Girlfriend with Testing Device Ch. 06

I blinked back some tears. I didn't even realize I had gotten so worked up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. This has just been eating away at me all day." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "I need you, baby. I need you to be there for me. Even if it's just having someone to talk to about this with, and I need you to be there to make sure this power doesn't change me, doesn't make me some kind of turbo-slut or supervillain or something."

A faint smile broke across his concerned face.

"Of course." He said, solemnly. "I promise, baby, that I will always be there for you, no matter what. And that if this all ends with you somehow trying to take over the world, I'll be there to stop you."

I leaned over and gave him a great big hug.

"But I need you to promise me something as well, okay?" he continued "I need you to promise me that you're going to help me help you. No more using the device off on your own when you think I'm not looking. No more just taking it out and using it without telling me what you're up to. If you want me to help, you need to help me help. You can trust me, baby, with anything, but no matter how much I promise, I can't help - I can't even talk to you about things - it if I'm oblivious to what you've changed."

I held the hug for just a moment longer, taking comfort in his warmth.

"Right." I said. "That... that makes a lot of sense. I'm sorry, I've been pretty self-absorbed about all this haven't I?"

"Maybe just a little," he laughed.

We pulled apart and stared into each others eyes.

"I love you, Evan."

He smiled.

"I love you, too, baby."

We hugged again, until I felt better.

"Sorry." I said as we eventually pulled apart. "I've completely sidetracked us, haven't I? What were we doing?"

"You know what?" Said Evan "We can do more shopping later. Are you hungry?"

I nodded. Breakfast aside I hadn't eaten very much that day.

"Then let's go get some food," he laughed, "I'm starving."

The food court was packed. It was that nebulous time of night that could only be described as the dinner rush. As a general rule, I try to get my shopping done when things aren't super busy, so this was the most crowded I had ever seen the place. It was going to take us a while, but that was fine. It was normal in the kind of way that I needed to help keep me grounded. Despite the thoughts crossing my mind, I wasn't going to swap our way to the front of the line or swap ourselves some good seats or anything like that. We were just going to stand here patiently while I practice my self-restraint.

Evan, bless his heart, had tried and failed, to use his feminine wiles to get a couple of guys to give up their seats for us. The poor thing was still accustomed to guys finding him super hot. He seemed kind of disappointed that it hadn't worked. What can I say? They just didn't see in him what I did, no matter how thick he laid it on.

Eventually, we found a table off in the corner. It was a little cramped, but it was out of the way and we had a good view of the court.

Normally I find mall food kind of bleh, but today I was completely famished. Nothing makes food more appealing than hunger. I guess my new body came with some weird calorie requirements: big boobs apparently meant a big appetite. That said, it could have just as easily been the marathon sex Evan and I had had that morning. Better eat up, actually, I thought to myself. There was going to be plenty more of that to come tonight.

Evan was just as hungry. He returned with a whole tray bursting with food. He'd always been a big eater so that was pretty typical for him. What was surprising was that he only really picked at it, taking these tiny little bites and chewing slowly rather than scarfing everything down at once. I guess there had been some kind of disconnect between what he thought he could eat and what his body could handle, big boobs or not. Maybe he thought his big jock body needed a bunch of big jock food when it was basically the opposite case. Or maybe eating habits fell under body language? Was this what sexy eating looked like? Shit, now that was all I could focus on. My dick shifted uncomfortably in my seat, uncertain of if it liked what it saw.

Our attempts at conversation were cut short by the sudden keening shriek of rambunctious children, audible even above the din of the crowd.

Now, normally, I'm fine with kids. I don't especially like them, but I can tollerate them. These kids however were completely out of control. They had apparently decided that a huge cramped crowd of hungry, exhausted people was the perfect place to start chasing each other around while screaming at the top of their lungs.

They were... well, I'm a bad judge of ages. They were young enough that they probably thought running around screaming like idiots was great fun, and evidently not old enough to know any better. It was a brother and sister. The boy seemed to have spilled something chocolatey down the front of his shirt at some point and one of the girl's hands seemed conspicuously sticky.

