Morpheus’s Twisted Universe – Part 1.2

Twisted

by

Morpheus

 

Part Two

 

I woke up feeling sore in all the places I'd been pierced yesterday, especially my navel. I could easily have gone to Kim and asked her to do that pain removal trick again, but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction. I grimaced, deciding that I'd just deal with it normally, the same way everyone who didn't have a sister who could remove pain had to do.

With a sigh, I made my way to the bathroom and used the spray anesthetic on my stomach. There was a cool sensation just before the pain faded away. It didn't go away entirely, not the way that Kim's trick would make it do, but it served it's purpose for the moment and I knew that it wouldn't take long before it wouldn't feel sore or tender at all.

After I was done with my morning shower, I just stood and stared at my reflection in the mirror for some time. I was definitely becoming quite a narcissist, though I told myself that it wasn't my fault. It was part of my twist. I eventually shook myself away from this to get dressed and practice putting on makeup, which involved a lot more sitting in front of the mirror.

Eventually, I moved onto other things, such as sitting on my bed and reading through my book on the twisted. I'd barely had a chance to start in it though when mom came into my room and gave me an odd look, especially staring hard at the book in my hands. However, she quickly smiled and said, "I think it's time you and I had a talk honey."

"About what?" I asked, setting the book down and looking more closely at mom.

Mom hesitated a moment before responding, "About the birds and the bees..."

I nearly choked at that, then quickly told her, "We already had sex ed class in school. I know about my new body..."

"But not from your new perspective," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "And perhaps even more importantly for the moment, I think there are some things you really need to learn about hygiene."

"Hygiene?" I blinked in surprise, then paled when I suddenly realized what she meant.

"I never expected to be having this talk with you," mom admitted, looking a little uncomfortable as well. "I thought that once I'd had it with Kim that was all I had to worry about. But things change." She shrugged, then sat down beside me, "I don't know when you'll start your period...or if you'll even have one for sure, but there are some things you'll really need to know ahead of time..."

The next hour was one of the longest in my entire life, worse even than the time dad had given me the birds and bees talk. I couldn't wait for it to be over, yet at the same time, I was well aware that this was important information I would probably need so I couldn't help but pay very close attention to every word mom said. But once she was finally done and left, I let out a sigh of relief.

I shook my head and picked up my book again, muttering, "Maybe next time I should pick up one on human biology." It wouldn't hurt to have some kind of owners manual for my new body.

Just as I was beginning to get back into the book, mom stuck her head back into my room and reminded me, "Don't forget you have your doctor appointments today. And dress nicely..." She paused then, realizing just how silly it was telling me to dress nice.

I read through a few chapters of the book before deciding that I might as well get ready for my appointment. Then I grinned, suddenly deciding that it might be fun to follow mom's suggestion about dressing nice, or at least nicer than I had been for school. I nearly drooled at the prospect of going all out and making dad's jaw drop in horror.

With that goal in mind I went to work. I brushed my hair out until it was silky smooth and got dressed in my sexiest clothes, which consisted of a short skirt, pantyhose and a halter top shirt that would show off my new navel jewelry and a glimpse of cleavage. To top it off, I put on my stiletto heeled shoes, having practiced walking in them enough that I now felt confident in going out in public. In fact, I was pretty excited about the idea of finally being able to wear them in front of other people.

I admired myself in the mirror, something I was doing quite frequently of late, especially just how great the stiletto heels made my legs look. They did wonders for my legs and ass, neither of which really needed it. I was feeling extremely confident of my ability to draw male attention at the moment. After all, I used to be a guy just a few days ago and knew very well that I'd be drooling at the babe in the mirror.

Of course, I realized that there were a few more touches that I had to take care of. I had been practicing quite a bit with my makeup but I considered this my first test of the real thing. I was very careful about putting it on, feeling a tingle of excitement as I finished it off with the crimson lipstick and a fresh coat of crimson nail polish.

"Very sexy," I smirked as I looked at my nails and admired my reflection yet again. "Now there's only one thing missing." And with that, I added the gold pendant necklace that mom had bought for me. It was the perfect final touch.

Once I was finished, I braced myself for a confrontation with my parents then went out to see them. The reactions I got were close to what I expected, with dad staring at me in shock, on the verge of forbidding me to even leave the house. At the same time, mom beamed with a look of pride. Since I hadn't told mom and dad about my navel piercing, they got to see that for the first time as well. I knew that they couldn't really say anything about it since Kim had something like a dozen more piercings than I did, but I wasn't quite expecting the reaction I did get.

"That's great," mom exclaimed in delight, "It looks fantastic on you. I remember that navel rings were real popular when I was growing up too. I guess it's one of those fads that comes back every decade or two."

"Fads do that," dad said, still eyeing me warily and saying, "I'm not sure I like the idea of my son going out in public like that."

"Daughter," mom corrected him absently, then continued, "You remember those Rubik's Mobius Rings that used to be huge? I spent hours on mine and could never solve it."

"Me too," dad admitted. "I finally got so frustrated that I tore mine apart then reassembled it with all the pieces in the right places. None of my friends had been able to solve theirs so they were all jealous when they thought I had."

"Isn't that cheating?" mom asked in surprise.

"Yeah," dad agreed with a grin "But it was also before my twist so I didn't have to tell them that."

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that dad had been distracted from the subject of my clothes. Of course, I had a feeling that mom had done that intentionally since she knew how dad could get.

"Well, let's get going," dad said after a few minutes, finally remembering that we needed to get to my appointment.

"I'll go ahead and take her," mom told him with a smile, pulling out her car keys.

"I thought you were going to the gym," dad responded.

"I already went for an eight mile run first things this morning," mom mused thoughtfully, "I can hold off on hitting the gym until later this afternoon."

"Okay," dad threw up his hands in defeat, "I understand. You want some mother daughter bonding time..."

Mom rolled her eyes but didn't say anything since she was well used to dad's quirks. He couldn't exactly help the fact that he'd blurt out whatever he was thinking most of the time, though it could get a little annoying and offend people who didn't know him.

A short time later, mom and I arrived at the Spiral Clinic, a special medical center dedicated exclusively to the twisted and the unique problems we dealt with. I had an appointment for the clinic itself, but knew that in practical terms I would be seeing several different specialists.

First I was taken into an examination room with Dr. Franklin, a middle aged woman with green eyes...solid green and glowing. She looked me over, then pulled a folder that contained pictures and medical information on the old me. I'd come into the clinic for an examination once a year since I'd turned twelve, just like a lot of other kids who had twisted parents. The reason was so that they would have something to compare us to after we'd twisted ourselves.

"I see that you were a boy before," Dr. Franklin said as she looked through my record, not seeming surprised or bothered by this in the least.

"Yeah," I responded just a little self-consciously.

Dr. Franklin looked at me again and smiled faintly, "From the way you're dressed, I'm assuming that you've had a few personality alterations."

I just nodded at that, "Yeah..."

Dr. Franklin nodded slightly, "I'll be focusing more on your physical changes than your mental ones."

Then she began to ask me a few questions, simple at first and then more personal. She even asked me if I'd had sex with a boy since my transformation, a question which really surprised me. After this she started the actual physical, testing my blood pressure, heart rate and a number of other things. Finally, she asked me to undress.

I hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed about getting naked in front of a stranger, then I reminded myself that she was a doctor, took a deep breath and removed my clothes. Once I was standing there naked, I expected to feel completely embarrassed and self-conscious, but to my surprise...I didn't. I knew that I SHOULD feel that way, but I didn't...not really. I didn't feel any shame or embarrassment about being naked at all. Surprisingly, all my discomfort came more from the knowledge that I should feel these things, that I was expecting to and didn't.

"Are you all right? Dr. Franklin asked me with a look of concern.

"Yeah," I told her, "What now?"

Dr. Franklin had me climb onto an examination table which looked a lot like a tanning bed. Once I was laying down, she lowered the top over me and asked me to remain still while it hummed and bathed me in purple light. About five minutes later, she said that it was fine for me to get out and get dressed again.

"Trust me," Dr. Franklin told me, "This is much preferable to the old gynecological exams that we used to perform."

"I'll take your word for that," I sighed as I began to put my clothes back on, wishing for the first time that I'd just dressed in something simple like a jogging suit.

While I was getting dressed, Dr. Franklin sat behind a computer monitor, staring at it intently, pushing buttons and making thoughtful noises. Then she did something and a holographic image of me naked appeared in the air in front of us.

"You appear to be in great health. And physically, you are indeed fully female now," Dr. Franklin said professionally, "This goes all the way down to your DNA and a pair of X chromosomes. You have a uterus and ovaries, which appear to be fully function and in good health."

"Oh," I responded numbly as Dr. Franklin did something to the hologram so that everything vanished except the organs she was talking about and they increased in size.

"I believe that you can expect your first period within a month," Dr. Franklin told me thoughtful, "and that you are fully capable of becoming pregnant and having a child."

"Oh," I gulped, not really having thought much about that aspect of my new biology, or at least not thinking about it seriously. Suddenly, mom's little lecture this morning seemed a whole lot more relevant.

Dr. Franklin continued changing the holographic image as she talked about my body and how I seemed to be a perfect normal human female, with only a few exceptions. These, she pointed out, were probably tied to my trick.

"You have a much higher than normal metabolic rate," Dr. Franklin told me, "which should explain your increased appetite. It doesn't seem to be at all harmful to your physiology and is probably beneficial, perhaps providing the energy to this trick you told me about. I'm not an expert on tricks however, so I can't be certain. One positive about your metabolism," she chuckled, "It should also make it very easy for you stay thin, no matter how much you eat."

"Thank God," I sighed in relief, having been a bit afraid that my bigger appetite would lead to me ruining this sexy body. I was glad that I wouldn't have to worry about that.

After I'd been given a clean bill of physical health by Dr. Franklin, I was sent to another room with Dr. Pierce, a fairly attractive black woman in her mid to late thirties. She looked pretty normal so unlike Dr. Franklin, I couldn't tell if she was twisted or not. About the only thing I knew about her was that she was a specialist in psychology or something, specifically on the kinds of mental changes that a lot of twisted go through.

"I have some questions I'd like you to answer to start with," Dr. Pierce told me, having me sit down at a computer monitor. "It will ask you a number of questions and I want you to answer them honestly."

"Oh joy," I sighed, knowing that this was basically a personality test. I'd taken the same test every year when I took my physical. This way, she'd be able to take the results of my last test and compare them with this one to see how much I might have changed.

There were two hundred questions in the test, some of which seemed pretty redundant while others were just downright weird. However, I knew that there was probably a specific reason for every question, so I did my best to just get through them. I finished up a bit faster than Dr. Pierce had expected, then sat back while she looked through the results.

"So," Dr. Pierce asked me, her eyes scanning my clothes, "Have you noticed any changes to your mental state or behavior since your twist?"

I had to keep from rolling my eyes at her question since the answer was pretty obvious. Instead, I took a deep breath and told her, "Definitely. I've become extremely interested in looking good and getting attention. I pay attention more in class now and I like reading when I didn't before. I even read really fast now and remember things a lot better. I think I might have gotten smarter or something." Then almost as an afterthought, I added, "Oh...and I don't think I get embarrassed about other people seeing me naked now. I'm not really sure though."

Dr. Pierce nodded, looking pleased that I'd been so honest with her to start with. Apparently a lot of people denied that they'd changed mentally or gained compulsions out of embarrassment. And some people didn't even notice that they've changed. Still, she asked me a lot of questions, being polite and interested, acting almost like a good friend to make me more comfortable talking to her. A lot of her questions dealt with how I felt about my changes and how other people were treating me because of them. A lot of her questions were also a bit personal, but I did my best to answer them honestly.

After about an hour of talking and asking questions, Dr. Pierce finally told me, "You probably haven't gotten any smarter, though I can't be positive without further testing. Much more likely, it's just because you're more interested in learning new things. When you're interested in something, you're much more likely to learn and remember. Your records say that you were bright before but that you just didn't apply yourself much. Now you are. I think that is the difference."

"Oh," I responded, not really sure what to think about that.

A moment later, she continued, "You seem to be adjusting to your situation quite well. In fact, you seem to be adjusting faster than most. A lot of twisted who go through mental changes fight them and suffer a lot of stressful internal conflict."

