Chapter Ten: Unsafe
Debra heard a knock on the door. Hoping that it was finally Lisa, rather than Shelly or Claire returning once more to report their lack of success at finding her, she sprung from her chair and quickly pulled it open. She was getting tired of doing this for Shelly and Claire, but should it actually be Lisa, she'd probably be naked and wanting to get inside pronto.
As soon as the door opened, a tall flannel creature with hunchback and two heads tumbled inside, collapsing on the floor. Debra let out a gasp, readied herself to battle the unholy demon, and then realized that one of the heads belonged to Lisa. The other head, and the tall, lanky body, appeared to be that of a college boy about her age.
Debra shut the door.
Lisa disentangled herself from the flannel and stood up, showing Debra the old, familiar sight of her naked body. Her hair was all over the place, her skin was streaked with dust and grime, and her bare feet were quite filthy.
The boy was similarly disheveled, but clothed, though his shirt was far too big for him and the top few buttons had come undone. He picked himself up, looked Debra in the eye, and held a hand out for her. "Colin."
Debra took his hand in hers with a confused smile.
"You must be Debra, the witch," he said. "Ow!"
Colin jerked his arm back, rescuing his hand from Debra's sudden vice grip. But Debra paid him no attention, as she was too busy glaring daggers at Lisa, who had taken a seat, legs crossed, on Debra's bed at the end of the room.
"What?" Lisa asked, looking genuinely confused before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, right, it's supposed to be a secret, isn't it? The whole magic thing..."
Debra was fuming. "Yes, Lisa," she spat through gritted teeth. "And it's my secret, not yours. When I let you and the others in on it, it was on the understanding that you wouldn't go running your mouth to random boys you fancied."
Lisa blushed. Colin looked down at the floor, making himself small and looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him up.
"I'm sorry, Debs," said Lisa, after a long, awkward silence. "It's just, well, Colin's really come through for me today. I woke up naked in the middle of the botanical gardens, unable to even touch clothing, all my belongings gone! If he hadn't shown up, I would have had to do a solo streak all the way across campus! Heck, he saved me from getting caught by Bethany! Who knows what that would have led to?"
Now it was Colin's turn to blush, a dopey smile spreading across his face.
Debra crossed her arms, unimpressed. "I told you the counter-curse wasn't permanent. If you'd listened to me, none of this would be happening right now!"
"You said the onset would be gradual, and I agreed to come to you if I felt like it was returning. But it wasn't! One minute, I'm totally comfortable wearing multiple layers of normal clothing. The next minute, I'm naked and get an electric shock when I try to pick up a sock!"
"I said it might be gradual, or it could be sudden. I wasn't sure! Which I also said, but you didn't listen to me. You were too busy running around with your new friends and going to class, like everything was totally fixed, when I told you it wasn't."
Lisa stood up, her face a mask of rage. "Yes, I was busy having a life again, as a normal college student, after being trapped in my dorm room for weeks because I couldn't wear clothes! I wanted a normal life, how selfish of me!"
"And look were it's gotten you," replied Debra bitterly, gesturing at the floor length mirror propped against the wall to the girls' side. "You're even worse than before."
Lisa turned her head to the mirror, and was confronted with her naked body in profile, as well as Colin's swiftly averted eyes. "Some witch you turned out to be!" she spat.
"Careful, or I'll turn you into a frog!"
"Frogs don't have to wear clothes, so maybe that'll work better than the last thing you tried! Unless it also wears off after two weeks!"
Debra and Lisa were right in each others' faces at this point, their noses almost touching. Both looked ready to hit the other.
Colin stepped between them in an attempt to prevent this outcome. "Ladies, please, let's just calm down. Mistakes were made, but we've got to move past that."
"I should turn you into a frog!" shouted Debra. "After Lisa told you everything, that's really my only safe option..."
Lisa was visibly shaking now. She pulled back her arm, and Debra's eyes widened. But rather than slapping Debra, she slid her arm around Colin and sidled up to him. "Come on, Colin, let's get out of here, before Debra the Teenage Bitch tries another one of her shitty spells."
A war played out across Colin's countenance. Any observer could see he was frantically calculating his next move, fighting a battle between desires, keenly aware of the naked girl pressing closer and closer to him, and slightly less aware of the witch trying to kill him with her glare.
Colin bit his lip and looked down at Lisa, taking a long moment to take in all of her. Then he looked away from her, and appeared lost in thought, while she slid behind him and started lifting the back of his shirt.
"Wait, Lisa," he said. "I can't let this happen."
Lisa dropped the shirt and gave Colin a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
Colin sighed deeply. "I'm not going to pretend I understand a whole lot about this magic stuff. Debra, Lisa really didn't tell me that much. But she told me enough for me to know that walking out right now would be a huge mistake."
Debra's expression softened, but Colin paid her no mind for the moment, turning to face Lisa. He looked her in the eyes, and then pointedly looked down at her body. "Lisa," he began, "you told me that a witch put a curse on you that made it really uncomfortable to wear clothes, forcing you to go naked most of the time. That's really crazy shit and I wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't just had the day we had. But here you are, naked in front of a guy you've just met, and choosing to get naked piggyback rides rather than put on clothes."
Lisa blushed deeply. "I... I'm not usually like this."
"I know," said Colin. "And as fucking hot as it is to see you like this, and to carry you around... and even though a part of me wishes you'd never cover up..." At this, Colin returned his gaze to Lisa's eyes. "I want you to be cured. I want to see you wearing clothes, and feeling happy, and being confident. And I think your friend Debra is the only person who knows how to make that happen."
Then he turned to Debra. "Please, Debra, don't be mad at Lisa because she told me a few things she shouldn't have. I understand that you value your secrets. Heck, I'm still having trouble believing that magic is actually real. But please, forgive Lisa. I'll keep your secret, I promise."