A Mad Tea Party

Please note this story is written in British English: some words and phrases will be different from US English, but meaning should be obvious enough: you're smart people.

Also, this is a very soft crossdressing and gender exploration story: there is no sex, so if you're looking for sex or sex acts of any kind, this might not be the story for you.

Chapter 1

"Just a minute!" Abi's voice came from inside her flat. James was a few minutes early, but he was hoping she'd be ready to leave: they had a long drive ahead of them, and he wanted to get going. A few moments later, the door swung open, and he realised immediately what the delay must have been: she and her friends were going to the annual costume night, and their group theme, as he understood, was Alice in Wonderland. Abi stood in the doorway, posing, in her Queen of Hearts costume.

"What do you think?" asked Abi. James knew how proud she was of this costume: Abi had always been into costume design since they met at university. She wanted, someday, to do it professionally, but until then, her creative outlet was making her own costumes, and the annual theme night was the biggest event of the year. She'd start planning months before, and once she had, it was hard to get her to talk about much else. Still, he certainly wouldn't have to be polite: her outfit was, as far as James was concerned, incredible. The dress was a deep, rich red velvet at the front, or at least it looked like velvet and continued in an equally luxurious looking black at the sides. Her breasts were framed by the corset top, which was detailed with rhinestones and hearts and also made her waist a shape he barely recognised, flaring out into a skirt that stopped barely below her thighs with layers upon layers of dark red tulle below. The intricate puff sleeves flowed gracefully into a large, white and gold detailed collar that reached up almost to her ears. A small crown sat on the centre of her head, a little taller than it was wide, and was adorned all the way around with rubies (fake, he assumed) and one large, heart shaped one at the front. If he hadn't just heard her voice, he swore he would barely have recognised her, particularly since a matching red velvet and ruby-detailed carnival mask covered her eyes. On top of this, her hair, rather than the usual brown, was a bright, striking red.

"I mean, there'll be makeup, obviously. And I didn't have time to put the boots on, or the gloves... but you get the idea, right?" Abi continued as James became aware that he'd been silent for a little too long. Sure, he'd been on nights out with Abi before plenty of times, and even seen her in several of her custom-made costumes before: she always looked great, but he realised this was the first time he'd ever actually seen one of her outfits for the theme night, and this was on another level. She looked spectacular.

"It's... amazing!" He finally managed, "...and that's not even the finished product?"

"No, well, I was just making some final adjustments when you buzzed the flat so I thought you deserved a preview since you won't get to see it otherwise. Anyway, come in — I'll get changed and we can go. Thanks again for driving me into town, this makes it so much easier."

As he made his way into the flat and got comfortable on the sofa, he explained again that it really wasn't a problem since he was going anyway to pick his sister up from the airport. And besides, he hadn't seen her in a while, so a short diversion into the city centre was well worth it to catch up with a friend. She was right though, he'd be on his way to the airport long before the night started, so he wouldn't get to see her or any of her friends in costume. Now that he'd seen the preview, he was starting to regret this. She continued her explanation from the other room: the night they were going to was apparently not just any theme party: it was quite well known in costume designing circles. People would come from far and wide in their best homemade costumes for the night, all to compete in the costume contest. Competition was fierce and the standard was exceptional: it was apparently well known that theatre and film studio executives turned up and winners would, very occasionally, walk away with a job offer as well as the prize money. They were entering the group costume category, as they had for the past few years. This year, they were going all-out to win.

A few minutes later, Abi emerged with what must have been her costume, packed up into garment bags and plastic storage boxes. "Can you manage the rest of these?", she ordered, gesturing with her one free finger at a pile of more bags and boxes on the floor.

"There's more?" he asked.

"There's Becky's in there too," she replied. "She's at some work event and flying straight into the city, so I said we'd take her stuff too."

Becky was a mutual friend, although James often tuned out of her and Abi's costume planning conversations, which were very frequent at this time of year.

"I see why you wanted a lift," he responded.

The journey into the city took just under a couple of hours. They soon realised that they hadn't seen each other much at all since James started seeing his girlfriend: she took up a lot of his time and probably would have been a little jealous of him hanging out with Abi anyway, even though she was an old friend. However, they had only just turned onto the main road when Abi learned that this girlfriend was now an ex-girlfriend. Of course, James hadn't thought to mention it.

