin' wait to be Cory again." She shook her head, uncomprehending. "Why? What's so great about being a boy?"

Cora breathed in through her teeth. "It's... hard to explain." Then she fell silent again.

Haylie shook her head. "You know what the weird thing is? I feel like I do know, somehow."

Cora looked more focused. "Huh. Really?"

Haylie shrugged. "Sometimes. I guess."

Cora pondered that. "Maybe you should talk to your Mom about it."

"Maybe." Haylie couldn't explain why that made her feel uncomfortable, almost scared.

On that ambiguous note, Cora started the movie back up. They didn't speak to each other until it was over. Then they had a little ice cream and didn't talk about anything important before going to bed.

~~~~~

It was morning. Waking up next to David was an amazing thing. For just a little while she wondered if she were still dreaming. But his big strong sleeping body was too real. Even if the view was fuzzy without glasses or contacts.

So was her arousal. It was a very near thing; she almost woke him up. But she had something she needed to do while he was still sleeping, something she hadn't even told Cora about. Therefore, gently and covertly, she rubbed herself to a quick orgasm to take the edge off. Keeping quiet and still was difficult, but David barely stirred.

Now able to think a bit more clearly, she used her rudimentary Healing training to shift him into a deeper slumber. It was harder than it should have been, even accounting for her novice skill. She decided that she must be even more tense about what she'd planned than she thought. Finally satisfied, she crept out of bed.

Purses were amazingly useful. A boy's wallet wouldn't have stored extra contacts and her glasses. Plus, there were hairbands. Erica pulled her hair back away from her face and tucked it up behind her head. She peeked in the mirror; it didn't look like she had short hair, exactly, but it'd do. She began a search of his closet and dresser. Before long she'd assembled a reasonable outfit.

Wearing boys clothes once more was completely different from what she'd expected.

She had hoped to catch a glimpse of Eric again in her reflection. Goddess, it was so confusing! She'd seesawed back and forth over whether she'd Transform back one day. By now, though, it was hard to even remember what she'd been like before. Miranda had saved a few pictures of Eric for a special scrapbook, she knew, but wouldn't let Erica see them. It would "interfere with her progress."

Cora made it look easy, but shapeshifting spells were tricky. It was taking her so long to learn them! Right now she could barely manage to alter her skin tone or shift the color of her hair. She'd thought that maybe, dressed up as a boy, it might help her remember what it was like. Or at least what Eric had looked like.

It just didn't work, though. The clothes didn't make her feel masculine in the least; all they did was emphasize how womanly she was now. She was too small for them to fit - where she didn't stick out too much. Her face, her shape was too obviously girly. The 'cute librarian' glasses didn't help. She looked exactly like what she was: a teenage girl trying on her boyfriend's clothes. Sexy, even, from a certain perspective... but utterly female.

Confused, she slowly disrobed and, with exacting care, placed the clothes back precisely where she'd found them. She slipped her t-shirt back on, then slipped into bed next to David, and withdrew the Healing push that held him asleep.

Sooner than she'd expected, almost at once, he was awake. He jerked and sat up, acting startled. I must be clumsier than I thought. He shouldn't have sensed anything.

For just a couple heartbeats he seemed confused, and then frightened-slash-angry. She had one instant to be scared before he suddenly was calming down. He even smiled. "Sorry. Not used to waking up with anybody." His smile got wider. "Especially a cute half-naked girl."

Her own heartbeat slowing - David had looked very scary there, she could see how he'd intimidated Alan and Illya - she teased him a little. "Only 'cute'? Not 'gorgeous'? Or 'stunning'? Or 'incredible'?"

He snorted. "You want, like... eloquence, you're gonna have to wait til my brain finishes booting up."

Her hands moved under the covers. "Feels like some of you is initialized..."

She'd played wake-up games in bed before, but only with girls. David turned out to be pretty good at them.

~~~~~

David turned onto the main avenue, and the masking personality dropped away. It was like storm clouds suddenly blowing in over a sunny day. The real David was far more troubled than the false one.

He was returning to 'his' house, having dropped off Erica after their little overnight tryst. He truly didn't know what to make of her. She was so much the teenage girl. The way she moved, talked, thought about things - so very feminine. It was hard to remember she was really a boy.

