Orange was a bit worn out from the game. "Man, you're pretty good." He panted a little. "No one's ever tied my score before. Much less beat it!"
Wild was breathing heavily as well. Rockette could feel his stomach starting to turn as Mega Man delivered the final blow to Link. "Booyah!" Sticks yelped. "You sure you were even trying, Rockette? Uhh, Rockette?" Rockette snapped out of his trance as he caught his girlfriend's eye. "Yeah, you're pretty damn good," said Wild, "Me and Rockout play this game all the time."
"How about we make this a little interesting. With a bet?" Orange readied to put a dollar in the machine.
"Hmmm... I win, I get a free meal at..." Orange thought for a bit. "That expensive steak place downtown. The King's Steakhouse, I believe it's called. If I lose, I'll put up with a little public humiliation and be a 'girl' for three days of your choosing. Any day. Even a school day or dance. I'll wear a dress, makeup and everything." Orange was prepared to win this one. Now that he had an accurate measure of their skill, there's no way he would lose. He was prepared for that succulent steak. Free food always tasted sweeter.
"You're diggin a grave, bucko," Sticks said with a chuckle, "Lil' Rockette may be a little rusty but she's as much of a beast as Wild on here."
"We'll see about that." Orange put a dollar into the machine, and selected the hardest song. His legs were moving at an impressive pace, but he was only human. "Nice Try Player 1! Score: 124740!" Blurted the machine the game was over. "Congratulations Player 2! Score: 130000" Orange was player one. His face flushed red. "I go by my word." He sighed. "3 Days of your choice, I have to act as a girl."
(Idea here: Orange somehow accidentally drinks Rockout's Androgyne Oil. Hilarity ensues.) "Now?" The redness on his face went from a blushing sort of color to a hue reminiscent of molten steel. "Lead the way." He said, very quietly. They arrived at the mall Dress Barn, where he was fitted for all sorts of frilly and ultra-feminine clothing. He was mortified, and wouldn't even speak. He would just comply when the fitter asked him to extend his arm and such.
Rockette's phone rang. "Hello?" "Hey, big bro, what you up to?" "Oh, hey Roxy. Just headed to the dress barn with Wild and Sticks." "Wild gonna pick you out something frilly and covered in bows?" Roxy snickered. "I'll explain later. What's up?" "You know that andro-something stuff that you and Blues discovered? He just dropped off a jar of it at the house." Rockette's eyes lit up. "SWEET!!! Thanx, Roxy!"
Orange walked out of the fitting room wearing a very cumbersome, blue and white dress with lots of bows, much like the one Roxy described. He was also wearing very heavy makeup, and all his facial features that would lead someone to believe he was a guy were completely erased, replaced with feminine features. "I feel like I'm at Versailles." He handed Rockette a bag of more clothing and a large makeup kit. "The fitter was 'generous' and gave me this makeover and that kit for free. Oh boy." He looked in a mirror. "Is that really me? Oh, uh. Rockette. Mind if I stay at your house for the weekend? I might get some hazing from my brother with this get up."
Rockette thought for a moment. "Uh, well, it's not really my place. I'm actually leaving really early tomorrow and my cousin Rockout is coming home. Hang on." Rockette punched in a fake number and pretended to hit Send. "Hey, Cuz, it's Rockette... Doing good. So listen, got a big favor to ask and just wanted to check in with you... Well, a friend of mine lost a bet and needs a place to stay for the weekend so... OK, I thought you would say that... Cool, I'll tell him. Thanx, dude." Wild was impressed with how convincing Rockette's charade was. "Well," she added, "is it OK?" "Sure is. He said just use my... err his bed and he'll crash on the couch when he gets in. I'll stay in Roxy's room so I don't wake you when I leave."
(Sorry for the delay, I was in New York for the weekend.) "Thank you thank you thank you! Just give me the address and I'll get there in my car when we leave."
