Understudy Sister - Chapter 4

Touch of Style was not at all what Alex expected even despite seeing plenty of ‘first time shopper’ videos on TikTok and YouTube.  This was, in small part, because the store’s owners famously designed each location themselves, tailoring layout, color scheme, even down to music selections - albeit with a slant toward operatic metal the likes of “Heedless Despair” and “Rock the Knight”, they still played a lot of local indie artists’ tracks.

The store, which seemed a lot larger on the inside than from the outside thanks to Touch of Style buying out the space next door that used to be a crypto investment firm’s offices, had sections by style rather than by age, and even more surprising to Alex, there was no “girls” and “boys” sections.

There were even sizing charts posted around each section to helpfully convert sizing not just by inches and centimeters, but by American, European, and even Japanese sizing.  This made more sense as Alex realized that one prominent section of the store was dedicated to Japanese fashion trends, complete with a mannequin wearing a Storm Trooper costume, doing the ‘Peace’ sign.

There were also, unfortunately, a group of teenage boys hanging around outside the store, laughing at anyone that entered, at least until the twins and Megyn entered.  Alex could hear one of them crowing, “Uh oh, Mark’s got a crush!” swiftly followed by a rebuttal from one of the other boys, but she didn’t dare look over.

“Idiots,” Megyn sighed.  “We finally got something cool, and of course boys have to try and ruin it,” she said rather loudly.

“They were already chased out of the store earlier,” a young woman wearing a ‘Rock the Knight: Vampire’ concert tee said dryly.  Her long, black hair swayed gently in its long braid.  “Joke’s on them though,” she added with a wink.  “Because every customer gets an autographed copy of the latest Shadowcraft graphic novel.”

“Oh, sweet!” Megyn almost squealed.  “I didn’t know it was out yet!”

“It’s not,” the woman laughed.  “Margie-Er, I mean ‘Margaret’,” she corrected herself, “Got an advanced run from her publisher.  She’s been signing them all day.”

“She’s actually here?” Alicia squeaked.  The young woman grinned.

“Uh huh.  Right over there,” she pointed out a red haired woman roughly in her early 30s, flanked on either side by cardboard cutouts of the titular Shadowcraft characters, Aria Blade and Raven Claw.  Alex blinked.

“Wait...  You’re-”

“Shh,” Nikki, the ‘model’ for the cutout of  Raven Claw said playfully.  “That’s our secret.”  She winked.  The girls laughed.  “No, but seriously, don’t worry about those dipsticks.  They’re just insecure, and maybe a little jelly-belly too.  Enjoy yourselves, and if you’ve got any questions myself, Margaret, and my wife are here to help.  Ohh, and the regular staff types too,” she added, waving at a girl with blueberry blue hair, that Alex recognized a moment later as Liberty, Megyn’s sister.

“Speak of the devil,” Nikki laughed.  “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” she said as Liberty approached.

“Na, it’s cool boss, these are my little sister and her besties,” Liberty giggled.

“Ohhh no,” NMikki laughed, “Boss is the redhead over yonder.  I’m just here to help make sure things go smoothly since I’m in town anyway.”

“Oooh does this mean we get a store discount for being family?” Megyn asked, looking at her older sister.  “Hey, when did you dye your hair anyway?”

“Just before my shift started,” Liberty said, “And, yeah, I get a 15% employee discount.  Everything’s already 20% off.  Anything in particular you were looking for, or just checking out the new store?”

“Bit of both,” Megyn said.  “Alex’s mom gave her some extra spending money to buy a formal dress for the Spring band concert, and they both got some extra to just, you know, spend on the hottest fashions this side of L.A. county,” she giggled.

“Oh, well there’s no shortage of either,” Liberty giggled.  “But yeah, I’ll let you guys shop.  Like Ms. M-I mean Nikki said,” she corrected herself, with an amused smirk from Nikki, “If you have any questions feel free to ask.  And yes, that includes ‘Can this be resized to fit me’ type questions.”

“Today only, alterations are free of charge,” Nikki said, adding, “Provided you don’t mind waiting a minute or three.”

~oOo~

Alex stared at her reflection in the mirror, turning this way and that.  It was like the dress was made explicitly for her - or Alicia, since, despite being technically different genders, they both still had pockets of baby fat that put curves in all the right, or wrong, places depending on one’s perspective.

