“Don’t look at me like that Michael. You look like you are about to kiss me! Remember I’m your brother inside here”
“Oh! It’s just that you are my wife’s twin. It’s amazing!”
“Not quite. I still have my own hair and from my elbows down I’m still myself. Not much left of me is there? Was it you or Kerry who thought that I would have to go through the change completely before I could change back?”
“That was Kerry. I didn’t see anything about that in the stories though. But I suspect they are all fiction anyway…. But this is real!”
“I’m sort of feeling I may as well go all the way. Perhaps I should?”
“I’m not recommending anything. Kate said they were coming home. They should be back soon. Though I must admit I’m a bit curious. I wasn’t watching when you did your first change. Does it hurt?”
“Not at all. It’s just like a buzzing/tingling feeling. My skin goes rubbery and just changes”
“If you do decide to change could I watch? I must admit I’m curious”
“There’s not much left to change. If I do you are welcome to watch. I’ll admit I’m curious myself about whether or not my hair would change. The toenails changed so I guess the hair would as well. I imagine it will just grow quickly”
“Kerry’s hair is dyed. Would you get her new colour or her natural colour?”
“Well I got painted toenails and make-up so I don’t think a bit of hair dye would be an obstacle for these socks. Actually we can probably already tell” Tom stood up and moved across to Kate’s dressing table mirror. He instructed Michael “Hold that hand mirror so I can see the back of my head”
Tom positioned himself so he could see the reflection of the back of his head. He looked closely at the hairs at the base of his skull. “Look. The hairs here at the base are a bit darker than those further up. That’s Kerry’s colour, though there is no indication that the hairs have actually grown. Maybe I will keep my haircut?”
“I see what you mean” said Michael.
“I’ve got nothing left to lose. I’ll put the socks back on” Tom declared. “It might give Kate and Kerry a bit of a surprise but they are going to have one anyway”
“Just so long as you make sure Kate knows I didn’t force you”
“Pass me those socks before I change my mind”
Tom sat back on the bed and Michael tentatively picked up the socks. He had handled them yesterday with no ill consequences. All the same he quickly passed them to Tom.
Tom took a deep breath. For the first time he was changing himself on purpose. All the other times it had been accidental or he had been trying to change back. Now his intention was only to go all the way. He figured if he would be able to change back this wouldn’t make any difference. If he couldn’t change back, which he really didn’t want to consider then he was better off 100% Kerry.
He folded one of the socks and placed his left toe in it, then pulled it fully onto his left leg.
Tom decided to leave it like that for several minutes. Last time he had only observed tingles once the second sock was in place. He wanted to test if one sock was enough. He stood back up and moved back to the dressing table mirror.
Michael was watching. After two minutes he said “Nothing’s happening”
Tom explained “Just testing whether a single sock would work. It seems not. Last time the changes didn’t start until I put the second sock on”
Tom moved back to the bed and put the other sock on before moving back to the mirror. After 30 seconds he began to feel the buzzing “It’s starting”
Both watched intently. It was probably another 30 seconds before Michael noticed any changes. Tom’s ears were changing. The top of the ears seemed to shrink. Soon it matched the bottom of the ear. It was Kerry’s ear. When Michael gazed back at Tom’s forehead he noticed that was now Kerry’s as well.
Tom took his shirt off. He figured Michael had seen this body plenty of times. He wanted to watch his forearms change. The sleeves were two tight on his masculine forearms to be rolled up.
At first Michael was shocked. His brother just stripped in front of him down to a lacy light blue bra. “What are you doing?”
“I want to see my forearms change”
Michael watched. The change was spreading towards Tom’s still masculine hands. They were noticeably thinner above the zone of change. They were Kerry’s arms. He glanced back at Tom’s head “Hey your hair has all changed to Kerry’s colour. And it’s getting longer at the back”
Tom looked from his hands back to the mirror. His hair was now Kerry’s very dark brown and as he watched he could see the hair lengthening. It was totally Kerry in the reflection.
The changes continued for another 5 minutes. Their gazes went from hands to head and back again constantly. The hair was growing at about the same speed the changes were progressing down Tom’s arm and eventually onto his hands. The progress of the change was perfectly symmetrical in both hands. The speed was close about an inch every 30 seconds.
Tom’s hair stopped growing when the change zone was at his wrist. He now had a perfect copy of Kerry’s hairdo from the previous night, including the wave she had put into it with her curling wand. Tom had never had hair this thick. It reached the bottom of his armpits.
Realising the changes to his head had finished Tom now concentrated on the changes to his hands. It was another three minutes or thereabouts before the fingernails on his middle finger developed a coat of red gloss. The tingling stopped immediately. The change was complete.