Sam was...terrified to put it lightly, she hadn't entirely gotten used to her new body, and to be going out so soon after that was perhaps too much, to make matters worse she was going to meet up with Nemo, Sam wasn't too good at guessing what Nemo was thinking, infact she was pretty sure she couldn't tell anything about Nemo, they were a mystery but from everything Sam could tell, the two were friends? They'd hung out several times over the last few months, now and then she'd given Nemo free lifts on the Knightbus or a sneaked hot chocolate now and then.

Nemo seemed supportive, and it was incredibly nice for her to find someone who seemed supportive of her and everything, now it felt like she was putting alot on Nemo however, she'd sent a text asking if she wanted to meet up to go through charity shops and she...thinks Nemo replied that it was a go, which was good, but she hadn't quite told...Nemo she had transitioned, she had told her she was planning on it, but that was about it.

She fidgeted in her shirt, it felt odd against her, she was able to walk and do stuff, but since the ritual she was still...off, everything smelt different, or felt different, she swore she was colder now then before, her hair was constantly getting in the way and her chest was...better off not mentioning but she should try her best to get a bra during this trip to say the least.

As she walked down the London streets, she thought she saw Nemo, and started to make her approach, her heart thumping in her chest, practically attempting to leap out of her throat, she nevertheless moved closer and smiled softly as she gently tapped the girl on the shoulder, it seemed weird seeing a new perspective on her, Sam was used to being slightly taller...but now they were about the same height it really felt weird.

"Uh...hi there." She said, almost having to stop herself from looking for the source of the voice, even that was different now and she had to adjust to hearing. "H-h...how are you today?" She gently lifted up her phone and a little card to show it was actually Sam and not some random girl.

2 August 2012
3p, Tuesday - Full Moon
Camden

Nemo had just been getting out of line at a pho stand when Sam found her. Nemo had on a lightweight black long-sleeve over torn purple jeans. The top was printed with the bones of a skeleton. She had a green trucker hat on over her straw-blonde hair.

She turned at being touched, slow and casual. She was short and often clocked three years younger than her true age of seventeen. Jumping around like a startled rabbit never helped.

"Sam!"

It took the little American a delightful delicious second to recognize Sam Forester. Nemo stood back, and let the amazement show on her face as she looked Sam up and down, her gaze finally landing on her face. He - no! - she looked both different and exactly the same. It was Sam, but it was girl Sam, and oh no, nervous Sam!

"Babe!" she blubbered, drawing out the word and adding extra syllables. "Babe, you did it! Do you feel amazing?"

Checking herself, Nemo stuck the straw of her bubbletea into her mouth to calm her smile down. When she was done, she reached out softly and affectionately to touch Sam's hair. This is why Sam wanted to go shopping. Nemo felt like she was going to melt.

"Hey..." she said softly.

Nemo seemed...happy for her, it was relieving and took a huge amount of weight off of her chest that she seemed so friendly and...oddly calm over it, maybe Sam was just overthinking things all along, she had no need to worry about it, although maybe she's just hiding it to be supportive, either way Sam was going to relax and calm down around her, wanting to take advantage of the happy response so far.

She nodded softly at her question. It did feel amazing, even if she was having to take time to adjust to her new body, she felt right in it, looking over herself there was never any shame or disappointment, it just felt proper, true.

But before she could reply, Nemo was sipping on her drink and slipping her hand into Sam's hair, it was soft and smooth as it hung down her sides, and quickly made Sam turn a bright red as her eyes flashed downwards, it wasn't as if she was really interested in girls, but she wasn't used to these sort of casual touches, especially just randomly stroking her hair.

"H-hey.." She replied softly before looking at the bubble tea, her head slowly tilted into the hand that was going through her hair, before nervously pulling back.

"I-i think I'll need some help with the shopping, not just on fashion sense." She said softly as she looked over at the drink shop, she quite fancied getting one herself after seeing the younger girl drinking her own. "First though...you want another drink?"

"No, no, I'm good. You're good. I got yours," Nemo quickly said. Sam was still Sam, obviously, awkwardly offering to get Nemo something to drink when she was actively drinking something, but Nemo understood the sentiment. The line to the pho window moved quickly and there was no wait for the drinks. It wasn't long before they both had what they wanted and could be moving down the street again.

