“ . .How . .fast was that?” Ingrid asked, resting her hands on her knees regaining her breath.

“ 10 laps around the backyard in . .1 minute 50 seconds.” Tanner answered after taking a quick look at the stopwatch next to him.

Ingrid grimaced with disapproval. “ What!? I thought I made 90 seconds for sure!” She took fast swing of water before smirking down at her 3 ½ inch tall brother. “ You sure your little hands were able to tap the stop button fast enough to get my real time?”

“ Oh har har. How many small, tiny, pipsqueak, half pint, jokes do you have?” Tanner listed, holding up a finger for each wise crack he commonly received.

“ You forgot teeny.” She added.

“ Pardon me.” Tanner responded, holding up his last remaining digit on his left hand mockingly. “ Maybe you're not as fast as you thought.”

Ingrid's face soured at that comment, but she took it in good fun. “ Watch it, little bro.” She said, lightly dragging the knuckle of her index finger across Tanner's messy dark brown hair, the equivalent to a noogie for someone of his stature.

“ Sorry, sorry. Still how ready can you possibly get?”

“ I could train for the next 10 years and I still wouldn't feel ready. I'm just going to go all out until the big day. I'm pretty sure you're sick of hearing about it by now, but winning this game will take my team straight to the finals of the play off.”

Tanner let a half hearted laugh to mask that he was indeed sick of hearing about it. Soccer has been Ingrid's passion as soon as she learned how to kick a ball across a field. From there she lived it, breathed it, and slept it. There were times where he could look away for all of 5 minutes and the next thing he knew Ingrid would be off practicing.

“ Still, even world class athletes need breaks. You went right at it after coming home from practice at school. It doesn't take a sports therapist to see you're exhausted.”

“ You . . .MAY have a point there.” Ingrid admitted.

“ Thank you, now can you please take a step back. I feel like I need an umbrella with you standing so close and perspiring, I'm afraid a wayward drop of sweat may rain on me.”

“ Is that right?” An idea popped into her mind as she wiped her forehead with the towel she had sat in the patio chair. Tanner didn't think anything of it until he saw her hovering the towel above the very patio table that he was standing on.

“ Whoa, whoa! Lets not be too grotesque now!” Tanner said, instinctively backing away looking for safety, but the entire surface area was no man's land.

“ Aw, come on you don't you want to hold the towel for your tired big sis? You're supposed to love me unconditionally sweat and all.” She teased.

“ That maybe true, however I will love you even more unconditionally after you take a shower.”

Ingrid laughed and returned her towel to her shoulder. “ Fine, that's enough for today.” She reasoned, removing the scrunchie keeping her shoulder length honey brown hair in check.

“ What are you kids doing?” There mother Ivory asked, coming out the backdoor just now.

“ Wrapping up some drills.”

“ You're always at it aren't you? Did you really need to bring Tanner outside though?”

Ingrid sighed, knowing that Ivory was about to go into overly protective mode. “ It's not like I put him on the roof or something, he's fine on the patio table. Safe and secure.”

“ All it'd take though is a strong gust of a wind to knock him off or a bird flying in out of nowhere and he'd be dinner.”

“ Don't I have enough to be afraid of.” Tanner thought as Ivory explained two oddly specific scenarios that may leave him either injured or dead.

Ivory then turned her focus down to Tanner. “ Since you have time to help your sister, I expect you've finished all your school modules today?” She asked.

“ 100%.” He boredly replied. After focusing beyond the initial lethargy of Ivory's nagging he took a good look at who in many regards was the mirror image of her daughter barring a couple of discrepancies. Ivory's skin was a bit fairer comparatively given that her daughter was always out and about on the soccer field, and her hair longer given that she didn't partake in sports where it could be a hindrance.

Right now though the most pressing matter was Ivory's attire. Compared to that of Ingrid who had just finished hours worth of training, Ivory was made up nicely, dressed in a one piece black dress with a white sash in the center and cardigan.

“ Far be it from me to dissuade you from looking nice of your own will, but what are you so dolled up for?” He asked.

Ivory's posture stiffened up, having almost forgotten the primary reason she came outside. “ About that, well the thing is . . . . I have a date.”

“ DATE!?” Ingrid exclaimed, pressing both her hands onto the patio table.

An instinctive response from her led to immediate action from Tanner who had to shift over or be flattened under her palm.

“ What she said!” He added once he moved himself to safety.

Whereas Tanner was fumbling over his words looking to provide proper follow up questions, Ingrid was rapid firing.

“ When did this happen!? When did you meet!? Scratch that, how did you meet!? More importantly who is the guy, what kind of work does he do!? And um . . .Anything to add Tanner?”

“ Er, nope. I think that summarizes it nicely.”

Ivory rubbed her temples, she foresaw this reaction coming a mile away not that it made it any easier to deal with. She took a seat in the nearby patio chair and asked Ingrid to do the same.

“ Bleh, stuck between titans.” Tanner said under his breath who was in the middle.

“ His name is Richard , he does film work, he's the same age as me, and I met him online.” She explained briefly.

“ Online dating sites? Are you sure that's safe?” Tanner asked. “ Who knows who might be on the other side of that monitor. A criminal, weirdo, or a 12 year troll for all you know.”

“ We've gotten on webcam before, and it's not like we just met two days ago we've been talking back and forth for a month. As shocking as it sounds you don't know every last detail that goes on in my life.”

“ Wait hold on a second.” Ingrid jumped back into the mix. “ Did you say tonight? But I was planning to go over to Blake's house tonight.”

Ivory raised an eyebrow“ That's left field news for me.”

“ I guess I assumed you were going to be home tonight and so we're not beating around the bush the million dollar question now is about Tanner.”

Ivory and Ingrid both shared resolute stares, knowing all to well what the others argument will be. They both would agree under 99.9% of circumstances they couldn't leave him alone for extended periods of time. If something were to happen to the house to him there absolutely most be someone there to make sure he's safe.

“ I mean, I could always take Tanner with me.” Ingrid suggested, though she hardly expected Ivory to go for that.

“ Ha! Not a chance, look I like Blake but she's a very . . . . rambunctious girl.” Ivory paused looking to find the right adjective to describe her. “ If Tanner is going anywhere out of the house, I'm going to be there with him.”

“ Fine, whatever. I'll call her to reschedule.” Ingrid resigned. In spite of her stubborn nature she wasn't going to fight a battle that she knew she'd lose.

Both Tanner and Ivory were mutually surprised to see her let it go that easily.

“ That's pretty mature of you.” Ivory praised.

“ Someones gotta look after the little guy I guess.” Ingrid shrugged. “ Just so there's no misunderstandings you kno-”

“ Your big game is next Saturday I know.” Ivory finished, having heard the same neurotic spiels that Tanner has been subjected to. “ I left money on the counter for you to order some food in, I shouldn't be any later than 11:00.” She concluded. “ Thank you Ingrid.” She said, giving her daughter a hug.

“ And behave yourself Tanner.” She added, rubbing the top of his head with the tip of her finger before leaving.

“ Sorry about your plans. .” Tanner said in earnest.

“ Don't worry about it.”

Tanner's Reminiscence I : Birth to age 10

How could I not worry about it? I really wanted to say something to help Ingrid out, but what could I do when I'm 3 ½ inches tall? If trouble were to happen I'd always need to rely on someone else and not myself.

Doctors kept a close eye on my development noticing I was born quite small and I'm not going to bother trying to recite the exact scientific terminology they used, but essentially after keeping tabs on my growth they concluded that I was born with some weird genetic defect that caused me to gradually shrink throughout my life. It acted in a tug-o-war of sorts with my genes that were supposed to make me grow so in the long run it was practically 1 step forward 2 steps back in terms of my growth. They were positive that it'd eventually stabilize, as for when they didn't know.

Unfortunately for me my biological parents were a couple of junkies (which may or may not have had any bearing on my condition) who were deemed unfit to raise me so the large majority of my early years was spent in the foster systems. Being a naive kid I didn't think all that much of being smaller than the other kids at the time, but year after year as I noticed them getting bigger while I lagged behind it became apparent something was wrong with me.

It wasn't until I was 10 that the loving and recently widowed Ivory adopted me into her household. I never had the gall to ask too much into it, but the bare bones of it was her husband dying in a car accident by some intoxicated idiot operating a semi-trailer truck. Before adopting me they were sure to inform Ivory of all the details of my condition and all the challenges I may face growing up, but she was ecstatic to meet the challenge and I got an older sister out of the ordeal.

“ Do I have a new baby brother?” A curiously ecstatic Ingrid asked. I could've explained it to her a thousand times over, she was hearing none of it.

“ There's no way we're the same age, you're too short.” She took a few paces closer to make out the exact difference in height, and yeah in hindsight it was laughable for me to try to assert myself when the top of my head only reached her collarbone. Ivory had the hardest time explaining to her my ordeal. who assumed I was way younger than I was. As expected there was an adjustment period and we went through our. . . .rough patches. Still they both did everything in there power to make me feel welcome and like part of the family.

Over the course of the last 6 years the doctors were right in my shrinking stabilizing, only that point happened at 3 ½ inches, and yes it maybe petty but that half inch means a lot to me. To normal folks it may as well be omitted, but as minuscule as I am it's a huge difference. All and all, I guess things could be worse.

Ingrid opened the box of pizza that she ordered and brought into the living room in front of the television beside a disgruntled Tanner.

“ Why couldn't we have gotten an olive topping?” Tanner lamented at the pizza covered with mushrooms.

“ I hate olives.” Ingrid simply responded.

“ And I like olives, most people would settle these types of disputes with a coin flip or something.”

“ You can't even finish a whole slice of pizza and yet I should order your topping?” Ingrid casually explained, cutting off a small piece that would be manageable for his size.

“ I hate it when you're right, isn't being bigger enough?” Tanner conceded.

“ I try to juggle both.”

Switching gears Tanner knew what they both wanted to talk about now that Ivory was away“ So what do you think of mom dating again?”

Ingrid shrugged. “ I'm still trying to process it myself to be honest, it's weird to imagine after so long.”

“ I know it's before I entered the picture, but she really never dated since the accident?” Tanner vaguely worded out of sensitivity.

“ Not once. I guess I am happy Ivory's finally trying to move on, but I still think it's something we all should have talked about in detail and not last minute or at least meet him once. Like you said before what if he's some sort of man-whore or pig.”

Tanner laughed at the sort of role reversal going on. “ It's kinda funny how you're the one sounding like a parent right now.”

“ Ugh, whatever lets not try to worry ourselves to death and rot our brains on whatever is on TV.” Ingrid suggested., flipping channels to find a suitable program to distract her mind. All of three minutes into browsing she heard the doorbell.

“ You order something else?” Tanner asked. Whoever the visitor was they were enthusiastically ringing on the bell not giving them a moment to reach the door before ringing again.

“ Come on already Ingrid I know you're there, I can see the lights on from outside!” The outside guest shouted.

“ . .That voice is hard to mistake.” Tanner deduced.

Ingrid took her sweet time going to answer, knowing the ball of energy that awaited her. “ Why am I not surprised?”

As soon as the door opened a couple of centimeters the guest took initiative to push it open the rest of the way, inviting herself in.

“ So nice of you to come over with so much notice.” Ingrid said watching as her best friend Blake brisk past the door and into the living room.

Blake turned around to address her friend. “ How could you expect me to resist when I heard your mom was out?” In her mind that logic was sound and impeccable as she strided towards her friends younger brother.

“ And how is the weather way down there?” Blake asked locking eyes with him.

“ Pretty shady with you standing there. How's the weather way up in the stratosphere?” Though he quipped, it never ceased to cause him some degree of shock whenever he saw the towering Blake, especially when she stood next to Ingrid. His sister was no small fry possessing an athletic body and standing 5'7; seeing Blake's similarly framed body scaled up to 6'1 even the brash Ingrid sometimes looked petite by comparison.

“ Well played. So you guys really weren't pulling my leg about your mom being on a date?” Blake inquired, darting her eyes about to verify what she was told over the phone.

Ingrid scoffed, finding themselves back on the popular topic of the night. “ Yeah, she is.”

“ What a sad day. .” Blake sarcastically put her face in her forearm, fake sobbing. “ Your mom found a boyfriend before you, plan to follow in her lead? ”

Hook, line, and sinker, Ingrid took the bait and got defensive. “ I'm way too busy with soccer, maybe you 're the one who should be following my lead and you know actually TRY to take a sport seriously?” She found it a shame that her friend took her physical gifts for granted. Whereas her own energy was laser-focused, Blake's was erratic and impulsive which took her all over the place in her pursuits as an athlete. Starting alongside Ingrid in soccer for several years before growing bored and taking her prowess elsewhere. Her tremendous height made her a standout in basketball, track, and swimming leaving all those teams looking to recruit her. '

“ Screw that, I'm trying to find a boyfriend of my own.”

Ingrid rolled her eyes. That was one area where her friends height would never help her.“ Yeah I'm sure the guys are lining up to date a 6 foot tall amazon.”

Blake pouted and exhaled. “ Alright so I maybe a bit taller than the average girl. Still I can't help it if guys find me intimidating.” The statuesque young woman stated, running her hand down her toned and long legs.

“ Talk about understatements . .” Tanner thought to himself.

“ I need to find a guy who can look past my height. . .I'm sure Tanner wouldn't care. I mean, everyone to him is giant anyway, you don't mind me stealing him from you?” Blake teased making sure to stare at Ingrid while making that comment.

“Stop being weird, we maybe step-siblings but I'd never . . . just drop it.” Ingrid huffed obviously trying to not be bothered by her friends off colored remarks.

Blake laughed taking a seat on the sofa, knowing Ingrid since they were kids there families were close and she was among the few outsiders to know about Tanner and his condition. She was also efficient at pressing Ingrid's buttons knowing exactly how to get a rise out of her.

“ Seriously though I think it's great for your mom, especially with college being right around the corner and you'll be off in university. She'll need some extra company.” Blake reasoned.

Ingrid shook off her comments “ Oh it won't be that bad for her, I'd visit and she'll still have Tanner to keep her company.”

“ Sounds like it'd be a blast...” Tanner lowly uttered.

“ But there's certain things her boyfriend can do for her.” Blake motioned her hand into a fist and with her opposite jammed her index finger into the small opening between her index finger and thumb.

“ Thank you for that stunning visual.” A disgusted Ingrid said.

“ If you think that's bad, wait till' I tell you what I heard in the cafeteria today.”

At that juncture of the conversation Tanner sat down Indian style trying his best to focus on the television screen as Ingrid and Blake delved into school gossip. For as hard as he tried to focus on the screen there rising voices made it an increasingly difficult task as he was forced to hear snippets of there gossip regarding who was sleeping with whom, who back stabbed whom, or whose outfit looked plain ugly.

Turning up the volume on the television would have been his optimal solution, but with the remote seated next to Ingrid and her being equally invested in the conversation they were both too busy staring at each other, making astonished faces at every twist and turn of there stories to pay him any mind.

Blake was getting extra comfortable in the thick of things and decided to prop her long legs up to rest her feet on the edge of the table, nearby Tanner to his dismay.

“ At least she has the courtesy to have socks on.” He thought, if he had to put up with her bare feet he'd be weighing the possibility of a suicide dive off the table right about now. He'd ignore them altogether if he had the luxury, however the chance of a sudden move from her would result in him getting punted half way across the room if she got careless enough; leaving him with no other option than to get her attention.

Shouting he knew off the bat was out of the question, the voices belonging to the two giants behind him would easily conquer his own so physical stimuli was the only route to go. He sighed watching her foot occasionally sway from side to side knowing he had an uphill battle ahead of him. Tanner lowered his base and tried to give a nice hard shove to the monolith that was her left foot.

Even he had to laugh for how comically silly his effort was. “ Like trying to move a boulder.” He thought at the large appendage that was 3x his size. He bet she didn't feel a thing and the only response he was able to illicit was a slight curl of her toes. It'd be a waste of time and energy to keep going though he had a new curiosity brew, wondering how much further he could go without her noticing. Balling up his fist he gave her sole the hardest punch he could muster. Again, Blake hardly moved an inch and continued chatting away without missing a beat.

“ Heh, no reaction.” He confirmed. Initial assumption proven, Tanner happily tested other means of impact as a means of venting, throwing a couple of punches, kicking, and even a football tackle or two confident that the gigantic teen didn't feel a thing.

“ Enjoying yourself?”

Tanner nearly fell flat on his face as he was jolted out his zen, almost going red in embarrassment. “ . .How much of that did you see?”

“ Enough to see you making my foot into your own heavy bag.” Blake answered, giving her toes another curl.

“ Don't blame me, I had to entertain myself while you two were occupied in your daily social soap operas.”

“ Alright, I'll take the blame for being inconsiderate.” Ingrid admitted. “ I'll take you back to your house. I'll only be a second Blake.”

“ Why can't I come see his dollhouse?” Blake asked.

Tanner did a double take of her question. “ Dollhouse!? It's a regular house kinda. Scaled for my size. . .better yet. How do you even know about that?”

Blake smirked, pointing over at a guilty looking Ingrid “ You know girls talk about everything. Come on Ingrid, I've known you both forever can't I see it at least once?”

Ingrid didn't look any more enthused about the idea than Tanner did. “ I don't think that's a good idea.”

“ I'm only curious.” Blake pouted, trying to hide her excitement with pure intent.

“ It's the only place I can feel semi-normal, I'd rather not have you around gawking all around it and making me self-conscious.” Tanner stated resolutely.

Blake hardly saw the big deal of the matter and thought they were both overreacting. Tanner wasn't going to crack, but she knew whose skin to get under. “What are you so scared of Ingrid? You know I mean no harm.”

Ingrid as brash as she was didn't take kindly to that comment. “ I'm not scared of anything, lets just move on from it.”

Blake was anything but ready to move on. “ How about we make this interesting then, a challenge. 1 on 1 soccer match, first one to make a goal wins. If you win I'll leave the topic alone. But if I win you'll have to show it to me.”

Tanner looked to Ingrid hoping he had some sort of telepathic ability to mentally tell Ingrid all the reasons why it was absolutely pointless to accept her challenge, but with one look in her eyes he saw the fiery flames of a competitor. It was already a lose cause.

“ I'll set up the goals outside.” She declared.

­Much like earlier that afternoon Tanner found himself seated on the patio table in the backyard. The moon along with the outdoor lights illuminated the backyard that his sister and friend were competing on. He stared on aimlessly still befuddled that Ingrid accepted that challenge if for nothing else then to satiate her ego. Under less high stake circumstances he wouldn't have minded watching with more enjoyment however the bet attached to the game had him anxiously pacing back and forth.

Ingrid and Blake stood near the center of the yard with an equal amount of paces between themselves and soccer ball that they would look to drive into the others goal behind them. At the moment they were just feeling each other out a bit, waiting for Tanner to blow into the whistle given to him prior. It was a nuisance of a job for him given how hard he had to blow to make the whistle sound loud enough for them to register it. With a large inhale Tanner gave the whistle the hardest blow until he nearly went blue in the face, thankfully both girls heard him meaning the game was underway and he didn't have to do retake.

Blake's long legs became an immediate factor, as she made a long stride covering the distance in quicker fashion than Ingrid which enabled her to reach the ball first. Looking to make fast work, she followed up by shifting to the left with the ball and then seek to drive forward into the goal.

Ingrid knew she couldn't afford to give too much ground to her taller opponent, like glue she stuck right on Blake refusing to let her get too far and looked for an opening to steal the ball from her legs.

From the sidelines Tanner believed he felt more tense than the actual participants of the competition. He watched the contrast of expressions between Blake who was taking this as the casual game it was and Ingrid whose intense stare would make someone mistake this as a game of life or death.

“ Think fast!” Blake declared, swiftly propping the ball onto the top of her foot and launching it straight into the air above there heads. Already knowing her next move, Blake waited for the ball to descend a few inches to launch herself up and drive her cranium right into the ball sending it past Ingrid. Her maneuver landed her in prime position to go for the win, the ball was past her opponent, only a couple of yards away from the goal, and she was more than confident in her leg power to clear the rest of the distance. Unfortunately Ingrid needed to waste valuable time in turning herself around to the ball behind her, whereas Blake who was already facing it was simply able to get going from where she stood.

“ Too slow!” Blake victoriously shouted as she kicked the ball. Tanner hung his head believing the match to be a done deal. As did Blake who almost started gloating until she realized how premature her celebration was when the ball hit right at the rim of the goal and rolled backwards.

Her cockiness betraying her, the time Blake wasted to boast was taken full advantage of by Ingrid still in full gear going after the ball the whole time. Now it was Ingrid who was a leg up in the game and Blake needing to make up ground.

Tanner watched near the edge of the table in awe beginning to notice the differences between the there styles starting to manifest, whereas Blake relied on sheer physicality and sought to overwhelm her opponent, Ingrid seamlessly shifted the ball from one foot to another like a true technician keeping her larger adversary off balance and unable to find a moment to get the ball back.

Her impatience getting the best of her Blake took the chance and committed her attack on Ingrid's left side where the ball currently lied. Much like a matador Ingrid shifted the ball back to her right and the bull Blake nearly fell flat on her face as Ingrid made her way to the goal unopposed.

Despite his reservations of Ingrid hastily accepting Blake's challenge Tanner felt relieved that it appeared she may pull out the win, he was glued to the action until the sound of a door slam snapped him right out of it.

“ Oh crap, she's back.” He realized. “ Guys! She's bac- . .Fuck, what am I thinking.” He said out loud. There's not a chance in hell they'd hear him back from the patio. Grabbing the whistle he again exhaled into it, unlike before this time he had to do this a couple of times to get there attention.

Ingrid and Blake temporarily halted there game to look over to him.

“ What's the problem?” An irritated Ingrid asked, none to happy that what she thought was her sure fire victory was being interrupted . She didn't need a reply when her question practically answered itself in the sound of a car door slam.

“ Dammit Ivory's back, quick we got to get inside!” Ingrid exclaimed.

“ She's going to know I'm here anyway, we may as well bite the bullet.” Blake said.

“ True, but if she knew I brought Tanner outside at night she'll want my head on a stick!” Ingrid explained. She promptly hustled over to scoop Tanner into her hands and scurried through the back door with Blake following suit. They coordinated themselves as they were prior to there impromptu soccer match with the two girls on the couch and Tanner on the table.

The trio counted there lucky stars that they managed that with hardly any time to spare; at the exact moment they sat down the front door opened and Ivory walked in.

“ Hey kids, I'm home.” She greeted joining the three in the living room.

“ Oh hey Ms. Vause. I didn't expect you to be home so early.” Blake waved.

“ And hello to you too.” Ivory added in a lower pitch, expecting only to be greeted by two people.

“ You look well today, have an exciting night?” Blake prodded to Ingrid's chagrin.

Ivory wasn't going to entertain it. “ Don't you have school tomorrow?”

Blake huffed and got up. “ Fine, I'll take the hint and be on my way. See you tomorrow Ingrid.”

After Blake left, Ivory took her time in sitting down next to her daughter

“ Well don't keep us in suspense how did the date go?” Ingrid asked.

“ It went well. . .” Ivory responded, still sounding reserved.

“ That doesn't sound like the tone of someone who just had a good date.” Ingrid noticed. “ Did something happen?”

. .Ivory paused momentarily, swaying her head back and forth. “ Nothing bad. The thing is he wants to have another date tomorrow. This time at our home to meet you guys.”

“ I take it . . . you haven't told him about me right?” Tanner reluctantly asked, connecting the dots.

“ I haven't.” She admitted. She cupped Tanner into her hands gently supporting him. “ I hope you know why I didn't, it's just . .”

“ You don't have to say why I get it.” Tanner admitted, the lunacy of Ivory saying she had a 3 ½ inch stepson sounded every bit as ridiculous in his mind let alone out loud.

“ It's something that needs to be seen to be believed that's for sure, are you sure you're up for that Tanner?” Ingrid asked looking down towards her brother.

“ I didn't answer him at the time, I told him I wanted to check things over with them first. If you don't want to do it I completely understand.” Ivory explained, gently stroking his back with her thumb.

“ Way to put me on the spot . .”

Tanner's Reminiscence II :Meeting People

I really hate meeting people. If you recall the bit where I mentioned Ingrid assuming I was her much younger brother well that's the jist of how a majority of my first time interactions with people went when I was a relatively more capable height. Typically people around my age were shocked to discover I was the same age as them commenting or even boasting of there own height.

Nowhere was that on more display than when I met Blake. She was still participating in soccer and came home with Ingrid one day after practice. All of us were still 10 at the time.

“ Why did one of your teachers come home?” I dumbly asked. Look in fairness yeah most people were taller than me, but she looked tall enough to be a grown adult from my perspective. At that time Blake had already broke the 5 foot mark and I stood measly 3'5 at the time.

Ingrid and Blake both looked at each other before breaking out into laughter. “ This is your little brother Tanner you told me about?”

Ingrid nodded.

“ You really weren't kidding, I didn't think they meant the phrase little brother so seriously.” Blake stated taking immediate notice of my diminutive stature. Off the bat it was her aggressiveness that took the longest to get used to as she wasted no time disregarding all personal boundaries to get right into my personal space. I was already a shy child but being around her made me feel meeker than usual.

“ Well he's only a few months younger than me.” She added.

“ For real!?” Blake exclaimed, hardly able to believe her friends words. Looking me all around from close proximity.

“ Um. .nice to meet you.”

“ Yeah, sure sure! I'm Blake!” She answered, still measuring me up. Shocking as it sounds this was a time where she was even more belligerent than present day. “ You know I think I can lift you up pretty easily mind if I try?”

Being a young athlete and tallest person in her class I get why she wanted to try to test her own strength, but I was still apprehensive at the request. “ Uh. .okay, just let m-”

Naturally the hyperactive girl heard nothing beyond 'okay' and in an instant had her arms around my waist, then hoisted me into the air with ease.

“ Whoa, you're waaay lighter than I thought!” Blake exclaimed, spinning around with me in her arms. It really hit me then how weak I was. I flailed my limbs trying to break free of her grasp but she didn't notice my effort in the slightest. I wondered if that was a problem for me at 3'5 what did that leave in store for me when I inevitably got smaller? I struggled to finally find my voice to cry out for her to let me down.

“ Oops, sorry about that. I got a little carried away. . .” Blake said, setting my dizzy frame back on the ground.

Blake for the most part was harmless though and I could tell she didn't mean to make me feel uncomfortable. Plus that wasn't even the worst of it. At least there was honesty to how kids treated me back then. Sure they can be ruthless, but you grow to appreciate that level of authenticity when compared to adults, they were worse by a long shot.

“ Hello, what's your name.” I recall a young lady in her early 30's asking who was visiting to the group home.

“ Tanner.”

The lady smiled and crouched down to my level. “ How old are you?”

“ Seven.”

Wham. Right there I felt it, that awkwardly long second the recipient of my answer takes to process what I said to be sure they heard me correctly.

“ Wow . .” She said, looking me over hardly able to vocalize any other reasonable follow up. In a world where politeness and political correctness didn't matter her response would have been. “ Holy shit, you're so small for your age. Are you really seven?” Since we don't live in that world, the conversation just abruptly ended with her saying. “ I see . .”, before walking away shortly after.

Adults were just so. .fake and patronizing to me. I've heard remarks like, “ Make sure you eat your vegetables.” Far more than I care to recall when all the broccoli in the world wouldn't be of any help to me. The smaller I became the looks I received from people went from that of mild bewilderment to that of pure shock until it became too dangerous for me to be out in public.

Now Ivory wants me to meet her boyfriend when I haven't interacted with any outsiders in . .who knows how long? It's not something I'm looking forward to at all. But come on, that'd be nothing compared to how I'd feel if I told her no and possibly strain the first relationship she's been in since her husbands accident. It's a small price to pay, when there's opportunity for me to be more than an inconvenience I have to take them. . . . .

----

“ No worries, I think it'll be fine.” Tanner said with a forced smile. Despite being conflicted, the bright smile on his mom's face gave him some relief and confidence that he made the choice.

“ Thank you Tanner, I know this won't be the easiest thing for you.”

Ingrid appeared a bit more aloof at the moment, not one for all the sentimentality. “ Oh come on, Ivory. He maybe a shrimp, but he's at least a little tougher than he looks. He can handle it.”

“ Alright. It's been a long day, I think it's best for us all to head in. Make sure you come home straight from school tomorrow Ingrid, I'll tell him to be over by 6:00 p.m. ” Ivory stated.

“ Yeah, yeah, I'll be here. Goodnight guys.” Ingrid replied, heading upstairs to her room.

Ivory followed her lead with Ingrid in hand to her own room where Tanner's house lied. Once he fell below a 12 inches in height the team of doctors in charge of looking out for him reached out to vendors for the development of products that could make his life more convenient. One of the core items was his own 'house' which was a one room living quarter that had a closet for his clothes, a bed, and a few window. They also thought it would do him well to have an area where he could at least have a semblance of being normal sized.

Ivory gently placed Tanner down at the door of his house, she found it best for it to be in her room seated right on the table opposite of her bed in case something were to happen she'd be right there.

“ Again Tanner I really want to be sure you're okay with this.”

Tanner sighed internally, there's no way he'd go back on it now after already agreeing, he'd look like a plain wuss to change his mind. “ I really am. Trust me.” He said giving a thumbs up. Though he saw her trying to hide it he saw that Ivory was elated based on her trying to repress the muscles in her cheek from forming into a smile. If that didn't give it away her leaning down to give him a quick kiss on the top of his head that made him stumble back.

“ Thank goodness she didn't do that in front of Ingrid. .” Tanner thought, imagining the ways she'd tease him.

This time Ivory lightened up and giggled at the effect of her little show of affection “ Okay, I'll stop being a worry-wart. Thank you again Tanner, goodnight.

Tanner stirred awake in his house at the rising voice of Ivory who he had thought was talking to herself, but once his brain started functioning properly he realized she must've been talking to someone over the phone.

“ What kind of trouble are you in this time?” He heard her ask. Curiosity growing Tanner scrambled to his feet and moved closer to the wall to peek out of the small window where he saw mainly the torso of Ivory as she paced back and forth .

“ Isn't it a better idea to go straight to your parents?” Ivory asked. Another moment of silence ensued, likely the other participant on the phone talking.

An audible sigh escaped from Ivory's mouth. “ This is very short notice, I have plans for tomorrow evening.-” Ivory stopped mid sentence. “ Wait, you're already at the station!?” Another pause. “ Ugh, alright . . .I'll be there.”

Tanner saw Ivory toss her phone on the bed and her frame making its way towards him. He moved from the window attempting to appear he wasn't being a total eavesdropper. In seconds he heard a tapping of her fingernail from the outside. Though the house was roofless, she found it more polite to 'knock' rather than peering above the structure like a menacing force of nature. Tanner stepped out of the front of the structure and onto the table in front of Ivory who was crouched down to her knees to talk to him at his level. Another common gesture performed so Tanner wouldn't feel so dominated by someone who towered far above talking down to him.

Judging by the still semi-glassy look in her hazel eyes that the phone call clearly disturbed her sleep. “ I take it you heard the bulk of that.” She inferred.

“ Kinda hard not to. What's going on?”

Ivory rubbed her eyes, still trying to shake off the cobwebs. “ My niece Marcelle called.”

Tanner had to repress the urge to cringe at the mention of her name. “ Dare I ask what mess she's gotten into?”

“ Her roommate got into it recently and they were supposed to stay together during fall break so she needs a place to stay for the week.”

Tanner was semi-impressed, he thought she found herself involved in something along the lines of armed robbery or grand theft auto. “ That's pretty . . .tame. Still, she couldn't stay over at her parents?”