Their parents, a worn-down couple sitting a table down from us, seemed completely unable or unwilling to control their offspring. I was actually kind of surprised at how young they were, but they had this kind of exhausted look in their eyes that spoke of being aged well beyond their years. With kids like these, I couldn't blame them.

Slowly, I withdrew the device from my bag, then I stopped and looked up at Evan. He looked down at the device then back up at me. I could feel a lump in my throat.

"What's the plan?" He smiled impishly.

Reassured, I smiled back. "I was thinking," I said, trying to balance between being heard by Evan and not being heard by anyone else, "of helping those parents get their kids under control for a bit. You know, just taking some of the weight off their shoulders."

There was a pause while he looked the parents over.

"Temporarily, of course." I added, as though it were so obvious that it was hardly worth saying.

He smiled again and nodded in approval as he wrapped his hands around mine and the device.

I smiled back at him, then began adjusting the controls. We pressed the button together.

Zzzzttttt!

So, as it turns out, doing multiple swaps at once was a little trickier than I had anticipated. I don't know if I had just aimed it wrong, or if something had gotten mixed up somewhere in the line, or what. Regardless, Evan and I had to struggle to contain our laughter.

We had hit our intended targets, that much was clear, but, well, the mother had ended up with the body of her young son, and the father had ended up with the body of his little girl.

Much to my surprise, the kids continued to run around, their suddenly adult bodies banging all the more annoyingly into tables and other patrons. That got some dirty looks. Luckily it didn't take them very long for their energy to burn out. Soon, to our great relief, they returned, tuckered out and quiet, to their parents.

The parents, conversely, seemed completely enervated by the swap. In fact, they were now struggling with that same impatient energy that had been driving the kids completely crazy a moment ago. The father was enthusiastically swinging his pink-clad legs back and forth in his seat as he leaned over his plate while the mother fiddled nervously with the fork in her hand. Well, at least all that energy was now tempered by a mind that wasn't going to run around and yell like an idiot.

The noise having suddenly died down I managed to catch the tail end of their conversation. They were discussing where they needed to go shopping next. It seemed that they needed to go buy more tampons for their son. The boy, sitting there awkwardly in his mother's body, blushed with embarrassment when this was mentioned. His sister stuck out her tongue, but it was her turn to get embarrassed when the father mentioned that they needed to pick up some hemorrhoid cream for her as well.

They also concluded that maybe a treat was in order for the children, since they were being so well behaved all of a sudden. The father concurred, and suggested that he had a craving for something sweet himself.

As eager as I was to continue enjoying this little piece of dinner theater, it, and my appetite, was completely ruined by what happened next.

If only I hadn't looked over at just that moment. I may have missed her. If only I and Evan had been sitting in opposite seats, my back would have been turned and I would have been none-the-wiser. I could have gone on with my day without everything that was about to happen. But no, I had to look over at just that point. It felt like I was in a movie and everything was moving in slow mo.

There, walking into the food court, dressed like the perfect little barbie doll that she was, was Essie del Rio.

"Shit." I blurted out. My smile sank as the bitter taste of anxiety rose up in the back of my throat.

Evan turned around to follow my gaze.

"What?"

"Don't look!" I yelled, pulling his hand.

"What is it?" he said, looking all the harder.

"It's... It's..." I growled. "Do you remember I told you about that one girl that used to make my life a living hell in high school?"

"Which one?" he said turning back to me.

I shot him a dirty look. He shrugged apologetically.

"The fashionista."

He raised an eyebrow. "The one who stole your boyfriend?"

"Josh wasn't my boyfriend! And yes! That's her!"

"Where?" he turned back to look again.

"The skinny blonde one with the stupid designer top and purse!" I gestured "She's got like, two bubble blonde bitches flanking her on either side."

"Oh! I think I see her. Wow, her makeup's really on point."

"Not helping, dear."

"Sorry." He frowned, a little embarrassed.

"Uhg. I hate her so much. Just seeing her brings back all kinds of horrible feelings."

