Breaking Up and Making Up

'I just had a message from Siobhan. Can you wait here for her, she'll be a minute. Carl, you can go ahead into the show.'

Danny shrugged to Carl, 'See you later.' Carl said, and turned to follow the others, as Trixie appeared at his side and put an arm through Carl's.

Danny grinned and hung back as Siobhan had asked, but he wondered what she wanted him for. The others had disappeared when Siobhan pushed open another door and waved him over.

'Come on,' she said, 'we haven't got a lot of time before it all starts.'

As he got to the door, Siobhan grabbed his hand and pulled him through into a corridor.

'Where are we going?' he said.

'Ssh,' she put her finger to her mouth, 'we're right behind the audience for the show.'

She led him down the corridor and pushed open a door at the end, They walked into a scene of what looked to Danny like chaos. People were everywhere in a small space behind what he guessed would be the runway. Models sat in chairs being made up, and there were racks of clothes all with photos of the models who were to wear them. People with clipboards and headsets were running around and trying to bring some order to the chaos.

Danny spotted Julia who seemed to be in her element, barking orders to assistants and talking through her headset. She waved at Danny as Siobhan led him to a chair and gave him a headset to listen on. Over the headset he heard Julia say 'Showtime minus 15, people. Good luck and make this a great show tonight.'

He could feel the tension rising in the room, and it reminded him of the last few minutes before his performance of Juliet all those years ago. Siobhan went to help one of the makeup artists and Danny tried to melt into the background. Models were climbing into the outfits and Danny realised with a start that what he had assumed were female were either transgender or androgynous looking boys. Julia's voice came over the headset, 'Five minutes to showtime. Places everyone.'

Hairdressers and makeup artists were doing last minute touch ups and the tension in the room notched up even further. He heard the music begin in the runway room and Siobhan pointed to a monitor feeding pictures from the other room. The camera swept around the room and Danny caught a glimpse of Carl sitting next to Trixie, who seemed to have a hand on his leg. Danny felt a small pang as he saw Trixie move even closer to Carl. Was that jealousy he felt? Surely not. He switched his attention back to the room, and the models were now lining up ready to go out onto the runway.

'Showtime, let's make it a great one.' Julia's voice cut through and models began to move out of the room. Siobhan came and sat next to him as the room began to empty. She brought her lips to his ear, 'Exciting isn't it? Don't they all look so beautiful? Do you like that?'

He nodded. He didn't know if whether he was buzzed from the drinks or being involved in the charged atmosphere backstage but he almost quivered with excitement. His head spun as everywhere he looked there were models who looked like beautiful girls but had been born male. He felt his cock stir as he thought about what it would be like to be one of these models lining up in the most beautiful dresses or skirts and blouses. He wondered what it would be like to stride along the runway with everyone knowing he was a male beneath the female clothes. In the design world Danny had heard about the success of models like Andrej Pejic and Stav Strashko, but he had never believed it could be possible for a man to look this good as a woman.

Siobhan saw the look in his eyes and guessed that Danny felt overwhelmed by the excitement of everything going on around him. She hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his hand and pulled him up. She led him over to a makeup desk they hadn't needed and pulled a screen round it. Nobody could see them from the room. She pushed him down onto the chair and he looked up at her as he realised what she intended to do.

Danny made to speak, but Siobhan put her finger to his lips and said, 'Danny, please let me do this for you, just this once. Nobody will ever know. I think you want me to, don't you?'

He looked at her and he knew he should have said no and walked away. But, something deep inside made him hesitate, and in that moment he was lost. He sat there like a rabbit caught in headlights, and Siobhan sensed his resistance weakening. She sat beside him and pulled the make up kit towards her. She knew she didn't have much time, but she had done this so many times, it wouldn't matter. She quickly decided that a natural look would be the way to go, making the most of his best features but nothing too dramatic. At least for this time she thought. Danny had shaved before he came out and luckily his beard didn't seem to be too heavy, so a medium cover foundation and a little concealer would be enough. He seemed almost in a trance as she worked, carefully but quickly, shading and contouring his face with blusher, helping to emphasise his lovely cheekbones.

