"Will you sit still!" Jessie shrieked as she held the mascara wand millimeters away from Ria's eye.

Ria blinked at her friend. "I am still."

"Are not. Every time I go near your eye you go into some sort of blinking fit." She jammed the brush back in the bottle and pulled it out again. "Now, stay still!"

Ria tried her hardest not to blink as Jessie applied yet another layer of the black goop.

Once her friend finished torturing her with cosmetics, she returned the mascara to the world's largest vanity case with a flourish. "Take a look!" She smiled as she handed Ria a mirror.

Ria stared at a reflection she didn't know. She’d made Jessie promise not to make her look like some kind of die-hard KISS fan, but she hadn't hoped for much. She certainly didn't expect such a transformation. Jess had accentuated her usually boring, brown eyes with beautiful, shimmering purples and, despite Ria's blinking fits, had managed to expertly line her lashes with liquid eye-liner. Somehow her face looked contoured in a way she never thought possible. She had cheekbones and a delicate, rosy flush. The lipstick was darker than she'd ever dare wear herself, but didn't detract from her spectacular eyes. It was nothing short of amazing.

"Well?" Jessie asked.

"I... I..." Ria stammered.

"Good. Right?"

Ria could only nod.

Jessie clapped her hands in excitement. "Told you I wouldn't make you look stupid."

"I know, I know," Ria gulped, tears threatening to fall.

"Oh no! Don't cry," Jessie shrieked as she handed Ria a wad of tissue.

Ria did her best to blink back the tears. "Sorry, it's just that..."

"You don't think you're beautiful," Jessie finished for her.

Ria sniffed and feigned a smile. "I thought I was supposed to be the mind-reader."

Jessie frowned back at her. "I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking, honey."

This time, Ria's smile was genuine.

Jessie jumped out of her chair, mischief sparkling in her eyes. "Right, enough maudlin. Time for hair and wardrobe."

Ria rolled her eyes. Lord only knew what Jessie had in store for her. As tempting as it was, she'd promised Jessie she wouldn't listen in so the outfit would be a surprise. Now, she wished she could take it back.

She sat still as Jessie took the rollers out of her hair and then went mad with pins and hairspray. She'd recovered the mirror so Ria had no idea what was going on.

Jessie grinned like a Cheshire cat when she finished. "Perfect," she announced. "Now, sit tight whilst I grab your outfit." She skipped off to the bedroom, leaving Ria in the dilapidated office chair, staring at a tea-towel draped over the vanity mirror. Her hand itched to whip the cloth away.

Jessie pre-empted her with a warning of, "No peeking," shouted from the other room.

Damn it.

Ria twiddled her thumbs while her friend rummaged around in the bedroom. It seemed to take forever before Jessie came bounding back, laden with a ton of bags from shops and designers Ria had never even heard of.

"That can't possibly all be for me!" Ria said as her friend dumped all the bags in front of her.

Jessie flashed an impish grin. "Of course it is. A girl's got to have options, you know."

"Bloody hell, Jess. I told you not to go mad. You've bought half a shop!"

Jessie stuck her tongue out. "Stop moaning and start dressing."

Ria shot a wary glance at the shopping bags. Where was she supposed to start?

"C'mon." Jessie clapped her hands. "Chop, chop!"

Ria pulled herself out of the chair and grabbed the closest bag. Feeling like she was taking part in some sort of bush-tucker-trial, she edged her hand in slowly. To her amazement, instead of the monster she feared might be hiding in there, her hand landed on soft leather. Frowning, she pulled the garment from the bag.

Before she unfolded the soft fabric, she'd convinced herself it was going to be a nice, safe, leather jacket.

It wasn't.

Her eyes widened as she took in the buckles and straps. She shot a look at Jessie, who just grinned back at her. Thanks, mate.

She turned the garment over, noting the boning at the sides and the lace ties on the back. She looked back at her friend. "Is this a corset?"

Jessie giggled. "It might be."

"Jessie!"

"What?"

She shook the corset at her friend. "There's no bloody way I'm wearing this!"

"Why not?"

"Look at it, Jess."

"I know what it looks like. It's beautiful. And what's more, it'll look beautiful on you."

She'd lost her mind. That was the only explanation. Nobody in their right mind would think Ria would look anything but hideous in that. She was nothing like Jessie; there was no way she could pull it off. It was too small and she was too big—a size eighteen-to-twenty on a good day. Leather corsets were just too far out of her comfort zone.

She threw it at Jess. "Nope. No way."

Jessie caught the corset one-handed. "You can't veto the first thing you see."

"Can too," Ria replied.

Jessie shook her head. "I'm putting it on the 'maybe pile'."

"Whatever."

Her friend huffed. "Well you still need an outfit."

Ria looked at the bags and couldn't see how this was going to get any better.

"C'mon, Ria. For God's sake, live a little."

"Fine. You pick something," she mumbled.

Jessie's mischievous smile returned. "I thought you'd never ask!"

Jess produced two more corsets; these two were studded rather than buckled. Ria vetoed them both. Then came a skirt, so short it was really just a belt. Nope. Nuh-uh.

"Good job I bought these then," Jess said, holding up a pair of perfectly plain, black jeans.

A smile spread across her face. "Jeans?"