Later, at Rockout's house, the 4 of them hung out in his room playing video games. "You know," said Wild, "since my boyfriend will be back and Rockette will be leaving, I guess we'll be hanging out with him." "Sticks, I think I can count on you and Rockout to keep him honest for me right?" Sticks nodded. "Ooh, and you need a cute 'girl' name too." Wild added. "How about Neona?" Rockette yawned and stretched. "Well, it's getting late. I better go take my meds and hit the sack." As Sticks and Wild left, he went to the bathroom, drank a spoonful of androgyne oil, and walked back to his room where Orange was getting in the bed. "Hey, man. It was fun. Trust me, you'll like my cousin. He and I are VERY similar. By the way, you look a little pale. We've got some cough syrup in the medicine cabinet if you need it. Anyhoo, g'night, man." Rockette made his way to his sister's room. Once Rockette was asleep, his body started changing back into that of a long-haired boy with a black goatee. Roxy had a hard time sleeping while he changed due to all of the popping and cracking.
"Neona?" Orange thought about it over their giggling. They were clearly enjoying this. Might as well humor them. "Well, I guess so. You know, this isn't TOO bad. I kind of like the leg room. But this damned thing is hot as hell, and the all this product on my face feels kind of weird. I'll be getting to bed too. Night guys." About an hour later, Orange started having a coughing fit. "Ack, you get me again, spring time allergies." He didn't want to wake up the others, so he picked up the ends of his dress, and carefully tread up the stairs. It was especially hard due to the heels that he, for some reason had to wear to bed. He opened up the cabinet behind the mirror, and there were two liquids. Both the labels were damaged for whatever reason, and they both smelled similar. "Hmm. I might as well take a spoonful of both." He took a gulp of the blueish-pink substance, which made him feel a bit woozy, but that feeling shortly faded. And then the cough syrup. His cough started to die down, and he felt no other side effects from the Androgyne oil. He went back down stairs, crashed on the couch and slowly faded back to sleep. He woke earlier than usual, at 8:00 AM. There was something stuck to the back of his neck. He reached for it, and it felt like hair. It was hair. "That's odd." Orange thought nothing of it though, as he was sluggish in the mornings. "My chest feels heavier for some reason..." He looked down, and it seemed overnight, he had grown a pair of breasts. He ran for the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. There was no mistaking it. He had turned into a girl overnight somehow. "What the [explicit]?!"
Rockout had heard the scream from the bathroom and rushed to the scene immediately. There he saw a girl wearing Orange's dress and starting to cry. Then it hit him. "Oh, snap! You took the blue and pink stuff didn't you?"
"That did this to me? I took it in place of the cough syrup! Those jars really need to be labelled!" Neona felt a bit hot. "I need to sit down for a moment and take this in." She sat on the edge of the shower. "So... how do I change back?"
"You just have to wait it out until tomorrow. I guess now's as good a time as any to tell you. Rockette and I are not actually cousins. She's really me." Neona looked a little perplexed as Rockout continued. "I really am a boy but I gave my sister a spell book for Christmas and, long story short, she accidentally turned me into a girl. That stuff that you took last night is called androgyne oil and it swaps your biological gender. So, since we haven't found a counterspell and I'm biologically female, it's what allows me to be male... which is who I really am. It lasts for a day so you'll be a girl until it wears off." "Look on the bright side," said Roxy, who had been eavesdropping, "at least now you don't look so out of place wearing that dress." "Roxy, go away! I think he's stressed enough without your smart-ass comments."
"It's just a day?" Neona breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good at least. I wouldn't call your sister a smart-ass, I'd use the term, 'Optimist.'" Neona's stomach rumbled a bit. "I'm really craving some breakfast right now. Got a waffle iron? I can make this killer waffle batter." Neona ruffled through the bag of clothing that she had been given as per the bet, and changed into something a little less cumbersome. Specifically, a t-shirt and a skirt. She made her way downstairs, and made herself a cup of tea, and got to work on the waffles. "You guys will love this. My home-ec teacher at Manehatten said, 'Orange, this is simply divine!'"
Roxy's waffles didn't stay on her plate long. Of course, waffles rarely stood a chance with her. Rockout had just finished his when he heard a knock at the door. "Hey, baby!" said Wild as he opened the door. "How was your trip?" "Well, we don't have to do the act, Wild. He knows... or I should say SHE knows" Wild looked over at the table and saw a vaguely familiar girl sitting there in an outfit that Orange had bought. "Rockout, is that who I think it is?" "Mmm-hmm. He accidentally took a dose of my androgyne oil last night so 'Neona' is here for today."