"You know, it's just clothes. And we're doing second-hand so there's nothing at stake. I mean, you can feel," Nemo put up her hand and moved it in a circle, "however you want to feel and I validate and love that. It's a notable event. But it's clothes. It's supposed to be fun. Friends, fun, clothes, yay?"

She grinned hoping to invite Sam into the grin.

Sam stayed close to Nemo, with drink in hand, she wasn't sure if she was staying close to her out of eagerness to be close, to spend more time with her, or just out of a want for protection, she wasn't entirely sure but she liked the feeling of being close to her nonetheless, it was safe and comforting so far for her to be doing so.

"I know its second hand clothes its just..." She sighed and shook her head, looking around slowly as walked with her to getting to the shops. "And what do you mean by feel?..as in feel my size? Do most second hand shops even you know...have bras? I know they aren't going to have underwear..." She somewhat hoped they didn't sell second hand underwear, or atleast its been thoroughly cleaned first even if unworn.

But she looked at Nemo and saw the smile, it made her awkwardly smile back, it quickly spread wider and she wrapped her arms around Nemo, making sure not to spill the drink as she almost squealed in excitement, moving into a tighter embrace with her friend as her eyes squeezed shut.

"I don't think you know, how excited I am, even if I just end up with some of those horrible sweatpants that have Juicy in sparkles on the ass." Even her own awkwardness couldn't hold back the excitement at even one of the worst case scenarios she had in mind.

"Ope!" Nemo uttered a tragically Midwestern exclamation at the hug which wasn't unwelcome, just unexpected. She hugged Sam back and when they released, Nemo clarified.

"I dunno if they're going to have bras, but I mean 'feel' as in ... gender. I don't want to tell you to feel, like, chill when you don't want to be. Feel how you feel, babe."

Nemo felt proud. Proud to know a trans friend had come out to her, had chosen their day out as a big transition day, proud to know exactly how to act to make it all okay. She'd seen it go wrong so many times, that she'd always sworn she'd never be some clunking, lumbering hick about it.

The neighborhood with the great second-hand shops was nearby, so they arrived at the first in a matter of minutes. It was in the basement under a travel agency and smelled like patchouli. Racks and racks of mismatched clothes had been submitted to a valiant attempt at organization. Costume jewelry hung from racks clearly salvaged from store close-out sales. Under the incense was a comforting, sense-memory mustiness. Abba played in the background. It was obviously and predictably a muggle shop.

Nemo moved to the aisle of faded t-shirts and started browsing. It was one cringey indulgence she'd never been able to resist, shirts with writing on them or earnestly screenprinted wildlife or logos from charity half-marathons. If she was lucky she'd find vintage concert merch. Each time she moved a hanger over, one after the other, there was a metallic scrape.

"What kind of stuff do you like?"

Nemo wasn't sure how girly Sam would want to go.

She thinks she got what Nemo went, and nodded along with her, she tried to calm down, after all it was just clothes, it was nothing to get that excited over, or to even overthink, after all she was a girl now, so it shouldn't be anything at all to pick up girls clothing or anything girly was it? It'd be normal as she was a girl, with all the girly parts, but a part of her still worried that someone would notice her taking her time, and either get angry at her, or somehow know she was born in a male body, that wasn't something she wanted at all, but she trusted Nemo to defend her in that.

Soon they had reached the shops, going underground was interesting...so was the smell but she pushed the thought from her mind, Nemo seemed like a girl on a mission and was already deep in the racks, even as Sam was still eyeing up the areas, once spotted she moved over to a section of dresses with a thought.

She almost didn't notice what Nemo had said as she looked over the styles, pulling out a soft yellow summer dress with a few blue flowers scattered over it, she turned over to her and bit her lip as she thought, it wasn't something she had really considered, she was planning on more just...stuff that caught her eye.

"Well...I don't think I know...stuff in yellow? I was in Hufflepuff...pink is nice also...I could do with some skirts and dresses..." She chewed on her lip gently before giving a slight grin, an idea forming in her head as she moved towards Nemo.