Or was she? That was a question that bothered him a great deal. More and more, as time went on.

One could easily argue that a typical transsexual wasn't 'really' female. Surgery and supplementary hormones weren't enough to change sex, as far as David was concerned. The problem was, the Transformation these witches did was far more fundamental.

He knew that better than he should have. Even as he'd done it, he'd known it was a mistake, known that it could expose his cover. But he'd needed to do it, needed to know. It hadn't been necessary to fake attraction to Erica for weeks now. His attitude toward her reluctance to 'go all the way' was far more like that of typical boys to their girlfriends. He had to take care to behave more chivalrously than he actually felt, many times.

So he had Magically probed her last night. It had been carefully timed, when he was as sure as a male can be that his girl wasn't faking an orgasm. It had worked - of that he was certain. She was far too distracted at the time to notice the scan; her pleasure had been real.

It had been unnerving, partly for what it revealed but mostly for what it had not. Aside from the wellspring of Light within her, Erica was an entirely normal girl. He sensed nothing whatsoever indicating she had ever been anything else. The Transformation wasn't an ongoing spell; it really did change the essence. This form was now her natural form, on a physical and Magical level.

More surprising, there was a spell on her... but it wasn't maintaining the Transformation. So far as he could tell - and he couldn't be sure, Light Magic was strange - it actually prevented further Transformation. It was tied to the life of another, and - again, if he guessed right - it could be broken only from within.

He was also a little disturbed by the fact that she'd used Magic on him. Not much, and not for long... but he'd review the recordings from the concealed cameras as soon as he got back, to find out what she'd been doing while he'd been subdued.

That wasn't the main worry, though. The real problem was that central question: was Erica 'really' a girl, or not?

It was a philosophical question, true. The thing was, philosophical questions could have uncomfortably pragmatic and real-world consequences for practitioners of Magic.

Adding to his conflicts, he suspected that the existence of the binding spell represented important intelligence. And he could hardly report it to his handler without revealing that he had done something stupid, and against explicit orders, to uncover it. Certain levels of initiative and independence were encouraged in field operatives. Lapses in judgement were not.

~~~~~

Erica felt a little frustrated most of Saturday.

She and David had ended up having quite the leisurely morning. Almost too languorous; he'd dropped her off at home right when Cora had to head to work. The girl had barely enough time for a good-natured snarky remark about the disheveled condition of Erica's expensive hairstyle.

She couldn't talk to Haylie about the experience. She couldn't even talk in front of Haylie about it, to keep her Mom from finding out. So she spent a good deal of time texting with her friends.

And then when Cora came home from the arcade, it was time for Erica to head in to the restaurant for her shift. So they really didn't get a chance to dish until Sunday morning.

She didn't bring up her little cross-dressing experiment with her friends or Cora, for differing reasons. Cora acted gratifyingly interested in the sleepover, though, and probed for details. In the afternoon, they took Haylie out to a movie, then came home and cooked a big dinner together. It was really fun.

Erica wouldn't have dreamed that life could be going so well, back when Cora had first appeared. What a difference a few months made.

~~~~~

Brandon made a gentle turn off the main road into a subdivision.

"Hey, what..." Cora yelled in his ear, gripping him tighter and leaning forward. She sounded confused. Almost alarmed.

"Just wanna swing by Cory's place for a second. Just real quick, see if his parents heard anything," he called out, turning the bike left again.

Cora's grip around his chest tensed up. But she didn't say anything.

"It's on the way," he yelled, a little defensive.

"Whatever," Cora said. But he barely heard her.

He pulled up in the Ellsworth driveway, dropped the stand and started pulling off his helmet. "You don't hafta come in. I'll only be a minute."

Cora paused, then carefully slid to the ground, unclipping her helmet too. "No, I'll come in."

She acted almost skittish as they went up and rang the doorbell. It wasn't long before a tall man opened the front door.

"Hello, Brandon. Good to see you."

"Hey, Mr. Ellsworth." He put a hand on Cora's shoulder. "This is my girlfriend, Cora."

