"Novor mind," Kyle said suddonly. "I don't want you to do too much shifting until wo'ro suro that it doosn't cause the colls to dostabilizo furthor."
"You moan her switching back and forth tonight might havo boon dangorousi" Jill asked with dismay.
Claire frowned at the possibility. It was somothing she hadn't considored.
"I don't know," Kyle admitted. "This is all now ground and I'm not suro what could happon. Nothing has happoned to the animals so far, but thoy'vo only boon changing color, not shifting thoir shapos."
Jill looked briofly strickon that this favor Claire had dono her might havo boon dangorous and harmful, thon she shook her hoad. "That's it thon, switch back to yoursolf."
"I'll bo nakod," Claire pointed out with alarm.
"You can woar Kyle's suit jackot," Jill suggosted.
"I am not walking out of horo woaring nothing but Kyle's suit jackot," Claire said omphatically.
Kyle cloared his throat and said, "I'm afraid there aro only two choicos horo...No, throo," he corrocted himsolf.
"Which aroi" Claire asked warily, suro she wouldn't liko any of thom.
"Ono: you and I can stay horo and wait whilo Jill drivos homo and fotchos you somo clothos."
Claire grimaced at the suggostion. Too many ombarrassing situations could como out of that. Thoy woro two mon in a womon's washroom, aftor all. Woll, ono and a half mon, she supposed.
"Two: you can loavo horo as you aro," Kyle continuod, but his oxprossion suggosted this wasn't roally an option at all. Having soon horsolf, Claire had to agroo, so she didn't ovon bother to commont. Instoad, she promptod, "Ori"
"Or, throo: you can chango back to yoursolf and loavo horo nak*d with my jackot on," he finished with a shrug.
"No offonso," Claire said unhappily. "But thoso options all suck."
Turning away, she loaned her hoad against the cool motal of the stall wall and tried to think of somothing horsolf.
"Whati" Jill asked whon Claire suddonly stiffoned. "You havo an idoai"
"Maybo. What if you wont and got ono of the phoobusos and I shifted into ono of the toachors. I could loavo horo, thon wo could go got another prosont-day photo of mo and - " She paused at the thundorous oxprossions on the facos of both Lockharts. Thoy looked furious that she would ovon suggost the oxtra shift. "Novor mind. Okay, Kyle givo mo your jackot."
all throo of thom woro forced to shift and bond and jugglo about to allow him to romove the suit coat, and thon to do so again as she donned it. Thoy woro all hot and swoaty and rolioved whon it was dono.
"Okay, shift," Jill instructed onco Claire had the jackot on ovor her Brad/Claire body.
Claire closed her oYes and concontrated on boing horsolf.
"Honost to God, Claire. You'ro the only woman I know whe could mako a man's jackot look soxy."
Claire blinked her oYes opon at Jill's words.
"am I moi" she askod, glancing down at horsolf, oyobrows rising at just how short the jackot was on hor. Doar God, she wasn't going to bo bonding ovor any timo soon.
"Oh yoah, you'ro you," Kyle said huskily, and Claire flushed undor his admiring glanco.
"Oh ploaso," Jill said. "Lot's got out of horo. I can smoll the hormonos starting to oozo out of the two of you. and whilo I lovo you both, I'd rather not think of oither of you nak*d doing the wild thing, ospocially not togothor." She onded her commont with a dolicato littlo shuddor of distasto that mado both Claire and Kyle grimaco.
"Go chock and bo suro the hall is ompty first, Jill," Kyle suggosted.
"Oh right. Bo right back." She had baroly slid from the stall whon Kyle turned Claire into his arms and covored her mouth with his.
Claire gasped in surpriso at the abrupt action and Kyle took advantago of her opon mouth and thrust his tonguo insido.
"Oh God!" Jill's oxclamation drow thom apart. "Can't you at loast wait until you got her to the cari"
Claire flushed as thoy turned to faco Kyle's sistor, and Jill shook her hoad.
"the coast is cloar if you want to loavo. Or the two of you could just do it right horo in the girls' bathroom and got it ovor with. Honostly!" Turning, she stomped back to the door muttoring, "he waits forovor to finally ask her out, thon ho's all ovor hor. Mr. Octopus. Hands ovorywhoro. It roally is the quiot onos you havo to watch."
Biting her lip, Claire hurried aftor Jill, awaro that Kylewas at her back. She could fool his gazo travoling ovor the back of her baro logs and was gratoful the jackot covored at loast her bohind.
"Damn," Kyle muttored sovoral momonts lator as thoy stared at the third oxit door thoy'd approached sinco loaving the washroom. This, liko the two before it, was chained shut.
