HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

    After the shower, they both got out, dried off quickly and put on underwear. Lucy wasn't quite sure what to do next exactly. She knew she was getting dressed, but she didn't see any clothes in the bathroom for her to change into. She would have left to go look for the bridesmaid dress that she had picked out with the others, but unfortunately for both of them, Lucas would be the one to wear that.
    She was about to leave when she heard Lucas's father knock on the door. He looked at Lucy, smiled and gave his son a pair of nice pants and a belt.
    "I know it's been a while since you've been in a suit, but I think you know how to put on pants, right?" He joked. Lucy chuckled nervously.
    "Yeah dad. I've got this," she answered, putting a leg in.
    Lucas's dad nodded and reminded her, "Don't forget, don't button those up yet. You always get tripped up there and forget." Lucy didn't understand at all, which she didn't mind, since Lucas didn't know how to do this either, apparently.
    She was then handed a button down shirt, and was prompted to tuck it into her pants. It was odd, but she went with it. She liked the way it looked, and she could see how dressing nicely made men look their best. But she knew she wasn't done, because she knew what else she saw those business gentlemen types wear.
    She was given the suit jacket, which looked like it was tailored perfectly and admired how handsome she was. She tried not to dwell on the thought for too long, as she didn't want to disturb the smoothness of the dress pants.
    Then through the door, a long silk fabric snaked through the frame. Her father provided her with a black neck tie. Lucy panicked as she saw it, hoping she would not oust herself as an imposter if she couldn't tie the dreaded tie she had always heard her real father complain about having to wear. She went out to grab it reluctantly, but Lucas's dad looked surprised at the motion.
    "Oh, you wanna try tying it yourself? Good luck kiddo," he said. This was all Lucy wanted to hear as she called out in desperation.
    "No, you do it," she gave up instantly, "Please." Lucas's dad laughed and Lucy felt relieved. Thankfully, it was not apparently well known how to get dressed up as a young man, and she didn't have to try and fake her way through trying to look nice.
    Lucas's dad tied her tie with no effort and she was done. She admired the way she looked, checking herself out as her surrogate father tightened the tie. She wasn't expecting it to be so restricting.
    "So what do you think?" her dad asked. She thought a moment, looking himself up and down.
    "I feel like I'm being choked by a toddler," she admitted, trying desperately to loosen it. But the only comfortable tightness looked terrible. She would have to endure this neck discomfort the whole time. Not even the chokers she used to wear in middle school were this tight. She pulled at her collar and sighed.
    "Haha! Alright, come on. Let's wait for your mother to get ready," he gestured, and they left the bathroom to go wait outside.
    Lucy thought about how easy it was to get ready as a guy. She thought about poor Lucas and how he was going to have to go through a whole ordeal just to get ready. She told her surrogate father that she was going to go to her room to wait. She knew Lucas would be there now, getting ready in her room.
    She walked up to the second floor and opened the door to his room. It was different than she imagined it being. The walls were a grayish green instead of the muted purple she had. Most of the stuff was surprisingly the same. The souvenir foul ball she got when she went to the stadium, and a lot of the posters were from the same albums and movies she liked.
    Little differences here and there were present. The dolls she got as a kid that usually sat in the corner were replaced by action figures. More importantly, the vanity she had on the opposite wall was now just a regular desk. This was what she was going to use to see the progress that Lucas was making. Now she was going to have to figure out another way.
    She scanned the room and saw that there was instead of the vanity mirror, a full length mirror attached to the door. She quickly unhooked it from the door and placed it behind the desk. She had an idea of what to do. They couldn't connect if there weren't mirrors in the same place in each universe. So by moving it to the vanity, she hoped to complete the other side of the window into the other dimension.
    She focused on Lucas and thankfully she was able to reach him. As the vanity desk faded into view, she could see the mess that the desktop was scattered with. Lucas was nervously fumbling with all of them when he noticed that his reflection had changed.
    Thankfully, Lucy had connected to him. He was told to put on her makeup and he had zero idea how to do it. He was contemplating not doing anything, but he knew that would never go unnoticed and her folks would know something was wrong.
    Lucy looked at him and pointed down at the desk. He looked at the spot and picked up a tube of lipstick. She shook her head, pointing to the same spot. He guessed again, picking up a container of some sort. Again, she shook her head. Clearly frustrated, she forcefully used her hand and picked up something invisible on his desk. To his horror, Lucas realized that he had picked up a brush off of the desk without meaning to. He watched as his hand picked it up and unscrewed a short, round container. She brushed some of the powder in it on her face and Lucas just watched as her body moved on its own.
