“Sooo I saw those pics from the party you and Emily went to on Saturday night. Looks like you two had a good time!” Natalie bubbles, taking a sip of her tea.
“Yeah, it was a blast!” Her best friend replies. “I can’t remember the last time I went out dancing. They had this awesome new DJ. It was insane. Sorry you couldn’t make it.”
Natalie nods “Yeah, me too. I love Chris’s parents, but their anniversary party wasn’t exactly thrilling” she says with a smile, referring to her boyfriend’s family.
Katie laughs. “I can imagine.”
Her friend looks at her conspiratorially. “I couldn’t help but notice some handsome boys in a few of those photos. Flirt a little to get some free drinks, did we?” She teases.
“Hardly!” Katie replies. “Although I can’t say the same for Emily…”
Natalie chuckles. “Yeah, she can be such a tease. She didn’t rub off on you at all?”
“Nah. I always found it awkward when she’d flirt with other guys while she was dating Greg. Like, drinks aren’t that expensive. I wouldn’t do that to Ryan.”
“Oh my God, I know, right?” Her friend agrees. “That time she got really drunk and was practically throwing herself at the bouncer? I almost had to drag her out of there.”
The two young women laugh, and then Katie checks her phone.
“Oh shoot, I actually have to go. My mom’s coming over to watch The Bachelorette.”
“Okay, have fun! I’m going to hang out for a bit” Natalie replies, pulling out a book.
The two friends hug, and Katie departs.
A few minutes later, Natalie drops her novel into her purse, and exits through the back door of the cafe.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
“Hrmggrphhh” Natalie’s strains. Her chin is currently folded grotesquely up into her lips, muffling her voice. Her fingers work their way slowly upwards, underneath her smooth, creamy skin, as her cute mouth and nose scrunch together with a lewd squelching noise.
After considerable effort, her eye sockets snap free and her entire face comes off with a rubbery SCHLORP.
Katie’s boyfriend Ryan stands in his bedroom, holding the empty mask of Natalie’s face in his hands. He jostles it to clear away her hair, gazing down into her vacant eyes and parted mouth.
“I think I used a little too much glue this time” he says, still using her bubbly tone. He can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of her voice coming from his mouth, and as he peels a skin-coloured strip from his neck, his tone drops several octaves.
“There we go” he says, in a much more masculine voice. He strokes the fake face gingerly, running his fingers across its soft, pliable nose. “Another successful outing for you, Natalie” he jeers.
He tosses the mask onto his dresser, where it lands with a hollow thwack. It’s long, dark mane is tangled from its removal, but in Ryan’s experience, it’s much easier to brush when it’s being worn.
He quickly strips out of Natalie’s leggings and sweater, revealing a pale, toned body that matches her face perfectly. Discarding a simple grey bra and panties, he stands - apparently naked - in front of a mirror. He runs his fingers down her waist, hips and thighs, then over the featureless mound between the fake woman’s legs.
The website had tried to sell him on one of their fancy, “totally lifelike”, full-body suits including realistic genitalia, but he didn’t want to spend the money. Why bother? He wasn’t planning to get naked in front of anyone while in disguise. And the mask had already cost enough.
Ryan has been assuming the real Natalie’s identity occasionally over the last few months. He’d grown tired of being accused of having “trust issues” by Katie and his other past girlfriends, so he’d decided to take a more active approach. Then, one night, he’d stumbled upon an advertisement online for ‘Lyfelike Customs: create your own alter-ego!’
He knew it was wrong, but he would get that jealous, insecure itch…and soon enough he’d find himself tugging on Natalie’s pretty face, off to get some comforting reassurance from an unwitting Katie.
He didn’t really worry about getting caught. After all, even if the deception was revealed, he could just run away. Nobody would know it was him underneath the lifelike disguise.
