Trust Machines - Rebellion

“God,” exclaimed Tyler as he slumped into the diner seat in front of his friend, Connie.  “I thought I was going to flip out if I had to spend another hour in that house.  Thanks for calling me.”

Connie laughed, and set an ice cream soda in front of him.  “On the house.  I’m on break for half an hour,” she said as she sat down.  “So what’s got you down?”

“Just...  home.  Everything.”

“Poor boy.  Stuck at home with parents who love him, and a dad whose job gives you dirt cheap tuition.  It must be a terrible life.”

“Ever since Sally left to go tour Europe, it’s been just the three of us.  I’m off on summer break, Dad’s on sabbatical, Mom writes from home.  If I could even find a job flipping burgers I’d do it.  But there’s nothing.”

“C’mon, you’re a second year math student.  That means you can actually make change.   You’re overqualified.”

Tyler snorted.  “It’s not like I need the money, or anything.  I just... gah, it’s all so samey-same.  I’ve lived in that same house, slept in that same room, all my life!  Plus it's like my parents are trying to act extra normal since Sally left.  I want to shake things up.”

Connie held her hands up so she could frame Tyler’s face.  Tyler knew what she saw, a very ordinary looking guy with fading acne, black-rimmed glasses, and unruly dark hair that was the bane of every barber he’d gone to.  Looking back at her, he saw his oldest childhood friend.  They’d been neighbours for their entire lives.  Her gap-toothed smile, freckles, and long blonde hair in its usual ponytail had been as much a constant in his life as his mother.

“How about a new hairstyle?  I could borrow my sister’s clippers and shave you bald?”

Tyler laughed.  “That might be an improvement, but it’d be awfully hard to reverse if I don’t like it.”

“That’s not necessarily true...” said Connie.  She turned to look at the mall across the street.

Tyler followed her gaze.  “You’re not seriously suggesting the Venn Machine, are you?”

“Why not?  Come on, lots of people use it to try out new styles.  If you don’t like it, hop back in and poof you’re back to normal.”

“Why not?  Because it can turn me into a billiard ball just as easily as making me bald.”

“So?  Don’t you trust me?”  Connie might not have been the prettiest girl around, not by a long shot, but her puppy dog eyes were second to none.

“Of course I do.”  Tyler looked away, stared at the mall.  “I’ve just never...”

Connie grabbed his hand.  “First time for everything, right?  It’ll be an adventure.”  As they got to the door she waved to the owner.  “I’ll be back in ten, uncle!”

The mustachioed man behind the counter waved at her with a grin.  “Take as long as you need.”

When confronted by the disturbingly normal looking Venn Machine, Tyler's nervousness returned.  "I don't know about this, Connie.  What if I end up something weird?"

"Would I do that to you?" Connie asked with a grin.

Tyler thought back to pranks they'd played while growing up.  April first was still Connie's favourite day.  Most of their stunts had targeted others, but they'd gotten each other a few times too.  "Yes," he said simply.

"Fair enough.  I promise I'll change you back.  Then you'll know there is nothing to fear."

"How do you know there's nothing to fear?" asked Tyler curiously.

Connie put a dollar in the slot then set the time for a third of a day.  "Sociology group project.  We did the old 'please mail a letter for me' routine, with a cute girl versus a homely one."  She curtsied at that to show what her role had been.  "We didn't have a guy, so Jenny turned Rachel into a cute guy for the third part.  The prof made us take that out, said it tainted the results."

"So you've done this before?  Good."  Tyler stepped into one side of the machine.

After her door had closed behind her, Connie admitted that she's only seen it used, but had a pretty good idea how to do it from all the stuff her partners had said.  A minute later she was looking less sure.  "Stupid machine, not a... oh bother."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't have time for this... can I fix you after work?  I'm off in two hours." Connie pleaded.

Tyler sighed.  "I'm sure I'll regret this but... sure."

"Cool!" exclaimed Connie, then Tyler bounced to the ground.  She scooped him up after he'd had a minute to wonder just what had happened to him.  Her hand closed around him, enclosing all of whatever he was in warmth.  Then she squeezed, and he could feel his entire form squish and yield, then spring back to shape when she relaxed.  It was an odd sensation but far from a bad one.  He felt his compact shape slide into her pocket, then the swaying of her walk back to work.  The time passed slowly, pressed against her thigh.  From time to time her hand would find him and give him another of those body-distorting squeezes.

When he fell to the floor, Tyler had a moment of worry that he's been lost.  Then his body was his own again, and saw that he was back in the Venn Machine.  The display was different from before, and Connie told him to hit the green circle if he was okay with her changing him again.

Tyler grinned and hit the circle.  "What was I?  I felt small and squishy."

"You spent two hours as my stress ball.  Holding you in my pocket was..."  She smiled sweetly and shook her head.  "Are you okay?  Was it bad?"

"I'm fine.  It was kind of relaxing, almost like a massage.  I'd be okay with spending longer in your pocket."

"Cool.  I'm going to take you up on that, but not just now.  We still have to make you bald."  Her eyes widened and she touched the interface between them.  Then she laughed.  "It's really that easy?"

Tyler was about to ask what she's found when he felt a draft on the top of his head.  He reached up and felt his scalp, not his hair.  "I'm bald?  Holy crap, I'm bald!  Where's a mirror?"

"Don't touch it," said Connie hurriedly.  "Unless you want to turn me into a mirror..."

Tyler hesitated, thinking about all the things he could change her into.  Connie was saved by the timer.  Both doors opened before Tyler could begin to decide.

"Would you really have changed me?" asked Connie with a grin.

Tyler let his grin be his answer, then went in search of a mirror.  It wasn't hard to find one, and soon he was staring at his gleaming dome.  "Did you have to polish it?"

Connie shrugged.  "It came that way.  I think it looks good on you, gives you a dangerous air."

"You really think so?"  Tyler turned this way and that but couldn't really see danger in the scrawny body in the mirror.

"Sure.  Get you some leather, a few tattoos..."

Tyler laughed.  "Mom would flip!  I think this is quite enough.  Let's go see what she thinks.  Want a lift home?"

