Chapter 10

Tim woke slowly, drifting up from the tail end of another round of restless sleep. The odd dream hadn’t repeated itself, if what he recalled even counted as a dream instead of a nightmare. Part of it still clung to him in fragments, running across rooftops with a cartoon looking moon overhead, falling and being saved by Jake, though he somehow was in a dress.

Even in his subconscious, it rattled Tim that he couldn’t escape his **** girlhood. He thought about Jake for a second, the man that had given him a chance at joining the brotherhood. How it wasn’t the best… or even a good idea, but it had been his own fault for being caught and how he wished the older college boy could save him now like he had in the dream.

Tim shifted slightly under the blanket, the tape holding his legs together making it more than a little awkward. That’s when the pressure in his bladder hit him like a punch. It was bad, the kind of bad where his brain started doing the math on how many minutes he could potentially hold it.

Not fully aware of her surroundings or the sound that had woken her up Sarah stirred in her bed. Sitting up slowly, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her hand, hair a little mussed but otherwise composed. She didn’t even glance at glance in her captives direction, her sleepy mind only thinking of one thing. Swinging her legs over the edge Sarah padded for the door in her pajama shorts and tank top.

“H-hey!” Tim hissed in a harsh whisper, lifting his head from the pillow. “Sarah! Wait! I need…” When the brown haired girl slipped out of the room without even looking back, Tim scrunched his eyes closed at how she had ignored him, or just how oblivious she could have been.

Several agonizing minutes later, the door opened, and Sarah returned looking a little more awake. “Sorry,” she mumbled, still moving with that slow, morning stiffness. “I had to take care of myself first.” She stepped closer and leaned down just enough to whisper with a faint smirk, “You looked fine. I figured you could hold it.”

Tim stared at her, jaw tight. “I can’t. I seriously can’t.”

Sarah tilted her head toward Emily’s bed, where the taller girl was still buried under her comforter. “Then we’ve gotta wake Sleeping Beauty.”

Sarah crouched beside Emily’s bed, giving her shoulder a gentle shake. “Up, up, up.” she said in a tone that made it clear she wasn’t ready to be up and about herself.

Emily grunted into her pillow. “No. It’s too early.”

“It’s not. And unless you want Tammy to make a puddle on our carpet, you need to get up.” she said, her tired mind awake just enough to remind her how neither her nor Emily considered the idea of the boy having to use the bathroom.

A long drawn out groan came from Emily, her arm flopping out from under the blanket, revealing the chaos that was her hair, flattened on one side, frizzed on the other, sticking out in a jagged spray. She finally sat up, eyes narrowed at the intrusion, blinking blearily in the light. “Fine,” she muttered, swinging her legs out of bed. “But I’m peeing first.”

Tim couldn’t help letting out a whine when he heard that, hoping she would be a little faster than the other girl.

Emily pressed her lips together in a line as she shifted off her bed, seeing the human version of a sad puppy that still sent some guilt through her despite believing he was a creep, even if he wasn’t the real creep behind the attempted panty raid. “Sarah, get the tape off him and take the shoes off him too… he’s not going anywhere fast.” Emily uttered as she shuffled her way out of the bedroom to at least speed things along so he could get to the bathroom when she was done.

Closing her eyes and feeling like she could still drift off back to sleep while standing, Sarah nodded to what she had been told to do, despite Emily having already left the room. “Okay, okay, tape, got it.”

Soon tape was cut and the sound of it being peeling away was a relief in itself, though the bigger relief came when she unbuckled the straps of the wedges and slid them off his sore feet. Tim sighed, toes flexing against the carpet, but as nice as that relief was, it was not what his body was demanding at that second. Every second that passed made his bladder’s protest sharper, more urgent.

Sarah was just tugging the last bit of tape free, doing her best to not hurt the boy, but she could still see his reactions when Emily returned, shutting the door behind her with a quiet click.

“Alright, my turn’s done,” Emily said, brushing her hands together. “Now let’s get you moving before you actually ruin the carpet. If you were a pet we would get puppy pads, if you were a baby diapers would help, but as a college girl, Tammy, you can’t be peeing yourself.”