“Still, maybe I should get another” he mutters to himself. “Katie’s sister and I are about the same size…”
He discards the rest of the disguise with practised ease. He hangs the empty, rubbery torso in the back of his closet behind some old clothes, taking a moment to appreciate the lifelike pair of perky breasts hanging from its chest. Perfect, painted recreations of Natalie’s arms hang limply, extending all the way to dainty, hollow fingers. He’d made sure to pay a little extra for the full-limb version, not only to disguise his own, but also to replicate the colourful half-sleeve tattoo Natalie has on her right arm.
“Such a hipster” he jokes, flicking the floppy limb, chuckling at how it jiggles.
The rather plain girdle soon follows, with Ryan playfully squeezing the soft padding designed to transform his lower body into Natalie’s womanly shape. He lifts it onto its own special hanger, then retrieves the mask from his dresser. Slipping it gently onto a stand, he lifts it onto the shelf in his closet.
Next to the stand is a small collection of various cosmetic items, including makeup, nail polish, shampoo and perfume. All duplicates of the ones the real Natalie uses, of course. He recalls the first time he’d showered while wearing the disguise, and his subsequent attempt to get Natalie ready for a night out.
Man, how many videos did I need to watch to be able to take care of this hair, he muses, with a smirk. He strokes the long, mildly unkempt mane while the empty mask silently gapes back at him.
Ryan runs his fingers along perfect copies Natalie’s arched eyebrows and soft, pink lips, feeling butterflies in his stomach. Assuming her identity had been all-business at first, but it had certainly grown into quite a thrill. In less than thirty minutes, he could don the utterly convincing disguise and totally become the pretty, dark-haired woman. To him, it almost feels like a superpower.
Shaking his head, he pushes the mask behind some boxes, ensuring that its hair is tucked out of sight.
He glances at a small notebook next to the mask, reminding himself to add a few things to it. It’s already quite full of stories, mannerisms, personal preferences and biographical details. All things that help him better impersonate the unknowing Natalie.
Finally, he reaches into his mouth and works his fingers around, pulling on his upper teeth. With a soft sucking sound, they come off, along with a clear plastic brace. That had been a last-minute catch, when he - thankfully - noticed that the real Natalie wore them for alignment. He repeats the process with his lower teeth, setting the appliances in a small container next to the mask.
“Until next time, sweetheart” he says, flicking off the light.
TWO WEEKS LATER
“Oh my God” Natalie says. “Can you believe she said that about the babysitter? What a bitch!”
She’s over Katie’s apartment, and the two girls are watching their favourite reality television show.
“Totally” Katie agrees. “That’s why she’s my least favourite housewife.”
From behind Natalie’s prosthetic face, Ryan applauds himself for his impersonation. How many hours did I spend watching this stupid show to prepare? He wonders. ‘Natalie’s guilty pleasure’.
He hadn’t been planning to put on his Natalie disguise for a while, after his conversation with Katie in the cafe. But then Katie had mentioned chatting with a guy at work when her team went out for drinks, and…then came the itch.
“So, you mentioned you went out yesterday after work?” the phony Natalie innocently inquires, reaching for some popcorn.
“Yeah, we went to…oh, hang on” Katie says, lifting her phone up. “Oh, awesome. Ryan and Chris are downstairs. I’ll buzz them up.”
Natalie’s head snaps toward her friend. “I’m sorry, what?” She blurts out.
“Ryan and Chris” Katie replies, walking to the door and hitting the buzzer. “I invited them over to hang out.”
Speechless, Ryan panics, while struggling to maintain Natalie’s calm demeanour.
A minute later, the door opens, and Natalie lets out a startled gasp, which she quickly turns into a cough.
Another Ryan walks into the apartment, accompanied by the real Natalie’s boyfriend, Chris.
What the fucking fuck??? The real Ryan thinks hysterically, confronted with his own doppelgänger.
He’s too stunned to notice Chris eyeing him from the doorway. “Oh, hey, babe!” He says. “I didn’t know you were here.”
Natalie’s eyes remain riveted on “Ryan”, or whoever it really is.