"My whole family's twisted," I told her self-consciously.

Dr. Pierce nodded, "I see that your mother went through both mental and physical changes during her twist, your father gained a compulsion and your sister underwent mental changes as well. I can see why growing up in that environment might make it easier for you."

I was a little uncomfortable talking about all this mental stuff so was eager to be done with it. Fortunately, Dr. Pierce decided that I wasn't a threat to myself or others and I was able to leave her office and go see the next specialist I was scheduled to talk with. This was the one that I was actually looking forward to.

Dr. Rothschild was an odd little man, standing barely 5 feet tall but projecting a presence as though he were much larger. His features were Asian and he looked like he was in his twenties or maybe early thirties, but his hair and eyebrows were all pure white. Add to this the fact that he had pointed ears and it created a sense that he might have come from Middle Earth or some other mythical place. He was also an expert in the tricks that many twisted could perform.

"I understand that you have a trick to show me," Dr. Rothschild greeted me with a pleasant smile and a gleam in his eye that somehow gave me the feeling he was amused by some joke that only he understood.

"Yeah," I responded a little nervously. I took a deep breath and forced the pressure to build within me, then held up my hand so he could see a few sparks fly between my fingers. "I think it's like some taser, but I've only used it on one person." Then I quickly rushed to add, "I didn't even know I could do it."

"Interesting," Dr. Rothschild said, "Tell me a little more about the effects of what happened, and how it feels when you use that ability."

I told him about the incident with Devon, though I left out the details of the conflict and what led up to it. Then I told him about the pressure I felt when I used my trick and answered his next dozen or so questions as well. He listened carefully, nodding occasionally and seeming extremely interested in every detail about my trick.

"Now," Dr. Rothschild told me after awhile, "I think we need to take a closer look at this. I need to examine you a little, then I'll need you to perform a few exercises..."

With that, he had me lay down on a table that was very much like the examination table Dr. Franklin had used on me, though this time I didn't need to get undressed. He scanned me with that, then attached several small scanners to my skin and had me perform a variety of exercises with my trick, such as just building the pressure, letting the sparks fly between my fingers and even touching and zapping a dummy. He seemed quite interested and even a little excited, which left me wondering if that was a good sign of bad.

"Let's see," I said, taking a deep breath and pouching the dummy again, releasing my taser zap into it for the fifth time. Dr. Rothschild kept having me repeat that particular exercise with my trick, then examining the results on his computer.

"Are you feeling at all tired?" he asked me, scratching at his white hair.

I shook my head, "Not really. No."

Once Dr. Rothschild finished having me go through all his tests, he sat back and looked at the results, looking rather pleased. He grinned and told me a few jokes while he worked, then he paused to stare at them in silence for a minute.

Finally, he told me, "Your trick is indeed very much like a taser, but kept at just the right frequency and power level to stun a person but not actually harm them. It is the perfect self-defense mechanism considering the other aspects of your twist." He looked me over and teased, "Sometimes the extra attention you seek to draw might be a little too...aggressive."

"I've noticed," I responded with a sigh, thinking again of Devon and knowing that there were other guys out there that might not like the fact that I was nothing more than a tease.

Dr. Rothschild nodded, "Your metabolism and increased appetite are more a side effect of your trick than powering it as was previously suggested. If you were to go without using your trick for a week or two, I believe your metabolic rate would slow down to a more normal level, at least until you used it again. However, I don't think that your current metabolism is harmful to your body in the least, so you don't need to worry about that."

"That's good to know," I smiled weakly. "But Dr. Franklin said that said that eating a lot was what powered my taser."

"No," Dr. Rothschild frowned slightly, "Though it is easy to see why she might conclude that since it would make more sense as far as ordinary physics go. However, this isn't quite normal physics. You draw all the energy you need for your trick from the Darrington Field...the quantum energy field that every twisted is linked to. That is why you don't get weak or tired from using it multiple times."

"Okay," I responded, not knowing much about twisted physics or the Darrington Field but feeling quite interested anyway.

I was expecting Dr. Rothschild to continue about the Darrington Field and how the different physics affected me directly, but instead he said, "As you probably know, over eighty percent of twisted have some form of trick, even if it is so subtle that they might not think of it as such. Between twenty and thirty percent have more than one trick. I myself have two..."

"Really?" I asked, "What tricks can you do."

Dr. Rothschild suddenly grinned, "For one, I can transfer my mass into the Darrington Field." With that, he suddenly began to shrink, even his clothes, until he was only six inches tall. He looked tiny, like some sort of doll. A moment later, he grew back to his normal height, which was still much shorter than average. "It's a small trick," he winked at me.

"That's cool," I exclaimed, "I bet you can get into all sorts of places."

"It does have it's uses," he admitted with a sly grin, not going any further. Then he quickly added, "My second trick is merely the ability to sense when someone nearby is tapping into the Darrington Field. That has it's uses as well, such as telling me when someone is about to undergo a twist or when they are using a trick."

I knew that Dr. Rothschild's second trick might not sound impressive, but it could certainly be useful. It was like a radar that could tell him if people were twisted, or warn him if someone was going to use a trick on him. I couldn't help wondering if that particular trick might have something to do with why he became a specialist in twisted physics and tricks.

"To get back on subject," Dr. Rothschild told me with a slight chuckle, "The reason I am telling you this is that after these tests, I believe that it is quite likely you possess more than one trick."

"I might have a second trick?" I blinked in surprise and a bit of excitement.

"I can't be certain," he cautioned me, "but it is a possibility I want you to be aware of. I want you to be careful and pay attention so you don't accidentally harm yourself or others if a new trick develops."

"I'll be careful," I promised, thinking about what had happened with Devon and knowing how bad I would have felt if I'd accidentally killed him with my trick. Tricks could definitely be dangerous, especially if you didn't even know what yours could do.

Dr. Rothschild and I talked for awhile longer before I left, thankful to not only have a much better understanding of my trick, but also a list of several books he recommended to give me a better understanding of twisted physics and the Darrington Field. He had been quite pleased to realize how interested I was in the subject, though I don't know if he realized that my interest was due to my twist as well. Either way, I couldn't wait to find these books and read them.

When I returned to the front office, I saw mom sitting there and suddenly felt a stab of guilt. She'd been waiting for me for several hours, which must have been extremely boring for her. She also looked a little...uncomfortable. I'd seen that look before, which usually meant she was eager to get some exercise. Mom was like a nicotine addict in that she'd get a bit jittery if she went too long without having some sort of strenuous exercise.

"It looks like I'm done with everything," I told mom, "Dr. Rothschild said I'm good to go too."

"Good," mom said, standing up and letting out a sigh of relief. "I can't wait to get to the gym. I mean..."

"I know," I told her with a chuckle, "Let's go home."

Mom nodded and quickly headed for the door saying, "Good idea."

Almost the moment we got home, mom raced right back out the door for the gym. I just stood there and shook my head, amazed that anyone could be addicted to working out at the gym. Sometimes her cravings for exercise were stronger than others, and it looked like today was going to one of those days.

"There she goes again," dad shook his head, "I'm just glad that she's given up on dragging me to the gym with her. There's almost nothing more humiliating than having my wife lift a lot more weight than I can in front of a bunch of other people. And when her growth spurt kicks in...wow."

"Good thing we live so close to the gym," I told him.

Dad just nodded, "That's one of the main reasons I bought this house, though your mother almost made us buy the house right next to the gym."

I just nodded, knowing exactly how mom was. She could get a bit insistent when it came to going to the gym or getting exercise. I remember the time she'd refused to go on a nice vacation just because the hotel didn't have good enough gym facilities for her. At the same time, like dad, I was grateful that she'd given up on pushing us all to join her.

Then dad gave me a concerned look and asked, "How was your appointment?"

I hesitated for a moment then told him all about it. I left out a few of the more embarrassing details, thankful that he wasn't using his trick on me at the moment. I really didn't think he needed to know that I seemed to have lost my sense of modesty about getting undressed in front of complete strangers, but he was interested when I told him that I might possibly have a second trick. A second trick wasn't uncommon, but it was pretty cool.

After this, I grabbed a late lunch and was heading to my room to do a little reading when I suddenly thought better of it. Since I was dressed so hot and sexy, it would be a real shame to hide away where no one could appreciate it. What I really wanted to do was go out and show off a bit more.

"I'm going to see Jeke," I told dad as I left, not lying since that was exactly where I planned on going. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw me wearing this outfit.

I took my time as I strolled down the sidewalk, knowing better than to go too fast in a pair if stiletto heeled shoes. I was well aware of the various people who paused in their yards or in their cars to stare at me. One man who was out doing his gardening stood there with his mouth open and a noticeable bulge in his pants. I just giggled in delight, loving the fact that I could cause such a reaction from guys without even trying. The thought of giving guys fantasies about me just made me all warm and gooey inside. I guess it said something about how well I was adapting since I didn't freak out at feeling this way.

"It's not like I'm hurting anyone," I told myself, "I'm just giving them something to look at. Besides, I'm making them happy as well as myself. And it's not like I can't take care of myself now with my trick."

When I arrived at Jeke's house, his dad opened the door then froze, starting at me in surprise and more than a little appreciation. His eyes immediately went down to my chest, taking in the full view but I noticed the way he was looking over the rest of my body as well.

I couldn't resist messing with him a little and purred as seductively as I could, "Is Jeke home...?" Then as he started to choke, I decided to ease up on him and said, "It's me...Blake."

"Blake?" he blinked his eyes, looking extremely embarrassed as he stammered, "Jeke told me about your twist..."

As I stepped inside, I saw Jeke's step-brother Ian sitting on the couch. He was only 12 years old but he was well over 6 feet tall. Ian was also skinny enough that I knew kids at his school had to call him Stork, Beanpole or some similar nickname.

"Hey Ian," I waved to him, amuses as his eyes went wide at the sight of me.

"You remember Blake," Jeke's dad told him with a forced smile, "He's...she's just been through her twist."

"Wow," Ian blinked, "I'm sorry for you..."

"Don't be," I shrugged, walking past and heading to Jeke's room.

Jeke just stared at me when I came through, his eyes going wide as he took in every detail of not only my sexy body but just how sexily I was dressed. Then he shook it off a bit and nervously told me, "Damn you look hot."

"Thanks," I grinned, pleased by the compliment.

"I thought I'd come over so we could play some video games," I said as I sat down on the edge of Jeke's bed, in the same place I usually did. He gave me a nervous look.

"Do you still like video games?" he asked me hesitantly.

"I...I don't know," I admitted with a frown, "I mean, I haven't played any since my twist, and my own computer is fried. Dad promised to buy me a new one next week, but until then..." I shrugged and picked up the video game controller. "It feels kind of weird using this with my nails."

"Well let's see then," Jeke grinned, grabbing the other controller, "I'll kick your ass in Deathmonger Four."

"You're on," I grinned and turned my attention to the screen.

It didn't take long to discover that neither my interest in video games or my skills in playing them had been lost in my twist, though my longer fingernails made playing just a little more awkward. Still, I managed to hold my own against Jeke for the next hour or so, enjoying myself the entire time.

Eventually, Jeke looked at me and hesitantly asked, "What's it like...being twisted I mean?" Then he added, "Being a girl too I guess."

I thought about it for a moment, frowning as I did so. I wasn't sure how I could really explain this to someone who didn't have quite the same frame of reference, but Jeke had been my best friend for a long time so I was going to try.

"Before my twist," I said slowly, "it felt like I had this big weight over my head, waiting to come down smashing me. I mean, it's scary knowing that something big is going to happen to you but not having any idea what it is. So when it finally happened, it was actually kind of a relief."

"You're relieved to turn into a girl?" Jeke blinked in confusion.

"Not specifically," I sighed, "It's just that at least now it's over and I don't have to be afraid of it anymore. It is pretty weird though turning into someone else and having everyone look at me differently. The hardest part isn't being a girl, and it's not looking into the mirror and seeing someone else's face. It's looking into my own mind and seeing someone else's thoughts and feelings.

It's hard, not even knowing what I like and don't like anymore. It's like suddenly being a stranger to myself, not knowing all the things I used to take for granted. It's kind of scary knowing that I don't think or feel the way I used to, but at the same time, it's making it easier for me to adjust to the rest of it."