"Well, aren't you the lucky one," the man said. "Very nice to meet you," he said to her, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, too," she said, very softly. Abruptly she looked away.

A woman's voice from inside, approaching. "Who's that, hon?"

"Brandon came by," the man called. He moved to the side to allow her to see.

Her eyes lit up when she got to the door and saw Cora. "Oh, is this Cora?" she cooed.

Cora was staring. Brandon stepped in quickly. "Yup, this is her."

"She's just as pretty as you said!" said Mrs. Ellsworth. "Come on in for a minute," she urged.

"Well, okay," he said. Cora followed him in, looking around. She was acting shy and nervous again. He could never quite predict how she'd respond to something new. Girls, he thought ruefully to himself. Why even try?

If she was uncomfortable, though, he'd better get through it quickly. "I just wanted to check, heard anything from Cory?"

"No, nothing since that letter. We should get another one next week." Her shoulders slumped. "Maybe a phone call. It's almost like he knows when we're out, so he can leave a message."

"I'm sure he wants to talk to you," Cora blurted. Then, she looked down at the floor.

"I hope so," Mrs. Ellsworth said. Her husband laid a comforting hand on her arm, but he looked troubled too.

Mrs. Ellsworth changed the subject slightly. "Did Brandon ever show you a picture of him?" she said to Cora, leading the girl into the front room. On the wall was a large, framed picture of Cory - his school photo from last year.

"No," Cora said, inspecting it intently. "I saw a couple shots on Facebook..."

Mrs. Ellsworth waited a bit while Cora stared. "Cora's not a common name. Like Cory, I guess," she mused, examining Cora almost as sharply. Brandon saw her flash him an approving smile.

"It's my middle name," Cora said quietly. "My first name is Jewel." She finally turned from examining the photo and looked at Mrs. Ellsworth. Intent still, almost searching for something.

"Now that's a pretty name. It suits you," Mrs. Ellsworth said, turning to meet Cora's eyes.

Cora bit her lip and stared at the floor again.

Brandon watched all this curiously. He compared Cora to the picture of Cory. There sure looked like some kind of family resemblance. He naturally hadn't said anything to the Ellsworths, of course, and they didn't seem to pick up on it, though.

Cora's eyes darted between the two adults. "Why... why do you think he left?" she asked.

Now it was the Ellsworths who weren't looking anyone in the eye. Mr. Ellsworth said, "I don't know. I just... don't know."

"It wasn't drugs," Mrs. Ellsworth said, insistently. "We searched his room, his locker. Nothing. His grades were great."

Cora swallowed.

Mr. Ellsworth was shaking his head. "It doesn't make any sense. We wouldn't have cared if he had been on drugs. Or gay. Or... or anything."

"I didn't... I don't think he..." Cora stammered, then trailed off.

There was silence for a moment. Suddenly Mrs. Ellsworth said, "For a while I wondered if maybe... I don't know. If he'd converted to Islam and gone off to be a terrorist or something. But those letters... Maybe he is gay. But we wouldn't care. We just want him home."

Cora looked devastated. She stepped forward and took Mrs. Ellsworth into a hug. "I hope he can come back soon," she said, on the verge of tears.

Mrs. Ellsworth had actual tears in the corners of her eyes, and hugged back. "Well, you really are a precious jewel." She looked at Brandon. "You treat her right, now. Don't let this one get away!"

He smiled, a little uncomfortable. He had a little lump in his throat. Women always got so emotional. Mr. Ellsworth looked uncomfortable too. "No worries. I know how lucky I am," he said.

They said their goodbyes and left. As he got back on the bike, he said, "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't know it was gonna be a scene."