"Heck yeah.  I wouldn't miss this for anything."

At Tyler's house, Connie tagged along into the kitchen.  She didn't ask, she and Tyler had been in and out of each other's houses since they could walk and neither thought much of it.  She waved to Tyler’s Mom with a cheery, “Hi Jackie!”

Jackie took a moment to react, gave the pot on the stove another stir, then turned to face the kids.  “Hi Connie.  Hi Tyler.  Are you going to stay for dinner, Connie?”

Connie stared at Jackie for a moment, then smiled.  “Sure.  Whatever that is, it smells really good.”

“Tyler, would you be a dear and set the table?”

Tyler nodded, and gladly settled back into the familiarity of the chore.  Connie tagged along and helped straighten the napkins.

“That was weird,” whispered Tyler.

“Yeah.  It’s like she didn’t even notice.”

When Doctor Larson came down to dinner, he raised his eyebrows.  “Have you done something new with your hair, Tyler?”

Tyler looked over at Connie with raised eyebrows, then turned back to his father.  “Yes.  What do you think?”

At a significant look from Jackie, Dr. Larson shrugged.  “I’m not sure it suits you, but whatever makes you happy.”

And that was that.

Tyler walked Connie home, and on her doorstep she reached out and ran her hand over his bald head.  She giggled.  “Sorry.  I’ve wanted to do that all night.  It’s so smooth.”

Tyler laughed.  “Yeah.  We’re going to have to come up with something more extreme to get a reaction out of Mom, it seems.”

“Same time tomorrow?”

“Am I going to end up in your pocket again?”

“Probably.”

Tyler chuckled.  “Sure, why not.  I’d rather be your squeeze toy than spend the hours here.”

“Really?  You liked it?”

“It was different.  Right now, I want that more than anything.”

Connie grinned.  “I’ll think of something else to turn you into, then.”

Tyler grinned back.  “See you tomorrow.”

In the morning, Tyler had his hair back.  This didn’t especially please him, as he’d been looking forward to not having to wash it in the shower.  He tried combing it, and debated taking Connie up on that offer with the clippers after all.

To make matters worse, his mother didn’t comment on the return of his hair.  She was deep into her cookbooks, with some notepaper on the side.  When Tyler asked what she was up to, she seemed surprised, then said she was planning the menu for the next week.  She didn’t even inquire where he was going when he said he was going out.

Connie was surprised to see Tyler show up at the diner just before lunch rush.  Since the rush hadn’t hit yet, she was able to dash over to the mall with him.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked as she set up the Venn Machine.  “I’m on shift for another six hours.”

“Better in your pocket than tearing my hair out at home,” Tyler said as he entered the machine.

“As you wish.”  She tapped at the interface a few times, grinned, and then Tyler felt himself falling once more.

Again, he couldn’t see.  Well, not really.  There was a vague sense of shadow and light, and the light was blotted out by something just before he got grabbed by Connie’s enormous hand.  Then he heard, quite distinctly, her cooing about how cute he was.

The squeezing felt different this time, too.  Like he had some structure.  The petting and skritching were nicer.  He could feel how busy she was as lunch passed, but then things got quiet and she spent a lot of time with him in her hands, or idly petting him in her pocket.

When she pulled him out of her pocket to show off to some of the other waitresses, there was a commotion.  He would have laughed if he could, they gasped as one when she told her that he was actually a real person.  Then he was handed from one to the other, each one blocking out his fuzzy vision as they peered into his tiny face, or petting his soft fur.  He was surprised at how different each person’s touch felt, and how certain he was that he was back in Connie’s hands at the end.

He napped for a while through the activity of dinner service, then felt himself get gently set on the floor.  This time, the return to being human didn’t surprise him.  He tapped to accept more changes and smiled at Connie.  “Thanks.”

“Really?  You enjoyed being a teeny wolf plush?”

Terry nodded.  “Yeah.  The others seemed to get a kick out of it too, if their comments were anything to go by.”

Connie looked surprised.  “You could hear them?”

“Yeah, when you held me up.  I couldn’t hear much from inside your pocket.  I could tell when you were speaking, but not really what you were saying.”

Connie smiled with relief.  “Good.”

Tyler laughed.  “Did I miss something?”

“Nothing too juicy... this time.  I’m not sure I’d want to have you listening in on everything that’s said there.  The others are awfully, uh, colourful when nobody else is listening.”

“So I don’t get ears next time?  Fooey.”

“Is there going to be a next time?”  Connie asked carefully.

“Heck yeah.”  Tyler nodded, grinning.

Connie smiled.  “Good.  So what shall we tease your mother with tonight?”

“Tattoos.  Big tribal ones...  Ooh, what’s that?”  He poked at a bubble on the screen, and looked up to see spiralling designs all over Connie’s body.  “Um, did I do that?”

“Just... don’t touch the green circle, OK?  As long as you don’t do that, I’m still normal.”

“So I can play with the bubbles?”

Connie grinned.  “It would be hypocritical not to let you.”

A minute later Connie nodded with satisfaction.  “There.  That should do it.  Bald, tattoos on your head and all down your arms.  Ready?”

“Sure.”  Tyler stared down at the red and black patterns that had appeared on his arms.  They looked like native designs, making his arms look like totem poles.  “Wow.  That is cool.  What are they?”

“Wolves, if I got it right.”

Tyler smiled shyly at Connie.  “Can I show you what I came up with?  If you don’t like it you can change back, right?”

Connie sighed softly.  “Okay.  It’s only fair.”

They both stepped out of the booth and stared at each other, giggling.  “Wow.  You look different,” said Tyler at last.

Connie sought out the mirror by the Venn Machine and gasped.  “Oh, wow.  I’m... blue.”  Her face and arms were a deep cobalt blue, with ripples of paler blue passing slowly over it.  “Mom’s going to flip.”

“Really?” Tyler asked, intently curious.  “Can I see that?”

“Uh...  Yeah, sure.”  Connie was still staring at the patterns passing over her face.  “It’s only for eight hours, I’m sure she’ll understand...”

Tyler drove Connie home, and came in with her.  He waved cheerfully to her mom.  “Hi Mrs. Baker.”

