Trust Machines - Beastly Beauty 4

Chapter 4 - Attack of the Cheerleaders

In the morning, Bailey woke to find Violet still draped over her bed.  She wriggled out from under the sleeping girl, then wrapped the duvet over her to keep her warm.  Violet stirred, then sat up and rubbed her eyes.  “Ah, binocular vision.”

Bailey giggled.  “Did you miss it?”

“Honestly, no.  It’s not that hard to figure out how far away most things are.  Except when you’re a quarter your usual height.  That did take a little getting used to.  What was it like to be pet-sized with binocular vision?”

“Fun, mostly.  You were sooo big!”  Bailey flopped down on the bed beside Violet.  “You weren’t really tiny yourself, except when balled up.  Just sort of... middle-sized.”

Violet shrugged.  “I’m already small.  Being smaller didn’t seem much of a big deal, compared to being a ball.”  She snatched up a pillow and swatted Bailey with it.

“What was that for?”

“Trying to use me as a magic eight ball!  And for the record, my answer is...”  Violet chuckled as evilly as she could manage.  Her practice on the cheerleaders she’d made costumes for had paid off.

Bailey’s response was to giggle.  “He’ll like seeing me as a kittymonster, I’m sure.”

Violet’s wicked grin got even bigger.  “We’ll see.”

Bailey tried to tease more information out of Violet all through breakfast and their walk to the mall, but she wouldn’t budge.

Sunday proved even busier than Saturday.  Word of their fantastic costumes had spread far and wide.  A large portion of their customers that day were people they’d never seen before.  Some had even driven in from neighbouring towns.

Once they finally closed up shop just before dinner time, Bailey ran the totals.  “Wow.  Who knew Hallowe’en would be such big business.  We made more money this weekend than we have in the past six months.”

“We only started doing this six months ago,” protested Violet.  “Are you saying we just doubled everything we’ve made to date?”

“And then some, yeah.  If this keeps up...”

“It won’t.  The Hallowe’en rush will be over soon.”

“Spoilsport.  I was going to say we’re making more than enough even before the rush to cover the rent Mom’s asking.  You wouldn’t even need your mom to pay...”

Violet shook her head.  “Paying isn’t the issue.  She could afford it easily, and would agree in a heartbeat.”

“Then why haven’t you asked?”

Violet looked away, “It’s such a big step.  Leaving home…”

“Bah.  You’re just as much at home at my place as yours.  It’d mean continuous sleepovers, how can that be bad?”

“We need to study sometimes,” protested Violet, but there was a hint of a smile on her face.

Bailey giggled.  “Bah.  I’ll Venn you into a dress to get some peace if I need it.”

“Not if I get you first!” laughed Violet.  “You’d make a great costume.”

Bailey pouted at that.  “You can’t wear me to school Friday! I have to dress up extra sexy for Tony.  Shoot, I hadn’t even thought of that.  We need to design costumes for ourselves!”

“I was thinking a shiny black Catwoman outfit for you,” said Violet, serious again.  “And something else suitably heroic for me.”

“Want to go make them now?” asked Bailey, eagerly.

“I’m feeling all creatived out, can we do it later?”

Bailey nodded.  “Sure.  Are you okay with doing some shifts here after school?”  She held up her phone to Violet.  “We’ve had another dozen requests come in since we ‘closed’ for today.  We could make a mint between now and Friday if we can find the time.”

“I’ll have made costumes for the entire school by Friday at that rate,” Violet mused.  Her grin grew wicked.  “Sure, set it up.  See if you can get some of the guys in on it, too.”

“How, get their girlfriends to drag them in?”

“I don’t know.  Offer a couples deal?”

Bailey frowned.  “We’d probably take heat for that.  But... we could give referral perks for bringing in new customers.  Pretty much every girl in school except Chelsea is an existing customer at this point.”

“Really?”

Bailey nodded.  “There were a few cheerleaders in her circle who had been avoiding us... but you made flower costumes for them this afternoon.  I wonder what it’d take to get Chelsea into a Venn Machine so we can complete the set…”

“Chloroform,” deadpanned Violet.

Bailey snickered. “Sounds about right.  Ah well.  Are you going to come over for dinner?”