Cora gave him a sharp, irritated look. "They're hurting," she declared, and then got on the bike without another word. He sensed he'd just make some kind of mistake, though he didn't know what. Girls. Dammit.

~~~~~

Miranda checked the screen on her phone, then answered. "Hello, Jacqui. What's up?"

"Brandon took Cora by her old house. She saw her parents, saw a picture of herself as a boy."

"Oh... dear." So far as possible, the Sisterhood tried to keep novices from reminders of their former state and life.

"Right. She was pretty upset, from what I saw."

Miranda's eyes pinched shut. "How did you find out?"

"After that incident with driving practice, I put a simple alarm spell on their house. Just in case. Honestly, I'd forgotten about it." She paused. "I got to remote viewing almost immediately. It really wasn't her idea. Brandon was checking for Cory news and brought her along."

"Goddess, I can't imagine... what happened?"

"She handled herself as well as could be expected. But she got to see how much her parents miss their son. And I think... picture talking to your own parents and they don't even recognize you."

"Goddess," Miranda repeated, appalled.

"She stared at that old headshot for quite a while. I think it all rubbed her nose in how much she's changed already."

Miranda sighed. "Exactly what we always try to avoid. Especially with her."

Jacqui sighed too. "I just wanted to give you a heads-up. I've got no idea how she'll be when she gets home."

Miranda thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll take all the girls out for surprise ice cream tonight."

"And hope she's girly enough to respond to ice cream therapy," Jacqui said.

"Heh," Miranda said, with limited mirth.

"How's Erica doing?" Jacqui asked.

"Heh," Miranda said again, much more sincerely. "She hasn't even alluded to her little sleepover. But I noticed her Magic was quite a bit stronger during our latest lesson." She smiled. "I think her Transition is entirely back on track."

"I'm very glad for her, and you," Jacqui said with feeling.

~~~~~

Erica was glad her Mom had taken them out for a treat that night. Cora was acting down when Brandon dropped her off and it had helped cheer her up a little.

She stayed introspective though. Haylie made up for it, when she dropped a bomb into the conversation. "I think I wanna get my hair cut short."

Their Mom betrayed some alarm. "Haylie, no! Not your pretty hair!"

"I was talking to Georgia. She says she's glad she got hers chopped."

Miranda was definitely upset. "Oh, Haylie, not that short! Please!"

Erica wasn't sure what to think. Haylie's friend rocked a pixie cut pretty well, but it was hard to picture how it'd look on Haylie. Maybe that was just 'cause her little sister had always had long hair. She squinted, trying to visualize it.

"What, you think anyone's gonna think I'm a boy?" Haylie said.

Erica kept squinting. It had been a joke, but there was some kind of undertone... well, gender identity would be more on Haylie's mind than other girls her age.

Maybe Mom picked up on it, too. She looked worried. "I just don't think it'd be the best look for you, honey. And if you didn't like it, it would take forever to grow back..."

Cora spoke up. "We could try it out. We get home, I bet I could Glamour up some looks to test. Hair's pretty easy for me now."

Haylie squealed. "OMG, yes! Please!"

Miranda hesitated. She looked really upset. Erica couldn't grasp why it was such a big deal. But then she said, "Well, we'll see when we get home."

~~~~~

Cora stared at herself in the mirror, dubiously.

"You look awesome! Goddess, chillax!" Erica said.

Cora turned to the side, looking even more doubtful. "I got underwear covers more than this."

Erica gave her a quick side-hug. "First time I went out in a bikini was weird for me, too. But it's cool. Totally. Socially, I mean." She saw Cora steal a glance at her bed, and moved to block her view. "Nuh-uh! I shouldn'ta even let you buy that stupid one-piece!"

"Not sure I can do this," Cora muttered. The navy blue of the material set well against her fair skin, and there was actually a decent amount of it. Rump and crotch and breasts were covered, there was no risk of any critical exposure. But it was tied with strings, not straps, so her back and the sides of her hips were effectively bare.

"It'll be fine. Wear a t-shirt until we actually go in the water." She smirked. "And poor Brandon'll be drooling. He'll get a boner at some point, you watch."

Cora snorted and went to grab her flip-flops. The idea didn't seem to be particularly uncomfortable.

A whole pack of kids were going on a Sunday roadtrip to the beach. The nucleus was a subset of the girls from the cheer squad and their boyfriends, but acquaintances were coming, as well. It was an all day thing; Moreno Valley was sixty miles from the ocean. Sixty California highway miles.

Cora had a long t-shirt on as they went downstairs, hanging so low it was pretty much a miniskirt. Erica thought it wound up being more titillating than the plain bathing suit, but wasn't about to let Cora know.

