“Alright, we’re here!” Susan said, pulling the car into the mall parking lot. 

The mall was slightly out of town, a comfortable distance from a few larger population centers. The lot was almost completely full, straggling cars circled the lot like vultures, following mall goers around in hopes that they would walk to their cars to leave. Luckily for Susan, she only needed to drop Lane off.

 “Thanks.”

 She pulled out something from her bag and placed it in Lane’s hand.

 “Uh, thanks, but…” 

Lane held up the suspiciously large wad of fifty dollar bills to get a better look at it.

“Is this money stolen?”

“Maybe?”

Lane gave their sister a look.

“Look, a market based economic system is only truly effective if there is a flow of capital, that money was just sitting there in that billionaire’s vault, he didn’t even notice it was gone!”

Lane sighed.

“This is from before?”

“I’m allowed to keep it!” Susan pouted, crossing her arms.

Lane took two bills from the top and stuffed the rest back into Susan’s bag.

“I’m not going to leave you, Lane. I’m done with villainy, I promised.”

“…I know.”

“Also, stealing from the rich is morally neutral at worst.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Lane opened the door and stepped out of the car.

Central Mall was a labyrinthine, overwhelming place. People crowded its many nooks and crannies and scuttled throughout its vast halls in search of the newest products or overpriced food. Lane felt intimidated to be there, and was glad they were going with a friend.

Riley was waiting for Lane at the entrance, idly clicking away at her phone. She looked up and waved. Together, they made their way through the automatic doors and were blasted by a rush of too-cold air conditioning as they stepped through. Colorful displays sat behind glass windows, and little miscellaneous islands offered a variety of odd products like rubber balls that seemed to burst when thrown on the ground only to reform into their original shape, or a large display of dog themed novelty calendars, or a little jewelry stand offering free ear piercings with the purchase of a pair of cheap earrings.

“So, um…” Lane scratched their head. “What are you looking for?”

“You only wear T-shirts, hoodies, and jeans. I figured I’d help you branch out a little.”

“W-we’re looking for me?”

“Let’s get going.”

Sammy took them by the wrist and led them towards the center of the mall.

“So, what kind of clothes do you like?”

“I… uh…” Lane said, racking their brain. “I don’t know?”

“Ok, you tend to wear casual, comfy and low maintenance stuff, so we’ll continue along those lines but we’ll experiment a little with different styles, and maybe get you a couple business-casual things because you never know when you’ll need them.”

“Sounds good?”

Riley took off into a nearby store, Lane could barely keep up. Mannequins stood tall through the shop windows, showing their carefully selected and color coordinated fashion while posed in a way calculated to look perfectly, uncannily casual. Lane felt the faceless plastic heads staring at them.

Riley stopped, looking at either side of the store, tapping her chin.

“Lane, do you shop at the mens’ or womens’ section?”

Lane’s heart skipped a beat.

“I-I used to only shop at the mens’ section…”

“What do you want to do now?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m not a guy but I don’t know if I’m much of a girl…”

Riley put her hands on Lane’s shoulders, staring intently into their eyes.

“Lane, that is irrelevant to my question. What section do you want to shop at?”

Lane closed their eyes, trying to comprehend their own desires.

“M-maybe let’s try both?”

Riley took her hands off of Lane.

“Cool. I have some ideas.”

Riley already ran off towards the womens’ section, Lane following timidly behind. The section was filled with colors and shapes that Lane had hardly dared to look at before, much less consider wearing, they could hardly imagine themself in any of the items on display, but some part of Lane wanted desperately to try. Riley started flipping through skirts, pulling out something in red plaid. She tossed it in Lane’s direction.

“This is more Sammy’s style, but I think it would look good on you too.”

“Also, try a plain black one too, easy to match with anything.”

“Some shorts too.”

“You definitely need a pair of skinny jeans, they’re much more flattering.”

“Oh this dress would be perfect on you.”

“Here, try replacing your hoodie with a big flannel sometime.”

“Do you have any dress shirts? Actually, I don’t care, try this one.”

“Try this vest. If you dare wear it with shorts or god forbid a T-shirt, I will personally find and strangle you.”

“These pants are stylish, but also kind of anime, in a good way, I think?”

Quicker than they could have imagined, Lane found themself carrying a pile of clothing in their hands that they could only barely see over. Riley led them to the changing rooms. They were a series of numbered doors sitting underneath a big sign and attended to by a bored looking employee. Lane found an empty room and went inside, it smelled of new clothes and air freshener.

Lane hung up all the clothes that Riley had chosen for them on one hook, looking through to see what they wanted to try first. The more feminine options still intimidated them, so they tried on some of the mens’ clothing first. Lane picked out the black and red flannel, took off their hoodie and tried it on. Lane felt exposed with the flannel being less baggy and lacking the option to hide their face built right into it. Lane looked in the mirror, they looked just a little less sad, ever so slightly more put together. Lane wondered if it was dishonest.

Lane thought back to what Riley had said, that their gender was irrelevant to the clothes they wanted to try. Lane tended to dress practically, the hoodie had the utility of pockets and a convenient way to hide, and the tees were soft and easy to wear, and the jeans lasted a long time. Aside from those considerations, Lane really tried to think why they dressed the way they had for so long.

They used to dress that way because they felt that they were supposed to dress that way.

Something clicked in Lane’s head, and they really looked at how they looked in the clothes, how they felt wearing them. Lane liked how the flannel looked on them, and it would go well with their existing wardrobe so they started their ‘keep’ pile with it.

Lane tried on all the clothes Riley had given them, putting all of them in the ‘keep’ pile except for the vest, which Lane was too scared of what Riley had said to even risk it. Riley had gotten Lane’s size spot on, and all Lane enjoyed all the options.

Lane looked at the clothes that were left, the ones from the womens’ section. One of the items stood out to them. It was a simple, casual dark blue dress, it had holes for the shoulders to peek through and it flared at the waist. Lane held it out, leaning it against them. Lane turned red, they had never worn anything like it before, it felt like they were breaking some kind of rule to even consider wearing it. Lane stripped down and slipped it on before they could talk themself out of it. They stared at themself in the mirror, blushing, their heartbeat heavy and fast. The way the dress fit emphasized the ways Lane’s body had changed, flattering their new form like nothing they’d ever worn before. Lane did a little spin. 

Riley had said Lane was pretty before, but for the first time Lane could see it for themself.

They gazed at the pretty person in the mirror, genuinely happy about their appearance, rather than the vague guessing and half-hearted acceptance they had looked at themself with for their whole life prior.

Lane could not shake the feeling that this was somehow not allowed. They felt like there was someone behind them, like they could almost see them in the mirror, like they could almost hear a shocked gasp directed towards them.

But, there was something in the mirror. 

Lane’s reflection stared back at them with empty eyes. Lane’s vision swam as they watched their face warp into a horrible, silent scream. 

A hand reached out.

Lane jumped back, yelping as they hit the wall and slipped to the floor. Lane looked away, tracing their face with their hands. They looked up at the mirror again, their reflection seemingly back to normal. Lane’s heart felt ready to burst and tears welled up in their eyes. Lane stayed on the floor, taking deep breaths.

* * *

“So, what do you think?”

“I… I actually like it all.”

Riley was visibly relieved, patting Lane on the shoulder. 

They walked around the mall for a bit, making idle chatter before they both had to head home.