The dress itself had three-quarter sleeves and a short flared hem from the waist with a modest v-neck, made of a dark red velvet that almost shimmered in the light.  For a recital or a dance, it would be perfect.  The only problem now was that she had never actually dressed like this in public, and it didn’t get much more public than the mall.

Megyn was busy trying on a dress herself, but Alicia was just waiting to give opinions to whichever of them stepped out first, which it turned out, was Megyn.

“Yeah,” Megyn said, “You were right.  Blue is my color.”  She had changed into a dark blue sleeveless dress that sat just above black.

“Ooooh yes, that’s perfect,” Alicia bubbled.  “Alex hasn’t come out yet.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Alex said.  “I’m just... Well you know, I’ve never dressed like this in public before,” she trailed off.

“Girl, you are a fashionista,” Megyn said to the pair of feet sticking out from underneath the swinging changing room door.  “You rock whatever you wear, even when it’s just a shirt and shorts.”

“What if people laugh?” Alex asked.  “If those boys outside saw...”

“Hey, Alex,” Megyn said, “I know I made a big deal about getting you to wear a dress, but um, you know you don’t have to right?  I mean, I just thought that since you’re so into fashion that you actually, you know, wanted to branch out a little.”  Alex pushed the door open and stepped out.  “Wowee,” Megyn whispered.

Alex laughed and hugged her and Alicia both.  “It’s not that I don’t want to.  I’m just scared of what that says about me.”

“What, that you’re a ditzy blonde girly girl who only cares about fashion, shopping, and boys?” Megyn teased.

“Well... Kinda, yeah,” Alex said.  “I mean, look at Coach Gwen.  She’s smart enough to lecture at Berkeley or Yale or whatever, but she’s also, well, kinda hot.”

“And she doesn’t let that define her,” Alicia said.  “No more than I let being a cheerleader define me.  I cheer, I dance, and I love fashion and makeup, but those things aren’t who I am.  They’re things I like.”

“And like, to be fair,” Megyn said, “You do look almost exactly like Allie.  Just your hair is different-ish.  If those dipsticks outside saw you dressed like this?  They’d probably cream themselves.”

“Totally,” Alicia giggled.  Alex blushed.

“Gross,” she groaned.

“Yeah,” Megyn said, “That’s just part of femininity.  It tends to attract masculinity generally speaking, though some of us find femininity attractive despite being so ourselves, like my sister Liberty, or Emily’s moms.  Once again, you can’t let who you like define you.  You define yourself.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, rubbing her eye with a finger, “I needed that.”

“Besides,” Megyn said, “That dress really goes well with your pink nail polish.”

“Oh, crap,” Alex groaned.

“Busted,” Megyn giggled softly.  “You are a girly girl, and an athlete, and one hell of a flute player.  If you want to wear nothing but skirts and dresses, you do you.  If you’re more comfortable in jeans and shorts, that’s cool too.  Don’t let anyone, not even your best friends, pressure you.”

“Even if it was unintentional,” Alicia said.  “But since you’re already wearing that dress, you have to at least try on these cute heels I found-”

“No way,” Alex laughed, causing Alicia to giggle too.

“They’re kitten heels, and they’re kinda strappy, but with a closed toe.  I just want to see how they look with that dress.”

“Oh, alright,” Alex relented.  “But only because they’re kitten heels.  I was thinking about the big Easter thing too...” she trailed off.

“I saw some really cute Easter stuff,” Alicia grinned wide.

“You guys finding everything okay?” a young woman with brown highlighted hair asked as she stepped around the corner.  She was about Nikki’s age, early 20s at the oldest, wearing a ‘Rock the Knight: Banshee’ concert tee.

“Yeah I think so.” Both Alicia and Alex said at the same time continuing the twin talk, “We’re going over to the easter section..”

“Sweet.  Margie designed all the Easter hats herself.  I’m sure you’ll find something you love,” she said, smiling as she watched them walk away.  She strolled over to where Nikki was arranging a display in the Japanese fashion section.  “So that was a little Twilight Zone.”

“Right?” Nikki laughed.

“Like seriously, I’ve dealt with twins before, but those two take the whole damn bakery,” Robin said. “The twins we know don’t keep going with the twin speak thing.”

“They kind of remind me of Heather and Heidi, those two super tall basketball players in the WNBA,” Nikki said, “At least,” she added, “If the Disney movie’s anything to go by.  I was right though, wasn’t I?”