    Despite the obvious fear of someone else having the ability to control the body he was in, he was glad he wouldn't have to put on the makeup himself, as it probably would have come out awful. He watched as she contoured her face with a sponge, penciled on a sharp eyebrow line, applied mascara, and gave him black eyeliner.
    The feeling of makeup was odd. Not enough to feel like face paint, but enough to feel it being applied. It wasn't as odd as the feeling of someone else controlling your limbs, but it came close. Finally, Lucy made him pick up a tube of red lipstick. It was a bit bold, but he hoped that it would look alright. He hadn't seen what her face looked like and he was curious how he would have to look the rest of the night. Lucy made him open a drawer to the right and she gestured with his head to look.
    Sitting in the drawer was a small hand mirror. Lucas hesitated picking it up, as he wasn't sure he was completely ready to see what he looked like. He thought about not looking at all, since in the end, it didn't matter all that much, but he was curious. He eventually picked it up and looked at herself, taken aback by how done up his face was.
    Lucy was cute before, but now she was smoking hot. He didn't know exactly why, but between the red lipstick and the sharp features and lines, she looked like a model. It was too bad, he thought, that there was no male equivalent to makeup so he could look this good. Though looking at Lucy in his body in that groomsmen suit made him look pretty good as well.
    "Thank you," he said, relieved. Lucy nodded in reply. She gave an uneasy face as she pointed behind him. Lucas turned around and saw what she was pointing to. Hanging against the closet hinge was the bridesmaid dress that he would have to wear.
    It hung from its poofy, frilly shoulders, and draped down the equally poofy and frilly skirt. Dresses were already girly from the getgo, but this one was especially feminine. It's waist was cinched inwards and had a thick white ribbon wrapped around it that tied into a large bow in the back.
    Lucas only needed to take one look at it to know that he did not want to wear it. Sure, it might look good if he saw some other girl wearing it, but since he was the girl that would have to wear it, he felt differently about it. He looked back to Lucy, who was wincing from empathy. A look that told him, "Sorry".
    A knock on the door interrupted their exchange, and Lucas told them hesitantly to come in. The door swung open and Lucy's mother was there in the doorway. She entered and when she saw her daughter's face, her own lit up in pride.
    "Oh!" she squealed, "My little girl looks so beautiful! You did a great job sweetheart!" Lucas took another look in the hand mirror uneasily and reluctantly agreed. Lucy looked at the two of them gleefully, probably wondering what her mother was saying. Lucas was incapable of looking that happy at the moment, thinking about what he was going to have to do now.
    Lucy's mom opened up her drawers and searched through them, closing a few of them swiftly, not knowing where everything was. She grabbed a few flesh colored pieces of fabric and took them out of their hiding places. Moving to the closet, she opened the door opposite to the dress and poked her head inside. She dug around in the darkness and eventually took out something even more intimidating than the dress.
    "Here, these first," Lucy's mom said, tossing Lucas the skin tone panty hose that she had been holding. Lucas fumbled them, picking them up off the ground and holding them out like they were radioactive. His surrogate mother looked at him impatiently.
    He sat down on the bed and began to try and put them on. At first, he tried to put them on like they were pants, putting her foot in quickly and trying to pull them up. This however turned out to be a mistake, as her toenail snagged on the silky fabric and a tearing sound resonated in the room like a shot.
    Lucas froze. Lucy's mom looked even more impatient than before, opening the drawer again and procuring another pair. She didn't seem suspicious, but he wasn't so sure.
    "I know you're not very patient with getting dressed up, but come on, Lucy. Bunch them together and pull them up like you're supposed to," she said, throwing another pair at him. Lucas sort of got what she was saying. He made slack in the fabric, put them on her feet like a sock and pulled them up over her legs. They were tight, about as much as he assumed tights would be. He had to admit, he sort of liked how the silky fabric felt, but he really didn't want to think about it too much.
    Lucy's mom then threw him the tan clothing, which looked odd. It looked like a wrestling singlet, but it was way more voluptuous than that. Seeing only one way to put them on, he stepped into the neck opening and put her legs through. It was difficult to get around her waist, but he made it work. It seemed like the garment was meant for someone two sizes smaller, as he struggled to put her arms through the designated holes.
    After donning the thing, he exhaled deeply as it settled on her figure. It didn't stretch at all and it was what he assumed a turtle felt like in its shell. Lucy's mom noticed his discomfort.
