Chapter 3: Ch. 3

Whoo! It has been a bit of a while, dear readers! Anyways, I'm so happy to say that I am back with chapter three of Hairball! I hope that you enjoy it!
I would also like to take this moment to thank my good friend, Trismegistus Shandy, another talented author here on TGS, for being my proofreader!

 

 

Hairball (Chapter 3)

by

Elite Shade

 

 

Now I've heard the phrase, seeing red, a lot before, but I had always thought that it was just another expression. In this moment though, I understand that it is so much more. I'm literally seeing red, right before I lunge at Ben, knocking both him and the chair he is sitting in back onto the tiled kitchen floor, landing on his chest, and looking him right in his eyes.

"A LITTLE MISTAKE?! A LITTLE MISTAKE?! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME!! YOU TURNED ME INTO A FREAK!" My vision blurred as tears welled in my eyes as I sat there on top of him. I don't actually remember everything I said after that. I don't think I was hysterical, despite what Ben said. I do know that I scratched him with my claws a little, before Nick pulled me off his son.

"Alex, please try and calm down," Nick says, calmly yet sternly, while Rebecca tends to Ben.

"THAT CRAZY BITCH JUST ATTACKED ME!" Ben screams while clutching where I scratched his cheek.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I scream back while devolving into a sobbing fit.

"Benjamin! You will not be talking to Alex like that again, do you understand me?" Rebecca said while checking where I scratched Ben's cheek.

"Are you serious? She just clawed my face!" Ben says incredulously.

"Benjamin, those scratch marks barely broke the skin, you'll live. Now, apologize for everything that you've put poor Alex here through right this minute. I'm NOT going to tell you again!" Rebecca says, her hands on her hips as she stares Ben down. He meets her gaze, while I'm crying with Nick still holding me close, only briefly, before he lowers his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Alex," he mumbles out. I've mostly got myself sorted out...with maybe a hiccup or two left over from my quick bout of crying. I don't want anyone thinking that I just burst into tears at the drop of a hat, so the reason for all of this crying here is the shock of it all mixed in with my anger and frustration... with maybe a small dose of some new hormones... maybe.

"Oh no," Nick says, letting me go.

"What now?" I ask, with a sniff.

"You just popped your stitches, Alex. Hold still for a little bit again." Nick grabs the first aid kit again and starts in with a new needle. I wince with each stitch.

"Stitches?" Ben asks, moving to look at my wound.

"Yeah, stitches," I snarl angrily at him. I can feel some of my fur on the back of my neck beginning to stand up in what I quickly realize are hackles. Ben shrinks back a bit, surprised. "After I woke up like this, my foster parent thought I was some kind of a monster and shot me while I ran down the street away from him. So thanks to you, not only do I look like this, not only do I now have a bullet wound, but now I'm also homeless. All because of you!" My voice is just dripping with venom as I say this. Ben looks confused, but that could still just be his hungover face. I don't get a lot of time to think about this as I feel a gentle hand rest on my shoulder. I look up at Rebecca.

"I'm so sorry, honey. But you're not going to be living on the streets. This... wonderful new house is so big. You are going to stay here, and not on the streets."

"Mom! You can't possibly be serious!" Ben says, surprised.

"No way in hell am I staying under the same roof as him!" I say, pointing a shaky finger at the source of all my current misery today.

"That's enough, both of you!" Rebecca says just as Nick finishes the new stitchwork. Ben and I both simultaneously shrink back a little from her, with Ben wincing from his current state. "There's not going to be any of that anymore! And you, young man," Rebecca directs towards me, which I am somewhat thankful for, "are NOT going to go out and sleep on the streets! And after what I had to do back when I worked for Child Services, I know that you are NOT going back into the system as it is and as you currently are!"

I look down, knowing that looking like I do was going to do me no favors in the system. But staying with Ben and his family just strikes me as being weird, to the max. Of course, considering how weird I myself am looking right about now... well, it's not like I had a lot of viable options before. I let out a long and dramatic sigh.

"Fine."

Rebecca smiles and gives me a hug, making sure not to hurt my injured shoulder. Ben snorts.

"Whatever... but I am not sharing my room with her."

"Don't call me that! I'm a guy!" I snap back at him.

"Not from where I'm sitting, girlie," Ben says.

"Benjamin!" Nick says, shutting Ben up just as he opens his mouth for another taunt, which he quickly snaps shut. Then, his eyes go wide and he scrambles out of the kitchen as quickly as possible to begin heaving into what I hope is a nearby bathroom.

"And of course you are going to be staying in your own room, Alex," Nick says. "Now, I'm going to go see if Ben made a mess," he says standing and smiling reassuringly at me and then following Ben wherever he went.

