What A Drag!

Chapter One – Stepping out of the closet (or 'The push out of the closet and into the frying-pan')

"What? No!" the brunette exclaimed, vibrant green eyes narrowing in defiance. "I don't want to go to Gwen's for the summer! If I can't go with Grandpa I'll just stay here!" crossing his arms over his chest he stomped his right foot firmly onto the ground.

The man ran a hand through his brown hair and sighed. "Ben, you have to understand that your mother and I can't possibly leave you here alone for the summer." Having to deal with a tantrum was not on his agenda for the day, he was stressed enough.

"Then don't go on your stupid trip!" It was unfair of him and he knew it, but did his parents really think he wanted to spend his whole vacation with his cousin while they were off having a second honeymoon? Heck no! Why should they have fun while he was off rotting away at his stupid cousin's.

"Ben," a calm voice began. "I know it's unfortunate, but there isn't any other way. I know you looked forward to the sport's center, but I promise we'll go next year. I really think you should go to your aunt and uncle's, I have enough to worry about with Vera being sick and all. I can't worry about you at home alone, too." the man peered down on him with gentle eyes.

Ben turned and looked at his grandfather. He looked tired. Tired and old. The revelation was almost too much for Ben, to see the man who had always been his hero look like the old man he really was. The sad look in his eyes did nothing to ease Ben's thoughts. "I..." He sighed in defeat. "I'll go." If it was for Grandpa Max he'd endure. Possibly.

Max Tennyson nodded and rustled his grandson's hair affectionately. "Great. Now hurry up and pack a bag or two and we'll get going."

A pair of green eyes looked up at him from underneath brown bangs. "In the Rustbucket?" he asked hopefully, wanting a chance to spend some time with hiss grandfather before having to say good bye.

Shaking his head Max rubbed the back of his neck. "No, sorry Ben, but your parents are dropping you off before we head to the airport. It would too long for me to get to Vera's hospital with the RV. I'm going to fly over there. Her neighbour Marty is keeping an eye at her until I arrive, but I'm still worried about her."

"Ah. Okay." he looked over his shoulder and saw his parents loading bags into the car, giving them a heated glare before turning to his grandfather again. "Well... I'd better start packing then." with a sigh he turned around and walked into the house. He took a right through the foyer and walked past the dining room. As he reached the end of the short hallway he opened the door on his left.

He breathed a sigh of relieve as he closed the door behind him, the relative darkness of his room comfortingly enveloping him. Spending a whole summer with his aunt and uncle, not to mention his cousin, would totally suck. Opening his closet he began pulling things off of the hangers and pushing it into his bag, not caring to fold anything. His aunt was probably going to iron everything anyway. And even if she wasn't, he could probably charm her into it. After all, he was adorable.

As he walked toward the door he turned around, scanning the room to see if there was something important he had forgotten. He eyed the bag with his inline skates and after a moments hesitation he grabbed it before walking out of the room, stopping to grab his toothbrush and toiletries before joining his parents by the car.

Carl Tennyson looked up as a bag landed by his feet. "You all done?" he asked, picking up the bag and tried to place the bag in the trunk. He knew the hours of Tetris as a teen would pay off eventually. As Ben didn't answer but just mumbled something Carl bit back a groan. In their attempts to raise a strong-willed independent child he and Sandra may have let him get away with a bit too much.

Closing the trunk he turned to Ben and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. It won't be that bad. You'll meet new people and have fun, so tuck in that lip and stop moping and get in the car."

'Moping'? Ben would show him 'moping'! Was his dad too big an airhead to recognise that he was not 'moping' and purely expressing his immense disgruntlement!

The glare that was sent Carl's way promised that he probably would have to sleep with one eye open after they got back from vacation. 'Kids these days, I swear!' he thought to himself as he opened the door and sat down, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. With a final look in the rear-view mirror he saw his father opening a book while his son crossed his arms over his chest and started to pout in earnest.

Shaking his head he turned the ignition and put the car in gear, slowly backing out from the driveway. "Here we go." he muttered to himself, glancing over to his smiling wife. "Beach, here we come." he picked up her slender hand a pressed a kiss to her palm.

The smile he received was radiant. If his wife would smile like that more often he didn't care how much his unruly teen would pout and sulk.

xXxOoOxXx

"Gwendolyn, did you change the sheets in the guest bedroom?" a low raspy voice shouts up the staircase.