"Teenagers can be really cruel." He gave me a sympathetic look before turning to look back at Essie. "If you guys went to high school together, what's she doing here? You didn't grow up anywhere near here."

"I don't know! Maybe she transferred to our school? Maybe she lives around here now? Oh god I hope not." I tried to take a deep breath, but it came out kind of ragged. "Hell, she probably came here just to make my life miserable."

This was not, strictly speaking, an exaggeration. She was already making my life miserable just by the anxiety her presence caused in me.

Was I really freaking out this badly? I didn't realize she had such a strong influence on me. No, I didn't realize I was letting her have such a strong influence on me. This had to stop. I was an adult now. I was hot now. I had a fantastic boyfriend now and no one was ever going to take that away. I would sooner die.

"She used to think she was so much better than everyone," I explained "just because she always had the latest fashions and all the money in the world and because she was so popular with all the guys." I paused and gave her an appraising look. "Actually, I think I see now why she was so popular with all the guys." She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. But she was beautiful like a model is beautiful, the way art is beautiful. She wasn't sexy and she wasn't hot and she certainly didn't have any kind of weird aura that made my dick jump just looking at her or anything, and yet she was still undeniably attractive.

God, it made me want to punch her right in her perfect angelic face.

Was it weird though that I preferred the way Evan looked? I mean, I guess I just preferred buxom sexpots. Did that count as having a type? Or was that just... you know... normal? Maybe it was just all the resentment I had for her.

"Regardless," I continued, trying to get my thoughts together. "She always used her sense of fashion as a weapon. God, I can still hear her saying 'oh, you're wearing that?' to insecure little high school me. I didn't even care about what I was wearing and it still broke me."

I took another deep breath.

"It's okay now though, right?" Evan said, squeezing my hand, "I mean, you said it before, you've come a long way since then."

That was right. I had come a long way. Today showed me though that maybe I hadn't quite come as far as I'd like. I mean, I used to be a complete bundle of neurosis. High school was a rough time for me. Meeting Evan, especially, had been very good for me. His support and trust let me be myself in a very judgemental world. I smiled a little at how absurd the notion of me being 'myself' seemed right now.

"You're right," I said. "I have. And today, I shall have my revenge!"

"Wait, what?"

"Okay, maybe that's being a little overly dramatic."

Evan opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him

"And yes, I know what you're going to say and you're right. I probably shouldn't be using the reality altering super-machine to get back at my highschool bully, or something like that. And, yes, you're absolutely right. We're all terrible people in high school and I should just forgive her and go on with my life as the better person."

Evan opened his mouth again, but I kept going.

"But!" I continued. "That girl and others like her made life hell for me and others like me and she was never punished for it. In so far as I'm concerned she continues to be just as big of a bitch now as she was then, still ruining lives. She needs to be taken down a peg, and I'm finally in a position to do it."

Evan waited, unsure if I was finished. He gave me a blank stare.

"Okay..." he said, choosing his words carefully "If you're set on it, I won't dissuade you. I trust you. Just, you know... take it easy, okay? You have a lot of power and it's so easy to go overboard with this sort of thing. If you make her life hell then all you're doing is being just as bad as she was to you. So don't go -- I don't know -- swapping her body with a skunk or whatever, you know?"

"I... I hadn't considered something like that, actually." I said. "I mean... I'm considering it now, but I hadn't before. But.. no, I don't even know if she'd notice. Besides, I don't think that's quite the kind of revenge I had in mind. I was thinking something a bit more ironic."

Evan gave me a look of restrained disapproval, but didn't object.

"Here," I held the device out to Evan. "Like I said before, I want you touching the device with me. You can keep me honest. And if I do anything stupid, I don't want to lose you."

"Aw," he smiled sweetly, putting his hand on mine. "Good idea. I don't want to lose you either."

Like a woman with a mission, I began setting the dials. Essie had used her sense of fashion as a weapon all her life? Well let's see how she felt about finally being disarmed.