Tim pushed himself up, wincing as the blood started flowing back into his legs, only thinking of getting to the bathroom, the barb from the taller girl not taking root in his mind.

Sarah stepped back, letting Emily check the hallway outside their bedroom as she asked a question to Tim. “You ready?” she asked, not waiting for an answer before guiding him toward the door.

Emily stepped back from the bedroom’s doorway, giving Sarah a quick nod before leaning out into the hall to check again. “Clear. Go,” she said in a low practiced voice that she often used when talking into a headset when she was playing Call of Duty.

Despite Tim only being a year younger and her being smaller than him she had him by the wrist, not roughly, but firmly enough to keep him moving. His bare feet padded across the carpet, each step making the pressure in his bladder feel sharper, almost unbearable. They slipped into the bathroom, and Sarah closed the door behind them with a quiet click, before turning around to lean back on the door to play guard duty that actually looked more suspicious than if the bathroom door had just been locked.

“Alright, Tammy, sit,” Sarah waved in the direction of the toilet, not wanting him to make a mess by standing to do his business.

Tim didn’t even think to argue, him so **** for relief that the fact he was in the bathroom with a college girl was not even a ping on his mental radar of odd activities. Stepping forward and pulling down the soft fabric of the panties as he sat down on the toilet. The cool porcelain against the back of his legs almost made him shiver, but he couldn’t hold back his bladder for another second. The moment he started to go, relief hit him like a wave, the tension in his abdomen finally unwinding. Closing his eyes for a moment, letting his head dip forward as his shoulders sagged.

When he opened them again, still not feeling comfortable without the ability to slouch, thanks to the corset he noticed Sarah was leaning against the wall, arms loosely crossed, wearing a half-smile that made her look more amused than judgmental.

“What?” he muttered, voice still low and tired.

“Nothing,” she said lightly, her tone playful. “It’s just… you’re lucky you pass so well. If anyone spotted you on the way here, they’d just think Tammy was another girl off to the bathroom. Not a second thought.” She gave the name an extra little sing-song emphasis, like she enjoyed how it sounded.

Tim groaned softly, looking away, his eyes focusing on the tiled floor instead of in the direction of the girl that he was positive was judging him.

Sarah tilted her head, her voice still warm and almost conspiratorial, a far cry from how she spoke when she first woke up. “You know, girls don’t just… get up and leave. We finish up, we take a moment, and we make sure we’re fresh… As in, wipe yourself, I don’t get how boys don’t wipe themselves when going pee. It’s just… nicer, as in clean. You should try it, might make this whole thing more comfortable for you.”

He almost told her he didn’t care, but he didn’t have the fight in him for even that. Between the bad night’s sleep and the constant drain of the past day, his defenses were worn thin. When the last of the pressure finally eased, he just sat there for a moment longer, as if lingering might delay whatever came next.

“Go on,” Sarah encouraged, smiling like she was letting him in on a little secret. “Act like a proper lady.”

Tim’s jaw tensed, before he sighed. “I don’t get any privacy at all, even while going to the bathroom?”

Sarah about to answer him, a light blush coming to her own cheeks as it really only hit her that she was practically perving on a boy. Her brain hadn’t fully kicked into gear yet and she hadn’t fully thought things through. Though before she could say a word the bathroom door opened a crack for Emily to speak into the occupied bathroom.

“Hurry up, we aren’t running a summer camp.” Tim, nor Sarah knew what she meant by the comment, like she was referencing something they weren’t in the loop on, but it had been enough to break the tension and get Tim moving once more.

Coming out of the restroom, they saw Emily leaning against the hallway wall, arms folded, still looking more rumpled than awake. Her hair stuck out at odd angles, but her sharp gaze landed on Tim the second he stepped out. “Good. Now let’s get downstairs before anyone else starts wandering around.”

“Downstairs? What about…” he started to ask before the shorter girl bumped her shoulder into him.

“It will be fine, we were being cautious before, but really, no one is going to say anything about you staying over last night Tammy.”

