Jenny's Awakening Ch. 02

Chapter 2 - Black Cats and Sparkling Fairies

Over the next weeks Jenny was busy studying for her midterms. Wanting good grades, she spent most evenings at her desk, reading through her notes. As a result the times she hung out with her best friend Sophie, decreased drastically. Even as her focus was exclusively on her school work, she didn't forget to clean her ears twice daily. She couldn't risk getting an infection, as she was quite sure that she would never find the courage to get them re pierced, again. The first time she had to look up instructions on the internet, as she didn't listen to the lady who had explained to her how she was supposed to care for the new earrings.

A few days after her final exam, Sophie knocked on Jenni's door and without waiting barged in.

"You have to come to the Halloween party next Wednesday. I just heard that we got permission to use the courtyard right behind our dorm." She said excitedly.

"But I have to finish my English assignment by next Friday. I won't have time." Jenny muttered.

"Even if I wanted to go, I don't have the time to shop around for a stupid costume."

"You're so lame. You and your excuses." Sophie responded. "Let me worry about your costume. I'll figure it out. Trust me."

"Ok, ok, I'll come. But please stop calling me 'lame'." Jenny replied.

"Good. Make sure to keep your Wednesday afternoon clear." Sophie shouted, already halfway out of the door.

Over the weekend Jenny started to worry about what Sophie had planned for her. She had only been to one party in her whole life. It had been a disaster. For the first hours she had been standing in a corner, not wanting to dance and without friends to talk to. Later that evening a guy had accidentally emptied half his beer over her long dress. When her mum finally had picked her up she smelled the alcohol and Jenny's TV privileges had been taken away for a month.

Halloween finally arrived. After her morning classes she hurried back to her dorm without stopping for lunch as she wasn't feeling hungry at all. Waiting for Sophie she paced up and down her small room, thinking about all of the ways the evening would end in catastrophe. She felt sick. Sophie finally arrived at half past 3 wearing a very revealing cat costume that somehow gave her a perfect hourglass figure. She had cat ears in her now platinum blonde short hair, her strapless black top showed a lot of cleavage, she wore black leggings, a pair of extra long gloves that reached over her elbow and impossibly high heeled black leather boots. Jenny was so stunned that she didn't notice the cat eye contact lenses for a few long moments. Sophie handed Jenny a small bottle of prosecco and a stack of bright green clothes.

"That's for you." She said, "Your costume and something to get you in the right mood. Put it on but don't attach the wings just yet. I'll help you with them before we head to the party. I'll be back in 15 min."

"But I don't dri..." Jenny stammered.

"You do tonight!" Responded Sophie "When I come back, I want to see that bottle emptied. We are on a tight schedule so hurry up."

With that she left the room.

Jenny opened the prosecco and took a tiny sip. It was very bubbly and sweet. She could hardly taste any alcohol. It tasted quite good actually and she took a second bigger sip and began separating the costume pieces.

There were 5 pieces: A short green top with thin straps, a very short skirt (which looked a bit like it was constructed from large leaves), skin colored stockings, a pair of green wings and some green ballerinas. It was obviously a fairy costume.

Worried about the costumes revealing nature she almost chickened out. Not wanting to let Sophie down, who had clearly put a lot of effort into this, she quickly undressed, leaving on her bra and slip, and put on the stockings. The skirt, top and shoes quickly followed.

She took another sip of prosecco and looked at the mirror and took her appearance in.

The costume turned out to be even more revealing than she had feared, it rivaled Sophie's. Her top left most of her flat belly exposed and her skirt just barely covered her butt.

Seeing herself dressed like this made her shiver in fear. Or was it excitement? While she waited for Sophie's return Jenny's mind wandered back to her perfect hourglass figure. The only reasonable explanation she came up with was that Sophie had to be wearing a very tightly laced corset.

A few minutes and a few sips of prosecco later Sophie returned. She glanced at the bottle which was still almost full and frowned.

"I told you to empty that bottle. Hurry up, we're getting late."

"I'm not used to drinking alcohol. I tried to take it slow..." Jenny replied.

Sophie told her "You've gotta take it fast now!"

Jenny took two huge gulps. The bottle was now almost half empty.