“How’s it going, Natalie?” The imposter chirps. He looks over at the fake woman on the couch with a friendly expression, but she can detect a subtle menace.
Breaking her stare, the disguised Ryan attempts to regain his composure. “O-oh, yeah…hey, babe” he replies in his borrowed voice, desperately jogging his memory for information on their relationship. “Yeah…I just came over to watch some TV.”
“Cool!” Chris says, walking over to the couch. He leans down and kisses Natalie on the cheek, while the imposter resists the urge to pull away.
Her eyes remain locked on the supposed “Ryan”, who stares back at her unflinchingly.
Oh my God, the real Ryan thinks. Is that Natalie? It has to be. She set me up. How the FUCK did she find out? Why wouldn’t she just tell Katie?
“Ryan” gives Katie a kiss, and “Natalie” fumes as Chris sits next to her on the couch.
I have to get out of here. But I can’t just leave, that would look suspicious. Plus, Natalie could then just tell Katie anyway.
The real Ryan’s mind is racing. But he comes to a conclusion. If this is some kind of twisted game, I just have to play along.
As if reading Natalie’s mind, the doppelgänger says “So, do you guys want to play a game or something?”
“Yeah, sure! Let me just make sure this is recording” Katie replies, pressing a few buttons on her TV remote. “What do you have in mind?”
“How about some classic charades?” Ryan suggests.
“I’m up for it” says Chris. “You like charades, right, babe?”
Shit, she does.
“Yeah, definitely!” Natalie agrees, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “I just need to use the bathroom really quick.”
“Okay, I’ll get some pens and paper” Katie chirps.
Natalie makes her way down the hall into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and pressing her back against it.
“Fuck fuck fuck” she whispers. She turns her head and gazes upon herself in the mirror. She turns and leans toward it, inspecting her fake face. It looks perfect, as usual. Not a hint that the pretty young woman in the mirror is a lie.
She runs her fingers through her long, dark hair, unconsciously mimicking one of the real Natalie’s nervous tics. She smooths out her leggings and straightens her causal, button-down flannel shirt.
“I can do this” she whispers. “I’ll just play along and then I’ll reach out to Natalie after. We can work something out.”
She takes a deep breath to steel herself, then opens the door and rejoins the others.
“You’re up first, babe!” Chris pipes. “We’re doing couple versus couple.”
“O-oh…I am?” the phony Natalie replies, a little nervously, before recovering. “Sounds good!”
Ryan looks up at her from the couch, a playful look on his face.
“Here’s your first one” he states, handing her a piece of paper.
She looks down at the piece of paper and reads, much to her dismay: cheerleading.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. So this is her plan. To embarrass me. Well, we'll be even afterwards. I can trade the mask of her face for mine, and it will be like this never happened.
Before she can react, Ryan announces “Time starts…now!”
Imagining that she’s grasping a pair of pom-poms, Natalie does her best possible impression. She raises one arm above her head and points the other down to the floor. Mouthing some made-up chant, she cocks her hips and waves her hands.
With an amused but confused expression, Chris guesses “Disco? Dancing?”
Natalie shakes her head. She starts hopping up and down, waving her arms back and forth, trying her best.
“Oh! Cheerleader! Cheerleading!” Chris exclaims.
She lets out a relieved sigh, snatching another piece of paper from Katie.
‘Rapunzel’? What the hell…
Natalie tilts her head and takes hold of her long, dark mane in one hand. She holds it off to the side, trying to somehow impart the meaning to her “boyfriend.”
His brow furrows, clearly not getting it. “Uh…haircut? Ponytail?” He says, hesitantly.
She shakes her head, and then attempts to quickly tie her hair into an improvised braid. The disguised Ryan had only practised the style once before, so his pale, prosthetic hands fumble a bit awkwardly.
Natalie achieves something passable, and dangles the braid over her outstretched arm, trying to simulate an open window.
“Oh, Rapunzel!” Chris shouts out. “I should have guessed that. Wasn’t she your favourite fairy tale?”