“ She said she didn't want to make them think she couldn't handle herself; that and she already took the train to the city.”

“ Dang it.” Tanner thought. Knowing that she took the time to get here, Ivory wasn't going to just turn her away.

“ I'm going to go get her; you'll be fine for a half hour on your own.” She stated. If anything happens you know what to do right?.

“ Got it.” Tanner replied, flashing the watch on his wrist for Ivory to see. Another handy product made for him essentially acting as an standalone smart-watch that didn't need to be synced to a main phone. This allowed for Tanner to be able to call Ivory or Ingrid at any point should he fall into trouble and a bonus emergency button that would automatically alert both of there phones if Tanner faced dire peril.

Ivory threw on a makeshift outfit consisting of some black sweatpants and white tank top before heading out the door. Much like how she anticipated her daughter to be taken back at the reveal her dating someone, there's no question there will be a repeat performance once she learns Marcelle will be staying at the house. After not seeing each other for three years she hoped the time apart had allowed both girls to mature and any grudges between them had boiled over.

She pulled up outside of the lobby where she saw Marcelle outside waiting dressed in dark denim shorts and a black midriff leaving little to the imagination of her smooth olive skin. No longer confined by the standards of high school dress codes, she was free to strut what God gave her in hips and breasts that were struggling to be contained in her tight clothing. Ivory easily distinguished by her auburn hair and green eyes that were nearly radiant enough to be seen through her wide-framed sunglasses.

“ Auntie Ivory!” Marcelle waved as she noticed her relative pull up beside her. She wasted no time putting her bags in the trunk before joining her in the passenger side.

Ivory took a brief look over her niece, despite not changing a whole lot in the last 3 years from 17 to 20 in terms of physical appearance she still had a hard time believing she was staring at the same girl who she once saw as a baby only a couple of months old.

“ Do you want to see some photo ID, it's really me.” Marcelle quipped, taking notice of the attentive gaze of her aunt.

“ Oh sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's amazing how much you've grown up.” Ivory stated, putting the vehicle into drive and pulling off.

Marcelle giggled. “ I guess college really does mature people. Speaking of being grown up, how's Ingrid been?” She asked as a setup so she can get to the topic that was her main interest.

Ivory had to laugh at how Ingrid was virtually unchanged in most regards, only older and taller. “ Same old, same old. Soccer obsessed big game coming up.”

“ Ha, you're not kidding. What about Tanner?”

“ Also doing well.” Ivory bluntly answered.

Marcelle's bright face toned down somewhat at that run of the mill answer, she had to fish out of Ivory what she really wanted to know. “ That's good, but . . how is he reeeaaally?” She asked with more implication of what she was referring to.

Figuring that Marcelle was going to see for herself anyway, Ivory went ahead and explained. “ On the brighter news it seems like his condition has stabilized and the doctors don't think he'll shrink any further; if he does it'll be on such a minuscule level it won't be noticeable. But now he's been left at 3 ½ inches tall.”

Marcelle covered her mouth in shock, though in reality it was only done to hide the amusement on her face. “ W-wow, I had no idea he'd get so tiny.”

Ivory nodded in agreement. “ It took us all by surprise. It usually occurred sporadically, but once it he turned 13 it accelerated tremendously.”

“ It must've been tough.” Marcelle said, still putting up the front of acting concerned.

“ There was plenty of adjusting that needed to happen. Overall his general physician thought it was best to treat him as normal as possible and not constantly bombard him with reminders of how small he is.”

Marcelle's facade faltered and she raised an eyebrow in genuine confusion. “ He's only a few inches tall, how is there anyway to treat him normal when he isn't?”

Abandoning her eyes from the road momentarily, Ivory shot a rather dissatisfied gaze at the callous tone of her niece's statement causing the latter to backtrack.

“ Sorry, sorry. I guess . .it's something I can't relate to very much. I know it isn't easy for you guys let alone how Tanner copes with everything.”

Ivory's face softened as she returned focus to the road nearing the house. “ By the way . .later this evening, I'm having a guest come over. . .for dinner.”

“ Holy- . .So Ivory's back on the market huh?” Marcelle asked, teasingly nudging her aunt with her elbow. She chuckled a little as she saw Ivory trying to find the words to to elaborate. “ Say no more, I'll be on my best behavior.”

Ivory sighed, glad she didn't have to provide any further explanation. “ Thank you.”

Tanner kept himself as occupied and focused as possible on the lesson curriculum on his tablet. Shrinking wasn't going to be any excuse for him to be uneducated, unlike everything else this was something Ivory specifically requested to the doctors to reach out and have made. Tanner didn't mind it at least gave him something to do,though today his mind kept drifting to the impending moment where Marcelle would come home. He secretly hoped that somehow someway that this was all a misunderstanding or that Ivory sent her packing back on a train to her own parents.

The realization that neither of those fantasies came to fruition made his heart skip a beat when he heard the door open followed by the chatter of both Ivory and Marcelle. There was no mistaken her silvery voice, it sounded a touch more mature and pronounced after the years passed.

There voices drawing closer he knew they were on the way so he went ahead and stepped outside of his house.

Initially giddy about seeing Tanner is his miniature glory the mental preparation she did in her mind did zero justice to the sight before her. Her pace slowed to a methodical walk as she approached Tanner coming to grasp that Ivory was not kidding at how dramatically he's shrunk. He was every bit as puny as she thought he'd be, but nothing compares to seeing it in person.

Tanner tried not to lock eyes with her during the awkward period of her coming to terms with his current size.

Ivory came behind Marcelle putting a hand on her shoulder. “ Can you try not to stare like that, it's making him uncomfortable.” She whispered.

Marcelle jolted out of her own inner thoughts“ Oops, sorry I didn't mean to . .it's- . yeah.” Tanner didn't blame her, if the roles were reversed he doubt he'd handle it any better.

“ Anyway, how have you been Tanner?” She cordially asked.

“ Y'know . . . I'm alive and breathing.” He responded, the air between them noticeably weird.

“ I'm sure you two want to catch up a little bit so I'm going to go downstairs and clean up. You remember where the guest room is right Marcelle?” Ivory asked.

“ Down the hall on the right.”

“ If you need anything you know where to find me.” Ivory said before leaving for the first story of the house. Marcelle kept her back turned making sure to listen to every last footstep on the stairs until she was certain Ivory was far away.

Turning back around Marcelle sported a new smug grin. “ Now lets try this again. How have you been Tanner?”

Tanner sensed it, Marcelle was uninhibited now that Ivory was absent. No matter what she says he'll have to keep a cool head, if she knows she's under his skin it'll make her pry deeper. “ We've been through this I'm fine.”

Marcelle paced closer towards Tanner stopping only when she was inches away from him, looking forward her navel was right at his face. Tanner even while tilting his head up could barely make eye contact with her. In all honesty he'd rather not at the moment. Very rarely would his stepmom and sister stand so close to him for a simple reason, it was freaking intimidating as all hell. Marcelle in reality was a bit shorter than both Ivory and Ingrid at 5'4, but that didn't matter at all when firstly you're 3 ½ inches tall and secondly when her massive form was close enough to fill his entire field of vision and appeared like a several story high skyscraper.

“ There's no way you can be fine, I mean . .look at you!” Marcelle laughed right in front of Tanner who watched the rhythmic cycle of her stomach tensing up and relaxing with each chuckle. “ Well, never mind I guess you'll never know how ridiculous you look right now.” Marcelle stopped to collect herself. “ Still seeing you from this close up I'm more than positive that you're tiny enough now.”

Tanner twitched a little at her shadowy words. Luckily the reflex was small enough that Marcelle didn't notice, but his silence spoke volumes to Marcelle whose face was looking for any crack in his armor to exploit.

“ Do I look big?” She asked.

“ What the fuck do you think?” He thought, times like this is where it really sucked that he couldn't freely speak his mind when the repercussions would outweigh the satisfaction of being a smart-ass. He had to keep it short and simple. If anything maybe she'll get bored and leave him be. “ Yes.”

“ I know things got a bit rough last time I tried, but now it'd be pretty easy don't you think?” Marcelle asked, keeping her most attentive stare on Tanner who despite his fortitude failed at preventing his facial muscles from tensing up in irritation.

“ Hey now, I'm only kidding little guy.” Marcelle conveniently added at the last minute.

Tanner exhaled trying to go back to the plan. “ Hardy har, this week will be a blast.”

Marcelle shrugged laxly “ Who knows, maybe I'll stay longer.”

Tanner was perplexed at her response he thought Fall Breaks only lasted a week. There's no question she'd have to return to her classes once it's over. “ . .So, what happened between you and your roommate again?”

“ Nothing major, just a little argument. It happens sometimes, people need time apart.” Marcelle explained, making light of it. Tanner wasn't buying it though, something worst had to have happened to bring her here and not back to her own hometown.

“ Kinda weird you'd rather come here and not go home.”

Marcelle's gaze at Tanner intensified and her tone hardened. “ What are you implying?”

“ . . . Nothing except, asking what really happened.”

There wasn't any hiding it, plus Marcelle thought there wasn't much to worry about from Tanner. “ You're sharper than I give you credit for. Long story short a party got out of hand, lots of drinking, some vandalism, and property destruction.”

There was the cousin Tanner has come to know. But more concerning being caught with the possession of alcohol and destroying property would call for more than one weeks suspension. “ Wait all that, wouldn't that mean-”

“ Yup, I'm expelled.” Marcelle completed.

“ How did all that happen without your parents getting notified? ” Tanner inquired. There's no way she got herself into that much trouble, got kicked out without them reaching out to them.

“ Fake information goes a long way. So when they went tried calling my legal guardians one of my friends showed up pretending to be my older sister.”

Tanner still had some follow up questions, but Marcelle took dominance of the conversation again “ But that's enough about me.” She said standing back up to full height, with no warning she clutched Tanner in a closed fist. “ I want you to keep me company while I unpack my things.” Not caring for his response she started moving to the guest room. She at least had the courtesy to keep him level and not disorientate him with many level changes, that didn't change the fact though that her grasp was much less gentle than that of Ivory's. She held him not like the fragile person he was, but like a possession she owned and could do whatever with. At least it wasn't a long walk and they found themselves in the guest room in quick time. Marcelle sat him down on the bed.

“ Thanks for the heads up.” Tanner complained, looking to get his footing on the soft surface of the mattress.

A few inches away, Marcelle laid her suitcase on the bed as well and got to work tossing her clothes. “ High school is pretty overrated, teachers telling you what to do on every turn, and rules up the ass. College is where it's at. Best parties, I can do everything on my own time, take what classes I want, wear whatever.” Marcelle said. Tanner listened with little interest though the last point his cousin made was evident based on every pair of jeans, skirts, and tops that were as form fitting and revealing as the last. As she reached near the bottom of her main dress ensembles the undergarments started to appear. At the first glimpse of what had to have been a bra he turned his head away.

“ What's the matter, not sexy enough for you?” Marcelle grinned making sure to hold it up by the strap mere inches away from the small boy.

“ Sorry toots, you're not my type.” He responded, still averting his eyes from the garment that was swaying in his face.

Marcelle amused by his shy reaction hovered the bra even closer until it was brushing up to his cheek. “ A C-cup isn't big enough for you? You know a lot of guys would kill to be in the position you're about to be in.”

“ What-” Tanner was about to ask until Marcelle demonstrated what she was talking about, dropping the bra on top of him making sure that one of the cups landed over his body. The small boy immediately struggled pushing against the fabric from underneath the surface trying to get free but Marcelle had already pressed her hands on the straps easily ensuring he'd stay place.

Tanner wanted to kick himself for not seeing that coming. “ Cut it out Marcelle, let me out!” He exclaimed.

“ No way. Some guys love this sort of stuff.” She explained.

It was out of his power to get out now, he'd have to play along. “ What's that supposed to mean?”

“ Here you are, a tiny man living with women that giants to you. It's a pretty popular fetish I saw on an online article.” Marcelle's voice trailed off as she thought of the word. “ Macrophilia, I believe it's called.”

Tanner tried to keep calm, a rise out of his emotions was exactly what she wanted. “ Why should I care? What's a fetish to them is an average day for me.”

“ Look at it from a different angle.” Marcelle implored. “ You're underneath a bra I wore a few days ago. I bet it still smells like me does it?”

Tanner had no response for that and now his mind went to a place where he wish it hadn't now that Marcelle brought it to his attention. He became far more conscientious of the inhales he was taking and recognized that the scent of whatever perfume she was wearing that day still faintly lingered in the bra. And more importantly, he was underneath a bra . . a bra that has actually been on her chest. Even if it was for a split second he did think of what it'd be like to be trapped in a bra while she wore i- no, no, no. “ Stay strong Tanner” He told himself. “ Who cares can I come out now?”

Marcelle could tell he was cracking, it was time to switch tactics. “ Maybe Ingrid is more your speed?”

“ Not my type either, besides we're-”

“ Related, yeah I know.” Marcelle was all too prepared for that rebuttal. “ I'm an open minded millennial. You're only related legally. You don't have to feel bad if . . y'know.”

Tanner should have left well enough alone, but he was getting agitated at the repeated prying and yet again stumbled into Marcelle's next trap. “ Know what?”

Marcelle tossed the bra off of Tanner, allowing the latter some much welcomed air non-tainted by the former's scent. With expert precision Marcelle was able to trap Tanner again with her index finger pinning the boy down by the chest. “ If you like her.”

“ I'm not going to dignify that with a response.” Tanner replied, persistent on remaining defiant.

“ Is Ivory more your type? Are you into cougars?” She asked.

“ No.” He irritably groaned.

“ I don't believe you. I bet Ivory and Ingrid are practically the only girls you get to interact with on a regular basis. Do you ever have any dirty thoughts about them?”

“ Never!” He denied, strongly even. Strongly enough to supply Marcelle with more ammunition to go further into the subject.

“ Be honest with yourself, I'm sure Ingrid has turned into a sexy young lady. Plus all the soccer she plays I bet she has a pretty nice body and toned legs for days. When you have to pleasure yourself she doesn't ever cross your mind?” Marcelle icily asked, keeping her gaze dead centered on Tanner to his reaction verbal or otherwise.

He was rattled, unable to keep himself from not going red in the face. It was already beyond the point of trying to keep calm so all he could do was deny until Marcelle was tired of toying with him which frankly did not appear would happen anytime soon. “ Nope.”

“ So you never looked at either one of them and get a little erection.” Marcelle continued, pointing downwards to his crotch.

“ No. .” His voice wavered, lacking the conviction in his tone that was previously on display.

“ Are you hard now?” Marcelle asked setting her free hand flat on the mattress

“ I'm not . .” Tanner got a little more defensive on that statement and Marcelle knew it.

“ Are you lying?” She asked, all the while her hand was crawling upwards towards Tanner much like an arachnid.

“ I-I'm not.”

Marcelle wasn't buying it for a moment. “ I think you are.” With each word she spoke Tanner felt the slight vibrations on the mattress as her fingers crept closer. “ So you mean to tell me if I touch you there I won't feel anything . . .hard?”

Tanner had nothing to say to dissuade her, he felt her hand inching closer stopping right between the open space between his legs. One touch, that's all she needed to confirm who was telling the truth. He braced himself for the worst . . . . .Nothing. Was she trying to psyche him out then do it? Tanner waited again . . . . . . .Still nothing.

In an act that easily could be misconstrued for mercy Marcelle retracted her hands and stood tall, beaming down at Tanner with a haughty smile, satisfied she was able to play him so accurately. “ Relax, I was only playing.” Of course though, it wasn't mercy it was her just fucking with him.

Tanner was livid, he clenched his fist looking for a means to get one over on her. Being treated like a plaything he wasn't going to standby and take, not like last time. He had just the means to shut her down. “ For someone who was just expelled from college, are you sure you should be treating me like that? I'd hate to tell Ivory about your escapades.”

The speed at which Marcelle swiped Tanner off the bed nearly took the oxygen straight out of him and left him dizzied at the sudden motion as she brought him right to her face close enough for him to feel her minty breath with each of her soft exhales. “ I think we both know what happens if you do that.” Marcelle cryptically whispered, her gaze dead serious.

Instantly Tanner regretted the mere thought of making a threat to Marcelle who one-upped him with no trouble. Fear lodged into his eyes, he nodded in compliance that the message she was sent was comprehended.

Marcelle's face brightened into a glowing smile once more. “ Good, now lets get you back to your cute little dollhouse.” Her work done, the young lady left the guest room.

Tanner looked down towards his giant cousin's feet who was making sure to plant her foot with some extra force every few steps. He shuddered at the sound of each stomp knowing it wasn't unintentional and that she was making her threat clear beyond contest. Yep, that was the Marcelle he knew.

 Tanner spent his afternoon fumbling around on his tablet doing nothing of note except trying to distract his mind. All within the span of a couple of hours of being in the household Marcelle managed to leave him a paranoid wreck. What the heck was that word she mentioned before? Macrophilia was it?

“ She had to have been pulling my leg.” He thought. What could anyone see in that? It sucked being tiny and anyone saying otherwise is a liar. Be that as it may he didn't get the impression she was lying about that part. With some trepidation in his fingers he pulled up the google website and in the search bar began typing in the letters.

“ Holy . .” Okay she definitely wasn't lying, after he typed half of the word the search engine auto-filled the rest confirming it was at least a legitimate term. He gulped and pressed the enter button and looked in amazement at the several thousand search results. On the first page alone the beginning results pulled up articles such as “ Introduction to Macrophilia.”, “ Men who love the Giantess” , “ What is Macrophilia?”, to name a few, mainly consisting of explanations to what it meant. A part of him was curious enough to want to learn more another part didn't want to know.

Detouring he decided to click on images instead. . . .worse choice. The artistic representations of this kink were probably worse than any verbal explanation. With a shaky finger he scrolled down the pictures seeing mainly images of various women scaled up to massive proportions, literal giants or giantesses to be technical. Most commonly they were depicted as happily towering over the citizens and buildings of a city. As he scrolled the images started getting more refined, some displayed women in a similar scenario but judging by the dilapidated buildings and people panicking the giantess had to have been destroying the city. He continued scrolling, now the images were starting to hit too close to home. Instead of literal giant women, the images started to depict what were regular sized women only with a tiny man within close proximity. A couple featured the women sporting cocky and self-assured grins on there faces as they held the minuscule man in hand while he looked petrified and frightened. Tanner saw that look before, the arrogance that she can do whatever she want to the small man and he's incapable of resisting. Then the images started to get more disturbing, he looked at the images of tiny men who were on the ground as a giant woman had her foot lifted well above his body with the implication that he's about to get crushed. He didn't know what made his stomach turn more, the ones that featured the women appearing unaware that she was about to stomp on the poor guy or the ones that had a woman that was fully aware. It only got more cringe worthy as he saw pictures of women with a tiny man dangling inches above her mouth threatening to eat him and at the sight of a women sitting down with a man in her hands and her legs spread open Tanner deemed he was into deep and rapidly pressed the x button in the upper corner of the browser.

He hoped Marcelle wasn't getting any ideas from images like that. He really wanted to believe things were going to be different this time around and that he was mentally mature and prepared enough to deal with her shenanigans. Be that as it may the crushing reality boiled down similarly to many of the photos he saw. She was big and powerful and he was small powerless. If this was a precursor for what was yet to come it was going to be a rough ride. Graciously Marcelle left him alone after returning him to his house and went downstairs to help out Ivory, a reprieve he appreciated very much to calm his nerves.

“ Ivory I'm home!” Ingrid declared as she entered the house around 4:00. She looked around the first story of the house for her mother leading her to the living room after seeing the profile of a woman. The hair color alone tipped her off that it wasn't her, in fact it narrowed it down to the only person it could've been.

“ You gotta be kidding me.” Ingrid dropped her bags trying to convince herself otherwise until the last moment.

Marcelle turned her head and stood to face her cousin. “ Oh my gosh, Ingrid! It's been forever!” With wide exuberant eyes she approached her cousin in admiration for how much she's grown in the last three years. “ Look at you, where's that 13 year old kid I knew?” She took an extra step closer, angling her head to admire her frame. Gone was the somewhat scrawny child she once knew, replaced by a young woman who with years of training has developed and looks the part of an elite athlete.

“ Why are you here?” Ingrid bluntly asked, unamused by the platitudes of her relative.

By now Ivory who was straightening up the kitchen came to the room after hearing her daughter. “ So nice of you to make it home. Though I could've sworn school ended at 2:30” Ivory commented with disapproval, her eyebrow coming to a raise since she recalled specifically asking her to come straight home from school. From point A to point B should have taken all of 15-20 minutes.

Ingrid muttered something incomprehensible under her breath, she didn't think a good 30 minute work out would hurt anyone “ It's not like I'm that late. Besides, I think the more important subject is what Marcelle is doing here.”

“ Just a little roommate trouble, she's going to be staying for the week.” Ivory elaborated.

Ingrid looked back to Marcelle, lowering her eyelids into a skeptical gaze. “ Is that so?”

“ I figure Tanner already knows about this?”

“ I've already said hello to him. He's as adorable as ever.” Fully aware that her back was away from her aunt, Marcelle's lips curled into a sly and foxy grin. “ I must say, I feel awfully short right now. I remember when I used to be taller than you.”

Ivory growing impatient wanted to get things back on track.“ Moving on, Richard is going to be over in an hour. Can you please be so kind Ingrid to take a shower?” She asked, noticing her daughter looking a little less than presentable in a sweat-stained t-shirt and frizzled hair after her workout session before coming home.

“ Yeah, yeah.” Ingrid turned her back to head upstairs. On the way up, Ivory's voice echoed again.

“ And fill the sink so Tanner can wash up too!”

“ Hey Tanner!” Ingrid yelled, barely reaching the entrance before releasing her emotions. Not that it bothered Tanner, when he heard the footsteps coming upstairs he was wondering if he had to brace himself for round 2.

“Can you believe Marcelle is here!?” She shook her head in disdain as if it caused her physical pain to say her name.

“ Tell me about it. She sorta showed up out of nowhere.” Compared to his sister who was pacing back and forth Tanner was much calmer now that he's come full circle.

Ingrid stopped in her tracks, now deciding to try and look at things from a rational standpoint “ And what about that crap about her roommate. You think that's legit?”

“Um . .” Tanner had to catch himself from inadvertently spilling the beans what really brought her here. But then he felt the weight of Marcelle's threat lingering over him. Though she mentioned Ivory by name, surely there would be consequences if he told Ingrid as well. “ Who knows, I say we try to act like she's not even here.” He fibbed.

Ingrid stood complacently, something about the answer rubbed her the wrong way.“ Maybe. She hasn't done anything to you right?”

“ Thankfully no. Maybe she'll surprise us both and not cause any trouble.” Tanner lied again.

“ We'll see.” Ingrid scoffed. She then lowered hand down to Tanner. “ Come on, Ivory wants us to get washed up.”

“ Heh, she's taking this pretty seriously.” Tanner said stepping into his sister's palm. Once she secured him in her palm, he noticed her skin felt a bit coarse and dry indicating to him that she must've been exercising before coming home. He'll take it any day of the week over Marcelle's handling of him.

On her way to the bathroom Ingrid stopped at the closet retrieving two sets of towels and wash clothes an act that left Tanner baffled. “ Uh, we're going in together?”

“ We're short on time, Ingrid said he'll be here in an hour. Something wrong?”

“ Nothing, only wondering.” He said keeping a straight face. Internally he was going nuts right about now. It wasn't anything too out the ordinary, once he shrunk to the point where he needed the shower to be operated for him and eventually had to bathe in the sink it wasn't uncommon for Ingrid or Ivory to see him semi or fully nude. Other way around? Not so much. It's not that they made it a priority to never appear naked in front of him, it's just something by happenstance that hasn't happened. He's occasionally seen them with their shirts off with only, but that's about it. Tanner tried to convince himself it was no big deal, but after all the nonsense with his step-cousin before who wouldn't be self-conscious right about now?

Ingrid set Tanner down on the marble sin top, being sure to place a towel on the side of it, aware of how slippery it could be. Lastly, she pushed in the stopper in the sink and adjusted the knobs of the sink to ensure cool water to fill up in the sink. While she waited, she walked a couple of paces away to prepare the shower and give it a few moments to warm up.

Tanner meanwhile was utilizing more time trying to get out of his head than disrobing. Of all days that this had to happen why now, with all the torment administered to him he could practically hear Marcelle's voice echoing in the recesses of his mind.

“ Today's your lucky day. . You may get a chance to see Ingrid in true form.”

“ Oh shut up.” He accidentally said out loud.

“ Something wrong?” Ingrid said, walking back towards him.

“ Oh, nothing. The water's fine.”

Ingrid turned the knob again double checking that Tanner had all the materials he needed before she walked back over to the shower. He refused to let today's incident be a hindrance any longer and pushed away his stray thoughts to toss aside his clothes and head into the water. Getting clean is all that mattered nothing else. In between the water roaring through the shower head and the splashes of water he made when dousing his body, he was confident he could lull himself into a rhythm to get through this. So he thought until he heard a very subtle sound, something was dropped onto the floor.

“ Oooo, I wonder what that was? I bet she's getting undressed right now. C'mon take a look and find out.”

“ No. . .” He told his subconscious interpretation of Marcelle.

Another item hit the ground.

“ You're going to miss your opportunity, take a quick peek. It'll only take a second.”

Tanner's will was dissolving fast, his eyes shifted to the far corner of his eyes to see if he'd catch a glimpse of his step-sister, but she was a bit out of range of his peripheral vision.

“ You can do better. Half-hearted efforts won't get you anywhere.”

Once more an article of clothing hit the ground.

“ Time is running out, what do you think that was? Her shirt?” Tanner began to rotate his torso. “ Her shorts?” He turned a few more degrees. “ Or maybe even . . .her bra?” Screw it, he couldn't resist any longer, Tanner completed his rotation for a glimpse. Without his knowing Tanner's jaw opened in awe as his eyes ascended up and down the backside of her frame.

If there were any saving grace it was that Ingrid had her back turned and didn't see his act of perversion before he returned to neutral. For the longest he hadn't thought anything about what lied underneath the clothing. Now he had the chance to truly acknowledge and appreciate all the hard work she put into managing her body even if he was only seeing from behind. Though given the sport she partook in relied mainly on her lower body, she obviously didn't neglect her upper body. Tanner would have had to look with extreme precision to spot any excess fat on her sides and didn't doubt that her abdominal muscles were toned. The minor protrusions from the back of arms also indicated she's invested time in her triceps.

The true show as expected though was her lower body. The level of care she had put into her legs must have been excruciating. The overall thickness of her thighs alone were impressive, but tightness of her quads could easily mistake someone to think she was flexing constantly.

He heard his sister pull aside the shower curtain and step inside. “ Alright, no more.” He thought satiating his curiosity was enough to go on without trouble, but it was turning to be the furthest from the truth. Staring for that split second was all his mind needed to leave her body etched into his mind and it wanted to see more. Being that he already caved once, it was much easier for him to turn again to look at his sister as she showered. The shower curtain blurred her considerably, not that it stopped his brain from trying to workout what she may have looked like in clear view. He found himself mesmerized as he watched the motions of her running a wash cloth down the lengths of her ligaments and craning her head back as the water ran down her body. He tried to work out when in the world did this all happen to Ingrid. For the longest he thought she was his giant step-sister, now though it was hitting him dead in the face that she was still indeed his giant step-sister only now not a girl, but a woman. It'd be plain disingenuous of him to deny that she was an okay looking girl. On the contrary she was very attractive.

He remembered the back and forth she and Blake had about finding a boyfriend and there was a lot of truth to what Ingrid's statuesque friend said. She had a lot of desirable attributes when you get past her built in defenses. To name a few, a steadfast loyalty, fit body, and beyond her perpetual resting bitch face lied a heart-warming smile if you can work it out of her.

As he thought of all her characteristics, his mind wasn't the only thing in agreement his body also thought 'highly' of her. “ Why now . .” He cursed. Trying to think of something to get his libido under control. “ She's my sister. She's my sister. She's my sister.” He kept telling himself. Each time in the back of his head, he heard the constant reminder from Marcelle. “ Step-sister, step-sister, step-sister.” It's mind was made up and came to a full salute. If that wasn't inopportune enough, he heard the squeaking sound of the knobs being turned and the water coming to a silence.

Tanner quickly turned his back so she wouldn't see him. Viewing a nude Ingrid from a frontal standpoint wouldn't help at all in this circumstance. He put on his best poker face as she made her way back to him.

“ You ready Tanner?” She said.

“ Uh, gimme a few more minutes then I'll be done.” He replied, hoping that no other inconvenience would strike that'd somehow result in her seeing his erection.

“ Fine, I'm going to get dressed then I'll come back for you.” She responded and exited the door.

Tanner's Reminiscence III : Why oh Why

I don't know when it happened, okay? Shouldn't it be natural? Guys become attracted to girls right? So why do I always feel so ashamed when I think or look at her like that? Is it because I won't ever get to enjoy being in an actual relationship or maybe it's because Ingrid's my sister? Yeah, yeah, I know step-sister it's still a difficult thing to explain. Coming into the household and viewing her as my own sister and somewhere along the line my gaze at her changed.

Why did it have to be Ingrid? Was there truth to what Marcelle said, is it because Ivory and Ingrid are the only girls I'm consistently around so I went with a default option? Maybe it was a gradual thing.

I remember around when we were 11 Ingrid was outside playing football in the backyard with some of the kids from school while I watched. As you'd expect being somewhat of a tomboy she was one of the only two girls playing, the other being her ride or die chick Blake. Given they were at an age where girls were generally taller they had little difficulty dominating the team consisting only of boys. I couldn't help but be enamored at how easy they were making it look, so what business did I at 3'0 think I had trying to play? Absolutely none, that didn't stop me from jumping in when it came time for one of Ingrid's guys to go home.

Ingrid took my hand pulled me aside for a moment and crouched to my level. “ Are you sure you want to step in and play?” She asked, trying to mask the concern in her voice. Translation “ These kids are all bigger than you and I don't want you to get hurt.” I was still too psyched up from watching to care about my physical limitations.

“ I'll be fine I promise.” I nodded enthusiastically. Unlike Ivory who would've outright rejected the notion of me playing if she knew, I can appreciate Ingrid not embarrassing me in front of everyone so she nodded back and let me on her team.

To my credit I did well for a while being smaller made me a more difficult target to catch, but I guess one of the guys got overzealous forgetting it was touch football and tackled me to the ground. I was left on the ground looking for my air after his full body weight knocked it right out of me. The action halted temporarily and a concerned Ingrid and Blake came to my aid.

“ What's the problem? I didn't even tackle him that hard the little squirt shouldn't be playing with the big boys any way.”

Ingrid didn't miss a beat. She charged right at him and launched herself right into him, repaying the deed in full. The guy took a tackle even worse than I did, balling up to hold his ribss and even broke down crying.

“ Sorry small-fry, you shouldn't be playing with big girls anyway.” She mocked. Most guys would feel humiliated to have someone else, let alone a girl intervene on his behalf and granted it was demeaning to an extent, but it was moments like those that I think back to. The innate confidence she exuded , the physical prowess she displayed in action. I wonder if that had anything to do with that macrophilia thing, I'm tempted to look it up, but I think I've appealed to my curiosity enough for one day.

The polarization in the mood was evident among the quartet. Though she spent the majority of her day making sure the house was immaculate before finally taking a seat to rest she found herself constantly unable to resist the urge to get up for some menial reason such as going to the bathroom to fix her hair or checking on the food in the kitchen for the umpteenth time.