"Weird," Jeke shook his head, "I'm glad that I'm not twisted." Then he quickly added, "No offense."

"None taken," I sighed. "I used to wish I wasn't twisted either, but at least now it's over with so it's not so bad. I've figured out most of the things that are different and the same," I tapped my head, "Now I just have to get used to it."

"You seem to be doing fine with that," he told me with a shrug.

I just smiled, "Thanks. I've been trying."

After another minute, Jeke cautiously started, "About you and Janine..."

"I ran into her again last night at the mall," I admitted, blushing a bit, "We kind of hit it off and might start dating." I hesitated for a moment while Jeke stared at me, then I gave him a nervous smile, "I guess I still like girls."

"Janine," he said, shaking his head then smiling at me, "She sure is hot. I guess you're kind of lucky then because half the guys at school would jump on her if she wasn't gay."

"I know," I reminded him with a chuckle, "I was in on that locker room conversation if you remember..."

"Oh yeah," he blushed, "I guess you can't go in there anymore though."

"No," I winked at him, "But I get to go into the girl's locker room now and no one thinks twice." Then while Jeke was staring at me in shock and perhaps a little jealousy, I teased him, "I'll bet that I'm the topic of a few conversations in the old locker room now." Jeke's guilty expression was enough to tell me that I was right. "Don't worry, I laughed, I kind of like the idea of guys talking about how hot I am in the locker room."

"You like that?" Jeke gasped, his eyes darting to my chest and making me giggle.

"I know it makes me sound like a slut or something," I told him with a shrug, "But it's one of the things I got from my twist. I love being the center of attention. I know that I shouldn't feel this way, that the old me would be humiliated...but I can't help it. That's just the way I feel now."

Jeke shook his head yet again, something which was almost becoming a habit for him, "Better you than me."

"I told you some of my thoughts had been twisted," I shrugged again.

Jeke and I continued talking for awhile longer, about what it was like to suddenly be a hot babe as well as other things. The whole time, I was well aware of the way he kept looking at me and I even felt pleased by it. Of course it was a little odd since he was my best friend, but that didn't seem to matter so much since I enjoyed the attention anyway. However, I didn't really notice the way he kept sliding closer to me, not until he suddenly bent forward and kissed me on my lips.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded as I jerked away from him.

"I'm sorry," Jeke stammered, "I...I thought..." He gulped in embarrassment, "You're so beautiful..."

I just glared at him for a moment before snapping, "I've got to go." With that, I turned and stormed out of his room.

"Blake...," Jeke called out from behind me, but I was in no mood to listen.

"How could he do that?" I demanded as I hurried home, "How could Jeke kiss me like that?"

I grimaced, nearly shaking as I thought about what had just happened. I was more than a little upset at both Jeke and myself, and not just because he had suddenly kissed me like that. What upset me the most was the fact that I'd actually enjoyed it, that my body had begun responding and getting excited. And this was just after I'd concluded that my sexuality hadn't changed and that I still like girls. Now I was feeling confused again and didn't know what to do.

"Do I like guys?" I demanded of myself, "Or is it just my body reacting to Jeke?" I shook my head, "I don't know..."

Then I couldn't help wondering if Dr. Pierce had learned that I liked guys now during her tests. If she had, she sure as hell hadn't told me. Of course, she might not have known, but with all those tests I kind of doubted it. More likely she either thought I already knew or that I'd be better off learning on my own.

"Just great," I grimaced, "Another mental twist that I didn't know about. How many of these damn things am I going to trip over?"

When I got back home, dad gasped, "What's wrong?"

"Jeke just kissed me and I think I like boys," I answered in spite of myself.

"What?" dad gasped in surprise.

Kim just smirked and said, "I bet your girlfriend will be happy about that..."

"Girlfriend?" dad repeated, looking at me for an explanation.

I glared at Kim, "How's your job doing? Are they going to give you a raise?"

Kim gasped at that and glared at me angrily, but before she could say anything dad turned his attention to her and demanded, "What's this about a job...?"

Since dad was momentarily distracted, I quickly made my escape, leaving Kim to be interrogated by dad and his trick. I hurried to my room and slammed the door behind me, making sure to lock it before throwing myself on the bed. I cursed as I hit chest first, reminding me yet again that my new anatomy was quite different from my old.

"Damn it," I grimaced in frustration.

Just when I thought I'd figured my twist out, when I thought I was finally understanding who and what I had become, I suddenly have something else like this pop up on me. It wasn't that I now seemed to like guys since I'd considered that possibility earlier, it was that I thought I'd understood my sexuality and what I liked and didn't...only to find out that I didn't know anything. It was incredibly frustrating to not even know myself anymore.

It was strange going back to school on Monday, especially considering everything that had happened over the weekend. I was still reeling a bit from what had happened with Jeke, and it hadn't been made any better by the fact that my folks had interrogated me about both that and Janine. Add the fact that Kim was still pissed at me for ratting her out about her job and my home life wasn't exactly the most comfortable at the moment.

Of course, my weekend hadn't all been bad. Janine had come over yesterday, which led to me having the awkward experience of introducing her to my mom and dad. Fortunately, Janine wasn't overly pushy and we just spend the day hanging out together and getting to know each other. I wasn't sure what to tell her about Jeke so settled on not saying a thing.

I smiled as I thought about seeing Janine again here at school, but that just reminded me that Jeke would be here too. I gulped at the thought of him, not sure what to think, say or do. He was my best friend...or at least he had been. I wasn't really sure about that anymore. After he kissed me and the way I freaked out, I wasn't sure that our friendship could survive.

As I walked down the hall to my first period, I looked around the hallway, staring first at a cute girl that I'd always had a bit of a crush on, then at a boy I now found equally attractive. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to finding boys cute like that. Ever since Jeke had made me aware of my new attraction to boys, I couldn't help but noticing them. I might very well have been looking at boys and considering whether they were cute or not before Jeke's kiss, but at least then I hadn't thought about it.

"It's thinking about things that makes them awkward," I told myself, remembering something that Janine had told me just yesterday. This had to be a lot like what she went through after her twist. The big difference was that I still liked girls and didn't feel compelled to act on my attraction to boys, other than to show off that is. "But I like to show off to everyone," I muttered defensively.

Of course, my new attraction to boys wasn't any different than my other personality changes. Eventually, it would be so natural and normal to me that I doubt I'd think twice about it. I'd probably even wonder how I ever could have NOT liked boys. In fact, it wasn't even that which bothered me so much as it was what it meant for my relationship with Jeke and my other guy friends. Most of them had been kind of avoiding me and vice versa since my twist. I guess they just didn't know what to make of the new me, which wasn't a surprise. Twisted often find themselves with a whole new circle of friends after they go through their twist.

"I'd just hoped that I could keep Jeke," I sighed, knowing that it couldn't have been that easy.

When I reached my first period, I tried to stop thinking about these things and focus on the class, which was much easier to do than I would have expected. Soon everything was almost normal, or at least the new normal with me paying attention, trading insults with Shiv and even briefly talking with her about how she'd met Kim at the body mod shop Kim worked at.

I saw Jeke several times during the morning, though we did our best to avoid each other. Whenever I glanced at Jeke, I'd quickly look away and pretend that I didn't see him there, blushing a bit as I remembered the way he'd kissed me. It was pretty awkward but I didn't know what I could say to him now. He obviously felt the same way.

During lunch, I didn't see Jeke at all, which wasn't real surprising. Since he was avoiding me, he would know exactly where to avoid going. I could have gone out of my way to avoid him during lunch, but instead I went about my normal lunch routine, or at least as normal as I could without him there. Perhaps a part of me wanted to run into him so we could talk.

Since Jeke wasn't there to talk with, I spent my lunch gulping down my double lunch and silently looking around at the various boys who were sitting nearby and trying to attract my attention. I didn't fight the urge to look at them and think about whether they were cute or not. There was one that was especially cute, and it amazed me that I hadn't noticed it before. However, I didn't flirt with him anymore than I did anyone else.

Eventually, Janine came over and sat down beside me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek as she did so. From the look in her eyes, she wanted to do more but held herself back. The fact that she didn't do anything besides kiss me probably wouldn't matter to the boys around me and I suspected it wouldn't be long before they were spreading stories about Janine and I making out on the lunch room table.

"How's it going?" Janine asked me with a grin.

"Not bad," I told her with a shrug.

Janine stared at me for a moment then asked, "C'mon...what's wrong?"

I let out a sigh, "It's just..." I glanced around the table at the audience, at the half dozen people or so who were listening to us intently while pretending that they weren't. "I'll tell you a little later."

Janine nodded, "Okay..." Then she grabbed a cookie off my tray and popped it into her mouth, "By the way, I was thinking of heading to Morgan Beach this weekend and wanted to know if you were interested in coming."

"Morgan Beach?" I blinked in surprise. I'd never been there, but I'd heard that it was a really nice beach. However, it was an hour drive out of Spiral and I wasn't sure my folks would be up for me going that far away from Spiral without their presence. "I don't know," I told Janine with a sigh, "I'll ask my folks and see."

"Okay," she responded, sounding just a little disappointed.

I quickly added, "I'm pretty sure they'll let me. I mean, I've got a cool trick to defend myself with if anything happens." Of course, I wasn't as sure about my folks saying yes as I indicated, but I was confident in my ability to take care of myself. Besides, the idea of parading around the beach in a sexy bikini was just irresistible.

Janine brightened up and talked excitedly about Morgan Beach and how cool it was, though I suspected a large part of her interest was the fact that there were always a lot of scantily dressed women there. She undoubtedly went for the same reason a lot of guys did, to watch those women.

Once Janine and I were finished eating, we made our way out to the hall where she once again asked, "So what's up...besides the obvious? I mean, you look kind of bummed."

I hesitated for a moment, not sure how she'd take this. "I found out," I said slowly, trying to keep my voice down, "that I like guys." Janine stared at me with a stricken expression, looking horribly worried. I quickly added, "I still like girls...but I guess I like boys now too."

"Oh," Janine said, looking a little relieved but still uncertain.

"It's weird," I told her, then bit my tongue as I remembered she knew this even better than me, "It's just hard getting used to the idea."

"I know what you mean," Janine chuckled, "It took awhile before I accepted that what I used to like and what I like now are two completely different things."

"And then there's Jeke," I told her, feeling a bit guilty.

"Jeke?" Janine blinked, "Your best friend? I remember him from a few of my classes, though we've never really talked or anything."

I nodded, "Yeah..." I sighed, "Well...I found out I like boys now when he kissed me."

"What?" Janine gasped, suddenly looking jealous.

"He did it the way you did the first time," I quickly explained, "He kissed me before either of us realized it. I was kind of shocked to realize that I liked it." Then I let out a long sigh, "But I kind of freaked out and now Jeke and I aren't exactly talking..."

"That sucks," Janine told me sympathetically, "It sounds a bit like what happened to me and my best friend after my twist. But at least Jeke likes you..."

"Just a little too much," I shook my head. "I mean, we've been best friends for years and now I think I really like him...in a different way."

"Oh," Janine responded quietly.

"I just don't know," I told her with a grimace. "I don't really know what to do, but I thought it was only fair to tell you."

Janine looked at me thoughtfully before hesitantly asking, "Do you still like me?"

I didn't even need to think about that before answering, "Yeah... Definitely. I just think I like Jeke too..."

Janine responded with another, "Oh..." She frowned, "And you two aren't talking? Bummer."

"I'm so sorry," I told her, "I know we're trying and then I do this..."

"It's not your fault," Janine sighed, "I know what it's like getting twisted like that. And if you still like me..."

She grinned, then bent forward and kissed me. I immediately started kissing her back though we had to break apart because we were still standing in the middle of the school hallway and drawing attention.

"I'll take what I can get," she winked at me and then ran off for her next class.

I stood there for a minute, shaking my head and trying to make sense of it all. At the moment, it was hard keeping track of myself and what I was thinking or feeling from day to day. I couldn't wait until I got used to the new me enough that I wouldn't keep surprising or confusing myself. Things were so much easier when you at least knew what you wanted.

"Jeke or Janine," I sighed, "What in the world am I going to do?"