    "I know the shapewear is a little uncomfortable, but it really slims you, honey. In 30 years, you'll want your kids to say, 'Wow mom, you looked good back then!' trust me," her mom encouraged. Lucas couldn't think about any of what she said, as his brain rejected the idea of him being anyone's mother. He just nodded solemnly like he knew he was supposed to, not wanting to agree out loud.
    Lucas looked over at the mirror back to Lucy, who was watching with a pitying gaze at the trapped boy in girl's clothing. He faded the mirror back to this reality, wanting to see the progress so far out of morbid curiosity.
    He looked herself over, looking like he was backstage at a burlesque show. The undergarments had made her slimmer, but he felt ridiculous. Not wanting to see any more for now, he reconnected with Lucy who looked panicked, thinking she had lost connection with him.
    "Okay, dress time!" her mom said happily. Lucas was not as thrilled, feigning a fraction of the excitement that she had. She unhooked the dress from its hanger and unzipped the back. Lucas calmed himself as the garment was handed over to him. Once again, he climbed inside and tried not to step on the frilly layers inside the skirt. He hoisted it up around her waist and put her arms through the frilly cupped princess sleeves.
    He didn't think it was that constricting. The shapewear was worse to him. That was until he heard the zipping sound behind him. The fabric wrapped around her waist like a vice. That's when he got the wind knocked out of him. He had never worn anything this tight in his life and if it was any other kind of clothing, he would have put it back on the rack and tried a bigger size.
    He didn't even want to see his reflection now. The pain of seeing himself like this plus the actual pain of wearing it would have been too much for him at the moment. Though you could see that Lucy was still sorry for him, the look on his face meant that she liked what she saw.
    Lucas tried to use that as a way to justify carrying the burden. He did it for his female self, who would look smoking hot at the ceremony and for her future kids in the photo albums. He tried to focus on that, thinking about all the other aspects of this wedding that he would get to enjoy. Wearing the dress, he thought, would be an obstacle he would be able to overcome.
    The knocking sound of something hitting the floor interrupted his thoughts however. He was reminded of the thing that scared him even more than the dress. The thing that would throw the whole ceremony into potential chaos lied at her feet.
    Although Lucas was currently wearing an uncomfortable bridesmaid's dress, that wasn't the primary cause of his feminine dread. The final piece of his outfit stared at him sharply, showing off its hard edges. Lucas stared at them intensely, thinking about the pain that they would bring him in all its forms.
    Lucy's mom sighed as she saw her daughter stare helplessly, interjecting, "I know you're not really fond of these, but you agreed to wear them."
    Lucas didn't agree to this. His female self made that mistake. He looked annoyed at the mirror where Lucy sat guilty. She continued to try and look sympathetic, but she knew she had made a promise that someone else would have to keep.
    "Mom, I'm not wearing high heels," Lucas declared confidently. He tried to seem resolute about the decision, but Lucy's mom wasn't having it.
    "Honey, you promised the others you would wear them. I know you probably regret that decision now, but it wouldn't be fair to the others if you don't wear them." Lucas wasn't sure what that meant exactly.
    "Unfair? How is wearing sane footwear a crime here?" Lucas lamented.
    "As bridesmaids, we all agreed to match outfits. None of us like wearing heels, but if you wear flats, we won't match and the rest of us will suffer through them for nothing," Lucy's mom explained. Lucas thought of the absurdity of the situation where 4 women pushed themselves to wear something that none of them particularly enjoyed.
    "I don't care," Lucas firmly insisted, "I'm not going through with this just for looks. Nobody's going to even care!"
    "We're going to care, Lucy," her mom persuaded, "It's not about the heels. You made a promise and you have to keep it. It's the principle of the thing. Honesty." Lucas felt guilty in the moment; not because of the shoes, but because he was reminded of the fact that he was currently lying to his surrogate mom about being her daughter.
    "Mom, I don't even know how to walk in these things," he said honestly, "What if I fall and mess something up?" Lucy's mom closed her eyes and sighed, frustrated.
    "I know it's been a long time since you walked in them. I believe the last time was your sweet sixteen when you swore them off," she recalled. Lucas was both amused and worried that these shoes had a bad history with Lucy. He could only imagine what could have transpired for her to swear to never wear them again. Lucas's imagination went wild.
    "And that was an oath I took seriously," Lucas assumed, "It's not just that I don't want to wear them, it's that I know that something is going to happen if I wear them. I've got an intuition, these shoes are bad news." Lucy's mom sighed.
