Chapter Four

After managing to pick my jaw up off the floor, about ten seconds later, I shook my head. I nervously adjusted my glasses and tried to calm down. However, the blush that had taken control of my cheeks had managed to burn all the way down my neck, actually making my chest start to break out.

Damn.

"Sorry, Ryan," I murmured. I was completely embarrassed. Actually, that was an understatement.

I wanted to crawl under the piles of dirty laundry in his room and die. Quickly. Painfully would be preferable to the state of embarrassment I was in.

I looked up at Ryan and his lips curved into a crooked smile, it was actually rather endearing. "It's no big deal," he said, running a free hand through his hair and awkwardly holding onto his towel with the other. "So what are you doing here?"

"I...um...I got lost," I stammered. I internally started slapping myself. A half-naked boy reduced me to stutters. How was I going to survive the next few hours with Macey if I couldn't even talk to a boy. Well, a half-naked boy. A half-naked, soaking wet boy in only a towel.

"Jane!"

Thank God.

I turned quickly to see Macey popping her head through the door, eyeing me suspiciously. She glanced over at Ryan and rolled her eyes, "I see you have met Ryan, my brother."

Brother?

What. The. Hell.

It was then that the lightbulb finally went off in my head. No wonder he was so frustrated earlier when Macey had decided to take me under her wing. So this was it, the classic tale of sibling rivalry. She was pretty, popular, and basically owned the highschool and Ryan, well, he was just average, decent-looking and obviously not the most popular guy on campus.

But I still didn't understand completely.

"Ryan, why don't you put some clothes on. You have absolutely nothing to flaunt. Jane, let's go." Macey rolled her eyes and issued her order, opening the door wide enough for me to exit.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled slightly at Ryan before hurrying out.

The door shut behind me, but not before I hear Ryan mutter something under his breath. They were definitely words that would get me grounded if I said them around my father. I watched Macey glide past me into another room and I followed.

Now this was a lady's room. It was elegant, extravagant, and completely ostentatious. The walls were painted a light gold, all of the furniture was large, made of dark cherry woods, and covered with different red fabrics. There were real flowers in vases on the dresser and night-stands, and the bed...wow. The bed was something out of a Harlequin Romance. It's four posters were tall and carved intricately with vines and buds blossoming. It was on a dais, at least half as tall as me! It was a bed built for a princess, which I assumed Macey played the role of.

She crossed the room to the large vanity and turned to face me, taking a seat on the satin covered stool. "Now, we will start with trying to fix your walk. Remember what I said about standing straight?"

I nodded, pulling my hands from my pockets and letting them dangle at my side. My palms were still sweating from earlier and I gingerly wiped them across my thighs. I straightened my back, as if someone had shoved a broomstick down my shirt and lifted my chin slightly. "Like this?" I asked, praying that I had done something right.

Macey smiled and nodded, "Very nice! See, don't you just feel a bit more confident?" She stood and walked closer to me, cocking her head to the side and pursing her lips.

Now I was scared.

"Now, I want you to practice walking like this. It will be as if you are gliding, floating really." She began, turning and demonstrating. "Your feet will seem to skim the surface of the ground, rather that actually touching it."

I watched as she walked across the room, turning slowly, and then walked back to me. I never noticed before, but she did tend to glide. It was very elegant, very pageant-like. She lifted a hand, signaling me to try.

I took a small breath and tried to mimic her. It was awkward. Very awkward. Instead of skimming the surface, I ended up stomping. Much to Macey's horror I kept trying. This was going to be a lot harder than I though.

As if reading my thoughts Macey shook her head, "This will be more difficult than I had assumed."

She stepped to my side and began to show me step by step how to 'glide'.

It took an hour for me not took look like a complete moron, and another thirty minutes to gain Macey's approval.

"Now, I want you to start walking like this all the time. If you need to practice then I suggest that you do so," She said, twirling a piece of blonde hair between her fingers. "Now then, about your wardrobe..."

I frowned and looked down at myself. Sure, I didn't dress like her, or any of the other preps at school, but I wasn't frumpy. I dressed conservatively and comfortably.

"Strip."

My head snapped up, giving me a moment of whiplash and I blinked at her. "Wh...what?"

Macey sighed and headed for the opposite side of the room, to a large door. "I said, strip. Take your clothes off. I want to see what I am going to be working with and I need to start fresh. I need a blank canvas."

"You want me to get completely naked?" I asked, horrified. I'm sure that the could smell the fear emanating from my body. I didn't even like to be naked when I was alone! I've never been naked in front of anyone in my entire life and now I was supposed to strip down. This was too much.

"Not completely naked silly goose," Macey snickered, not even bothering to look at me as she opened the door, revealing a very large, and very full, closet. "Just to your under-things. We are both women and we have the same things. There is nothing to fear. If you cannot be comfortable in your own skin then you cannot be comfortable in anything else."

I shook my head, where the hell did these sayings come from! I swallowed a breath and closed my eyes as I began unfastening the buttons on my top.

What the hell.

She was right after all. If taking off my clothes would help turn me into something better, then damnit, I'll take them off.

I tossed my top to the side and then unfastened my jeans, letting them slide to the floor. I quickly pulled off my shoes and shimmied the jeans off completely, tossing them to the pile. I gulped and then started fidgeting with my hands.

"Stop it!" Macey yelled from inside the closet.

My eye twitched and my hands fell limply to my side. "Sorry," I replied softly.

Macey emerged from the closet a moment later with a few items dangling from her fingers. "Well aren't you just a little cute thing! I didn't think that you had anything worthwhile under those clothes." She grinned and gently lay the garments on the bed, stepping in front of me and nodding in satisfaction.

I blushed. I wasn't disfigured or anything. I wasn't chubby, or gangly by any means either. I was average.

Macey's fingers brushed against my hips, "Ah, nice curve to the hip," she began. "Great torso, long legs, tight stomach," she continued, assessing my every feature. "Yes, You will fit perfectly into some of my things."

I breathed a small sigh of relief.

My father never allowed sweets into the house. On top of my strict diet, I had to work out. He would wake me up every weekend to run at least 5 miles. Although waking up early sucked, I did enjoy the running. It cleared my head and made me feel good. In fact, it was one of the only things that made me feel confident. I could play sports as well, I was an avid golfer, but my father thought that school was meant for learning, not recreational sports. I was itching to try out for a team, but was denied on a constant basis.

I glanced at Macey's face, frowning at crease that was now wrinkling her forehead. Her eyes looked at my chest and she shook her head.

"Well, maybe not in the chest area, but we can make do," she added.

Ouch. Low blow.