Fortunately, my next class started in just a few minutes so I was soon able to distract myself and forget about my problems. I was able to completely absorb myself in the class and all of the great history that was being taught. Everything was just so...interesting. I knew that this was just my twist talking, but I couldn't help how I felt.

However, there was one major downside to class today, which I'd forgotten all about until I went inside. Unfortunately, it was the day of the big test. So instead of a nice lecture or being able to read the class book, I had to sit back and take a test instead. I'd always hated taking tests and that hadn't changed too much.

Once the test was over and all the papers were graded, I sat back and impatiently waited for the ax to fall. I hated tests and this was one of the reasons why, waiting to see just how bad I did. But to my complete surprise, the teacher announced to the whole class that I was the only person there to receive a perfect grade.

"Just great," I winced, imagining the other kids calling me 'teachers pet' and the like. If this kept up, I was going to lose my hard earned reputation as a slacker. "Maybe I should just drop my shirt and distract them all..." And to my amusement, I was actually half serious about that.

I was relieved when history was finally over and eager to get to my next class. Since we'd only had a test and reviewed it without learning anything new, the whole thing had felt almost like a waste of time. The only thing that had made the class bearable was leaning forward to let some of the boys get a glimpse of my cleavage or posing a bit in my chair so that my chest stuck and drew even more attention.

Just as I was going down the hall to my next class, I was surprised to suddenly find myself standing nearly face to face with Devon. He stood in front of me blocking my path, though he quickly stepped back just out of my reach. Still, he continued to glare at me with a hostile look. A quick glance around me revealed his sidekick Kase standing just a short distance away with a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Get out of my way," I snapped in annoyance.

"I don't think so you little freak," Devon told me, "No one messes with me and gets away with it. I'm going to make sure everyone knows what kind of a fucking tease you really are."

"Just leave me alone," I scowled, "And if you remember right, you're the one who keeps messing with me."

"C'mon," Kase laughed, "Everyone knows you're a complete slut. Why don't you just suck us both off and we'll forget all about what you've done."

I stared at them both in shock, then spat out, "Fuck you..."

"If you insist," Devon grinned, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Get the hell out of my way," I hissed, holding my hand up to let a few sparks fly between my fingers. But instead of getting afraid and backing away, Devon just smirked. "Don't make me zap you again."

"Like you really have the guts to do it again," Devon laughed, "You're not just a cock-tease slut...you're an ugly one too."

I froze, suddenly feeling pissed off. How dare he call me ugly? I couldn't believe how pissed off that made me. It was as though he knew exactly which buttons to push, which surprised me since I didn't even know I had that button to push until that very moment. I grimaced, clenching my fists so tightly my nails drew blood.

Devon's eyes suddenly lit up, "I don't know why everyone looks at you anyway," he taunted me, "You're just a butt ugly freak..."

I snarled and was about to jump at Devon, intending to give him a zap he'd never forget. But just as I was about to charge, a hand grabbed my shoulder and said, "No!" I turned around, more than a little startled to see Kim standing there with an angry grimace. Sure, the two of us go to the same school, but we have completely different classes and different lunch periods so we almost never see each other.

"What the hell?" I demanded, wondering what Kim wanted.

Kim glanced at me for a moment before glaring at Devon again. "Don't go after him," Kim told me with a grimace, "This fucking prick wants you to use your trick on him again."

"Why?" I asked in surprise, looking at Devon and realizing that he really had been taunting me on, as though Kim were right. It was like he was trying to get me to give him a taser shock.

"Because," her eyes narrowed, "If you use your trick on him now, he can get your ass expelled."

I stared at Kim, realizing that she was right. The look of annoyance that Kase and Devon shared just confirmed what she'd said. The first time I'd used my trick on him, it had been both an accident and a matter of self-defense, at a time when I didn't even know I had a trick. But if I used my trick on him this time, both knowing what it did and without him attacking me first, I was bound to get kicked out of school for certain. He might even be able to have me charged with assault and sent to jail.

"A friend of mine overheard them planning it," Kim told me, "and I'm not about to let these fucking losers mess with my little sister."

"This is none of your business," Devon snarled, "Don't make us teach you a lesson too."

Kim glared at him as though she wanted to hit him herself, but then she suddenly smirked and told me, "Why don't you use your other trick on him. That one's harder to prove."

"Other trick?" Devon asked, suddenly looking a little nervous.

I had no idea what Kim was talking about, but she quickly went on, "Yeah, Blake can make guys go completely impotent. She discovered it when she accidentally zapped my lousy boyfriend. That fucker hasn't been able to get it up since."

"Oh shit," Kase exclaimed, looking almost afraid.

I grinned evilly, deciding to play along with Kim's bluff. "That's a great idea," I told her. "I'll zap them so hard they'll never get it up again, and no one will be able to prove a thing..."

"You're lying," Devon responded, but he didn't sound very certain of that. He and Kase both stared at me for a moment longer before turning and leaving as fast as they could.

"Thanks," I told Kim, a little surprised that she'd come to my rescue like this. I would have expected it from the old Kim, but not from the person she'd become since her twist.

"You might be a loser bitch," she told me with a smirk, "But you're still my little sister."

"Actually," I pointed out, "You're the bitch."

She thought about it for a moment before grinning, "I guess you're right." Then she added almost as an afterthought, "I'm still pissed about you blabbing to dad about my job. He went and asked me if there was anything else I didn't want him knowing about."

"Ouch," I winced, knowing just how brutal dad's interrogations could be. "But you did tell them about Janine."

"I guess," Kim shrugged, giving me the feeling that she now considered us even for that. However, as she turned to leave, she called back, "Don't forget you owe me one..."

"Just great," I sighed, having a feeling that Kim was going to use this against me somehow. But at least I didn't get expelled like I would have been if she hadn't shown up.

The rest of my school day was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that stories about my encounter with Devon had made it around. Apparently, so did the rumor that I could make any guy I was upset with go completely impotent. Fortunately for me, it didn't stop the guys from staring and admiring me, though they did seem to keep their distance just a little more.

When the final bell rang, I let out a sigh of relief, eager to get home and relax. Of course, I couldn't resist loitering around the entrance for awhile first so the other students could see me as they left. The attention I received from the departing male students did a lot to improve my mood.

I was finally getting ready to leave myself when I heard someone cough behind me. I slowly turned around, bracing myself to deal with Devon and Kase again, but instead I found myself staring at Jeke. He looked uncertain as he stood there.

"Um...," he stammered, unwilling to look me in the eyes, "Janine said you wanted to talk to me."

"She did?" I blinked in surprise. It looked like Janine wanted me to deal with my relationship to Jeke, even if she had to give it a little push. That sounded just like her.

"I'm sorry about the other day," Jeke quickly told me, "You're so beautiful now that I just got caught up in the moment... I'm sorry. I know you don't like guys or anything..."

I giggled, then quickly told him, "I guess I just overreacted..."

"What's so funny?" he demanded, looking a little insulted.

"It's just that," I said slowly, unsure how to proceed. "I do like guys."

"What?" Jeke gasped, staring at me surprise.

I blushed deeply, unable to look him in the eyes as I admitted, "Just didn't realize it until then. It was kind of...shocking."

"You're kidding," Jeke responded, looking as though he thought this was some big joke with him as the victim.

I took a deep breath, then stepped forward and surprised Jeke by kissing him on his lips. Sparks seemed to jump through me and I could feel my body beginning to respond. Jeke was frozen for a moment, obviously shocked by this, but he responded and began to kiss back.

When I stepped back, I gasped, "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Jeke could only stare at me, looking dazed and confused. He even had a sort of giddy expression on his face that made him seem even more cute. Obviously my kiss had an even better effect on him than I'd hoped.

"But...but...," he stammered, unable to speak clearly.

"I like you," I told him quietly, "And not just as a friend. God help me, you're my best friend and I've been thinking about jumping your bones."

Jeke nearly choked at that, looking even more dazed than before. He was obviously having a hard time absorbing all this, which was fine by me since I kind of liked that reaction. It also had the side benefit of keeping him quiet so I could say what I wanted.

"My twist turned me bisexual," I explained with a sigh, "I like boys now just as much as I like girls, but I didn't realize it until you kissed me. You have no idea how much it freaked me out to realize that I liked it...to realize that I like you like that."

"Wow," Jeke finally said, "I can't believe this...""

"Me either," I sighed, "But I'm getting used to it."

"I always liked you as a friend," Jeke told me, "But now you're so hot and sexy..." He blushed deeply, unable to meet my eyes again, "I've kind of been having fantasies about you."

I actually felt pleased by that, sort of excited that I could get that kind of interest from him. However, it wasn't as simple as having us both be attracted to each other, even if we've known each other for years. "The thing is," I said carefully, "I'm attracted to boys and I like you...but I really like Janine too. I just don't know what to do."

"I understand," Jeke responded quietly.

"I've got to think about this," I told him, not knowing what I could say or do. I couldn't look him in the eyes at the moment as I quietly added, "I've got to go... I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah," Jeke responded, still looking a bit dazed, "I'll talk to you later..."

As soon as I got home from school, I went to my room and locked the door behind me, trying to focus on my homework in order to distract me from my problems with Jeke and Janine. Unfortunately, it did little good as I couldn't stop thinking about them or how nice it felt kissing them. This eventually led to a long masturbation session where I submerged myself in fantasies of both. I only hoped that dad never asked me what I'd been up to in my room.

Nothing had really changed as I walked through the school hallway on Wednesday, except perhaps for the fact that my new reputation had continued to form and evolve, due in part to my encounters with Devon. It also hadn't gone unnoticed that I was doing good on tests, getting all my homework done on time, and was always prepared for class, regardless of which class it was. The other kids probably would have started calling me a 'teachers pet' if it wasn't for the fact that I was also developing a reputation for being the biggest tease in school. Unfortunately, I was well aware that both of those reputations were being well earned.

I knew that I had been developing a bit of a reputation around school, but I didn't realize just how much until I overheard two of my teachers talked about me. They were standing just inside of an empty classroom and I was walking past on my walk to lunch when I heard my name mentioned and couldn't resist stopping. Fortunately, neither of them realized I was close enough to hear.

"Ever since her twist, Blake pays attention, she turns in all her work on time and she even seems genuinely interested in class," my first teacher was saying. "She's almost become the perfect student, except for the fact that she's an almost constant distraction for the other students..."

"Especially the boys," my math teacher sighed. "She went up to the front board to solve a problem for the class, but it turns out the reason she volunteered was so she could drop the marker, then bend over to pick it up and get all the boys to stare at her behind. It's to stay annoyed at her though when she actually got the problem right."

"I know what you mean," my first teacher responded.

I continued eavesdropping for a few more seconds, then decided that I had better leave before they caught me. It could have been pretty embarrassing if they did, but that didn't mean it was easy to just leave when they were still talking about me behind my back. I couldn't help wondering though, if this was what the teachers were saying when I wasn't around then what were the other students saying? Of course, I could easily guess.

A few minutes later, I was just sitting down to lunch in the cafeteria when Tom McGuire approached my table. I was a little nervous at first, afraid that Devon and Kase might have talked him into messing with me. But after a moment, it became clear that he wasn't looking to start any kind of trouble, though he did look a little nervous.

"I know you used to be a guy," Tom started out, "but I was wondering if you'd be interested in going out with me some time."

I blinked in surprise, "You want a date?"

"Yeah," Tom responded, giving me a self-conscious smile that seemed so different from the confident attitude he'd had since his twist.

I just stared at Tom for a moment, my eyes lingering over his thick muscles. They seemed so appealing now, drawing my attention in the same way that a great pair of breasts would. Tom certainly was cute and I could feel the attraction to him. I could especially imagine running my hands over those muscles, though I quickly cut off that budding fantasy.

"Sorry," I told him, deciding to be a bit nicer than I had been with Devon and several other guys. "You seem like a nice guy, but I've already got a few too many romantic problems to even consider adding to them right now."

Tom looked a bit disappointed, but not angry or insulted. "Thanks anyway," he told me with an apologetic and embarrassed smile before he turned and left.

