After what seemed like an eternity to John, he saw mirror image quickly change back to the reflection he was used to seeing. The hair quickly seemed to recede into his head and return to his previous hairstyle. His jaw pushed out wider, his nose expanded, his lips became more flat, and the overall shape of his head quickly morphed into his familiar look.
Katie stood there staring at him with her mouth agape. When the changes were complete, she finally managed to let out a quiet, "Wow!" She reached up and felt John's stubble. "Did it hurt?"
John looked down at her. "No, not at all. Not even a tingling sensation. If I hadn't watched it happen, I'd never have known I changed."
"I wanna try!" Katie held up the headband.
"Woah, hold on. Are you sure about this?"
"Sure! You changed back fine. I wanna see what happens when I do it. It's my turn!" Katie put the headband on her head and moved to stand in front of the mirror, playfully pushing John out of the way. By the time she looked at her reflection, the changes had already started. After a moment, she saw her own face staring back at her, but her hairstyle had been modified. Her long hair was now much shorter and fashioned into the exact same 1920's style John had worn a moment ago. She had also retained her own hair color. As for her face, there were some slight modifications, but anyone would still immediately recognize her as herself. She noticed that some skin blemishes had disappeared and her face might be a little thinner than before, but ultimately it was still her.
John watched silently and looked closely at Katie's head. He thought she looked a bit sexier, but couldn't quite put his finger on why. It wasn't the hair, there was something else about her...some subtle change. He decided to compliment her. "You look great!"
"Thanks! Looks like I got the same hairstyle you did and it cleared up my skin a little, but those seem to be the only significant changes."
"Yeah, since it made me a woman, I wondered if it was going to change your gender and make you male, but I guess it just makes everyone into a sexy flapper. Makes sense, I guess...given that it's a flapper headband."
Katie pointed to the bed. "There's another headband in the bag. Put that on. Let's see if it does the same change."
John tiled his head. "Why me? I don't want to be a woman."
"Oh, come on," Katie begged. "We'll definitely notice the changes if you wear it. Besides, it's only temporary. C'mon, it'll be fun!"
John sighed. "Okay, but no photos. In fact, give me your phone." John held out his hand and Katie took her phone from her bed and gave it to him. "I'm going to turn both our phones off and leave them here on your dresser. Okay?"
Katie was a little disappointed, but didn't want to argue. "Okay, fine. If I want you to take some photos of me looking sexy later, is that okay?"
John grinned. "Yeah, I guess that would be okay."
Katie grinned and handed him the other headband. Spotting the long gloves in the bag, she pulled out a pair and put them on. She handed the other pair to John. "Let's try these too."
"Are these going to give me girl arms?"
"Probably," Katie guessed. She shrugged. "Hey, it's only temporary. Let's try it out. It's not like I'm going to sneak any photos."
John started pulling a glove up an arm. "Fine." He didn't admit it out loud, but he liked the feel of the silk extending up his arm. Holding up a hand, he noticed that his fingers looked thinner. "I think it worked." He held out a hand to show Katie.
Katie looked at John. "Wow!" She looked at her own gloved arms. They looked pretty much the same to her. She wondered if they looked different underneath, but she wouldn't be able to tell until she took them off. She decided to leave them on for now.
John had put the second headband on his head and looked over at Katie. "How do I look?"
Katie looked up from her arms and saw the face of a woman looking back at her. It appeared to be the same woman as before, but with a different hairstyle. "You changed again. You actually look like the same woman, but your hair is styled differently."
John walked over to the mirror. Looking back at him, he did see the same woman reflected in the mirror. Instead of finger waves like he had earlier and Katie had now, his hair was now in a bob style. There were larger waves in the hair at the top of his head with smaller curls sticking out around the sides and back of his head. He reached up and pushed the curly hair a bit.
"Wow, that hairstyle is actually pretty cute." Katie walked around to the other side. "Seems to fit your dainty face well."
John made a face. He didn't appreciate being called "dainty". "I definitely look like the same woman though...just with a different hairstyle."
"The headband kept my face mostly the same. That's likely because I'm already a woman. I wonder if this is what you'd look like if you were born female." Katie thought for a moment. "You don't have any sisters, so it's hard to know if there's any resemblance."
John squinted at his reflection. "You know, now that you mention it... I do kind of look like an old photo of my grandmother that I've seen. It was taken when she was about my age." He smirked and looked at Katie. "I hope you don't mind making out with your boyfriend's grandmother." He puckered his lips.
Katie laughed. "Ew! Gross!" She quickly smooched John on his lips. His eyes opened wide with surprise. He hadn't expected her to follow through, but certainly didn't mind.
John grinned and looked down at Katie. "Okay, can I take this off now?"
Katie flashed a devious grin and looked up at John. "Net yet. I've got an idea..."