“Nah, I should try to see Mom at least once per weekend.”  Violet skittered forward and gave Bailey a quick hug.  “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome any time.  You know that, right?”

Violet nodded.  “Your whole family has made that abundantly clear.  I wonder if it’s too late to be adopted...”

Bailey looked shocked.  “You don’t mean that, do you?  Your Mom isn’t evil.”

“No,” sighed Violet.  “More... neglectful, I guess.  She doesn’t hate me, but she does seem to find me inconvenient.”

“Disappear for a month and she might change her tune.”

Violet giggled.  “Are you going to leave me as a potted plant next time a client decides that ‘Violet is a violet’ is funny?”

“I’d rather have you as a sexy dress.  But even more as a friend.  And roomie.  I could make you pet-sized for a month, you wouldn’t eat much.”

Violet shook her head.  “Little is fun for a while, but a month?  No.  Besides, there are classes, and work…”

“Weekends in my panty drawer?” offered Bailey with a grin.  “You’d make a cute bra.”

Violet blushed incandescently, and mumbled her answer toward Bailey’s feet.

“Too far?”  Bailey pulled Violet into a hug.  “I won’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”

Violet found a brave grin and even a chuckle.  “I bet I’d be super comfortable.”

“Is… Is that a yes?” asked Bailey, incredulously, pushing Violet back so she could see her best friend’s face.

Violet glanced both ways to check that nobody was watching, then cupped Bailey’s breasts with her hands.  “Yes.”

Bailey’s eyes went saucer-wide and she blushed as brightly as Violet had.  “Holy…  What happened to shrinking Violet?”

Violet smiled, and slowly slid her hands to Bailey’s shoulders.  “A dozen cheerleaders sucking up to me.  Me!”

Bailey smiled back.  “I hope you still feel that way tomorrow, when they’re back in Queen Chelsea’s orbit.”

Violet’s grin got toothy.  “Let them try.”

*** *** ***

Violet was looking less sure of herself Monday morning after she’d been tripped twice and hip-checked into a locker.  Despite the abuse, she kept smiling.

By the end of the day her dress was stained and torn, and she’d acquired a week’s worth of bruises.  Bailey hadn’t seen her since lunch, as they only shared a few classes.

“Oh my God, Vi!  What the hell happened?”

Violet’s grin managed to grow a little wider.  “Chelsea’s buddies on the football team.  I ran from a couple, and they chased me and cornered me right in front of the vice principal.  They’re both suspended for the week... until the game on Sunday, anyway.”

“Your dress is ruined!”

Violet shrugged.  “I can Venn something later.”

“How the hell are you still smiling?”

“Because I noticed something.  Not one of the cheerleaders so much as laid a finger on me.”

Bailey pointed down the hallway at three girls approaching them with serious looks.  “Might not last.”

Violet turned to face them, grin fading as they approached.  She went up on the balls of her feet, and met them with her head and shoulders high.  “What do you want?”

Amelia stopped outside Violet’s reach.  “Carson said you nearly got two of his buddies kicked off the football team.”

Violet shook her right arm, fluttering the torn remnants of the sleeve.  “They did this.  And would have done worse if Mr. Hanley hadn’t been there.”

“They attacked you in front of the vice principal?” gasped Stella.  “What the hell were they thinking?”

“Chelsea must be extra pissed at me today.  All her bully boys have been riled up, gunning for me.  And yet... I’m still here.  And two of them are not.”  Violet’s grin had returned, and to her amazement the cheerleaders flinched away from it.

Darla looked away, abashed.  “That might be my fault.  I was so excited about the costume, and Chelsea overheard.  She got kind of loud about it.”

“Darla!” exclaimed Amelia.  “Oh, no wonder.  It only got worse, because none of us...”

Violet’s smile became kind, and she took a step forward.  Amelia stood her ground, but the other two took a step back.  Violet touched Amelia’s arm.  “I noticed.  The cheerleaders stayed out of it.  Thank you.  That must have infuriated her.”

Amelia started to giggle.  “She was actually foaming at the mouth.”

“Really?”

All of the cheerleaders nodded.  “It’s not right, what she’s doing to you,” added Darla.  “You could have done all kinds of evil things to us, and you didn’t.”

Violet giggled.  “Sorry.  I... I mean, your costume turns you entirely into a flower.  That has to count as a little evil.”