Marcelle and Ingrid were both seated in the dining room, Tanner nearby on the actual tabletop near his step-sister. Marcelle at the moment appeared the most apathetic, more than content to fiddle around on her phone her digits tapping away with the extreme precision expected of a girl from this generation. Ingrid meanwhile had the side of her face resting in her palm as she drearily twirled the strands of her hair while her foot tapped relentlessly underneath the table. Tanner kept himself occupied by taking deep breaths and trying to give off a semblance of being collected,. If he were acting as skittish as Ivory right now he'd bring the whole mood down. After another needless inspection of the kitchen Ivory entered the dining room.

“ So do you have a strategy for how you're going to introduce Tanner?” Marcelle asked, momentarily turning her attention away from her phone.

Ivory cocked her head a bit and lightly scratched her chin. “ I gave it some thought. I'd rather not be needlessly dramatic about it. I'll beat around the bush a bit before I lay it on him.”

“ What if he doesn't like him or get freaked out?”

Ivory bit the corner of her lip with uncertainty. It's a distinct and highly probable possibility. That comment also made Tanner stiffen up imagining a scene where the guy totally loses it and calls him a freak or something to that effect.

“ It'll be fine, whatever happens happens.” Ingrid interjected, lightly rubbing Tanner's back with the edge of her finger. She also stared a couple of daggers at Marcelle, being too aware of the mind games she was trying to implement.

Tanner relaxed, appreciating the encouragement of his sister. “ Yeah, we'll wing it. Everything will work out.” He reiterated.

“ You're right, there's no point being a worry-wart about it.” Ivory sighed, realizing it wasn't helping anyone by being so tense about it. For the first time in the last hour she looked as if she was going to take a seat and the moment she did knocking was heard from the front door. All her nerves and then some came rushing back, she briefly forgot everything she had mentally coordinated up to this point.

“ Alright, Marcelle get the door.” Ivory ordered. Ingrid was too excitable and has been chomping at the bit to meet him. She didn't need her daughter scaring him as soon as he walked in the door.

While Marcelle left without a word, Ivory crouched down to Tanner. “ Are you ready sweetheart?”

“ I'm the one who should be asking that, you seem more nervous than me.” He thought. “ As ready as I'll ever be.”

Upon opening the door Marcelle made sure to take a step back to ensure she'd get a full body view. The man was dressed well enough for the occasion, in black dress slacks and a polo shirt capturing the best of both worlds in terms of looking formal yet casual. Her eyes went north noticing that he was quite a lithe and lanky individual standing at about 5'11.

“ Er, hello . . . .miss.” He began. Contrary to his thin build he possessed a deeper voice than expected.

“ You sound like you were expecting someone different.”

“ Well . .” He began to scratch his head. “ You don't look like Ivory . . and nothing like how she described Ingrid for that matter.” He chuckled a bit.

“ What a dork.” She thought. “ Whatever, I'm her niece Marcelle and I'm staying for the time being.” With a curl of her finger she invited the man inside. When they entered the dining room Ivory had already placed her little surprise into her clasped hands. Tanner wasn't a fan of being held this way given that he had to curl his body to fit snugly, which wasn't easy on the spine. Then add in the increasing perspiration in the confines of her palms made for a hot and humid carry.

“ Aha, the woman of the hour.” He came forward looking like he was going for a hug but Ivory took a few steps back. At the sight of her reservations he stopped in his tracks.

“ Hey.” Ivory greeted. A few paces behind her he noticed the figure who matched all descriptions of her daughter. Unlike Marcelle, she wasn't anywhere near as subtle in staring him down to the letter.

“ And you must be Ingrid.”

“ Hey Richard.” She said, her voice coming off aggressively enough to make Richard think he may have done something wrong already.

“ Heheh. You can call me Rick.” He awkwardly laughed, he wasn't keen on making eye contact with Ingrid while she was burning his image into her mental facilities and brought his attention  back to Ivory. “ What's wrong, I made it on time.” He joked trying (and failing) to lighten the air.

“ It's about my son Tanner . .” She began.

“ Here we go.” Tanner thought, his heart rate starting to surge.

“ Oh yeah.” He remembered. “ You mentioned you had a son, is he home?”

“ He's fine . . it's only.” Ivory was struggling to keep her hands level and Tanner was hoping she'd get one with it, he felt every last tremble of her hands.“ It's only . . he's not like most people and it's not something I can easily put into words without sounding insane so . . .I'm just going to show you.”

Rick felt a little bad for assuming the absolute worst, perhaps he was crippled, mentally disabled, something along those lines. One thing was certain nothing would possibly have prepared him for the sight he was about to see. Without further ado Ivory slowly unclasped her hands in front of Rick's eyes.

The night and day contrast of his face could have only been done justice with a before and after photograph. His jaw hung loose, his brain trying to find some sort of rationale behind the sight before his very eyes. A tiny man . . no tricks, no ifs ands or buts about it. A living, breathing, tiny guy that was looking right at him. 99.9% of the vocabulary he has amassed over the span of his life that he could form into an adequate sentence to convey his astonishment left him leaving only one word. “ . .Wow.”

All things considered Ivory considered his reaction to be better than some of the worse case scenarios she anticipated. “ Have a seat dear.” She instructed. Rick gladly obliged, taking careful steps feeling a bit woozy as he tried to make sense of what he thought was the impossible.

“ I know it's a hard thing to believe, but I thought if I showed you straight up there wouldn't be any denying it. The brass tacks of it is that Tanner was born with a genetic disorder that's caused him to shrink and so . . .here he is, all 3 ½ inches of him.”

That at least gave a general overview of how he's seeing a phenomena that he thought only occurred in works of fiction, but ultimately it answered only one out of the dozens of questions he had. Still, the situation was already strange enough so he may as well roll with the punches. “ I see. . . Well um, who cares right? Regular sized or not, he can still be a friend of mine.” He forced a laugh trying to make the unnatural as natural as possible. “ Hey man, how's it going?” It was painfully evident he didn't know how to approach him. He initially extended his hand out to the boy and wanted to hit himself for his poor consideration. Revising, he retracted all but his pinky to offer a handshake.

“ You know, just living.” Tanner replied. He gingerly met Rick's digit with his whole hand which hardly was able to grasp the whole circumference of his finger. Shaking his lone digit, made him appreciate the extent the girls went in moisturizing their hands. Though not unpleasant, there was a roughness that he was unaccustomed to.

Ivory's posture relaxed considerably now that the hardest part was over and now they can move on. “I bet we're all starving, lets go to the kitchen and fix our plates.” She figured she couldn't go wrong with a roasted chicken, macaroni and cheese, and peas given she didn't fully know Marcelle or Rick's eating preferences.

Everyone save for Tanner, who Ivory already prepared his plate beforehand lined up in the kitchen. The whole time Ingrid was ready to go, having every last question of her inquisition lined up. As soon as everyone sat down to prepare to dig in she got right into it.“ So Rick, what drew you to Ivory?”

Unlike the revelation of her miniature step-son Rick was somewhat prepared for this much. Ivory warned him beforehand that she may grill him, still the bluntness and lack of any sugarcoating caught him off guard. “ Wll we're both in similar points in our lives. Kinda want to settle down and find someone, so . . .I figured why not give it a shot?” He smiled, placing his hand over Ivory's delicately.

“ Uhuh.” Ingrid said not impressed in the slightest by the show of sappy affection. “ You're a film director huh?”

“ Yeah, something like that.”

“ What's that supposed to mean?” Marcelle asked. She was widely uninterested at the whole date and Rick as a person and was back to fumbling on her phone from underneath the table until she heard something that caught her interest.

Rick lightly tapped his fork on the plate. “ Lots of underground stuff you can say, the type of stuff that usually gets sent straight to DVD.”

“ You work on anything that made it onto the big screen?” Ingrid asked.

Rick laughed humbly. “ Heh heh, I wish. Nothing you guys ever heard of.”

The group casually chatted away sustained in large part by the small talk of Ivory and Rick, the occasional input from Ingrid who fired questions at him to look for justification to dislike him, and rarely a one to two word comment from Marcelle. The only one who was at total silence was Tanner who was widely relegated to the sidelines. The closest he came to being interactive in the conversation was the occasional gaze of Rick, it was as if he wanted him to jump in from the fray. Tanner thought that maybe it was his curiosity that was making him stare more than anything, he was a novelty to him after all. Ultimately, Tanner wondered if this was how normal families interacted with each other. With all the normal sized people taking charge of the discussion there wasn't anything relevant or productive for him to contribute so why wouldn't he remain silent?

After half an hour of Rick exhausting all of his go to topics and lame jokes, Ivory concluded he was running on fumes and decided things went about as well as they could it was time to pull the plug on it before he embarrassed himself. “ It's been a long day, I don't want to hold you up too long so you can go home and get some rest. I hope you enjoyed everything.”

“ Oh yes, everything and everyone was exquisite.” He said in his best cringe worthy impression of a french accent. “ Accompany me outside?”

“ Are you two going to make-out?” Ingrid asked, recognizing the obvious implications of his question.

“ Ingrid mind getting the dishes?” An irritated Ivory asked to keep her daughter from further spoiling the moment.

The couple and a disgruntled Ingrid who was regretting her tongue got up from the table leaving Tanner in the unenviable position of being alone with Marcelle. As luck would have it, she locked eyes on him once she was certain no one was being attentive to the dining room.

“ You must be feeling pretty nervous now.”

He knew better than to entertain her, but the way she spoke always made it sound like she knew something that he didn't. Despite her usually using her words to weed her way into his psyche, all too often there were nuggets of truth in what she says. Fuck it, Tanner bit. “ Why would I be? Everything went fine.”

“ Exactly, that was the worst outcome for you. She's going to go out with him more now.” Marcelle stood up with her plate in hand walking closer to Tanner. “ Then who knows, maybe someday they may get married.” She stopped in front of him. “ By then Ingrid will be away living on campus.” Marcelle descended down and lowered her voice down to a whisper, leaning next to his ear. “ Then you'll just be . . . forgotten.” Marcelle paused giving Tanner moment to let that sink in. “ Just something to think about.” Marcelle smiled sweetly and went off to the kitchen.

Tanner wanted to chalk up her comments to being a mean-hearted bitch as she usually is towards him. But again there was a layer of truth to her comments after he was largely an afterthought during dinner. If she was going to see more of Rick, which given how things went tonight seemed inevitable that may become a feeling he'd experience more often.

After five or so minutes Ivory was practically soaring through the door feeling like she was 10 feet tall as she went back to the dining room. While Ingrid and Marcelle were occupied in the kitchen she took the opportunity to bring Tanner upstairs to speak in private. She was so elated she breezed through the stairs faster than she ever would under normal circumstances leaving Tanner a little disorientated.

'' Thank you so much Tanner.” She gleefully said, dotting his face with in her mind were several small kisses, but to Tanner was a full frontal assault on his face leaving him having to wipe his face of the remnants of lip gloss on his face.

Ivory cleared her throat following a half hearted chuckle at her actions just now.“ Sorry about that. Things just went better than I could have imagined.”

Tanner did love seeing Ivory so happy and would hate to bring down her high with his concerns. Plus in fairness most of them were mainly byproducts of the mental warfare waged by Marcelle. “ That's okay, I'm just sorry I didn't have anything much to say during dinner.”

“ Oh don't let it bother you dear, you were only nervous is all. You two need to get used to each other is all.” Ivory said, still on cloud nine starting to hum to herself as she stood inches away from her vanity mirror to let her hair free and remove her jewelry. Much like Marcelle insinuated with the success of this date there will be more of Rick to be seen in the future and it wouldn't surprise him if she already had something in mind.

“ Hey, Ivory . .” Tanner said after having a tough time summoning up the courage to disrupt her while she was in such a good mood.

“ Yeees?” She chirped.

“ I know it may sound a little silly. I guess with you having Rick and . .Ingrid about to do her own thing. .” Tanner paused, feeling rather uncomfortable talking about such an issue. “ I've been thinking . .”

“ Oh sweetie.” Ivory stopped and turned back to Tanner. “ Don't fret, there's nothing for you to be concerned about. No matter who comes enters my life.”

“ Thanks, but not only that-”

“ You'll always be my precious little Tanner.” She smiled, brushing against his stomach with the tip of her nail, knowing of his ticklish tendencies.

“ I-Ivory, stop I'm being serious-.” He said trying to hold in his laughter. Of course it was hard to be taken serious on any capacity while he was cackling like a child and unable to keep a straight face.

“ Like I said Tanner, you don't have to worry about a thing.” She reiterated, ceasing her tickling attack of his midsection.

“ Alright . .I won't fret.” Tanner said dropping the subject albeit reluctantly. He was pretty certain she had his best interest at heart though he couldn't help but feel she heard him but wasn't quite listening.

The following Saturday morning was a mixed bag of sorts for Tanner. Ingrid went out with Blake to the gym and as predicted Ivory last minute went out with Rick for an early morning coffee and brunch, narrowing down the numbers to just himself and his favorite person in the world Marcelle. If Ingrid had known that her mother was going out Tanner was sure she wouldn't have been keen on leaving if it meant him being in the lone care of a nightmare in a teenagers body.

Like a predator on the hunt he knew she was lying in wait for her moment to strike. A moment that she thought was going to be as soon as Ivory left however for once lady luck was shining her fortune on Tanner. Right as Marcelle was on the prowl believing that the time was ripe and herself to be in the clear a knock on the door stopped her in her tracks. As a bonus it wasn't some stranger at the door, but one of Tanner's doctors Julie Hoffman.

Tanner was ecstatic that she arrived not only for inadvertently putting a monkey wrench in Marcelle's plot of the day, but he could genuinely say she was one of the people he felt most comfortable around.

When he first met her when he was five she introduced herself as a doctor in charge of his mental well being or some euphemism like that. Being wiser now Tanner knew that she was assigned a mish mash role between being a social worker to check in on him every now and again, and more importantly act as a counselor. Julie was one of the few constants in his life and has been there nearly every step of the way in his ever shrinking life from a smaller than average child, to an abnormally small adolescent, to whatever you'd classify a 3 ½ inch young adult.

Unlike the dozens of people he's seen come and go from his life, as Julie's seen him shrink before her very eyes, he's seen her mature from the woman in her late 30's when he first met her to a lady on the brink of her elder years. Her hair no longer sporting the rich shade of black it once did in her glory years as it gave way to the gray hairs that were making its presence known.

With her present, Marcelle opted for a tactical retreat while Julie took Tanner into the dining room to chat. Julie donned on her black rimmed glasses another recent addition courtesy of the years reading studies and documents taking it's toll on her eyesight, and turned her notebook to a blank page.

“ So the gals are on some Saturday festivities I take it?” Julie inferred based on neither one of them being the one to answer the door.

“ Nope, I murdered them both so I could inherit the house.”

“ You do realize you'll have to buy my silence now?” Julie responded flatly.

“ Hn, do you accept warm smiles and hugs?” Tanner asked forming an exaggerated grin and spreading his arms wide.

“ Only if it can be directly exchanged for legal currency.” She answered, her tone of voice unwavering. To many her monotone voice can be off putting, but Tanner found her deadpan snark to be humorous and oddly charming.

“ Anyway, moving onto to business how has the family been treating you since shrinking below 1 foot?” She clicked the top button to ready her ballpoint pen.

Tanner looked over to the ground as he gave it sufficient thought. “ It's a two sided coin. I appreciate everything Ivory and Ingrid do to try and accommodate me.” He began.

“ But?” Julie asked wondering the caveat.

“ But it's. . mind boggling to me. I would've laughed in my own face a few years ago if I told myself I'd get this small. It's almost surreal how this house went from being just a house to now it's like a whole world to me. Not to mention watching normal size people look . . superhuman from my perspective. Even with Ivory and Ingrid behaving as gentle as possible it's hard to shake it from my mind if they forgot how powerful they were for any fraction of time well . .” Tanner stopped there since the outcome to that scenario was obvious enough to go unsaid.

Julie jotted down some notes. “ In fairness, it's probably not easy on them either.”

“ You think so?”

“ Why of course. I doubt it's effortless on there part to handle you and having to be cognizant of every last move they make. It's a scary thing to have another life in your hands.” She explained. Outside of Marcelle, Julie had her ways of making him feel naive and looking at things from another perspective. Key difference the latter had his best interest in mind while the other simply delighted in tormenting him.

“ So latest word is your step-mom began dating, any news on that?”

“ Yeesh, don't get me started. I met the guy yesterday.”

“ Really?” Julie said, her voice barely rising a decibel above her usual flat tone, but enough to constitute that she wasn't expecting that. “ Dare I ask how it went?”

Unlike before where he had to contemplate his response, he was at a lack of words to give a decent overview. “ It was alright I guess. He reacted as you'd expect him to react to the sight of me.”

“ A heart attack?” She quipped, drawing a laugh out of Tanner.

“No, but he was kind've nervous and awkward. It's hard to tell how much of his behavior was because of me or him meeting the family for the first time.”

“ Strange, but acceptable given the circumstances I suppose. On an unrelated note . . I didn't recognize her at first. But I see Marcelle is here.”

Tanner jumped a little at her mention. Though she wasn't as privy to everything that happened as Ingrid and himself, she knew that they had some issues, but as far as she knows it was mainly bullying. “ Yeah, she'll be staying here for a while.”

“ She's been behaving herself I hope?” Though her tone largely unchanged he knew what it meant if he told her that she was no better if not worse now. For the most part everything they talked about was strictly confidential. The only time where she'd act without his consent would be in situations where his well being was in imminent danger. He wasn't doubtful that she was capable of getting Marcelle out his hair, in fact it'd be a day worth celebrating. But with the proponent of her foot weighing above his body the risk wasn't worth it. The time it'd take Julie to cover basis to get something of a restraining order on her would be ample time for Marcelle to retaliate.

“ I think she's mellowed out over the years, she's been pretty pleasant.” Tanner responded in a lie so bold he was afraid a supernatural force was going to strike him down at once for saying it aloud.

Julie gave Tanner a skeptical glance before resuming her writing, he didn't expect her to buy it but without clear evidence suggesting otherwise or him saying so directly she couldn't pursue the matter further.

“ All in all, I guess you still seem sane.” Julie dryly stated.

“ Is there anything you want to mention that we haven't discussed?”

Tanner hesitated to whether he wanted to spill his guts out after all things last night didn't go too well with Ivory, but Julie was different and capable of seeing things more objectively.

“ Sometimes I just wonder if this is all there is too my life you know? Lets not sugar coat it, what does the future have in store for me now? I'm far beyond the point where I can do anything that normal people can. . .I wonder if they can grasp that.”

Julie clicked the button on top of the pen a couple of times as she thought. Though her face remained stoic a crack of sympathy showed in her smokey brown eyes at this issue she wasn't prepared to address.“ . . Sorry, I wish I could tell you I had a straight answer, but we're doing as much learning and adapting on the fly as you are in regards on how to handle this. Have you talked to either one of them about this?”

“ Funny enough after the dinner with Ivory's boyfriend I tried mentioning it to her. She was too ecstatic afterwards and I could hardly get a word out.”

“ Maybe pick a time where she'll be more receptive. In addition maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to get some fresh air to invigorate you.”

The concept seemed laughable to Tanner. “ Fresh air!? Please tell me that's your sarcasm again.”

Julie though was 100% serious this time. “ I'm not joking, it'll do you some good and stimulate your mind from the monotony. Obviously you'll need supervision from your mom or sister.”

“ That's well and good, except I'd believe it was possible for me to sprout wings and fly before Ivory approved of that. Heck, I'd need the best advertiser in the world to help me think of a pitch to get her to even consider it.”

“ Then I'd get to work on recruiting advertisers if I were you.” Julie responding reverting back to her trademark dry wit.

Again Tanner couldn't help laughing at her response. “ Alright, I'll give it a shot.”

“ Atta boy. That completes the session. I'll check back in a week again to see if you made any headway.” Julie collected her belongings into her bag and once she was sufficient distance away from Tanner she announced upstairs to Marcelle that she was leaving. He found it comical how when it came to anything else she could be borderline lethargic, except when he was mentioned she was there with time to spare.

“ Leaving so soon?” Marcelle frowned, pretending she was actually disappointed to see her leave.

Julie only stared at Marcelle before dismissing her words without a direct response. “ Anyways, bye Tanner.” She said upon her exit.

“ Tch, good riddens bitch.” Marcelle spat. Her charm worked on most adults she knew, Julie though had always been too savvy to fall for her niceties. She marched with irritation seeping out of each step of her movement to the dining room, at the sight of Tanner at his lonesome once more her disposition calmed.

“ Soooo.” She drew out her word as she came closer. As he's come to expect his giant step cousin made a point in placing her hands on the edge of the table and leaning in to emphasize her size. “ Have a nice discussion with Julie?” She asked. To a person unfamiliar to her ways that would've came off as a simple question, to Tanner who was accustomed to her nature knew it was never that easy.

“ It was okay..”

Marcelle nodded along. “ What did you two talk about?”

“ Nothing in particular..”

“ Don't be silly you must've talked about some very particular things.” Marcelle was being as indirect as possible doing everything under the sun to implicate what she wanted outside of writing TELL ME on her forehead.

Things were bound to get worse if Tanner continued to play ignorant so he figured if he told her a bit here and there she'd be satisfied. “ She figures some time outside the house would be good for me.”

“ Outside?” Marcelle repeated, barely able to believe he said those words and as the thought marinated in her brain she started snickering uncontrollably to herself. “ Doesn't Ivory keep you on house arrest or something?!”

Tanner huffed not needing confirmation of what he already knew. “ Yeah, I'm going to have to convince her somehow.”

“ Right, right, good luck with that. She's too afraid something will happen to her precious little boy out in the big bad world.” Marcelle mocked Tanner leaning in closer to his face. “ Anyway, did I come up in your conversation at all?” Her voice shifted right back into seriousness. There it was, the ulterior motive. Prime objective? Making sure her name was squeaky clean.

“ . . .Briefly.”

“ Oh?” Marcelle loomed in closer, with each extra centimeter Tanner felt the hot exhalations of carbon-dioxide from her nostrils blow into his face. “ I hope nothing you said portrayed me in a bad light.”

With each word spoken a gust of her minty breath hit his body making it feel like it was being frozen in place as if he lost sovereignty over himself and couldn't perform any action without her permission. The natural task of breathing escaped from him as well and he found himself subconsciously holding his breath as if Marcelle commanded the very air in the room.

“ Well what did you say-” Marcelle began, however lady luck intervened on behalf of Tanner once more, this time in the form of Ingrid and Blake arriving home.

“ Hey guys, I'm back!” She stated.

Tanner had to stifle a shiver as he saw her grit her teeth in irritation upon being interrupted again. In true manipulator fashion though she collected herself back to her cheery disposition and stood back up in a normal unsuspecting position, much to the relief of Tanner who suddenly remembered he needed to breathe to stay alive. “ Hey Ingrid I'm here!”

Ingrid had to do a double take seeing Tanner with Marcelle with no one else around, the equivalent of leaving a mouse with a cat. “ . . Ivory went out with Rick huh?” She quickly reasoned.

“ Mhm. We were spending a little quality time after Julie left right Tanner?” Marcelle provided the perfect blend of covert and force to demand him to comply without alerting Ingrid.

“ . .Yeah.”

“ That's a relief . . that Julie was here that is.” Ingrid said happy that Marcelle wasn't left unfettered for too long.

Marcelle chuckled her usual sweet laugh and gave her innocent smile. “ Oh don't be that way. And how have you been Blake you're looking healthy.” She asked the mountain of a teen.

Though usually the more jovial of the two the fact that Ingrid wasn't too fond of Marcelle, Blake by extension wasn't going to let her on her good side too easily. “ I've been aight.”

“ So when we're through giving me the cold shoulder, Tanner has something important to say.” Marcelle ever the tactician managed to shift the venom from her and the spotlight onto him.

“ I. .wait, what now?!” An astonished Tanner asked.

“ Tell them what you told me just now.” Marcelle clarified.

“ What's the matter Tanner?” Ingrid asked, her tone far less aggressive than compared to when she was speaking to her cousin.

Tanner held his tongue for a moment trying to workout what Marcelle's angle was. “..Julie thinks it'd be a good idea for me to go out for some sunshine.” He tentatively answered, feeling guilty even uttering the words like it were a blasphemous statement.

“ Um.” Ingrid started, uncertain on how to proceed. While she didn't have the same reservations as Ivory who'd keep Tanner wrapped in bubble wrap at all times if it was viable, bringing him out into the open beyond the house was not an idea she was keen on. “ . .I think we should get Ivory's input on that first.”

“ Pfft.” Marcelle rolled her eyes. “ As if you even need it, you know she'll say no and give you a detailed speech as to why.”

There was no arguing with that point and Ingrid knew it. For as cold as she behaved towards her cousin Marcelle knew she had a soft spot for Tanner, an advantage she was going to press. She got Tanner to say his piece now she was going to play arbiter to move things in the right direction.“ The mall's only 10 minutes away why not take him?”

“ . .What if Ivory gets ho-”

“ We'll be back before she knows it. She's having lunch with Rick, all we have to do is take him out, show him a good time for an hour, come home, and all is peachy.” Marcelle laid out before Ingrid could get out the concern.

“ . . .” Ingrid bit the corner of her lip still hesitant, her eyes drifted up to Blake looking for some sort of visual input from the statuesque teen.

“ If Tanner wants to I guess...” Blake tenuously shrugged her shoulders.

“ Are you up for that Tanner?” Ingrid asked with a small smile. Her smiles were normally highlighted with self-assured confidence, not this one. She was more trying to convince herself it was okay than it was to invoke confidence in him.

“ I think it'll be fun.” He said, returning a smile of his own that rivaled his stepsister's in its lacking of conviction. In the back of his mind he wondered how the hell Marcelle weaved what he thought was an ill-timed coincidence into her scheme. What made matters worse Tanner had the aching suspicion he was several moves behind in this game.

“ Awesome lets go!” Marcelle declared with the most authentic grin of the three.

Barring the anticipation from Ivory's date with Rick this was possibly the most nerve racking experience that Tanner has been confronted with in ages. At the very least he had time to mentally prepare for the date unlike this spur of the moment decision that Marcelle somehow talked them into. Perhaps she won't miss her calling as a door to door saleswoman, she'd surely con several people into buying vacuum cleaners or something.

The commute was short enough that Tanner was able to ride in the cup holders of the front seat while Ingrid drove and Blake rode shotgun. He was more than happy that Marcelle was relegated to the backseat though he had the aching suspicion that she had a grand scheme in this and her laser guided stare was burning into the back of his noggin, not that he had the gall to look back to confirm this theory.

After parking Ingrid scratched her head thinking of the best approach to handle journey inside. “ Since I obviously can't have you out in the open I guess the best place for you is . . .” Ingrid paused unsure of how she wanted to phrase it. “ My pocket I guess.”

“ Hold up, you lost me in the last half of that. Your pocket?” Tanner repeated. He didn't expect to be frolicking around in plain sight, but still it's hard to think of being confined in another persons pocket to be anything besides degrading.

Ingrid groaned, she wasn't thrilled at the idea either but was willing to do what needed to be done. “ Look, I don't have any better options. If I carry you around like usual people will see, you'll be the headline on the news, and Ivory will be out for blood . .my blood to be more specific.”

Tanner was about to make further fuss about it until he remembered what Julie said earlier about things being as awkward for Ingrid as they were for him. If there was a better solution readily available Ingrid without question would have gone with it, he shouldn't give her a hard time when she was trying her best. “ . .You think no one will notice me there?”

“ Not while everyone is minding there own business doing whatever.”

“ Yeah short-stuff, even if it's a passing glance people are probably going to mistake you for an accessory or something anyway.” Blake added, meaning well but Tanner found the input a touch belittling to his humanity.

“ Not helping.” Ingrid responded, preferring to take charge of the persuasive efforts. Despite good intentions Blake didn't always think before speaking.

“ If you're not up for it Ingrid I'll hang onto him.” Marcelle offered.

Ingrid needed a second to ensure she heard that suggestion correctly and not laugh from nonplus. She'd sooner contemplate handing him to a pack of wolves. “ You're kidding right?”

“ I'm serious, besides I've hardly gotten to spend any time with the little guy. You don't mind right Tanner?”

“ Fucking bitch.” Tanner quietly swore. Marcelle was using her leverage over him for all it was worth and at every turn where Ingrid became cautious of her behavior she'd use him to placate her. The worst part was that it was working. “ . .I don't see why not.”

Ingrid had a gut feeling there was something more to Tanner's compliance than meets the eye, but now was not the time or place to call her out on it. She was going to be nearby anyway and they were in a public spot so at least it'd be hard for Marcelle to pull any funny business. “ Knock yourself out.”

Marcelle wasted no time leaning forward to snatch Tanner into her hand (without warning per usual). She looked as happy as a kid getting candy from the grocery store.

“ Anyways, sorry if we can't talk to you very much while we're inside.” Ingrid apologized ahead of time.

“ Just enjoy the view while the big girls play.” Marcelle said, still smiling as she slid the small boy into the confines of her pocket. Tanner felt somewhat like a cocoon waiting for metamorphosis. His body was almost completely pinned between the denim of his cousins jeans, the most movement he could muster in the pouch was descending further.

Instinctively as soon as they exited the vehicle into the open Tanner receded further into his cousin's pocket leaving his neck up exposed. He tried to ignore the disgusting irony that he was essentially relying on her of all people for protection. The parking lot from his eyes looked like a gray abyss that expanded for eternity to come. With each sight of someone also departing from there vehicle and heading into the mall he tucked his head hoping to look as inconspicuous as possible. Granted Ingrid's words were proving correct as they went along there own business; the only thing keeping him on edge was the impending paranoia that at any time someone who looked hard enough or watched at the right time would notice he wasn't merely some inanimate object.

The entrance the trio took led them directly into the food court. The sensory overload for Tanner was on the brink of making his head spin. That was always one of the more bizarre aspects he came to realize as he shrunk, the way it transformed the mundane into wondrous spectacles of fantasy. He compared the house to being a whole world to him, well right now he thought he was in a new galaxy.

Everything was so overwhelming he didn't know where to start looking. One of the most striking things was the loudness he hasn't had to deal with in so long. Becoming accustomed to being in or hearing conversations involving only a handful of participants it was strange to be reintroduced to hearing the voices of multiple people conglomerating into a collective noise. Speaking of which, holy crap the people; there were so many of them in varying sizes, shapes, etc. None of this should be as shell-shocking as it was, but Tanner at this moment likened himself to a zoologist watching an ecosystem of enormous beasts in there natural environment, conversation, eating, or in simple terms being regular people.

“ Blake what are you doing here?” Asked a voice that sounded dreary enough that if you relied on it alone you'd mistake the area for a funeral home. A voice that Tanner could specifically distinguish as belonging to Blake's 14 year old sister Abigail.

“ I think I should be asking that question, I didn't think malls were your scene.” Blake answered, making clear reference to the young teen's Gothic influenced manner of dress, devoid of any color that wasn't black. The only contrast to be seen was the sections of white in her converse shoes and white studded belt. Coupled with her loner disposition, a lively and crowded mall seemed like one of the last places the she'd be seen.

“ There was a game that came out today that I just came by to pick up.” She answered still not sounding the least bit excited as she held her small bag up slowly as if that took a great deal of effort to complete that feat.

While she was focused on speaking with Blake, Tanner took the chance to ever so subtly retreat into the pocket as much as possible. He had no reason to suspect that she saw him, but his low vantage along with the bangs of her black dyed hair stopping right before her eyes made it difficult for him to tell where exactly her gaze lied.

“ You need to get yourself some outdoor hobbies squirt, I'll be home before evening.” Blake advised, knowing there have been days where her sister could be off in her room for hours on end without so much as a peep being heard from her.