Once Tom was gone, I let out a sigh, feeling just a little regret that I hadn't been able to take him up on his offer. With those muscles... Then I shook my head, reminding myself that he was a jock and we had absolutely nothing in common other than both being twisted. We wouldn't have a thing to actually talk about. And of course, I had been absolutely honest about having too many romantic problems as it is.

As I thought about Jeke and Janine, I couldn't help but suddenly feeling like Archie from those old comic books. Like him, I was caught trying to decide between my own Betty and Veronica. But at least Archie could turn to his pal Jughead for a sympathetic ear. Part of my problem was that in my case Jughead and Betty were one and the same.

"I'm doomed," I groaned, knowing that I would have to make a decision sooner or later.

Neither Jeke or Janine would wait for much longer, nor should they have to. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to decide when I liked both of them a great deal and there would be problems either way I chose. No matter which of them I chose, there was a good chance I might end up losing Jeke as a friend in the end and I didn't want that either.

Over the last few days, Jeke and Janine had both been a lot more patient than I had any right to expect. They were both giving me the room to make a decision, but at the same time they both clearly wanted me to choose them. The way it was going, I was going to lose them both.

Just then, I was distracted from my thoughts by the sight of Devon walking past a short distance away. He noticed I was looking at him and paled, especially when I gave him an evil smile and waved. Without a word, Devon sped up and hurried past as fast as he could, making me laugh to myself. It was fun having that kind of power over him.

"I just hope he doesn't figure out I was bluffing about having an impotence trick," I muttered to myself.

This line of thought suddenly reminded me of what Dr. Rothschild had said about possibly having a second trick. If I did have one, I sure wish it would show up soon. But knowing my luck, there was either no second trick or it would turn out to be something completely stupid.

I was playing around with the idea of following after Devon and hinting that I'd just used that supposed impotence trick on him when I noticed Janine coming straight towards me. To my surprise, Jeke was with her, following immediately behind. Both of them had serious expressions which made me gulp.

"Not good," I muttered.

"Can we talk to you in private?" Janine asked, looking around the busy cafeteria and all the curious boys sitting close by. I nodded and got up with a sigh, having a bad feeling about this as I followed them both out of the cafeteria and into an empty classroom. Then Janine said, "Jeke and I have been talking and we came to a decision."

"I know you like both of us," Jeke said, sounding almost as if he'd rehearsed this speech, "but I don't like not knowing where we stand. I mean, we've been friends for a long time, but I don't even know if I'm your boyfriend or just your friend now..."

"But...," I started, knowing that this was bound to happen sooner or later. They were giving me the ultimatum to choose between them. I still didn't know if I could choose.

Janine put her finger on my lips and cut me off, "Let us finish first."

"Yeah," Jeke nodded, "We've both been thinking a lot about this."

"I like you," Janine told me with a serious expression, "I really do. And it's not just because I have the hots for you. I think you're nice and fun to be around too. But I thought we were going somewhere and now I feel like we're starting to go backwards."

"So," Jeke glanced at Janine, looking a little nervous, "we came up with a an idea to fix this."

Janine nodded, then smirked, "We agreed to share you."

"What?" I blinked in surprise. This was the LAST thing I expected to hear.

"Sure," Janine continued excitedly, "You can date us both. I know you like guys and girls, so this is perfect...just as long as I'm the only girl you date."

"And I'm the only guy," Jeke added.

"You're kidding," I gasped.

"Nope," Janine shook her head, "I mean, I'm willing to share you and so is Jeke."

"But...," I started again.

Jeke licked his lips and said, "It's not like it's the twentieth century or anything. People date several people all the time these days."

I could only stand there and silently stare at both of them as I absorbed their solution. Janine bit her lips nervously as she waited for my response while Jeke had his fingers crossed. It was actually kind of cute and I had to try to keep myself from giggling.

After a moment, I realized that they were right. I'd been thinking that I could only be with one of them, but that was pretty old fashioned. Things were a lot different than that nowadays, especially here in Spiral where people were more open minded about things. Then I grinned, suddenly thinking that this was like having my cake and eating it too.

"That sounds great," I finally said, grabbing Janine because she was the closest and giving her a long and passionate kiss. My body was tingling with excitement when we broke apart and I made it tingle even more by grabbing Jeke and kissing him just as passionately. "I'm willing to try it."

"Great," Janine grinned excitedly, then she added, "Just don't expect a threesome. I might find you unbelievably hot," she gestured to Jeke, "But he's a total turnoff."

"Fair enough," I agreed, seeing a flash of disappointment cross over Jeke's face.

Then just for the hell of it, I gave each of them another kiss, longer and more passionate than before. I was sure that my nipples were poking out for the whole world to see while I was going to just soak my panties. But at the same time, I was grinning broadly, deciding that this could definitely work out.

I shifted slightly in my bus seat, clutching Janine's hands in one of mine and Jeke's in the other. We were getting a few odd looks from the other people on the bus, mostly from the older people, but most of the passengers didn't pay us much attention.

"We're almost there," Janine exclaimed with a broad grin.

I nodded and stared out the window at the passing scenery, feeling both nervous and excited at he same time. We were nearly to Morgan Beach where Janine and I had been planning to come a week. To my surprise and delight, she had even asked Jeke to come with us. Since Janine was a bit uncomfortable around guys, asking Jeke to come said quite a bit about how seriously she took our relationship.

It was still just a little odd thinking that I was part of a threesome instead of a couple, but it seemed to be working out pretty well so far. Both Jeke and Janine had been showing they were willing to share me without either of them acting all jealous or anything. All that they asked was that I give them each some alone time with me as well, which worked quite well since I wanted some one on one time with each of them too.

I glanced at both my boyfriend and girlfriend, giggling slightly as I thought about my parents reaction to my dating them both when they found out. Dad had gone on about how relationships used to be only between two people when he was growing up, but mom just shrugged it off without a problem. Of course, I think dad was ranting more for the sake of doing it than anything else because he quickly came around too, giving me a warning to be careful but not much more. Of course, most people in Spiral tend to be pretty open minded, even old folks like my parents.

As we got closer to the beach, I felt myself becoming just a little more tense. I was a bit nervous about being here, away from Spiral, though I didn't want Jeke or Janine to see that. Spiral was safe, full of other twisted and people who understood us, but out here things might very well be different. I'd never spent much time outside Spiral though and wasn't going to turn back from having fun just because of a little nervousness.

As I looked out the bus window, I saw a hover car go past. It was the third one I'd seen in just the last couple minutes, which was pretty odd for me since I normally saw only one or two of them a day in Spiral. Then again, Spiral was a little old fashioned in some ways compared to the outside world, in spite of the more open mindedness, a fact that I was reminded of when I saw a fourth hover car go past.

"Here we are," Jeke exclaimed as the bus pulled up in front of the beach, giving me a broad grin and winking, 'I can't wait to see you in your swim suit."

"You won't have to wait much longer," I laughed.

"What about me?" Janine teased him, "Don't you want to see me in my swim suit too?"

"Well...," Jeke stammered, looking a little flustered, "Yeah, but... I know you don't like guys or anything so..."

Janine just laughed, then winked at me, "I have to say that I'm with Jeke though. I can't wait to see you dressed up either."

We arrived just a minute later and I hopped off the bus, immediately pausing to take a deep breath and soak up the atmosphere. Then I pointed to the changing stalls and exclaimed, "Last one there pays for ice cream." I immediately took off running as fast as I could, with Jeke catching up and even passing me while Janine came in last.

"I guess I'm paying for ice cream," Janine told me after we went into the women's changing room, "Don't I at least get a consolation prize?" She gave me a pouty look that sent me laughing.

"I guess," I winked at her, taking off my top and bra, letting her get a good look at my chest. She stared with a hungry expression that made me think she was about to pounce on me. Somehow, she managed to hold herself back, which disappointed me a little.

"You don't know what that does to me," Janine told me a moment later, "Even if I have my own."

"Of course I do," I smirked as I reached into my bag to pull out my bikini, "I used to be a guy and I still like girls."

"And you still flashed me like that?" she asked in disbelief.

I just grinned at her mischieviously, "Of course. I love getting that reaction."

Janine chuckled, "You have no shame."

"Nope," I shrugged, "I lost it during my twist."

I finished undressing, then stood there completely naked for a minute, making sure that Janine got a good look at me. She was trying hard not to stare but not succeeding very well, which made me giggle. I couldn't resist showing off and posing a bit more, just to encourage her reaction. I loved getting this kind of attention, especially from her.

"You know," Janine told me, "You are evil."

"Maybe," I teased her, "But you know you like it."

We kissed passionately for a minute and might have gone a bit further if it wasn't for the fact that two more women walked into the changing room. Both of them gave us odd looks before hurrying to the other side and into stalls where we couldn't see them. I had to keep from giggling.

After this, we both finished changing into our swim suits without playing around. I had a very sexy looking crimson two piece bikini. I thought it did wonders for my figure and I especially liked the way Janine kept looking at me. I stood in the mirror admiring myself for several minutes before she drug me away with the reminder that we didn't want to leave Jeke waiting too long.

We went out and joined Jeke a minute later. He was standing around outside in his swim trunks, looking impatient. However, the moment he saw us he froze, his eyes darting from Janine to me, back and forth. His eyes finally locked on me, especially on my chest.

I giggled, "Like what you see?"

"Um...yeah," Jeke blushed, making me laugh even more.

Since I was feeling particularly mischievious, I decided to have a little fun with Jeke. I pulled up my bikini top to flash him a clear look at my bare chest...as well as several other guys who happened to be looking. Jeke gasped, nearly drooling as he stared. I just smirked as I put my top back on, casually telling Janine, "It's only fair that he gets a look since you did."

"But we're in public," Janine protested weakly, "I mean, everyone can see..."

"I told you," I shrugged, "I don't seem to have sense of modesty anymore. In fact, I get turned on by people staring at me like that. Mentally, I know I should feel uncomfortable...but I don't."

"Lucky me," Jeke grinned, "Want to do it again?"

"Maybe if you're especially nice," I teased him, deciding that maybe it would be a good idea not to draw too much attention, no matter how much I enjoyed it.

We were soon down in the water, splashing around and having fun in spite of how cold it was. And while diving under the water, I even briefly lost my bikini top, though it wasn't quite as accidental as I pretended. Still, once I realized that there were kids present on the beach and in the water, I was much better at behaving myself.

Eventually we ended up back on the beach, laying back on our towels and drying off in the sun. I smiled, well aware that a number of passing guys were giving me a second or even third look. Of course, I knew that some of that was from my brightly colored hair, but I was pretty confident that most of the attention was from my great body. I might be a little vain, but I figured it was well deserved.

"You know," Jeke grinned at Janine after awhile, "I believe you owe us all ice cream."

"And what makes you think that?" Janine asked.

"Because you lost the race to the changing rooms," I reminded her with a grin, earning a tongue stuck out at me in response.

Janine looked back towards the snack bar near the changing rooms and frowned thoughtfully. "Okay," she asked, "What kind do you two want?"

Jeke gave her a triumphant grin as he announced, "Chocolate ripple if they have it...or just plain chocolate if they don't."

"Okay," Janine responded, turning to me and grinning, "We've heard from the peanut gallery, but what do you want?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I mean, I'm not sure if my taste in ice cream changed or not so I'd better come along so I can sample some just in case."

"I guess I'll go too," Jeke sighed, looking as though he didn't particularly want to get up at the moment but doing so anyway.

A few minutes later we were walking back with ice cream cones in hand. Jeke was happy since he'd gotten his chocolate ripple, Janine was satisfied with some fruity sherbet, while I was licking on a toffee cream chunk that was just as good as I remembered. This was the perfect snack for a great day on the beach.

Just then, Jeke suddenly froze. "What?" I asked.

"Look at that dog," Jeke pointed to a large dog that was standing about twenty yards away, looking straight at us. It was big and black, one of the largest dogs that I'd ever seen. And at the moment, I didn't see any sign of an owner nearby. "He's a monster."

"Careful," Janine teased him, "He might come over and bite your jewels off."

Jeke winced at that and protested, "That's not funny."

"Losing them isn't that bad," I teased him as well. "Besides, he's probably just interested in our ice cream."

"I'm sure it tastes much better," Janine stuck her tongue out at Jeke.