“Tyler, is that you?  And what have you done to yourself, Connie?  What is that all over you?”

Connie pirouetted to show off her blue skin.  “Tyler did it, with the Venn Machine.  It’ll wear off by morning.”

“Oh.  Well, then.  It’s... different.”  Connie’s mother turned back to her cooking.

Connie and Tyler exchanged a look, then wordlessly headed over to Tyler’s house.  Tyler’s Mom looked up briefly as they entered.  “Oh!  That’s a different look for you, Connie.”

“Um, thanks.”

“Would you be a dear and set the table, Tyler?  Dinner’s almost ready.”

Tyler waited in vain for any other response, then sighed.  He waved goodbye to Connie, and did as he had been asked.  At dinner, his father examined the tattoos with a critical eye.  “West coast indian designs?”

“Connie said they were wolves.”

“It’s nice work.  Will they disappear tomorrow like your haircut?”

Tyler sighed, and nodded.

“Good.”

Later, Tyler and Connie sat on the porch swing and talked.  Connie’s father hadn’t had much to say, either, other than curiosity about how the patterns on her skin moved over time.

“It’s weird that they’re taking it so well,” Connie mused.  “Especially your folks.  Your Mom is not normally that chill.”

“I know.  It’s freaking me out even worse.  If I don’t get some kind of reaction out of her tomorrow...”

Connie laughed.  “So we’re doing this again tomorrow?  You spending the day in my pocket, then trying to freak your folks?”

“Sure.  Today was... it was nice.  Your hands feel really good.”

Connie smiled.  “Thanks.  I take good care of them.  Oh, and thanks for all this, too,” she added, gesturing to the rippling blue patterns on her body.  She was wearing a tank-top and shorts, showing off the pattern on her legs and belly too.  “I think it’s really pretty.”

“I think it looks pretty, too.”  

Connie stared at Tyler in surprise, mouth hanging slightly open.  “Did you just...”

“Hm?”  Tyler was looking at her face, mesmerized by the patterns flowing over it.

“Nevermind.”  Connie bit back a sob and turned away.  She ran off to her house.

The next day, Tyler was even earlier, and met Connie in front of the diner just before her shift.  Wordlessly she led the way to the Venn Machine, and set it.  Tyler hopped inside, then got a good look at Connie’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I... you...”  Connie sighed.  “My period started today.  And I’m on my last tampon.”

Tyler’s eyes widened as Connie tapped at the interface.  “You wouldn’t!”

“Is that a challenge?” Connie asked dangerously.

“No, I...”  Tyler saw her hand reach for the green circle.  “Don’t!”  Connie’s hand stopped.  “Please?  Don’t do this.”  Tyler begged.

Connie cackled wickedly at Tyler’s expression.  “Did you even see what time I set on this thing?  Enjoy your trip to the landfill.”  She touched the circle.

Tyler felt himself fall.  By now, he was getting used to it.  His form felt... elongated.  With a firm exterior, and something fuzzier inside.  When he felt Connie’s hand close about his body, he could tell he was finger-sized.  She’d actually done it!  With a cold, sinking feeling, Tyler felt Connie tuck him into her pocket and start walking.  She wasn’t going to change him back.  He racked his memory, but couldn’t recall how long the Machine had been set for, just that it had looked different from the usual.  This was going to be a very bad day.  Or month.  Or... longer?


[APRIL FOOL ENDING - And now the rest of the story...]


Tyler’s mind ran in little panicky circles.  He was a tampon, stuck in Connie’s pocket, and due to get... used.  When her hand closed around him and slid him out of his resting place, he prepared for the worst.  A few moments later he felt his hard outer shell rattle against something that felt about the same shape and size as him.  Then... nothing.

Nothing at all.  No motion, no noise.

Eventually, Tyler’s panic burned out, and he went to sleep.  He was disturbed a few times by the feeling of fingers poking about, and pulling one of the other cylinders out.  Then, terrifyingly, it was his turn.  He was pulled away from his companions and... set on something hard?

A moment later, Tyler was human once more, and staring at Connie laughing in the other side of the Venn Machine.  “You turned me into a tampon!”

Connie nodded.  “God, you should have seen the look on your face.  Both times.”  She wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.

“You said you were out of tampons!  I thought you were going to use me,” grumbled Tyler.

“There’s a drugstore in the mall, silly.  I put you in the box with the rest, and played tampon roulette.”

Tyler’s eyes went wide once more, and Connie broke out into a fresh set of giggles.  That was how she ended up going home as a handkerchief in Tyler’s pocket.

When Tyler tried to explain it to Connie’s mother, though, Mrs. Baker got quite irate with him and made him go back to the mall and restore her daughter so that she could have dinner.  “She’s not missing dinner because you’re annoyed with her over a prank.”

“A prank?  But she.... fine, fine, I’ll be back with her in a bit.”

Back at the Venn Machine, Tyler tried to remember the sequence that Connie usually used.  He played with the timing settings, studying each to figure out the durations.  One of the patterns stood out, and he realized it was the one that Connie had used on the previous go-round.  He shook his head as he realized that Connie had only set the duration for a day.  He left it at a day, and put Connie inside.

“Hey,” said Tyler as he entered the other side.

“Hey.  What was that?”

“Handkerchief.”

“Well... uh, thanks for not blowing your nose on me.  So why am I human again so soon?”

“Your mom freaked out when I handed you to her.”

Connie started to giggle.  “Really?  Damn, and I missed it.”

Tyler chuckled along with her.  “So... are we good?”

Connie nodded happily.  “I was actually hoping it would egg you into trying something like that.  I wanted to know what it would be like to be the one in the pocket.”

“And?”

“It was... surprisingly nice.”

“So do you want to reverse roles tomorrow?” asked Tyler.

“Uh...  Do you think you could manage to pass yourself off as me for a day?  Even if you had the right body, you’d need to move like me, and know enough about the diner to do my job...”

Tyler shook his head.  “I’d need a lot of practice first.”

Connie surveyed Tyler pensively for a while.

“What?”

“Just wondering what you’d look like as a girl.”  She tapped a bubble.  “Oooh, cute.”  She made a little face.  “You’d be prettier than me.”