"When did this happen!?" quizzed Abi, intently.

"Last weekend. We broke up over dinner." He replied, trying to be very matter-of-fact about it, which Abi wasn't buying for a second.

"Ohhhhh, mate! Why didn't you say anything? Anyway, you're better off, now we can get everyone together and have a proper night out again!"

She was right; he hadn't seen much of any of his friends. He didn't enjoy everything about their nights out drinking, but he had to admit, he did miss seeing everyone, and the rest of the drive reminded him why: singing along to Abi's impeccable choice of road trip songs made the journey fly by.

They had just parked at the hotel where Abi and her friends were staying when James realised he hadn't even thought to check his phone. Looking at it, he saw a string of messages and missed calls from his sister. It wasn't good news: her flight had been cancelled. He glumly shared the news with Abi.

"Oh, mate, you're not having a good week." She remarked. "Can she get another one?"

"They're saying they're going to try and get her on the next one, but it's not until this evening."

"Well, are you going to hang out here until then? Can't you tell her to get the train or something?" offered Abi.

"Nah, she wouldn't have that, especially after she's been delayed."

"I'm telling you, you are way too nice, James. Anyway, why don't you hang out with us for a bit, if you're waiting around? You remember Lucy, right?"

A girl about the same age as them had just stepped out of the hotel, the way she was enthusiastically running towards them was enough to jog his memory: short, curvy and very, very bubbly; he didn't recall which party he'd met her at, but he certainly did remember that voice.

"Abiiiiiiiiii!", she yelled as she made her way over to the car. "and... James, right? Abi has told me all about you!"

"I literally just told you he was giving me a lift, Luce," Abi interjected. "Anyway, mind if James hangs out with us for a bit? His sister's flight has been cancelled."

"Aw, that's rubbish. Sure! Is anyone else here yet? I just arrived," replied Lucy.

"Nah, I'll text Steph and Jas and let them know we're here." Abi turned to James to explain, "Remember them? My roommates. Steph's our makeup star, and Jas is the one who first introduced us to the costume contest night. Oh, and Lucy's our one-girl hair department. Then it's just Becky... her flight gets in later... or at Ieast I hope it does".

Abi had just finished checking in and getting the keys for their rooms when they noticed Lucy had become uncharacteristically quiet. They turned to her and saw her staring intently at her phone, the colour drained from her face. "Uh, Abi?" she uttered, meekly.

"Luce, what is it?", enquired Abi.

"I was just checking Becky's flight. What time was it supposed to get in? 1:30?"

Abi responded, hesitantly, "Yeah, I think so... why?"

"It says here it's been diverted... all the flights are messed up."

"What? Where to?" Abi asked urgently.

"Doesn't say, but it doesn't look like much is landing at the moment... that's all it says."

"Shit." Abi exclaimed.

"I'm sure she's fine," offered Lucy.

"I'm sure she is, but she's never going to make it for tonight, is she?" Abi retorted.

Lucy continued to offer reassurance. "She might — we don't know where she's been diverted to yet, she could still make it"

James piped up, "Couldn't the four of you still go?"

Abi turned to him swiftly: "Not really, mate, she's fucking Alice. You can't have an Alice in Wonderland group theme without a fucking Alice."

James immediately regretted his words. Actually, he didn't really see why they couldn't have gone without an Alice: after all, the folk of wonderland must have been going about their daily lives before Alice dropped in? Nonetheless, he thought it best to keep this thought to himself as Lucy attempted to save him.

"Well, couldn't we switch and one of us wear her costume? I mean, you've got it, right?"

Abi paused, but only briefly. "The only one of us anywhere near Becky's size is me, and even then, it would take some adjusting. Plus, I've worked fucking hard on mine too." James nodded in agreement, remembering how impressed he was by it a couple of hours ago.

"Do we know anyone else?" Lucy continued, as Abi paused for longer, deep in thought. "Not really... a couple of the girls from work, I guess, but they're miles away, and I don't know them that well anyway."

Lucy replied thoughtfully: "Steph and Jas might know someone? I'll text them."

The three of them headed dejectedly up to the hotel rooms.