I chuckled at that and we continued on our way, taking only one more glance at the dog before continuing back to our spot. After we settled back down to soak up the sun, I looked around for the dog again, but this time there was no sign of him. I let out a faint sigh of relief, having imagined a few dog attack scenes inspired by Janine's joking comments.

Just minutes after we had settled back into our spot, I noticed a small group of guys standing a ways off and staring at us. I smiled faintly, enjoying the attention as always, though these ones did seem to be staring just a little hard. Finally, they noticed me staring back and started to walk in our direction.

"It looks like we're about to have company," I told Jeke and Janine, wishing that they hadn't decided to come over. It was one thing to enjoy attention, but I didn't want to actually have to deal with these guys while I was on a date with my boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Oh great," Janine spat, almost sounding disgusted.

I frowned slightly as the four guys came closer, giving me a better look at them. One of them was tall and thin, with long dark hair and a bit of a goatee. The second one was fairly short, just over 5 and a half feet tall, but he was also heavily muscled and could almost be a body builder. The third was an athletic looking black guy with all sorts of lasek tattoos all over his skin, the kind made with that new tattoo ink that glows in the dark. The last of the four was a tall and athletic looking guy with a pleasant smile and a pair of glasses. The glasses were actually kind of cute since I knew it would have been easy to just go into nearly any doctors office and get most vision problems short of blindness fixed in just an hour or so.

Jeke scowled, "Why do I have the feeling I'm about to get sand kicked in my face?"

"Hey," the guy I'd mentally named Glasses greeted me, giving me and Janine both a pleasant smile while completely ignoring Jeke. "You two ladies are pretty good looking."

"And a little young for you," Janine pointed out quickly. "We're still in high school."

"I only got out two years ago myself," Glasses shrugged, apparently not bothered by this.

"We're also taken," I said, feeling mischievious as I put my hand on Jeke's. I knew that these guys would assume that Jeke was dating both of us and hoped they'd start thinking a bit better of my best friend.

"By him?" Skinny asked in surprise. Muscles snickered while Tattoo burst into laugher. "I think you two ladies can do much better."

"I assure you," Glasses said, "We can show you a good time..." He stared at me for a moment, looking me in the eyes and then going pale. "Your eyes..."

"She's got freaky looking eyes," Tattoo exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah fuck," Skinny sneered in disgust, "She's one of those twisted freaks."

All four of them suddenly backed off at that and started looking at me as though I was a leper or something. I winced at those expressions, enjoying attention but not that kind. Their looks almost made me feel dirty somehow.

"So what if I am?" I snapped back.

"Keep away from me you freak," Glasses said, his expression filled with disgust, "I don't want anything to do with your kind."

"Ditto for me," Skinny said.

Muscles scowled, "Xerox that..."

Tattoo shook his head, "I can't believe they let those freaks walk around with normal people."

"She is NOT a freak!" Jeke exclaimed, jumping to his feet and glaring at the four with a furious expression. I'd never seen him look that pissed off before...NEVER. "She's not!"

"Whatever," Glasses said, turning to walk away. Then he muttered, "They should be sterilized or something..."

Jeke snarled and suddenly jumped at Glasses, grabbing him from behind. Muscles and Tattoo immediately grabbed Jeke and pulled him off while Glasses started screaming profanities. Janine and I both jumped to our feet in horror, but not before they started punching Jeke.

"Leave him alone!" I screamed, rushing to Jeke's side as he rolled around on the ground in pain. He had a bloody nose and looked like he was going to have a black eye as well. "You fucking bastards."

"Fuck off you twisted freak," Muscles exclaimed.

"I'm twisted too," Janine spat at him, "Are you going to hit me too?"

"Get away from us," Glasses snarled, grabbing me by the shoulder and shoving me.

I probably would have hit the ground, but I grabbed his arm to keep my balance out of sheer instinct. That only resulted in him slapping me across the face which did knock me to the ground. Janine screamed and rushed to me, but Skinny grabbed her and shoved her to the ground as well.

"You jerks," Jeke grimaced as he tried to get back to his feet.

"You're the one who jumped me," Glasses pointed out, punching Jeke again.

I glared furiously at Glasses and his friends, filled with fear and rage. I was afraid for myself, but also for my friends. And more than that, I was seriously pissed off that that these guys would suddenly go from hitting on me to absolutely hating me, just because I happened to be twisted. Who the hell did these ass-holes think they were, hating me and my friends because we were different? The growing rage was building inside me, and not just the rage. The pressure was as well...

"You want me to be a freak?" I snarled, "I'll show you what a twisted freak can do..."

With that, I grabbed hold of Glasses and let loose with my taser touch. The pressure shot out of me and into him in a burst of sparks and he went flying backwards, hitting the ground with a loud grunt. He remained there for a moment, shaking as though he was going through having a seizure.

"What the fuck?" Skinny gasped, "What the hell did you do to him?"

Tattoo dropped to his knees to check on Glasses, but the other two were coming towards us, looking more pissed off and determined than ever. Before this, it had all been about them disliking twisted, but I'd just made it personal for them. They were coming straight for me and didn't even seem to care that I might to do them what I'd done to Glasses.

"Oh shit," I gulped, not knowing if I could pull out another taser shock like that much less three more.

Suddenly, there was a loud growling sound and the large black dog we'd seen earlier jumped between me and the guys coming towards me. I immediately stepped backwards in fear while they all stopped and stared nervously at the dog. It took me a moment to realize that the dog was ignoring me and growing only at the guys.

"Blake," Janine called to me with a nervous expression, her eyes darting from the guys to the dog, trying to decide which was the bigger threat to us. Since the dog was ignoring us at the moment, I was more concerned with the boys.

Just then, the dog let out a loud bark and jumped at Muscles. He stopped before he touched the muscular guy, but he and Skinny both jumped back. With a look of terror, they grabbed Glasses, who was sitting up on his own now and hurried away from here as fast as they could carry him.

The dog slowly turned around to face us, making each of us step back nervously. Jeke held his bloody nose in his hand and hesitantly said, "Good doggy... Nice doggy..."

To my complete and utter shock, the dog snarled, "I'm not a nice doggy..."

"Holy shit," Jeke exclaimed, "It can talk..."

I stared at the dog, feeling speechless and confused. Our eyes met and I noticed that his eyes were blue, looking much more like human eyes than those of a dog. Then it suddenly dawned on me, "You're twisted..."

"Yeah," the dog responded, sniffing the air, "As you can see, I got a severe case..."

"Oh my God," Janine whispered.

"Um...thanks," I told the dog, "Thanks for chasing them away."

"Trust me," the dog snorted, which was a very odd sound coming from a dog, "It was my pleasure. I would have bit the hell out of them if it wouldn't have gotten animal control sicked on me."

I just continued staring at him for a moment, feeling extremely relieved that my twist hadn't hit me that hard. He'd not only lost his old self, but his very humanity as well. I couldn't imagine what it had to be like living life as an animal.

"You kids are from Spiral, ain't ya?" the dog asked, looking back and forth between us.

I nodded at that while Janine responded, "Yeah..."

The dog nodded in a very human manner before saying, "I've been heading there myself, but it's been taking awhile. It's not easy traveling across country when you can't even hitch a ride."

"Ugh," I winced, looking at his thumbless paws. I couldn't help but feeling sorry for this guy.

"I'd say you could come with us," Janine shrugged self-consciously, "But we came on the bus."

"And they don't let dogs on the bus," the dog responded bitterly. "I just figured once I got to Spiral I'd be treated a little more like I was human."

"Yeah," I sighed, "But as those jerks proved, this isn't Spiral."

"My name's Jeke," Jeke said, holding out his hand and then looking rather embarrassed.

"I don't do tricks," the dog snickered, then added, "Then again, I've played the well trained dog a few times. You'd be surprised how much nicer people are when they think you're a dog than they do when they know you're not." He hesitated a moment, then said, "You can call me Marcus."

Janine and I introduced ourselves then we just stood there and talked with Marcus for awhile as he told us a bit of his life story. He didn't go into much detail, but it basically came down to the fact that after he'd gone through his twist, he'd been treated as a freak and animal, even by a few other twisted. He'd spent years pretending to be a real dog, then he finally decided to make his way to Spiral where he hoped he'd be more accepted.

After about ten minutes though, Jeke pointed out, "I think we should get going. We're getting some odd looks."

I looked around and realized that Jeke was right. There were a lot of people looking at us nervously, and it was the kind of looks that I liked getting. There were suspicious and hostile looks from people who had either seen or heard about our encounter with those guys. I had little doubt that they were blaming the whole encounter on us twisted, which seemed to be normal in the news.

"Let's get going," I said nervously, deciding that it would be better to avoid further trouble.

Marcus nodded, "I'll watch your backs until you're safely on your bus."

"Thanks," I told him, feeling grateful for the offer. "But how are you going to get to Spiral?"

"The same way I made it this far," he snorted, "I've got four good feet and I'll make it there in no time."

We packed up our towels and went back to the changing rooms while Marcus stood guard outside, just in case Glasses and his friends decided to come back. Fortunately, there was no trouble of that sort, but I did get a glare from a woman who hurried out of the dressing room the moment we entered, even though she obviously wasn't completely ready.

"Damn," I told Janine, "If it's this bad now, I can't imagine what it had to be like for the first twisted."

"We're lucky we live in Spiral," she told me with a knowing look.

Janine and I stood there staring at each other, realizing that the mood had been broken. I didn't feel the least bit romantic at the moment and neither did she. Those guys and the dirty looks we'd gotten on the beach had certainly taken care of that.

"Who would have thought," I sighed, "I guess I don't like getting as much attention as I thought...at least not when it's this kind."

Once we were fully dressed, we left the women's changing room, joining Jeke and Marcus outside. None of us said a word as we made our way to the parking lot to catch the next bus. We were all eager to just get away from this place. Somehow, I thought it would be a long time before I felt like coming back to Morgan beach.

While we were walking across the parking lot to where the bus would pick us up, I noticed Glasses and his friends standing by a car with the trunk open. Unfortunately, they noticed us too and gave us a look that made me extremely grateful that looks couldn't kill.

"Not these guys again," Jeke groaned, looking as though he was about to suggest running.

Then one of them grabbed a crowbar from the trunk, which seemed to be all that the others needed to follow his lead. They started grabbing things they could use as weapons from the trunk as well, but Glasses reached through the passenger side door and came out holding a gun.

"Oh shit," I gulped, clutching Janine's hand tightly.

"We have to teach these twisted freaks that they can't go around messing with normal people," Tattoo said to his friends who came towards us with grim looks of determination.

"Oh shit," I repeated, my eyes locking on the gun in Glasses' hand. From the look on his face and the way he was raising it to point at us, I had no doubt that he was willing to use it.

I grimaced, feeling the fear and anger returning, not that they had really gone away completely. At the same time, I could feel the pressure building inside me again as well, though my little taser trick wouldn't do any good from a distance. This time, there wasn't anything I could do against Glasses and his friends, and they seemed to have figured this out by the fact that they were standing back with their weapons ready and angry looks on their faces.

"I can't believe people let these twisted bastards run around," Muscles exclaimed.

"No kidding," Skinny added, "They ought to be quarantined before they cause another Antarctic Flu outbreak."

Glasses didn't waste time talking to his friends. He glared at me with an expression of pure hatred, largely fueled with a thirst for revenge after what I'd done to him. There was no hesitation in him, only a look of satisfaction as he pointed the gun straight at me and pulled the trigger.

As soon as Glasses shot his gun, I felt a sudden explosion, not of the bullet hitting me but of the pressure I had built rushing out all at once. There was a burning sensation through my body and a blue glow that filled my vision. It took me several seconds to clear my head enough to realize what was going on, and when I did, I could only gasp and stare with my mouth open.

There was a wall made of glowing blue light just a few feet in front of me, or at least that was my first impression. I quickly realized that it was closer to a dome or gigantic bubble with Jeke, Janine, Marcus and myself inside of it. Glasses stood on the other side, staring at me with a look of disbelief and firing the gun over and over again, though nothing seemed to get past the wall of light.

"Holy shit," Jeke exclaimed, looking around in a near panic, "What the hell is this?"

Janine looked around with a mixed expression of relief and confusion, then she stared at me with a strange expression before gasping, "I think Blake's doing it..."