“Yeah, as far as I can tell,” Robin nodded.  “I don’t think either of them have started HRT yet though.  I’ll call Michelle.” Robin walked over to Liberty to talk to her about the twins.

~oOo~

All total, the girls came away with two bags each plus a third bag containing Alex’s new formal dress and, yes, the red kitten heels.  They also picked up some hair accessories, and Alex decided to leave the store wearing one of her new regular outfits, a pale pastel blue v-neck and a knee length white floral skirt with a silver butterfly pendant necklace around her neck.

One of the boys whistled as they exited the shop holding their new, freshly autographed copies of Shadowcraft: Revenant, but Alex, undeterred, just raised her hand and gave them the bird as they walked on.

“Niiiice,” Terri, who had just left another small shop giggled as she joined them.  “You went to Touch of Style too huh?  Did you see that cute punk chick with the blue hair?”

“That was Liberty,” Megyn laughed.

“Oh my God seriously?” Terri laughed.  “Please don’t tell her I called her a hot punk chick.”

“Well I mean, our parents named her Liberty, what did they expect?” Megyn giggled as one of the boys from earlier caught up with them.

“Uh, hey,” he said, looking at Alex.

“Hey,” Alex said disinterestedly.

“So uh, you look really pretty,” he said awkwardly.

“Thanks,” Alex answered, as Megyn, Alicia, and Terri stared icy daggers at him.

“Weren’t you just making fun of us for shopping at Touch of Style?” Alicia said coldly.

“Not really?” he said.  “I mean, yeah, okay, I was hanging out with those dorks, but I wasn’t laughing at you.”

“But you were laughing,” Alex said.  “Look, you seem like a nice guy, but I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“B-boyfriend?”  He turned about ten shades redder.  “Oh no, no that’s not it at all.  Jeez, I’m sorry.  I’m just going to go now before I stick my foot any further down my throat.”

“Hang on,” Alex laughed, catching his arm gently.  “I’m sorry too.  I just jumped to the conclusion that because you were complimenting me, and that you were friends with those morons, that... Well, anyway, if you’re not hitting on me, then what’s up?”

The boy looked like a deer in headlights, glancing between Alex, Alicia, and Megyn and Terri.  “Um...”

Alex glanced at her friends and sister.  “Give us a sec?”

“Sure,” Alicia said.  “Let’s get some frozen yogurt.  We’ll wait for you there?”

“Order me a Death by Chocolate?” Alex asked, and then walked with the boy over to a bench where they sat down.  “Okay, it’s just us now.  What’s up?” she asked.

“I’m so sorry,” the boy sighed.  “So I’m just going to come right out and say it.  Did you used to be a boy?”he asked, and then flinched.  “I’m sorry.  I have to know.”

“Wow, okay,” Alex sighed.  “So I’m just going to be honest and trust that your friends didn’t put you up to this to mess with me.  What I am is, kinda neither one.  ‘Girl’ is the closest, really?  But biologically yes, I’m a boy.  Why?”

The boy turned another few shades red as he looked at his hands.  “No, those boneheads think I’m asking you out.  The truth is, I...”

“You... Want to be a girl?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know,” the boy sighed.  “Maybe?  But you saw how those guys were acting.  Besides, I'd never look that good.”

“C’mon,” Alex said, suddenly grinning.  “I have an idea that will get those guys to lay off, and help you at the same time.  You’re Mark, right?  Do you have a preferred name?” she asked matter-of-factly.

“Um, uh, er,” he mumbled, “Melanie?”

“Well Melanie, my friends are waiting for us.  Don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, and took his hand.  He jumped slightly, and Alex laughed.  “Part one of my fiendish plan to confuse the hell out of your friends.  If they see us, they’ll see us holding hands.”  She winked.

Mark, now Melanie, laughed nervously.  “What did I get myself into just now...”

“You’re about a page behind me,” Alex giggled, “But I had the benefit of having a twin sister who’s a cheerleader - and a great motivational speaker, too.  I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers, but I do want to help you because they helped me, and I want to pay it forward.”  She gave Melanie’s hand a squeeze, at that.  “I promise, we’re not the vapid bitches we look like.  They’re just... overprotective.”