A hand tucked away a stray lock of orange hair as she stood up and smoothed put the small creases on the bed. "Yes." she yelled back. "And I brought in fresh towels, too. Just like you asked."

She threw a glance out the window and guessed they would be here soon. Chaos had ruled ever since her aunt had called early that morning, asking if her dweeb of a cousin could stay with them over the summer. Of course her parents had said 'Yes. We'd love to have him.'. She, however, had her doubts.

She could remember it like it was yesterday, the last time they had spent a summer together. They had been thirteen and Gwen had just gotten her first bra. She had been at her karate Dojo when he showed up with Grandpa Max. She had been in a hurry and decided to change at home. When she had grabbed her bag her shirt fell out. When she had picked it up Ben saw her bra on the mat. He picked it up with his thumb and index-finger, staring at the pink device.

"Give it back!" she had yelled, making Ben look from the thing in his hand to her, then back to the thing. She had reached to grab it but at the same time Ben made a disgusted face and screamed in disgust, throwing the pink bra halfway across the room.

Directly into the face of the cutest boy in class. Her secret crush. Tyler Adams.

As soon as she saw the blond boy grabbing at his face in panic, trying to pull it off his face she turned and ran.

She had run into a park as far away as she could, hiding behind the bushes, her back up against a tree, she started crying. How was she ever to show her face at the dojo again? In school?

At that moment she had sworn to take revenge on her cousin, no matter how long it took.

It had been dark before they found her. Grandpa Max had been the first one to see her. As the sharp light from the flashlight moved away from her face and she could see once more she had run into his comforting arms and started to cry again.

Gwen looked back from the window and punched the pillow. No matter what, she would get her revenge this summer. And it would taste sweet.

xXxOoOxXx

"Are you sure it's not an inconvenience for you?" Sandra asked after the initial hug to both Frank and Lily. Her eyes were a bit uncertain. It really wasn't right of her to force her son onto them. They probably had their own plans for summer. Not to mention how horrible a mother they would think she was, just leaving her baby like that! Perhaps they should stay after all...

"Nonsense, Sandra." Lily smiled and took her hands in hers, making Sandra focus on her. "It's been such a long time since the kids spent any time together, and we haven't seen Ben since the game last year. It'll be great!" she assured her sister in law.

Carl and Frank shook hands. "Thank you for doing this on such short notice."

Frank shook his head. "No problem, really. It was just a bit of a shock that aunt Vera got sick all of a sudden. Dad really have to go take care of her, and you and Sandra need to take care of each other. Just leave Ben to us. He'll be fine."

"Yeah. You're probably right. I'm sorry it's been so long, though." he said, looking a little embarrassed.

Frank smiled. "Hey, I haven't exactly been banging on your doorstep either. We have our own families and lives, but I must admit that it's good to see you and Sandra and Dad and Ben again."

Carl grimaced. "Yeah, speaking of Ben... um... I don't really know how to say this so I'll just say it outright."

Frank raised a brow and pushed up his glasses. "I'm listening"

"He's a bit of a brat." Carl said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Frank snorted and laughed out loud. "Ah. Oh... okay." he breathed in between snorts, rubbing his chin. "If that's all I think I can handle it." he sniggered. "I thought you were going to say he was some delinquent, or that he sacrificed cats to some dark lord while cutting himself and singing 'Kumbaya' backwards in an attempt to destroy the world as we know it. You know, the usual teen rebellion stuff."

He grinned. "No, no dead cats, but we have had less reports of moles in the area."

"Then by all means, let the boy continue! I'll even vote for him if he runs for president!"

They both laughed.

xXxOoOxXx

After the fourth hug from his mother Ben was beginning to feel squashed. "Mom! Enough already!" he cried and pushed her away. "Didn't you dump me here for a reason?" he asked, at least trying to hold back the malice from his voice.. "You have a plane to catch." he took a step back, trying to get out of reach, but at the hurt look in his mothers eyes at his words he sighed and gave her a quick hug. "You should hurry."

"Yeah, we should. You behave now, okay?" Carl said, placing a heavy hand on Ben's shoulder. At first Ben only glared at him but then he nodded. Ruffling the boy's hair he walked over to the car.

As Max walked up to his grandson he was enveloped in a hug. Taken by surprise he just smiled and patted the boys back. "Take care and be nice." he said. Ben just grimaced.

"Say hello to aunt Vera and tell her I wish her to get better fast."