    "Well it's too late to turn back now dear," she said ominously, "I knew you would try and find a way to go without wearing them, so I hid all of your other pairs of shoes. I hate to tell you this but you're wearing those shoes no matter what." Lucas's heart sank. He was devastated by the fact that her mother went to such lengths to make him wear those damned things. He lamented, "That's incredibly-"
    "Effective? I hope so" her mom interrupted, "I'm sorry, but now you have no choice. So get on with it." Lucy's mom pushed. Lucas looked at her disappointingly. She was supposed to be the lax parent of the two. He supposed even his easygoing father on the other side had his moments of seriousness here and there. He was hoping this wouldn't be one of those moments with Lucy's mom, but unfortunately for her feet, it was.
    Lucas picked the shoes off the ground and inspected them. They were red like his lipstick and had an intimidating 4 inches to the heel that he saw would be trouble. They had vinyl around the toes and heel, and the rest of the support came from a cross of straps that wrapped around up to the ankle. Lucas thought they would look good on a girl, which he knew was the point, but he still didn't think they were worth it.
    He assessed the make of the shoes and ultimately wasn't sure he would be able to undo everything correctly, looking at all the straps and becoming intimidated. He undid some of the buckles and once it was all open, he could see how it all fastened. He knew what was next, but he didn't want to put her foot in these pretty iron maidens of vanity. Regardless, he didn't have much of a choice.
    Placing her toes in the front, he tried to step into the back with her heel, but the fit was too tight. He couldn't fit her foot into it. For a moment, he thought maybe that was a way out of wearing them. But then he realized that he just wasn't putting in enough effort into it. He managed to squeeze her foot in there enough and put them on.
    Lucas could already feel the pressure of them and he hadn't even stood up yet or fastened the straps. He forced her other foot into the other shoe and sat on the edge of her bed, pausing to collect himself. He put the straps on next, the ones on her foot and the last on her ankle, tying herself into them.
    Lucas admired how they looked, knowing he had been beaten into them by peer pressure. They looked nice after all, but they felt horrible. He knew standing up was going to be the next hurdle he would have to overcome. He looked to her mother, who looked satisfied, but still expecting. He planted her feet as much as he could in heels and tried to get up off the bed.
    He started with a squat, hovering her butt over the bed in case he wasn't sturdy. Gradually, he straightened up and with the exception of a few wobbly seconds, stood up completely and sturdily. He felt accomplished but he knew this was only half the battle. He was going to have to do a lot more than just stand up in these things.
    "You've got this, Lucy," her mom said supportively, as if she hadn't given her daughter a terrible ultimatum moments before. She showed off the technique, walking in the pair she was wearing, making it look simple. Heel, toe, heel, toe, click click. It was surprising to see her plant her foot down with the stilt of them down first and not fall over.
    Lucas readied himself next to the bed. He took one step and he was successful. He took another and there was no problem. They weren't the most sturdy, but at the very least, simple walking seemed like it was going to be possible.
    "Good," her mother sighed, "At least you're getting the hang of it again. You've got nothing to worry about, honey. You'll do fine."
    "Ugh, but I don't feel fine," Lucas groaned, not sure what to complain about first. Between the shapewear, the pantyhose, the dress and the shoes, Lucas felt like he was being molded by the clothes he was wearing. These were clothes, he thought, that made you fit into them.
    "I get it, It's not always the most pleasant feeling in the world. I know you don't think it's worth it, but you look great honey. Plus, by the time the night is over, you'll forget about any discomfort and have a good time," her mother said. She stared at her daughter lovingly and left the doorway.
    Lucas looked over to Lucy, but to his surprise, she was no longer on the other side of the mirror. He could only see her reflection staring back at him. His true reflection took him aback. The first thought that popped into his head was that he looked beautiful. It wasn't a moment he was proud of, but he couldn't help it.
    Lucas looked at herself and found himself smiling at the sight somehow. Even though he was disturbed by the thought of it being him, somewhere deep down he was excited that he could look this beautiful. He was the kind of girl that would have made him melt down if they approached him.
    He twisted her hips and watched as the skirt swayed over her legs. He put her hands on her waist and puffed her chest out. He was freaking out from fear, but somehow he also felt confident in this outfit. He would have the courage to show up and do this.
    "See? All that discomfort was worth it, isn't it?" Lucy's mother asked. Lucas's heart skipped a beat, not thinking anyone was watching him act so feminine.
    "Might not be a pretty process, but it does give you pretty results," Lucy's mother quipped, "Now come on. We've got a wedding to go to."