“Yeah I totally understand that,” Melanie said, letting Alex lead her by the hand.  This was the longest she’d ever held anyone’s hand that wasn’t a parent, let alone a cute girl like Alex.  There was just no way she was ever a boy, but he was in too deep to turn back now.

“Guys, this is Melanie,” Alex said as she approached the booth where the others had gathered.  “She’s nervous, so, you know, don’t hate her for being around those other doofuses.”

Alicia slid down to the end and patted the seat beside her.  “Pack in,” she said cheerfully.  “Emily’s getting our froyo if you want to go put in an order for her.”

“Oh, uh,” Melanie squeaked, “No thanks.  I’m afraid I might toss my cookies if I eat anything right now.”

“Yup,” Alex laughed, “No question she’s one of us,” she said as Melanie slid into the booth, and Alex sandwiched her in between herself and Alicia.

“You know that awesome speech you guys gave me earlier?” Alex said, grinning as Emily returned carrying a tray of frozen delights, “Could you give it to Melanie too?  I don’t think I could do it justice.”

“The one about how to walk in heels?” Alicia said jokingly.

“Or the one about being yourself not being defined by what you like?” Megyn giggled.

“Yeah, that one,” Alex laughed.  “And after we eat, I’d like to go back to Touch of Style.  I want to buy Melanie something nice to wear while she’s hanging with us.”

Melanie tried to sink into the booth, but it was no use.  Any further forward and she’d be crossing feet with Emily or Megyn.

“That’s a pretty drastic change from earlier,” Megyn said, but with a kind of a wicked little grin on her lips.

“Yeah, I know,” Alex said.  “ normally wouldn’t ever dream of doing something like this with someone I just met, but I just really, really want to mess with those guys and give Melanie a chance to see that I’m nothing special, that beauty isn’t some unattainable goal.”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Megyn brightened.  “I can 100% get behind that!  Uh, the beauty is not unattainable I mean.  Messing with boys is just a nice bonus.”

“Speak for yourself,” Terri laughed as she deftly scooped up some pineapple yogurt, holding the cup steady with her bad hand.  “No, who am I kidding.  Emily’s the bad girl among us.  I don’t have a spiteful bone in my body.”.

“I resemble that remark,” Emily giggled, turning her dark, smokey gaze on Melanie.  “Soo, since you’re in the presence of fashionistas, I’m obliged to warn you that saying you’re not going to be pretty is tantamount to a personal challenge.  Just, letting you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“Waverly Heights is pretty pro-LGBTQ,” Alicia added, “But I do have to ask if your parents are going to be cool with this?”

“Oh, yeah,” Melanie said, relaxing considerably at that.  “My parents are amazing.  My uncle Devin used to be my aunt Jen, and we see him more than my grandparents.  It’s just kids our age I was, you know, kinda panicking about.”

~oOo~

“Back for more eh?” Liberty said jokingly.

“We had to turn Emily loose on the goth section, plus we found a friend who needed some fashion help,” Alex said.

“Awesome!” Liberty said.  “Well any friend of yours is a discount of mine, or something like that.  Anyway you know the drill.  Alex, can I bug you for a second?”

“Sure, anytime Lib,” Alex said, following Liberty.  “What’s up?”

“The owner’s sister, Robin, the black haired woman that doesn’t look like an older version of Emily,” she added with a wink, “She was asking about you and Allie.  I think she wants to help you.”

“Really?” Alex looked over in Robin’s direction. “How?”

“Not sure exactly, but I think she knows some specialists or something.  She asked me if I’d talk to you and Allie for her.  For what it’s worth, I did a quick Google on her.  She’s a legit Yale student of Psychiatry undergrad.  Looks like she’s going for a full doctorate.”

“Wowsers,” Alex said.  “Um, sure I’ll talk to her.  Thanks Liberty.”

“Not a problem,” Liberty answered, heading over to talk with Melanie and the others while Alex approached Robin.

“Hey,” Alex said.  “Liberty said you wanted to talk to me?”

“You and your sister, yeah,” Robin said.  “Whenever it’s convenient for you, and your parents of course.  I know it’s not my place to say anything, but...”

“How could you tell?” Alex asked bluntly.