Tyler snickered.  “That probably would get a rise out of Mom.”

“Should I, then?”  Connie’s hand hovered over the green circle.

“I... I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

Connie giggled.  “You spent the day as a tampon in my purse, but being a girl for a bit is a problem?”

“I...  Yeah.”

Connie hit the red circle, and the doors opened on them.  They let another couple go ahead of them while they talked.

“What’s wrong?” asked Connie.

“The way you looked when you said I’d be prettier...  You looked like that last night, too.”

“I...  It’s nothing.  I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.”

“Look, can I just go home and have dinner?”

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone.  But...”

“What?”

“Can we take one more swing at Dangerous Tyler?  How about a hook for my hand?”

The couple using the Venn Machine emerged as two cute girls.  They were both wearing much sexier outfits than they’d gone in with, and walked off arm in arm, giggling.

Connie watched them go with a look of longing on her face, then sighed.  “Sure.  I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever get a rise out of Jackie.”

The hook proved to be a bad idea, as Tyler managed to stab his thigh with it shortly after emerging from the Venn Machine.  So they went back in twice more.  Once to return Tyler to his undamaged self, and then at Tyler’s urging to replace his hands with wolf paws.

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea...” muttered Connie.

When he went to dig his car keys out, Tyler had to agree.  But with some persistence he managed to fetch them.  Then he dropped them in Connie’s hands.  “You’d better drive.  Eating dinner with these paws should prove... interesting.”

Connie took the keys eagerly.  She’d been jealous when Tyler’s parents had just given him their old car.  Her parents expected her to save up to buy her own, and given how terrible her tips were at her uncle’s diner it was taking forever.

She only nudged the curb a little when parallel parking in front of Tyler’s house.  “OK, we’re here.”  She dropped his keys in his pocket, which made Tyler blush.  Impulsively, she kissed his cheek.  “See you tomorrow.”

All Tyler got for his efforts was a comment about his table manners being atrocious, and his mother of all people dryly noting that the closest Los Lobos gang was about a thousand miles west of them.

When he repeated the comment to Connie the next day, she just laughed.  “You sound just like your father, saying that.  So pedantic.”

Tyler was about to comment, but the Venn Machine opened up and revealed a woman on one side, and nothing on the other.

“Oh, hey Jenny,” said Connie.  “What are you doing...  Oh my god, is that Rachel?”

Jenny grinned, and showed the slim rubbery object to Connie.  “I’ve been using operant conditioning on her.  She begged me to change her back into this, how could I say no?”

“You’ve been conditioning her to... want this?  How?”

Jenny leaned toward Connie and whispered a few things.  Connie’s eyes went wide.  “That works?”

Jenny nodded eagerly.  “It hasn’t even been a month, and she’s begging me to keep her like this.  Next month, it’s her turn to condition me.”  Jenny wriggled.  “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Woah.”  Connie watched Jenny walk off, her expression lost in wonder.

“What?”  Tyler’s question brought her back to the present.

“I... wow.  I have to try that.”

“Try what?” asked Tyler, puzzled.

Connie grinned at him as they entered the Venn Machine.  “You’ll see.  Ready to become a pocket toy?”

Tyler looked into Connie’s smiling face.  “You’re enjoying this?  Holding me in your hand?”

Connie nodded eagerly.  “Having that kind of power over someone... it’s exhilarating.”

“Then I’m ready.  Hit me.  Just... not a tampon this time, okay?”

“Okay.  Was it really so bad?”

Tyler thought about that as Connie murmured and poked at the interface.  “Not really, other than the fear of being stuck.  I checked the time this time.”  Tyler paused a moment to think.  “Softer forms are more fun, I think.  I can feel your touch better.”

“And that’s good?”  Connie asked, hand hesitating over the green circle.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Tyler fell to the floor.  This was becoming a habit.  This time, though... when his body flattened out from the impact, it felt... good?  He puzzled at that until Connie’s hand wrapped around him and squeezed him tight.  That felt wonderful.  Even just the feel of her stroking his soft, round form while tucked in her pocket made him want to wiggle with happiness like a little puppy.

They day passed all too quickly for Tyler.  Coming back to his human form was met with a soft, wistful sigh.  Connie looked through the Venn Machine interface into his face and grinned at what she saw there.  “It worked.  You want to go back already.”

“I... what did you do?” Tyler asked, alarmed.

“I just made it feel good.  Did it work?”

“Oh, yeah.  Every touch felt like a full body hug...”  Tyler wrapped his arms around himself.  “I wish...”  He shook his head to clear it.  “Thank you.  That was... much better than I expected a day in a pocket to be.”

Connie smiled a crooked smile at him.  “So... what do you want to do now?”  She stepped a bit closer to him, which made Tyler skitter back a step, even with the interface between them.  Connie sighed.

“I...  I want to try to get a freaking reaction from my mom.  Just one.  Then we can do anything you like.”  He smiled when Connie’s smile broadened.  “Happy?”

Connie nodded.  “I’m going to keep you to that, you know.  Once we get a reaction, you’re mine,” she said possessively.  “So.  Shall we see if turning you into a cute girl freaks her out?”

“I was thinking more like some giant bug-thing.”

“Are you serious?  You want to be a giant bug, just to get your mom to react?  What the hell, why not.”

The monstrosity that slouched out of the machine was covered in mottled green-black chitin, and had more legs and claws and spines than anything had a right to.  Tyler took one look at himself in the mirror, screamed in terror, and ran right back into the Venn Machine.

“Maybe,” he panted, as his panic finally settled, “maybe not quite so extreme.”

Connie couldn’t help but laugh.  “She would have reacted, though.”

“She’d have fainted!  Hell, I nearly peed myself.  I don’t want to give her a heart attack.  Just... I don’t know... a wake-up call.  Maybe something more like a traditional movie monster.  Weird without being too scary.”

“So... a mummy?  Are vampires actually scary any more?”

“No... a werewolf!  Just, you know... not too monstrous.”

Connie chuckled softly as she worked.  “Right.  Part wolf, part human, not too ugly...  How about a dapper werewolf?”

