Katie walked through the mall with a little smile on her lips, her hands occasionally tracing the outline of the ring beneath her shirt. A part of her felt a little naughty having it now, and the other felt completely justified. "If only Mom could see me now." She thought to herself. "Then again she'd think it was fine, I'm in college at this point with all the changes to things."
She might have been a colleged aged girl in body, but Katie knew that she wasn't one completely in mind. Sure she had some understandings that any college aged girl should have, but at her heart she was still a very inexperienced little girl. Her mind was brimming with all the experiences she had, and she couldn't get her mind of Josh, the boy from the party. The memory of him standing there, of their brief kiss left Katie feeling very warm and happy. Then of course there were all her friends, these former women. For the first time Katie felt like she could be herself, or even someone else. When she'd been a little girl, so much had been dictated by her Mom. Now, her mom was so relaxed she'd accepted becoming a kid again. Of course there were costs.
"Like Tricia..." she pondered. The woman had been turned into a little girl for trying to steal her ring. Now she was stuck being six years younger than whatever age Katie was. "Maybe I could change myself and her at the same time."
Katie was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice until it was too late, and bumped headlong into someone. She spilled over, almost into a fountain but a hand suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Blinking she shook her head and came out of a daze ... only to find herself looking right at Josh! Without the pirate costume he was even more handsome, a tall young man with dark brown hair and sky blue eyes. He smiled when he saw her, and Katie felt her young heart melt.
"Hey! Watch it there katie! You all right?"
"Huh? Oh ... yes... yes." She muttered. "I am now..."
"Heh, small world to bump into you here. What are you doing?"
"Oh uhm, I just came to get a piercing," Katie said.
"Oh?"
She nodded and lifted her shirt just slightly, blushing. The boy looked and she saw his cheeks blush too. "Hey, not bad."
"Thanks. Uhm, I had a lot of fun at your party."
"I did too, it was nice to meet you and your friends. They around too?"
Katie thought a moment, and for the first time in a long time she lied. "No, just me here."
"Well, I was heading out to the park. Would you like to come with me?"
Katie's heart jumped in her throat. "Yeah! Sure!"
"Great." He offered her an arm.
Katie took it, hooking her own around his elbow. As the two walked, Katie felt like she was on a cloud and wished....