"Oooh, you could design me an outfit! I'll pay for whatever you grab and think may work, even if you end up finding something better!" Her eyes lit up excitedly, it seemed like a perfect idea, Nemo was a girl! She should know what may work on Sam! Or atleast have a better idea then herself!

Nemo had come to understand the Hogwarts 'houses' at a certain point, once her friend group in London had begun to incorporate more and more wix. There were four and each of them had their own mascot and colors. In Nemo's world, no one hung on to their high school colors after graduation, but that didn't seem to be so for Hogwarts kids who maintained those connections. She could dig it.

"Hell yes," Nemo agreed with a little smile under her mop of blonde hair. "I'm not good at girly, though."

Nemo wasn't. She'd never met a pastel or frill she could get along with.

"But no, I'll find something,. It'll be fun," she added quickly, not wanting to shut Sam down.

Nemo moved away from the t-shirts to the blouses which ranged from business casual to 90s club wear.

"Sequins?" she called over to Sam and held up a top. It was sleeveless and loose with extensive gold-sequined details. "You could put it with black jeans."

She was up for the idea! It was a silly one but she thought it might be fun, help her find her own style, she hoped that in doing so also it might help Nemo find some stuff she might like for herself also so it didn't just draw all her attention away from shopping for herself also.

"It...doesn't have to be that girly? Or at all, just...what you think may work on me." She said with a soft smile as she looked through the racks herself, she started to realize that there might be a good reason why some people handed off their clothes, especially as she drew out a shirt with Betty Boop on a motorcycle with red bloody cursive on it. Although it could be funny...

She was distracted by a gold sequined top however that Nemo was now showing off, she looked it over and went a bit red. "It might draw...a bit too much attention to me." It was hard to not notice people sparkling in gold often.

"I found something you may like!" She called over as she pulled out a tank top, there were tears at the bottom of it to make it shorter, My Chemical Romance printed over it with a marching band skeleton on the front.

"They're a band right?"

Nemo wasn't dejected that her first suggestion of the sparkly top had been a miss, not at all. Now she knew just a little bit more about what Sam would like. Nothing loud, girly-girl not required - adding that to an affinity for black and yellow. But oh what luck, Sam had something for her.

Nemo re-racked the gold top and approached Sam and the shirt with her lips making an, "ooooh..."

"Yeah," she confirmed as she reached for the shirt. "Emo, punk, rock, American, sad eye-liner boys."

It was the right size, the black jersey very faded, and the text at the bottom nearly cropped off. It was meant to say 'The Black Parade'. She'd unironically loved the album. Nemo looked for a price tag. It just had a yellow sticker, so the prices must be posted on some sign. Some places did that. Considering the garment's state, she couldn't imagine it'd be much.

"Let's put this one under consideration," Nemo said, taking the shirt and notching the hanger under her arm. Nemo had to be careful with the amount of stuff she acquired as she liked to live and travel light,  no matter that she now had an actual closet in the flat she shared with Dido.

She returned to the rack but this time gravitated towards a burnt orange sweater. The knit was light weight to the point of being almost see-through in the light and the neck was wide.

"Look at this? Off the shoulder, bunch the sleeves up around your elbow. It's color but not like bah!" She made her hand like a firework. "It's autumn academia."

Nemo seemed to enjoy the top! Even if she was putting it under consideration, she considered it a victory in that it was a band that she knew, and that it was under consideration instead of flat out denied, she felt like the other woman would tell her if it was something she was not interested in, and even then she would be willing to buy it for her if Nemo wanted, she was helping her with clothing after all so she should pay her back.

She soon however was drawn over to an orange sweater, it looked thin and light, it was also really cute! She gave a smile and gently ran a piece between two fingers, nodding approvingly.

"This is great, it would work in the summer also for breezier days also, or at the start of autumn...during spring..." It would really work whenever! Although it did give her a slight concern of being fairly transparent. "Would this be one that you wear like...only a bra underneath or a top that exposes midriff?" Her hands moved to gesture around her belly as if to fully explain herself.