“I don’t know...”

“I think it looks good on you.  Try slouching forward a bit... yes!  That will do nicely.”

When Tyler emerged, he stared at his reflection for over a minute.  “That’s... me?  Why do I have a bowler hat?”

“That’s the elegant part.  Take it off, and slouch so your knuckles are on the floor.”

Tyler did so, then whined in surprise at the transformation it made in his reflection.  He stood up hurriedly, and put the hat back on.  “Remarkable.”

“I know!  I love it.  You look...  God, you look like a hunk like this.”

Tyler turned to regard Connie intently with his large, yellow eyes.  As he stared down his muzzle at her, she started to blush.  “What?”

“Just you looking at me like that...”  Connie shook herself, then turned away.  “I’m hungry.  Let’s go home.”

Connie wasn’t quite hungry enough to miss Tyler’s reveal, though.  Plus she had to be there to confirm he was who he claimed to be.  So she got to see Tyler’s mother glance up at him, and idly comment, “Please don’t drool on the floor.  I just waxed it.”

Tyler whimpered, but straightened up and went to set the table.  Connie patted him on his broad, furry shoulders, and went home to her dinner.

Later that night Tyler sat on the porch swing, creaking it back and forth and being wryly amused at how it seemed to strain under his much greater mass.  Having stronger legs was fun, too, even a gentle kick would set it flying back and forth.

Connie hopped up beside him, nimbly joining him mid-swing.  “No good, huh.”

Tyler sighed.  “Dad lectured me about table manners, again.  Shedding, this time.  It’s time for desperate measures.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.  Let’s turn me into a girl and see how they like that.”

Connie clapped her hands together excitedly.  “This is going to be fun!  Even if they don’t react, I have tomorrow off so we could go shopping together!”

“Really?”

She punched him on the shoulder, then shook her hand.  “Wow, your muscles are hard.  Of course not, doofus.  You know I hate clothes shopping almost as much as you do.”

“Whew.  C’mon, let’s go.”

Once they were at the mall, Connie hesitated in front of the Venn Machine, taking a last longing look at Tyler’s muscular form before setting the Venn Machine for a day and opening the doors.

“So, what kind of girl are you going to be?  A cute little thing?”

Tyler shook his shaggy head.  “Nah.  Something that’ll really shock her.  Go sexy.  Curvy as all hell, and... can you do clothes, too?  Something that’ll turn every red-blooded guy’s head.”

Connie wiped something from her eye.  “Oh... Okay.  I can... yeah.  Are you sure?”

“Yeah, the sluttier the better.”

Connie brightened a bit at that.  “Oh, I can do slutty alright.  You’ll be the sluttiest thing this town has ever seen...”

Tyler tottered from the machine on platform heels and stared at his reflection.  Curves out to here, hair down to there, and clothes that covered next to none of it.  “Oh.  My.  God.  Is that me?”

Connie couldn’t look.  “Yeah.  Now let’s go home.”

When Tyler swayed his way into his living room with his tiny leather miniskirt threatening to rise up and expose his privates with each tottering step, his parents mouths both dropped open.  Dr. Larson was the first to speak, and asked Connie if that really was their son.  She nodded, and he shook his head.  “Remarkable,” said Jackie.

“That’s it?  That’s all you’ve got?” shouted Tyler.

“What?” asked his father.  “What do you mean?”

“I guess if I’m going to get a reaction out of you guys I’ll have to go hit a dive bar and...  and...”

“And what, dear?”

Tyler stormed off, shouting, “I’m going to go get laid.  Shouldn’t be hard in this body.  See you!”

Connie ran after him, catching him by his car.  “Don’t do this,” she pleaded.  “It’s not worth it.”

“Wanna come disappoint our parents at Bad Bart’s with me?”

“No!”  Connie was nearly in tears as Tyler pulled away from the curb.  She tried to chase after his car, but it was hopeless.  She fell to her knees, crying on his lawn instead.

* * *

Tyler was having a terrible time.  Nobody would meet his eyes, and any time he tried to make a move on a guy, they had some lame excuse.  Finally, to his relief, a rakish guy with greased-back hair sidled up to him at the bar.  The line was just about the lamest he’d ever heard, but it was better than nothing.

Before long, they were back at Tyler’s car, and heading somewhere cozier.  Garth claimed his roomie was making use of his ‘love nest’, so they ended up back at Tyler’s house.  Tyler didn’t mind, he wanted to see the expressions on his parents faces when he came in on Garth’s arm.

Instead he was shocked by his mother saying, “Oh good, you found her.  Thanks, hon.”

Tyler spun on Garth.  “Dad?  Who changed...”  Then he turned to face Connie where she was sitting red-eyed beside Jackie.  “You!  You knew where I was going.  You put him up to this!”

Connie nodded, her reply barely a whisper. “I couldn’t let you...”

“How could you?” Tyler yelled.

‘Garth’ grabbed Tyler’s hand and spun the trashily dressed woman to face him.  “That is quite enough out of you.  You left Connie crying in your wake.  You’ve humiliated her, and worse, I think you’ve broken her heart.”

Connie stared at this outburst, tears leaking down her face.  Tyler looked back at her, and winced.   “I don’t understand.”

“She’s in love with you, you fool,” continued ‘Garth’.

Connie could only nod, then ran crying from the house.

“But what did I do?” wailed Tyler helplessly.

“Go to your room and think about what you’ve done.”

“But...”

“Go!”

Tyler went to his room, lay down on his bed.  Getting comfortable in his strangely curved body proved even more difficult than walking in heels had.  He tossed and turned, visions of Connie’s crying face in his mind.  He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but...  Love?  Her?  For him?  They’d grown up together.  Shared everything, even more than he had with his sister.  Her freckled face was at least as familiar as his own.  He snorted, softly.  More so than his own, right now.

Seeing that face crumpled and crying was heartbreaking.  He didn’t understand, but he did sympathise.  Eventually, Tyler slept, with images of that face rippling through his dreams.  He woke with a phrase echoing through his mind: ‘I think you look pretty’.  That’s not what he’d said, was it?