~~~~~

The ride down was indeed long, but chill. She and Cora and David and Brandon rode with Shianti and her boyfriend Tyrone in her dad's minivan. The boys had come to the Jardin house and all four were picked up from there.

Trahn and Melanie were with their guys in another vehicle. Tyrone drove, with David next to him and Brandon behind him. Shianti was in the middle passenger seat, with Cora and Erica in the back. As happened frequently, the boys and girls had parallel conversations, with only occasionally overlapping subjects. Erica caught Cora glancing at the boys on occasion, when the topic turned to things like gossip or clothes, as if pining to talk about sports. But she didn't make a fuss. She even had a few pertinent comments.

As soon as the convoy arrived, the girls got together for a group picture. Cora used to join in such things reluctantly, but these days she seemed fine with them, posing and smiling. She'd talked it over once with Erica, and they'd both concluded that they served a social, bonding function - visibly signifying friendship, while also a certain amount of (mostly) friendly competition.

Anyway, Cora had reconciled herself to the necessity. She never did 'duck face', though. Ever. With her smile, it was unnecessary anyway.

The weather was fine, and the beach wasn't crowded enough to be a problem. A couple dozen high schoolers could still find room to spread out. As they got ready to go in the water, Erica kept one eye on Cora. After a brief hesitation, she shed the t-shirt. And then cheekily asked Brandon to help her with the sunscreen. Of course, with her fair skin she actually needed a thick coating.

They splashed and swam. A few of the girls only waded, not wanting to get their hair wet.

"Ffffft." Cora blew hairs out of her mouth. "I hate windy days."

Trahn scoffed. "Ever get your hair caught in a car door? That's super fun."

They had a big picnic lunch, supplemented with icy drinks from a vending stand. After that, everyone laid around, digesting and relaxing through the hottest part of the afternoon. Several couples paired off on their own towels. Erica noticed Brandon and Cora engaged in some fairly flagrant cuddling, but she paid more attention to her own cuddling with David.

Before long, though, a beach volleyball game got going. Cora and Erica sat out, sending their gentlemen in to be their champions. Erica took another opportunity to enjoy the male form in motion.

Although, she also noticed a couple of women walk by, glad she had sunglasses on so she could do it without being obvious. They were very attractive, which pleased her in a way that survived intact from her days as Eric. But they were older, mature - at least twenty-five. They had a few tattoos. Women, not girls. It made her feel weird; lots of complex emotions.

They projected a confidence that high-school girls just couldn't match. Not even a Transformed boy who knew she looked good. Part of her wanted to be like that - but that would also mean growing in womanhood. If she became a woman like that - one who knew who she was and what she wanted - wouldn't that mean she wouldn't want to be Eric again? And honestly - did she ever want to be male again now? Or was she only keeping that option alive for Cora's sake, to give the girl a sense of solidarity she seemed to need desperately?

Speaking of Cora... her eyes slewed right, and she caught Cora looking at them, too. What was she thinking? How did she feel about them? Erica understood Jacqui's frustration at not being able to peek.

But the volleyball game was over now, and the boys were headed their way. It was time to go back into the water.

~~~~~

Seeing Cora snuggle up next to Brandon on the drive back had been humorous. To keep the seat from getting wet, she had her t-shirt under her, and Brandon had a hard time keeping his eyes off her body. Pretty sure he's having a hard time in more than one way, she thought with a smile. Her prediction about boners had come true. Maybe it was a little mean, but it could sometimes be fun to tease boys a little.

They got dropped off and gave their respective boyfriends goodby smooches, then went in to clean off and change.

"Fuck," Cora swore as she walked into Erica's room wrapped in a towel after her shower. "Remember that one photoset on the beach I showed you that one time? The naked redhead all in the sand?"

"Yeah?" Erica said, not sure where she was going. They'd only compared porn that once.

"I'm gonna delete 'em. I never want to even think about sand down there ever again. I finally understand that phrase." They both laughed in agreement.

Cora sat on the bed, watching Erica dress. She slipped the towel off and took another pass at drying her hair. Erica didn't completely ignore a naked girl in her room, but it was clear that Cora wasn't flirting; they were just comfortable together.

Cora had turned thoughtful. "Girl hormones are weird. Like, did you see when Ramilah was talking to Brandon?"

"No. When was that?"

"After the Slurpees. I don't think she knew I was back. And she was all smiling at him."

"So, she's got working glands. Brandon's cute." Then her eyes narrowed. "Hey, Brandon wouldn't..."

Cora laughed and waved her hand. "I know, he's not a dog. Took me long enough to pry him away from Danielle." Then she shrugged. "I wasn't talking about her hormones."

"What do you mean?"

"For just a second... I mean, like, I know I can trust Brandon. She wasn't gonna get anywhere. But even so. I was so pissed I was gonna Glamour giant zits all over her face." She squinted at nothing, going into 'thinking mode'. "I wonder if you could make it so only guys saw it? She'd be running around with her face like bacon, but none of her friends could warn her..."