Robin giggled.  “Oh, honey, I was a late bloomer myself, in more ways than one.  If I didn’t know better, I’d almost swear it’s like our bodies resist male puberty as long as possible.  I don’t have a pamphlet handy unfortunately,” she said, as she handed Alex a piece of notebook paper with a bunch of information written on it, “But this will put you on the right track to learning more.  My cell number is on there, too, if your parents want to call me, or if you have anything you want to talk about.”

“Purplaxis?” Alex asked.

“It’s a hard program to get into. It's been approved but the funding for it has been up and down due to politics.” Robin nodded.  “But for what it’s worth, you’re looking at Patient Zero, first human clinical trial.”

“Resident Robin.” Nikki quipped jokingly from a little bit of a distance.

“Oh, psh, there was only a 23.8% chance, repeating of course, of a zombie outbreak,” Robin shot back playfully.  She turned back to Alex.  “Joking.  Actually it was kind of discovered by accident, when a new genomic drug in testing resulted in a lab full of all female mice.”

“Basically it just flips your female switches on.” Nikki nodded, joining them.  “It’s a one way trip, and goes way farther than traditional HRT, but if you’re absolutely sure it’s a trip you wanna take, it’s a hella lot better than the old way too.”

“Still requires a bit of surgery in the end, but nothing like before.” Robin nodded. “Best if you're interested to start now instead of like when you're our age though.  I started with HRT when I was 15 or so, then switched to Purplaxis.  Another year on either, and I’d be battling male and female puberty issues”

“Itchy boobs and a scratchy chin,” Nikki said, and made a sour face.  “Yikes.”

“I’m not 100% sure of anything yet,” Alex admitted sheepishly.  “But I’ll talk to my parents about it.  My sister goes to therapy weekly, so maybe I can tag along with her next visit, too.”

“Good idea,” Robin nodded.  “Having a therapist you can trust is super important.”

“And, hey,” Nikki said, “If you decide not to do it, or decide not to even do trad HRT, that’s totally cool too.  One of our best friends is very much in the non-binary ‘they’ camp - despite being one sexy bitch in heels,” she giggled out, “And they’re completely happy.”

Alex brightened at that.  “I appreciate that.  Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked, looking at Robin.  “Was... Was it hard for you to come out?”

“Not really,” Robin said with a wry smile, “But I was kind of the last person to really realize that I was a girl, too.  Like, everyone around me saw right through me, but even though I loved to dress like one in private, I’d lie to myself, say I’m just a crossdresser, that people would hate me or bully me for it, like they needed another excuse.”

“Robin’s Mom was in a nasty car accident when we were about your age,” Nikki continued.  “She ended up coming to stay with Margie over in Connecticut where we met.  It’s pretty funny actually.  Another friend of ours, Allison, saw her wearing this cute skirt and-”

Robin put a finger to Nikki’s lips.  “She doesn’t need to hear about how I almost broke my ankle being a complete dumbass, babe,” she laughed.  “The point is, even my new friends like Allie and Jenn, once I told them, didn’t care.  They saw me for who I was.  Gender roles don’t define who we are.  They’re just a small part of it, you know?”

“‘Xactly,” Nikki said, nodding her agreement.

“That’s what my sister was just telling me earlier,” Alex giggled as she heard footsteps behind her.

“What do you think?” Megyn said, and Alex turned around to see a rather attractive girl standing there, with shoulder length shaggy brown hair, and wearing a red cap sleeve top with a long, white floral skirt that almost reached her ankles.

“Melanie?” Alex said.  Melanie nodded nervously.  “Wow.”

Melanie blushed.  “Thank you,” she said, hugging Alex tight.  Aledx returned the hug.

“Do you want to come over and study with us?” Megyn asked.  “I mean if you can stand being around a bunch of cheerleaders,” she teased.

Melanie laughed nervously.  “R-really?  I think I’d like that...”

“Now, there’s just one last thing we need to do,” Alex said, and, grabbing Mellanie’s hand again, asked, “You ready?”

Melanie blushed nervously, bug giggled.  “If you’re sure about this.”

“Not really, no,” Alex giggled, “But there’s no ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ in here, just great fashion.  Hopefully that works outside, too.”

“Hope so,” Melanie gulped a little, but seemed to be reassured by the fact that Emily, Alicia and the others were right there beside them.  Alex made sure the rowdy boys saw her holding hands with Melanie, and Emily even blew them a kiss as they passed.

The boys, for their part, just stared slack-jawed, and the girls burst into a fit of laughter as soon as they were out of earshot.