“ Whatever. .” Abigail responded before disregarding her older sister entirely and shifting her shadowy eyes to her companion. “ Hey Ingrid how are you?”

“ I'm fine.” Ingrid answered, keeping it as to the point as possible.

“ How's Tanner?” She asked, it seemed like saying his name was enough to inject her with newfound life.

After hearing his name Tanner was happy he made the tactical decision that he did. It wasn't that he found Abigail bad per say, only weird and slightly unnerving. He hasn't had too many extended interactions with her but being familiar with Blake's family as a whole he could tell she was the black sheep of the family. Everyone else hailed from highly athletic and sporty backgrounds while Abigail was not the least bit qualified for such activities. On a good day her petite form barely cleared the 5'0 mark and was ill-equipped for any kind of physical exertion. If he were a betting man Tanner would put his money on that being the main catalyst for her gloomy nature.

“ Same old, same old.” Ingrid answered, purposefully not going into much detail.

“ Tell him I said hi.” She answered before circling her way around the girls to depart, her frame seeming to get lost in an instant among the rest of the people who were hanging around.

“ Cute kid.” Marcelle quipped.

“ Still in her goth phase huh?” Ingrid asked.

“ She'll grow out of it I guess.” Blake shrugged.

“ So anywhere you gals want to hit up?” Ingrid asked getting the group back on track to there original intentions.

Blake looked more than satisfied with where she was already and was checking out every guy who appeared single for a potential prospect. “ We can stick here, there's got to be a cute guy around here somewhere.”

Ingrid wondered why she bothered. “ Yeah, cause' Tanner really wants to sit around and watch you try and pick up guys.”

“ What you really need is something sexy to wear.” Marcelle butted in with her two cents.

The notion captured Blake's attention as she twirled a stand of her dark brown hair. “ . .You think so?”

“ Think so? I know so.” Marcelle corrected. She gave Blake a good visual assessment.“ You've already got the legs going for you, if you just wore something that showed a little upstairs then you'll have the guys at your finger tips in a heartbeat.”

Blake was a bit taken back from the advice placing her hand on her chest. She wasn't the most endowed women on the planet but her b-cup bra size meant she had something to work with. Though she didn't deem herself a conservative gal wearing clothes that left little to the imagination wasn't ever her style.

“ Great strategy if you want to attract every douche bag in the gene pool.” Ingrid snorted, stepping in between the two, ill-content to standby and listen.

“ Is that so?” Marcelle matter of factly said. “ Then what advice do you have for your statuesque friend? Don't tell me it's that 'be yourself' nonsense.” She ended her sentence in an obvious mocking tone.

Ingrid's brow furrowed, truthfully her cousin took the words right out of her mouth but she wasn't going to give her the pleasure of punking her out. “ As a matter of fact yeah. It's better than dressing like a bimbo!”

The outburst of Ingrid's voice attracted the gazes from the people passing and people eating nearby. Tanner only able to listen to what was going on right now wished he could bonk Ingrid on the head and tell her to keep her cool. Even if he couldn't see what was going on he was sure she was attracting unneeded attention. Surprisingly it wasn't Marcelle though who responded to that comment, but Blake herself. “ And what's that supposed to imply? That I'd be a bimbo if I took her advice?” She asked stepping forward to her friend taking it as an indirect insult.

Ingrid bit her tongue, her words had the total opposite effect than intended. “ You know I didn't mean it like that but. .”

“ But nothing, funny of you to talk down to me when you've never had a boyfriend!” By this point they've all but succeeded in making an entire scene with everyone nearby stopping what they were doing to checkout the argument.

Never one to back down from a challenge Ingrid fired back. “ I hope you can commit to a man better than you can commit to a sport!” Ingrid's barb succeeded in drawing some gasps and ooo's from the on lookers, practically instigating for the two to continue. Thankfully one of the mall cops that were in the area stopped by to check things out before things escalated further.

“ Is there a problem here?” He asked unenthused that he was forced to perform some actual work during his shift.

Ingrid and Blake both shared a fast glance before shaking there heads to him. “ No everything is alright.” They both answered. Knowing each other for so long they've had numerous spats and generally were able to drop a subject before things became too heated.

“ Fine then, carry along everybody nothing to see here.” He announced, encouraging for everyone to get back to there regular lives.

' Sorry, I guess I got a little sensitive there.” Blake apologized.

“ Me too, I just didn't want Marcelle doling out bad advice . . .” As soon as she said her name Ingrid looked to her back and sides noticing something was off. More accurately, someone was gone. “ Where is Marcelle anyway?”

Blake also took a quick look around. “ Um, not sure. I thought she was close by but I don't know what happened to her in the middle of all that.

“ Shit . .” Ingrid swore. It was no plain coincidence that Marcelle decided to split while they both were distracted. It wasn't only the fact that she left, it's that she left with Tanner.

Tanner didn't have the foggiest idea what was going on. He heard Blake and Ingrid getting into it one moment then in the next there voices sounded like they were getting further away as he felt himself in motion.

“ Shit, shit, shit.” He thought. Marcelle was on the move and she quite literally had him in her pocket and a sitting duck for what she had in store next. The best thing he could hope for was that the girls would stop fighting long enough to realize they were gone. Her pace was faster than a normal walk aiming to cover as much distance as possible, but slow enough to stay under the radar.

After a few moments her pace slowed down to a regular walk and Tanner noticed the difference in noise-level. It was comparatively much more tame than the rest of the mall and there was a song playing from some rock band in the background. He heard chatter from other people, but was unable to make out what they were saying, he was positive that Marcelle had entered a store though. She leisurely walked around and Tanner heard some creaking and other noises that weren't descriptive enough for him to distinguish where he was.

“ Hey I'd like to try some things on.” He heard her say. That helped narrow down what she was doing, the only place where she'd have a need to do that was in a clothing store. She followed the employee that had a key in hand to the back and unlocked a door. Once she was inside Tanner heard the door close and the click of the locking mechanism. At last Marcelle fished Tanner out of her pocket and sat him on the bench at the back wall. Seeing that they were in an enclosed space and the garments laid out near him gave him enough evidence to confirm where he was.

“ Tch, clever.” He begrudgingly thought. If he were looking for himself a fitting room wouldn't be a place he'd think to look, plus it's not like anyone besides staff could come and barge in. He was going to have to tough it out.

“ Anything you'd like to see me try on?” Marcelle offered with her typical sweetness that masked her devious nature.

Tanner rolled his eyes. “ Why don't you cut the crap already?”

“ Hm? Whatever do you mean?” Her voice was heavy with mocking politeness that fueled Tanner's irritation.

“ I mean what do you freaking want? Don't tell me you keep screwing with me for the sake of it.”

Marcelle repressed a snort, she didn't think he'd be so ballsy today given how submissive he's been so far. “ You wouldn't be objecting if it were Ingrid giving that proposition right now.”

“ She has nothing to do with it, answer the question..” God he hated how frequently she used that card against him.

“ Doesn't she have everything to do with it though?” Seeing Tanner's perplexed face she expanded on her statement. “ She's the only real line of protection you have. . .From me anyway.” She clarified. “ Without her you're helpless.”

“ So what? If you do anything to me you'll have hell to pay from her.” He retorted, no matter how much power she had over him and being able to put the charm on for Ivory she still had to fear consequence from Ingrid if she got too out of line.

“ Maybe, but who's gonna take the brunt of the blame if Ivory finds out that harm fell upon you?” Marcelle countered. Like always she had her moves thought out and coordinated. Even if Ingrid was his best asset she was also a weakness he'd feel way too horrible if he made her life harder than it had to be.

Now that she had him on defense and docile she continued.“ I swear that always works, you lose your moxie the minute I bring her up. All I want is your honesty. How about you admit it, you like her don't you?”

That again? She wasn't going through all this trouble for a confession about his feelings towards Ingrid was she? If it placates her and buys him some time so be it. “ . . Alright I do, are you happy now?”

“ I knew it.” Marcelle said with vindication now having heard from the horse's mouth what she was already 99.9% sure of.“ Isn't it a lot better when you're honest with yourself?”

“ Yeah whatever. .”

“ So while we're being honest with each other . .” Marcelle carelessly threw aside her top. Her breasts bounced a little as it slid past her mammaries. She followed by removing her shorts next, body image concerns clearly didn't exist in her world. “ Do you think I'm pretty?” She rotated her body a full 360 degrees giving Tanner the perfect seat in the house to appreciate the contour and the arcs of every curve in her body. The only clothing keeping her from being nude were her panties and bra. She already had enough ammunition in her clip to keep him in check, now she had something extra with him confirming his attraction to Ingrid.

“ . . .Yes I do.”

Marcelle inched closer. “ What do you like the most?”

Tanner clenched his fist in frustration, was this all to mock him? She already established he wasn't exactly well versed with females because of his condition. He almost envied her ability to talk about these explicit subjects so freely. “ . . . Everything I guess.” He said in a near whisper, his face sporting a hue of red as the conversation went on.

“ What kind of answer is that?” Marcelle laughed. “ C'mon are you a tits or ass man?”

Tanner shrugged his shoulders.

“ Fine. This will help you think, lay flat on your back.”

Nothing was ever simple with her. Gingerly he sat himself down and fell backward staring up into the ceiling light.

“ Good. Now relax and don't think about anything.”

That was easier said than done, whenever he was within close proximity of Marcelle, relaxing and not thinking were the furthest thing from his mind. His heart raced and his brain prepped for the worst. Laying like this did help since he didn't have to stare at her towering body nearby and Marcelle stayed totally silent almost giving him the impression she wasn't in the room. The problem was that she was definitely in the room and he got a full reminder of that when the light he store up at became obstructed by her backside, more specifically her gigantic bare ass that may as well have been the moon causing an eclipse. He'd rather remained in blissful ignorance to what was coming than sit up to see her immense glutes descending like an impending meteor; he yelped in surprise before it smothered his body and force flattened him back to the bench.

His limbs were widespread allowing zero possibility of resistance. The best movement he could afford prior to the total descent was turning his head to the side, that enabled him oxygen albeit in shallow increments. At least Marcelle had the courtesy to keep her hands steady at the edge of the bench to control her weight from crushing him.

He started off underneath her soft left cheek. Even while remaining in control of her weight he felt the flesh forming an imprint of his body, slowly she shifted her ass determined to give him the full experience of her buttocks with him soon ending up dead center near the crack in the most unenviable spot he could imagine. One short inhale was all needed to distinguish her hole was mere millimeters away, Marcelle was a hygienic girl so it wasn't rancid levels of horrible but an anus was still an anus and it had a natural odor that wasn't easily abandoned and at his size he could recognize it all too well.

In poor timing Tanner attempted to move his head into a better position to withstand the onslaught on his nostrils and as he did Marcelle shifted again leaving the entirety of his face underneath her right cheek. Unlike before breathing was damn near impossible, each time he tried to open his mouth for an inhale he only received mouth full of her butts cushy flesh.

In the closest act he could loosely call mercy she finally stood up and smirked at Tanner with that shit-eating grin he hated so much. “ Did you enjoy that?”

He didn't want to justify that with an answer. What enjoyment was there to possibly be derived from that? If he were on more amicable terms with he'd be willing to ask if this was another of those kinks people were into.

“ I'll let you ponder that for now, I guess it's time for us to go back to Ingrid?” At last an idea he agreed with. Tanner nodded slowly.

“ Be sure later to tell me which you preferred.” Marcelle plucked the befuddled Tanner into her fingers lifting him until he was right under her amused face. It was evident he was not going to be riding shotgun in her pocket.

“ W-wait! Don't do i-” He started to protest, but was simply ignored as she lowered him legs first into the valley of her cleavage. Tanner may as well have been in quicksand trying to aimlessly grab at the pillowy mounds to pull himself out and only succeeded in sinking further up to his waist.

“ Mmm Tanner you trying to feel me up?” Marcelle teased. At that comment he ceased his struggling, realizing he's been practically groping up his step-cousin. She peered down at him savoring his humiliated expression before taking her own breasts into her hands and squeezing them together.

“ Yep, you're definitely a boob man.” She gave her breasts a good shaking making Tanner fall deeper, now only exposed from the neck up. “ Time to get going.” She said before pushing the remainder of body into total obstruction. Tanner attempted to struggle again, but without anywhere to grip and in such a tight space he could only manage to squirm.

“ Hey, easy in there that tickles.” Marcelle giggled, giving her breasts one last shake to keep Tanner subdued. “ Enjoy the ride.”

Ingrid and Blake already circled the whole mall twice over already. If it wouldn't be a waste of time Ingrid would be ramming her head into a wall wondering how she was so careless. The two of them split up heading in opposite directions checking store to store making sure to leave no stone left unchecked. The two reconvened near the customer service desk near the center of the mall, both there efforts proving mutually fruitless.

“ Nothing?” Ingrid asked, hoping for any kind of progress small or otherwise.

“ Nothing..” Blake regrettably answered.

“ Ugh!” Ingrid groaned barely keeping herself from pulling her hair out. “ How did I notice her leaving, shit!” She swore as she paced in circles trying to make some use of all her pent up anger.

“ She's gonna have to come back sooner or later, you still have the keys so it's not like she could've up and left the whole mall.” Blake reasoned.

She had a point and it did calm Ingrid a little, but she hardly felt better since she was no closer to finding him. “ Alright, come on we gotta check again. We've gotta be overlooking somewhere.”

“ Hey, what are you gals looking for?”

The girls were ready to take off again for round three until the voice belonging to the woman of the hour broke there concentration. If Ingrid's head was capable of turning a whole 360 degrees it would've, instead her body turned with aggression as if someone insulted a dead relative.

“ . .Where the fuck did you go!?” Ingrid barked sparing no time in calling out her cousin.

“ Sorry, I got a bit frightened from you and Blake fighting so I decided to walk away.” Her smiling and patronizing tone was burning Ingrid up at rapid speed.

“ Don't fuck with me! What did you do to him!?”

“ I didn't do anything he's safe and sound with me.” Marcelle smiled.

She didn't believe it for a second, Ingrid was fuming and had enough of her shit. She charged straight for her, hand formed into a fist ready to batter her. A timely intervention from Blake was the only thing that kept Ingrid from clobbering her, the tall teen stepped in between them and holding her friend's wrist to keep her from doing anything reckless. The same mall cop who caught the gals fighting earlier happened to be walking around the area again to witness Ingrid getting into it for the second time.

“ You two again?” He huffed, wishing another cop stumbled upon the scene instead of him. “ Am I going to have to escort you two out of the mall?”

Blake promptly took control of the conversation before another emotional outbreak got them into more trouble. “ No, no. We were just leaving now, right gals?”

Marcelle nodded.

Ingrid gave a sharp look to Marcelle who should be happy that thoughts couldn't kill before taking a deep breath. “ Yeah we were.”

The group was in dead silent as they escorted themselves out of the mall. Blake still mindful to stick between the two relatives in case they got into it again. As they entered the car, Marcelle waited for the keen opportunity when the girls in the front seats were buckling there seat belts for the split distraction she needed to reach into her bosoms to reel out her captive. As crazy as it sounded, Tanner in a weird way would've preferred staying hidden than being out to witness and feel the intense atmosphere in the car right now after hearing Ingrid's reaction after Marcelle reappeared.

“ See? Safe and sound.” Marcelle said showing him to Ingrid in the palm of her hand.

The deep scowl Ingrid wore softened a lot upon seeing Tanner in good shape. He offered a small wave to try and lower her suspicions. After the events in the mall she sure as heck wasn't going to leave him in Marcelle's grasp as they rode home and took her brother right out of Marcelle's hands preferring to let Blake hold onto him as they rode home. It was safe to say that the trip to the mall couldn't have gone any worse. Scratch that, it could and did get worse for one simple reason; when they pulled into the driveway Ivory's car was already there.

Tanner's Reminiscence IV : Recluse

So when did my life as a total shut in begin? Somewhere around middle school I suppose. That's when everything started to come full circle. In 6th grade at a new school it became blindingly apparent I wasn't dealing with the same innocent and fun loving kids from elementary school. In there place I was dealing with hormonal teenagers.

Those were some of the worst days of my life bar none. There wasn't a time where I could walk through the hallways without feeling the glances of my classmates and even faculty staring at me.

“ Damn, he's small.”

“ Look how tiny he is.”

Those comments I heard in bulk everyday and they stung yes, but at least they only said it in quiet chatter and I could keep my head down and try to ignore it. But then there's always someone who wasn't as . .covert.

“ Give it back!” I shouted up at a guy who took a textbook out of my hand and held it up above my head.

“ Come on squirt, you're gonna have to reach for it if you want it.” He and the rest of his posse laughed at me as I vainly attempted to jump and get it back. I know a lot of people will say it's important to stand up to the bullies and they'll leave you alone. Here's a fun fact, that doesn't work when the bullies are twice your size. I think it would've been easier on my psyche to just let it go rather than fight battle I know I was going to lose, and lose I did. . . a lot. I had to endure there nonsense daily until they got tired of messing with me and repeat the shenanigans the following day. What's worse he was one of many bullies, being the smallest guy around and hardly knowing anyone makes you quite popular among them.

“ Hey Rachel.” I said up to a familiar face who I was friends with from elementary school. She was too busy grabbing stuff from her locker. I tapped at her side until she noticed me and had to look down to see me. Though obviously nowhere near as small as me last year she used to be a rather short blonde girl. I say 'used to be' because you wouldn't know it after looking at her this school year where she was over two feet taller than me.

“ Oh . .hey Tanner.” She said at a loss for words. She was used to me being shorter than her, never to this extent. Last year she remembered me coming up to her chest, not her navel.

“ Uh. .you sure grew a lot over the summer.” Height should've been one of the last things that someone of my stature would want to talk about, but I wasn't faring much better when it came to conversational topics so I went with the elephant in the room.

“ Yeah you know . .uh, growth spurt and stuff.” She said, still coming to terms at how much smaller I was than her. “ You . . .haven't changed a bit.” She added.

“ I guess so.” I replied with a half-hearted laugh. “ Um, so . . you're on lunch break too right? Want to go to the cafe-”

“ Rachel, you ready to go to the cafeteria with us ?” A girl from across the hall asked there was 3 other girls adjacent to her.

“ Yeah coming!” She responded putting her books in her bag. “ Um . .sorry some other time Tanner.” She said before going off to her friends. I could hardly recognize her from the introverted girl I knew last school year, now integrated perfectly into the school with her own friends to boot. That was the case with a lot of the past faces I stumbled across, all having there own cliques and growing before my eyes while I lagged behind. That hurt worse than any crap I've taken from some bully.

It didn't take long for Ivory to catch wind of how much difficulty I was having at school and insisted I complete the rest of my education at home. After that my gradual withdrawal from the outer world was in motion. Ivory placed more restrictions on my outdoor activities, it started with not going outside beyond the front yard, then evolved to not going out unless she was present watching, to not going out at all unless I was within an arms reach of her, to eventually not going out unless I was holding her hand or more accurately in her hand as it applies today.

As far as she was concerned with every inch lost it was confirmation in her mind that the world beyond her home was a death trap for me and thought that every conceivable thing that could hurt me would hurt me. I know that sounds like a total overreaction on her part, but the thing is... sometimes I think maybe right.

Ingrid's face was resigned knowing she was about to regret every second from the time they departed to the mall and back.

“ Do you want me to go in with you?” Blake offered if for nothing else but moral support.

Ingrid shook her head, her mom's fuse will be short enough as is without Blake testing her patience.“ She won't be in the mood, just go home.”

“ I hope you don't get chewed out too badly, text me when it's all set and done.”

The front door was still open leading Ingrid to think Ivory didn't beat them by long. That added an extra dose of irritation in the back of her mind towards Marcelle. Dealing with her nonsense in taking Tanner was a major factor to them being late.

To no surprise Ivory was sitting on the love-seat awaiting there arrival with her arms crossed and flanked by Rick who warily twiddled with his thumbs knowing something was about to go down. Ingrid made sure to have Tanner in hand and visible as she entered so Ivory could at least know he was in tact.

. “ Hey girls . .and Tanner.” Rick said, continuing his streak of fruitless attempts at levity.

Maybe it was paranoia on Tanner's part, but though Rick's eyes appeared aimed in the general direction of the girls, he was sure they were focused on him specifically.

Ivory leaned over and whispered something in Rick's ear.

“ Oh . .right. Okay.. I'll see you later.” He said, trying to not to sound disappointed. Tanner figured she told him to leave so he wouldn't witness a more unsavory side of her. Rick walked past the girls to the door though he was sure to steal a last glimpse at Tanner before exiting.

“ Hand him over here.” Ivory ordered once she heard the door shut after Rick's exit.

It took a great deal of restraint on her part to wait for Ingrid to cautiously transfer Tanner into her hands and not snatch him away.

A pin drop would be audible in the current atmosphere while Ivory's eyes scanned his body with meticulous precision to make sure he wasn't hurt in any capacity. Though undetected by the other girls, Tanner heard her sigh of relief when she concluded he was unharmed. She upped her hands into a barrier for the teen and held him down at her lap.

Ivory had nothing more to say and sat there waiting, practically inviting her daughter to say something in hopes that by some obscure chance she had a valid explanation. That made things all the more difficult for Ingrid who knew nothing she says would make the situation any better. The only thing to do now was to face it head on.

“ Sorry Auntie Ivory, I thought it'd be a good idea to go out for some fresh air to the mall.” Both Ingrid and Tanner had the desire to check there ears to make sure they didn't mishear Marcelle's sultry voice. Ingrid thought she'd be content to sit back and let her dig her grave, but here she was actually interfering on her behalf? What's the catch?

That didn't appear to phase Ivory in the least and her ire was still honed in on her daughter. “ And you didn't stop her!? I hardly even know where to begin!?” Ivory appeared at a loss for words already, struggling to grasp what possessed her daughter to go along with it. Ingrid to a point could understand where she was coming from, but Christ her mother may as well have heard “ I left Tanner to fend for himself in the wilderness.”

“ I just don't get it, Please tell me you had a lapse of sanity! Did you hit your head on a soccer ball?! Or on a dumbbell!?”

That was far from the end of Ivory's rhetorical tirade on Ingrid. The latter was smart enough to stay quiet and take it until her mother burned herself out, however long that may take. It was tough for Tanner to sit back and watch Ingrid get rundown and tried to tune out his stepmother which was none too easy being softly clutched near her stomach and hearing the force generated from the bellows of her voice reminded him of an erupting volcano. Even if Marcelle was the true instigator here, the underlying point of her speaking out came full circle as Ingrid took the brunt of Ivory's wrath, much like she said at the mall, for that reason Tanner felt the horrible pangs of guilt biting away at him. If he were mentally strong enough to not fall for Marcelle's coercion Ingrid wouldn't be in the mess, not to mention who knows what kind of reprimand Ivory may give her in the aftermath. He can't sit back and watch. .

“ Think about what could have happened! What if someone saw him!”

“ Ivory. .”

“ What if someone took him!”

“ Ivory!”

“ What if you dropped him and someone stepped on him!

“ IVORY! “

The third time Tanner was lucky to shout at the end of one of Ivory's sentences which allowed him to get his giant stepmother's attention. It was borderline amazing and unsettling to him how she instantly reverted back to a gentle motherly tone as she lifted him to her face.

“ Yes, sweetie?”

“ It's fine.”

“ I'm sorry, what?”

“ It's fine it was my idea.”

“ . . . . ” Again Ivory's air changed, before it was from seething to maternal and now maternal to speechless.

“ Go upstairs both of you. We'll talk later Ingrid.” Marcelle turned and left without a word, but Ingrid gave a concerned glance to Tanner before following her cousin.

“ What are you talking about Tanner?”

Tanner knew he was stretching the truth, but doing nothing was the worse of two evils.

“ Julie came by and after talking she said it was a good idea for me to go out for some sunshine, but she wanted to talk it over with you first. But I thought you'd say no for sure so..”

“ So you just go behind my back-!” Ivory was still apoplectic and barely managed to catch herself before her voice rose too loud in volume. People were imposing enough for Tanner without them doing anything, shouting at the tiny child would've been plain cruel.“ So you did it behind my back? Tanner you know that was a very unwise decision.”

“ I know, I know. Ingrid was very careful about it all.” He made sure to include to try and take some of the heat off of her.

“ I'm sure she was.” Ivory said almost begrudgingly like she didn't want to acknowledge the fact. “ You must've been pretty scared though.”

“ Scared of what?”

“ Scared of what!?” Ivory repeated.. “ Who knows what may have happened at the smallest mishaps.”

“ Like getting stuck under someone's ass.” Tanner thought in his head. Ivory wasn't wrong in that regard, but there's no way that Ingrid or anyone for that matter could be cognizant of everything all the time.

“ I guess, but all in all, everything went fine.” Tanner fibbed. He wish the conversation didn't have to occur under these circumstances, it was still a prime opportunity that he couldn't pass up. If he convinced Ivory that the trip to the mall went without incident he stood a fighting chance of her being tad more lenient in the future.

Tanner stopped to wait if Ivory had any retort for that. Instead she had the worst response imaginable, nothing. It was the same ploy she used on Ingrid, luring him into speaking. That's where the comparison ended though, Ingrid had the luxury of standing waiting from a few feet away as Ivory stared daggers into her eyes, it was a different beast altogether to be in the palm of her hand while she peered down at him with a taciturn and undecipherable face.

Tanner was growing more nervous by the moment and was drawing a blank at his next words. The way her immense face loomed over him transformed the setting from him having a conversation with his stepmother to him thinking he was pleading his case to a judge. . “ . .I mean, I was wondering. . With your permission I . or we could . .go out again sometime?”

A low grunt escaped from Ivory's mouth from the laugh she managed to stifle, she still couldn't stop her luscious pink lips from curling into an almost patronizing smile and giving him a quick peck on the top of his head. “ Of course not.”

It was an act that would normally leave him mildly embarrassed but for now he was too was flabbergasted at how easily she shot him down. She didn't look like she considered the idea at all, in fact it seemed she already knew what he was going to ask, he'd even take it a step further and believe she was merely entertaining him.

That seriously can't be the end of it, there must be something he can say to change her mind. “ B-but, I mean, what if you're there to supervise or .um if-”

“ Ssh.” She whispered, rubbing the top his head with her nail. “ You don't have to worry about anything, it's way too dangerous.”

Throw flabbergasted out the window, he couldn't stand being talked to in this manner. Like his input or opinion didn't matter at all, it wasn't only demeaning it was infuriating.

“ Would you listen to me Ivory!” Tanner exclaimed. He needed to clear his throat from straining his vocal capacities for the second time today. It was worth it though, since for the first time Ivory was not only quiet, but also staring at him intently with her full attention and that bit of progress helped him rediscover his conviction.

“ . .I really enjoyed myself today, even if it was for only a little while and I could only watch from Ingrid's pocket. It made me feel-”

“ Normal?” Ivory completed.

“ Yeah.”

“ . . .” Ivory didn't say a word for the next several seconds and the next thing Tanner knew he was slowly being lowered to the ground as his stepmother leaned over. Again he was too perplexed to say anything, if there was one thing that Ivory was rightfully overprotective about it was Tanner being on the floor. Not that it mattered there wasn't a word in his vocabulary that would've accurately conveyed his emotions as he watched his step-mother stand up before him.

It would be insulting to compare it on any level to him being on a table or some other elevated surface where he sometimes mentally fooled himself into thinking he was taller than he was. There was nothing to hide it at this moment while she soared over him like a skyscraper, she was simply gigantic.

It was a difference so staggering it'd be laughable to call them both human beings; if Ivory didn't know any better and took a quick glance she'd easily mistake the boy at her feet for a bug that needed to be squashed.

The images that Tanner looked up yesterday started to flood into his mind and how he certainly wouldn't look out of place in those photos now. Given that they were the closest thing to him, his eyes were locked particularly on her feet and every minuscule motion they made almost disassociating them with the rest of her body. Even her largest toe would be sufficient to subdue him let alone any other part of her anatomy. He knew Ivory would never hurt him, but that didn't stop the intrinsic sense of vulnerability he felt inside from being in such a precarious spot nearby a being so much bigger than him that with one simple motion of her foot could end his existence.

“ Tanner.”

Her voice drew him out of his trance, and though still dismayed he managed to bring his eyes upward (though he had to crane his neck to it's maximum limit) to meet the glare of his gargantuan guardian.

“ You're not normal.”

“ . . . .” How to even take that? Being grinded into dust by her soles wouldn't have hurt as much as those words. Was she trying to prove a point right now?

“ You're much safer here with me. You're small and the world is too big and dangerous for you. Do you understand?”

What could Tanner even say to rebuke that? The answer was nothing. Were her words insensitive and crossing the line? Maybe, but the worst part of it was that she wasn't wrong. Tanner nodded slowly, defeated.

Ivory gave her obedient stepson at her feet a beaming smile. “You had a pretty eventful afternoon, lets get you back to your house so you can take a nap.” She chirped, back to her maternal tone.

Ingrid's Reminiscence I

So why am I not surprised that I'm sitting in my room getting yelled at by Ivory while Marcelle got out unscathed? Because it's a regular day in the office; it's funny how you have those people in your life who don't notice anything you do up until you do something incorrectly.

I guess I was a bit too young and stupid to fully grasp what it meant when Dad died, I only knew it was horrible based on the sobs and cries of Ivory when she got the phone call that he'd been in an accident on the road. Following the funeral she was checked out of reality 90% of the time and was usually boarded up in her room where I'd scarcely see her throughout the day. Ivory's sister was pretty worried so she and her husband almost constantly stayed over with us for the time being. Sadly that meant their child Marcelle had to tag along too.

Even with my Aunt and Uncles combined efforts they made minimal progress, usually bargaining outside of her closed door. Sometimes they managed to get her out her room for more than 10 minutes and on rare occasions even got her to step outside. Between consoling Ivory and tending to their own child I may as well have been a ghost. It didn't matter how many accolades I received academically, how many trophies I received from soccer I was invisible. I get Dad dying was sad and all, but that doesn't mean everything comes to a complete halt, I was still a freaking kid!

“ Oh wow, you actually came home. I keep thinking that you'll run away and find a new family. ” Marcelle quipped as I entered the house after walking from school.

“ . . .Don't take the bait.” I told myself and tried to ignore her as I walk past her, but Marcelle was determined to piss me off at all costs and cut in front of me on my way upstairs.

“ Think about it . .” She said, putting a finger on her chin. I'm the favorite, your Mom is in shambles, and you're well . .the reject.” Marcelle continued in an exaggerated know-it-all tone and grinning it up because she knew she was getting underneath my skin.

“ Shut up, you don't know anything!” Hook, line, and sinker, I took the bait. Sue me, I'm a hot-head and I wasn't going to let her talk crap like that so I charged straight towards her.

“ Awww, did I hurt your feelings reject?” Marcelle laughed, easily keeping me at bay with her outstretched hand on my skull. “ You know, I overheard my parents suggesting to your Mom she adopt another child, if that happens you'll be forgotten for sure.”

“ I said shut up!” I yelled again, only this time I swung my leg and delivered a kick into her shin.

“ Ouch!” Marcelle yelped and letting go of her grasp.

“ Why you little . .” Marcelle snarled, balling up her fist ready to make me pay for my aggression. Today I could beat the brakes off her with a hand behind my back, but 7 year old me was in over her head against a 10 year old Marcelle who had half a foot of height on me.

“ What's going on down here?” Marcelle's mom came downstairs after hearing the commotion. Though that did spare me from getting clobbered, Marcelle wasted no time taking advantage of the situation.

“ I dunno, Ingrid must have anger issues or something, she kicked me for no reason.” Marcelle said showing the red mark on her shin as proof.