~~~~~

The Wednesday morning alarm came all too soon. Erica got up and took a quick shower. The water no longer felt too warm on her back and face; the mild sunburn from the beach trip had healed. Still, that wasn't good for the skin. Aloe and other moisturizers were called into play before she got dressed. She was mildly surprised to find Cora already at the breakfast table when she came down.

Haylie and Miranda were bustling about, eating breakfast and putting together lunch for school. Miranda nodded quietly toward Cora. Erica looked and saw that the girl was extremely subdued. Almost haunted. She casually got a bowl for cereal, sat down next to her, and said, "Hey, how ya doing?"

Cora didn't turn to her. "Eh. Tired." After a moment, she added, "Didn't sleep good."

"Everything okay?"

"'s fine," Cora muttered. Well, if she wasn't ready to talk, there was no point in pushing her. She poured some milk on her granola and ate.

Cora's phone beeped. She looked at it and sighed.

"What's up?" Erica asked as unpressingly as she could manage.

"Canceled with Brandon. Gonna ride the bus."

Her eyebrows lifted, but she said, "David could take us both."

"Nah, you go ahead. Thanks," Cora murmured, still not looking at anyone.

"Oh. Okay," Erica said, shooting an inquiring glance at her Mom. Miranda shook her head unobtrusively, just as puzzled.

~~~~~

Erica checked her phone on the way to lunch; there was a text from Jacinta: u kno why C is freaking out? The moment she got into the lunchroom, she could see Cora was still upset. Standing in line for food, she looked like a dazed refugee.

Erica sidled up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, can we talk? Like, outside?"

"I don't..." Cora began.

Erica cut her off. "We need to talk. No drama, just let's talk, okay?"

Cora hesitated, then nodded and stepped out of line. As they headed for the doors, over Cora's shoulder, Erica gave the table a look. It conveyed a great deal - Sorry, gotta deal with Cora alone, tell you about it later - but only Kristina and Linda seemed to get it. David and Paul just looked confused. Goddess, boys can be dense, she thought absently.

Once they'd gotten a little ways from the crowd, Erica said, low and intense, "You're not fine. What's going on? What's wrong?"

"It's... I don't wanna talk about..."

"Fuck that. I love you and you're hurting and I want to help. Spill it."

Cora just shook her head. "It's not like that. Nothing you can do."

"You know how far I'll go for my friends," Erica said flatly.

"That's the thing," Cora sighed. "It's no big deal. I just had a bad dream."

"Oh." Even leaving aside the possibility of a prophetic dream, Cora was clearly more upset than even a nightmare could explain.

Waiting out Cory probably wouldn't have worked. Cora, though, seemed to have some of the female need to talk. "Me and Brandon were making out. I mean, really going to town. We were, like, all over each other."

She shivered. "I could feel his cock through his pants. That's what did it. It was, like, time. I was a hundred and ten percent dee tee eff. I was gonna 'eff' the living shit outta him."

Erica was silent, trying to absorb everything. On the one hand, it might be progress. Erica didn't know details herself, but they'd both intuited that being attracted to boys had to be part of the Transition. Yet that had to be especially hard for Cora.

"So he helped me undo my pants and get 'em down." She paused for a second. "Huh. I don't think I was wearing pants before. Yeah, I remember, he had a hand up my skirt before." A pause. "Anyway. We got my pants off."

She'd curled in on herself, back hunched, arms wrapped around her torso, looking down at the ground as they walked.

"Suddenly he was yelling at me. And I looked down and I had a dick and balls again. And I felt so ashamed, I was saying I was sorry over and over but he kept, like screaming at me. I can't even remember what he was saying, but he was so totally, like, disgusted. And then Cory was there too, and he was all pissed at me too. And he was all, 'What the fuck are you doing?'"

