Turn 3 of 16

Jess returns to the table, deeply ashamed of her new look. Leo is confused and alarmed by the sudden changes in her appearance.

Jess pushed open the bathroom door with a trembling hand, her newly lengthened nails clicking against the wood as she stepped back into the dim glow of the restaurant. The platinum waves of her hair bounced with each hurried step, and she could feel the weight of her thick fake lashes every time she blinked, the heavy makeup making her face feel like a mask she could not remove. Shame burned hot in her chest as she wove between tables, acutely aware of how her deep tan and bold crimson lips turned heads that had ignored her earlier. She kept her gaze down, shoulders hunched in an attempt to minimize the changes, but the curse had already loosened her posture into something more open and confident despite her efforts. The warmth in her stomach twisted with embarrassment at the thought of Leo seeing her like this, so far from the understated woman he had chosen for tonight.

Leo looked up from his phone as she approached, his fork pausing midway to his mouth, and his expression shifted from mild concern to outright alarm in an instant. His eyes widened as they took in the voluminous platinum hair, the dramatic eyeshadow and lashes, the sun-bronzed skin that gleamed under the candlelight. He set the utensil down slowly, leaning forward as if to confirm what he was seeing, his brow furrowing deeply. The confusion on his face cut into Jess like a knife, amplifying her shame until it felt like every patron in the room was staring at her transformation.

"Jess? What... what happened?" Leo asked, his voice low but edged with disbelief as he gestured vaguely at her face and hair.

"Your hair, your skin—you look completely different. Did something happen in there? Are you okay?"

She slid back into her seat across from him, the short black dress feeling tighter and more revealing against her altered form, and she crossed her arms over her chest in a futile bid to hide. The platinum blonde at the next table caught her eye again, offering a knowing smirk that sent a fresh wave of panic through Jess even as an odd flicker of intrigue stirred unwanted in her mind. She wanted nothing more than to explain it away, to insist it was some prank or lighting trick, but the evidence sat right on her body for Leo to see. Desperation clawed at her to fight this, to reclaim her old self before the curse could dig any deeper into her thoughts or desires.

Jess swallowed hard, her plumped lips pressing together as she searched for words that would not sound insane, all while the heat under her skin pulsed stronger and her posture straightened just a little more against her will. The date night she had planned so carefully was unraveling, and with it came the terrifying realization that she might not be able to stop what was happening to her.