Sophie, not wanting to wait any longer, said "Okay let's hurry to my car. You can finish drinking that in the car."

"I can't go out like this!" Jenny said indignantly, "What will other people think?"

Sophie rolled her eyes and said "They won't think anything. It's Halloween! Many people are walking around in their costumes."

On the way to the car Jenny, calmed down again, asked "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Sophie answered mysteriously.

During the car ride, the alcohol doing its job, Jenny started to feel light headed and drowsy. Encouraged by Sophie she kept on taking small sips of the sparkling beverage. 15 min later they parked in front of a hair salon, the bottle long empty.

When Jenny realized where she had been driven to, she stammered "I don't know... Well... I don't really want a haircut..."

"Trust me," Sophie replied, "they won't mess you up. I often come here myself."

They entered the empty salon and a middle aged plump woman greeted them. "Hello Miss Brown. Good to see you again. This must be the friend you were talking about. Come right along..."

She led them to a swiveling chair in front of a large mirror and said to Jenny "Please take a seat."

To Sophie she added "Everything as discussed?"

"Yes" answered Sophie while Jenny clumsily sat down.

The hairdresser started trimming Jenny's hair. She was very relieved, when she saw how little the lady removed and relaxed into the comfortable chair. Her hair in shape the Lady tilted the chair backwards and gave Jenny a thorough hair washing, during which Jenny promptly dozed off. She didn't know what had awoken her. It was either the strong chemical smell or the stinging she felt in her eyebrows. She couldn't see what the lady was doing to her as her chair was so far reclined that she couldn't see herself in the mirror.

The hairdresser had apparently finished shampooing Jenny's hair and had gone over to plucking her eyebrows. 15 min later the hairdresser washed her hair again and the chemical smell subsided. Next she picked up a hairdryer and went over Jenny's hair with it, until it was almost completely dry. She styled it into a tight bun at the back of Jenny's head. The chair was finally put back into its upright position. Looking at her mirror image Jenny was absolutely shocked. Her previously brown hair was now a golden blonde. Not wanting to cause a scene, she kept quiet. The lady had done a surprisingly good job but after a minute staring at her hair, trying to like her new look, Jenny still preferred her old color.

"Well" she thought "I can dye them back anytime I want".

The initial shock had sobered her up quite a bit and remembering the other thing the hairdresser had done, she now focused on her eyebrows. Instead of her old bushy brows she now had a pair of thin feminine arches. She really liked them. Sophie paid the hairdresser and they headed back to the car.

Jenny, still angry about the hair color change, confronted Sophie "Why did you tell that lady to dye my hair? Without asking me first?"

"Well the color fits your costume perfectly. And about your second question: You'd have never agreed to this because you are lame"

This stung Jenny and she replied loudly "I'm NOT lame. And couldn't you have asked for a temporary dye?"

Sophie laughed "That temporary stuff looks shit... We'll see how lame you are at our next stop..."

They had arrived at the car and they both got in.

While Sophie pulled out of the salon's parking lot Jenny asked her "What do you mean with that?"

Again Sophie answered "You'll see".

During the 10 min ride they both stayed silent until Jenny took a look at the sign of the business they were pulling up to: 'Dark Arts Tattoo & Piercing'

"I'm not getting a tattoo!" She stated loudly.

"You're not getting a tattoo," Sophie replied calmly.

"I'm not getting another piercing either" Jenny said forcefully.

"I was right all along. You are lame..." Sophie said.

"This won't work again. I know what you are trying to do. I'm not getting another hole put through MY body" Jenny shouted.

"Actually, I was initially thinking about two, but there is a particular piercing which you absolutely n..." Sophie tried to say but was interrupted by Jenny's angry shout.

"I'm also not getting two; not ten; NONE"

When she was finished Sophie asked "May I at least tell you, what I would like you to get, why I chose that particular piercing and how, in my humble opinion, you could benefit from it?"

Jenny, who had run out of steam, replied more calmly "Ok go ahead... But I'm still not getting it."

Sophie explained "Your costume lacks the kind of sparkle a fairy need..."

"And you just thought let's fix it with a few more holes in MY ears" Jenny interrupted her.

"I'm not talking about another earring. Can you please let me finish?" Sophie asked annoyed.

"Sorry... Go ahead " Jenny replied.