He had those lovely blue eyes, and she wanted to make them pop. She used a bronze colour eyeshadow across the lid with a darker colour blending into the crease. She used the same colours beneath the eye to make the eyes look as big as possible, with a little highlight in the inner corner of each eye. She didn't have time to finesse too much as she didn't know how much more Danny would take. He seemed compliant, almost trancelike, at the moment, but she didn't want to push it too far. She finished off his eyes with a little eyeliner and then some mascara. There wasn't much she could do with his eyebrows other than to brush them as smooth as possible and hold them in place with brow gel.

She finally started on his lips, drawing around them with a pencil to make them look larger, and then used a brush with a soft pink lipstick to colour in his lips. The pink would look so sweet and complement his colouring without taking attention away from his eyes. As a makeup artist she loved this moment when she had almost finished and she could see what a difference her skill and experience had made.

Danny had no idea what Siobhan was doing to him, but every few seconds he would think I have to stop this now, but every time he tried to say something he couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt dazed the brushes slid across his skin and her fingers worked on his face. There was something soothing and calming about the way Siobhan went about her work, and his mind drifted back to the time when he had been Juliet. In the end he gave in completely and sat there quietly and still as she worked on him.

She could hear the show going on around them and she prayed that nobody would come looking for her right now. She sat back and made a few minor adjustments, but she felt happy with what she had done.

'Danny, close your eyes, I'm going to let your hair down so don't move.' She released his blond hair from its ponytail allowing it to tumble down to his shoulders. Grabbing a hairbrush she quickly brushed it out and arranged it around his face. She did a little touch up here and there, but then decided she could do no more..

She turned a mirror round so Danny would be looking straight into it. She took a deep breath and said, 'OK, Danny, you can open your eyes now.'

Danny hesitated, what would he look like? A bloke wearing makeup that's what. Why had he agreed to this crazy idea, he would look stupid? He finally snapped his eyes open, and it took a second or two to adjust to the light, but he blinked once or twice and then everything came into sharp focus. His first foolish thought was that Siobhan had played a trick on him, putting a girl opposite him to make him think it was his face in the mirror. A split second later he realised it was his face, but then again it wasn't. He moved his head, and the head in the mirror moved, so it must be his face; but it wasn't one he recognised. His eyes looked enormous and his lips were, well, sexy was the first word that came into his mind. His blond hair framed his face, making it look narrower and feminine. It was surely a woman's face that started back at him from the mirror. He couldn't believe it was him. He touched his nose with his finger to see if it was his face and he was shocked to feel his finger on his skin. It was him.

'Well,' said Siobhan softly, 'What do you think?'

Her voice broke the spell the face in the mirror had put on him and he jumped. He looked up at her, his eyes shining, and he found it difficult to speak. He shook his head instead, and Siobhan's heart sank, he didn't like it, he was angry. He finally found his voice, 'I can't believe it, it's beautiful.'

She heaved a sigh of relief and grinned, 'I didn't do a bad job did I?' He shook his head again, 'I still don't believe what you've done. I look so feminine.' He smiled and looked back in the mirror, tilting his head one way than the other, not quite taking in how she had made him look. At that precise moment Carl, Julia and Trixie walked round the edge of the screen.

'This is where you've got to, We've been looking for you both...' Julia's voice trailed off as she took in the scene in front of them. Trixie broke the silence first.

'I knew femmy white was the right drink for her.'

Chapter Five

The show had finished and Trixie had grabbed his hand, 'Come on, let's go find your friend.' It felt strange, but he didn't mind Trixie holding his hand. Trixie had slipped an arm through his when they walked into the show, and Carl had initially been embarrassed, thinking that everyone would be looking at him and laughing. When he realised that at this show nobody would bat an eyelid, not even a heavily mascaraed eyelid at him being with Trixie, he began to relax. Trixie was great company; wickedly funny and charming in equal measure. Carl began to enjoy the show and didn't mind when Trixie put a hand on his leg. He knew he had drunk a bit, but he was aware of what was going on. He didn't encourage anything, but he didn't go out of his way to discourage the attention he was receiving either.

Trixie lent close to him and whispered in his ear, 'Are you enjoying the show?'