“ That's not true y-”

“ Ingrid go upstairs to your room!” Her mom ordered without letting me get a word out.

Yeah even at 10 years old Marcelle was a little bitch, but even I gotta admit she's not a 100% percent liar. And in hindsight Tanner's presence in the household alone is evidence enoug of her mixing in some truth in addition to being y'know . .a little bitch.

---

Not normal, not normal, not normal. Ivory's words kept reverberating in Tanner's mind as he lied in the bed of his house and stared up into the ceiling. There wasn't a snowballs chance in hell he'd be able to catch an evening nap after that. He couldn't recall a time where she so deliberately made a direct reference to his size. When the topic arose she normally referred to it as 'his condition' or a similar euphemism. Today though she didn't apply an ounce of sugar coating, in fact she was going out of her way to prove a point and she proved it to a tee. He couldn't get over how absolutely massive she was and the way she stared down at him he felt so. . .insignificant. Despite him finding his resolve and backbone it was still effortless for her to shut him down, she just had to stand there without budging a muscle to get the message across. Arguing any further would've been akin to a peasant arguing with a king or a mortal arguing against a God. It was a powerful reminder that no matter how well he was treated, all the power still laid in the hands of the giants he lived around. Or more accurately, he was small and all the power resided in the normal people he lived around.

* Tap tap tap *

“ Shit . .” Tanner gasped after having his musings broken, he wondered how deep a thought he had to have been in to not notice someone walking in. To think the day has arrived where he'd actually prefer it be Marcelle over Ivory right now.

“ Tanner c'mon, I know Ivory already brought here.”

Tanner felt immediate relief hearing the voice of Ingrid, the best of all three options.

“ Tanner stepped out to meet his step-sister who was crouched down on a knee. She slowly drummed her fingers on her cheek as she waited for him.

“ Hey sis. .”

“ Don't hey me, what the heck was that all about downstairs?” In usual fashion Ingrid cut right to the chase.

Tanner rubbed the back of his head, not expecting to have to elaborate on the sappy reasons behind his actions. “ Like I could sit back and let you take all the heat for what happened. I had to do something.”

“ Doesn't matter, I knew Ivory would come down on me the hardest if we got caught, I was ready to take it.” Ingrid explained, leaving Tanner baffled to her resignation that the consequences would be hers to burden.

“ Doesn't matter? If you knew that then why'd you still you agreed to take me to the mall?”

Ingrid huffed sensing it was her turn to say something sentimental. “ Don't make me get schmaltzy, it's because I knew it meant a lot to you.”

Tanner turned his head feeling a bittersweet mixture of happiness and a bit of frustration . “ You're always helping me out like that.”

“ So what, it's not a big deal.”

Tanner shook his head at her nonchalant response. “ It is a big deal, you're always considerate of me and helping me. I just wanted to try and help you for a change.”

Ingrid tried to play off his comment with a short chortle, but for all her headstrong bravado she couldn't stop the glowing smile from appearing on her face. Tanner was almost in awe at such a rare sight and wish he had a camera to photograph it. For all his troubles and concerns over the past few days the sight of Ingrid's sincere grin was enough to make him forget all of them momentarily.

“ Don't worry about it so much, that's what big sisters are for.” Ingrid said still smirking, she knew it bothered Tanner when she pulled the older sister card regardless of the narrow gap in age.

“You're only a few months older than me.” Tanner responded as she anticipated.

“ Still, I'm the big sister in more ways than one.” Ingrid winked. Tanner grinned at her comment, he found it far more charming when she made allusion to his stature when compared to Marcelle who is usually attempting to belittle him or Ivory who can be unintentionally be patronizing. Even if she knew he was small, she didn't treat him like he was.

“ You're hilarious, you better watch out I think I still have a few more centimeters to grow I'll catch up before you know it.”

“ I'm shaking.” Ingrid laughed. As she finished her comment she took a quick peek behind her to make sure no one was around to witness her before she leaned in for a quick kiss on his forehead “Thank you for thinking about me Tanner, it means a lot to me.”

“ . .Sure thing.”

“ You look tired, get some rest little bro.” Ingrid flashed one last smile before getting up to depart back to her room.

It took all of Tanner's willpower to keep his face complexion from sporting a red hue and ruining the moment, but with God as his witness he wanted to perform a triple back flip and if he were physically capable of it. Who cares what happened downstairs or at all the mall, those few heartfelt moments with his sister was worth it. Screw trying to convince himself otherwise, Ingrid was his step-sister, his step-sister who he was infatuated with, Tanner practically leapt into the bed in his house and closed his eyes with his mind replaying a constant loop of the few seconds of Ingrid kissing his head.

Ingrid sat on her bed browsing away at YouTube videos on her laptop after Ivory made good on her word to finish her lecture later . She stated that she had a very good mind to ground her daughter for her transgressions. Right when Ingrid thought her mother would swing the gavel and give the sentence she added a caveat, that Tanner's intervention changed her mind. She sounded reasonably understanding that Ingrid was trying to be thoughtful, but she reminded her to always remember that Tanner was “special” and needed to be treated as such. Ingrid escaped by the skin of her teeth and now it'd be wise to lay low for the rest of the day.

“ Hey there cuz.” So much for that . .

Ingrid deliberately began typing louder at the sound of Marcelle's chipper voice, she wasn't going to give her the time of day. The mischievous young woman drew closer, welcoming herself in and taking a seat on the bed next to Ingrid who all the while kept her eyes glued onto the monitor trying not to acknowledge her cousin's presence.

“ Cute.” Marcelle thought, her lips in an amused smirk at Ingrid trying so hard to ignore her. “ Why do you always have to be that way?”

“ Shut up and tell me what you want.”

“ I don't want anything, I came to check and see how you were feeling after Ivory going apeshit.”

“ Since when do you care how I feel?”

Marcelle ran her hand through her wavy hair seeming like she was actually contemplating the question before shrugging her shoulders. “ Dunno, but we're both adults now or close to it, so it's not like I can fuck with you like I did back in the day. So I guess I have to be a little nicer to you now.”

Her downplay of her past acts of bullying earned a quick snort from Ingrid. “ How kind of you, is that why you focus all your efforts on an easier target like Tanner?”

“ Don't you ever get tired of treating him like your kid?”

“ He's not my kid-”

“ He may as well be.” Marcelle interrupted. “ You have so many responsibilities dumped on you because of him.”

Ingrid's typing came to a halt with that comment, in spite of her efforts to ignore her cousin, that comment captured more of her attention and she was now listening more actively.“ I don't mind, it's what siblings are for.”

“ Oh really?” Marcelle didn't believe it for a second. “ C'mon, you've got to be feeling a little frustrated at least. Can't we just have a girl talk? I've even brought a stress reliever, take a look.”

Deep down Ingrid knew she shouldn't have looked, curiosity won over discipline and she took a peek over laptop screen anyway and what she saw made her put the entire computer to the side.“ Where did you get that?” Ingrid knew for a fact that Ivory wasn't much of a drinker save for the occasional glass of wine, so Marcelle must have brought the bottle of vodka with her.

“ That's really what you're concerned about right now?” Marcelle berated for as much chicanery as she delves into, her ability to access vodka while being underage shouldn't be all too surprising.

“ Whatever, I'm not drinking any.” Ingrid knew where Marcelle was gonna go to next and attempted to beat her there.

“ Relax, it's not like I want you to down the whole thing.”

“ Don't care.” Ingrid was sticking to her guns.

“ Ugh, why are you being such a wuss? You'd be far from the first person to dabble in underage drinking. Trust me, the police won't barge in.”

“ Drinking doesn't bother me, drinking with you bothers me.” Ingrid made sure to emphasize.

“ You're going to break my wee heart. I can't imagine you get the chance to do this often.”

“ Getting screw faced drunk?” Was what Ingrid assumed she meant.

“ No, getting to speak your mind freely and openly.” That statement buckled Ingrid in her tracks who had nothing to rebuke that claim.“ I bet you always have to mind your tongue around Ivory and especially Tanner.”

Fuck she hated admitting when Marcelle was right about anything, but this was a case where something was so blindingly apparent Ingrid couldn't deny it no matter how stubborn she was. There was hardly opportunity for her to speak unfiltered without having to worry about being judged, even around Blake. Marcelle was a lot of things, but Ingrid would agree she was not one who cared a lot for political correctness.

Ingrid shook her head in disbelief, coming to grasp the fact she was having the most cordial conversation with her cousin that she's had since . . .ever. “ Okay, you win.” She said, snatching the bottle out of her hand.” With a firm grip she popped the cap and it's strong aroma immediately invaded her nostrils.

“ It sucks sometimes. It's like I need to file a complete report of everything I do.” Ingrid complained taking a quick swing of the bottle.

“ I figured as much, I didn't think Ivory would blow up THAT much.” Marcelle added.

“ Heh, I did. She's ready to flip out the second I even take Tanner to the front yard. I swear she's such a fucking helicopter mom when it comes to him.” Ingrid responded taking another chug.

“ In fairness she has good reason to be, he's so tiny!”

“ I get that, but I still have my life to live! I swear, it reminds me of that dumb project where you have to take care of an egg, only for me it's 24/365. ” Ingrid and Marcelle cackled with laughter at the joke. It only took a few swings to get Ingrid to loosen up as expected, but she didn't show any intention to slow down now that she was buzzed.

Ingrid's speech started become more labored with periodic pauses in between words as her brain tried to come up with words.“ I swear . .it's hilarious how someone the size of my finger can be such a smart-ass...”

Marcelle gave Ingrid a playful shove accustomed to her being a hard-ass.“ You say all that now, but you're such a softy when it comes to him.”

“ Oh shut up. Every now and again I wish . . . .I wish I could just.” Ingrid held up her digits, curling her index finger onto her thumb. “ Flick. Right off the table and then squish.” She chuckled at how easy it'd be, rubbing the ball of her foot on the ground.“ I mean . . . I love him . . . but it's such a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“ Speaking of love, you've had to have noticed that Tanner likes you.”

Ingrid sucked on her teeth. “ I'd hope so . .considering all I do for him!”

“ No, no. . LIKES you.” Marcelle clarified.

Ingrid was in the midst of another drink before spitting it out. “ Pfft, liar!”

“ Ask him for yourself if you don't believe me.” Though Marcelle only meant her statement rhetorically what she didn't anticipate was Ingrid planning to follow through.

“ Fine then . . I will.” Ingrid stated as she stumbled out of the bed.

“ Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea right now. .” Marcelle got up and warily put her hand on Ingrid's shoulder to try to stop her. Her coordination may have been gone, but her strength wasn't and the athletic teen easily pushed her to the side as she made her way down the hallway one clumsy step after another.

Tanner rolled out of his bed into an upright position, stretching out his body to it's maximum length before moving any further.

“ It's about time you got up lazy bones, c'mon.”

Tanner turned his head to see Ingrid at the door frame tapping her foot impatiently. She was dressed in full soccer attire with a ball in hand.

“ Where are we going?” Tanner dumbly asked.

Ingrid shook her head. “ Don't you remember you said you were going to help me practice outside.”

With that jog of the memory Tanner slapped his forehead for being so forgetful. “ Oh right, sure I remember.”

“ Uhuh.” Ingrid responded, clearly not buying it. “ I'll be waiting outside.” She appeared ready to take off before stopping to take another look at her stepbrother. “ I swear I can't get over how much you grew, here I was thinking I'd always be the taller one.” She commented as she scanned the entirety of his 5'10 body.

“ Keep dreaming, you know I've got a lot of teasing to pay you back for.” Tanner smirked. “ I'll be out in a minute.”

“ Tanner.”

Not wanting to keep his stepsister waiting he quickly washed himself up in the sink and found some sporty clothes. After throwing them on Tanner started to walk down the hallway towards the front door.

“ Tanner, you know you can't do that right?”

“ We're only going to play some soccer, relax.” Tanner responded, pulling the string to his shorts to tighten them further.

“ Just stay inside dear, it'll be much better in here.”

Tanner continued arguing with the voice that kept trying to dissuade him from his attempts to leave. While he did so he failed to notice that despite his efforts in walking he was covering less distance by the step. He was also too distracted to regard his gym shorts which became too loose fitting on his body and ended up sliding onto the floor. The same applied to his tank top, the straps falling past his shoulders and seconds later accompanied his shorts on the ground.

Tanner gasped in confusion by the time he reached the door that inexplicably towered above him like an ancient monolith. Certainly it wasn't that big when it was several feet away from him. He looked up at the door knob, which from the ground up had to have been 3 feet in the air just slightly above his head. He tried to get on his toes to reach the knob, but once he came within centimeters of touching it his body inexplicably stopped. It wasn't of its own volition, instead more like something actively trying to prevent him from doing so.

Tanner attempted one last time to reach for the door knob and not only could he not reach for it, his arm was retreating back down to his side. His eyes drifted to his wrists where he primarily felt the resistance.

“ The heck . .” He mouthed with his lips, after focusing he noticed very thin strings on his body. They were hardly detectable to the naked eye, were they always on him? He didn't notice them a few moments ago for sure.

“Tanner why don't you listen to me?”

Tanner wasn't able to pinpoint where her voice was coming from, but from that last statement the voice had a clear source. He craned his head up above to see the roof vanished and looming high above with the might and size of the inescapable sun was none other than his stepmother Ivory with controllers in her hands.

“ Tanner wouldn't be it be a far better idea for you to stay here?” If he had any control over his limbs, Tanner would've been covering his ears from the booming voice of his stepmother ringing in his ears and echoing in the hall.

He intended to stand his ground, but with zero control over his body it was a moot effort. With some nimble motions from her fingers Tanner's mouth began to move. “ Yes Mom, that sounds great.”

“ After all you're so very tiny.”

“ Yes I am.” Tanner said after another couple of gestures from Ivory's controllers. After he forcibly spoke he had to perilously watch as he saw the door knob rise further above his head and away from his grasp. Tanner could practically feel Ivory's satisfactory grin as she watched his hopes for getting out dwindling as speedily as his height was. At a meager height of 3 inches tall the door seemed to stop rising.

He didn't know what he expected to accomplish, his odds of reaching were already nonexistent yet he still tried to reach out for the door knob again.

“ Oh sweetie, why must you be so difficult.” Ivory sighed, she didn't bother to prevent him from moving and let her teeny stepson engage in his pointless efforts. They were becoming increasingly pointless as everything around him started expanding again. He watched hopelessly as everything started becoming absurdly gigantic with no signs of slowing down. His a meager 3 inches, turned to a pitiful 2, to an abysmal 1, down to centimeters, and eventually down to millimeters. Nothing he knew could've compare how everything looked to him, he may as well have been a flea on the floor once the shrinking finally stopped. The floor beneath him was as expansive as an ocean.

“ Tanner, where you at!?” Came Ingrid's voice as she opened up the door. He barely was able to distinguish her voice at at such a minuscule size of 1 millimeter where it mainly came off as an enormous rumble for the most part.

If he had any dominion over his body he'd yell and scream to get Ingrid's attention, but his body was again paralyzed courtesy of Ivory. Granted at only 1 millimeter tall there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell she'd ever hear him and that was the least of his concerns with the tremors generated in the ground from her footsteps. The enormity of her body was past anything he thought was feasibly possible, her kneecaps was the farthest his vision would allow him too see, even with control over his body there was no way he'd escape her strides.

He couldn't muster a single movement and was only able to watch her monumental pillar of a leg raise up as she prepared to move. The entire underside of her Nike soccer cleats easily overshadowed his body hundreds of times over, leaving him waiting as her foot slowly descended.

“ I told you should've listened to me.” Ivory said in a chiding voice.

Tanner jerked awake thankfully realizing he was just dreaming, for once he was quite happy to be 3 ½ inches tall. A far better deal than being the size of an insect. There wasn't much time to revel in the fact it was only the dream once he looked up to see his stepsister hovering above his house watching him and something was clearly . . .off about her.

Ingrid hadn't said a word since her arrival. Her glassy and unfocused eyes were a stark contrast to her usual piercing gazes that sometimes appeared as if bullets could be projected from them.

“ Hey sis. . . how you doin'?” He asked trying to test the waters.

Her response went way beyond what he anticipated; without caution or warning Ingrid reached into his vicinity and pinched the fabric of his shirt between her fingers. From there Tanner received a full express ride complete with minimal safety up to her face.

“ I'm dooooin' guuuud.” She slowly answered. That sounded nothing like her usual vernacular, that accompanied with the strong scent of alcohol in her breath the dots started to connect and the picture began unveiling.

“ H-have you been drinking?!”

Ingrid showed a toothy grin and cocked her head back and forth. “ Maaaaaybe.”

He'd love to know why the heck she was drinking or better yet who or where she got the alcohol from, but the prime objective at the moment was to get back on stable ground. Being held so tenuously made the hairs on his neck stand in attention. Looking down for all of a brief second and seeing his legs dangling from dozens of relative feet in in the air almost made him queasy. The worst of it though was the way Ingrid was looking at him, there wasn't a hint of her steely yet gentle gaze. All he saw now was a drunken and amused young lady who looked like she was just now coming to an epiphany that she had not a person, but a tiny object at her disposal.

“ That's . .interesting how about you set me down so we can talk about it?”

“ Why'reyou so nervous for? I thought you . .” Ingrid attempted to keep a straight face throughout her comment, but her lips kept curving into a grin every time she tried to get the words out. “ Don't you. . .love me?”

“ I-it's, I don't know what you're talking about.” If he were in a more calm frame of mind he may have been able to play it off better, but the forefront of his mind was a whirlwind of anxiety and embarrassment that manifested in his reddening cheeks. In the back of his mind though, he knew Marcelle was behind this somehow, the only person he confided that secret in. How foolish he was to think she'd keep it to herself.

“I thiiiink you do.” She slurred, before breaking into a fit of cackling again. “ How does that even work!?” Ingrid tilted forward to hold her side with her free hand. Tanner yelped in momentary panic, the change in her posture made her grasp loosen and some of the fabric she had pinched slipped from her nails. If she was a second later in reestablishing her hold her stepbrother would've had a one way ticket to the floor.

“ Marcelle thinks you get off on that kind of stuff. I bet . .I look like I'm rocking D-cups from your perss-pc- . .perespe . .perspectivs. Don't I?” She stuttered at her attempt to say a three syllable word. She lowered him down a little and brought him closer towards her breasts to judge.

Tanner wasn't going to allow himself to look, no matter how tempting it was. He turned his head to the side, trying to find anything else to focus on.

Ingrid snickered at his attempt at modesty and found an easy counter by simply jutting her chest forward until they were brushing against his body and leaving him with nothing to look at but her breasts. It was too much to ask of any man to resist, at his scale her above average sized breasts may have well as been over inflated volleyballs. The temptation was there to try and touch one of the gigantic mounds, but he had to keep his priorities in check though he needed to get Ingrid under control at all costs.

“ Ingrid, stop it! For real set me down!” He exclaimed, still trying his darnedest to keep his mind out the gutter and focus on something in his peripheral vision that wasn't his stepsister's tits.

“ C'mooon, it's a liiittle fuuunny. You like it don't you?” She said, bringing her brother back up to her face and holding one of her digits nearby pointing it distinctly in the direction of his crotch.

He wanted to fool himself into thinking she wouldn't do it, but he was in no position to take any chances and as meager of a defense it was he closed off his legs to offer the bare minimum deterrence. Even in such a unable state Ingrid knew how pointless his resistance was.

“ Why are you so embarrassed?” She giggled, easily managing to wedge her nail in between his legs and forcing them open. “ Doesn't it feeel good?” She asked as she dragged her finger back and forth between his legs, purposely rubbing against his delicate privates.

Despite it being something that Tanner thought would only happen in his wildest dreams, he did everything in his power to keep a straight face and not show any reaction. A task that was becoming more futile with each and every brush of her soft digit that sapped away at his willpower. He attempted closing his eyes, thinking of the most unappealing images his imagination could conjure, nothing was cutting it and he couldn't contain the moans he tried repressing as the formation of an erection began to form that did not go undetected by Ingrid.

She stopped stroking and squinted her eyes far more than necessary to observe her handy work in the form of a small bulge in Tanner's pants. “ Heheheh . .I knew it.” Ingrid's face soured. “ Freak.”

Tanner dry swallowed. Freak? In a single word he felt so dirty and perverse for it all. Liking Ingrid, enjoying her teasing seduction on any level, being attracted to her, was he really a freak?

“ I . .I didn't mean to! I .. You were . .” Tanner's mouth was moving and words were coming out faster than his mind could properly make sense of them, he was losing it. “ Ingrid enough, you don't know what you're doing!”

“ I know . . exactlyz what I'm doing. . ” Ingrid lowly slurred.. “You look kindvescurred. You gonna . .do somethin' about it?”

Tanner's couldn't win for losing right now. He didn't know what to say or if he should say anything at all. Logic and reasoning weren't going to cut it, he'd have better odds trying to diffuse a bomb right now, he remained silent.

Ingrid snickered again.“ I din' think so. Since I'm such a nice big sister . . I have somethin' you can do for me.” She titled all the way down and sat Tanner on the floor. He never thought he'd miss solid ground so much. Though his predicament wasn't all that much improved at least falling to injury or death were not in the playing cards for now.

Joining him, Ingrid clumsily shifted her weight backwards coming very close to falling flat on her back only managing save herself by getting her hands behind her at the last moment to control her weight as she sat down.

“ I've been training sooooo hard and my feets are really sore, be a pal and give them a rubbin' bro?” Ingrid whined, stretching out her legs her feet stopping inches in front of her tiny brother.

Tanner didn't have any reason to believe he had a choice in the matter and with Ingrid in such a volatile mood, keeping her satiated was the best discourse even in the face of such a demeaning task.

Tanner cautiously stepped towards the over-sized soles while his sister drummed her nails waiting. He always found it so degrading to be by someone's feet, thinking back to his incident with Ivory or even Blake the other day propping them up on the table near him. They made him feel so small, not in the literal sense that most things do, but maybe insignificant was the better term. It certainly didn't help that he was now being asked to rub the gigantic appendages.

“ Just think of yourself as a masseuse.” He thought to himself to boost his morale. Though most masseuses didn't have to massage body parts that were three times there total size.

As his hands navigated the surface he detected several areas of tightness and tenseness in her soles, courtesy of all the running, kicking of balls, and other lower body exercises no doubt. Ingrid was undoubtedly working hard as usual and never taking a day off to rest. There was a lot to appreciate in the effort she put in and Tanner did want to help alleviate her stress. Given the size disparity which limited him to accessing a narrow area and natural toughness of the skin he had to rub and knead with as much force as he could generate to achieve results. To his credit he did feel some softening in the muscles of her foot and his work even elicited a couple of faint moans of pleasure from his stepsister. And if he dare admit it a part of him somewhere found it enjoyable . .in a strange sort of way. For as many gripes and nitpicks that he could rightly complain about right now there was a layer of fascination deep down in every crevice, every line, and every wrinkle, that made Tanner compare himself to an explorer of sorts looking navigate uncharted territory.

To any other person it was just another part of the body that was only there to get you from point A to point B. To Tanner it was it's own entity and only he was capable of noticing every subtle detail that would be ignored by average people.

“ Gotcha.” Ingrid beamed with a crooked grin, abandoning her docile state and bringing her foot straight down on Tanner's unsuspecting body.

“ H-hey!” The reality of his plight came back in full force, reminding him that Ingrid was still in an inebriated state of mind. To no avail he tried to wiggle his body to escape, being handily thwarted by Ingrid who simply implied some more force to render him immobile.

“ Don' be upset, think how much better you can massage now.” Ingrid teased, dragging her foot back and forth across the floor and by extension Tanner. His hands were pressed against her foot in a vain attempt to try and create some space; even without her putting additional pressure it'd be far too heavy for him to move.

Ingrid slid her sole downwards now covering the lower half of his body, concentrating her weight into the ball of her foot. “ . . .You's still got a hard on. Does the freak have a foots fetish too?” She rhetorically asked, lightly grinding her foot into his body from the waist down.

Tanner would be mortified if he had the luxury, but pain was far more prevalent as Ingrid again started her application of pressure on his body. “ E-enough stop it hurts!”

If there was any God Tanner thought they may have heard his prayers or maybe Ingrid finally came around as she graciously lifted her foot off of his body. It was a short lived reprieve however with Ingrid promptly securing Tanner into her closed fist and standing back up. This grip was nothing like the shoddy grasp she had him in before, this time her hand completely engulfed his entire body from the neck down.

Ingrid looked at the small boy in her hand, he looked so feeble, so weak, so small. She was probably only using five percent of her strength, a measly amount that she wouldn't consider anything special; yet it was enough to match and exceed Tanner's maximum efforts to writhe and escape 20 times over and then some.

“ You can't get free?”

“ No!” He yelped, his voice becoming hoarser.

“ Try harder.”

It was a pointless endeavor, Tanner was giving it his all from the start, it just wasn't enough.

“ I .. can't!” He squeaked as more oxygen was driven out of his lungs.

“ That's the best you can do?”

“ Y-yes . .” His voice was becoming hoarser.

“ . . .Does it hurt?” She asked.

“ . . .” Tanner was out of breath and was being squeezed to hard for him to get a sufficient inhale.

“ Patheetiiic.” Ingrid slowly applied some more force, if he had any air in his body Tanner would've screamed.

“ Ingrid stop!”

Ingrid turned around, to the sight of Marcelle who appeared genuinely scared. Marcelle contemplated whether or not to let the chips fall where they would when her cousin barged out of the room. As the moments went by without her not coming back, she figured she had to check to see what was going on and was glad she did. If she had remained apathetic who knows what may have happened to the boy in Ingrid's hand who was going blue in the face.

“ Since when the hell do you cares about my liiiiiitttle bro?” Ingrid smirked, shaking her fist in her hand, making things that much more uncomfortable for him.

“ I-Ingrid just calm down a little, you said what you needed to say, how about we-”

“ Oh shut up you bitch! I was always . .better than you.” She spat at her cousin “ And especially you!” She shouted bringing Tanner back up to her face, tears were welling in both of their eyes, the latter was barely hanging onto consciousness. “ Sometimes I wish you'd just-”

“ What's going on up here?” The commotion upstairs finally garnered the attention of the last member of the household, Ivory. At first she bore an inquisitive look on her face with a brow raised as she entered the room. With a single glance of her diminutive stepson in the harsh clutch of her daughter and the visible agony on his face, that look transformed into livid ferocity.

“ Ingrid what the fuck are you doing!? Put him down NOW!”

The message behind the words was clear and anyone in the right frame of mind knew what she meant. But, no sane person would deem Ingrid in the right frame of mind who took the words at literal value, opened her hand, and let her stepbrother free fall in the air and to the floor.

 Ingrid's Reminiscence II: Oh Brother

Ivory didn’t want to get my hopes up too soon and decided to wait until all the paperwork was finished before telling me I was going to have a brother. On the surface it sounded great, being an only child under normal circumstances can be lonely enough let alone when your Dad passed away, you have a bitch of a cousin, and an inattentive Mom

Naturally when we met it wasn't anything how I imagined in my head. The only tidbits of information Ivory gave me was that he was 10 and a little ‘special’. Without much to go off of my mouth was agape when we met. I was well over a full foot taller than him and if Ivory hadn't told me prior I would've thought he was five. As you can imagine finesse wasn't my strongest attribute and I hounded him for a good hour trying to figure out why he was so small. I didn't know anything about his shrinking disease and I chalked it up to him just being an abnormally short child.

Beyond the initial shock of his size, we got along quite well and believe it or not Tanner was actually a pretty sporty kid like me back then and we used to compete at everything. I mean 'compete' very loosely since that'd assume it was competitive, because he wasn't anywhere near as physically blessed as me I was always able to beat him with zero difficulty. Even if it wasn't the best way to improve my skills it was nice to have a playmate at home and it was all healthy sportsmanship at the time.

For as well as things went with Tanner it was more of the same with Ivory and ironically I was still the red-headed stepchild so to speak. Tanner, Tanner, Tanner this, Tanner that, it never ended with her. The only time I ever received a modicum of her full focus was when she was lecturing me about him. I didn't get it, what the heck made him so special? I’m an honor roll student, best athlete on my team, with enough medals and trophies to fill a mantle, and then you have him who’s only discerning quality was that he was a runt? Was I jealous and bitter? Hell freaking yes, and at that point it wasn’t about healthy sportsmanship anymore. I had a point to prove, my superiority.

“Hey Tanner up for a game of basketball, first one to ten points wins.” For a sport that favored the vertically inclined it should've been a foregone conclusion that I was setting him up for failure. His eyes wavered up my taller frame until he met my self-assured smirk. I can imagine the only reasons he accepted was to salvage whatever male bravado a shrimp like him could have and the ever so slim hope that he'd catch me having an off day.

“Fine, you're on.” He declared in his best impression of a confident competitor. I had to admit if I was in his shoes I wouldn't have been so keen accepting such an uphill battle, not that I cared at the time it was another item off my checklist to say I beat him at and it went about as well as you'd think it go.

“Come on Teeny Tanner, you're gonna have to reach for it!” I taunted holding the ball over my head. Every now and again I lowered it within his range only to yank it away when he tried to make a steal for it. It was tasteless and unnecessary on my part but I couldn’t help myself, it was in in those moments where I was dominating him that I felt validated.

Holding in my laughter was impossible as I saw him spread his arms out in a poor attempt to block me. That would've been fine if our heights were anywhere near comparable, but in our case it looked plain silly and I was able to shoot the ball right over his head and into the basket without even needing to jump.

“Hm, what's the total now?” I knew the score, I only wanted to hear him say it.

“. . . Nine to nothing.” Tanner reluctantly admitted. He was sweating buckets and trying to find his air, I almost felt pity for how hard he had to try to keep up with me who was barely putting forth any effort.

“Want to just give up?” I offered, it was a rare moment of mercy on my behalf to spare him the shame of losing ten to zero.

“No!” Unlike before where he sounded like he was trying to convince himself that he had a fighting chance, he was firm and unyielding in accepting the out I gave him.

“Don’t say I didn't give you a choice.” I boasted as I tossed the ball to Tanner. He slowly dribbled it towards me. He was still trying figure out the best way to get past me, it was kind of cute how in the face of a hopeless situation he still played like he still had a shot at winning. I put up a flimsy guard with my arms lazily held out, I was almost positive he didn’t have the energy left to get by me. That cockiness though proved to be my downfall and he suddenly found his second wind managing to duck underneath my arm for a layup against the rim of the basket.

“Score one for me.” Tanner smiled, proud of the fact he managed one measly point. I’m sure in his mind that was incredible feat.

The score was still lopsided in my favor but I was floored nonetheless and furious that I allowed myself to get so careless; him scoring a single point in my mind was almost the equivalent of losing altogether. I wasn't going to give him an opportunity to revel in his newfound confidence and I quickly took the ball back in my possession.

Tanner’s smile disappeared as fast as it came once he saw my whole posture change. He opened up his arms again to guard, but this time I straight up rushed him. To his credit he tried his best to stick close to me, but he was too small to contain me and I used my body to bump him out of the way and with the significant disparity in our size he fell straight to the ground. With the path being clear I made another easy shot at the basket for another tally in the victory column.

“I win.” I haughtily declared, smiling down at Tanner. That was always the story, I was too big, too strong, too fast, I won every time, and at the time that's all that mattered.

-----------

As pessimistic as it sounded Julie expected at some point an accident with Tanner was bound to occur, especially with as small as he got. She thought it'd most likely spawn from a moment of carelessness, but as Ivory explained to her over the phone she hardly believed what she was hearing and knew they had to talk in person. First thing in the morning at 9:00 a.m. she came over and met with Ivory and Marcelle in the dining room to get a clearer picture on what happened.

