MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 43
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 10:52
They were more than halfway to Fred's house, and Holly noticed that Jeff wasn't talking.
"You seem awfully quiet," she observed.
"Just thinking," Jeff answered. Simple and short.
Holly watched him for a moment. He was lost in thought.
"So what did you think?" Holly prodded softly. "About being so ... close?"
Jeff shrugged, but didn't answer. His lips seemed to purse more tightly together.
Holly was getting worried. This wasn't like Jeff. He seemed - distant, remote, even unapproachable.
"You're mad because I ... had sex," she suddenly bawled. "Aren't you?"
Jeff spun and glanced at her. His chin dropped in shock at her words.
Before he could say anything, Holly blurted, "You're going to dump me because of it, aren't you."
It was less a question than an accusation. Her tears started flowing, and with their hands on the steering wheel, she couldn't wipe them away. Instead they just streamed down her cheeks.
Jeff swallowed and took a deep breath - no small feat given that Holly was blubbering with their body and he had to fight that.
"I was thinking about how close we were," he started to explain.
"And we blew it," Holly interrupted. "Didn't we? All we did was argue and fight!"
Jeff sighed. He drove for a few seconds, not looking at Holly, which was obviously adding to her anxiety. It was clear that he was trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking.
MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 44
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 11:03
"I didn't realize how hard it was to be so close. It got a little ... tense ... a couple of times. But we worked as a team and got through it."
They pulled up to another light, and he stopped. This time, he turned toward Holly. She could see ... something ... in his eyes. Some emotion, some thought, that she'd never seen before.
"I was thinking that maybe it's time we got a little serious," he said softly.
Holly's mouth dropped open.
"Are you serious?" she asked, stunned. With one hand, she reached up and wiped at her tears. "You're serious?"
Jeff nodded solemnly. "Yup."
The car lurched to a halt against the curb. It was by no means a graceful stop, but neither Holly nor Jeff seemed to care. They both moaned at the way the jolt of the sudden stop had slammed into their tender heads which still smarted, despite aspirin, from the hangover they had. Slowly, they crawled from the car and walked toward Fred's house.
When no one answered the doorbell, Holly frowned.
MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 45
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 12:14
"Try again," Holly suggested to Jeff.
Jeff gave her a curt glance which said 'thanks for telling me the obvious', then he rang the bell once more.
They were rewarded with the sound of the bolt being unlocked, and the door creaked open. Fred, still a satyr, winced at the
bright sunlight.
"Hi," he said softly, as if the noise of his voice was painful to his ears. "Come in."
Holly and Jeff stepped into Fred's house, shutting the door behind them.
"Good party," Holly said tentatively.
It seemed to take a second for Fred to comprehend what Holly had said.
"Yeah," he agreed. "But I've got a bit of a hangover right now."
Holly glanced down at Fred's goat legs, then she blushed and looked back up.
"Okay, if that's what you want to call it."
Jeff wasn't so discrete.
"Sorry we interrupted. We'll just change and get out of here so you can finish up."
Fred frowned, then slowly a grin spread over his face.
"I needed a bit of a break anyway."
He walked back toward his bedroom, his hooves clicking on the floor.
Holly and Jeff walked into the den, where the alien box stood. As Holly reached out to touch the control pad, she frowned.
"What's this?" she asked as she spied the strange symbols flashing on the display pad.
MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 46
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 12:22
Jeff leaned a bit closer and looked. He frowned as he studied the flashing figures.
"I don't know."
Holly shook her head.
"I don't like it," she said, worry in her voice. "What if it means something is wrong with the box?"
Jeff nodded. "Let's get this over with."
Together, they touched the control pad, and the flashing figures disappeared. Slowly, they reconstructed their original bodies, assisting each other as they did so. Done, they reached for the purple knob.
"Wait a sec," Holly interrupted. Her voice was filled with uncertainty.
Jeff stopped. "What?"
Holly moved their hand back to the control plate. After a moment, the display changed. Holly looked at Jeff, her face tinged with the red of embarrassment and the wrinkled brow of uncertainty.
"Are you sure?"
MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 47
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 12:33
"Are you sure?"
Holly gulped, then she nodded.
"If you are," she answered softly.
Jeff nodded, then he touched the purple knob. The door appeared, and they stepped in.