Carl nodded, fascinated by the models as they strutted up and down the catwalk. Some were androgynous, some he felt had to be women he thought, despite what he had been told. They were so convincing.

Trixie lent close again, 'Which one do you like best?'

Carl felt so confused, he knew the models were male, but they looked so good. He gulped as one of the models wearing a silk blouse slashed open to the waist with a pair of harem pants, struck a pose at the end of the catwalk, flicked his hair and looked Carl straight in the eye. God, thought Carl, he looked so sexy.

Trixie slid a hand back onto Carl's leg and felt him twitch at the touch. Carl was now almost hypnotised by the show and he began to feel a little hot. The music died away and as the show came to an end, they all stood to applaud as the models dragged Julia out onto the runway to share in the applause. Julia spotted Carl and motioned for him to join her backstage. Trixie came with him and they found Julia basking in the glow of the success of the show. She gave Carl a hug and introduced her to Trixie. Julia raised an eyebrow to Carl when Trixie looked away, but Carl choose not to react.

'Have you seen Siobhan?' Julia asked.

'I saw her disappear over there.' One of the assistants offered, waving his arm towards a small screened off area. Julia led them all over and she walked round the screen and they all followed. Carl assumed Siobhan was making up one of the models, and it was only when the model looked up at them he stared into Danny's sparkling blue eyes.

Carl heard Trixie say something, but all Carl could think about was how beautiful his friend looked. Siobhan spoke first, 'Don't you think he looks great?'o fainting and covered his face with his hands. Julia said, 'Danny, you look wonderful, but I think we should all be getting ready to go home now.' She gestured to Carl that they should leave and with Trixie they moved away. Still stunned by what he had seen, Carl didn't know what to think. How on earth had Danny let Siobhan do that? He knew she could be mischievous. He knew how persuasive she could be, and he guessed that Danny would have been like putty in her hands. Carl knew Siobhan liked to play games with people and he knew she had set her sights on Danny

Danny appeared after a few minutes with the makeup removed and his hair back in the familiar ponytail. He looked embarrassed and sat quietly in the car on the way back. When they arrived back at the apartment Danny scurried away to his room as Carl said goodnight to the girls. Carl made himself a drink and considered knocking on Danny's door to see if he wanted one, but he thought Danny might want to be on his own.

Danny closed his door and threw himself on the bed. Why had he allowed Siobhan to do that to him? He had been so embarrassed when the others had come round the corner of the curtain. Carl would think he was such an idiot. He had to hope that he could laugh it off with Carl as a joke that went a bit too far. His mind drifted back to when Siobhan had let him see what she had done. He had expected to see a grotesque caricature in the mirror, lipstick on a gorilla he thought. Instead, he had almost fainted when Siobhan revealed the mirror. He could hardly believe how he looked, somehow his face had looked slimmer, his features smaller and, well, feminine. His eyes had sparkled, and he realised that Siobhan had been right - he could look pretty. He shuddered and thought, well that's not going to happen again.

Danny finally fell asleep and dreamt of the school play once again. Dressed in his Juliet costume, he watched as Romeo slowly approached him, took him in his arms and kissed him, his tongue invading Danny's mouth. He felt powerless to resist as Romeo's hands pressed down on his shoulders and he fell to his knees as a huge cock emerged from Romeo's cod piece. Danny took it in his mouth and as he began to suck, the cock grew bigger and bigger until Danny could no longer keep it in his mouth. He let it slip out and looked up to see Carl staring wide eyed back down at him. Danny woke up choking and sweating. For the rest of the night he tossed and turned still disturbed by the dream.

He was relieved that Carl had already left for work before he emerged from his room. He left Carl a note asking if it would still alright for him move in. He prayed that Carl wouldn't hold the evening against him. Carl rang that evening and reassured Danny that he was welcome, and that he would help him out with the move next weekend. Danny let out a long sigh of relief, things seemed to be back on the straight and level.

Chapter Six

The following week Danny sorted out his belongings, using the opportunity to clear out a lot of what he no longer needed down to the charity shop. On Saturday, he and Carl loaded his remaining possessions into a small hire van and moved it all into Carl's place. As promised Carl had cleared out the storeroom and Danny set up his work desk and computer. He logged onto the wifi network and found to his relief everything seemed to work perfectly.