"Now, how about we get you something to eat, since I'm assuming that after waking up and finding yourself like...this, that you probably haven't had breakfast yet?" I shake my head, surprised at the sudden hug from Rebecca. She gently starts to rub my back. "We're going to do everything we can to help you, I promise," she whispers before letting me go and walking over to the fridge. I sit there, stunned. I start to feel a well of emotions rising up, but I force them back down. So much has happened today that I'm going to need to sift through my emotions later on. But right now I just can't handle it. Very soon, I smell something delicious and my stomach starts to rumble. It's not much longer before a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon is set before me.

"Thanks... uhm... Rebecca," I squeak out, still hating my new, much more feminine voice.

"It's absolutely not a problem, honey," she says, smiling at me some more, before going back to making what I would assume would be breakfast for herself and Nick. I suspect that Ben's not going to be having much of an appetite for a while today. I dig right on in, savoring each bite. I can't remember the last time anyone cooked for me, not counting heated gas station hot dogs I've gotten as quick breakfasts in the past. Very soon, I'm looking at an empty plate.

"You must've been famished," Rebecca says, piling some more bacon and eggs onto my plate.

"I guess I was hungrier than I thought," I say before starting in on this second plateful.

"Alright, and once you're done with that, we'll pick out a room for you upstairs, and then I'll need you to tell me where your old foster house is, so I can go and collect your belongings." My fork and knife clatters to my already half-finished plate.

"Wh-What?"

"Well, I am going to need directions."

"But you're going to go there... just to get my stuff?"

"Yes, honey. I'm assuming you would want your belongings here with you."

I bite my lower lip. "Well yeah, but..."

"But what?"

For some reason, I don't like the idea of Rebecca knowing that all of the things that actually mattered to me are in my backpack...my entire life, stuffed into one... backpack. Holy crap, I just realized how depressing that is.

"I... uh... I kinda brought everything that mattered with me... when I ran..." I feel completely humiliated saying the words. If it weren't for the black fur on my face, I just know that I would have a total blush visible.

"Really? There isn't anything that you might have had to leave behind in a rush?" I can hear the concern in Rebecca's voice.

"Just some clothes... my school uniform... not that any of it is gonna fit me now." Rebecca wraps her arms around me in another hug, and my eyes start to mist up.

"I know that it doesn't seem like it right now hun, but I promise you that everything is going to be okay."

You are reading story Hairball at novel35.com

"How though? How is it ever going to be okay? I'm a freak now."

"You are not a freak," Rebecca assures me. I want to argue the point further but I just know that it would be pointless with her.

"So you said that I can stay with you," I venture in an attempt to change the subject. Rebecca releases me from the hug and steps back a little.

"That's right. After everything that's happened, we're going to make sure that you're alright."

"You mean after what Ben did to me," I say dryly.

"Well... yes. But like I said, I'm not going to let someone in your condition slip back into the system."

"But you can't just take in a stray teenager, cat or not, off the street. Don't I kinda have to be sent to another foster home? I mean, since I'm pretty sure that I can't go back to that one...at least not after getting shot at like that. I'm kinda taking the hint on that one."

"Sweetheart, there's quite a bit I can do to legally make sure that you get to stay here with us."

"Really?" I ask, skeptical.

"Really. And I think that I'm going to find it a lot easier to do so now especially."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, now that I have my own, apparently very successful, law firm I have a bit more influence to ensure that we become your legal guardians."

I think about what she just said. "Another one of Ben's wishes?" I ask.

"Yep. I've been out of work for the last year and a half, and Nick's been passed over for a well-deserved promotion, while also getting fewer hours due to budget cuts. Our old house, which was not nearly as nice as this one, we were on the brink of losing. But now, I have my aforementioned law firm, and Nick's the Chief Nursing Executive over at Bellfast. Once more, I'm not certain how Benjamin could have worded that particular wish."

So he uses two of his wishes for revenge and only one wish to help his family... wow, Ben, you're a real winner. I don't say this out loud. In all honesty, I'm not to thrilled with the thought of living in the same house as the guy that just turned me into a catgirl. Nick and Rebecca do seem nice though, and they both do seem to really want to help me. Plus, it's not like the alternatives are any good. Plus, I suppose that if I do stay here, I can try to ply out of Ben the exact words he used in his wish. Granted, that seems like a bit of a long shot, and I know for a fact that finding a Loras stone to undo the wish, or possibly another wishing stone, is an even longer shot. I let out another sigh.

"Okay...if you really want me to stay... then I'll stay..." I say. Rebecca smiles warmly at me. Unsure of what else to say or do at this point, what with not being used talking so much to anyone in one sitting, I finish off the rest of my plate, just as Nick re-enters. He flashes me a quick smile before heading over to the coffee pot to pour himself a mug.

"Ben's back in his room. He still seems to be feeling a little better, but still." Nick thanks Rebecca for making him a plate before sitting down to it and starting in on it immediately. "So, kiddo," he addresses what I'm assuming is me, "did Rebecca here convince you to stay or shall I start chiming in my two cents?" For some reason, I found that a little funny, and despite myself, I let out a little, girlish giggle, which I immediately cringed at.