"I will." after Ben let him go he gave both his son and his wife a hearty hug before turning to Gwen. "Gwen, my dear! You look more beautiful every time I see you! I promise I'll visit again, soon."

She smiled and stepped in to hug him. "Bye Grandpa Max!"

After all the good byes were said they stood by the car as it pulled out from the kerb. Before driving off Carl pulled his window down and leaned out. "Remember, Ben, that whatever trouble you manage get in to, Frank will set you straight, plus you'll get it ten times worse from me when I get back!" he promised sternly. Ignoring his son's 'Whatever' he smiled and waved as he drove off.

xXxOoOxXx

After bringing his bags into his designated room for the summer he flopped down onto the bed, sprawling his limbs across the grey cover. The room was nice enough, but he certainly would have preferred his own room back home. He grunted as he threw his arm over his eyes. This summer was gonna be such a drag.

He sighed and got up from the bed. He might as well take the bull by its horns and face his cousin. Walking out of the room he wandered downstairs into the living room where Frank Tennyson was currently reading the paper.

"Hello, uncle." he said, smiling the usual smile he had when facing adults that was not his parents. It always made people like him. He chucked it up to him being adorable. He knew he was. At least when he wanted to be.

Frank lowered the paper and saw his nephew. "Hi Ben. Do you need anything?" he asked.

Ben shook his head, looking sheepishly. "I was just wondering where Gwen was. I haven't said hello to her yet."

Nodding in approval Frank motioned towards the kitchen. "I think she's in the kitchen or the garden."

"Thanks." Ben said, turning around.

Raising his paper once more Frank turned his attention back to the paper. 'Just rebelling against the parents, I guess.' he thought to himself.

In the kitchen he found his aunt Lily but no Gwen. He said 'Hi' to her and was just about to go through the patio doors when she called him back. "Yes?" he asked, turning around.

"Can you be a dear and take this with you? It's some snacks for you and Gwen." she smiled handing him a tray.

Ben took the tray. "Yeah. Sure. Thank you."

Once in the garden he walked over to the table by the pool placing the tray of lemonade and sandwiches on it. "Gwen?" he said, scanning the garden.

"Yeah?" came a voice directly behind him.

Ben spun around, stepping on his own foot as he started to sway dangerously. "Aaah!" he shouted , waiving his arms in a feeble attempt at regaining his balance. Seeing no other way as he started to fall backwards he grabbed the closest thing for support.

Gwen.

With a scream Gwen was yanked forward by Ben and they both fell into the awaiting pool.

The cool water was such a sharp contrast to the heat on land that Ben drew a sharp breath, swallowing water. He was beginning to feel panic when a hand closed around his arm and pulled him up. Once he had his head above the surface he started coughing.

"Are you okay?" came Gwen's concerned voice. No matter how much she wanted revenge, drowning Ben was not the way she had envisioned it.

After a series of coughs and dry-heaves Ben turned to his cousin, furious. "Are you insane?" he yelled. "Pushing me into the pool?"

Gwen just stared at him. "Push... Hey! You were the one acting like a giant klutz, pulling me into the pool!"

Ben's cheeks heated but he ignored it. "You don't sneak up on people like that! You just don't!" he insisted, growling.

She scoffed. "And since when did you become such an authority in the proper way to behave?"

"Just shut up!" he said, splashing water at her.

"Kyah!" Gwen shot out, pulling her arm back and then whipping it forward, splashing en with a wave of water.

He coughed once more as he rubbed his eyes.

"What is going on out here?" came the anxious voice of Lily Tennyson as she stepped out onto the patio. As she saw the two kids in the pool, fully clothed and splashing each other with water her eyes narrowed. "Gwendolyn and Ben Kirby Tennyson, get out of that pool this instant! You're behaving like children."

As the two in the pool noticed her they turned to her and began to explain how it was the other's fault that they ended up in the pool.

"Mom! He pulled me in!"

"Did not! She scared me on purpose and pushed me!"

"You're just a klutz, tripping over your own feet!"

"I almost drowned, auntie!"

"Who in their right mind tries to breathe underwater? Or perhaps you're a fish? You smell like one, anyway!"

"Well, I didn't try drowning the guest in the pool!"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Lily rasped out. "Get inside and change. The next time either of you decide to take a swim in the pool use swimsuits!" She watched the two drenched teens climb out of the pool and dejectedly trotting for the patio door while whispering to each other. "Wait! Shoes, socks and clothes off outside." Both teens whirled round to give her a look like she was crazy.