Fuck, that’s probably why Katie picked it. She must have thought she was doing me a favour.
The Ryan on the couch just smirks.
“Uh huh!” She replies, untangling her hair. But before she can do so completely, Ryan hands her another slip. It reads: stripper.
Her eyes narrow. “Seriously?” She says.
“No talking!” the imposter admonishes.
The real Ryan blushes underneath his mask, fuming. He tries to maintain his composure, and react as the real Natalie would.
She rolls her eyes and subtly gives him the middle finger.
How the fuck do I do this?
Natalie places her hands on her chest and sways her hips back and forth. The fake padding shaping “her” body makes the motion look very natural, and she tries to put on a sensual expression. She shakes her head, tossing her hair behind her shoulder.
“Uh…dancing…again? Model?” Chris guesses.
A frustrated frown flashes across Natalie’s face, but she quickly regains her seductive smile. She begins unbuttoning her flannel, still gyrating her hips to an imaginary beat. She makes eye contact with Chris and nods her head, trying to signal him to the obvious clue.
To her disappointment, he looks confused. “Undressing? Shirt?”
She shakes her head frustratedly, and a lock of hair falls in front of her face. Having reached the bottom of her shirt, she eases it off her shoulders and tosses it to the floor. She cups her chest again, causing her breasts to swell underneath her white tank top and black bra.
She glances at Ryan briefly, seeing a satisfied smirk on his face. Katie appears to be softly giggling next to him on the couch.
What are you, Chris, a moron? How fucking obvious can I get?
She turns around and is about to humiliatingly bend over to sell the impression, when Chris says “Nice stripper routine, babe. Sorry, I got it pretty much right away, but I wanted to see the show.”
She drops her hands from her chest. “You jerk!” She retorts, hitting him on the shoulder, as he laughs.
Yeah, yeah, that’s something she would do.
“Hey!” Ryan calls out, placing a finger over his lips.
Katie hands the imposter another.
Ugh. At least it’s an easy one.
Natalie turns and points to her backside, then lifts her hand to her ear, using her fingers to mimic the use of a phone.
“Oh! Butt dial!” Chris shouts, apparently proud of himself.
Shit.
She shakes her head, and pokes her - secretly padded - ass a bit harder. Lifting her hand back to her ear, she tilts her head and opens her eyes wider, trying to telepathically impart the clue.
Chris just looks confused. “You’re sure it’s not butt dial?”
Natalie exhales impatiently. She points to Chris, then points to her ass, then mimics the phone call. To really emphasize it, she thrusts her ass out and shakes it provocatively.
Ryan lets out a jeering whistle, and she shoots him an angry look.
“Oh! Booty call!” Chris exclaims, much to Natalie’s relief.
“One minute!” the fake Ryan announces.
This cannot end soon enough.
He hands her another scrap of paper.
Doggy style.
She shakes her head and tries to hand it back to him.
“Hey, rules are rules. Clock is ticking. I thought you were competitive?” He taunts.
Reluctantly, Natalie sinks to her knees on the carpet in front of an amused-looking Katie and Chris. Her hair touches the floor as she falls to her elbows, and she shakes her head to clear it from her eyes, so she can see the others.
“Oh my” Katie chuckles, leaning over to whisper something to the person she thinks is her boyfriend.
Grinning, Chris says “Kitten? Cat?”
Blushing under his prosthetic face, the real Ryan curses at his double.
Natalie thrusts her hips forwards and backwards, trying to mimic the lewd act.
“Yoga? Stretching? Dog?”
At the last suggestion, she lets out a hopeful sigh, thrusting her pelvis faster.
“Oh, I think I get it!” Chris says. “This is a couple’s charade.”
Her head snaps to him with a confused, frustrated look. Chris slides off the couch and takes a position on his knees behind her. “Something like this, babe?”
“What the fu-“ she replies, breaking the rules. “What are you doing? This is ridiculous, I’m getting up.”