Pen and clipboard ready she started to go over what she knew. “ So it seems to be pretty unanimous that Ingrid was intoxicated when everything transpired, yes?”

“ Yes.” Ivory impatiently answered, this meeting seeming more like a nuisance to her than anything else. “ Might I ask why you wanted to talk with us alone? Why can't Tanner be present?”

“ Because it would be insensitive to press Tanner on what happened after a dramatic event.” Julie answered unfettered by Ivory's accusatory tone. “ Moving on, since you're both positive Ingrid was drinking it's only logical to speculate where she could have gotten alcohol from being that she's underage.”

“ You think she got it from me?” Ivory responded to Julie's statement that wasn't aimed at anyone.

“ I didn't say that, I just think it's a fair question that needs to be addressed.”

“ You're thinking that I'm responsible for this and want to be sure I'm not abusing him, that's the only reason you didn't-”

“ Maybe Ingrid got a friend to buy it for her, people at my university do it all the time.” Marcelle intercepted before Ivory got too deep in her tirade.

Julie ignored Ivory's comments and gave some brief thought to Marcelle's speculation. “ A fair point” She took another look at her notes. “ After that you came into the room first to see Tanner in Ingrid's fist and you tried to convince her to stop.” As Julie recapped the events Ivory swayed back and forth in her chair and clutched the cloth of the table as if hearing the sequence of events was causing her physical discomfort. Julie continued. “ Hearing the commotion, you came upstairs Ivory and at the sight you told Ingrid to let Tanner go and she took your words quite . .literally.”

By the time the recall was complete Ivory had a death grip on the table cloth wishing she could wipe those horrible moments out of her mind forever. With a heavy exhale she nodded in confirmation. “ Right.”

Julie clicked her pen a couple of times as she thought. “ To no surprise Ingrid isn't in any shape to be talking right now and I can only imagine how Tanner feels about it all. But based off what I know I think. .”

“ You think?” Ivory asked.

Given the aggressive stance she's taken so far Julie knew Ivory would not like what she had to say next. “I think it's best for Tanner to spend a few days away.”

Ivory's brain processed that sentence like a calculator being asked to divide by zero. “ I knew it you just wanted to take him away.”

“ Ivory-”

Ivory's volume continued to rise “ I've raised and nurtured him for the last six years!”

“ Ivor-”

“ He's right where he needs to be, right here with me!-”

“ Tanner could've died.” Julie said.

Even without raising her voice to match the incoherent mother Julie's words cut with the precision of a scalpel. The lack of any inflection in her tone made the icy truth of her statement cut deeper and the cold reality that Ivory didn't want to acknowledge was brought right to her face “ . .I know.” She lowly stated, trying to clasp her palms together to keep them from shaking.

Julie sighed after coming off harsher than she wanted to, but the ramifications of what happened couldn't be understated. “I get it, you think of him as your own flesh and blood and as much as I want to believe this was all some freak accident, this isn't something I can ignore and sweep underneath the rug. Who knows, maybe some separation will do everyone some good, at least until I can get the rest of the story.”

“ . . . Okay.” Ivory replied after a long delay to get her breathing and twitching under control enough to have a normal conversation again. “I take it he's staying over at the Levey's?”

Julie confirmed with a nod prompting another exhale from Ivory. Once her initial probationary period with Tanner ended, they allowed her to sign to have another legal guardian for Tanner until in the event something happened to her for the sake of keeping him out of the foster system. She never thought it would come to that, but it was never a bad thing to have a contingency plan. The Levey's were nice and trustworthy people, but were the epitome of everything boisterous and energetic. A triple helping of those attributes were passed along to their eldest daughter Blake.

“I don’t mean to spring this up on you so suddenly, but we need to do this post-haste. I called them ahead of time to explain that I needed them on standby, I'll let them know to expect him by the afternoon. If you need to take a minute to say something to Tanner before he goes now’s the time to do it.” Everything beyond Tanner having to be away from her was going in one ear and out the other and Julie may as well have been talking to a hollow shell of Ivory. She waited to see if Ivory would have any response to what was said to her.

Without a word spoken Ivory excused herself from her chair and headed upstairs.

 Tanner was about as confused and disorientated right now in his stepmother's embrace as he was when he was plummeting to the ground yesterday. She didn't say a word when coming upstairs to him, only picking him up and nuzzling him against her chest while murmuring “I’m sorry.” Over and over again without any further context.

It's been that way since last night, despite having nothing to do with it she continued acting like she put him in the direct path of danger.

“It’s okay...” Tanner managed to say in the midst of her incessant apologies. It was as blatant of a lie as can be, nothing was okay right now in his corner of the world, he was just somewhat better at hiding his feelings than Ivory who seemed like her dam to an emotional breakdown was ready to burst at any second.

“It’s not okay.” Ivory responded. It was a breath of fresh air for Tanner to hear her say something besides that wasn't an apology for the umpteenth time. “I knew I shouldn't have called Julie; she probably thinks it’s my fault I’m sure of it.” Her face scowled mentioning her name. She shook her head, beginning to run one of her digits through Tanner's head. “ She thinks she knows what’s best.”

Thank God Tanner was down at her chest and not facing her directly because he bore a look of utter confusion. It sounded like she was and wasn't talking to him at the same time. Each statement carried a rhetorical weight to it like she didn't want an answer from him, yet she still yearned for his agreement. “I know what's best and I know you better than anyone. I bet she thinks I'm a bad mother.”

“I’m a good mother aren't I?” She continued, now bringing her stepson up to eye level now asking a direct question.

Now facing each other Tanner quickly changed his befuddled expression to a reserved smile. “Yeah, of course.”

Ivory smiled back, now moving her finger rubbing the entire length of Tanner's back. “Julie wants you to spend a few days over with Blake's family.”

“W-wow.” Tanner gasped mildly. He didn't expect for Julie to be passive about what happened, but she took action way sooner than she thought.

“It’s awful isn't it?”

Unexpected for sure, but awful was being a bit dramatic. “How so?”

“You’re going to be taken away from me Tanner.” Ivory explained as if there was some kind of hidden subtext that wasn't already apparent. Perhaps it is understandable that Ivory would think that way, after all she’d be stumped for answers if she had to think of a time where Tanner spent more than 5-6 hours away from her tops.

“I was very scared yesterday Tanner.” Ivory explained. “When I saw you falling to the ground it was like watching my most prized possession almost break into pieces.” Ivory stopped stroking and cupped her hands together making Tanner fall on his rear and more compact in his seated position. “It happened so fast and I don't know what I would've done if...” Died was the word Ivory was looking for, she still refused to bring herself to say it and instead she continued to clasp her hands almost completely obscuring Tanner's form.

“ I need to protect you Tanner, things are going to be different when you come back, I promise.”

If Tanner had to take a guess he'd say Ivory was actually trying to comfort him and miserably failing at it. Every cryptic word she pontificated accomplished nothing besides unnerving him. Her highly protective nature was nothing to new to him, however yesterday seemed to rattle her further than Tanner could've imagined and now she says things will be different? The only question was if it'd be for better or for worse.

Ivory gave Tanner one last kiss goodbye before turning away, it's taken everything in her power so far not to have a meltdown and seeing him leave from her household was certain to drive her over the edge if she bore witness to it so she opted not to look while Julie took Tanner and his possessions (in reality only his house which contained all his belongings) to her car. At least that went smoother than anticipated, Tanner was afraid someone would have to pin her down for Julie to take him. As expected Ingrid was still out for the count.

Much like the other day when he went to the mall, Tanner rode in the cup holder in the front seat as Julie drove. He supposed it shouldn't have come to any scrutiny that the ride was utterly quiet given Julie's disdain for small talk most of the time, still it wouldn't have killed her to turn the radio so it wouldn't be complete silence.

The fact that Blake only lived 10 minutes away at least spared the drive from being too boring. As Julie parked by the sidewalk and unbuckled she turned to face Tanner.

“I don't want to beat around the bush or anything, so I should ask at least once if there's anything you wanted to say about what happened last night between you and Ingrid?”

“ I love my step-sister. I feel like a deviant for loving my step-sister. She knows I love her. She probably hates me. She nearly killed me. Oh yeah, and I think I may have a fetish. Is there any medication you can prescribe to repress all of that?” Was the extreme cliff notes version in Tanner's mind that he couldn't bring himself to say. What help would it have been anyway, he had as many questions as Julie did.

“ A lot of it is a blur to be honest, one moment I was in her hand, the next I was falling to the ground.” Another hard boiled lie, though not as blatant as he told to Ivory. He remembered almost everything in vivid detail.

A freak she called him, pathetic, always better than him, was that how she really saw him? The naive fool in him wanted to be in denial and write it off as meaningless alcohol induced babble, the cynic in him though knew there was a level of malice and passion in her words that conveyed all of or at least a majority of her bottled up feelings.

The physical abuse was just the icing on the shit cake; shivers went down his spine as he recalled dangling in the air held up by her haphazard grip and later being used a human stress ball. Excruciating pain aside, what terrified him in hindsight was that she showed no intention of stopping. If push had came to shove and no one had intervened the darkest parts of his mind wondered how far things would've went.

By the time Ivory and Marcelle arrived his memory was legitimately blurry, his brain was so oxygen deprived and in shock he was pretty much unconscious by the time she dropped him. Logically the fall should have left him gravely injured or even dead. When he came to though he was most definitely alive, very sore albeit, but preferable compared to the worse outcomes. He was in Ivory's hands who was sobbing uncontrollably, holding him tightly to her body. Off in the corner of his eyes he vaguely made out Marcelle helping Ingrid off the floor. The latter was scarcely moving so he assumed she had finally blacked out. The wound was too fresh to ask Ivory how she managed to save him.

“Understandable, try not to let it bother you so much.” Julie said.

“What do you think is going to happen as far as Ingrid is concerned? Tanner figured now was as good a time to ask as any.

“ It wasn't exactly easy to get the point across to your stepmom, but I'll need to get Ingrid's side of things when she comes full circle. Worst case scenario I'll have to limit her interactions with you and counsel her to get to the root cause of what drove her behavior. Nothing too drastic for the time being.”

“ At least Ivory can stop freaking out, she's acting like the feds are gonna bust down the door.” He responded.

“She’s alarmingly possessive of you.” Julie noted.

“ Tell me about it. ” He mumbled.

“ Anyway, lets get this over with.” Julie said inviting Tanner to climb onto her palm.

A single knock on the door was all it took before a rapid torrent of footsteps approach the door and Blake as straightforward as can be stampeded to the door. “Ooh! Mom, Dad! Tanner is here!” She shouted loud with the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning believing Santa Claus has arrived.

Tanner didn't even get a 5 seconds to greet Blake before the next rush of footsteps raced to the door with the same intensity as Blake.

“Tanner dear, how are you!?” The matriarch of the family Blair exuberantly asked, having the same lack of volume control as her daughter. There was no question who Blake took after the most in both personality and appearance. Blair’s jet black curly hair descended a fair way past her shoulders and was kept in a ponytail. Needless to mention she was every bit as statuesque as her daughter spare for being half an inch shorter. Both were already in subtle competition, crowding as close as possible in the limited space of the doorway appearing like they were ready to fight over the first turn to hold him.

“ Hey, how are you doing Ms. Blair.” Tanner modestly asked, trying his damnedest not be taken aback by both women trying to squeeze past the other.

“ Just Blair sweetheart, Ms. Blair makes me sound so old!” Blair complained. It was a force of habit that he always called her Ms. Blair out of respect and she always responded in that same way. Though he wouldn't call 38 young, it was far cry from being old. The fact she worked out religiously everyday has left her looking better than most women do in there 20's, every cut in her legs on clear display even with her wearing compression tights, enough musculature in her biceps to put many athletic women to shame, and possibly give many young men a run for their money in bouts of strength. Despite all of that going for her while still retaining her femininity she's been weary of her age since her 30th birthday, she won't be the type to grow old gracefully.

Though not approaching with same tenacity as the previous two the thunder in his steps made it clear he was on his way. The patriarch himself Abel, a sturdy man with short dark brown hair standing at a mighty 6'5. Despite standing behind the two titans of women his mighty stature still allowed him to be visible and capable of peering over the top of their heads. Tanner recalled that he coached a university wrestling team these days, Blake told him back when he competed he was a standout during his collegiate days with Olympic level potential until a back injury stopped his days as a competitor and he turned over to bodybuilding most of the time.

“ Hey Tan-Man, how you doin?” Abel asked using his go to nickname of Tanner, he was much calmer than the other two and possessed a softer voice than expected of a man of his size.

“ I don't want to hold you up on your day for too long, I appreciate you guys for doing this on such short notice.” Julie said expressing her gratitude.

“ Oh it's no trouble, we've wanted to have Tanner over for the longest” Blair said with a small laugh, for as often as Ingrid came over she tried several times to talk Ivory into letting him tag along to no avail.

“ I call dibs on holding him first!” Blake spoke out, stretching her long arm out to Julie.

“ Blake, an adult should handle this!” Blair disputed.

“ I called dibs though.” Blake rebutted as if that was a valid point.

For as usually collected as she was Julie couldn't hide her eyebrow from arching upward at the enthusiastic display from the duo ahead of her, the pair looked more like two sisters going at it rather than a parent and daughter. “ Blair you can go get Tanner's things out of the car, Blake hold Tanner.”

“ W-wait, I change my mind-” Blake sounded like she wanted to switch tasks, but Blair was already on her way to the vehicle.

Julie took the opportunity to talk to Abel who was the much calmer of the bunch and possessed an attention span higher than 10 seconds for a rundown of basic do's and don'ts with Tanner, mainly the common sense stuff that she expected him to know already yet went over anyway for formality's sake.

“ Don't worry so much, we'll take care of him like our own flesh and blood.” Abel smiled.

“ Alright then, he's in your hands, quite literally.” Julie snickered lightly at her pun. “ Tanner try not to be a pain in the ass.” She quipped.

With everything settled Julie held her hand out to Blake's awaiting palms and Tanner scurried on board.“ I make no guarantees.”

 “So whose room is his house going in?” Abel had a hunch that the topic would be another source of bickering and decided to get it out the way with.

“Ours of course dear!” Blair responded thinking the question was a no brainer. Predictably that was not met without argument from her daughter.

“What teenager would want to stay over in the bedroom of his friend's parents!?”

“What parents would let a boy stay in their daughter's bedroom!?” Blair countered. Despite the implication it was a rare moment of normalcy for Tanner to be treated in a way that most parents react to the idea of their daughter having a boy around.

“Come on Blair we can trust her, let Tanner be around someone his own age.” Abel added trying to diffuse the situation.

Blair huffed taking notice to the last bit of his statement. “Someone his own age? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Uh oh, he hit the wrong button there.” Sensing a fight brewing Blake decided to head to her room while they were distracted and before Blair laid into him.

If Tanner had to come up with a nickname for Blake it'd be The Jolly Giant. She was friendly, fun loving, and without a care in the world, the downside being her energetic demeanor combined with her towering height often came off as very overwhelming and unnerving to the people shorter than her. That being said, that made Tanner all the more impressed by the level of caution and care that she demonstrated while holding him. She bordered on being overly cautious, taking each step upstairs as excessively slow as possible. It was justifiable given it was her first time holding him and when it came down to having a cautious holder versus a careless one the winner was a no-brainer as to what Tanner preferred.

As she walked down the hallway Blake stopped by a shut door with several signs that read messages such as “Stay Out.”, “Danger”, etc. plastered on it.

“I wonder whose room that is.” Tanner sarcastically mused.

With a closed fist Blake began pounding at the door relentlessly. “Sis’! Abigail! Gail! Gail! Come out!”

“The volume control needs some work still, I guess I can't ask for the whole world at once.” Tanner thought aloud, it's not like she'd hear him over the sound of her fist on wood. He didn't care what Abigail was doing, unless she was completely deaf it would take a special type of mental discipline to tune out Blake. Abigail was trying to stall out as long as possible hoping her sister would give up and leave her alone, but Blake was not keen on stopping any time soon and kept the assault on the door coming. Heck, if she went all out she'd unhinge the door sooner or later. Blake's tenacity triumphed before it reached that point and her victory came in the petite form of Abigail cracking the door open and peeking through the small opening.

“What do you want?” She groaned.

“Making sure you were alive in there sis', you've been in there for hours without coming out.”

“No kidding huh?” She responded, well aware of her extended recluse in her room.

“You didn't come to say hi to Tanner either.” Blake added holding him closer to the door. That mention caught the young girl's attention and she opened the door further leaving a glimpse of her petite frame exposed.

“Oh... hey, sorry I didn't hear it.” She apologized, her voice taking a much soft tone towards him. She looked like she had more to say until her older sibling chimed in again.

“Maybe you would've heard something if you didn't always have headphones on all the time.”

“Whatever.” Reverting back to her sour mood and shut her door again.

“A bundle of sunshine as always.” Tanner said.

Blake shrugged, continuing into her own room. “I think she gets it from my Dad. He says she reminds him a lot of him before he started wrestling and got his confidence.”

“Holy crap.” Tanner said.

“What?” She asked.

“It’s not a mess of chaos.” He concluded. By no means was her room immaculate having various assortments of clothes, sheets, and sports equipment cluttered on the floor, but compared to the havoc he was expecting it was a haven tidiness.

“I see you were well prepared for the occasion.” Blair quipped, noting the absence of room for Tanner’s house.

“Get off my case, there's plenty of room.” Blake scratched her head briefly before swiping her arm across her dresser, knocking over a plethora of cosmetic supplies onto the floor. “Tada.” She beamed at her successful creation of space for Tanner's house.

Blair shook her head walking over to the newly made area and sat it down. Now that they had the opportunity, both Blake's and her own glare were locked onto the structure and the gears in there head were turning in a blantantly overt manner that Tanner easily picked up on. He wished he knew what they found so fascinating about it, maybe it was hard for them to grasp that he spent the majority of his time in there when he wasn't being carried around. Since it was there first time seeing it, the mystique was much stronger for them where it has worn off for him ages ago. That was his speculative guess, he didn't know what was going through their minds as they turned to look at each other, appearing to have a nonverbal conversation.

“Hey Tanner…” Blake began looking down to him. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t feel comfortable, but um can we see you in it?”

If he listened to his gut his immediate response was going to be hell no, it was difficult for him though to shoot her down like that. He hadn't forgot about the bet during the match she played against Ingrid for the chance to see it. It was undeniable her interest came from a genuine curiosity that anyone in her shoes would have, why deny her the chance to have it satiated? “Alright, fine.”

A joyful squeal escaped from Blake, after always having to mind her P’s and Q’s in Ivory’s household it was impossible to hide her excitement for a chance to see in person what she had to imagine for so long. With another impressive display of self-restraint the tall teen gingerly lowered her friend into his house. Tanner would've liked to have entered from the door, but that was a minor complaint.

Once it dawned on him that the only reason they asked for him to enter his house was not only to look at him in it but actively watch, there request was no longer as simple as it sounded in hindsight. Self-conscious anxiety settled into his psyche as the surrounding light was overcast by the imposing shadows of the giant mother and daughter duo peering down from above.

He had a hard time bringing himself to look up at the two of them while he knew they were observing him. They weren't doing anything, yet Tanner was feeling the claustrophobic effects of there looming presence like it was somehow occupying physical space in his house.

Tanner bit the bullet and tilted his head up to look up at them, as mentioned before Ivory and Ingrid seldom lurked over him being well aware that it was a petrifying sight to him, but Blair and Blake didn't know any better. He also doubted that they knew they looked like harbingers of destruction from his vantage. Okay that was exaggerating, but being able to see nothing but there happy-go-lucky smiling faces beaming down at him, made him think at any moment he was the sitting duck prey that was going to get masscared. His mind and brain were in disharmony, he kept telling himself that they were harmless and wouldn't hurt him, but his brain wanted to kick the body into fight or flight mode. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, his brain wasn't factoring in anything besides the gaping size disparity; functioning under the basic premise that he was small and that Blair and Blake were gigantic, therefore he was in imminent danger. “C’mon, fight through it Tanner, you're past this.” He thought to himself to boost his morale.

“Am I supposed to be doing something specific?” Tanner forced himself to ask.

Blair and Blake didn't respond, appearing to be in their own world as they looked down at Tanner with a mixture of wonder and amusement in their eyes. They both stared at each other, breaking into a girlish fit of giggling. He’s heard that giggling before, out of his myriad of pet peeves one that was high on his list before his near total withdraw from the public was how much he used to hate how people. It was typical committed by young teenage girls and soccer mom's who found his small size to be nothing short of adorable. It was one of his pettier peeves when stacked up to more serious offenses, but tiny as he was, he was still a guy and it was emasculating.

“I’m sorry, you’re just too adorable!” Blair spoke up giving into impulse. The next thing Tanner saw was her hand bulldozing its way into his house displacing many of the small accessories in it as she cupped him into her palm and brought him up nuzzle him against her cheek. Did it even need elaboration to why Tanner hated shit like that?

Blake was around Tanner much more often and knew her mom committed a hefty no-no just then. “Hey Mom! Be careful!”

“I couldn't help myself, he was too cute.” Blair smiled, lowering him back down onto the dresser.

“Still, you could've scared him.” She explained.

Blair wasn't hearing any of it. “Nonsense! I didn't scare you, did I sweetheart?” Blair leaned in bringing her face closer to his. It amazed him how the incredible difference in statures didn't seem to register in her mind for better or worse. Even minor and subtle actions on her part was enough to alarm him and make him flinch.

“Not at all.” Tanner forced out with a painfully hollow smile that anyone who wasn't as straightforwardly happy-go-lucky as those two could detect. For a split second he wondered if his shrinking made him miss his calling as an actor. How he kept himself together through that was beyond him. Believe it or not that was one Blair's lighter displays of fondness that came at him and swept him in like a F5 tornado that he had no chance of escaping from until it ran its course.

“See I know what I'm doing.”

“Come on ladies! It's time to go!” The thunder in Abel's voice traveled upstairs and could easily mislead someone to thinking he was standing right in the room with them.

“Oh crap, I guess we've been keeping him waiting.” Blake said.

“Where's the fire?” Tanner asked.

“It's time for our 2 mile run. Dad hates it when people aren't on time, we'll catch you in a bit Tanner.” Blake answered, abruptly flying out the room after.

He didn’t think much of it at first, but that explained why they were all dressed in fitness attire. Tanner expected for Blair to follow Blake's lead downstairs to join Abel instead she looked back to him.

“Do you want to run with me Tanner?” Blair asked.

“Funny, I think I'd finish a 2 mile run sometime within a year.”

“Not literally run silly, you ride along with me I'll keep you safe.” She clarified.

His last impromptu adventure was far from what he would’ve liked it to be so he was apprehensive about trying the odds again. Then again he mainly had Marcelle to blame for things going as poorly as they did.

“Please dear, it'll be great. I'll be as careful as when I was holding Abigail as a baby.”

“Why not as careful as when you held Blake?”

“I dropped her once.”

“Heh.” Tanner chuckled once, that wasn’t the most encouraging thing to say but her blunt honesty added some levity. It was amazing for as intimidating as they appeared how easily both herself and Blake could turn up the charm and make themselves difficult people to say no to, what made it more effective was that they didn't even do it on purpose, it came with the territory of them being upbeat people.

“In that case, I'm all ears if you have a good means of transport.”

“Hn.” Blair mused, nothing new there waiting to coordinate how she was going to cross a bridge until she actually arrived at it. She continued humming to herself until her eyes perked up with an idea. Instead of explaining what she came up with she went right into action and pinched his shirt between her fingers, with her other hand pulled on the elastic waistline of her compression tights. Once she lowered him down to his chest she let go, allowing it to form to her body and securing Tanner in the process.

“ Pretty clever don't you think?” Blair gloated, gently prodding his body to ensure he was snug.

“Uh, yeah. .” He reluctantly agreed. It was clever sure, but did Blair seriously see nothing wrong with this? Maybe it was just his teenage mind going straight to the gutter in the fact he couldn't stop thinking that he was rather close to her... more private areas. If she thought of it as strange she'd never propose the idea, him bringing it up would only make things awkward. It wasn't as conventional as he was hoping, then again was anything in his life conventional?
Blair wasn't sure how Abel or Blake would respond if they learned she had Tanner riding with her, so she made sure to exit the house without making a fuss and stood behind Abel and Blake who were both stretching and zoning in, so they didn't pay her in serious attention.

“ So nice of you to finally join us, if you weren't my wife I'd have to punish you with 200 push-ups.” Abel commented with one of the typical punishments he'd give a team member for tardiness, he only briefly looked from the corner of his eye, so he failed to notice her companion. “ Alright, you gals know the drill lets go!” He commanded.

Tanner blinked once and the mountain of a man and daughter were already gone having bolted at a high speed, there level of athleticism was not something that he could overstate. He was sure they were going at a moderate but sustainable pace, but he still had a hard time believing anyone outside of professional track runners would have an easy time keeping up with them who got maximum distance coverage with each of there long strides.

Blair started well after them at a much more deliberate pace given her passenger at her waist while still making impressive speed in her own right. Unorthodox as her carrying method was, it was doing it's job and Tanner was safely in place after every motion made by the boisterous amazon mother. It still had its flaws though, the constant shifts of up and down with each step she took were a cause for motion sickness early for him while he tried to orientate himself. Focusing on the surrounding scenery helped take his mind off of that. He didn't think about it often, but the rare chance to see cars passing on the road and greenery (beyond Ivory's property line) made him think of the simpler things he didn't even know he missed and took for granted. The extents of the ordinary becoming extraordinary maybe something he may never fully grasp.

“ What's the matter Mom. Can't keep up!?” Blake yelled from several meters away, while she waited at a cross walk.

“ ...” Blair stopped in her tracks.

“ Don't tell me you're getting old on me!” She continued with a snicker while she egged her on. Reality was they both were equally matched in speed, but Blake was not privy to why her mom was moving so much slower than usual.

The mature adult thing to do would be ignoring the brash wisecracks of her daughter and proceed like she has so far. The odds of that happening were at a definitive 0, Tanner could feel Blair's blood boiling. It was already a lost cause and he wasn't going to waste his breath trying to dissuade her from giving in, a Goliath like Abel could barely reason with his own wife when she got into her moods so no way in hell would Blair listen to the tiny boy in her tights when she was already past the point of no return. “I'm going to go a little faster hun.” She said.

The more accurate statement was “I'm going to break into a full sprint.” because sprint Blair did. Tanner tried to brace himself accordingly but the sudden burst of momentum still took him out of his zone when she went straight from 3 to 10 in her running effort. He had never been able to ride a roller-coaster in his life (for obvious height restrictive reasons), but he imagined it was not far off to what he was experiencing now, it both exhilarated and terrified him how fast she was moving. The environment he was able to enjoy a moment ago was now zipping by him on fast-forward and the only things he could hear were the force of the wind passing him and the hearty exhales of Blair above.

Her adrenaline had to be pumping because that was the only way she'd be able to keep up her breakneck pace and her bodily functions were proof she was going all out. At her more casual pace her body had a light coat of perspiration that wasn't exactly pleasant for her passenger but tolerable. Now that she was completely exerting herself fresh drops of sweat were forming by the second and running down the length of her body, some finding there way to the ground, many finding a home on Tanner. In spite of his best efforts not to be grossed out, each drop for him felt like a half a bucket's worth being poured on him. Whenever he thought he was in the clear a new secretion coated his body. The straw that broke the camel's back was one that splashed on his head and a portion landing right in his eyes. Tanner shook his upper body in disgust and rubbed his eyes with his wrists. What he failed to consider was that the sheer elasticity of the tights was not enough to keep him up now that both himself and Blair were both slippery now. By the time Tanner cleared his vision he had slipped in further and was only neck high to her waist; the rapid shifts of movement from her giant strides sealed the deal leaving him completely wedged inside her tights.

“Shit!” Tanner cursed. Compared to his previous predicament he would've gladly have taken every last fluid ounce of perspiration without flinching if it meant not ending up in this spot. It was significantly hotter now that his body was confined nearby Blair's quads that were operating at full force. A muggy prison was what it was. The humidity was excruciating, her tights was absorbing most of her perspiration, that didn't help him though given his body was lodged right against it and his body was getting soaked, his own body was heated enough to start producing it's own sweat to the point he didn't know which was Blair's or his own. Fresh air was in short supply, her tights kept his body firmly in place against her spandex. When he pushed hard enough against it he could create enough space to get a better gasp of air, but the process was taxing on his arms being able to do it for only a few seconds at a time before needing to regain his strength.

Last of his issues was his position... right near her crotch. It was damn near irrelevant when stacked up to everything else, but the thought still lingered in the back of his mind. If Blair was going slower she may had been able to notice that Tanner slipped below the waistline, in the heat of entertaining her daughter's taunts it was the furthest thing from her mind. She had to have been going strong for at least a minute straight which was an eternity in this situation. Even the fastest animals on the planet can only sustain their top speeds for a short time, if could endure she'd have to slow down sooner rather than later.

Seeing her Mom catch up Blake kicked it into high gear to try and increase her lead again, but Blair remained in pursuit both girls leaving Abel in the dust who shook his head at how a simple run escalated into a race. For all the athleticism she possessed Blake had a hard time staying head after calling her Mom the O-word and the bull was within an arm's reach of the matador.

“ Um, wait a minute Mom!” Sensing she was in trouble, Blake tried to think quickly of something to smooth the tension. Blair wasn't interested and secured her arm around her daughter's neck and putting her into a headlock.

“Nu-uh! What did you call me back there?” She asked, squeezing.

“Nothing Mom!” Blake squealed.

“ Are you sure about that?”

“ Y-yes!”

“Did you call me what I think you called me?!” She squeezed a little tighter.

“N-no! You're a young stud, honest!” Blake finessed telling her Mom exactly what she wanted to hear earning herself a reprieve from the submission hold.

“Much better. Yeesh, making me have to run so fast.” Blair huffed.

“Why were you going so slow anyway?” Blake asked rubbing her now sore neck.

“Because I brought Tanner along with me.” She said, seeing no reason to hide it now.

Blake stared at her mother puzzled. “Where?”

“Right here-” Blair looked down and went pale in the face as she noticed he was not visible at the waist of her tights. Her mind immediately went into a frenzy wondering how she could've been so reckless. As fast as she was going who knows when or where he could've fallen out. Before she worked herself into a complete panic a tickle in her groin snapped her out of it. Her eyes lit up as she put two and two together and pulled on her tights. In an uncommon moment of modesty Blair's face reddened as she nervously reached in, luckily they've ran far away enough from the public for no one to see her fish out the sweat drenched Tanner.

“Er...” Blake stammered. “...Why was Tanner in your-”

“ Not... another...word.” A mortified red in the face Tanner replied. 

Awkward silence was the prevailing mood as the family power-walked home. Tanner and Blair were both embarrassed still about the predicament that ended up happening, and the latter decided to let Blake hold on to Tanner as they went home. Abel decided to leave well enough alone and not ask how Tanner ended up tagging along with them and how he ended up... where he ended up; better not to pose questions you aren't prepared to receive answers to.

Blake was the sole person who was her usual lively self; cackling and smiling it up the whole time, finding the situation to be a goldmine of hilarity. Even after allowing him a reprieve in the bathroom to wash himself of his own and predominantly Blair's bodily liquids, she still didn't let it go as she carried him back to her room.

“Could you please give it a rest already. It's not that funny” Tanner solemnly begged, as Blake continued her giddy laughs.

“It's hilarious.” Blake corrected, wiping a tear from her eye. “If I knew you wanted to get up close and personal with my Mom like that, I would've put in a good word for you.”