"I'll go and get you some towels, but I am not letting you two drench my floors and carpets with the pool-water. Chlorine is impossible to get out!" she walked past them and went inside the kitchen in her quest for towels.

"This is all your fault!" Ben hissed, shivering.

"Like I made you jump in the pool and pull me with you? You are way stupider than you look, quite the feat, actually." she drawled, pointedly not looking at her cousin.

Ben was doing a grand impression of a goldfish when Lily returned with two towels.

"Here," she said, handing a fluffy towel to Ben and another to Gwen. "Now, get out of those wet clothes and hurry upstairs."

Ben glared at Gwen before taking his towel and walking around some bushes. He quickly pulled off his shirt and tied the towel around his waist before removing his shoes, socks and pants. He gathered the wet clothes and walked back to the door where Lily grabbed the wet clothes and ushered him upstairs.

He ignored the look from his uncle as he raced up the stairs and into his room, practically slamming the door behind him. After he had changed out of his wet underwear he pulled on a pair of black sweatpants and a green shirt, throwing himself on the bed he reached for his DS with the new Sumo Slammer VI and turned it on.

If this day was anything to go by, it was going to be a long summer.

xXxOoOxXx

The next morning Gwen groaned as she hit the snooze on her alarm. Desperately hoping that yesterdays events had been a bad dream she pulled her pillow over her head as she heard the birds chirping.

When her clock once more started to beep she turned it off and decided to get up. Instead of pulling on jeans and a tee she opted for her bikini. It was a nice morning and she might as well get a little exercise in. She was probably a little slower than usual since she hadn't had a meet with the swim-team for weeks. Her martial arts training had taken up a lot of her time in order to get that black belt.

Glancing over to the wall she felt a surge of pride as she saw the numerous medals and trophies, ribbons and diplomas. The most recent document being her first degree black belt certificate. After that the medal of placing third in the last Swimming District Championship.

She grinned to herself before grabbing the towel hanging on her closet door and heading downstairs.

xXxOoOxXx

Ben scanned the neighbourhood as he sped down the street. Fluidly pushing himself forward as the wind rustled in the trees above him. He loved his pair of green and black Rollerblades. They were perfect for letting out steam and to take his mind off of things. It wasn't so bad here, he thought to himself. 'As long as Gwen isn't here, at least.'

Just as he looked to his side, scanning for cars, about to turn and cross the street, he ran into something. He felt himself connecting with a hard surface that knocked him on his ass with a shout. It wasn't the first time Ben ran into something, it was just that most of the times, they didn't talk to him.

"What the hell?" came the angry voice across from Ben. Ben lifted his head from the pavement and thanked his lucky star that helmets were such an awesome invention. Too bad there wasn't some kind of ass-cushion, too. He'd like one right about now. He shook his head groggily and met a pair of angry dark eyes. "Um... hi?"

"Don't 'hi' me!" the stranger growled. "You should try watching were you're going! Dumbass!" he said, standing up.

Ben stared wide-eyed at the person in front of him. He didn't look that much older than him, a year or two, maybe, but he looked freaking huge from where Ben was currently half sitting, half laying on the ground, his dark hair and stern face not helping either. "Um... yeah. Sorry. Never gonna happen again!" he said, forcing a grin, trying not to think about what would happen if the muscled teen in front of him decided an apology just wasn't good enough.

"Better not!" the dark haired stranger said walking past him.

Ben visibly relaxed and breathed out. Laying his head back down on the ground he saw the now upside-down teen walk down the street for a few more yards before getting into an equally upside-down green car.

Ben pulled himself together and was just about to pick himself off of the pavement when he heard a voice calling.

"Kevin! Hey, wait up!" a dark skinned boy hurried up to the green car and started talking to the boy Ben had all but rammed.

Ben though this was an excellent opportunity to cross the street and head back.

xXxOoOxXx

When Ben got back from his 'run' he sat down in the hallway and began pulling off his Rollerblades. He placed then on the side of the shoerack and put his helmet besides it. Going up to his room he began to remove his elbow and knee-pads.

It was a warm morning and Ben was beginning to feel a little too hot for comfort so he decided to take a swim in the pool. He quickly changed and hurried downstairs, towel in hand. After bidding his aunt a good morning he walked up to the pool.

"Oh, so you're here?" he said, placing his towel in one of the lounge-chairs.

Gwen just looked up at him in the middle of a stroke and swam on. "I live here, actually. You?"