Not feeling like things were going to be okay, or liking being called the girl's name, Tim still followed the orders… the marching orders as it were, moving quickly but not frantically, Emily in front, Sarah taking up the rear. Tim was glad for the absence of footwear he had been **** to walk in and sleep in, his bare feet padding against the carpet much easier than the wobbling steps from the previous night. Still, every movement made him aware of the corset cinching his middle and the panties clinging to his hips. He wanted to pull at the hem of his oversized shirt, but with both girls flanking him, he wasn’t sure if he would be drawing more attention to pulling at the shirt to cover more of his exposed legs by doing so.

The closer they got to the kitchen the stronger the smell of breakfast filled the air, scrambled eggs with something else that Tim couldn’t place at first. At the stove a cute coed he didn’t recognize stood with her long hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, stirring eggs in a skillet. Beside her on the counter sat a bowl of cucumber slices sprinkled with salt, waiting to be added to the hot pan to be mixed with the eggs..

She glanced up when the three of them stepped inside, her brow lifting briefly. “Who’s your friend?” the girl asked before looking back to her task.

Tim froze, his stomach tightening, but Sarah answered without hesitation, her voice light and cheerful. “Just a friend who wanted to join us for breakfast.”

Emily added a small nod, her lips tugging into something that might have been a smile. “She stayed over, thought we’d bring her down and not hide her away.”

The girl gave a simple shrug and turned back to the pan, mixing the pieces of salted cucumbers to the fluffy eggs, giving it all a little stir before looking back. “Cool,” she said, no trace of suspicion in her tone and no second glance spared.

Tim’s throat went dry, it somehow being both a good and a bad thing that she hadn’t questioned it at all, not even for a second. To her he wasn’t a boy in borrowed clothes, he was just another girl. The thought hit him like a ton of bricks, not even the first load his weak will had to endure. He knew he was short, he knew he didn’t look tough, but he was still supposed to be a guy.

“Sit,” Sarah murmured, guiding him toward the table. Tim sank into the chair, his legs spreading automatically, only for Sarah to nudge his knee under the table with her foot. “Closer together, Tammy. Ankles in. You’re such a tomboy sometimes.”

Emily chuckled as she sat down across from him. “One of those girls who never learned how to sit right. Don’t worry, we’ll teach you.”

Tim clenched his jaw but pulled his legs together, the oversized shirt draping awkwardly over his thighs in a way that covered his borrowed underwear but not long enough to cover nearly enough. His eyes darted to the sorority girl he didn’t know the name of, afraid they had given away too much, but she hadn’t even given him a second look.

The girl at the stove gave the skillet a last thoughtful stir, cucumber half slices among the folds of egg. “By the way,” she said without looking over, “would have been nice to know a sleepover guest was joining before I planned how much to cook.” Her voice stayed light, but the edge was there, showing her passive aggressive jab.

She tipped the pan as she gave a final stir to its contents, then glanced back. “Name?”

“Tammy,” Sarah answered, knowing what she meant by the abbreviated question. .

“Got it. Not Tammy’s fault,” the girl said, turning back to the burner. “Just… a heads up next time before I portion for the house.” Steam curled up as she slid part of the batch to one side of the skillet and began plating three servings. She set one in front of Emily, one in front of Sarah, and kept one for herself, then nodded toward the still‑sizzling half left in the pan. “That stays. It’s for the others when they wander in.”

Tim’s gaze snagged on the pan anyway,he had walked into the kitchen smelling the food and his stomach had immediately let him know that it expected to be filled with the delicious aroma. Sitting there at the table, everyone else getting a plate of food felt like a push too far. It was such a minor thing, he had gone without breakfast many times, this just felt like the proverbial straw on the camel's back, causing his lip to quiver.

Seeing the house guests' reaction the morning cook rolled her eyes, more weary than unkind. “Seriously, not trying to be a jerk. I just portioned things by how many people live here.”

Sarah moved first. She pulled a clean plate from the rack, lifted her fork, and eased a neat third of her eggs onto it. “Easy fix.”