Sophie started again "Well... Your fairy costume is just bland. It's missing something that makes it stand out. And as I know you're quite the introvert I came up with the perfect solution that would spice up your appearance and at the same time help you be more confident. Well... Your top leaves a whole lot of skin exposed. I thought a nice green sparkling belly ring would be the perfect eye catcher. No need to approach people, they'll come to you!"

Sophie's reasoning divulged, Jenny thought it over and asked "You might be right about that. A sparkling gem there would get people's attention. But isn't there a better solution which doesn't involve me getting a hole in my belly? Like a belly chain maybe?"

Sophie answered "It just doesn't provide the same effect. Just think about how mysterious a floating gem in your belly button looks, compared to some cheesy chain that moves all over the place with every small movement you make. Take a leap of faith! If you don't like it, you can just take it out tomorrow and in a few days no one will ever suspect you ever had it."

Jenny said a bit frightened "But all that pain for a single party? A party, may I remind you, I'm not fond of going too. This is not some simple ear piercing you are talking about. It must hurt like hell."

Sophie said "I have mine pierced. It didn't hurt that bad. I promise, it's gonna be worth it."

She lifted her top a bit so Jenny could see her belly button as well as the bottom of her corset.

Seeing the undergarment lifted Jenny's confidence. Her guess had turned out to be spot on. She shifted her focus lower and took a close look at Sophie's belly piercing. Inside the depression a large ball floated freely. A contained a large aquamarine stone facing outwards.

On top of her belly button she had a smaller bead with a similarly smaller stone of the same color. Both balls were clearly connected by a long stud, though it was invisible looking at it from her angle. Before seeing the accessory up close Jenny had always thought of that particular piercing as looking tacky and cheap. The more details she took in, the more she realized she actually quite liked the way, it looked both enticing and cute at the same time. The person wearing it made changing her mind a lot easier as well. She was trying to picture herself with one, when she remembered Sophie had mentioned a second piercing.

She asked her actually curious "What was the other piercing you tried to force on me?"

Sophie lowered her top again and said dismissively "Forget about it. It was a dumb idea bringing you here..."

Jenny was surprised that she was actually disappointed seeing the two silver balls disappearing out of view. She said a bit frustrated "Ah come one, don't tease me like that."

Sophie carefully answered "Well I thought a nose ring would really suit you..."

Jenny said a bit shocked "You mean a bull ring like you are wearing? It looks good on you but on me... I don't think it's something for me."

Sophie realizing the misunderstanding quickly replied "No not that. You are thinking about my septum. I was talking about a small stud on the side of the nose. A nostril. Maybe on the right... I think it would really suit you. It would draw attention to your cute button nose."

Jenny blushed. The compliment increased her confidence even more. Before today she had always focused on the things, like her glasses, she didn't like about herself. Thinking about her insecurities made her realize that a nose piercing could provide an even bigger service for her. If people focused more on it, it would draw their attention away from her glasses. She didn't know about the belly piercing though. On one hand, she had just realized that she actually liked the look. One the other was her fear of the pain such a long piercing would cause her. She didn't believe a word, about it not being bad.

Jenny had made up her mind and just said "Okay, let's go.".

She opened the passenger side door and got out. Sophie, caught off guard, took a moment to realize what had just happened. She quickly got out of the car and followed Jenny. She caught up with her at the entrance to the tattoo and piercing shop and they entered together. At the reception a heavily tattooed young man looked up at them.

"Hello, how may I help you?" He asked.

Sophie replied "I made a piercing reservation under the name Brown a few days ago."

"Great" he responded, "which of you young ladies is getting what?"

Before Sophie could respond Jenny said more confidently than she felt "I'm here to get my belly button and my nose pierced".

The man at the counter said "Great, nothing for you?" looking at Sophie.

She responded "No, not today.

Looking back at Jenny he said "Ok, I'll need your driver's license. And you need to fill out this."

He handed her a piece of paper and a ball pen. It took Jenny a few moments to find her license. Once she discovered it in her wallet, she showed it to him, he nodded and she put it back in her wallet.

Filling out the form took no time at all. When she returned it to the man took a quick look at it and said "Come with me".

They entered a very clean room which Jenny thought looked like it belonged in a hospital.