Tyler groaned as he rolled out of bed.  His body was still not his, all curves and squishiness.  Showering was an eye-opening experience, especially with his waist-length hair.  The water was running cold before he was satisfied that his hair was actually clean.

“The prodigal son returns,” mused his father as Tyler slouched into the kitchen for a late breakfast.  Tyler was just thankful that he wasn’t still ‘Garth’.

“I know, I know.  I was stupid.”

“It’s a start.  Now what should you do?”

Tyler sighed, and poured himself some cereal.  “Go apologize to Connie.”

“After you get dressed.  You’re not going out looking like that.”

Tyler snorted.  “Well.  I guess that counts as a reaction.  It’ll have to do.”  He chewed through his breakfast quickly under his father’s quizzical gaze, then went back upstairs to find something, anything that would fit.  He ended up raiding Sally’s closet for a sweater that sort-of contained his chest, and found some track pants that he could adjust to fit his flared hips.

His dad shook his head as he headed out, but didn’t say anything.

Tyler knocked on Connie’s door, and her mom answered.  “She doesn’t want to see you.”

Tyler could hear the sounds of mournful guitar-playing from deeper within the house.  At one point they’d tried to form a garage band, but he had no sense of rhythm for drums, and his voice was... well, not made for singing, that was for sure.  But Connie had kept up the guitar.  She was never invited to other teens’ activities, so she had a lot of time to practice.  Tyler sighed for what might have been, and for just how miserable she sounded now.

“Tell her...  That I still owe her for yesterday, and I want to pay her back.”

Mrs. Baker shook her head, but went to relay the message.  The guitar-playing stopped abruptly, and Connie came drooping down the stairs.  “Do you really mean it?  You’ll let me turn you into anything?”

Tyler nodded.  “Anything to make you happy.  I’m sorry about yesterday.”  He held out his keys.  “You get to drive, too.”

Connie’s expression brightened.  “Works for me.  Back in a few, Mom!”

A few minutes later, Tyler felt himself flutter to the floor of the Venn Machine.  That was new, he thought.  When Connie picked him up, he could tell he was hard, and fit easily in her palm.  Cupped in her hand, he heard her say, “I hope this worked.”

The ride home was spent listening to the thrum of the car’s engine.  It sounded... he couldn’t tell what was different, but it sounded amazing.  He heard the door slam, and Connie call out to her mother.  He could even hear her tuning the strings of her guitar with impossible clarity.  And then... oh, and then he strummed across the strings, drawing a power chord out of them that made his soul ache.

Connie played for hours, and it was glorious.  He had never truly appreciated music before this moment.  Being in it, making it at her touch... it was magical.  He wished it would never end.

Of course, all good things do end at some point.  For Tyler, it ended when he changed back to human and tumbled sprawling to the floor in front of Connie.

“Are you okay?” gasped Connie.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t watch the time.”

“Did you play guitar for eight hours straight?” asked Tyler, slowly getting to his feet.  He was human again, and male... and wearing his sister’s sweater.  It didn’t fit much worse than it had eight hours prior.

“Um... yeah.  I kinda do that when I’m stressed.  I feel a lot better now.”

“You sounded... you were amazing!  Why don’t you go play where people can hear you?”

Connie smiled. “It worked?  You could hear?”

Tyler nodded.  “Better than I ever could before.  I could hear everything.  It was glorious.  You have to go play somewhere.  Anywhere!”

“I tried,” Connie said with a fraying voice.  “They look at me and laugh.  A runty girl playing rock and roll?”

“We could... we could fix that.”

Connie looked at Tyler hopefully.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean... turn you into a leather-clad, hard-rocking guitar-playing dude.”  Connie’s face fell a bit at that last word, but Tyler pressed on.  “You’d have no trouble getting respect like that.  Think about it!”

Connie picked up another pick to replace the one that had reverted into Tyler, and strummed her guitar.  The tune was hopeful, not mournful, and Tyler smiled.  “Okay,” she said at last.  “But what are you going to be?  I could use a cute groupie following me around.”

“A girl?”

“Naturally.  Gotta have my squeeze with me.”  Connie grinned at Tyler.  “Besides, you promised.”

“That I did.  How long are we going out on tour for?”

“I dunno.  A week?  Two?  We’ll change for the month, and change back when we get tired of it.”

Tyler frowned at a thought.  “But what about the diner?”

“Bah, uncle will let me have the time.  He’d rather have a cute waitress instead of me any day.”

Tyler snorted.  “His loss.  I’ll be back in a bit.”

Tyler ran back home to tell his parents of his plans.  They were both sitting in the living room, reading.  His mother had a science fiction novel in her hands, and his father was thumbing through a women’s magazine.  “See you guys later.  Connie and I are off to tour as a rock and roll guitarist and his sexy groupie.”

“That’s nice, dear.  Have fun!”

“Wait!” cried his father.  Tyler’s expression brightened at the reaction.  “You can’t play guitar for beans.”

Tyler laughed.  “No, but Connie’s amazing.  Nobody will listen to her as a girl, but as a guy I’m sure they will.”

“So you’re going to be the sexy groupie?  Of course.  Have fun!”

Tyler blinked at that.  “I’m going to spend the next month as a girl.  That doesn’t worry you at all?”

Tyler’s mother snapped her fingers.  “Right!  I knew there was something I was forgetting.  Wait a moment.”  She left the room, then returned a minute later with a small box.  “Here. Use these, if you’re female for a month or more pregnancy is a real risk.”

Tyler looked down at the box of condoms in his hand.  “But...   We...”

“You never know.  More than a week in a form and you really start to think that way.”

“I...  Wow, okay.  Thanks.”  Tyler started to smile.  “I think this is actually going to be a lot of fun.  See you in a couple weeks!”

Tyler didn’t bother to pack any clothes.  He didn’t have anything that would fit his new shape anyway.  When he went over to Connie’s, she’d had much the same idea and was only carrying her guitar and a small amplifier-speaker combo.

“Are we really doing this?” Connie asked with undisguised excitement.

Tyler just grinned and handed her the car keys.

At the Venn Machine, Connie set it for a month.  The doors gaped open like gateways to their future.  “Are you ready?” she asked, but Tyler was already getting into his side.