    Lucas looked back at the mirror and thankfully saw Lucy in the reflection. His father entered the room and urged her to leave as well. Lucy looked back at him and nodded. Even after all that, they were still in sync. They walked out of their rooms and readied themselves for the ceremony ahead.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

    After the shower, they both got out, dried off quickly and put on underwear. Lucy wasn't quite sure what to do next exactly. She knew she was getting dressed, but she didn't see any clothes in the bathroom for her to change into. She would have left to go look for the bridesmaid dress that she had picked out with the others, but unfortunately for both of them, Lucas would be the one to wear that.
    She was about to leave when she heard Lucas's father knock on the door. He looked at Lucy, smiled and gave his son a pair of nice pants and a belt.
    "I know it's been a while since you've been in a suit, but I think you know how to put on pants, right?" He joked. Lucy chuckled nervously.
    "Yeah dad. I've got this," she answered, putting a leg in.
    Lucas's dad nodded and reminded her, "Don't forget, don't button those up yet. You always get tripped up there and forget." Lucy didn't understand at all, which she didn't mind, since Lucas didn't know how to do this either, apparently.
    She was then handed a button down shirt, and was prompted to tuck it into her pants. It was odd, but she went with it. She liked the way it looked, and she could see how dressing nicely made men look their best. But she knew she wasn't done, because she knew what else she saw those business gentlemen types wear.
    She was given the suit jacket, which looked like it was tailored perfectly and admired how handsome she was. She tried not to dwell on the thought for too long, as she didn't want to disturb the smoothness of the dress pants.
    Then through the door, a long silk fabric snaked through the frame. Her father provided her with a black neck tie. Lucy panicked as she saw it, hoping she would not oust herself as an imposter if she couldn't tie the dreaded tie she had always heard her real father complain about having to wear. She went out to grab it reluctantly, but Lucas's dad looked surprised at the motion.
    "Oh, you wanna try tying it yourself? Good luck kiddo," he said. This was all Lucy wanted to hear as she called out in desperation.
    "No, you do it," she gave up instantly, "Please." Lucas's dad laughed and Lucy felt relieved. Thankfully, it was not apparently well known how to get dressed up as a young man, and she didn't have to try and fake her way through trying to look nice.
    Lucas's dad tied her tie with no effort and she was done. She admired the way she looked, checking herself out as her surrogate father tightened the tie. She wasn't expecting it to be so restricting.
    "So what do you think?" her dad asked. She thought a moment, looking himself up and down.
    "I feel like I'm being choked by a toddler," she admitted, trying desperately to loosen it. But the only comfortable tightness looked terrible. She would have to endure this neck discomfort the whole time. Not even the chokers she used to wear in middle school were this tight. She pulled at her collar and sighed.
    "Haha! Alright, come on. Let's wait for your mother to get ready," he gestured, and they left the bathroom to go wait outside.
    Lucy thought about how easy it was to get ready as a guy. She thought about poor Lucas and how he was going to have to go through a whole ordeal just to get ready. She told her surrogate father that she was going to go to her room to wait. She knew Lucas would be there now, getting ready in her room.
    She walked up to the second floor and opened the door to his room. It was different than she imagined it being. The walls were a grayish green instead of the muted purple she had. Most of the stuff was surprisingly the same. The souvenir foul ball she got when she went to the stadium, and a lot of the posters were from the same albums and movies she liked.
    Little differences here and there were present. The dolls she got as a kid that usually sat in the corner were replaced by action figures. More importantly, the vanity she had on the opposite wall was now just a regular desk. This was what she was going to use to see the progress that Lucas was making. Now she was going to have to figure out another way.
    She scanned the room and saw that there was instead of the vanity mirror, a full length mirror attached to the door. She quickly unhooked it from the door and placed it behind the desk. She had an idea of what to do. They couldn't connect if there weren't mirrors in the same place in each universe. So by moving it to the vanity, she hoped to complete the other side of the window into the other dimension.
    She focused on Lucas and thankfully she was able to reach him. As the vanity desk faded into view, she could see the mess that the desktop was scattered with. Lucas was nervously fumbling with all of them when he noticed that his reflection had changed.
    Thankfully, Lucy had connected to him. He was told to put on her makeup and he had zero idea how to do it. He was contemplating not doing anything, but he knew that would never go unnoticed and her folks would know something was wrong.
    Lucy looked at him and pointed down at the desk. He looked at the spot and picked up a tube of lipstick. She shook her head, pointing to the same spot. He guessed again, picking up a container of some sort. Again, she shook her head. Clearly frustrated, she forcefully used her hand and picked up something invisible on his desk. To his horror, Lucas realized that he had picked up a brush off of the desk without meaning to. He watched as his hand picked it up and unscrewed a short, round container. She brushed some of the powder in it on her face and Lucas just watched as her body moved on its own.