The electrical zzzzttttt echoed through my head as I pressed the button. This time it seemed to dig in and make my teeth tingle. It was always much louder when I used it on myself. I wondered for a brief moment if everyone who got swapped felt it, or if it was just whoever was holding onto the device. Maybe everyone heard it, the soul-shaking sound of reality rearranging, and ignoring it was a part of being oblivious to the changes.

It took me a few moments before I realized that the world had lurched. I clenched my eyes. It felt like all of the colors had just been cranked up to eleven and that the world had turned sideways. My head swam as foreign thoughts and sensations besieged my unprepared brain.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed. I found myself clutching the edge of the table as I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. "What the hell am I wearing?"

I was dressed like a bimbo who had stopped giving a fuck. I was wearing the most unimaginative slutty-shirt-and-slutty-jeans combo imaginable. My dick wasn't even dressed to the side or tucked properly - I had folded it up and stuck it into my waistband. I felt like a hooker on laundry day. How had I thought these clothes would be a good idea? It's like they were tailor-picked to draw attention to my huge fat ass and my big ugly cow tits.

Ew, I had made myself this way, too. How could I have made myself so hideous? I could have had any body I'd wanted and I'd gone with porn-star Barbie. How original. I'd seen hentai caricatures with more restraint than my body had right now.

It wasn't just me, either. I was like a blind woman seeing for the first time. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was how everyone was wearing what had to be the ugliest clothes they could. Every mismatched color, every unsuitable body shape, every fold out of place... each minor offense was like a discordant note and a bad odor all rolled up into one.

Had I fucked this up somehow? Was this my doing? Had I accidentally swapped everyone's clothes around somehow? There's no way anyone would dress like that willingly, was there?

"What's wrong?" Evan asked, giving me a look of concerned confusion.

Uhg. And he was the worse. He was dressed like a girl who had only ever had fashion described to her was trying to make a statement about how little sense of style she had, using only what she could find in the dumpster behind a back-alley sex shop.

"It's your clothes." I said, gagging as bile rose up in the back of my throat.

"What about them?" he looked down a little offended.

How could I explain what I was seeing? How could I break to Evan the only reason he wasn't a laughing stock right now -- a clown-clothed transvestite freak -- was because of the device's magic?

"It's... god, how to explain this. It's like all I can see right now is how you look like a little girl who got into her mom's closet, only her mom is a hooker. It's like..."

I stopped suddenly, hand over my mouth, afraid at what I'd say next. I had very nearly told him that it was a good thing he was good with makeup, because he'd be better off wearing just that than what he was wearing right now.

"W-what?" He croaked. I could see the pain of betrayal in his eyes. He had thought he looked pretty good. I mean, we both had, up until a moment ago.

Shit, why had I said that? Wasn't that exactly what I had put up with throughout high school?

I closed my eyes. If this was how she saw the world, it wasn't a blessing, it was a curse. I didn't want any part of this.

Struggling to get a grip on the surging waves sloshing around in my brain, I blindly grabbed the device and set the dials. I chanced one glance into the crowd to aim, and I couldn't help but notice in that moment that even Essie seemed drab and poorly dressed. Her accessorizing was painfully out of date and she clearly had decided that ironing was something that happened to other people. It was nice at least to know that not even she seemed to live up to her own standards.

I pressed the button.

The hostile thoughts warring through my mind were washed away by the electrical zap that swept through my soul. It was like a vice had suddenly slipped its grip on my brain. I took a breath and opened my eyes.

The contrast was staggering. Once again, it took me a few moments to come to terms with what I was looking at, and to make sure that my thoughts were my own. Sometimes, it seems, the device keeping you unaware of the changes is a sort of mercy. The sudden exposure to that woman's worldview had been so completely overwhelming. It was way too much. I felt so strangely violated. I shuddered to think of what other dangers those kinds of swaps could result in.

I looked across the table at Evan, who had moved from angry to worried. I breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing wrong with his trashy clothes. Sure, he looked like a total slut, and sure, I didn't like the idea of wearing quite that sort of thing myself, but I sure as hell liked seeing them on my boyfriend. And off of him. Woof. My dick bulged against its confinement.