"Ready?" he asked Holly as he held their hand an inch from the inside control knob.
Holly gulped again, then she nodded.
"Yeah," she agreed. The hand lowered. The door vanished. Moments later, the door reappeared and they stepped out, now separated as Jeff and Holly, and clothed as they had been the previous evening.
Jeff reached out his hand to Holly, who was caught by surprise. She took his hand in hers, and together they turned away from the alien box.
"I'll just tell Fred that we're leaving," he said softly.
"Okay," Holly said. "I'll just wait in the hall."
She detached her hand from his, then she leaned against the wall. She gazed into the den, to the strange box that had really changed their lives for the past day. She thought about what had transpired between she and Jeff during their forced intimacy.
Then her brow furrowed. She levered herself from the wall and walked into the den.
"Holly?" Jeff's voice echoed lightly in the hall. He walked down to where she'd been, then he glanced into the den, to where Holly stood staring at the display.
"What's going on?" he asked.
MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 48
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 13:59
Holly shook her head and frowned.
"I don't know. But the display froze with these characters on it, and it's not working now."
Jeff scowled, then he tried touching the control. As Holly had said, it didn't respond. He tried again.
"I better tell Fred."
He rushed back down the hall.
Moments later, Fred followed Jeff into the den, followed by a buxom redhead with a sheet wrapped around her torso.
"What did you do?" he demanded as he approached the box.
Holly shook her head.
"I was in the hall when I saw the display freeze. So I came in to look at it."
Fred pushed past her and gawked at the display.
"Hmmm," he muttered, then he touched the pad.
Nothing happened. He touched it again, with the same result. His taps on the pad became more and more frantic, more panicked, and he fought to get the box to respond to him.
"No!" he screamed as he began to beat on the red crystal in a futile attempt to get the box to operate.
"Are you ... saying it's broken?" the girl asked.
Her eyes were wide and panic-stricken. She saw Fred's frenetic efforts to make the box operate.
"You mean, I'm stuck? Like this?"
She was getting quite hysterical.
"I can't be stuck! Not like this!" she screamed over and over.
Fred joined her wailing.
"It's _got_ to work!" he screamed. "I _can't_ be stuck! I can't!"
Holly and Jeff stood, speechless, watching their friend, realizing slowly that he was stuck in the body of a satyr, and unable to do anything about it. And neither of them knew what they could do to help.
MAU: The Ultimate Costume, part 49
added by ElrodW on 09/18/2016 14:08
"Amy and Rich took the news pretty well," Holly observed as they pulled up to a stoplight.
"I'd say that Amy took it better than Rich," Jeff corrected. "Especially when Rich realized he was going to have periods."
Holly nodded.
"Did you see him blush when Amy said he'd be stuck having sex as a woman?" she asked with a wry grin.
Jeff laughed. "It seemed to me that they'd already tried it, and that he liked it."
"What about Fred?"
Jeff shook his head.
"I don't know."
The light turned green, and he was distracted for a moment with the clutch and shifting gears. He shook his head again, sadly.
"I don't know."
"I can't believe he's stuck as a satyr," Holly said softly.
"I can't believe Al would have let himself be talked into changing into a girl, and then would have sex with Fred!" Jeff added. He shuddered. "It's so ... weird!"
Holly shrugged her shoulders.
"Remember, there was something about being a satyr that had a ... strange ... effect on women."
Jeff shuddered. "Don't remind me."
"So maybe it wasn't really Al's fault that they were having sex."
They were silent for a couple of blocks. Then Holly turned to Jeff.
"You realize we almost got stuck ... like we were."
Jeff felt a chill go up his spine - again.
"I haven't been thinking about much _besides_ that!"
A smile slowly spread over Holly's face.
"And we're stuck ... the way we are now. It's not just for a few days like we'd planned."
Jeff bit his lip, then he nodded.
"As long as I'm with you," he finally said.
"And besides," he added with a grin, "you seem to be pleased."
Holly smiled. "And I think you're going to like it, too. I'm pretty sure I can convince you of that."
"I'm glad Halloween's over," Jeff said after a short pause.
"So am I," Holly agreed. "But next year?"
Jeff glanced at her. "What?"
"Simple costumes."
She started laughing, and Jeff joined her.