Emily followed after a small pause, pushing a third of her serving beside Sarah’s on the new plate. “No one goes hungry if I can help it.” she said feeling a small pang of guilt as she recalled something from her own childhood, how there was always room at the table for one more if someone was around, expected or not, that just meant everyone else could go with a little else. “Just don't make a big deal about it.” her comment directed to both her little captive and her house mate who was being passive aggressive about things.

With both of them giving Tim a third of what was on their own plates it left them each with an equal share of the offered food. Tim stared at the pale yellow curds threaded with warm green chunks, the cucumber still crisp where it peeked through. He folded his hands in his lap, ankles tucked together like Sarah had nudged, and tried to ignore the feeling that the world had to keep reshaping itself to make room for him, even as he felt grateful for what had been given to him.

Tim’s fork felt heavier than it should as he finally lifted a bite to his mouth. The pale yellow eggs were still steaming, flecked with the faint green of cucumber. He hesitated for a heartbeat before sliding the food between his lips, chewing once, then twice, and his eyes widened in surprise. The eggs were soft, almost creamy, the whipped texture melting against his tongue. The cucumber slices, still crisp, broke with a fresh snap and spilled their tang of salt. The combination had sounded strange at first, but in his mouth it was bright and rich at the same time.

Compared to this, breakfast at the frat felt like a joke. There, “breakfast” usually meant fighting over a box of day old bagels, maybe some cold cereal if no one had already drunk all the milk at three in the morning. He couldn’t remember a single morning in his short time there where food had been portioned for everyone, let alone cooked with care.

“This is…” he mumbled around the large bite of food still in his cheek, the words muffled, “really good. You guys always eat like this?”

Emily’s head turned sharply, her eyes narrowing as if she had been waiting for him to slip. “Tammy, don’t talk with your mouth full,” she said, her tone cutting. Then she leaned forward just enough that only he could hear her. “Remember how you practiced speaking.”

Straightening, Emily gave a smooth laugh and turned toward her housemate. “She was just saying she wants us to help her be more ladylike. Not such a tomboy anymore.”

Turning her head slightly to the side, the girl gave both the house guest and Emily an odd look, finishing her own bite of food before swallowing. “Okayyyy,” she said slowly. “Thanks, I guess. It’s just eggs. I add whipped cream cheese, makes them fluffier. I don’t put in salt, because the cucumbers are salted ahead of time, so when you cook them with the eggs, they stay crisp and take care of the seasoning.” She shrugged lightly, glancing between them. “And yeah, we eat like this most of the time. Some of us are better than others… Emily.” Her mouth tugged into a grin at the slight, before she pointed with her fork. “But some of us are great.” She gestured toward Sarah, then herself. “I’m okay. Still, we order out more than we should.” She paused then, her expression softening from guilt before she looked straight at who she thought was named Tammy. “Sorry for being a bitch earlier. Stress. It wasn’t… isn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

The words hit harder than Tim expected. First Emily and Sarah had split their food with him, and now this apology felt real, something unforced. Most of the time girls did not notice him at all, or were socially polite white not giving him a second glance. At the frat, the only gesture that came close to this was someone letting you scoop a spoonful of spaghetti before they hoarded the rest for themselves. Nobody cared if everyone ate, or at least no one had for him. Here, even when portions were tight, everyone still ended up with a share.

The thought made the food taste even better. He chewed slower this time, savoring the contrast textures. The conversation drifted around him, light and easy in a way the frat house never managed in the mornings. It wasn’t that there wasn’t conversation, it just felt different.

By the time his plate was nearly empty, Tim hesitated before looking up, as he lifted the plate. “Do I need to do anything, I can wash my… our dishes?” he asked, wanting to pay back the kindness.

Sarah spoke up before anyone else could. “Nope. Someone else is on the chore wheel for dishes today.” She gave him a small smile as if to reassure him, grabbing his hand, giving it a light squeeze.

The other sorority girl nodded. “Thanks for offering, though. That is sweet of you.”

Tim lowered his gaze, not sure if the warmth in his chest came from embarrassment or from something dangerously close to liking how they treated him.g