"Don't act so surprised!"

"Sorry."

Jessie handed her the jeans and Ria disappeared into the bathroom to try them on. Yes, they were all girls together. No, she was not getting her arse out for anyone.

She pulled on the jeans and instantly hated how tight they felt around her thighs and bottom. She shuffled back out of Jessie's tiny bathroom. "They look awful, don't they?"

Jessie's green eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she stared back at her.

"W-what?"

"They look fantastic!" Jessie replied.

Ria patted her thighs. "But they're so tight."

"And you have amazing legs, Ria. I don't think I've ever seen them before. You always cover them up."

"And with good reason."

"Oh behave. Would I let you go out looking like an idiot?"

Ria puffed out a sigh. "No, I suppose not."

"Exactly. The jeans stay."

Ria still felt dubious. Whatever Jessie could see, it wasn't what Ria saw in the mirror. It was only for one night though. She didn't have to see anyone again, did she? Well, except Jessie, and she didn't count. She did her best to swallow her doubt.

Jessie grabbed the last of her shopping bags. "Right. Since you nixed all the lovely corsets, there's only a few options left."

Nothing could be worse than the corsets.

"Here, try this." Jessie passed her some sort of top.

Resigned, Ria headed back to the bathroom. It took her several attempts to get the damned thing on. The black top was covered in designer rips and she kept getting her head and arms stuck in the wrong holes. When she finally did get it on, she was exhausted. The holes made her nervous, but she was pleasantly surprised it still managed to cover all her problem areas, like her wobbly tummy and the flabby bingo-wings at the top of her arms. She could also hook her thumbs into the cuffs, which she found oddly comforting.

She headed back to the lounge. "Well?"

Jessie tapped her finger against her lips. "Looks good," she said.

"But?"

"It's missing something."

"It's jeans and a top. What's wrong with that?"

Jessie's brow knitted. "It's boring."

"Oh," Ria replied, feeling a little deflated.

"Hang on." Jess disappeared into the bedroom and came back with yet another shopping bag and a spiked, leather belt. She threw the belt at Ria. "Here, put this on."

Ria obeyed, forgoing the belt loops on the jeans, and wrapped the belt, spikes and all, around her hips. Meanwhile, Jessie reached for the end of the sofa, digging into her "maybe pile." She picked up the first corset.

"I thought I already vetoed that," Ria said, eyeing the garment with suspicion.

"And I said it was a definite maybe. Put it on."

"But I like this top."

"You can still wear the damned top. This goes over the top."

She hadn't thought of that.

Ria felt her shoulders tighten, but she knew that determined look on Jessie's face. There would be no getting out of it. She sighed. "Okay."

Jessie undid the multiple buckles and straps across the front and helped Ria into it. Then she set about doing it all back up again. The more buckles were fastened, the more constricted Ria felt. The boning at the sides and underneath her breasts pulled everything in and Ria worried how she was supposed to breathe.

Jessie took a step back and appraised her. Nodding, she said, "That's better. Now, one more thing and you're done."

"There's more?" If Jess pulled out some kind of weird fetish get-up, or a harness or something, she was off. Difficulty breathing or not, she reckoned she could still make a run for it. She looked ridiculous enough as it was, and if she died of hypoxia, it would be a blessing.

"You can't go barefoot, can you?"

"Oh, right. No, guess not."

Jessie grinned and presented her with the final shopping bag. "Voilà! The pièce de résistance."

This shopping bag was a lot larger than any of the others, so it made Ria even more nervous about what might be inside. Her shoulders bunched as she took the bag from her friend.

She dug in and pulled out a pair of the most outrageous boots she'd ever seen.

A chunky, four-inch heel and a heavy-tread soul led to long, knee-length, leather boots. Ten buckles apiece fastened them together from ankle to knee.

"I'm not sure I can pull these off," Ria said as she looked back at her friend.

"Pfft. Don't be ridiculous."

Ria shrugged and sat down to put the boots on. The multiple buckles took an age to fasten, but she finally managed it. She stood up, expecting to topple over again—they were far higher than anything she'd normally wear—but she stood firm and steady. She took a few tentative steps. Standing in them was one thing. Walking in them and not looking like a complete imbecile was quite another. She made it to the other side of the small lounge and didn't totter once. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Ready for the big reveal?" Jessie asked.

Ria took in a deep breath as she turned to face the full-length mirror hiding behind a swathe of black velvet. She nodded. "As ready as I'm ever going to be."

Jessie pulled the cloth from the mirror in a dramatic sweep. "Ta-dah!"

For the second time tonight, Ria stared at a reflection she didn't recognise. Her sparkling purple eyeshadow and dark lips complemented her black outfit perfectly. Her usually frizzy brown hair had been wound into shiny curls and pinned loosely on top of her head. Having her hair swept up somehow elongated her neck, and the designer rips in her shirt gave tantalising glimpses of her décolletage and cleavage. And that corset. How could she have ever thought it was a bad idea? It raised her breasts and cinched in her waist. The boning kept all her lumps and bumps cleverly hidden so that her midriff appeared smooth and firm. She decided there and then that breathing was totally overrated. The jeans led to those amazing boots which, although still outrageous, made her legs longer.

The girl in front of her was beautiful.