Ben grunted. "Not funny." He walked up to the edge and jumped in, tucking his legs under his chin, shouting 'Cannonball' as he fell.

Gwen got splashed and stood up, prepared to dunk his head underwater until he stopped being such a brat, that is, until she had an idea. "Hey, Ben." she said sweetly, swimming over to the floating boy.

He raised a brow and threw her a suspicious glance. "You almost sound nice and it's creeping me out. What do you want?" he asked before giving off an impression of a fountain, a beam of water shooting from his lips.

Gwen frowned in disgust. "I have a suggestion. We'll have a bet."

"A bet?" Ben stood up, wiping water off of his face.

Gwen nodded. "We can't keep arguing for the rest of the summer, right?" her eyes narrowed at Ben's noncommittal shrug of the shoulders but she continued anyway. "Right. So I suggest we have a bet. The winner takes it all."

"And that means what?"

Gwen bit her lip. She hadn't really worked that detail out yet. Well, she'd just have to wing it then. "Well... how about the one who wins gets the other as a slave for the rest of the summer?"

Ben perked up at this. "Really? You mean it? For the whole summer?" he asked.

"Yeah. We might as well get it over with so we can stop fighting all the time."

Ben nodded. "Okay. But what kind of bet?"

"Maybe not a bet as much as a competition." Gwen suggested. "How about karate?" she grinned.

"No way! I vote soccer." came the instant reply.

"Well, since it's a competition it shouldn't be too unfair..."she said, ignoring the look Ben shot her. "How about swimming?" she asked innocently.

Ben seemed to ponder the suggestion before nodding. "Sure." The idea of having his irritating cousin as his personal servant for the summer was very tempting.

"Excellent. How about the fastest to finish two laps wins?"

Ben nodded and made his way to the shallow edge of the pool. "You coming?" he asked as Gwen didn't follow.

"Now?" she asked. Seeing Ben's exasperated expression she shook her head and joined him. "Mights as well, then. Two laps." she said. "On three."

"One.."

"Two.."

"Three!"

And they were off. Gwen let Ben take the lead as he came closer to the edge off the pool, but while he turned around she dived and kicked off with her feet before swimming as fast as she could towards the finish.

It had been a short and anticlimactic, but she had won. The look of despair on Ben's face was priceless as he realised that he had lost. Looking at her cousin an evil grin spread across her face. She opened her mouth and mimed three words at him. The look of anguish on his face was almost revenge enough.

Almost.

Ben blanched. How could everything have gone so wrong? He was certain he had it in the bag! He groaned as Gwen's unspoken words rang in his head.

"I own you."

xXxOoOxXx

Once he had gotten dressed after the shower he dejectedly trotted across the hall to Gwen's room. His stomach hurt and he knew that whatever Gwen wanted of him it was no way near good. His palms were beginning to sweat as he turned the handle and opened the door. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw clothes come flying towards him. He ducked as a heavy belt with copper hoops flew past him. "Um... Gwen?" he asked, carefully taking a step into the room, letting the door close behind him.

He could hear her muttering to herself. "No, no, no, no. Not good!" Ben once more had to evade a projectile flung towards him. This time it was a brown boot with clattering buckles.

"What are you doing?" he asked, walking up to her.

Gwen straightened herself and took a step away from the closet. "I'm searching for something." she said, throwing her hair over her shoulder.

Ben rolled his eyes. "I guessed that much, but what are you looking for?"

The evil smile on her face reappeared. "You just have to wait and see."

Ben did indeed have to wait. Half an hour later he heard Gwen's triumphant shout and he looked up from her desk where he had been doodling on a stray piece of paper seeing as how Gwen didn't even have one measly little comic-book to read. He saw her walk over to where he was seated and she shoved a bundle of clothes into his face.

"Change." was all she said.

One word.

It terrified Ben.

"Um... change? Change what?" he asked, swallowing.

Gwen rolled her eyes and let go of the clothes, letting them fall into Ben's lap. "Clothes, of course, dweeb."

Ben's face began heating up. Change clothes? Into this? He was pretty sure that the striped thing on his lap was a skirt. "No." he said, looking up at Gwen with more conviction than he felt.

He gulped as Gwen raised a well-plucked brow and bent down over him. "Listen here, Benji, either you put that on, or I will use you as my personal punching-bag for the duration of this vacation. And do believe me when I say that before you have any opportunity to tell mom and dad about it, I'll silence you for good." She gave him a sweet smile as she grew silent.