"Alex has agreed to stay," Rebecca says, reaching an arm around me and giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "So would you like to go and pick out a room for yourself now?" I nod my head. I stand to follow her out the kitchen and up the stairs, marveling at how big this house is once again, before we come onto an astonishingly long hallway. Rebecca leads me to one door and opens it.

"A guest bedroom?" I wonder aloud as she and I both look inside.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Alex. I went to bed last night in a two bedroom and one bathroom house with a leaky roof, and woke up here."

Inside the room is what appears to be a queen sized bed with a seafoam green comforter on it. The walls are painted a pale violet, with two large windows on the far side. There is an open door to a private bathroom, and another open door revealing a walk-in closet.

"Woah..."

"That's what I said earlier... well, once I had calmed down." Rebecca said.

"I guess waking up in a completely new place can be kinda freaky," I say.

"Oh yeah. I actually thought that I had been sleepwalking and broke into someone else's home," Rebecca says with a laugh. I smile, but keep my mouth clamped shut. No more girly giggles.

"You sleepwalk?"

"No, that's why I was really freaked out. Then Nick woke up and thought he was still dreaming." I let out a giggle... damnit.

"So, would you like to check out the other potential rooms?"

I think for a moment. "Where's Ben's room?"

"Right down there," Rebecca points to a door down at the end of the hall.

"Then I'm fine with this one."

"Are you sure? I think we've got another three."

"I'm sure. This is fine by me. Besides, this is way bigger than my old room back at the home," I say, realizing that my old room was practically the size of a shoebox compared to this one.

"Alright, well then, now that that's settled, I think we need to discuss your wardrobe situation." I immediately feel that ball of ice return in my stomach. I look up at Rebecca, whom I think before my transformation I was taller than by a good foot at least, to see her looking me up and down.

"I don't..." I was going to say that I don't need any new clothes, until I remembered that I didn't have anything else to wear other than what was on me at the moment. I look down in embarrassment, unsure of what else there is to do. It's not like there are clothes designed for people with tails... not to mention the fact that I'm now sporting a significantly different body type than what I'm used to.

"Honey, this is probably all kinds of embarrassing for you, and I completely understand any and all reluctance to go out in public. Also, that cute little tail of yours will probably pose as a little bit of a challenge. But still, you need some clothes to wear."

I know she's right, and I tell her as much, but I have no clue about what to do in this situation. The thought of going to a store sounds terrifying to me.

"So how about this. We'll get some measurements done here, I'll go out and find some suitable clothes for you, keeping the receipts just in case we get the measurements wrong, and then I'll bring them back for you to try on. How does that sound?" I'm not entirely sure why this is making me feel so embarrassed, it just is. Still though, I can't find anything wrong with her idea... so yeah, I agree to go along with it. Rebecca smiles and goes off to go get something, so I check out what I suppose is now my room for the time being. I don't get a very long chance to look though, as Rebecca quickly returns with a cloth measuring tape. She wastes no time in measuring my waist size, which is a little over eighteen inches. Then she starts to look uncomfortable, after writing the number down in a notepad.

"Alright, sweetie," she says a little nervously, "uhm, this might not be something you're entirely comfortable with, but it's still something that needs to be measured."

"What?" I ask, wondering what she could mean.

"Well...uhm..."

Now I'm starting to get worried.

Rebecca takes a deep breath. "Rip the bandage off," I hear her mutter under her breath to herself before continuing. "Honey... I'm also going to need your... uhm... chest measurements..."

It takes me a little bit to get the gist of what she's telling me. She needs to measure my... breasts...

"Oh..." I say in a very quiet voice as I sit, suddenly, on the bed, automatically shifting my tail out of the way as I do so. I look down at the two fur-covered fleshy mounds on my chest which are currently hidden by my shirt.

"I'm so sorry honey... but... well... you need a br-... something for them." She didn't want to say it out loud so soon to the former boy, but I knew exactly what she meant. I needed a bra.

I look up and stare into her light brown eyes, which are so full of concern and worry, and immediately burst into tears. She immediately pulls me into a hug while rubbing my back, telling me that it's all going to be alright. But in my heart I know the truth. More than likely, I'm going to be stuck like this for the rest of my life. Nothing was truly alright with me before, and now it seems that nothing will ever be alright with me. I'm a freak now.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the new chapter, everybody! Once more, I would like to give a shout out to my good friend Clarity whose wonderful story, Hush inspired this project! Clarity is a wonderful and talented writer, and I totally recommend giving her stories a read.

You can find story with these keywords: Hairball, Read Hairball, Hairball novel, Hairball book, Hairball story, Hairball full, Hairball Latest Chapter