It was embarrassing. Apparently, in this new reality, Tom no longer owned a car, so he had to walk to school. In the light of the day, he was very visible, very noticeable.
"How's my favorite new Goth boy?" he heard Jon say, as he fell in step with Tom.
"What are you doing here?" Tom asked, sounding annoyed.
"You know why I'm here. To make sure that you stick to the agreement."
Tom stopped. "What agreement?"
"That as long as you don't tell anyone the truth about yourself, I won't turn your friends into Goths."
"That wasn't an agreement. That was a threat."
"Call it what you want." Jon moved his hand up the side of Tom's under-bust corset. "Nice outfit, by the way. Not really much different than what you wore last night, but still nice."
"Get your hand off me," Tom ordered.
At that moment, Danny Foster (a jock who was on the track team) was driving his convertible down the street. As he stopped alongside the road, he yelled out at Tom "Hey fag, is that your new boyfriend?"
"I'm not a fag," Tom blurted. "I'm not even a ..."
Jon squeezed Tom's arm. "Watch it. Remember what I said."
Tom shut his mouth.
"Of course you are, freak," Danny continued. "Who else but a fag would be wearing a skirt?"
"I'm not a fag and I'm not a freak!" Tom shot out.
"I warned you," Jon whispered. "It looks like I have to give you a little demonstration. I wish Danny was a Goth for next 30 seconds."
Tom stared at the changing form of Danny. His hair grew out long and turned black, his skin became almost pale-white, black make-up appeared around his eyes, on his lips, and on his fingernails. His T-shirt turned into a ripped fishnet shirt, his jeans turned into black leather pants, and his sneakers turned into black boots. He turned off the car and jumped out.
"Hey, Tom," he said, smiling. "Have I ever told you that you look fucking great in a skirt? I'd try it out myself, but I'm not sure I could pull it off."
"I think you'd look great," Jon said.
Danny smiled. "What do you think?" he asked Tom.
Tom just stared.
"Tom? What's with you? You look like ..." Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Danny Foster was back to his normal self. "What the hell? How did I get out of my car?" he asked, looking around.
"What happened?" Tom asked.
"His thirty seconds were up," Jon said. "But I could make it permanent."
Tom gulped. "Okay, okay. I won't do it again."
"Is that a promise?" Jon asked.
"You two," Danny said. "You two freaks. What did you do to me?"
"Are you okay?" Tom asked, reaching out to him.
But Danny pulled away. "Don't touch me, you fag," he snapped, then ran back to his car.
"I used to be friends with him," Tom said.
"I'm your friend now. Get used to it," Jon said. As he watched Danny start up his car, an idea struck him. "I wish Danny Foster was a Goth until we get to school."
Suddenly, Danny changed back into a Goth boy, just like he had before.
"What did you do that for?!" Tom yelled. "I didn't break your agreement!"
"I know. I just thought it would be more convenient if we got a ride," Jon said, as he jumped into the passenger seat. Tom stood on the curb.
"Are you coming?" Danny asked.
"Come on, Tom," Jon said. "Get in."
Reluctantly, he did.
It was a short drive to the school, so there wasn't a lot of time to talk, which was a blessing for Tom. He didn't want to talk. He really didn't want to do anything. But it seemed that he was at the mercy of Jon.
After Danny parked his car, all three of them walked towards the school's main entrance. On the way there, a couple of jocks (Tyler Jackson and Jason Knight) laughed at them, making note of their ridiculous outfits. Danny shot them an angry look and yelled out "Hey, mind your own fucking business, assholes."
Tyler looked a little stunned, then yelled out "Whatever, freak!"
"I hate those fucking jocks," Danny said, as they approached the school doors. After he walked through the door, however, his opinion of jocks changed drastically, because he was back to normal again. He stood there, looking confused.
Tyler and Jason walked in and saw Danny. "Hey, man," Tyler said. "You okay?"
"I ... I don't know," he answered. "How did I get here?"
"You don't remember?" Jason asked.
Danny looked down the hall and saw Jon and Tom walking in the distance. "Those two freaks. They did something to me."
"Did what?" Tyler asked.
"I can't remember."