“It does?” asked Stella.  “Cool!”

Violet blinked in surprise.  “You hated it when you thought yours was going to do that.”

“Yeah, but I want to see Darla’s now.”

The three cheerleaders chattered among themselves about their costumes.  Before long they’d started walking away, leaving a confused looking Violet in their wake.

“What was that?” she asked Bailey.

“About the closest thing you’re likely to get to an apology.  God, you were so cute, puffing yourself up like a cat when you thought they were here to fight.”

Violet turned to face Bailey.  “Cute?”

Bailey took a step back, holding her hands up to ward off Violet’s intense gaze.  “Wow.  You’re really on fire.  What got into you?”

Violet paced forward, again up on the balls of her feet.  Between that and Bailey slouching backward, their heads were at the same level.  “I don’t know, but I like it.”

Bailey had her back against the lockers, Violet’s hands to either side keeping her in place.  “W... what are you doing?”

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”  Violet leaned in further and kissed Bailey full on the lips.

Bailey’s eyes went wide with surprise.  First that Violet was kissing her at all. Then she was surprised to realize that she was starting to really enjoy the kiss. Bailey closed her eyes and relaxed into it.

Until she heard someone behind Violet say, “So hot...”

Bailey squirmed free from Violet, who tottered dizzily out of the way.  “Tony!  I... uh...”  Bailey looked from Tony to Violet helplessly.  There was nothing she could say that wouldn’t hurt one of them, and the lost look in Violet’s eyes was making her heart break.  So she took Violet’s hand and gave it a squeeze.  Violet latched on as if to a life preserver, stumbling again before using Bailey’s support to regain her balance.

“No, no, it’s okay.  If I had to get displaced by someone, the most interesting lesbian in the school is about the best I could hope for.”  Tony’s easy grin made it clear he wasn’t feeling hurt by what he’d witnessed.

“But I don’t want to push you away...” pleaded Bailey, still holding Violet’s hand.

“Oh, so you want both of us?  Greedy girl.”  Tony’s grin was, if anything, wider.  “I like it.”  He leaned in to give Bailey a quick kiss.  “Your friend’s had a rough day, take care of her.  I’ll catch you later.”

And with that, Tony sauntered off.  Bailey watched that fine, muscled backside until he’d turned the corner.

“What?” squeaked Violet.

“Tony’s pretty open-minded.  His best friend is gay.  And he doesn’t seem to mind that I’m bi,” said Bailey, dazedly.

“So... now what?”  Violet let go of Bailey’s hand abruptly.  “I don’t want to break you two up...  I mean, I kind of do, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

Bailey patted Violet’s hand softly.  “We’ll figure this out.  Okay?  But right now you need a new dress.  Let’s hit the mall, so we can Venn it into something pretty.”

Bailey didn’t leave Violet’s side all that afternoon.  They replaced Violet’s dress with a similar one in what Bailey considered a “prettier colour” – a rich green that matched Violet’s eyes.  Bailey also got rid of Violet’s bruises, as there were no exams scheduled until after Hallowe’en, and being subtly changed would not cause problems.

Violet hugged Bailey when her friend explained what she’d done.  “Wait... does this mean that if someone hurts me tomorrow, it won’t do any permanent damage?”

Bailey nodded.  “That’s the other reason I wanted you Venned.  I love you, and I hate seeing you hurt.”

Violet took a step back and stared at Bailey openmouthed.  “You love me?”

“After that kiss you had doubts?”

Violet smiled at her friend shyly.  “I guess the kiss showed that I love you, too.”

Bailey stepped up to Violet and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, a chaste peck.  “And how.  I am so confused right now it isn’t funny.  I wish it was the weekend and we could have a sleepover.”

Violet pinkened slightly, but smiled.  “I’d like that.  Might not get a lot of sleep.”

Bailey snorted out a laugh.  “Violet!”

“I meant with all the talking...”

“No you didn’t!” accused Bailey, pointing at Violet emphatically.

Violet giggled as her blush spread, but she met Bailey’s gaze.  “No, I didn’t.  I want to turn you back into the kittymonster and…”

Bailey put her finger to Violet’s lips. “I would love that.  So much it terrifies me.  This is all happening too fast, my head is spinning.  Let’s get through this week first, okay?”