"Which do you want to get first?" The man who, besides being the receptionist turned out to also be the piercer, asked Jenny.

She wanted to get the one she was more afraid of out of the way and said "My belly button please."

He showed her a few titanium jewelry options she could choose from. She selected one that was similar to the one Sophie was wearing but with green stones that matched her costume. While she had been occupied the piercer had prepared all of the required tools and put on gloves.

The piercer took an alcohol swipe and cleaned Jenny's belly button thoroughly.

"Please stand very straight and don't move while I mark the piercing's location" he said.

Jenny felt a tickling sensation in her belly for a few seconds as he drew on it.

"What do you think about here?" He asked.

She walked to a large wall mirror and took a look. The positioning seemed fine and the dots seemed to be straight above each other. She stepped in front of Sophie with a questioning look.

She took a close look at the marks and said "Looks fine to me"

Jenny turned to the piercer and said "Alright, I'm ready!"

He nodded and said "Please lay on your back on the reclined chair. But whatever you do, don't touch your belly."

Jenny did as he told her to, feeling more confident than she thought was possible. The piercer took a large clamp and lined it up with the two marks on her belly. When he closed the tool she felt a lot of pressure but no pain. He now took the piercing needle out of its packaging. When Jenny saw it, she was shocked. To her the needle looked huge. All of the courage her surprising decision, to go through with the piercings, had given her seemed to be gone.

"It's Ok, I have done this a hundred times before" the piercer reassured her, noticing her nervousness. "Take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth"

Her heart was beating way too loud.

"In"

She slowly inhaled, noticing how the clamp moved with her belly.

"And out"

Her thoughts were racing as she exhaled. What was she doing? Why was she doing it?

"Another one, in"

She could feel the tip of the needle touch her skin.

"And out"

The piercer proceeded to carefully push the needle through the skin. Jenny let out a moan. It had felt like it had taken an eternity for the needle to make its way through.

"And done!" Said the piercer.

It had hurt a lot worse than her second ear piercings but the pain was no way near the level she expected.

"I did it!" she muttered ecstatically.

"Not quite, we need to replace the needle with your jewelry first." The piercer said. "It will be nothing in comparison"

She felt him pushing out the needle with her chosen curved stud leaving it in place. Besides a small tugging she hardly felt it.

He screwed the small top ball on and said "There we go. Take a look."

She carefully stood up and took a look at her reflected belly in the mirror. The piercing looked stunning especially in combination with her costume. It was at this moment, she accepted Sophie's prior explanation as fact. She had been tricked, cornered and finally persuaded by Sophie. The result proved her right in the end. Looking at her sparkling belly Jenny decided at that moment that she would keep her new piercing. The powerful feeling she had first felt after getting her ears pierced returned to her stomach. This time though it was even stronger and it wasn't strange anymore, it was great.

She turned around, looked at the piercer with a huge smile and said "It looks great. Thanks. Let's do my nose!"

He handed her another display case and explained "You have four basic choices: The first option is stud with a small titanium disk, then we have studs with small or medium sized crystals in different colors and of course a simple ring. All titanium of course."

Jenny passed the display straight onto Sophie and said "I want you to decide for me and don't show it to me until it is in place."

Sophie gave her a big smile and showed the piercer her selection in secret. The piercer then asked Jenny which side she wanted to get pierced.

Again she looked at Sophe who said "Her right nostril."

He immediately began to clean and mark her nose. Jenny declined the offer to look at her nose and again asked Sophie to do it for her. She told the piercer to move the dot a bit lower and more forward. When Sophie was happy with the placement the piercer took a large tube and put it on the inside of Jenny's right nostril.

This time he just pierced her without any warning. It went so fast that she didn't have time to feel anything. When he replaced the needle with her jewelry he made a strange twisting motion which hurt much more than the initial piercing and made her eyes water.

When she finally stood in front of the mirror again, she moved in close and took a careful look at her nose. She saw that Sophie had chosen the medium sized stud with a clear crystal. On her small nose it wasn't subtle at all. Anyone taking a glance at her would immediately notice it. It also provided a lot of distraction from her large glasses. She loved it to death. The feeling in her stomach roared to new heights and Jenny entered a state of pure bliss.