    Despite the obvious fear of someone else having the ability to control the body he was in, he was glad he wouldn't have to put on the makeup himself, as it probably would have come out awful. He watched as she contoured her face with a sponge, penciled on a sharp eyebrow line, applied mascara, and gave him black eyeliner.
    The feeling of makeup was odd. Not enough to feel like face paint, but enough to feel it being applied. It wasn't as odd as the feeling of someone else controlling your limbs, but it came close. Finally, Lucy made him pick up a tube of red lipstick. It was a bit bold, but he hoped that it would look alright. He hadn't seen what her face looked like and he was curious how he would have to look the rest of the night. Lucy made him open a drawer to the right and she gestured with his head to look.
    Sitting in the drawer was a small hand mirror. Lucas hesitated picking it up, as he wasn't sure he was completely ready to see what he looked like. He thought about not looking at all, since in the end, it didn't matter all that much, but he was curious. He eventually picked it up and looked at herself, taken aback by how done up his face was.
    Lucy was cute before, but now she was smoking hot. He didn't know exactly why, but between the red lipstick and the sharp features and lines, she looked like a model. It was too bad, he thought, that there was no male equivalent to makeup so he could look this good. Though looking at Lucy in his body in that groomsmen suit made him look pretty good as well.
    "Thank you," he said, relieved. Lucy nodded in reply. She gave an uneasy face as she pointed behind him. Lucas turned around and saw what she was pointing to. Hanging against the closet hinge was the bridesmaid dress that he would have to wear.
    It hung from its poofy, frilly shoulders, and draped down the equally poofy and frilly skirt. Dresses were already girly from the getgo, but this one was especially feminine. It's waist was cinched inwards and had a thick white ribbon wrapped around it that tied into a large bow in the back.
    Lucas only needed to take one look at it to know that he did not want to wear it. Sure, it might look good if he saw some other girl wearing it, but since he was the girl that would have to wear it, he felt differently about it. He looked back to Lucy, who was wincing from empathy. A look that told him, "Sorry".
    A knock on the door interrupted their exchange, and Lucas told them hesitantly to come in. The door swung open and Lucy's mother was there in the doorway. She entered and when she saw her daughter's face, her own lit up in pride.
    "Oh!" she squealed, "My little girl looks so beautiful! You did a great job sweetheart!" Lucas took another look in the hand mirror uneasily and reluctantly agreed. Lucy looked at the two of them gleefully, probably wondering what her mother was saying. Lucas was incapable of looking that happy at the moment, thinking about what he was going to have to do now.
    Lucy's mom opened up her drawers and searched through them, closing a few of them swiftly, not knowing where everything was. She grabbed a few flesh colored pieces of fabric and took them out of their hiding places. Moving to the closet, she opened the door opposite to the dress and poked her head inside. She dug around in the darkness and eventually took out something even more intimidating than the dress.
    "Here, these first," Lucy's mom said, tossing Lucas the skin tone panty hose that she had been holding. Lucas fumbled them, picking them up off the ground and holding them out like they were radioactive. His surrogate mother looked at him impatiently.
    He sat down on the bed and began to try and put them on. At first, he tried to put them on like they were pants, putting her foot in quickly and trying to pull them up. This however turned out to be a mistake, as her toenail snagged on the silky fabric and a tearing sound resonated in the room like a shot.
    Lucas froze. Lucy's mom looked even more impatient than before, opening the drawer again and procuring another pair. She didn't seem suspicious, but he wasn't so sure.
    "I know you're not very patient with getting dressed up, but come on, Lucy. Bunch them together and pull them up like you're supposed to," she said, throwing another pair at him. Lucas sort of got what she was saying. He made slack in the fabric, put them on her feet like a sock and pulled them up over her legs. They were tight, about as much as he assumed tights would be. He had to admit, he sort of liked how the silky fabric felt, but he really didn't want to think about it too much.
    Lucy's mom then threw him the tan clothing, which looked odd. It looked like a wrestling singlet, but it was way more voluptuous than that. Seeing only one way to put them on, he stepped into the neck opening and put her legs through. It was difficult to get around her waist, but he made it work. It seemed like the garment was meant for someone two sizes smaller, as he struggled to put her arms through the designated holes.
    After donning the thing, he exhaled deeply as it settled on her figure. It didn't stretch at all and it was what he assumed a turtle felt like in its shell. Lucy's mom noticed his discomfort.