Violet nodded and took a step back.  She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.  “You’re right, as usual.  You love Tony, too, and I have to…”

“I don’t,” said Bailey softly, looking away.

“What?”  Violet staggered back another step, and sat heavily on one of the mall benches.  “Why?”

Bailey sat beside her friend, hands clenched in her lap.  “I don’t know.  He was charming, I was …  Nobody looks at me like that.”

“I do,” said Violet.

“How do you think I figured it out?  You care.  Tony just wanted a conquest.”

“You didn’t…”

Bailey shook her head.  “I’m still a virgin.  Technically.  If I put him off much longer, he’ll probably bail and find someone who will go all the way.  I want my first to be special, and he isn’t it, I know that now.”

“Sorry,” said Violet, covering Bailey’s hands with one of hers.  “I wish I could make this easier.”

“Let me turn you into a guy.”

Violet gasped, then got off the bench to kneel in front of Bailey.  “Is that what you want?  I’ll do it.”

“I…” Bailey’s eyes shone.  “God, you would, wouldn’t you?  You’d let me Venn you into whatever turned me on, without even asking what it was.”

“Yes,” affirmed Violet without hesitation.

Bailey rubbed her eyes.  “Tony offered to Venn me into ‘something cuter’ once.  He got really upset when I agreed on the condition that I got to change him, too.  I refused to tell him what I’d do…  I was torn between giving him tiger stripes or making him a catgirl.”

Violet giggled.  “Oh, he hates being a girl.  We had too many guys for the ballroom dance week last year, and the teacher joked about using the Venn machines to even things up.  Most of the guys took offense, and Tony was pretty loud about it.”

“It’s like I don’t even know him,” moaned Bailey.  “I have to go talk to him and sort this out.”

Violet pulled her into a hug.  “Yeah.”

Bailey sighed and leaned on Violet as they walked to the entrance.  “How did life get so complicated?”

*** *** ***

The next day as she walked into the school Violet held her head high.  Feeling immune to her tormentors in her Venn-refreshed body helped.  She was wearing a Venned dress, too, so she felt ready for anything.

What she was not ready for was being left alone.  Nobody tried to trip her, or shove her.  By noon she was growing paranoid, wondering where the attack would come from.  So when Violet heard Amelia’s voice right behind her she nearly dropped her lunch tray.

Violet tensed, but then her mind replayed the question she’d heard.  She composed herself and presented as calm a face as she could when she turned around.  “Pardon?”

“I asked, do you want to sit with us?”  Amelia was flanked by Stella and Darla.

Violet raised an eyebrow curiously.  “But I’m not a cheerleader.  Why?”

“The cheer team doesn’t always hang out together.”

“There are four tables literally reserved for you.”  Violet nodded to the tables in question, where most of the cheerleaders were quietly eating under the watchful eye of Chelsea.  Nobody at the tables looked happy.

“Yeah…  Well, the clique is breaking down.”

“More like we’ve been excommunicated,” muttered Darla.

“What happened?” asked Violet, eyes wide.

“Sit with us and we’ll tell the tale.  Please?”

“If you’re okay with Bailey,” said Violet, setting down her tray so she could wave to her friend.

“Sure!”

The five of them ate lunch as the cheerleaders took turns telling tales of Chelsea’s rage.  The worst of it was due to Amelia instigating a boycott of boyfriends that tormented Violet.

Violet’s eyes went wide.  “You stopped them?  I’ve been jumpy all morning waiting for something to happen.”

The cheerleaders laughed.  “If Chelsea had any brains, she’d do that deliberately,” added Darla.  “But giving her targets a break… So not her.”

Violet shuddered.  “That would be tough to deal with.  To think it was over, then…”  She looked over her shoulder at the cheerleader tables.  “Is it over?”

“I think so,” claimed Amelia.  “She’s way more pissed at us than she ever was at you.  But nobody’s willing to do her dirty work any more.”

“Good,” said Violet vehemently.  “Maybe her reign of terror is over.”

Violet’s prediction held.  Over the next few days Chelsea fumed impotently, the cheerleader clique shattered into several competing factions, and Violet was courted by all of them.  She didn’t know what to make of it, and late on Wednesday asked Amelia what they were after.