Chapter 2

It was a budget hotel, and the room made no effort to hide it. It was basic, but clean, save for a few scuff marks on the walls from an endless onslaught of rolling suitcases. Apart from the bed, a long desk along one wall, a chair, a TV, and a rail for hanging clothes, there was very little else. Some abstract framed artwork hung on the wall above the bed, and the rail was already loaded with the costumes in bags they had brought with boxes below. James sat in the single chair while Abi and Lucy perched on the end of the bed, all staring at their phones, searching and hoping in vain for news on the incoming flights. After what seemed like forever, Abi's phone buzzed.

"FUCKING SCHIPOL!?" she yelled. James and Lucy both almost dropped their own phones, but Lucy composed herself and replied, "What?"

"They've landed her in fucking Amsterdam!" she continued in disbelief, before collapsing backwards onto the bed. Lucy looked like she was searching for something to tell Abi, but didn't have much to offer. Even if she could get another flight, the odds of her making it in time would be slim at best.

"Maybe Steph or Jas know someone, and even if they don't, we still have four really great costumes," consoled Lucy.

Before they could dwell on it, Abi's phone buzzed again. It was Jas.

"There you go — have they found someone?" asked Lucy.

"No, but they're downstairs. I'll go and meet them. Coming?" sighed Abi as she rose glumly from the bed. Lucy followed, but James decided to stay put and passed a few minutes flicking between the local news and flight information screens, hoping for some more information. Not so much for his sister: she'd be fine, but more for Abi now. If he didn't already know how much this night meant to her from how much she talked about it, he certainly did now, and felt terrible for her: and for all them. Still, at this point he was hoping for a miracle.

Soon enough, James heard the click of a keycard in the door as Abi walked in, followed by, he assumed, Steph and Jas with Lucy following behind. "J", Abi directed at him, "You remember Steph?" A tall, athletic girl gave a wave. James thought he remembered seeing her before, but certainly would have if she were as distinctive as she was right now: her hair was long, wavy, and bright pink.

"...and Jas?" continued Abi as the other girl gave a friendly, but slightly more timid wave. She was a little shorter, in baggy jeans and a t-shirt, her short, dark hair in a casual, side-parted sweep.

"Nice one. Thanks for driving all our stuff up." Steph addressed James in a brash but friendly voice. "Sorry your sister's caught in the same mess."

As if on cue, James's phone had just lit up, but it still wasn't the good news he was hoping for. "Well, her next flight's cancelled too" he said, reading off the screen. "They're rebooking people onto the flight tomorrow morning."

"Ah, that sucks. You gonna drive back?" asked Steph.

Abi answered before James could start talking. "Well, why bother — looks like we have a free room now, why don't you just stay in Becky's room then pick your sister up in the morning?"

She was right: he didn't need to get back home, and going all the way back just to drive out again in the morning would be a huge waste of time, not to mention fuel. At least this way he could relax for a bit, even if it was just watching TV in the hotel.

"I mean, if you don't mind and Becky doesn't turn up... just let me know what I owe you for the room," he answered.

Abi responded: "Don't worry about it, just sorry you came all this way just to drive us around. I'd say come out with us tonight, but you'd never get in without a costume, and a shop-bought one wouldn't cut it here even if you could find one in time."

"It's really no problem: I'll be fine — I've got box sets to catch up on." Although he did like the sound of some beers and good company post-breakup, James reassured her. "I'm more worried about you and your contest tonight."

The room fell silent as nobody quite knew what to say. A moment later, a voice piped up from the corner of the room. Jas had been so quiet that James had almost forgotten she was there. "Um..."

Seemingly, in the drama, her presence had slipped everyone else's minds too: they looked around at her. "Just an idea... but..." She hesitated. "No... never mind."

"What?" demanded Abi.

"No, it's silly — forget I said anything," said Jas, staring at the ground. Abi insisted: "Aw, c'mon, Jas, any stupid idea would be better than nothing."

"Well... I'm not certain, but... isn't someone almost exactly the same size as Becky standing right there?"

James was trying to compose a reply to his sister and was barely paying attention, but the silence made him look up and realise everyone was staring at him. Abi broke the silence: "James, just... out of curiosity... what size are you?"

He didn't really know what to say. "Uh... small?"

Abi rolled her eyes and started over towards the boxes below the clothes rail, swiftly producing a tape measure. "Arms up, please," she ordered in a tone so authoritative that James raised his arms instinctively. After taking a few measurements, Abi turned to Jas. "You're right: that could actually work, but..."