Ben was unsure about it but he nodded. She probably wanted some blackmail material of him in a skirt. He breathed a sigh of relief as she backed away, giving him some much needed personal space. He looked down on the bunch of clothes and stood up. As he was about to leave the room Gwen stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"To my room and change!"

Gwen chuckled. "Hardly. There's a folding-screen over there. You're staying in my sight so you can't run away and hide behind my parents."

Ben glared at her. Normally he wouldn't care what threats of bodily harm were flung his way, but he knew for a fact that Gwen was deadly serious. He had watched her as she won a tournament last year, and boy, did he not want to be on the receiving end of a beating from Gwen. Totally humiliation was to be preferred. He swallowed a groan as he walked over to the screen.

He had just removed his shirt when a pink object and a small cardboard box was thrown over the top of the screen. Ben bent over and looked at the new articles of clothing. To his horror it was a pink bra with tiny embroidered flowers. The box had a picture on it, a picture of a woman's hips and a pair of underwear. No. His mind screamed at him to run but he picked up the two pieces of lingerie, staring at them unseeingly. "Gwen?"

"Yes?"

"Care to tell me why you threw underwear at me?" he asked, a nervous shudder in his voice.

"So you can complete the ensemble. I'm sorry but the bra is an old one of mine, I have only used it once, though, years ago. The hipsters are new, Pierre Robert makes very comfortable panties. Be grateful." she briefly gritted her teeth at the thought of the incident when she was thirteen, but the prospect of Ben wearing women's lingerie made her smile.

"I am not wearing that!" he said firmly, tossing them back over the screen.

Gwen just picked them up and walked behind it, thrusting them into Ben's chest. "Either you put it on, or I will. And if you force me to do it, I can't guarantee that you'll have the same... equipment as when we started!"

Ben grabbed the underwear without a word and turned around, cursing silently. He decided to take the lesser of two evils first. The underwear couldn't be as bad as the bra, right? Opening the box he pulled out a pair of purple panties. He grimaced. Removing his own pants and underwear he stepped into the... panties. Even the word felt wrong in his head. The feel of them against his legs was entirely different than his usual boxers. They clung to his body and it felt soft against his skin, even though they stretched uncomfortably. Once they were in place, or as in place as they could, Ben wondered if this maybe wasn't worse than the bra.

Ben had never been a fan of tighty-whities, in fact, he didn't like tight underwear at all! And here he was, in the tightest underwear he had ever tried on. This just felt so wrong! He wasn't supposed to wear stuff like this! He swore loudly as he reached for the skirt. It was a dark green with small stripes of blue and red crossing each other. He sighed as he pulled it over his thighs and onto his hips, pulling up the zipper and buttoning it up.

Now his eyes fell on the pink bra. His stomach churned as he reached out and picked it up. In theory he knew how it was supposed to go, but it was easier said than done. Ben had grabbed the two ends of the bra and was trying to close it. No such luck. Annoyed, Ben tried to fasten it while the cups were on his back, he got it closed, but he didn't manage to turn the bra around once it was closed. He groaned.

He wanted to bang his head on the wall in frustration. This devil-device was getting the better of him. He unhitched the bra and walked around the screen. "I..."

Gwen tried not to laugh when she saw her cousin come out from behind the screen half dressed, she really did.

Ben glared at his cousin as she doubled over and started laughing while clutching her stomach. He crossed his hands over his chest and waited, bra still in hand. His foot tapping impatiently. "Okay, if you're going to laugh yourself into getting an aneurysm I'm going to get dressed!" he said as the laughter died out in Gwen wheezing, trying to breathe.

"Okay, okay." she said, holding her palms up in defeat. "I'll help you with it." she giggled as she walked around him. "Put your arms through the straps and I'll just close it."

Ben did as he was told and pulled the bra up, manoeuvring his arms through the straps. "I'll get you back for this." Ben promised through clenched teeth, glaring at Gwen over his shoulder.

Gwen just gave his back a pat as she connected the clasps on the bra. "Sure you will, tiger." she mocked. "Just a sec," she said, rummaging through a box. After a minute she returned to face Ben.

"What are those?" he gave the skin-coloured gelatinous blobs in her hand a suspicious look.

"Breastform cups." she said. "My friend and I bought a pair each a couple of years back. Before these happened." she grinned, motioning towards her chest.

Ben made a face and turned his head away. "Yeah, well it's not really happened that much since you were ten."