"Oh, Goddess," Erica breathed. She grabbed Cora and squeezed her, trying to express all the support and comfort she couldn't put into words. Cora broke down then, crying onto Erica's chest.

"It's not fair. I didn't ask for this. And I never should have gone after Brandon. He really would feel that way, if he knew." She let out a huge sob. "I really did betray him!"

Erica held her for several heartbeats. Then she spoke gently into Cora's ear. "Look, the whole point of this is for you to be a girl, right? So if you are a girl, then you are okay for him."

"And when I turn back? What then?" Her breath hitched. "Cory can't be friends with a guy that I sucked off! He won't be able to look at Brandon! He'll push him away!" She looked miserable. "I don't want him hurt like that. After he tried to find Cory."

"It's gonna be okay," Erica crooned, hoping she was telling the truth. "We'll figure it out."

"I thought it was getting better, but I just keep making things worse. I should have left him alone. I'm even worse for him than Danielle!"

"Oh, now fuck that!" Erica exclaimed. "He's happy with you. I see the way he looks at you. Not just at your booty." She held Cora's shoulders at arms length. "And Cory's just as mature as you are. By definition. If you can handle getting busy with Brandon now, you can figure it out as Cory."

It was hard to tell what Cora was thinking. She wasn't sure she was getting through. She wasn't supposed to talk about Cory anyway. So she pivoted. "Anyway, let the future take care of itself. Nobody knows what'll happen. He could break up with you tomorrow."

She saw two distinct emotions in Cora's mien; an amused dismissal of the very concept of Brandon dumping her somehow combined with pain at contemplating that very idea. Erica stopped talking and just hugged her friend.

It felt like a while, but was probably less than a minute before Cora spoke again. "The thing is, I was freaked out and ashamed and pissed and upset. I mean, I was, like, inside out, y'know? I still kinda am." She made a sound that might have been history's least joyful laugh. "But you know what else?"

"What?"

"I was frustrated, too. 'Cause I really did want to fuck him. Like, majorly." Her eyes were tearing up again. "I wanted his cock in my pussy as much as Cory ever wanted inside a girl. More, maybe. I can't even think about that first part of it without getting wet."

For a few moments she just shook in Erica's arms. They'd drawn attention from several of the students in the area. Finally, Cora whispered, "I still totally do. Goddess, it'd almost be worth getting knocked up."

Erica reflected on all it would take to make Cora feel that, much less say it out loud. "Are you, like... in love with him?"

"I dunno." She was shaking her head, still trembling. "But what scares me the most is, I'm not sure I don't love him."

After that, Erica just held Cora for a few more minutes. Then they made their silent way back inside, equally subdued now.

~~~~~

Erica usually felt very conflicted, talking to the senior Sisters about things Cora had told her. She knew the Sisters wanted the best for Cora - at least by their lights. She even knew that Cora knew she was making reports. It felt like betraying a confidence anyway.

Cora's dream, and reaction, were too important to elide; maybe even vital. She still felt guilty that night as she relayed their conversation.

"Oh, Goddess," Laurie said, very softly, when Erica was done. All the witches looked very pensive, especially Jacqui.

"Jacqui, you... you have the best hope of... of seeing into this," Bronwyn said. "What do you think?"

Jacqui still was focused inward, going over things in her mind. "It bothered me to make out with boys. It really bothered me to enjoy it. But... my introduction was gentler." She finally looked up, with a crooked grin toward Bronwyn. "I was pushed into it, like Cora." The grin dissolved. "I didn't do it out of anger, though, and it wasn't as calculated. On my part, anyway."