    "I know the shapewear is a little uncomfortable, but it really slims you, honey. In 30 years, you'll want your kids to say, 'Wow mom, you looked good back then!' trust me," her mom encouraged. Lucas couldn't think about any of what she said, as his brain rejected the idea of him being anyone's mother. He just nodded solemnly like he knew he was supposed to, not wanting to agree out loud.
    Lucas looked over at the mirror back to Lucy, who was watching with a pitying gaze at the trapped boy in girl's clothing. He faded the mirror back to this reality, wanting to see the progress so far out of morbid curiosity.
    He looked herself over, looking like he was backstage at a burlesque show. The undergarments had made her slimmer, but he felt ridiculous. Not wanting to see any more for now, he reconnected with Lucy who looked panicked, thinking she had lost connection with him.
    "Okay, dress time!" her mom said happily. Lucas was not as thrilled, feigning a fraction of the excitement that she had. She unhooked the dress from its hanger and unzipped the back. Lucas calmed himself as the garment was handed over to him. Once again, he climbed inside and tried not to step on the frilly layers inside the skirt. He hoisted it up around her waist and put her arms through the frilly cupped princess sleeves.
    He didn't think it was that constricting. The shapewear was worse to him. That was until he heard the zipping sound behind him. The fabric wrapped around her waist like a vice. That's when he got the wind knocked out of him. He had never worn anything this tight in his life and if it was any other kind of clothing, he would have put it back on the rack and tried a bigger size.
    He didn't even want to see his reflection now. The pain of seeing himself like this plus the actual pain of wearing it would have been too much for him at the moment. Though you could see that Lucy was still sorry for him, the look on his face meant that she liked what she saw.
    Lucas tried to use that as a way to justify carrying the burden. He did it for his female self, who would look smoking hot at the ceremony and for her future kids in the photo albums. He tried to focus on that, thinking about all the other aspects of this wedding that he would get to enjoy. Wearing the dress, he thought, would be an obstacle he would be able to overcome.
    The knocking sound of something hitting the floor interrupted his thoughts however. He was reminded of the thing that scared him even more than the dress. The thing that would throw the whole ceremony into potential chaos lied at her feet.
    Although Lucas was currently wearing an uncomfortable bridesmaid's dress, that wasn't the primary cause of his feminine dread. The final piece of his outfit stared at him sharply, showing off its hard edges. Lucas stared at them intensely, thinking about the pain that they would bring him in all its forms.
    Lucy's mom sighed as she saw her daughter stare helplessly, interjecting, "I know you're not really fond of these, but you agreed to wear them."
    Lucas didn't agree to this. His female self made that mistake. He looked annoyed at the mirror where Lucy sat guilty. She continued to try and look sympathetic, but she knew she had made a promise that someone else would have to keep.
    "Mom, I'm not wearing high heels," Lucas declared confidently. He tried to seem resolute about the decision, but Lucy's mom wasn't having it.
    "Honey, you promised the others you would wear them. I know you probably regret that decision now, but it wouldn't be fair to the others if you don't wear them." Lucas wasn't sure what that meant exactly.
    "Unfair? How is wearing sane footwear a crime here?" Lucas lamented.
    "As bridesmaids, we all agreed to match outfits. None of us like wearing heels, but if you wear flats, we won't match and the rest of us will suffer through them for nothing," Lucy's mom explained. Lucas thought of the absurdity of the situation where 4 women pushed themselves to wear something that none of them particularly enjoyed.
    "I don't care," Lucas firmly insisted, "I'm not going through with this just for looks. Nobody's going to even care!"
    "We're going to care, Lucy," her mom persuaded, "It's not about the heels. You made a promise and you have to keep it. It's the principle of the thing. Honesty." Lucas felt guilty in the moment; not because of the shoes, but because he was reminded of the fact that he was currently lying to his surrogate mom about being her daughter.
    "Mom, I don't even know how to walk in these things," he said honestly, "What if I fall and mess something up?" Lucy's mom closed her eyes and sighed, frustrated.
    "I know it's been a long time since you walked in them. I believe the last time was your sweet sixteen when you swore them off," she recalled. Lucas was both amused and worried that these shoes had a bad history with Lucy. He could only imagine what could have transpired for her to swear to never wear them again. Lucas's imagination went wild.
    "And that was an oath I took seriously," Lucas assumed, "It's not just that I don't want to wear them, it's that I know that something is going to happen if I wear them. I've got an intuition, these shoes are bad news." Lucy's mom sighed.