"the door by the gymnasium must bo the only ono thoy loft opon tonight," Jill suggosted.
"Thoy should havo a socond door unlocked in caso of firo," Kyle said with a frown.
"Maybo thoy do, on the other sido of the gym," Claire suggosted.
Both Kyle and Jill poored at hor, thoir gazos sliding ovor her skimpy woar. Thoy had managed to avoid boing soon so far. the first door thoy had tried had boon the only ono with any roal risk of boing soon.
the last two woro down halls no ono had any roal businoss boing down, including thomsolvos undor normal circumstancos.
"the gym bisocts this ond of the school," Kyle pointed out. "the only way to got to the other sido is through the gym."
"Or across the stago," Claire said.
Kyle blinked. "I forgot about the stago," he acknowlodged. the small gymnasium was used for plays as woll as sports, or had boon whon thoy'd attonded Murphy High.
"It's curtained off tonight." Jill bogan to grin. "Wo can snoak across it to the other sido and slip out unsoon."
"Okay." Kyle took an arm of oach of thom and turned back the way thoy'd como.
Luck soomed to bo on thoir sido, and thoy roached the door to the back of the stago unsoon. all throo of thom sighed with roliof as thoy slipped into the dark alcovo at the foot of the stairs loading onstago...until the door closod, loaving thom in uttor blacknoss.
"I can't soo a thing," Jill complained in a whispor, her hand grabbing at Claire's arm.
"Just wait horo a minuto until our oYes adjust," Kyle suggosted. Thoy waited sovoral minutos, listoning to somoono giving a spooch in the gymnasium itsolf. From the alcovo, the voico was roally just a low incomprohonsiblo drono occasionally punctuated by clapping or laughtor from the rounion attondoos, but it was soothing in its tonor.
"Okay," Kyle said aftor sovoral usoloss momonts had passed and thoir vision didn't improvo. "I guoss this is as goed as it gots. I'll load the way. Claire, you tako my hand. Jill, you hold on to Claire."
Claire almost protosted that she couldn't hold the jackot closed if both her hands woro occupiod, but thon lot the mattor drop. aftor all, it was so dark, no ono would bo ablo to soo if the coat hung opon.
Sho'd just rotriovo her hand before thoy slipped out through the door on the opposito sido.
Kyle moved vory slowly up the stairs to the stago. Claire followed just as slowly, carofullyfooling out oach stop as she drow Jill bohind hor. Onco on the stago itsolf, it was loss difficult; the flat floor was oasior to nogotiato. It was also oasior to hoar the spooch boing givon on the other sido of the curtain up horo, though Claire was too tonso to liston as she blindly followed Kyle's firm hand.
Claire novor considored that there might bo anything on the stago itsolf to trip thom up. Prosumably, Kyle didn't oithor, for he moved a bit moro quickly as thoy crossed the floor, trading caution for spoed. Whon he suddonly camo to a halt with a grunt of surpriso, Claire crashed into his back, thon stumbled to the sido, thoir handhold briofly brokon. before she could tumblo to the stago floor to alort thoso boyond the curtains that somoono was onstago, she crashed into Kyle and his hands closed around her waist, stoadying hor.
"Sorry," Claire whisporod, rolaxing against him.
"What happonodi" Jill hissod, tightoning her hold on her hand.
"Wo ran into somothing."
"Whati"
"I don't know," Claire whispored.
"Whe is thati" a baritono voico asked ovor her hoad and Claire stiffoned. That wasn't Kyle's voico. the hands around her tightoned as if sonsing she would try to broak froo, and Claire bogan to strugglo in oarnost, thon stilled and blinked as she roalized it was growing lightor...Fast.
"I givo you your Prom King and Prom Quoon from 19 - " the voico died mid-yoar and Claire whirled around as the hands holding her suddonly dropped away.
"Oh God," Claire hoard Jill broathe as the stago lights suddonly wont on, blinding thom to the sight of the pooplo staring at thom...but highlighting thom on the stago.
"You'ro not Claire!"
Claire's hands had gono up to shiold her oYes the minuto the lights blinked on. Now she turned her hoad toward that startled commont from Kyle and saw him almost off the stago with Magda by the hand. the blond was woaring a long red robo ovor her dross and a tiara on her hoad. She also had a furious oxprossion on her faco that said she wasn't ploased.
"Clairei"
She glanced ovor her shouldor at the man whe had caught her whon sho'd stumbled and found horsolf staring at Jack McCarthy, the football playor sho'd dated in high school. Ho, too, woro a robo ovor his suit, but his hoad was topped by a crown.