She'd admit she wasn't entirely sure on if either worked, or much less with herself, but she'd seen enough outfits of the same type that people wore in public so she guessed it was a correct way to wear them.

Glancing at another rack she perked up a little as she took off a black bodysuit from the rack and held it up to herself, she poked an arm through the sleeve before groaning as she saw the window at the front of it. "That could of been cute with it..."

"I'd do either," Nemo replied regarding what she'd wear under the sort-of-sheer sweater. "Both would work. Depends if, like, I'm having dinner at Virgil's parents house."

She smiled, thinking of it.

They continued looking through the racks. Tops were easer to find in these kind of shops than bottoms. The former was much more forgiving on fit. Nemo had considerably fewer pairs of pants - she considered them more basics. But maybe Sam needed something new.

"Are you shorter now?" she asked, stepping back to take a look. "You need new trousers?"

Nemo didn't want to ask the English girl about her 'pants'.

Sam nodded at the comment, she looked away at the comment of Virgil however, she knew of him, had talkedf to him at school once or twice but she was pretty sure he didn't like her, it certainly seemed that way regardless but that was not important to the moment, what was important was that either style worked with the top, although she was a bit nervous at the idea of wearing just a bra underneath.

"Oh uh...yeah...I went down a little, I'm now um..." She stopped and thought of what she was now, it was weird at having the height difference, some regular customers she had on the bus now towered over her when she was previously only a bit shorter or same height as them.

"Five foot two?" She said gently as she wandered over to a set of bottoms to wear, pulling out a pair of short shorts made from a set of jeans that had been manually cut down with some sort of scissors, it was messy and left the legs a little jagged with bits of white material left out, she turned around to the other girl and held it out with a slightly red face of embarrassment, it wasn't something she thinks she could wear without dying of humiliation, but it could work with that top.

"How does...this look? Maybe...this and that top at your next gig?"

Nemo turned to see the outfit Sam had picked out. Cut-offs to go with the loosely knit sweater.

"Cute!" she chirped. "That's a thing. In fashion, right? Show skin on, like, the top and cover up on the bottom."

It had never steered Nemo wrong. "You should get that," she said, indicating Sam buy the outfit. The shorts would go with anything and the sweater would go with any basic bottoms.

And then Nemo spotted it. "Shut the front door ..." she breathed in a quaint colloquialism. Hanging in separates on the wall was a small-sized black suit. Nemo approached like she was entering a shine. She felt the fabric, she took in the slightly musty smell. She noted a stain on the thigh and a missing button at the sleeve, but other than that it was perfect. It had a wide lapel that whipped off in a dramatic point. It had shoulder pads and pockets.

Nemo had always wanted a suit but had never found just the right one. She couldn't believe her luck. The little musician imagined herself on stage with her blonde hair down, a dark purple lip, belting out some old folk or jazz pop song about drugs and drinking and heartbreak, a friend accompanying her on simple guitar behind her on a stool.

It was a moment, Sam looking for girly things, Nemo being drawn to masc'ing her femme.

Sam smiled as she thought of herself in that combination, she wasn't sure how well she can pull off such a look but there was only one way to find out after all, and it would look good at a concert wouldn't it? She was excited to try it out anyway. She continued to gaze over the other racks for other things to potentially add to the jumper and short short combo, maybe if they had good shoes to go with it or tights.

Nemo however had found something else, a suit that looked great! She smiled gently and wandered over to Nemo, eyeing it up, she seemed enthralled with it, the stain on it might be a problem as was any stain, but she thought she knew ways to clean it a bit of water and a spell potentially, that can come later however as she gently leaned in to take a better look.

"You'll look amazing in it." She hoped she didn't snap the musician out of her happy trance, she gave her a smile as she looked for a tag to indicate the pricing, even by the colour pricing method, she hoped it was cheap as it was a charity shop but sometimes it didn't really mean much. She guessed it might be somewhat expensive when compared to other items at the shop.

"What sort of tie do you think would work well? Ooor, a bowtie?" She started having a small look about before excitedly half skipping back with a navy blue tie that had small silver sequins studded over it to make it sparkle. "Too much?"