Amelia pulled her aside, and told Violet to look at the dresses of the girls going by.  “Do you see anything in common?”

“Yeah, they’re all wearing my designs.”  Violet frowned.  “It used to be just a few here and there.  When did that change?”

“Piece two.  How did Chelsea show who was the boss?”

Violet shrugged helplessly.

“She has the money to buy all the latest fashions.  She became the trendsetter, if you weren’t wearing what she was wearing, or at least a passable imitation, you weren’t cool.  How did you not see this?”

“Never been one for cliques, or popularity contests.  All I saw was that the clothes were ugly, and I told Bailey I could design better.  She dared me to, and now it’s...  Seriously, is everyone wearing my stuff?”  Violet looked Amelia over.  “You aren’t.”

“You blacklisted all the cheerleaders.  Chelsea tried to make that a point of pride, but all of us have eyes.  She’s been getting more and more desperate to show her relevance, and...”  Amelia shuddered.  “Have you seen what she’s wearing?”

“It nearly blinded me.”

“So.  What they want is back into your good graces.  The cheerleaders are currently the least stylish people in school.”

“Oh!  Sure.  If they apologize, we’ll … What?”

Amelia was rolling her eyes.  “Just an apology?  You could ask almost anything, make us squirm…”

“I’m not like that,” said Violet hotly.  Then her tone turned musing.  “Though I could use more guinea pigs for my Venn design experiments.  But the idea of forcing someone to…  Now what?”

“If they involve pretty wings like Bailey had?  You’d get more volunteers than you’d know what to do with.”

“Are you serious?  You’d let me change your bodies?  I could make you helpless.”

“Oh, honey…  As long as you make me pretty, too, I’d take you up on that in a heartbeat.  Especially if you’d deliver me to my boyfriend.”

Violet started to grin.  “I can do that.”

Amelia wrung her hands.  “Oh!  I…  Wow.  You will?”

Violet nodded eagerly.  “For you?  Any time.  We’ll need a new category on the site…”

Amelia’s squirming grew more pronounced.  “Gottagobye!”  She dashed off.

Bailey giggled, causing Violet to spin around.  “Oh!  You heard all that?”

Bailey nodded, still giggling.  “We’re going to have an Intimate Designs category?  With delivery fees?”

“There appears to be a market.”  Violet tried to suppress her giggles, but Bailey’s were too infectious.  Their giggles didn’t die down until they were halfway to the mall.

“Seriously, though,” said Bailey.  “Would you be okay with that?  You’ll get all kinds of perverted requests.”

Violet shrugged.  “I’d rather not have it headlining the site, but... yeah.”  She cut a speculative look over at Bailey.  “Might get some fun inspirations out of it.  And of course, I’d have to test the designs on someone...”

Bailey blushed.  “Violet!”

“What?  You don’t want me to wrap you up with a bow and deliver you to Tony?”

Bailey’s expression darkened.  “I...  No.  Do you know what he said when I tried to talk to him about how I feel?”

Violet shook her head.  “What?”

“He asked if you’d be interested in a three-way.  The nerve!”

“And you just assumed I’d be horrified by the request?”

Bailey stared at Violet, mouth working soundlessly.

“Oh dear, have I stunned you with my polyamorous ways?”  Violet giggled.  “Okay, I’m not really serious.  Tony?  Ew, no.  Someone else we both find attractive?  It might be fun.”

“Male or female?” asked Bailey.

Violet shrugged.  “Not like that matters with Venn Machines.  Heck, we could have a threeway where Tony’s your dress.”  Violet grinned.  “Think he’d go for that?”

Bailey burst out in laughter.  “Never in a million years.”

“Boring.  I’d be your dress for a date.”

Bailey grinned.  “Going to take you up on that one someday.  Not with Tony, though.  I know you don’t like him much.”

“Whew.  So are you two still together, then?”  Violet asked.

“For now.  He didn’t take it well when I told him I couldn’t go to the Hallowe’en party with him.”

“Right, because we’ll be monsters.  So what did you tell him?”

Bailey shrugged.  “I didn’t.  Just told him something came up.”

Violet grinned wickedly.  “So the party will be a test?  You can snoop on him to see how he acts in your absence?”

“Exactly!  This is going to be so much fun, I can’t wait!”