Dark Magick

Back on the bus a couple hours later, Ash was busy putting away his new wardrobe when he finally heard Andy shuffling around in his bunk. Ever since having the thought that he felt the safest around him, he’d had a feeling of unease every time he thought about him. He was beginning to wonder if he’d had something to do with his sudden physical change, but decided not to worry about it since he had bigger fish to fry.

Not having a cock anymore, even if it was only temporary, was taking some serious getting used to. He wasn’t used to having to sit down just to piss, nor practically strip his lower half for the relief of that bodily function, either. His breasts, which he’d been told for certain were thirty-eight double-Ds, were constantly in the way. It seemed like every time he went to reach out in front of himself, they’d press up against his arms in ways he wasn’t used to. Not only that, but the extra weight of them pulling down on his upper torso was beginning to give him a tension headache.

Sighing softly as he finished putting his new wardrobe away, Ash massaged the back of his neck as best he could. Despite his love for women—and fucking them—actually being a woman wasn’t nearly all it was cracked up to be. No wonder a lot of women swore they’d rather be a guy than a girl most of the time.

Once he was finally done, he headed out to the living area, and that was when he noticed that the small of his back was really starting to hurt, too. When he got out there, he saw that Andy had, indeed, woken up and that the guys were explaining what was going on to him. He turned with shocked eyes to look at him when CC greeted him, but he could tell his shock was faked. Frowning slightly, he turned to the fridge for a bottle of water to down some Advil with and paid him no mind.

“So…you just…woke up as…a woman?” Andy asked slowly.

“Yeah, I did,” he answered, no longer cringing at his slightly higher voice.

“That explains the scream that woke me up,” his best friend said thoughtfully.

“You heard it? So why didn’t you get up like the rest of us?” CC asked, sounding both pissed and curious.

“My insomnia kept me up too late,” the baby of the band answered simply. “I felt like I’d fall if I tried getting up to investigate, so I just stayed in my bunk.”

“Okay, that’s a good enough reason, I suppose,” Jake agreed, nodding.

“I’m still trying to figure out who did this, and why,” Jinxx added, frowning. “It’s already obvious to me that someone cast a spell on him, but why is a mystery.”

Ash gasped so softly they didn’t hear him over their speculative chatter as he felt something trickle down his thigh. He quickly excused himself back to the bathroom, wondering if he’d accidentally pissed himself or something since he still wasn’t used to literally being a woman.

In the bathroom, he shucked his jeans and the panties he’d decided to wear instead of his typical boxers. To say he was shocked when he saw blood in them was an understatement as big as saying that boars have bad breath. It didn’t take a rocket scientist for him to figure out that he’d started the first of what he suspected would be many periods until this spell was broken. Even though he knew it was risky, he decided to text Hayley Williams of Paramore, seeing as they were on Warped Tour 2011 with them.

He didn’t explain shit to her in the text, just told her that he needed to see her, like, yesterday, then texted Jinxx so he’d know to let her on the bus. When he asked if he was all right, Ash simply responded with a quick I’m fine, but I really need to talk to Hayley, and he was pretty sure his friend figured out why. It wasn’t long before he heard Hayley in the living area with the rest of the guys, thankfully.

“Listen, Hayley. This is gonna shock you almost shitless, but you’ve gotta keep your mouth shut,” he heard Jinxx saying as he led her back to the bathroom.

“O…kay,” the vocalist answered uncertainly. “But what’s going on? First Ashley texts me saying he needs to see me, now you’re telling me I’m gonna be shocked shitless.”

“When we woke up this morning, CC discovered that Ash is literally a woman,” the multi-instrumentalist told her.

“Yeah, right! Quick jerking my chain, Jinxx!” Hayley laughed.

“No, I’m serious,” he told her.

“He really is.” Ash stepped out of the bathroom, a piece of thickly-folded toilet paper in his panties for the time being.

“You might look like Ash, but even a distant cousin could,” she said skeptically.

Since he still had all of his tattoos, he lifted his shirt up to expose the one that said OUTLAW in an Old Western font arching over his navel.

Gasping, Hayley then rolled the long sleeves of his shirt up and looked at his arms, which still had the same tattoos as always on them, as well. Her eyes widened as she realized that Jinxx was telling the truth, and she shooed him out. It wasn’t hard for her to figure out that whatever he needed to see her about was between women and women only.

“Lemme guess…since you’re now physically a woman, you’ve started your very first period, haven’t you?” she asked.