The hot and humid entrapment of being firmly pressed against her crotch was too fresh in Tanner's mind and halted his attempt to think of a comeback to shut her up . “Hee, hee.” He flatly responded with the fakest laugh. “Whatever, can you put me back in my house now?”

“Not yet, you still need to do your run.”

Did Tanner hear her right? “I'm sorry, do what now?”

Blake sat down Indian style and placed Tanner onto the floor. “You need to exercise too.”

“What for?” He asked.

“ What for?” Blake repeated, as baffled at Tanner's response as he was at her request for him to exercise. “Why not is the real question. Just because you're small doesn't mean you have to give up every-” It had to have been a miracle that Blake found out there was a way to filter between what you think what comes out of your mouth, it would've been helpful though if she found out a few seconds sooner. Enough of her statement came out that Tanner could pick up the general jist of her message.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.” Blake earnestly apologized before her intent became misconstrued.

Tanner sighed. “It's okay, I see what you're saying.”

“Tanner, if you don't mind me asking... what's it like being so small?” It was another one of those topics she always wanted to bring up but could never find a good segue to lead into it, given her stumbling just now it was as good a time as any.

Tanner was drawing a blank and couldn't understand why. It was the ultimate freebie question, the softball among softballs, something that he should've been able to give an adequate answer for in his sleep. Yet when the question was posed he had nothing. You'd think it was a question he's been asked several times which he did, in much more roundabout fashions where he didn't have to give a straight answer, this was his first time being asked so candidly.

“Physically speaking I feel more or less normal. It's all relative, to you I may look as tiny as kid's action figure, to me you look as big as Godzilla. If it's easier for you to wrap your head around instead of me shrinking, it's like I watched the world grow around me.”

“Doesn't it have its plus sides?”

No independence. Weak. Helpless. Incapable. It's great! Tanner shrugged indifferently.

“You never thought it was kinda cool?”

Cool in an everything outside of microscopic world is an insurmountable obstacle in your life sort of way. “Why would I think that?”

Blake scratched her head. “I dunno, seeing movies like Alice in Wonderland always made that sort of stuff look interesting.”

At the very least Tanner had a base understanding of where she was coming from. Unfortunately there's a gaping divide between fantasy, which can turn anything into a fascinating experience and real life where all the hard facts of reality come at you with full force. “Maybe, but there's no magic cake or anything that's going to make me grow back to normal. I guess if it were for a day or something it'd be a neat experience, but living your whole life like this?”

“Do you not like being small?”

Fuck no. Are you kidding me? It's the worst. I'll trade places with you in a heartbeat. I don't know how much more I can take.

“You're in an awfully inquisitive mood, will this get me out of exercise?”

“Nice try.” Blake said, suddenly remembering her original plan. Inquisitive mood she was in, but her attention span was the same as always and he'd much rather take the physical exertion than be asked more questions that he did not want to answer.

“All you need to do is run a full lap around me.” She explained to Tanner's confusion.

“Around you?”

“Mhm.” She nodded. She scooted over to make sure Tanner was out of the way before laying flat on her back, arms and legs spread wide. “Run around the whole length of my body, jump over my fingers, the top of my head will be your starting and finish point.” She explained.

“Sounds easy enough.”

“That's the spirit and the sooner you do it the faster you can go to your cute little dollhouse.” She chided.

“You're hilarious, don't go and miss your calling as a comedian.”

“Not listening, too busy being a racetrack. Now get into position.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Tanner assumed his spot where her head was lying. He wasn't going to fool himself to thinking he had an easy task, but if he gave it his all he had a good chance at completion.

“Ready, set, go!”

Tanner wanted this done with as fast as possible and took off with as much velocity as he could, her long black hair was dispersed on the floor, it wasn't a full obstacle more like a nuisance given its silky and smooth texture making for a potential trip hazard, staying light on his feet he was able to avoid a loss of balance.

That was a mere warm up for the first of his four major concerns on the horizon, her limbs, starting with the outside of her right arm. What was bad about it? Nothing besides it being long, her limbs were going to exhaust the most energy. It was a straightforward sprint and of her until he got to her fingers. He'd fall for sure if he started making the jumps while at top speed, so he was sure to slow down before the attempt.

“Here we go. 5 jumps” He thought to himself. Pinky, one jump down. Ring finger, two jumps down. Middle finger, three jumps down... Index finger, four jumps down... … Thumb, five jumps down. Now to run the length of the inside arm.

“Tired already?” Blake giggled, having a blast watching the tiny boy running the perimeter of her body. Being an athlete herself, she was too familiar with the subtleties in body language that manifest when fatigued, taking notice of his steps that were becoming more forced and him breathing out of his mouth instead of his nose.

“I'll help you stay cool.” Pursing her lips, Blake blew a gust of air Tanner's way. Despite helpful intent, she only added inconvenience to his life given that she was blowing against him in the direction he was running and impeding his momentum. The power of the air forced his eyes closed and halt his speed to get his base rooted or risk being blown away. It was supposed to be mildly funny, but Blake was taken aback to see Tanner legitimately struggle against something so meager. She never had the opportunity to interact with him like this, most of the time when she was him Ingrid or Ivory were somewhere around the periphery. She noticed Ivory especially always treating him like a one of a kind artifact made of glass, Blake thought it was excessive but after seeing such a simple action have that powerful of an effect on him, her manner of thinking had some merit. The point Tanner was making before about things being relative became clearer too. To her she blew a small breeze of wind his way, to him she blew a tropical storm level of wind his way. “Um, sorry I think I'll stop now...”

Tanner took her actions and comments in stride, she was right that he was fatiguing fast and he didn't have a modicum of energy to entertain her tomfoolery. His heart was pounding louder with each beat and his legs felt like they had balls and shackles attached to them that were getting heavier with each step. That wasn't a good sign now that the worst of his problems was upon him, her legs. He still tried his darnedest to keep strong, but there was no denying that his pace had slowed considerably since he started. The days where he considered himself an active kid were long gone, being young and having a high metabolism kept him lean, but he saw zero reason to exercise regularly as his shrinking progressed. It was different for people like Blake, the window for her to be a pro-athlete was wide open if she chose to pursue it. That venture wasn't a possibility for Tanner, with nothing to strive for he saw needless physical exertion as a pointless endeavor.

It was mesmerizing as he ran the length of her leg, it was like watching a close up slide show being able to see the tightness and muscles of the ligament up close. It never seemed end, it was so massive and unreal if he didn't have any context to it being a part of her anatomy he'd classify it as one of the wonders of the world. Tanner cut the turn at the heel of her foot and ran along the inside of her leg and it was deja vu all over again, only now that he was moving slower and her leg seemed even longer. That was becoming the running theme of this hellacious exercise, each time his speed took a dip her body seemed to become a bit bigger and the task at hand more impossible. By the time he reached her opposite leg his pace was at a hobbling walk. It dawned on him that he severely mismanaged his energy and more importantly underestimated the scale of her body.

Tanner stopped in his tracks and stared at the mountain of a young lady, just looking at the enormity of her body made him feel smaller, heck even worse than small, just plain puny. If he was stacked 10 times over he wouldn't equal half of Blake. What the hell was he even doing right now? Running around a giant woman, for what? Shits and giggles? It was impossible, he was too tired and she was too big. Compared to what he mentally prepared for it was akin to her doubling in size when he realized what he was really contending against.

“I quit.” He announced.

Blake sat up, looking at Tanner who was huffing with his hands on his knees near her ankle. She had a feeling it wouldn't be a walk in the park for him to complete, but she didn't think it'd be THIS difficult for him. An extra push maybe all he needs. “You're so close though come on keep going.”

“I don't want to.” He responded.

“You can do it.” She declared.

“I can't do it.” He replied again, his tone more irritated.

“Yes you can.” Blake declared again her voice rising an octave louder.

“No I can't...” Tanner gritted his teeth.

“You can!” Blake's voice rose to a full shout in that statement and Tanner reflexively flinched at the power of her voice that rung in his ears.

“I fucking can't! It's easy for you to talk about what is and isn't possible. I'm not like you!”

Blake was losing it and pounded her fist on the ground failing to take into account the alarmed gasp it generated from Tanner, a gentle giant she was but everyone had a limit for her she couldn't stand quitters and defeatists. It was in her blood as part of an athletic family, accepting failure so readily was a paradox to what she knew. “Would you stop being such a wimp! Stop acting smaller than what you are!”

“Fun fact, I am small!” He refuted.

Blake had it with his pessimistic talk and emotion flared in the place of reason as she rose up to her feet, “Oh yeah, well keep acting small and people are going to treat you like you're small!”

Tanner was frozen, the only movement he was capable of was the involuntary shivering of his startled body. The scene was horridly familiar to when he was on the floor nearby Ivory, as unnerving as that was he to an extent knew he wasn't in any real harm. With all 6'1 of Blake soaring above him there was nothing unnerving or alarming, it was just plain scary. To see someone as typically happy-go-lucky as her show real anger at him left him petrified to his core and paralyzed at the chance she was going to act on her anger and well... there's no scenario where that ends well for him.

He couldn't bare to look at her right now, it took all he had to manage the little motion of turning his head away from her immense body and disapproving stare. Any zeal and irritation he had in his voice was totally usurped by Blake's outrage and left him too intimidated to raise his voice past a barely audible whisper.

“I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. please... just stop..”

“What!? Can you not even speak or look at me now!?” Blake shouted again, leaning forward to view Tanner better unaware that she made herself look even more imposing .

“ ….”

“Come on man! Speak up!-”

“Blake, ENOUGH!”

Both Tanner and Blake needed to view with their own eyes the source to believe where that voice came from. It was inconceivable that someone as diminutive and taciturn as Abigail could manage such a commanding sound that shook even Blake back to her senses.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I was...” Always vocal and boisterous Blake was at a rare loss for words and the epiphany dawned upon her in full what Tanner was talking about about everything being relative. It occurred to her that the intent of her actions did not translate at all to him. A pep talk was what she thought she was giving him, but in his perception that was, she didn't even want to think about how that came across to him.

Abigail sighed, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Blake wasn't acting maliciously however her act first and think later had manifested at one of the worst times. First things, first, she crouched down and cradled the still scared out of his wits Tanner into her hands. “I think he should hang with me until the end of the day.”

“...Yeah.” Blake admitted.

 As pitiful as it was for Abigail to watch the terrified boy in her hand, face buried in his hands and knees, she had to admit it was a blessing in disguise that he wasn't seeing her pace awkwardly back and forth in the hallway as she contemplated what to do. Her standoffish nature and gothic attire was all the indication needed to discern that she wasn't great at dealing with people and should be one of the last people to turn to for emotional consolation. Maybe in less esoteric circumstances (a nice way of saying, if it wasn't someone who was only as tall as her ankle) she could at least pretend that she knew what she was doing because as is she was completely out of her element. Her pointer finger drifted back and forth, towards and away Tanner's back unable to make up her mind if she should rub it to help soothe him, it was hard to stop overthinking things when he was already feeling down. The last thing she needed was to fuck up and make him feel worse, her next move was pivotal whatever it maybe.

After a few more cycles of pacing a feasible idea hit her mind, acting on her instincts she gingerly made her way down stairs and into the kitchen. It played to her favor that her parents went out for groceries so she didn't have to deal with them sticking their noses in her business.

“Hey, can you step off for a minute.” She said once she approached the counter. She could've just tilted her hand until he had no choice but to step off, however that would've been rude. Tanner obliged without a word and quietly stepped off her hand.

Abigail stepped away to open the refrigerator and take out one of many bottles of water that was stocked inside the appliance. She didn't expect him to be capable of drinking right from the bottle so she improvised and poured some into the cap and sat it next to him. “I'm sorry that it's a little degrading... but ... you can drink it if you want.”

She was right about it being degrading, but there was a time and place for everything and now was not the time to complain about something so trivial. He lowered his head to take a quick sip and then it really hit him parched he really was and kept his head was down for nearly 30 seconds before coming back up for air.

He gasped heavily, regaining his breath and most of his composure before speaking for the first time since leaving Blake's room. “Thanks for helping me out Abigail.” Tanner graciously said.

“You're welcome.” Abigail replied, internally she felt 100 pounds lighter now that he was doing better and a lot more responsive than he was before. “Why exactly were you running around Blake?”

Tanner shook his head wishing he could wipe the event from his memory. “She thought it'd be a fun activity for me to get some exercise and midway...” He had to admit saying it aloud that he gave up because it was too hard sounded pretty pathetic, then again Abigail already saw him cowering on the ground so trying to think of a way to embellish the story to save face was moot. “I couldn't do it, so I quit and after that-”

“I bet she flipped out.” Abigail correctly completed.

“I'm guessing that's not the first time she's lost her shit like that.” Tanner inferred figuring she's seen that side of Blake before.

“One incident of many. Quitting isn't in her vocabulary and tackles everything heads on.”

“Which is easy for an amazon like her.” Tanner added.

“Right? Just because she can plow through every obstacle in her path doesn't mean everyone else can.”

Abigail said and then sighed in relief that Tanner was more or less back to normal. The hardest part was out of the way. Now she had a new challenge, figuring out what to do next...again. They had common ground expressing some of the traits that made her older sister endearing and a pain in the ass sometimes, but now that the moment was gone she needed a new topic.

“Abel and Blair go out?” Tanner asked.

“Yeah, they went to go buy stuff for dinner.” Abigail answered after being disturbed from her musing.

“Ugh, can we go to your room or something? No offense but I can already see your parents make a big fuss about why I'm with you and not Blake when they come back.”

That worked out better than anticipated, Abigail suspected her parents would make a bother about that too and wanted to retreat back into her room; she didn't know how to propose it without it coming off weird, Tanner bringing it up first spared her that hassle. “Sure, um.” Abigail slowly held her hand down to Tanner, it was the only sensible way to transport him but now that she wasn't in the heat of the moment like before, it occurred to her she literally had him in the palm of her hand back when she helped him in Blake's room. Here she was about to have him there again, should she just grab him? Or wait for when he's ready? Now that she thought about it maybe he didn't like it when she picked him up out of the blue earlier. Fuck, this was harder than she thought. “...Sorry for picking you up before without asking. So if you're ready... uh, is it okay to pick you up?”

Tanner didn't know what to say, it's been sometime since he's been asked for consent to be picked up. When his shrinking left him below 2'0 he had to start coming to grips with his limited mobility and had to accept being carried around was far more efficient. Back then he was fanatic about being asked beforehand. Now that getting around on his own was out of the question, he grew accustomed that being carried was the only way he'd get from place to place and being asked became a needless formality.

“It's fine, I'm ready whenever you are.” Tanner put on a confident mask hoping it'd make Abigail relax a little, in reality he was quite nervous as he watched her shaky palm. In the same spectrum as the overly careful holder was the overly timid handler (Ivory used to be an offender of this). There needed to be a level of mutual confidence between them and that was sorely lacking in Abigail, it was obvious she was afraid she'd drop him which was a reasonable fear, but it was blatant enough to instill the same fear in him.

“I know it's an unusual experience, you're going to have to calm down though.”

Abigail yelped in surprise, in hindsight it was rather foolish to try and think she was hiding her nerves in front of someone who was small enough to notice the subtle intricacies her nervous body was making. “Sorry, it's just so crazy. I wasn't thinking about it before, but now I can't believe I'm actually about to hold you. It’s...” Abigail didn't have the words to describe it. “I don't mean to make it awkward, it's something I never thought I'd have to do.”

Tanner did indeed dislike things getting awkward when it came to his size, but he was coming to realize it was a two-way street of not only him learning to adapt to the world at his size and the giants around him, it included his peers learning how to adapt to him.

Tanner held his arms out and stepped closer to her palm. “Go ahead, do what you need to do. Poke touch, stare, anything so you can get acclimated. I may not be the most durable thing in the world, I'm pretty sure I won't break on contact though.” He couldn't imagine him doing this with anyone else who he didn't know very well, Abigail seemed nice enough plus she was going to have to get past this nervousness if they were to continue.

Abigail apprehensively nodded. She didn't know where to begin so she started by first by lightly touching against Tanner's face with the edge of her fingernail, from that focal point she moved around the area of his body. Based off touch alone it was nothing outside the ordinary, he didn't feel any different from any other person yet she couldn't stop herself from probing him. Was it the simple size difference between them that interested her? Besides that, there was nothing separating him from any regular person. She soon added her thumb into the mix lightly squeezing his body, despite trying to remain motionless Tanner flinched and groaned quietly with each prod and squeeze. Maybe she was wrong about it being a simple size difference, it was a substantial difference that made Abigail feel a way she never felt when around her physically superior family, powerful. It fascinated her to no end, powerful... A word that should be nowhere near a sentence describing her when used in relation of herself to Tanner it pertained and then some.

“Okay, I think I'm ready.” She announced, holding her hand flat again in front of Tanner.

It was hard to believe that this was the same person whose palm was trembling a few moments ago and now lied totally still and ready. Whatever mental preparations she took performed wonders, she was able to keep him in the palm of her hand with none of her previous trepidation and went upstairs without missing a beat.

Abigail's room was a stark contrast from her older sister's, everything was neat and deliberate down to the last cubic inch. The walls were plastered with what Tanner assumed were television shows and movies she was a fan of, and most notably was a cabinet off in the corner that shelved dozens of games; some of which he recognized others seemed pretty obscure. Tanner never fancied himself an avid gamer, he used to play with Ingrid occasionally on rainy days eventually though the controllers became too unmanageable for him and it was another card out of the deck of things he could enjoy.

Abigail sat at her bed and laid Tanner next to her. “…Is there anything you want to do?” Truthfully, she tried her best to think of something to do while she was taking him to her room. Having to entertain a guest was again out of her wheelhouse, her scope of interests was narrow enough as is, factor in having to take his minuscule stature left her bereft of ideas.

“It's okay, you don't need to mind me. You can do what you'd normally do.” Tanner appreciated Abigail's forced efforts to be accommodating and he wanted to try and make it easier any way he could.

“I could put in a game that would be interesting for you to watch me play.” She suggested.

“Sure.” At 3 ½ inches tall there wasn't many activities he could actively participate in, watching from the sidelines was a role he often had to take.

The petite teen stood up and scanned her eyes across the shelves of her games for an adequate choice. She decided against all of her first person shooter games, though it was her favorite genre to play it risked being too alienating to Tanner who likely wouldn't understand the strategy and mechanics involved. Near the bottom she spotted a better contender. Reaching for it, she pulled out the disc and loaded it into the tray. She reclaimed her seat with controller in hand as the screen began loading.

“What'd you pick?”

“A pretty well known game, Super Smash Bros.” Definitely not her first choice if she were playing alone like she often is, but it was the best choice to keep Tanner engaged that featured a plethora of recognizable characters even to non-gamers and the basic game play was simple enough that it can be picked up by anyone.

“Oh, I've seen commercials for that one before.”

Once the game booted up Abigail went to the training mode first so she could give a brief demonstration on how it works. She picked the two most iconic characters in Mario and Luigi. “It's pretty easy to play, after you pick your characters the general premise is to knock the opponent off the screen.” She had the CPU set to be inactive so she can use it as a dummy to show her point. “The more damage that's accrued the easier it gets. It varies by character, some are powerful and hard to knockout, the downside is that they are typically slow and easy to hit. Some are fast and nimble, conversely they tend to be easy to knockout and their moves usually lack power.

“Is there any characters that are the best?”

Abigail shrugged her shoulders. “There's a tier list for the people who play competitively and there's a lot more factors to consider than the surface. Maybe a live opponent would be better?” Backing out of the training mode, she connected to Wi-Fi to find an online opponent. Within moments she found a match up and she picked Zero Suit Samus. Beyond the fact he used to think that it was man inside of the armor she wore he wasn't familiar with her. Once the stage was selected it was revealed her opponent picked Ganondorf, another character he didn't know much of besides being the main villain in the Zelda franchise.

Every detail about her explanation was proven as the match unraveled. Calling it one-sided was being generous, it was a total slaughter. The speed and agility of Abigail's character time and time again trumped her adversary who picked a strong character, but lacked the quickness to make use of it. Every time he attempted to close in, she simply attacked from range or side-stepped behind him and racked up hit after hit, before he could respond.

Tanner wanted to compliment her every time she scored a point, the timing didn't see right at all though. All of her focus was dead-locked in her match and she could've stared a hole right into the television screen with her glare. Despite all the noises and sound effects of the game, all Tanner could hone in on was the intensity that Abigail was pressing the buttons. Right now, Abigail looked like a tiger playing with her outmatched prey, and if Tanner was to interrupt her fun he feared she'd bite his head off. Even her voice sounded different in the few instances she did speak in disdain of her opponent's skill. “Who the fuck plays as Ganondorf in this game?” She berated.

The one time it looked like she may have been in trouble was when a mushroom appeared on screen, Tanner recognized it as being a staple in the Mario games that makes him grow twice his size. Her opponent sought it immediately prompting a patronizing laugh from Abigail who made a distinction in the mushroom color that her opponent didn't, that resulted in his character shrinking down to half his usual size, ending up as tall as Samus' waistline. He tried to run away, but his height (or lack thereof) made it no easy task getting away from his fully sized competitor who easily closed the distance and scored an effortless knockout. If it wasn't obvious enough already, the poor player realized he was fighting a losing battle. More mature players would accept the loss and continue playing until the end, but the impending pill of defeat was enough to make the player suddenly disconnect, to Abigail's ire.

“Well that blows.” Abigail responded to his unsportsmanlike behavior.

Tanner would've been inclined to agree with her if he still wasn't in shock the new facet of the young girl that he just witnessed.

“What?” She questioned.

“You just seemed like a totally different person while you were playing.” Tanner said, realizing he was looking at her wide-eyed while she played. That statement appeared to bring her back into her previous demeanor that he knew her for

“It's nothing... I only got caught up in the moment.”

Her attempts at being dodgy about it was pretty amusing to Tanner. “I don’t know, reminded me of the rest of your family with how competitive you got.”

It was a comment in good fun, but it got Abigail acting more defensive. “I'm not like them.”

He wasn't buying it for a second. “Could've fooled me. You were totally in the zone, I thought if I said something to you mid-game you would’ve swatted me across the room.”

After trying to keep a straight face that comment succeeding in making her laugh for a second. “Hush, no one likes to lose.”

“Not only that, you project yourself when you have to. Back when you told Blake off, I thought you were 7 feet tall.”

In contrast to his statement Abigail timidly turned her head, it was a side that she very seldom let out. She didn't want to admit it but it was in her blood, she may not be as tall as her parents or sibling, deep down though there was a sleeping giant in her. That wasn’t the only thing Tanner wanted to bring up though, there was something else that he didn’t pay significant mind to when she said it, now that he was thinking clearly there was something he wanted to confirm with her.

“Your timing was pretty impeccable too I might add.”

Abigail turned back to Tanner. “What are you implying?”

“It was pretty convenient, that and you said something that caught my attention downstairs.”

“Which was?”

“‘Why I was running around Blake’. Something that you brought up, without me saying a word about what Blake and I were doing. The only way you would've known that was if you were watching the whole time.” Tanner concluded.

Abigail slapped her forehead as it unraveled how careless she was in her choice of wording, leading to her being caught red-handing that she was eavesdropping on them.

“I didn’t mean to… I just know how Blake can be sometimes and I got worried, after all you're so … and Blake's well ...”

“After all I'm so small and Blake's so big.” Tanner responded assuming she watched from afar out of some kind of pity.

Abigail shook her head at how he misinterpreted her intent. “I don't mean it like that. You were really brave back there.”

She was flattering him, Tanner was sure she wasn't being serious. “Are you kidding me? I'm not brave. You saw it with your own two eyes, all I could do in the face of adversity was tremble.”

“That's a lot better I think than how most people in your place would've reacted. Whenever Blake used to get angry at me for throwing in the towel when we were little kids I always broke down and cried, you had it a lot worse with Blake towering and shouting down at you, yet you still tried to hold your ground. Even if things are far from ideal for you, you always try to hold your head up.”

Tanner's emotions were in flux, as much as he wanted to accept her words of praise for trying to live his life in spite of his condition, his conscience he kept telling him it wasn't true and she had it all wrong. “I'm a coward, I'm always afraid.”

Instead of trying to dissuade him from his pessimism, Abigail changed tactics and engaged him in it. “What are you afraid of?”

Besides everything that moves? “..People.” He answered.

“Anyone specifically?” Abigail inquired.

That struck Tanner as an unexpected response and left him perplexed to what she was getting at. “..Nobody specific.”

“Really though? Is that the truth?” She prodded.

“Why wouldn't it be?”

“Because I heard Ingrid did something to you.”

Scratch that, Tanner was no longer perplexed; the mention of his step-sister made him full on speechless.

 If there was any positive to Tanner being away from home it was the reprieve from having to think about Ingrid, now that was out the window courtesy of Abigail. It was up for debate if she made an astute guess or if she knew more than she let on.

“Before Julie dropped you off, I overheard Abel talking to her over the phone. I don't know exactly what happened, based off the pieces I heard though Ingrid did something pretty bad.” She expounded.

“It was a little argument that's all.” Tanner downplayed; Abigail was too clever to fall for it though.

“I'm pretty sure it was more than an argument that brought you here. You can tell me what happened.”

He hardly spoke a word about it to Ivory or Julie; both had the clarity to tell he didn't want to recount the event. Now that some time has passed he could at least talk a little bit about it, plus it helped that Abigail was more of a neutral party.

“She was drinking and... long story short I got a load of how she really feels about me.”

“Do you think she meant what she said?”

She's better off without me.

Idealism wasn't a trait Tanner possessed in abundance, no matter how deep he read into everything Ingrid said, there was nothing that could dissuade him from thinking they weren't her bottled up feelings. “...She sounded like she was holding it in for a while.” He never would of thought it would break him up inside as much as it did, if it was someone like Marcelle who was naturally mean spirited he probably would've taken it with some salt. To take it from Ingrid, someone whom he respected, admired, and loved, she may as well have stomped his heart underneath the ball of her foot. “It just hurts for someone that close think so... lowly of you.” Tanner's words were straining and he wanted to hit himself for almost getting too emotional.

Abigail keenly noticed his mood lessening and drew her finger to his cheek. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry about it.”

“It's okay... I hate feeling like I'm a nuisance to everyone.” Tanner admitted. It was something Ivory and Ingrid would never admit to him, however when push came to shove it was an irrefutable fact in his mind that he was a hindrance to them.

Abigail twirled a strand of her black hair and looked off to her side. “I don't think you're a nuisance.. I like having you around.”

“Thanks Abigail-”

“Gail.” She corrected.

“What?”

“Call me Gail.” She clarified. Abigail sounded so plain and boring to her, sometimes her peers called her Abby, which sounded too immature, by process of elimination Gail was the best of the possible abbreviations.

“Ah, Gail thanks for listening, I didn't mean to bear my grievances out like that.”

“It's okay...I don't have many people I can talk to like this.” Gail said softly, her voice coming down to her whisper, trying not to sound embarrassed to say it.

“Blake, Abigail, we're home! Come downstairs, to help unload the car and make dinner!” Abel announced. The quickness that Abel could swap from being a soften-spoken person to barking orders never ceased to make Tanner flinch. It was debatable in his mind if it were good or bad luck that the parents returned when they did. He wasn't quite used to airing out his feelings and there intervention stopped him before he got too uncomfortable, however Gail turned out to be a very easy person to communicate with.

In timely fashion both girls were downstairs to help. Unsurprisingly Gail left Tanner at the counter while she and her sister went to unload the trunk of the car. To further predictably Blair was in full effect leading the conversation while she seasoned the chicken with Abel, Blake took care of the dishes in the sink, and Gail preparing the salad. Typically the matriarch had Blake to match her loquacious tendencies, after understanding the full ramifications of snapping at Tanner the way she did left her much less talkative than normal. This left Blair mainly listening to herself as she hummed, sung, and remarked on how she may get liposuction in the near future to lose 5-10 pounds.

Once all the food was prepared, everyone took their seats and Blair rationed out the food to everyone.

“Don't you think you overdid it with the portion size?” Abel asked. Tanner's plate resided in between Blair's and Gail's, despite using a smaller plate she still crammed it with as much food as everyone else.

“He's a growing boy, he needs to eat!” The rest of the dinner participants understood what she was saying, but were left in baffled silence at the fact that her statement could almost literally not be any more untrue.

“Just eat as much as you can.” Abel added to help his wife save face.

“I'll do my best...” Tanner said staring down the smorgasbord of food in front of him. It smelled very good, if she had gave him less of it he'd be a happy camper right now.

The tempo of conversation was much of the same with Blair dominating the flow and making it revolve around her vanity. “Did I tell you the cashier asked for my ID when I bought my wine?”

“I think he did that for his job security.” Gail corrected.

“Nu-uh, the sign said they weren't required to check if the customer looked over 27.”

“Isn’t your ego bloated enough?” Gail muttered.

“I bet if I got Botox I'd look 19 again.” Blair commented, taking a look at herself in the backside of a spoon. After she was done looking at her distorted reflection in the silverware, she looked down to Tanner’s plate. “It hardly looks like you took a bite dear.” It was even more noticeable when compared to her own plate that she cleaned to the letter.

It wasn't something he could really help, he didn't eat much and she drastically overloaded his plate. “I finished what I could.”

“Well don't mind me then.” Blair drove a fork into Tanner's plate, helping herself to the salad that looked virtually untouched.

It made Tanner’s stomach queasy to see her clearing sections of his plate that would take him days, maybe weeks to finish. He didn’t like watching people eat; no matter how graceful there table manners were, seeing people the size of buildings stuffing their faces, chomping away, and swallowing looked so grotesque. Moments like that served as a reminder no matter how civilized they appeared humans were still animals.

Blair deviously smiled swapping out utensils back for her spoon and positioned it behind Tanner and drove forward, getting a spoonful of salad and more importantly Tanner himself onto her silverware.

“Oh looks like I got myself a bonus topping.” She smirked bringing the spoon closer to her face. Hamming it up right when he was near her mouth she widely opened her jaw with an audible. “Aaaaah.”

Never mind the fact that Blair unwittingly startled Tanner by threatening to eat him; he stared mystified at the inside of her mouth. The human body was such a beautiful and disgusting thing. He should want to be far, far, away from the maw of doom that generated saliva and served as the primary means to crush food into unrecognizable pieces and transport it to dark pit of her belly. Towards the back he saw a few small pieces of lettuce at the end of her tongue that didn't get swallowed. Just thinking about being trapped in the damp prison and getting coated in saliva seemed gross to the highest degree, so why did he still find it so enthralling? Blake mentioned it earlier about cartoons making phenomena like shrinking look interesting. When he thought about it in more detail, he had seen a few cartoons with episodes revolving around shrinking and exploring the human body. To an extent he was as close as it gets to the real life version of that. It was gross yes, but who has ever had the possibility to literally step inside someone else’s mouth? How would it feel to touch her tongue or teeth, it’d probably be pretty slippery and humid in the pink cavern.

What the heck is wrong with me?

By the time he came out of his thoughts he realized that Blair already set him back on table and was bickering with her youngest daughter.

“Why'd you do that for, you could've scared him?” Gail argued.

Blair rolled her eyes at her daughter ruining her fun. “You guys are too serious with him, it was in good fun.”

“Because putting someone in your mouth is the epitome of fun…” Gail rebuked.

Blair huffed like a kid who lost an argument to their parent, reluctantly acknowledging her point. “Alright, I’m sorry Tanner.”

I’m going to piss my pants one of these days if you keep doing shit like that. “It’s okay.”