"But what? It's perfect!" barked Steph, assertively. "What else is he going to do? Stay in the room and binge-watch TV? Besides, Becky's put a load of work into her costume: she won't want some random wearing it, but you two are good friends, right?"

James didn't really believe what Jas was suggesting, but it had now been made fairly plain. He responded: "Hold on, before you go any further: just no. Nope. Not gonna happen. Look, maybe I can find you someone..."

Steph interrupted him: "Why not? You know what this night is, right? If you're worried about standing out, you won't. There'll be everyone of every gender dressed in everything you can think of. You'd stand out more if you went dressed like that." She gestured towards him in his casual faded jeans and band T-Shirt.

Jas continued before he could say anything. "Plus, we have one of the best makeup artists around," she gestured at Steph. "You can make that work, right Steph?"

Steph looked pensive. "Well... it's not exactly something I've done before, but... yeah, shouldn't be too hard, I guess..."

"Plus," added Jas, "it's a masked ball anyway! Nobody even needs to know who you are!"

Abi was starting to look more convinced. "It could actually work pretty well, you know..."

Lucy piped up: "Aw, go on, James! Why not? It'll be fun!"

James still did not look convinced. "No, forget it... I've seen the TV shows... I'm not shaving my legs or..."

"The costume's perfect — you wouldn't need to," Jas interjected. "And if you're worried about..." she blushed and gestured vaguely towards the top of his legs, "...bulges, that won't be a problem either."

"What about my voice, though? That still sounds like, well..." he tailed off.

Jas interrupted: "It's a club: it'll be too loud to do much talking anyway, and even then, nobody would even bat an eyelid."

Abi turned to James. "OK. Look... we've known each other for a long time and I know this isn't really your thing, but..." as she talked, she picked up a suit carrier from the hanging rail. "...here. Just go in the bathroom and try it. That's all I'm asking. You don't even have to show us. If you can't do it, fine, go and watch TV for the evening and I promise none of us will ever speak of this again. But just try it, that's all I'm asking."

In all the years he'd known Abi, he'd never seen her be this... sincere? Of course he wanted to help her out. He had to admit, he was more than a little curious whether it would actually fit or not. Sure, he was fairly small for a guy, but he'd never fit into something made for Becky — that was ridiculous. Either way, since she'd said he didn't have to show them, he figured he could just hang out in the bathroom for a few minutes and then tell them it didn't fit.

"OK, fair enough," he said as he headed into the bathroom and hung the hanger on the hook on the back of the door. The suit carrier was framed neatly by the light wooden door, the zip resting neatly at the top.

He unzipped the bag and looked. Inside was a dress that was simpler but every bit as incredible looking as the one he'd seen Abi wearing earlier. This one was a light pastel blue in a shimmery, satin-like material and carried on up into a crisp collar around the neck. The sleeves were similar, with delicate round puffs around the shoulders, finished with a dainty white frill at the cuff. As he continued unzipping the bag, he revealed a skirt in the same soft, pastel blue satin. There was no way he could wear this. He would just wait a few minutes, pretend he'd tried it on, tell Abi it didn't fit, and that would be that. He would pick up a few beers and relax in front of the TV.

The dress still hung there, the delicate folds of the skirt sticking out through the open zip of the suit carrier. Apart from being curious about whether it would actually fit or not, he also now wanted to know what it felt like. That soft, glimmering satin fabric. What was wrong? Was he... scared? Why?

He couldn't tell whether it was curiosity or refusing to be afraid of a piece of clothing, but he reached into the suit carrier, unzipped a zip at the back of the collar, and took the dress off the hanger. Without really being quite sure what he was doing, he took off his trainers, t-shirt and jeans and discarded them on the bathroom floor.

"Well, alright then," he thought to himself, considering how he was supposed to put it on. The zip went down quite a way, so he figured that stepping into it must be the way it was intended to work. He pulled it up and put his arms through the sleeves with little trouble, so carried on and tried the zip at the back. It pulled up a few inches, but then stopped. He certainly wasn't going to risk breaking the zip, so that was that: it didn't fit. Becky could just wear it some other time, and he could enjoy a night of TV in peace.