    "Well it's too late to turn back now dear," she said ominously, "I knew you would try and find a way to go without wearing them, so I hid all of your other pairs of shoes. I hate to tell you this but you're wearing those shoes no matter what." Lucas's heart sank. He was devastated by the fact that her mother went to such lengths to make him wear those damned things. He lamented, "That's incredibly-"
    "Effective? I hope so" her mom interrupted, "I'm sorry, but now you have no choice. So get on with it." Lucy's mom pushed. Lucas looked at her disappointingly. She was supposed to be the lax parent of the two. He supposed even his easygoing father on the other side had his moments of seriousness here and there. He was hoping this wouldn't be one of those moments with Lucy's mom, but unfortunately for her feet, it was.
    Lucas picked the shoes off the ground and inspected them. They were red like his lipstick and had an intimidating 4 inches to the heel that he saw would be trouble. They had vinyl around the toes and heel, and the rest of the support came from a cross of straps that wrapped around up to the ankle. Lucas thought they would look good on a girl, which he knew was the point, but he still didn't think they were worth it.
    He assessed the make of the shoes and ultimately wasn't sure he would be able to undo everything correctly, looking at all the straps and becoming intimidated. He undid some of the buckles and once it was all open, he could see how it all fastened. He knew what was next, but he didn't want to put her foot in these pretty iron maidens of vanity. Regardless, he didn't have much of a choice.
    Placing her toes in the front, he tried to step into the back with her heel, but the fit was too tight. He couldn't fit her foot into it. For a moment, he thought maybe that was a way out of wearing them. But then he realized that he just wasn't putting in enough effort into it. He managed to squeeze her foot in there enough and put them on.
    Lucas could already feel the pressure of them and he hadn't even stood up yet or fastened the straps. He forced her other foot into the other shoe and sat on the edge of her bed, pausing to collect himself. He put the straps on next, the ones on her foot and the last on her ankle, tying herself into them.
    Lucas admired how they looked, knowing he had been beaten into them by peer pressure. They looked nice after all, but they felt horrible. He knew standing up was going to be the next hurdle he would have to overcome. He looked to her mother, who looked satisfied, but still expecting. He planted her feet as much as he could in heels and tried to get up off the bed.
    He started with a squat, hovering her butt over the bed in case he wasn't sturdy. Gradually, he straightened up and with the exception of a few wobbly seconds, stood up completely and sturdily. He felt accomplished but he knew this was only half the battle. He was going to have to do a lot more than just stand up in these things.
    "You've got this, Lucy," her mom said supportively, as if she hadn't given her daughter a terrible ultimatum moments before. She showed off the technique, walking in the pair she was wearing, making it look simple. Heel, toe, heel, toe, click click. It was surprising to see her plant her foot down with the stilt of them down first and not fall over.
    Lucas readied himself next to the bed. He took one step and he was successful. He took another and there was no problem. They weren't the most sturdy, but at the very least, simple walking seemed like it was going to be possible.
    "Good," her mother sighed, "At least you're getting the hang of it again. You've got nothing to worry about, honey. You'll do fine."
    "Ugh, but I don't feel fine," Lucas groaned, not sure what to complain about first. Between the shapewear, the pantyhose, the dress and the shoes, Lucas felt like he was being molded by the clothes he was wearing. These were clothes, he thought, that made you fit into them.
    "I get it, It's not always the most pleasant feeling in the world. I know you don't think it's worth it, but you look great honey. Plus, by the time the night is over, you'll forget about any discomfort and have a good time," her mother said. She stared at her daughter lovingly and left the doorway.
    Lucas looked over to Lucy, but to his surprise, she was no longer on the other side of the mirror. He could only see her reflection staring back at him. His true reflection took him aback. The first thought that popped into his head was that he looked beautiful. It wasn't a moment he was proud of, but he couldn't help it.
    Lucas looked at herself and found himself smiling at the sight somehow. Even though he was disturbed by the thought of it being him, somewhere deep down he was excited that he could look this beautiful. He was the kind of girl that would have made him melt down if they approached him.
    He twisted her hips and watched as the skirt swayed over her legs. He put her hands on her waist and puffed her chest out. He was freaking out from fear, but somehow he also felt confident in this outfit. He would have the courage to show up and do this.
    "See? All that discomfort was worth it, isn't it?" Lucy's mother asked. Lucas's heart skipped a beat, not thinking anyone was watching him act so feminine.
    "Might not be a pretty process, but it does give you pretty results," Lucy's mother quipped, "Now come on. We've got a wedding to go to."
    Lucas looked back at the mirror and thankfully saw Lucy in the reflection. His father entered the room and urged her to leave as well. Lucy looked back at him and nodded. Even after all that, they were still in sync. They walked out of their rooms and readied themselves for the ceremony ahead.