"It's my second trick," I whispered in realization, feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness.

I glanced through the glowing wall at Glasses and his friends, seeing that they all looked scared and were backing away...except for Glasses who continued to shoot at the wall in vain. I gulped, glad that I had this strange glowing wall but having no idea how long it would last or if it would keep Glasses and his gang away long enough for us to do something.

"I can't believe it," Jeke gasped, "You've got a fucking force field."

"Interesting trick," Marcus stated calmly, sounding only vaguely interested.

Just then, the glowing bubble around us began to flicker. I could feel it weakening, even as blue sparks shot across it's surface. Finally, even Glasses turned and ran with his friends, perhaps fearing that I was going to do something horrible to them. Fortunately for us, they didn't realize we were actually losing our protection instead. Then in one big flash, the entire force field collapsed and faded, leaving sparks and small bursts of electricity to fly around us for a moment before fading as well.

"Did you see that?" Jeke gasped, "No fucking way..."

"I think," Janine responded nervously, glancing in the direction the guys had run off in, "we should get out of here NOW." I agreed with her completely.

We didn't stay there long enough to catch the bus but instead hurried away from the park until we came to a bus stop just as the bus was arriving. Thankfully, it was a bus from the same route so we wouldn't have to transfer over. The bus driver stared in surprise as Marcus climbed onto the bus after us and snapped, "No dogs allowed."

"I'm not a dog lady," Marcus snapped, causing the bus driver to gasp in complete shock. "I'm just severely deformed. You don't want to discriminate against the handicapped do you?"

The bus driver looked as though she wanted to argue, though she apparently decided that it would be easier and less troublesome to just let us all on the bus. After all, if she let us on and just pretended none of us existed for awhile, then she wouldn't have to deal with the threat of a potential lawsuit.

I let out a sigh as soon as we crossed the city limits back into Spiral and I wasn't the only one. It was as though we were instantly safe again and perhaps we were. This trip had driven home the point about just what a safe haven Spiral really is for us twisted. Most other places, even ones as close as Morgan beach weren't nearly as welcoming or accepting of us. It was a hard fact, but one I would have to accept since I was twisted in a world that was often hostile towards us.

Once the bus finally came to a stop, Marcus immediately leapt out the door. He self-consciously admitted, "I'm not used to riding in vehicles anymore, especially not with a bunch of people who know what I really am."

"Things should be easier for you here in Spiral," I told him.

Marcus nodded, "I hope so kid." Then he looked at all three of us before saying, "I've been trying to come here for some time so I'm gonna go take a look around. I hope I see you kids again." Then he turned and ran off.

After Marcus was gone, I let out a sigh, "I'm glad that's all over with. Those guys scared the shit out of me."

"Me too," Jeke scowled.

I stared at Jeke for a moment, especially at the dried blood around his nose. "Thanks for standing up for my honor," I told him, "It was really brave." Then I bent forward and gave him a kiss. Once I was done with the kiss, I slapped in the back of the head and said, "Just don't be such a dumbass again."

Jeke looked a bit embarrassed while Janine laughed at the look on his face. I smiled faintly, thankful that we were all back home safe and sound but wondering how I was going to tell my dad about my new trick...and how I'd discovered it. Somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be a fun conversation, especially not after he'd warned me about how dangerous it could be for twisted outside of Spiral. Still, I'd rather face my dad than Glasses and his goons any day.

I awoke in the morning with my guts suddenly feeling like they'd been twisted in knots or as if I had a ferret gnawing on my insides. I grunted in pain, barely able to move my blankets aside, and then only seeing the blood all over my covers. At that sight, I did what anyone would do and screamed.

"What's wrong?" mom demanded as she burst through the door a minute later, huge and heavily muscled as she'd obviously just returned from the gym. She paused to take everything in, then gasped, "You're having your period..."

"Period," I grimaced, suddenly hating the word like never before. I'd been expecting this, or at least expecting that I would have a period soon but I'd never imagined it could be so painful.

"Come on out of bed," mom told me with a sympathetic look, but when I could barely move she sighed, "Quit being a baby. Women go through this every month and you'll have to get used to it too."

I grimaced and sat up, trying to get out of bed in spite of the fact that my insides were hurting like hell. Mom helped me to the bathroom and got a wet rag to help me clean up the mess I'd made of myself, but she frowned as he did so. After I was clean, she said, "Something's not right."

"You think," I spat out bitterly.

"You're flowing more heavily than normal." mom told me, looking a bit worried.

"Well," I grimaced, "I'd hardly call any of this normal."

"It is from now on," Kim snickered as she joined us. She stood there and looked at me for a moment with an expression of smug satisfaction, then she sighed and touched my arm. Suddenly the cramps faded away almost entirely until they were little more than a dull ache and I could let out a sigh of relief. "That should help you for awhile."

"Thanks," I told her, suddenly very thankful for Kim's trick.

A short while later, I was dressed and wearing a pad, thankful that it was that rather than a tampon. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that I was still bleeding too much for it to be as effective as mom and Kim thought it should be. In fact, mom was getting more and more worried.

Finally, mom said, "This isn't normal. We're taking you to a doctor."

An hour later, we were at the clinic seeing Dr. Franklin in an emergency appointment. Dr. Franklin immediately rushed me into her office for a private examine, even putting me on that weird scanning table again. Unfortunately, Kim's trick was beginning to wear off so the cramps were returning, though they hadn't gotten back to the level they were when I woke up. Still, it was enough to make this examination even more uncomfortable.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you," Dr. Franklin finally told me, looking serious as she looked through my scan results. "It is true that you're having a more severe period than is normal for women, however, it looks like this is normal for your body."

"Just great," I grimaced, wincing at the idea of not only having to go through a period every month, but one worse than normal girls go through.

Dr. Franklin gave me a steady and sympathetic look. "I believe this is another side effect of your heightened metabolism. Your periods will be much more severe than normal, but at the same time, they should end much sooner as well. In fact, I expect that this one will end within two days. You should still be on a monthly cycle though so you won't have to deal with this any more frequently."

"Two days?" I gasped, horrified at the idea of feeling like this for two whole days. I was hurting like hell and bleeding in places no one should. I couldn't live like this for two days, especially not every month.

"Look at it this way," Dr. Franklin told me with a faint smile, "Most women have to go through their period for five days every month while you only have to deal with it for two."

"Lucky me," I spat out bitterly.

Dr. Franklin nodded then told me, "I'm going to prescribe you a few things that will help ease your symptoms and your discomfort some. However, I don't think we have anything as effective for removing the discomfort as your own sister's trick."

I just groaned, hating the idea of relying on Kim for the next two days much less several days every month. For that matter, I don't think that she'd be willing to hang around helping me out that much either. I could just imagine Kim making me pay for that kind of service with my whole allowance or something worse. No, I definitely wasn't going to count on Kim for relief.

When we left the clinic a short time later, mom seemed to be partly relieved and partly concerned. I guess she was happy there wasn't something really wrong with me, but at least she was sympathetic for what this would be like. Kim almost seemed amused by the whole thing, though at least she used her trick on me one more time to ease my cramps.

At home, I settled down to watch TV while trying to ignore what was going on with my body. It wasn't easy though and was so distracting that I couldn't even focus on reading the book I'd been meaning too. I just wish I could have seen this coming. Of course, I had known I would get a period eventually, but it almost seemed abstract. I hadn't even given it a second thought when I'd started feeling nauseous during my date with Jeke last night. I'd just shrugged it off as coming down with a cold, not the start of something much worse.

I was still sitting back like this when Janine arrived several hours later. My mom let her into the house and she came to see me with a grin, which only made my bad mood even worse. If I was stuck feeling this miserable, why should anyone else love company? I'd never understood how women could be like that during their period until that very moment.

"What's wrong?" Janine asked, noticing the look on my face.

"I'm having my first period," I snapped at her, "And I'm stuck wearing a stupid diaper."

Janine blinked in surprise, then shrugged, "I don't know whether to say congratulations or offer my sympathies." Then she added, "I know wearing a pad isn't the most comfortable, but you'll get used to it."

I just glared at her, "I'm not wearing a pad. I'm wearing a diaper...literally."

"What?" Janine's eyes went wide as she sat down beside me, "You're kidding me."

I shook my head at that, "I wish. My weird metabolism means I've got a really nasty period. I'm leaking too much for a pad so the doctor said I should wear an adult diaper. It's damn humiliating..."

"Ugh," Janine winced at that, giving me an extremely sympathetic look. "So you've got to wear a diaper for five days or so?"

I shook my head again, "The doctor said it'll probably be over by tomorrow night. Something about my metabolism making the whole thing just run it's course a lot faster than normal."

"At least that's something," Janine tried comforting me, though I wasn't really in any mood to be comforted, even by her.

Janine and I sat there and talked for awhile before she realized that I wasn't very good company at the moment, especially not with the effects of Kim's trick rapidly wearing off. I was getting grumpier and grumpier, finding it harder to be nice and pleasant due to the heavy cramping.

Finally, Janine said, "I guess I'll go and let you rest then." She looked disappointed, "I guess you won't be up for going out tonight either." She was even more disappointed at that, making me wish I did feel up to going out with her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think so," I told her with honest regret.

"I'll see you later then," Janine told me as she left, "I'll warn Jeke not to come over for awhile, and I really hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks," I told her, feeling simultaneously guilty and relieved that she was leaving. But after a few minutes, I settled back down into my misery and self-pity, wishing that this whole thing would just end. The fact that I would only have to deal with it again next month was more than I could bare at the moment.

I walked through the mall with a smile on my face and a spring in my step, feeling utterly fantastic. It had been two days since my period had ended, about the same time Dr. Franklin had predicted, and I was still in a great mood that it was over. In fact, the only thin that could really ruin my mood was the knowledge that it would all happen again next month, though I was trying hard not to think about that.

Throughout my period, I'd been hurting so much and in such a bad mood that even my mom had commented on it, saying that I was normally friendly and flirty but had been acting like a cast iron bitch, snapping at everyone. All the stress had even caused my trick to kick up a few times, accidentally zapping Kim during one of them. I felt a little bad for that, but it encouraged her to keep using her trick on me so it didn't happen again.

At the same time, I felt guilty for the way I'd treated Janine when she'd come to visit me. I hadn't been outright rude or insulting, but I sure hadn't made her feel like I was glad to see her either. Thankfully she'd warned Jeke to stay away so he didn't have to see me like that. However, I felt that I owed both of them an apology, which was why I was meeting them here at the mall so we could all go see a movie together.

"Where are they?" I glanced at my watch, knowing that I was a bit early for our meeting.

I wandered around the mall for awhile, finally ending up at body modification ship where Kim worked. My sister wasn't there at the moment, but Shiv was. She was helping the tattoo artist by providing the inks and such, but she paused long enough to wave at me, then catch herself and give me the finger instead. I gave Shiv the finger back, then left to continue looking at some of the other shops.

"There's some really nice shoes in this one," I mused, feeling a little shiver go through me at the thought of wearing the stiletto heeled, thigh length boots that were shown in the window. Of course, those were far out of my budget and there was no way mom would spring for something like that. "I guess I'll have to get a job."

I frowned slightly as I thought about getting a job, glancing down to my crimson painted nails. This was something I'd thought about quite a bit lately since it wasn't cheap keeping me in makeup, sexy clothes and even books. The problem was in finding a job that wouldn't bore me to tears while I was doing it.

"If I could find something that appeals to my interests like Kim did," I mused thoughtfully.

Of course, the problem was that there weren't a lot of jobs available that could appeal to my interests, at least not for high school girls or twisted. I knew that I'd probably get a huge kick of being a stripper or model of some sort given my love of attention, lack of modesty and exhibitionist streak, but I also liked reading and learning things now so might be able to handle working in a library. Then again, "That wouldn't get me much attention."

I considered the whole job situation for awhile longer, eventually realizing that I'd probably have to get a job at a fast food restaurant or something. After all, the goal was to make some extra spending money, but I'd still love to find a job that tickled my interests and quirks while I was at it. Fortunately, there wasn't any real hurry so I'd have time to keep looking, even if I had to take some fast food grunt job in the meantime.