They ordered a takeaway that night and celebrated the move with a couple of bottles of red wine. Carl felt good about inviting Danny to share; the apartment had felt empty since Simone had left and it would be good to have someone around who made him laugh as much as Danny. He caught himself a couple of times looking into Danny's bright blue eyes and thinking how sweet Danny looked when he smiled. He shook off the feeling and deciding he had drunk enough, he said goodnight to Danny and took himself to bed.

Danny stayed at the table for a while longer, thinking how lucky he had been to meet Carl and how well they were getting on. He liked Carl a lot; he had never had such a close male friend before and he thought they made a good pair. He thought himself more passive than Carl, who, although kind and gentle, seemed more assertive than Danny. Carl also seemed to be looking out for Danny which made him feel good.

Danny had said that working from the flat, he would take responsibility for cleaning and would do the cooking in lieu of not paying rent. Danny enjoyed cooking, so it wouldn't be a big problem for him. Carl told him that wasn't necessary, but Danny could see that Carl was pleased about his offer.

On Sunday Danny spent putting the rest of his clothes away then invited Carl to the pub for a late lunch. They walked down to the river and sat watching the river for a while as they ate. Carl took a pull at his pint and quietly asked, 'Danny, were you OK with what Siobhan did at the show?'

'Yes, I guess so. It was a bit of a laugh, she's persuasive, isn't she?' Carl laughed, 'Oh yes, she could charm water out of a rock I think. You know, she did one hell of a job on you. I couldn't believe what a change she made.'

'I know, when she let me see myself in the mirror, I nearly passed out. For a second, I thought it was a trick somehow.' Danny giggled, 'Trixie had the hots for you, I remember.'

Carl laughed, 'If I'd had a couple more drinks God knows what might have happened.'

They both laughed and finished their pints before heading back to the flat. Carl said he would be heading off on a business trip for a few days, so they both headed off to their rooms.

Early the next morning Danny heard Carl moving about, so he pulled on his dressing gown and headed to the kitchen.

'Morning Carl, fancy a coffee and toast?' Shouted Danny to Carl through his bedroom door.

'Great thanks,' shouted Carl back.

Carl emerged from his room with a small suitcase just as the toast popped up and the coffee machine gurgled. Carl had on a beautifully cut, dark blue business suit with a white shirt and matching silk tie. Danny had never seen Carl in a business suit before, and he realised with a slight start that how good Carl looked in the suit.

'I haven't seen that suit before, is it new? It looks great on you.'

Carl looked pleased at the compliment, 'Yes, it's new, Armani.'

Danny whistled, 'Very nice. Where are you off to?'

'Bristol. It's not a bad place but the client's a cheapskate, I'll probably be in a cheap hotel and they will try to squeeze every penny out of the budget. Still, I'll be back Friday.'

Carl's phone pinged, 'That's my uber outside, see you Thursday evening when I get back.'

Danny watched as Carl wheeled his case down the hall, 'Have a good trip.' For some reason he couldn't fathom, Danny felt a pang as Carl closed the door behind him. Danny planned to work on a commission which he had to deliver later that day and he managed to finish it mid afternoon. He sat back in his chair, happy with what he had done, and as he sent it off to the client, the doorbell rang. He opened the door to find Siobhan standing there.

'Hi Danny, how are you?'

Danny hadn't seen her since the night of the show and he blushed, remembering what had happened then. 'Hi, Siobhan, I'm good thanks, come on in.'

Danny made them both tea, and they sat at the kitchen table watching the rain which had started earlier pounding down outside.

'About that night at the show,' started Danny, aiming to tell her that it had been a mistake, and that it had been a one-off, never to be repeated event. But, before he could say anything else, Siobhan interrupted him.

'You're welcome Danny, next time we'll spend more time on it, but I wanted to talk to you about your design skills. Peta, the charity PR girl called me this morning. She heard you were a designer and wanted me to ask you if you might be interested in doing some work for them. Their designer quit recently and they're looking for someone else. They don't have much money but she said they could pay for any work.'