Connie grinned.  She started designing a sexy but not over-the-top version of Tyler.  She wanted her groupie to be one that others would envy, a looker, not a hooker.  When she was done she could still see a hint of Tyler in there.  Her groupie-to-be looked more like a hot distant cousin.  She waited and watched as her vision of beauty worked, tongue lolling as she tried to find the right shape for Connie.

“Are you done yet?”

“Almost.  Just trying to get the leather jacket right.”

Connie giggled, and tweaked her groupie’s outfit, adding a black leather vest to it.  When she felt her body become suddenly different and large, clad in a stylish leather jacket with silver studs, she took a moment to change Tyler’s outfit once more, so that it matched.  Then they met outside the machine and stood in front of the mirror.

“Wow.”  Connie couldn’t believe that hunk of a guy was her.  The scruffy beard, the long dark hair...  She reached out and pulled her groupie close.  The long blonde hair looked good splayed against the dark leather of her jacket.

“We look good together.  Oh wow... my voice!”  Tyler’s new voice was sweet and soft.  He tried singing a few bars of one of Connie’s favourite songs, and his eyes widened.  “I can sing!  How?”

Connie shrugged.  “I needed a vocalist at least as much as a groupie.  Figured it was worth a shot.”

They spent the next two days criss-crossing the local towns, auditioning at all the places Connie had ever heard of that played live music.  By the time they were done, they had a week’s worth of bookings and promises of more.

Connie’s meager savings were enough for cheap motel rooms for a few weeks, but only for one room.  They slept in separate beds.

The first concert was a bit rocky at first, but once Tyler got used to her new voice, things suddenly started to improve.  By the end of their final set, the audience was cheering.  Better yet, there were lots of tips, more than enough to pay another day’s food, gas and motel.

“This... this could work,” said ‘Connor’ in amazement as they counted through the cash.  “I didn’t think we’d actually make money at it.”

‘Tyla’ hugged him impulsively.  “I can’t believe how well I sung!  That was so much fun!  And we get to do it again...”

Connor pulled Tyla into a big bear-hug.  “Yeah.  This is going to be...”  He looked down at Tyla.  Down!  That was new.  “What are you doing?”

Tyla was squirming in his grasp.  “I... being close to you like this is making me feel all fluttery.”

Connor chuckled deeply, enjoying the resonance of his voice.  “Am I turning you on?”

Tyla’s eyes widened.  “Is that what this is?”

“If you’re starting to dampen your panties... yes.”

Tyla blushed bright crimson.  “Oh God.”

Connor nuzzled up against Tyla’s ear and whispered, “You’re starting to turn me on, too.”

“What are we going to do?” wailed Tyla.

Connor gripped her shoulders and looked her in the eye.  “Cold showers, and separate beds.”

Two stops later, when Connor grabbed Tyla’s ass after a performance, she squealed and turned on him.  He was about to apologize when she jumped into his arms and planted a huge kiss on his lips.  The crowd cheered.  They were inseparable for the rest of the night, with Tyla practically draping herself over Connor’s muscular frame.

Connor loved it.  On the way back to the motel, he scooped Tyla up in his arms, and carried her the last half of the way to her squeals and giggles.  When he set her down inside the room, she attacked him with kisses, and started stripping out of her clothes.

When Connor realized Tyla was pressing her naked breasts against his chest his eyes flew open.  “What... what are you doing?”

Tyla put a hand to his crotch.  “You’re as turned on as I am.  Do all girls react like this to a dominant guy?”

“I... never got to find out.  But babe, this is my fault.  I... kind of kicked your sex drive up a few notches when we got Venned, so you’d like being a girl.”

Tyla ground her hips against his.  “Well, it worked.  C’mon, get undressed already.”

“But you...  I...  You’ve never looked at me like that before.”

“Like what?”  Tyla’s gaze smouldered as she stared into Connor’s eyes.

“Like I’m... sexy.  We’ve been like brother and sister since forever.”

“You don’t look like Connie.  I don’t look like Tyler.  That reaction is gone, and good riddance.”  Tyla sashayed back a few steps, pulling an unresisting Connor by the hand.  She fell back onto the bed, and Connor tumbled on top of her.

They didn’t get out of that bed until morning, and put a serious dent in Tyla’s box of condoms.

That set the tone for the rest of the tour.  They’d play together at one venue or another, always touching hip to hip or hand to hand.  Then at night they’d put their new bodies through their paces.

After a couple of weeks, the frenzied edge of the passion wore off.  They had become comfortable enough with each other that they knew there would be a tomorrow.  So instead of making love until exhaustion, they lay together in the afterglow, cuddling and talking.

“I don’t want this to end.”

“Nor do I.  But our month is almost up.  Sally will be home soon.  And classes start next week.”

“Do you really want to go back to being Tyler?  We’re making money like this.  We even got offered a recording contract.”

“Not enough to cover repairs, or a new car, or...”

Connor sighed, and slumped back onto the bed.  “I know.”

Tyla rolled against him, kissed the sadness away.  “This doesn’t have to end when we change back.”

Connor stared up at her, hope in his eyes.  “Do you really think so?  When I’m,” he bit back a sob, “ugly Connie again?  I can’t go back to her.  I can’t.”

Tyla soothed him with her body.  “You don’t have to.  I’ll make you pretty.”

“Really?”  Connor crushed Tyla in a hug.  “Let’s go home.”

They stepped out of the Venn Machine in their normal bodies once more.  Tyla had insisted.  Connie couldn’t meet Tyler’s gaze, and covered her face.  “Don’t look.”

Tyler pulled her against him, and told her to close her eyes.  They kissed, and after a moment, Connie relaxed into it.  But when they broke apart, each saw the other, and shook their head.

Tyler said it first.  “Nope.  Still my tomboy sister.”

Connie leaked a few tears, until Tyler set the Venn Machine for a year.  “Really?”

“Yes.  I’ll make you pretty, and keep you that way as long as you like.”

“And you’re not afraid I’ll addict you to being my toy for a year?”

Tyler squirmed at the thought.  “I... no.  But if you want to try for a day or two here and there, I’m game.”