Just then, I noticed Devon coming out of one of the stores, this time without Kase following him around. I stared at him for a moment, briefly wondering if I should turn around and avoid him entirely. However, he saw me before I could make my decision.

"Damn," I muttered, bracing myself to call up my tricks if I needed to.

Devon took a look at me, paled slightly and then hurried away down the hall. I just stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. It didn't take much to guess that he still bought Kim's bluff about my being able to make guys impotent as my trick, which could make things rather interesting.

"I wonder if he'd still run away if his friends were with him," I mused. "At least he's easier to deal with than that Glasses jerk at the beach."

Eventually I made my way back to the spot where I was supposed to meet Jeke and Janine, and to my delight, Jeke was already there waiting. I ran up to him with a grin and surprised him with a long and passionate kiss which drew attention from just about everyone nearby. I heard a few people giggling at our display but I didn't care. God this felt good...

"So," I winked at him, "How's my best friend been doing?"

Jeke blinked as he gathered his wits, then gave me a goofy grin, "A lot better now."

"That's good to hear," I smirked, feeling quite pleased with myself and just how easily I'd managed to daze him. I'd never been able to get that kind of reaction from him before, but then again, I certainly hadn't tried or wanted to either.

Jeke gave me an odd look, then cautiously said, "Janine told me you were having your period. What's it like?"

I grimaced, "It's like being sucker punched on the inside, bleeding nonstop and having rats gnaw on me at the same time."

"Ugh," Jeke looked like he was going to be sick.

"Tell me about it," I snorted, "It's the nastiest, most disgusting thing I've ever been through in my entire life. I wished I would just die and get it over with."

"Janine said you've got some kind of super period or something," Jeke commented, looking embarrassed to be talking about this. I knew exactly what he meant since I'd never thought I'd be talking about my period with my best friend. That was the kind of thing girls do. Then again, I definitely fit into that category now.

"Yeah," I sighed, "It's a lot worse than most girls get, but at least I get over it faster too."

It was then that Janine made her appearance and came towards us. I grinned, giving her the same greeting I gave Jeke. Not only did it seem fair, but it was fun as hell, especially since she kissed back even more passionately than Jeke. Hell, if we weren't in the middle of the mall she probably would have torn my clothes off and done a lot more, or at least that was the impression I got.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Janine grinned at me once we pulled apart, "And while I'm thinking about it, congratulations, you're now officially a woman."

"Gee, thanks," I rolled my eyes. "Do I get a membership pin or something now?"

"No," Janine giggled, "But you do have to pay monthly membership fees." I just groaned at that.

After this, we made our way over to the movie theater, though none of us paid much attention to the actual movie. Instead, we spent most of it making out in the dark, which was quite an experience since I had to go back and forth between Jeke and Janine, who sat on each side of me. Of course, that was a whole lot more exciting than the movie ever could have been.

While I was taking turns kissing Jeke and Janine, I couldn't help thinking about just how good this felt and how right. I loved the delicious things that just kissing them did to my body, and I was suddenly struck with a realization. I suddenly knew without a doubt that it wouldn't be long before we moved to the next level, before I gave myself to them fully and we had sex. The idea made me even more excited than I already was.

I knew that Janine would be more than pleased if we moved our relationship to the next level sooner rather than later. She'd been controlling her impulsiveness quite admirably and taking things slowly, even accepting Jeke in our relationship in spite of her normal discomfort around boys. But there was no doubt in my mind that she was ready and willing to go to the next level.

Jeke however, I was a little less certain of. I'd been his best friend for a long time, and in spite of his bragging, I knew that he'd never been with a girl before. I knew that he was still a virgin, just like I was. He'd was more willing to take things slowly, to wait until we were both ready, though I didn't think I'd be willing to wait much longer. I smiled in eager anticipation as I thought about being his first, about us being each other's first... I could hardly wait.

I continued thinking about this all through the movie and on the trip home. I loved the idea of seducing them both, or at least seducing Jeke and letting Janine seduce me. Something of what I was thinking must have shown because Janine asked me what I was thinking about.

I looked around and realized that there were still people nearby that I didn't want hearing this, so I bent forward and licked her ear, whispering, "I'll tell you later." Jeke looked a little jealous, so I licked his ear too, earning a bright blush.

When we arrived at my house a short time later, I hoped that we could continue our little make out session up in my bedroom where we had a little more privacy. I was just thankful my dad wasn't home because I didn't want to explain my motives and intentions under the influence of his trick. I blushed brightly as I thought about how embarrassing that would be.

As soon as we stepped into my bedroom, Jeke stared at the thick book on my bed that I'd been reading just that morning. He picked it up and looked at the book mark that was a quarter of the way through, his eyes going wide. "You're reading War and Peace?" He stared at me in disbelief, almost as though I were crazy.

"Wow," Janine blinked in surprise, staring at the book and then me. I'd already told her about my speed reading and cravings to read new books, but I don't think she took it seriously until just then. "You're really reading this?"

I shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Yeah," I admitted, "I started it last night." Then, because they were still looking at me as though I had to be crazy to actually read it, I explained, "Kim gave it to me as a joke when she found out I like reading now. I started reading it just to spite her, but now I'm caught up in it and have to find out what happens."

Jeke shook his head, "And to think...you used to just use Cliff Notes instead of reading the books assigned in literature."

Janine just laughed, "When you're done, you'll probably be one of only five people or so in the entire world who actually read it."

"If you go spreading this around school," I teased Jeke, "I'll hit you over the head with it." That earned a good laugh from everyone.

We all settled down to talk and play some games, the romantic mood broken for the moment. However, I was well aware that it would come back. When the time was right and I was alone with one of them, I'd make my move. I just didn't know which one would be my first time, though that was something to think about later.

Jeke found my deck of cards and asked, "So, what should we play?"

"How about strip poker," I suggested sincerely, earning a gasp of surprise from Jeke and a giggle from Janine.

"I'm in," Janine grinned, giving me an obvious once over with her eyes. However, she glanced a little more hesitantly at Jeke.

"Me too," Jeke nodded, giving me almost the same look that Janine had a moment earlier. He also looked at her a lot more appreciatively than she had him.

"You know," Janine said as she took the cards from Jeke and began shuffling them, "Your total lack of modesty is a lot of fun."

"You can say that again," Jeke grinned, "You're a lot more fun to play with than you used to be."

"And better looking too," I boasted.

Just as Janine had dealt the first hand, there was a knock on the door and my mom stepped through, ducking so she didn't hit her head. She was huge and muscular at the moment, towering over all of us and revealing that she'd just returned from the gym. Her hair was still dry so she hadn't even had her shower yet.

Mom looked at us a little suspiciously, though not too much, then she gave me a particularly odd look before hesitantly saying, "There's a...dog at the door asking to talk to you."

"A dog?" I blinked, then gasped, "Marcus." I hadn't seen him in nearly two weeks, not since the day we'd met him on the beach.

I hurried out of my room with Jeke and Janine following close behind me. When I reached the living room, I saw my dad and realized that he must have come home while we were goofing off in my room. At the moment, he was watching Marcus with an expression of curiosity while Marcus just sat in the middle of the living room floor, looking almost like any other dog.

"Hey Marcus," I greeted him, "I'm a little surprised to see you here. I mean, I never told you where I lived..."

Marcus chuckled, which sounded a bit odd coming from a dog, "Yeah, but I caught your scent and followed it here. I thought I'd say hi since you kids are the only ones I know here in Spiral."

"Nice seeing you again," Janine told him.

"Marcus," dad mused, "So this is the dog...person you met at the beach." Dad looked at him for a moment, this time a little more seriously, "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for helping my daughter out."

"Glad to help," Marcus said, looking to me, "So how've you kids been doing?"

"Not bad," Jeke answered, "What about you? I mean, you ran off as soon as we got to Spiral..."

"I guess I got a little ahead of myself with my enthusiasm," Marcus chuckled. "I've been running around, finding a place to stay and looking for work." He shook his head, "It's not easy finding a job when you look like this, even in Spiral." He sounded disappointed at that, as though he had been expecting otherwise.

"That's sad to hear," mom said as she came into the room;

Marcus remained frozen where he was, looking up at mom and seeming a bit intimidated. I doubt he'd ever met anyone as big or muscular as my mom was after one of her full blown workouts. But after seeing that the rest of us weren't bothered by her size, he relaxed a bit.

"I guess it shouldn't be a surprise," Marcus forced a chuckle, "I never finished school and had to drop out after my twist, and since I don't have hands I can't exactly do a lot of manual work either."

"That's terrible," dad exclaimed, giving Marcus a sympathetic look. Then he abruptly asked, "How much like a dog are you?"

Marcus hesitated, as though he didn't know whether to be offended or not. Then he carefully answered, "Pretty much all the way physically."

Dad looked a little more interested, "Do you have the same kind of sense of smell as a dog?"

"Sure," Marcus responded, "I've got great hearing too, though my eyesight isn't the best."

Dad just sat there looking thoughtful for a moment, then he said, "I've got some friends in the police department, and I think they'd be interested in someone like you."

"What?" Marcus asked suspiciously

"They use trained dogs for a variety of things," dad explained, "They use dogs to find drugs, explosives, and people. But their dogs aren't flexible enough to shift around or smart enough to make judgment calls. If you've got all the abilities of a dog and the intelligence of a man, you'd be absolutely invaluable to them."

Marcus snorted, "Yeah right..."

"He isn't lying," I pointed out, "My dad can't lie. It's part of his twist." This made Marcus look at him with a new interest, even considering what dad said.

"Of course they'd probably do a background check on you and the like," dad continued, "But they're pretty flexible here in Spiral. They used to have me there to help during interrogations. Still, even if the police aren't interested, I can pretty much guarantee that the security office in my company would be interested in someone whose both security guard and guard dog at the same time."

"Police work and security," Marcus mused to himself, giving a strange dog grin, "I'd never thought about doing that kind of thing before, but I think you're right. I'd be a natural."

At this point, dad and Marcus were talking so intently to each other that the rest of us were completely left out. They started off talking about what kind of jobs Marcus could do, something that really excited him and made him happy, then they shifted to other things such as politics and eventually even sports. The rest of us drifted away while their conversation continued for several hours. I had a feeling that I'd just introduced my dad to his new best friend.

That night, Jeke, Janine and Marcus were all invited to stay for dinner. Marcus was surprised when we offered him an actual place at the table, along with a real plate to eat off instead of automatically assuming he'd eat off the floor. He didn't say anything about it, but I could tell he was extremely happy to be treated as a person instead of a dog, which was something he couldn't get much in the outside world.

Eventually Jeke, Janine, and I returned to my room where we had some privacy again, but with Marcus and my parents in the other room we didn't dare try anything too serious. Instead, we turned on my small TV and cuddled up together on my bed to watch it and make out a little. It was extremely pleasant since I was in the middle with one arm around Jeke and the other around Janine.

While we cuddled together, I thought about Marcus and was glad that everything was finally working out for him, but I was even more thankful that things were working out so well for the three of us as well. Since I hadn't been able to make up my mind, our relationships could have been shattered and I never would have had this...had both of them and everything that came with that.

I smiled dreamily as my mind drifted back to the thoughts I'd been having earlier. I looked at both Jeke and Janine, feeling a trill of excitement fill me. My body was already responding to my thoughts, making it even more clear that I wasn't going to wait much longer. I licked my lips in eager anticipation, thinking of all the good things I'd gained since my twist and how many more were to come. Of course my tricks were great and I absolutely loved all the attention I now drew, but the best thing my twist had given me were Jeke and Janine. I wouldn't have had either of them without it.

The outside world could be a hostile place for the twisted, a fact that Glasses and his crew proved to me. But things were different here in Spiral. Here, I was surrounded by friends and family, by people who cared for me and accepted me for who and what I was...even when I didn't always know what that was myself. But I knew who I was now, or at least I was quickly learning. I was a sexy young woman with an exhibitionist streak, a bisexual with two soon to be lovers, a girl with some wicked tricks, and I was now even an enthusiast of reading and learning. And in spite of In spite of how much I'd changed body and mind, I was still Blake Tyler. I might not have chosen to become any of these things, but this was who I now was and I was happy with that. After all, that's just life for a twisted

 

THE END