Tears flowed from Jon's eyes. She was always lead to believe that girls cried at the drop of a hat, but she hadn't cried once since the first stolen wish. But now... Now it was over. The end had come, and the catharsis with it. The pair cried for their stolen lives, and they cried for Montanna, they cried for Zoe, and all the hardships they'd endured over the past week. It wasn't an ugly wailing cry, but the silent sobs best reserved for the company of friends.
No matter how long the hugged, it never quite felt better... Yet, Jon's distress began to wane, and she felt the same from Karen. That first thought wasn't quite right. It's not that it wasn't feeling better, it was. Maybe it wasn't much, not yet, but it was feeling better. What she felt was that it was never feeling quite the same as before. The irrevocable changes fell on them like a weight, but at the end of the day, it was not a weight heavier than either of them could bear, and it even had its perks.
The two grasped one another's hands and met each others gaze. The stayed like that for a while until Jon looked away, and began to tug Karen towards the door. She held him back. One hand moved from Jon's hand to Jon's waist. She brushed Jon's hair free of her face, and they kissed. Not a cute tease, not a quick thing in the heat of a moment. But a touch shared by lovers.
When the left the empty room, they left together.
Homecoming came and went. Thanks partly to Zoe's wish and partly to her own hard work Marie performed excellently with the cheersquad during their third quarter dance. Sarah, now promoted to cheer captain, worked double time to ensure that everyone not only performed to the best of their ablities, but that their spirits were high as well. Marie was pleasantly surprised to find that Sarah went out of her way to make her feel welcome.
Football season came and went, they had made it to the quarter state finals, and Marie cheered her heart out the entire way. Karen found herself genuinely enjoying drama class, and even found some sympathy for the ones that had stabbed her in the back. The class did have the flamboyant and confident, but it was also filled with the outcasts and quirky. Some of them were simply trying to protect their own fragile self confidence. Maybe that's why THIS worlds Karen joined drama, but the old brash tomboy Karen didn't have those problems. She made it her personal mission to help the less sure members come out of their shells, and, after a few sobering confrontations, was able to forgive and even befriend those that had hurt her.
By the time Marie's palatal expander came out next spring, she had lost quite a bit of weight. Nothing dangerous. Quite to the contrary. Her diet of fluids and soft foods brought her just shy of a perfect figure. All of her exercise as school mascot did the rest, and by spring break of next year the frumpy girl with matted hair, acne, and a lisp was just a memory. Slowly she came to realize that she looked pretty good! With a heart shaped face, gently twisted long hair, wide hips, and standing chin height to most girls, she was as cute as a hobbit... It's not that she wanted to be so adorable. It was Karen... Still bound by the curse to wait on Marie for cosmetics and feminine hygiene, the taller red head was aggressively obstinate that Marie take care of her appearance.
Of course, Jon couldn't care less whether she looked good, but Karen fawned over her so much that she just couldn't help but enjoy priming and preening. That's what Jon told herself anyway... The pair had been dating secretly after that morning in the hospital. Of course secrets don't last long in highschool, and they were caught one day on vacation during spring break. The pair had visited the same beach as one of the more malicious cheerleaders, and by the time they returned the next week the entire school knew. They had prepared themselves for any hardships that might come from their unorthodox relationship, but Montanna and surprisingly Sarah as well came to their rescue. They even kicked the one girl off the squad for spreading lies about them.
Karen's body did continue to change into her ideal form, and by the end of the year she was gorgeous. As Ms. Gibson had said, she really could have been a model. However one transformation was rather unexpected. Karen's little package... At first it only grew smaller and more convenient for Karen's feminine clothes and habits, but after a curious point in April involving Marie's first school day in skirts, it started to grow rather than shrink. Suffice to say that the pair missed PE that day... and the whole second half of the school day...
By the time the end of the year came, nobody could say they were quite dissatisfied with their lives. Certainly it was different, even difficult, but not worse. Even Sarah, by the time prom rolled around, was actually deserving of the Prom Queen title she wished for. Her entire demeanor had changed. Far from the distant and venomous queen of highschool, she had become encouraging, warm, friendly, aggressively opposed to bullying. A catalyst of heartbreak had been introduced to her life, and her spitefulness was turned in on itself. It was awkward at first, filled with heavy handed attempts, but by the end of the year Sarah had remade herself into a truly generous girl. Perhaps the biggest factor contributing to this change was that she and Montanna had spent quite a bit of time addressing something in Sarah's family life, but Jon and Karen were never privy to what...
At last... graduation came, and it too went. Marie was awarded a full ride for the programming prowess she'd developed, while Karen was able to win multiple scholarships, some academic, and some social. Karen had felt dirty for taking the one to assist transsexual students. She felt as though she were an imposter taking an opportunity from someone who needed it more, but after considering that she'd have had a perfect GPA without the bigotry of Ms.Teague, she relented. Naturally, that's what the scholarship was for. Of course, none of that mattered now wile the girls prepared for their senior trip before college...