Connie brightened, then stepped into the Venn Machine.  “I am so taking you up on that some day.”

When they re-emerged, they didn’t look too different.  Tyler was a bit more tan, a bit more muscled.  And his glasses had gone away.  Connie’s hair was no longer in a ponytail, framing her face in a halo of blonde waves.  She still had freckles, but just a few, not the ugly blotch she normally faced.  And she had curves!  Not ridiculous ones like she’d first given Tyler, or the mature curves of Tyla... but she had curves, ones ripe with promise like a tree budding in spring.

“I...  Tyler, how...  I’m still me, but...”

“You’re beautiful.”

“Yes!”  She flung herself into Tyler’s arms.  His strength lifted her off the ground, making her heart flutter.  And the kiss... oh, the kiss.

They returned to Tyler’s house, hand in hand, having never let go of each other.  All their parents were there, as he had called ahead. Tyler waved to his folks, and Connie to hers.  Everyone looked at each other expectantly.

“Well?” prodded Tyler’s father.

“Connie and I are going to get married,” Tyler blurted out.  And that simple phrase caused all the commotion he could ever have wished for.  

Connie’s reaction hit him first, she vaulted into his arms and cried “yes yes yes!”

Then of all people Tyler’s mother asked, “Have you really thought this through?  Marriage is a huge commitment.  You have the whole world out there...”  He stopped at a glare from his wife.

“No.  And yes.  This is right, we’re so very much in love with each other.  It just took... some changes to really understand that.  And yes, it’s a huge commitment, and yes, Mom... it means giving up other choices.  But we can be each other’s fantasies.”

Connie nodded.  “Fantasies... or nightmares.  That can be fun, too.”  She whispered in Tyler’s ear, “I am so turning you into my addicted sex toy for this.”  He shuddered, then grinned even wider.

“So... yes.  I really want this.”

“I do too,” added Connie.

Dr. Larson smiled hugely.  “Then there’s just one thing left to do.”

“What’s that?” asked Tyler, curiously.

“Get down on your damn knee and propose to her properly already!”

Tyler smiled, and knelt before Connie.  “Connie Francine Baker, will you marry me and stay with me for always, whatever we may become?”

“YES!”  Connie gave him the biggest hug she could, and kissed him full on the lips.  

That would have gone on for some time, except that Dr. Larson started bouncing up and down like a schoolgirl, and squealing, “My little boy is getting married!  This is the happiest day of my life.”

Tyler stared at his father in shock.  “That’s not...  Mom?  Oh my God, how long have you two...”

Dr. Larson grinned, and Connie giggled.  “He finally figured it out!” Connie exclaimed.

“We swapped right after Sally left,” ‘Jackie’ said. “We tried so hard to play each other’s part.  I thought we were doing pretty well.”

“No wonder you seemed so nor...  OH GOD.  I picked up my Mom in a dive bar!”

Connie had to struggle to keep Tyler upright.  “Technically, your Mom picked you up.”

“Not the first time I’ve picked up a stranger with a familiar soul.”

Tyler shook his head, declaring weakly, “I really, really don’t want to know.  Can you two please change back, now?”

His parents looked at each other, grinned, and shook their heads.  “We’re having way too much fun like this.”

Tyler looked to Connie and asked plaintively, “Can we go back on tour.  For a year or so?”

Connie laughed.  “I have a better idea.  Let’s go find an apartment of our own.  We’ve got enough for a deposit.  We can play gigs on the weekends to pay for it while we’re in school.”

Tyler hugged her tight.  “I love you.”

Connie grinned hugely.  “I love you too.”

“About time,” muttered Tyler’s body-swapped mother.

Epilogue:

The evening before classes started, Connor and Tyla hit the Venn Machine to swap back to their normal genders.  Connie came out in her prettied up form, but Tyler was mostly normal.  He’d gotten a bit of a tan over the past week, and had started lifting weights.  He’d also ditched his glasses for contacts.  So even without the Venn Machine, he was starting to look like Connie’s fantasy version of him, and she was loving the changes.

As they were leaving, they ran into Connie’s classmate, Rachel, who was looking the worse for wear.  Rachel exclaimed at how good Connie was looking.  Connie asked after her and Jenny, and Rachel admitted that the conditioning experiment was causing her problems.

“I just can’t... I’m so desperately jealous of Jenny right now.”  She showed Connie the slim silicone form hiding in her purse.  “The need hasn’t gotten any weaker at all.  I still want to spend the rest of my life as a toy.”

Connie was shocked at first, then started to grin.  “I think I can help out, there.”

“You’ll turn me into your toy, too?  Oh thank you, thank you!”  Rachel started dragging Connie toward the Venn Machine.

“I will change you.  Both of you.  Into something that might just snap you out of it.  If not... yes, I’ll keep and cherish you as toys for me and Tyla.”

Tyler raised his eyebrow at the invocation of his female name, but stayed quiet.  He watched as Connie set the Venn Machine for eight hours, and tried not to grin at the way Rachel begged for more.  Time passed, and when Connie emerged the other side seemed empty.  Connie picked up something tiny, and showed it to Tyler in her cupped hand.  It was a gleaming guitar pick.

“Remember how it felt to be part of the music?  I’m hoping it’ll give them something else to think about.”

Tyler was staring at the pick with undisguised longing.  “Oh, I remember.  It was glorious.”

Connie noticed his expression and her face fell.  “They’re going to want to stay as my pick, aren’t they.”

“Probably.  Or your toy.”

“Our toys.”

Tyler shook his head with a wry smile.  “That’s going to be... actually that sounds like fun.  Maybe we can talk them into being backup singers, some of the time.”

Connie tucked the pick in her pocket, linked arms with Tyler, and headed off to their apartment.  It was only a block from the mall.  “We’re going to have such fun together.”

“Have I told you I love you lately?”

“Mmm, not in the last half hour or so.”

“Well, then.  I love you, you crazy woman you.”   Tyler paused a moment in thought, and grinned.  “I’m going to join them as your toy one day, aren’t I.”

Connie licked her lips.  “Yep.  But only for visits.  I still need my groupie, after all.”

They laughed together, all the way home.