Gwen shot him a murderous glare before pushing one of the inlays into the cup of the bra.

"God that's cold!" Ben exclaimed. He stared down at Gwen's hands as they arranged the bra. It felt incredibly surreal. Hopefully he could get out of the clothes soon and forget this ever happened. Until Gwen started showing people pictures or something, then he'd move to Alaska or Greenland, of course.

"They'll warm up soon enough. Stop being such a baby."To make the cups stay in place she gave them a little push, making the self-adhesive fake breasts stick to Ben's chest. "Good. Now get your shirt on." she said, taking a step back.

But Ben didn't move, instead he was staring down on his chest. "I have boobs..." he said to himself, poking the bra and marvelling as it yielded softly under the pressure. "Squishy."

"Come on Ben, or are you going to stand around groping yourself all day?"

Ben looked up and stuck his tongue out to Gwen as he grabbed his chest with both hands. "Maybe I will!"

Shaking her head Gwen sat down by her desk and picked up a book. "Just tell me once you've stopped perving on yourself." she said, making a 'shoo'-ing motion with her hand, pretending to read.

Letting go of his newly acquired rack he marched over and snatched up the shirt on the floor. After trying to tangle his finger free out of the mesh shirt he pulled the green t-shirt over his head. "Hey, I have one like this at hone!" he said as he caught a glimpse of himself in Gwen's mirror. "Not as tight, though."

"That's because it's for women. Most of them are fitted. I bought it at the game against Rapid City last year, you know." Gwen said as she walked up to Ben, handing him a pair of boots. "Here, put these on, too."

"Man!" he whined as he grabbed them, heading for the chair. "I can't believe I'm doing this!" he said as he pulled the boot over his calf, grumbling at the tight fit.

"Well, since I own you I'm at liberty to make you do whatever I want!" Gwen said haughtily and grabbed her camera from the desk, taking a snapshot of Ben as he tried to stand up. His toes felt unnaturally squashed as he applied pressure on his feet, the heels didn't help his balance, either.

Ben wobbled on his feet as the placed both his feet on the floor, taking a staggering step before crashing onto the floor in a tangled heap of limbs. "I hate you!" he grunted as he laid on the floor.

"That may be, but you're so very unladylike, Benji!" she laughed, taking another picture. "I mean, no woman would sprawl like that... panties showing and all..."

Ben immediately sat up, pulling the skirt down his exposed crotch and thighs, his cheeks ablaze. "I'm not a girl! And don't make me wear things out of a god damned porno! This skirt is way too short!"

Gwen grabbed Ben's arm and helped him up. "Okay, up you go." she said, steadying the boy as he swayed. "See, you're not half-bad."

Ben violently pulled his arm out of her grip, almost falling again in the process. "Okay, you've had your laugh, now let me get out of these damned clothes!"

Gwen looked horrified by the idea. "What? No! I'm gonna show you off!"

Ben's face turned white. "Show me off? Like... this?"

"Of course silly! It wouldn't be much of a punishment if I just made you put that on."

"Punishment?" Ben echoed. What did he ever do? His conscience could actually come up with a pretty hefty list of Ben's offences, but he ignored it and proceeded to play innocent.

"For being a dweeb and making my life miserable for oh, I don't know... the last fifteen years?"

"But!" he cried. "That was like... ages ago!"

Gwen placed slim hand on her hid and threw her hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, a full fifteen hours if I'm not mistaken..." she drawled. "For the rest of the summer you will be my cousin 'Jen' to each and every person we meet."

"What? For the whole summer?" Ben exclaimed, almost shouting.

"Yes. For the whole summer, slave..."

Ben stared at Gwen for a second before opening his mouth, yelling at her. "Are you insane? How the hell am I supp..." the rest of whatever the boy had on his mind was cut off by the door opening, both teens turning their heads to see who it was, his uncle walking in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we were wondering what you'd like for lun... Oh my God! Ben?" Gwen's father all but screamed as saw his nephew and the state he was in.

Ben's face flushed and his mind went numb. Oh God! What would his uncle think? What would his dad think?

After a minute of shocked silence the man had pulled himself together enough to look straight at Ben's face, trying to ignore the fact that the youth was now sporting a skirt and had miraculously developed breasts in the last hour.

With a sigh he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Ben, is there something you would like to tell your aunt and me?"

Ben's face grew even hotter if humanly possible.

Chapter one - End.