I stared dumbstruck where the fairy woman had vanished, not believing what I had seen. And not believing no one else had seen it. I gingerly poked at the pile of glitter left behind, if only to convince myself that I wasn't going crazy. The dust clung to my finger and seemed to make my skin shimmer, similar to a drop of oil in a puddle, though without changing colors and staining anything that touched it. Intrigued, I picked up the entire pile and rubbed it into my skin. The glittery dust gave me a pleasant sheen that for some reason I found endearing.
Admiring myself in the mirror, I hummed to myself as I prepared for bed. I wasn't a bad looking guy by any means back then; years of gymnastics had given me a lithe but strong build even at the young age of sixteen, and my toned muscles seemed to ripple as the fairy woman's gliterring dust made my skin seem to sparkle. My shaggy ash-blond hair now seemed to ethereally highlight my light brown eyes. There was something otherworldly about me, I could tell, but I couldn't figure out what. Anyway, it was time for bed, so without a second thought I shucked what remained of my clothes and jumped into the warm embrace of my blankets and comforter.
The next day at school was perfectly ordinary. And the one after that. And after that. While my skin had acquired a natural shine it hadn't had before, nothing else was different. I went to class. I played with friends. I was buried under mountains of homework. I joined a few clubs. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. In time, I forgot all about the fairy woman and my wish, until I met my first girlfriend, Donna.
Donna wasn't very popular, but neither was I. We were both too busy with school, extracurriculars, and our lives to really worry about the cliche high school scene. If this had been a movie, we'd have just been the extras seen every other scene and probably having no speaking lines. I can't really remember how we met, though I suppose in the end it didn't matter. All I know is that it was towards the start of the third quarter. We hung out a bit, and would go to the movies or stuff, and I hadn't even realized we were dating until one night she kissed me.
I had just stared at her once she stopped. Sure, she was pretty, but I honestly hadn't thought of her that way. I hadn't thought of anyone that way, now that I thought about it. She'd looked a little crestfallen when I hadn't eagerly returned her kiss. It had been awkward, explaining that I liked it, but I just wasn't really sure what it meant and I hadn't been thinking of her that way.
"Dude, we've been on so many dates!" she'd protested. Looking back, it was obvious they'd been dates, and we were more than just friends. I liked being around her, sure, but I hadn't really thought that was out of the ordinary. I was a bit sheepish as she explained how long she'd liked me, and now she felt she was falling in love with me.
That's what really stuck with me, especially because that's when everything changed. No sooner had the word's left Donna's mouth than she froze, her body stiff as a board. Her eyes glazed over and I watched in horror as her long black hair pulled itself up into a messy bun. Her features seemed to melt away from the top down, as if everything within her body was being pulled and dragged and rearranged. First her face, round and soft as it had been, seemed to flush as her jaw became more defined, her lips slightly smaller, her eyelashes not quite as full anymore.
Her neck thickened, as if every heartbeat pumped it just slightly larger. Fat seemed to be draining away from her, exposing the muscles and what looked like an Adam's apple as the changes moved down her body. Her shoulders expanded, growing outward, bulking up her frame. The supple curves of her body seemed to harden ever-so-slightly, her average build becoming quite muscular. The changes were spreading down in waves, so that as her arms began to take shape and definition, her chest seemed to flatten and spread itself across her new frame. Her breast lost the fullness of her round bosom, spreading it out across flat pectorals. Her torso filled out a little more too. Not quite as narrow, like her neck it expanded with her pulse. I could only stare in shock as her clothes strained at new muscle, her shirt falling slightly empty over her chest, her pants seeming too tight. It wasn't until I saw a bulge forming at her crotch that I finally realized what was happening. Or maybe that's just when I admitted it. Either way, the fact was that Donna was turning into a man. Or rather, she was becoming male. She -- he? -- was still Donna, unmistakably so. It was like someone had just applied one of those Snapchat filters in real life.
Once the changes were finished, Donna unfroze with a shiver. She, now he, gasped and looked at me. "Sorry, felt like someone stepped over my grave," he said as he took my hand in his. I stared in shock, looking down at his strong hand. My breath caught in my throat. My heart was pounding. Was it fear? No, I didn't understand what had just happened, but I wasn't afraid. Looking at that face, it was obvious it was still Donna. My friend, my schoolmate, my... what else was I hoping he'd be? The pulsing in my head, the blush forming on my cheeks as I took in Donna's new body, and the stiffness I started to feel as my eyes looked him up and down gave me my answer.
"Anyway," Donna continued, oblivious, but now looking a little hurt again, "I thought you liked me, Master. I mean, I love you. I really love you. I thought you felt the same." My heart would've broken just at the tone of his voice, but the way his body sagged in sorrow almost made me want to cry. Almost.
"Why did you call me 'master?'" was all I could focus on. I hadn't even realized I'd said anything until Donna looked at me quizzically. Wait, was his name still Donna now? Should I call him 'Don' instead?
The man who had been Donna stared at me quizzically. "Would you rather I call you something else, Master? I thought that was the appropriate way to address the Master of the Harem."
The harem? What the fu-- the harem?! Suddenly I remembered a night months and months ago, at the start of the school year, and a wish I had made. "Donna," I managed to gasp, realizing what had happened. I had cursed Donna, cursed her to transform to my taste. And my taste was apparently in men. But no, I wasn't gay! I'd had a crush on Stacey Wilkins over Christmas vacation! More than a crush, if the morning wood I'd been sporting after one particular dream involving her and... no, that wasn't the time to think about it. Ok, so I'm bi, that was news to me, but it also made sense. I was getting lost in memories, putting together what I hadn't quite figured out when Donna cleared his throat.
"If you still want to call me 'Donna' then that is fine, Master," Donna said. "Though I think I'm more of a 'Don' now," he laughed. Did he remember being a teenaged girl just moments ago? Apparently he did, but was completely unfazed by it. I had to sit down, so I did. I just stared at Don, my mind reeling with questions. Soaking up Don's figure, though, did I really want to waste time asking questions right now?