Embarrassed, he merely nodded.

“Hey, Ashley, look at me.” She lifted his chin with her fingers. “It’s perfectly natural for a woman, although you’ve never been a woman before. I don’t blame you for coming to me.”

“Y-you d-don’t?” Ash stuttered uncertainly.

“Not in the least. Even if you woke up like this just this morning, I bet you thought you’d have more time before this happened, if you even thought about it at all. Right?”

“I haven’t thought about it, to be honest,” he answered sheepishly. “I’ve been so busy all morning getting a new wardrobe that fit better and thinking about how to either keep this hidden or announce it to the fans that I haven’t had time.”

“It’s okay, Ash.” Hayley gently steered him into the bathroom. “I know this might be a bit weird for you, given the current circumstances, but let’s get you cleaned up.”

Nodding his agreement, he tried not to be shy about stripping to his birthday suit in front of her before they both got in the shower. She said that since they already needed a shower anyway, it’d be easier to just hop in together. Even though it was hot enough to nearly scald his pubes off, she turned the hot water up almost as hot as it would go, then made him stand with his back facing the spray.

Ash couldn’t help the soft moan that rose from his throat as he rested his forehead on her shoulder, her fingers digging into the small of his back as the water flowed over them. It was clear to him now that she’d turned the heat up so high because it would help with the backache he had that he hadn’t even told her about.

Once they were done showering, Hayley climbed out of the shower and grabbed them both some towels. She had to show him how to wrap the one towel around his torso so it would cover his breasts, which he wasn’t used to doing, and wouldn’t fall as soon as he let go of it. That task done, she got dressed in the clothes she’d worn over here, then grabbed her purse. Being a woman by nature and used to this kind of thing, she pulled a super-absorbency tampon out of the inner pocket of her purse, smirking as he eyed it warily. She laughed as she told him that, so long as it was done right, he wouldn’t even feel it.

The bassist still looked at her skeptically as she unwrapped it, then handed it to him. She quickly instructed him on how to use it, and to say that it felt odd was the understatement of the year to him. He grimaced at the sensation of something being inside him in such a way, but still did as told. Once it was in comfortably, so that, like she’d said, he didn’t even feel it, Hayley warned him about leaving it in for more than eight hours. She said that he could get really sick if he did, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Thanks, Hayley. But do ya think you can go with me to a drug store or something?” he asked, blushing.

“You don’t want the guys seeing you have to buy tampons, and not for a girlfriend, right?” she chuckled.

“Not really. Being with Jinxx while shopping for my bras and panties was embarrassing enough,” Ash answered, turning an even darker shade of red.

“Again, it’s okay, Ash,” she assured him. “I get that you’re easily embarrassed about this. Course, this is how you’d feel as a pubescent girl, to be honest.”

“Really?” the bassist asked curiously.

“Really. This is how I remember feeling when I first started puberty and got my first period,” Hayley answered, nodding.

“Wow… This is really a fucking learning curve for me,” Ash admitted shyly, trying not to blush even more furiously than he already was.

“Well, you’ve spent the last twenty-seven years as a man; it’s really no surprise to me,” she chuckled. “Now c’mon; let’s go get you those tampons.”

Nodding his agreement, the bassist followed her out of the bathroom, still surprised that he couldn’t even feel the tampon soaking up the blood pouring out of him. He didn’t even feel the string that was attached to it so he could pull it back out later, and Hayley said that was perfectly normal, as well. He merely shrugged since she’d know better than he would at this point and took her word for it.

At the nearest Kerr Drug, she led him back toward where feminine care products and condoms were kept. The amount of different tampons and pads there were, and from nearly as many different companies, boggled his mind just from looking at the packages. She paused in front of one part of the tampon section, then grabbed a single box.

Hayley explained to him that it had both super and regular absorbency tampons in it, that way they could see which one kept his flow under control better without spending as much money. Besides, they could always go to another drug store or something at their next stop to get more if he ran out in the meantime. Since she was more knowledgable than he was at this point, he agreed with her logic. However, before they left the area, she told him he might want to grab some condoms, and not because he was going to be the one wearing them.

Groupies were known to enjoy fucking the female members of a band as much as the male ones, and she wanted him to be prepared. Seeing as he hadn’t bought condoms in a while and didn’t know how many he had left, Ash knew it was smart to just go ahead and get more. She had to help him pick out which ones felt the best to a woman, seeing as how his partner would be wearing it this time, but that was okay. It wasn’t like she hadn’t done this before, and surprisingly, he trusted her.