She sighed. "And I didn't know the guy before. Cora had a really unfair head start on knowing Brandon. Unfair for both of them." She looked very grim now. "Cora says she doesn't know if she loves Brandon. The thing is, Brandon does love her. The way a teenage boy loves a girl, anyway."

Erica clamped down on a sudden intense desire for intel on David's feelings toward her. That wasn't important right now. To anyone else at least. "Do you think... Cory really would push Brandon away? When she changes back?"

Jacqui was staring at the floor again. "I... maybe. I remember thinking something similar about 'Jack' at one point."

Bronwyn was speculative now. "Cora's coming along. I think this dream shows she's on the path to complete her Transition, eventually."

Erica sensed something going unsaid. It was very like that intuition she'd had shortly after Cora's Transformation, that had led her to deduce the binding spell. Something about vaginal sex was important to the Transition.

Her Mom and the other Sisters had said that there were things they couldn't tell Novices, because it would disrupt, maybe even derail their progress. Cora was still a little skeptical about that, but Erica had more trust. She hoped. She decided to let that go for now.

The High Priestess was still talking. "Ordinarily, worries about adjustments after changing back aren't so important. In this case... a reversal is pretty much inevitable. Even if Cora wanted to stay a girl, there's her parents. She wouldn't deprive them of their son any longer than she had to."

"Yes," Laurie said, concerned. "That's not a problem Novices have to face."

Jacqui shook her head, slowly. "All we can do is hope she doesn't do anything... rash."

~~~~~

Brandon pulled his bike up to the curb. Cora was waiting there. He was a little worried; it was like she'd been avoiding him the last couple days. She'd taken the bus Thursday, and this morning, and she wasn't answering most of his texts. At least she'd agreed to meet him now. He could give her a ride home from school, find out what was going on.

Yet now he was even more worried, because she looked seriously depressed. "Hey, babe, what's wrong?" he called as he dropped the kickstand.

Cora licked her lips, then said loudly over the motor, "Can you shut it off? I need to tell you something!"

He shut off the engine and pulled off his helmet. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

She took a deep breath, and said, "I think you should see other people."

He stiffened in surprise. "Are you kidding? What... what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

She swallowed. She wasn't meeting his eyes, she just stared at the asphalt under her feet. "What I said. You should find another girl."

He frowned. "Wait. You think I should? What about you?"

She still just watched the pavement not move. "I'm... taking a break from boys for a while."

Confused, he said, "I don't want 'another girl'. I want you. I thought we were doing pretty good..."

Not moving, she said, "I'm... not who you think I am. I'm no good for you. You deserve... someone else." He almost didn't hear her whispered addendum. "Someone real."

"What the shit is this? You think you're 'not worthy' or something? Of me?"

She was curled up on herself. "Come on. You can find somebody better. I'm weird and moody and I barely let you touch me."

He was really getting angry. People were starting to pay attention; nobody close enough to hear. "I figure a blowjob probably counts for three bases easy." He started to reach for her shoulders, but stopped. He didn't want to scare her - or worse, hurt her - and she was tiny and he was fairly strong. "Look at me, dammit." Her head came up, and there were tears on her cheeks. "Believe it or not, some boys can think with more than one head." He waved at his crotch and his face. "You think I only want your body?"

"Oh, Goddess. I'm fifty thousand shades of fucked up." She sounded creepily calm, for all the wetness of her face. "I'm really not what you want. Just... You don't know..."

He did take hold of her then, firmly controlled. "I'm not a fucking moron, y'know. I figured something happened to you, sometime. I don't know what, and I don't care. I care about you." He realized he was about to say 'I love you'. His shock made him hesitate for a second, which gave Cora the chance to step back out of his grip.

She was shaking her head, slowly, still leaking tears. "I'm sorry. It's over."

He sat up straight, set his shoulders. "Well, I'm not going away. Not until you convince me you really don't want me around."

"I don't. I really don't." As declarations went, it lacked conviction. She was firmer with the next line: "I gotta catch the bus."

Brandon just sat there, and watched her walk away.

"Well, fuck." Pussy. You should have said you loved her.

Continued in part 10