Then, out of nowhere, he places a hand firmly on her back, holding her down. “Not so fast” he scoffs, his voice sounding a bit colder. “You’ve been a bad girl.”
“What are you…OW!” She wails, as he brings his hand down on her backside. “What the fuck!”
The disguised Chris is grateful that the padding has helped deaden the impact, though it’s still quite painful.
“Let go of me! I’m fucking done with this! Katie, what…are you taking pictures?”
The phony Natalie looks at her “best friend” in disbelief, as the other woman smirks from behind her phone.
The Ryan imposter sits with his arms folded across his chest, looking down at the fake woman in disgust.
“Thought you could get away with it, huh?” He snarls. “Ryan.”
The real Ryan’s stomach drops. Oh, fuck.
Chris grabs Natalie by the hair and yanks her head back forcefully. Her face contorts in pain, but otherwise remains firmly attached, thanks to the strong adhesive.
“Did you ever pull this shit with me, freak?” Chris growls.
“Wha…what are you talking about?” she replies, her eyes watering.
Chris shoves her to the floor, and she turns onto her back, feeling helpless and humiliated.
She watches in terror as her “boyfriend” lifts his hands underneath his shirt. His fingers slide underneath his skin, up his face, as it stretches and scrunches horribly. Its features peel away until it snaps free with a noisy SQUELCH.
A young woman is revealed, and she peels a strip from her neck. “Surprise, asshole” she snarls, tossing the rubbery mass down onto the imposter's stomach.
“Casey?!” The disguised Chris exclaims, recognizing his ex-girlfriend.
She yanks a wig cap from her head, and her blonde hair falls to her shoulders.
Casey points to Katie and says “She told me everything. Do you think I’d miss this chance to expose you for the manipulative creep you are?”
Natalie looks back and forth between the three others, panicking.
“It doesn’t feel too good, does it? Seeing someone wear your face” the Ryan on the couch taunts.
Natalie looks at Katie. “Babe, I’m sorry!” She cries, still forced to use her stolen voice. “I just…wanted to get to know you better…that’s all!”
“Bullshit!” Katie yells. “You were spying on me!”
The imposter brushes the disturbing, hollow face of “Chris” off of her lap and attempts to stand.
“Stay down!” Casey shouts, pointing at the phony woman, who recoils and lowers her head.
She turns back to the couch, and her eyes widen as she sees the doppelgänger already removing the mask. The real Ryan watches as his own face crumples grotesquely, his lips and nose folding up into his vacant eye sockets. With a loud SCHLORP, it comes off, revealing the scowling - and very real - Natalie.
She grasps the mask by its medium-length brown hair, throwing it onto the coffee table. Ryan stares, mouth agape, at the sight of his own distorted, hollow face.
“I…I…” Natalie stammers, speechless.
The real Natalie stands up from the couch, approaching her doppelgänger. She leans down and grasps her by her dark mane, sliding a hand along her collarbone, searching for the seam. Casey pins Natalie’s legs down, holding her in place.
Apparently curious, Natalie yanks the tank top and bra down her chest, exposing the imposter’s bare breasts. Her eyes narrow in fury.
“Paid extra for these, I see. Wanted something to jerk off too? Freak.” She seethes.
“Just that part! Not…you know…down there” the phony woman pointlessly insists.
She finds the seam and slips her hand underneath it, tugging the false flesh upwards roughly. Natalie’s face stretches, her lips, nose and cheeks snapping away with lewd sucking sounds.
“Mrgphhhh!” The imposter howls, as the strong glue tugs at his skin.
With a final yank, the mask snaps off, revealing the humiliated, blushing Ryan.
“Asshole!” Natalie yells, angrily smacking him with her own deflated face.
“I’m sorry!” Ryan whimpers, still using Natalie’s stolen tones. She quickly rips the strip from his neck, sickened by the sound of her voice coming from his mouth.
“This is so fucking twisted” Natalie fumes, gazing down at the hollow, scrunched-up replica of her face as she holds it in her hands. “You thought you could turn me into a mask then wear me around and no one would notice? Never again, asshole.”