“Okay, so you’ve got condoms, feminine care products, and a whole new wardrobe,” Hayley said quietly as they walked back to where their buses were parked. “Can you think of anything else you might need?”

“We’ve got Advil on the bus, and that seemed to help my cramps as much as the hot shower and your massage,” he answered, blushing again.

“Speaking of which, have you guys got a heating pad on board?” she asked.

“Yeah, we each have one. Never know when we’ll need it, the way we beat ourselves up on stage,” Ash answered. “Why?”

“Because putting that on your back will help with the cramps and not use up the entire water supply on board,” the vocalist chuckled.

“I guess that makes sense,” he agreed.

“Trust me, sometimes the cramps will get so bad you can’t even sleep,” she told him, grimacing. “That’s why there are some shows where I’m practically a zombie on stage.”

“Yikes.” He grimaced as well at the thought of a cramp so bad he couldn’t sleep and was a zombie while trying to perform.

“It’s part and parcel of being a woman, though,” she said.

“Doesn’t mean it has to be enjoyed,” the bassist grumbled.

“Oh, you’re definitely right about that,” Hayley chuckled. “Like I said, though, just remember to change your tampon every eight hours or so till your period ends. And make sure you don’t put another one in if your flow gets really light toward the end so you don’t forget to take it back out.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna get sick with—what was it you said? Toxic Shock Syndrome?” he asked.

“That’s exactly what I said. Men and children can get it, too, but women—particularly menstruating women—are at the highest risk for it,” she answered, nodding. “Leaving a tampon in because you forget about it can cause that.”

Upon arriving back at the bus, she walked him back to the back room he shared with CC so they could put away his most recent purchases. Even though he knew the guys wouldn’t say anything bad about it, he still didn’t want them knowing he’d had to go buy tampons this soon after waking up as a woman. That, and once they were put away, he was gonna lay down in his bunk with the heating pad on his back.

Ash hugged and thanked Hayley before she left, earning himself a chuckle as she told him she was happy to help and that he could come to her again if he needed anything else. Once she left, he did exactly as he’d planned to after unpacking his heating pad, groaning softly as he laid down.

By the time he finally got comfortable not quite on his belly, but not quite on his side, either, he heard a knock at the door. Since he’d left it unlocked, he called out permission for the person to enter, not surprised when Jinxx knelt down in the floor in front of his bunk. It seemed that he was really worried about him, especially since he’d been the one he’d texted about letting Hayley on the bus earlier. Therefore, the multi-instrumentalist’s coming to check on him didn’t surprise him in the least.

“You all right, Ash?” he asked, gently brushing his hair back.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the bassist answered, squirming slightly. “My back just hurts.”

“What’s wrong?” his friend asked, oblivious as to why it hurt.

“I—I st-started my first p-period,” Ash answered, blushing madly.

“Ah. No wonder you wanted to talk to Hayley,” he said in an understanding tone, reaching up to readjust his heating pad for him. “That better?”

“That’s actually exactly where I needed it,” he sighed.

“All right. Holler if ya need anything,” Jinxx told him, gently kissing his temple. “I’m gonna let you get some rest while the rest of us try to decide if we should tell the fans about this, or just keep it secret.”

“Let’s keep it secret for a few more days,” he said. “I don’t even wanna try to go on stage with my back hurting like this.”

“All right, Ash. I’ll let the guys know,” the multi-instrumentalist agreed. “Not that you’re on your period—literally—but that you have a backache and don’t feel up to performing.”

“Thanks, Jinxx,” Ash answered. “Hopefully it won’t be long till my back’s not hurting as bad.”

Smiling, Jinxx left the back room and closed the door behind him, wishing him sweet dreams if he fell asleep as he left. The bassist sighed softly and readjusted his pillow under his head, now beginning to understand why women hated their periods so much. Not only were they incredibly messy—almost as bad as when he shot a load after jerking off—but they were incredibly painful, too. That, and it was actually making him feel pretty fatigued, even though he’d slept great the night before and hadn’t been up but a few hours.

It wasn’t long until the heating pad managed to make his backache go away, even if it was only temporarily, and he began to doze off. Ash didn’t even notice when the door to the back room opened, nor did he notice it was Andy who peeked in on him. Because of that, he never saw the younger man’s sinister grin before he left again.

Notes