With that, she slips one hand between the mask’s pink lips, and the other into an empty eye socket. Then, she roughly yanks her hands apart and, with considerable effort, the fake flesh tears. She slams the ruined mask down onto the table next to the one of Ryan, and he stares at the deformed, rubbery mass in fear.
“I can’t believe you’d do this” Katie seethes, holding her phone out to film his embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry! I’ll throw this stuff out!” He pleads, gesturing to his body. “I promise I’ll never do it again! I just…got carried away!”
“You really think I’d want to be with you after this?” Katie replies.
Ryan looks away in shame, sniffling. “Fine…I’ll go.”
Natalie glowers down at him in pity. “Oh, no” she sneers. “Not so fast. You like dressing up like that? Fine. That can be arranged.”
Startled and afraid, Ryan watches as she retrieves a small bag from behind the couch. She reaches inside and pulls out a mass of hair and skin-coloured material.
She throws it at him, and he looks down in horror at another hollow, gaping face. This one of a blonde woman, overdone with makeup, with pink, pouty lips and arched eyebrows.
“That’s Brittany. She’s kind of a slut. Not too sharp in the brains department, either. She’s going to be our personal servant tonight.”
“Wha…what?! I’m not wearing that!”
Natalie frowns. “That doesn’t sound like something Brittany would say. In fact, it doesn’t sound like Brittany at all.”
As Casey pins him down, Natalie walks over and pulls his head back, applying a strip to the outside of his larynx and pressing firmly. “That should do it…” she snarls.
“Come on! Katie!” Ryan pleads, but his voice is now much higher-pitched, with a distinctly ditzy tone.
“Don’t look at me. You have no idea how violated I feel” Katie growls.
“Put. It. On.” Natalie orders, pointing to the empty husk. “Or we’ll post this all over the internet.” She nods toward the phone in Katie’s hand.
Embarrassed and helpless, Ryan reaches for the soft, fleshy bundle.
“Oh, and once you’ve got her on, I brought you a change of clothes” Natalie continues.
From the bag, she pulls out a bundle of fabric and holds it up for him to see. It’s a stereotypical maid’s uniform, made with silky black and white material. It has long sleeves, a plunging neckline and a ruffled skirt.
Ryan groans, but he lifts the mask, and stretches it down over his own face.
TEN MINUTES LATER
“So, like, can I get you anything else?” Brittany inquires, folding her hands in front of her. Her chest is pushed up provocatively, filling out the uniform nicely. The other girls had even helped “her” with her hair, which hangs down to her shoulders in loose curls.
“He’s doing a good job staying in character” Katie comments, taking a sip of wine.
“He’d better” Natalie replies. “Or those pictures will spread like wildfire.”
The women all laugh. The obedient maid looks on silently, with a happy, air-headed smile. If they didn’t know any better, they would have no idea of the embarrassment being felt by Ryan, forced to wear the blonde’s pretty face.
“Or maybe I’ll put this back on and go streaking through town!” Natalie jokes, holding up the hollow mask of Ryan’s face. “What do you think, Brittany? Doesn’t this guy look like a loser?”
Brittany giggles and replies “Ohmigod, totally.”
They laugh again, and Katie reaches the bottom of her glass.
She holds it out indifferently towards the obedient maid.
“I’ll have some more, dear” she says, gazing up at the phony, blue-eyed blonde with a victorious, wicked smile.
“Sure thing!” The helpless maid chirps, taking the glass. She turns and saunters back to the kitchen, her ass barely covered by the silky fabric.
Katie leans over and whispers to Natalie. “So, when should we let him out of there?”
Natalie shrugs. “I’m in no rush” she replies. Then she adopts a evil grin and adds “I smeared some Lyfelike Semi-Perm glue on the inside of the mask. And I hate to say it, but I think I’ve misplaced the solvent…”
They all laugh, excited for the enjoyable evening ahead.