“You’re awfully talkative this evening Abigail.” Abel mentioned, spare for sporadic one or two word comments, it was unprecedented to hear her speak so much during dinner. Blair’s devious grin reemerged after her husband brought their daughter’s uncharacteristic chattiness.

Back to her introvert fashion Gail turned her head. “Am not.”

Blair was ready to press the subject. “I also have to come up and drag out of your room to get you to have dinner with us.” The theory was formulating. “And you came downstairs holding Tanner.” Her hypothesis was set. “Does my little girl have a crush?”

The fact that her hair framed around her cheeks and her head being off to the side kept everyone from seeing her blushing face. “…Shut up.”

Abel coughed nervously, realizing his initial statement triggered the subsequent inquiries from his wife. “Blair now, don’t go and embarrass her.”

“It’s okay sweetheart, we can take care of dishes if you want to go back upstairs with Tanner and-” A sharp glare from Abel indicated for Blair to stop before she made another ill-advised comment.

“Anyway, you can excuse yourself Abigail.” Abel succinctly said.

“Whatever…” Gail said scooting her chair back and standing up. She debated whether to pick up Tanner and supply credence to her mother’s speculation. Meanwhile the boy was trying every form of non-verbal communication besides outright begging Gail to not leave him next to Blair. He didn’t dislike her, on the contrary he found her carefree spirit to be as enjoyable as Blake’s, but she was an exhausting person to be around when riled up and she was always a hair-trigger away from going from zero to one-hundred. Keeping her head down, she hastily scooped Tanner into her hands and went back upstairs.

She wasn’t as calm as before, being rattled by Blair’s comments made her palms a little sweaty and had her moving a tad too fast for Tanner’s liking. She relaxed substantially once back in the security of her room.

“I swear, why does my mother have to be so embarrassing?” She ranted, pacing back and forth. “We couldn't have a simple meal without her being...ugh.”

“She's an interesting one, but can we talk while I'm sat down.” Tanner mentioned, starting to feel a motion sickness from Gail's constant changes in directions while in her hand.

Coming back to her senses she set him down on the top her game shelf. She exhaled resting her elbows on it as well. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries, it's not like I have the best of dating track records. Girls aren't exactly lining up to be with a guy only slightly taller than their pinky.”

Gail's heart sunk at Tanner's self-deprecation. “...You don't need to be any taller.” Her heart raced as she tried to express herself. “I like you just the way you are.”

Tanner was flustered beyond words, has anyone ever said that to him? Does he even like the way he is?

“Besides, I've never had a boyfriend either...” Gail continued.

Tanner was in unfamiliar territory, he's found girls attractive before, but between shrinking and his general absence from the social sphere of life he's never been in a position to have to talk extensively about romance. What does he do in this situation, what does he say? His heart was beating in his ears, his tongue felt dryer than it ever has, his legs felt like they were made of jelly, was that all normal? To cap things off Gail was staring right at him, being downstairs with Blair didn’t sound so bad anymore.

“I like you Tanner.”

Elated? Overjoyed? Astonished? Tanner wondered if that is how he should be feeling, if so he was the furthest thing from it. Instead he felt like a boulder was dropped on his shoulders and his body was hundred times heavier.

“You don’t like me?” Gail asked her tone sounding disappointed taking his silence for rejection.

Tanner responded quickly, not wanting to unintentionally upset her; it was pivotal he picked his words carefully, which would be a difficult task in it of itself when he was a novice in romance talk. “It-It's not like that... I like you a lot, it's just...”

“So why don't you want me to be your girlfriend?”

I don’t know, good question. Will a confession ever happen again in my life? It was a painful truth that Tanner was prepared to live with perpetual singlehood and that he’d never have a love life for the duration of his existence. His chance to have one arrived on a silver platter and he didn’t have an inkling of a clue on what to do with the first and possibly the only confession he’ll ever receive in his life. There was one clear question in his mind though “Why me?”

“What do you mean?” Gail asked.

“...You don't think it's weird?”

Gail still didn’t understand what he was getting at. “I’m not following.”

Was she seriously going to make him say it? “I'm tiny... Most girls would want a guy, bigger than them, who can protect them, who can-”

“Why does it matter?” Tanner was prepared to give at least 10 more reasons to why he'd make for an unconventional (putting it lightly) choice of boyfriend material until Gail cut him off.

Because... societal norms? Again Tanner had a whole lot of nothing to offer for a response. From everything he’s seen in media, couples he’s seen in real life, and the chatter he’s heard between his sister and Blake that's just the way things were supposed to operate. Obviously he knew there were couples out there where the girl was taller than the guy, but himself with any normal sized girl would be taking it to an extreme.

“Exactly.” Gail responded, his silence proving confirmation of her point. “I don't care about any of those societal norms.” She added as if she read his mind. “What's the harm if the guy I like is smaller than me?”

Tanner shrugged indifferently, she wasn’t wrong. On the contrary everything she’s said has been spot on, but he couldn’t bring himself to agree with her manner of thinking.

Despite showing her bolder side up to this point, some of her timidity resurfaced briefly. “Besides… I think it's pretty cute how much smaller you are than me.”

He was floored at how easily she was able to admit that, whereas he was struggling to come to grips with what he believe maybe his own fetishes that would make him die in embarrassment to admit aloud. It takes a lot of teens significantly longer, heck maybe their whole life for some to realize the futility of caring what others think. It was praiseworthy for her to already have a good grasp on that concept. Frankly, Tanner envied her mental fortitude. “You don’t think it’s strange at all?”

Gail shook her head. “I’m always around people who are bigger and stronger than me. I'd like you if I was an inch taller than you or towered over you.”

She still saw apprehension on his face, for someone who resigned himself to an absence of a dating life this springing up for him was difficult to process.

“Maybe it'd be easier if I showed you how I felt.”

Tanner knew exactly what was coming when she said that and his body was frozen in place as she leaned closer, lips first. His first kiss was going to happen right now? On no level did this possibly compare to the pecks given to him by his family, this was from a girl who actually liked him. His primal brain wanted to abandon all semblances of decency and wanted to lunge body first into Gail's lips and smear the traces of clear lip gloss all over his body, what would it feel like for her affection to overwhelm his entire body this again was also something that only he would be able to experience. So what stopped him from giving into his beastly urges, a funny thing called conscience. For all intents and purposes he still shouldn't harbor any feelings for his step-sister after what happened, yet in the heat of the moment throughout this conversation he couldn't repress the lingering emotions he had in his heart. It wasn't right, he knew that; but it would be wrong for him to lead Gail on when he didn't reciprocate her feelings. When her lips were nearly in contact with his body, he finally backed away and spoke up.

“ Stop..It's not right, I.. there's someone I like.. I mean I think I like..”

“It's Ingrid isn't it?” Gail correctly assumed.

Is it that obvious? Tanner reluctantly nodded.

Her reaction? The worst one possible, it wasn't crying, it wasn't rage, it was.. nothing. She backed away, her demeanor shifting back to her resting bitch face. When that was her default mode it gave no indication if she was legitimately upset. He'd almost prefer a total mental breakdown rather than being left in limbo.

“I think it's time to put you back to your house in Blake's room, seeing how quiet she was at dinner she's probably ready to apologize.” Her tone was callous, not allowing Tanner to draw any sort of insight to how she took being turned down.

“Gai-..” Before he got a word out Gail scooped him into her palm and started walking towards the door only saying one sentence as she exited to the hallway.

“I wouldn't hurt you like she did.”

With his first confession going as well as a fart in a funeral Tanner didn’t have the nerve to say anything to Gail while she brought him back his house in Blake's room. At the very least it was nice to have some time to himself, he was both mentally and physically drained from his turbulent day. Now was a good time to get some shuteye, if he could get himself to fall asleep that is.

Tanner lied on his back staring up into the ceiling hoping he’d grow drowsy, yet he remained as alert as a soldier on duty. He tried shutting his eyes trying to force himself into slumber and still couldn’t manage a single moment of unconsciousness.

Ugh... He groaned. The problem was evident, he was too tense, too antsy, all the prominent events over the last couple of days played in an endless loop in his mind. Being the freshest in his mind he kept thinking about Gail's confession the most as he imagined several different variations of how he could of worded his sentiments better and the ways she'd react. In his most idealistic renditions they'd reach a mutual understanding and everything would be peachy. In the worst what if instead of having a non-reaction like she did, what if she was livid and wanted to enact vengeance? Hell, there's no telling if she's already feeling that way and was just masking it, you know what the say about the quiet ones after all.

Tanner continued tossing and turning until he managed his most comfortable position. Now for the hardest part, expelling the excess of thoughts that were bogging his mind, it took several minutes doing away with the thoughts of Gail's confession, Blake's chastisement, and even a few stray thoughts of his precarious entrapment with Blair to finally seeing nothing but pitch blackness.

“...Tanner, Tanner are you awake?” Impressively Blake's voice was not in usual form, on average she was one octave below a complete shout but this was much more subdued.
She actually knows how to whisper?

Truthfully Tanner was quite irritated that he was interrupted from nearly obtaining some much needed rest, as he stepped out though there was no way from him to remain that way once her remorseful face that looked like she just saw a puppy die. Just watching almost confused him into thinking he did something that he needed apologize for.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you before.”

Gail was right on the money on that one.

Tanner thought it'd be easier to stay mad at her but he couldn't, Blake never meant any harm on purpose. “It’s water under the bridge.”

Blake's eyes perked up a little at being so easily forgiven, however she still felt guilty for her inconsideration. “I shouldn't have tried to push you so hard though, you were right about not everyone responding to the same type of motivation as me.”

There was truth to what Tanner said at the time, however it nagged him that Blake may have had a point too. “You weren’t totally wrong though, maybe I could’ve pushed harder.”

“So why didn't you?”

Because it's easier to quit while uncertain of failure rather than try and have it inevitably confirmed. “But what if I still couldn't do it?”

“At least you knew you still tried your best, that’s all you can ask of anyone.” Blake ruffled the sides of her hair in frustration wondering why she didn't state that so eloquently before. “I just wanted to help take your mind off… you know.”

“I guess that’s popular topic right now in my life.” Tanner guessed, seeing how Gail knew it wasn't a stretch that Blake knew too.

“Do you think you’re ready to hash things out with her?”

… No idea. Tanner sighed, knowing that it was unavoidable that he'd be under the same roof as Ingrid where they'll undoubtedly cross paths again. Where they go from that night was beyond him. “Can't say that I'm looking forward to it. Then there's Ivory, if she was a helicopter mom before she'll be a military aircraft now. Can't forget having to deal with Marcelle's crap.” He ranted, a portion of his sentiments piquing Blake’s interest.

“Why do you let Marcelle push you around?”

“What?”

“You always let Marcelle bully you.”

Blake's interactions with Marcelle had been very limited which was why it caught Tanner way off guard that she made such an astute inference. It served as a reminder that while she was air-headed and absent-minded at times, she was not an idiot. “When you’re my size being picked on is pretty easy.”

Blake shook her head in detest. “I used to think that way too.”

“Oh? You used to pick on people back in the day?”

Blake chuckled at Tanner's assumption that she was the one doing the bullying. “Other way around.”

Tanner had to rerun that sentence in his brain a couple of times for him to grasp it. “Don’t give me that look.” Blake commented on his skepticism that she was actually bullied.

“Sorry it sounds like some kind of ironic joke that someone like you were bullied.” Tanner replied. It was damn near inconceivable in his mind that the same girl who throughout elementary and middle school was the tallest student in the classroom was bullied. It wasn’t until high school that there were finally boys who matched and exceeded her height though they were somewhat few and far between. Not only just tall, but sporty too? Bullying a girl like that was not a smart move at all.

“Oh you mean someone who was almost always able look over the top of people's heads for most her school life?” Blake laughed a little knowing it sounded far-fetched , she turned and rested her back on her dresser getting comfortable for what was about to be story time.“You know I wasn't always secure about my height. I mean, I used to think it was cool being taller than all the kids and it made me feel more grownup than them, but a lot of them were scared of me like I was going to beat them up or something.”

For someone who had the opposite problem, Tanner was all ears as he was listening to the duality of there experiences.

“Then it got worse in Middle School when my height really started skyrocketing and I wasn't used to my growing body. You stick out like a sore thumb, people were hooking up, and no one wanted to date me, heck I would've settled for a nerd-” Seeing Tanner's raised brow Blake cleared her throat getting back on track.

“Anyways, I always had it to hear it in the hallways, how I was too tall, too clumsy, the works. Then there was this one girl…” Blake trailed off as she looked up into the air trying to remember her name. “Taylor Higgins who I swear made it her sworn mission to single me out every day.”

“Was she even taller than you?” Though he was all ears on her personal account of bullying a key principle was still eluding him.

“Nope. She was pretty scrawny, shorter than 5 feet for sure and all of 90 pounds soaking wet .” She estimated. “Every time I was in her line of sight she’d take some kind of crack at me.”

“Watch out everyone the 50 foot woman may step on you.”

“You’re too tall to be a girl, are you sure you don’t have a dick?”

“At least you can always be at a circus freak show.”

Blake recited some of the quips thrown her way that she remembered. “I thought I was insecure before, but after having run ins with her I started hunching over and leaning forward all day until my back hurt to try and look shorter. I even tried looking up online if height reduction surgery was a thing.” Blake chuckled again realizing how stupid it was in hindsight.

“I tried to avoid her as much as I could, but we had three classes together and the same lunch period so I was guaranteed to see her sooner or later. I was like you and didn’t do anything about it so I ended up taking her crap when I had to, and you know what?”

“What?”

“It got worse. She started throwing stuff at me, shoved me, tripped me at the cafeteria and made me spill my things. It didn’t matter what our height difference was, since she knew I was scared of her she treated me like I was smaller one.”

“I swear that first semester of 7th grade felt like the longest in my life, there were days I faked being sick so I could stay home. Sometimes I came home from school and cried in my room wondering why she was always messing with me. I almost wanted to change schools until a friend of mine spelled it out for me, the one simple reason why Taylor kept bullying me.”

“...Why?” Tanner asked.

“Because I let her.” Blake said.

“It took me a minute to understand what that meant, but when I did I learned I had to start walking with my head high. It wasn't an overnight thing, but it was still one of the best pieces of advice anyone's ever told me.”

“What’s the matter giant? Not crouching today?”

“Of course right when I was getting my confidence Taylor was there waiting to try and knock me back down. I usually didn't say a word when she tried to berate me because I was scared. This time I was quiet because I was confused as I stared down at her wondering why I let someone like her push me around so much. ”

“Leave me alone.”

“I said that to her in plain, clear English. I swear she was going to explode, I thought I saw steam coming out her ears. I was about to walk away and then she grabbed me by the wrist to stop me. I almost couldn't believe what was happening when she balled her hand into a fist and tried to punch me.”

Oh god. Tanner thought there wasn’t any way that this was going to end well for that girl.

“I was pretty much on auto-pilot and punched her square in the face.”

Blake’s serious demeanor ended with her laughing. “Holy shit, I didn’t even think I decked her that hard, but her eye started swelling up to the size of a golf ball. It was really gross looking. Something like that happened to me before where a soccer ball hit me on the- “

“Blake focus! What happened next?!” Tanner blurted as Blake started to ramble onto irrelevant topics again.

“Oh yeah. That's the jist of it. The school staff made a fuss about it, but students spoke up and mentioned how she started it and how she was bullying me for months. So I only ended up with a couple of days in detention, Taylor backed off after that.”

“So the moral of the story is I need to punch Marcelle in the face.” Tanner quipped, purposely acting like he missed the point of her story.

“Haha. Lets not get hung up on the violence and more on the principle.”

On the more critical note, Tanner had to admit he drastically misjudged her. “Sorry Blake.”

Blake blunk a few times. “For what?”

“I guess I sometimes thought there was no way you of all people could ever relate to me. I sorta just assumed with your height and all you had it easy.”

“It's alright, I guess with the way I come across you'd never know it.” Blake responded.

“Yeah, don't worry though us tall and small people need to stick together. Without people like you around I'd never be able to reach stuff on high cabinet shelves.” Tanner wisecracked.

“Sorry, I've already given you free advice today. If you want any high shelf grabbing I'm going to need people like you to go into the sofa to find the stuff I lose.” She returned fire.

“Oh hush, that doesn't count since Ingrid gave you the advice first.”

Blake paused at his correct presumption despite never stating who gave her advice by name. “I think it’d serve you well too.”

“Thanks Blake.” He said spreading his arms out as wide as he could and hugged her at the shoulder.

By the grace of God Blake was able to resist the urge to scoop him up and bear hug him to her body at his incredibly adorable display which she knew would annoy him to no end (because she's done it before), so she settled for rubbing his back with her finger. “Anytime Tanner, goodnight.”

Tanner lied back in his bed, back at square one and unable to fall asleep. Blake’s tale harbored in his mind, it was an uplifting story that still opened up a pit of doubt in psyche.

Tanner’s Reminiscence V: Marcelle

Standing up for myself, can I really do that? Marcelle didn’t even begin to compare to the average bully. Her words, her inflections, her actions, all were so tailored whenever she interacted with me. It was about a month after I started living with Ivory at 10 years old when I met her, she immediately rubbed me the wrong way. I saw the way she acted around her parents and Ivory, it all looked manufactured. It was when I was alone with her that shades of her true colors emerged.

“Hi, I’m Tanner.” I tried to be polite and introduce myself, Marcelle didn’t say a word though, she kept eyeing me up and down like she was standing in front of an exotic specimen.

“How tall are you?” She bluntly asked.

That question always came up sooner or later, but she was 13 at the time an age you’d expect she'd have some more delicacy before bringing up the matter, being asked so directly threw me off guard from the jump.

“Um...3’5 I think.”

“At 10 years old?” Marcelle responded, suppressing a laugh. “Are you sure you may not be a midget?” She definitely meant that to berate me, but that comment led me to think she didn’t know I was shrinking yet. However, correlating to Blake’s story our interactions got worse every time Marcelle visited. Typically I only saw her a handful of times throughout a year but between her spurts of growing and the progression of my shrinking the height difference between became all the more staggering. We met again the following year on Ivory’s birthday.

I saw her emerald eyes light up in fascination as the pieces unraveled before her. She grew a couple of inches but that wasn’t enough to compensate for what was nearly 2 feet of difference. Being the keen girl that she is, she put two and two together. Wouldn't you know that’s also when I started seeing a lot more of her throughout the year and her comments getting more dark.

I initially tried to ignore her or barricade myself in my room, but Marcelle would always manage to find opportune moments where we're away from everyone. To prevent me from trying to sneak away she grew extra fond of hoisting me up at the waist and sitting on a bed or chair while she sat me on her lap to force me to be near her.

“You look even smaller than the last time I saw you, how tall are you now.”

Talking about it made me more and more uncomfortable. “…2’6.” I nervously admitted.

“What would happen if you kept shrinking and shrinking. Do you think you'll just go...poof! Right out of existence or maybe to microscopic levels.” Both were very real fears I had and Marcelle sounded morbidly interested to know if it would happen. “I'm only playing.” I hated it when she said that and I hated myself more for believing her when she said that. I knew she wasn't playing, but I made myself believe her.

I saw her later again that same year and I was 4 inches smaller and it was much of the same. Marcelle getting me isolated and subduing me in her lap again. “Are you even going to hit puberty, I bet the boys are already getting taller, getting facial hair, and their cocks get bigger too.”

Marcelle smirked, noticing me getting shy at her mention of the male genitals. “Are you falling behind in that area too?” She giggled pointing down at my crotch.

My face quickly went beat red as I tried to squirm from her grasp. Marcelle easily controlled me, shifting me to my back, and pinning my hands above my head. “Let me take a peak.”

I could only close my eyes and wait for her to get done pulling down my pants to get a sufficient view of my boyhood. “Aw, tiny Tanner has a tiny weewee too.”

It was torturous for me to try and fight the tears. “Don't cry little guy, you know I didn't mean it.” She smiled as she patted my groin. Yes she did mean it.

“What's wrong with Tanner?” Ivory asked a few moments after, it was one of the rare instances where she almost got caught red-handed. Marcelle kept her composure though.

“He was just upset because I was going to have to leave again and he wouldn't see his favorite step-cousin, right Tanner?”

“..Yeah.” I agreed.

“It's okay Tanner, you'll see me again real soon.” She enthusiastically held me up in her arms and gave me an exaggerated kiss dead center on my face.

It was definitely my mistake for not trying to nip her behavior in the bud sooner, however I made a bigger mistake in thinking I could actually reason with her. The next time I saw her I was 2 feet tall exactly. I gathered my resolve and I asked to speak with her 1 on 1. Considering I usually went out of my way to avoid herMarcelle was amused to see me initiate a conversation with her for once.

“Um… I don’t like, how you’re always making fun of my height…”

“Mhm?” Marcelle acknowledged in the most condescending way possible. Everything about my body language screamed scared and helpless. It took all my willpower just to ask to speak with her. A 5'4 female to common folks was not much to worry about from a physical standpoint, but when seen from my 2 foot vantage she was an imposing titan that I couldn't stop shaking in front of. My eyes scaled up her towering body until I saw her grinning face and I quickly looked away losing what little nerve I had. Deep down I knew she was just humoring me and not taking our talk seriously at all. And why would she? I was stumbling over my words, looking away at the ground, and sounding like I was pleading for her to stop rather than telling her to stop.

“So can you please… leave me alone?”

It was exactly what Blake said about acting small. Two feet tall I was but I was acting small enough to be dancing in the palm of Marcelle's hand. She was loving every bit of it and trying her damndest to maintain a semi-serious face.

“And what kind of dire consequences will I have to face if I don't?” She stepped forward as she asked this, straightening her posture and resting her hands on her hips to appear even bigger in front of me.

“I..think.. I'm going to tell Ivory..” I wanted to slap the 11 year old me for sounding so pathetic and playing right into Marcelle's hand.

“Awww, you're going to tell Ivory I'm being mean to you?” She patronized, leaning down with a hand on her knee and the other pinching my cheek lightly. “Am I frightening you Tanner?”

“N-n-”

“Boo!” She abruptly shouted in my face before I completed what was going to be a blatant lie. Like a total wimp I fell for her bluff and stumbled backwards onto my ass making her finally break out into tears laughing for a minute before donning a serious expression. I was too petrified to get back onto my feet and looked up at Marcelle.

“I wouldn't say anything if I were you.” She begun holding out her index finger and thumb. “It looks to me that you're going to keep getting smaller... and smaller... and smaller.” Each time she said that she kept decreasing the space between her digits in reflection of her point.

“Who knows what kind of accidents may happen. You maybe at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Marcelle hovered her foot over my body. “I might not see you and then....” She lowered it just enough to make me flinch. “Crunch!”

“That's just one of MANY accidents that could happen.” She emphasized. “Anyway, see you later little Tanner.” She winked before letting me go.

There lied the biggest difference in Blake and I's situations. Blake was strong enough to fight back, she just didn't know it. Marcelle was more than capable to commit any act she wanted on me, it was just a question if I was willing to find out if she would...

The remainder of Tanner's night was plagued by cycles of unconsciousness and awakening. Over and over again he had dreams of himself trying to stand up to Marcelle and midway he'd start to shrink. She'd smirk, holding her hand to her ear saying she can't hear him all the way down there and then playfully lift him up to her face and the dream would end with her laughing as he infinitely shrunk into her palm.

No later than after the sun came to a complete rise Blair came bursting through Blake's door already looking energetic enough of someone who has been up for several hours already.

“Guys it's terrible!” She announced. Naturally Tanner stepped out of his house and a half dazed Blake stumbled out of her bed at the matriarch's commotion.

“Julie called and said she was going to pick up Tanner in the afternoon.” Her statement woke Blake up completely.

“So soon!?”

Abel walked in scratching his head at the two overreacting women. Tanner was in the same boat of confusion at his unexpected popularity. “Girls you knew he was going to have go back home eventually right?”

Both Blake and Blair tuned him out. “We have to go somewhere special!” Blake said.

“Should we go to the movies?” Blair suggested.

“Booooring.”

“Oh wait, I know we can go to the pool at the gym!” Blair suggested again.

“A pool?” Tanner parroted.

Blake was on board with that idea. “Heck yeah, it'll be awesome.”

“Yeah, but that sounds awfully... public.” Tanner added.

“Actually it's usually pretty dead on Sunday. If we left now at this hour I bet, we'd be the only ones there.” Abel explained.

Tanner looked to Blair and Blake who both were already sporting there. “Please don't make us beg for you to come with us.”, faces that he swore had some magical power to make him agree to anything. For once though he required no additional convincing and wanted to go forward confidently as he learned from Blake last night. “Let’s do it.”

In a half hour everyone was downstairs and ready to go out. Most shockingly 'everyone' included Gail. Whether it was of her own volition or if one of her parents made her go was unknown to Tanner, it was clear though she was along for the ride. He wanted to say something to her, but she stood off away from the group and walking past him without so much as a word. The worst of it was in the car where Blake, Gail, and himself (in Blake's lap) were in the backseat. Tanner tried to mind his own business, but always took quick glances over at the quiet girl who had her head buried in a book.

So this is what the cold shoulder feels like...

Abel was proven mostly correct when they entered the gym, aside from the lone receptionist that greeted them and two people on treadmills the gym was empty. Abel secluded himself at the weight section while the girls took Tanner to the pool.

To Blake and Blair's glee they were the only people there. “Open pool!” Blake announced, tossing away her clothes to her swimming shorts and top that lied underneath and heading right on in. Having no swimming attire of his own Tanner settled with disrobing to his boxers and following after Blake into the pool.

“Tanner you can swim!?” Blake asked, suspecting that she was going to have to help him somehow by finding something for him to float on.

“Hey, I don't bathe in sinks all the time without learning a thing or two.” While far from a NCAA swimmer, after fumbling around in the sink enough when taking baths he eventually managed to teach himself how to stay afloat and maneuver around the water with decent proficiency.

Last but not least Blair disrobed into what was nothing short of a full bikini that left little to the imagination and showed off as much of her proud body as legally possible. “Not bad for a mature woman huh?” She flaunted, rotating briefly admiring her own figure.

“Uh...” Tanner submerged himself up to his cheeks so she wouldn’t see his flustered face. It was a good thing Blair couldn't read minds because the honest answer was that he was completely mesmerized looking at the mighty canvas of her 6'0 body that was almost entirely nude barring her breasts and crotch. If she wasn't already vain beyond comprehension, he may have been willing to inform her that if she stopped fretting about her age for 10 seconds she’d notice that she'd still easily have 90 percent of men wrapped around her finger at the drop of a hat. It’d be disingenuous not to include Blake in that description too, though more modest than her Mom she was at the unfortunate high school age where most guys were still too immature to look past her overwhelming height.

It almost felt taboo for him to think of them in such ways when he considered Blake as another sister and Blair an aunt. Putting that aside and looking past their eccentricities it was undeniable that they were both stunning; statuesque, beautiful, and strong. All traits that made for jaw-dropping women, that most ordinary or insecure men wouldn't appreciate. Of course he’d have to deal with them teasing him relentlessly if he ever admitted it to them.

“Mature woman? Is that your way of saying old?” Blake answered.

“Excuse me!? You're going to wish you looked like this when you're my age and after having two kids! Do you know what that does to a woman's vag-”

“Gross!”

“Hmph.” Blair grunted before entering the water. “Gail are you going to come in?”

“No.” She bluntly responded, settling for resting her feet in the water while she continued reading her book. Compared to her Mom she was dressed far more conservatively in a pair of black swimming trunks and a compression shirt that hugged her small frame.

Now that she was in the water Blair wasted no time swimming over to her daughter for her back talk. As they squared up Tanner was left in an unenviable no man’s land between the two mountainous women. In terms of sheer size and the watery setting it'd make for a convincing face-off between sea monsters. He was morbidly curious to who would win that battle if they went at it, that is only if he wasn't in the crossfire.

“Wait! The rules say no horse-playing.” He yelled out, pointing to the rules sign.

Both of them stopped to take a glimpse at the sign before staring back down to Tanner who thought he might have been better off keeping his mouth shut. He was right about the rule, however with no one on duty to enforce it as far as the towering gals were concerned the only rule in effect was free for all.

“Does that include splashing too?” Blake smirked running her hand through the water and sending a wave Tanner’s way. Bracing himself he closed his eyes and held his breath as it came and sent him back several feet, it would be a surfers dream come true to be his size and have someone able to produce spontaneous waves on the spot.

After regaining his equilibrium, it was time to retaliate. “Very funny, two can play that game!” Tanner performed the same motion as Blake, though he was reminded in an instant that her size gave her a distinct advantage in the amount of water force she could generate. Compared to what Blake dished out to him, a drop of rain would’ve the same effect that Tanner had delivered just now. Blake grinned wider seeing Tanner’s epiphany that he was easy pickings for her fun.

“Um, time-out?” Tanner was about to brace himself for a second barrage until Blair intervened splashing her daughter in the face.

“Hey, no fair!” Blake complained after being sneak attacked.

“That’s for calling me old!”

Blake was playing around with Tanner before; with her Mom having jumped in from the fray the kid gloves were off. They were tossing water in each others faces nonstop and weren't likely to stop until someone gave up, Gail from the sidelines sighed at their childishness and stepped away before they got herself or her book wet.

Tanner knew he was way out of his league thinking he could hang with the two amazons engaged in a watery war and tried to swim away from the action. With as much distance as he covered it still didn't compare to the explosive motions of the two athletic behemoths, soon Blair abandoned all splashing mayhem to full on shoulder tackle Blake into the water and the resulting impact produced enough ripples in the water to send Tanner away.

The good news was that he was unhurt, however that collision made him drift farther away than he would've liked. More troubling though was the fact they were both too riled up to notice that two young women had made their way to the pool. Tanner glanced over and back at the two college aged girls who were chatting to each other and at the rough-housing mother and daughter who were in their own world. It would've been arduous, time consuming, and possibly dangerous to try and swim back over to them while they were tussling. On the flip side though, the girls undressed and looked ready to enter the pool in very close proximity to his floating location. He could only imagine the trouble and turmoil that’d ensue if they noticed a 3-inch guy floating around in the water.

Tanner wanted more time to think his options over but the girls jumping and splashing into the pool made him have to adapt on the spot as the impact of their landing plunged him deep underneath the water. He tried to make the best of the situation to try and swim back over to his party, being right under the girls though was a crippling detriment that left him like a gerbil on a wheel. He could never get far enough away to be unaffected by their movement. Every motion made by their submerged lower bodies continually juggled him wayward from his destination. He was also sure his undergarments slipped right off of him as result, but more troubling was the fact he needed to come up for air.

“What the hell is that?” A girl with short blond hair pinned up in a bun asked, seeing an item floating at the surface and fished it out into her palm.

.“They look like little boxers?” Her companion who possessed longer dark brown hair that she wore down inspected. By virtue of sheer luck they were distracted by the boxers while Tanner emerged to replenish his lungs. His luck ended when the blonde noticed his presence before he dived back under.

“Hey, there's something behind you.” She said.

Tanner was frozen in place in paranoia, unsure of whether he should make a wild dash away from them or not. Granted, it's not like he had good odds of out swimming two fully sized people.

“Is that some kind of toy?” The brunette asked as she looked behind her.

They think I'm a toy? Thinking fast on his feet, Tanner played along with their initial assumption as the brunette drew closer and scooped him out of the water into her hand. It was a panic reaction that seemed better than whatever response he anticipated they may have to what he was in reality, the caveat now though was that he'd have to remain utterly still or the whole facade was out the window.

The blonde swam over closer to her friend to get a closer look as well. “A toy? Complete with a dick and balls?”

“Well I didn’t say it was a kids toy.” The brunette added.

Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move, don’t move. Tanner repeated this mantra to himself like his life depended on it. Making any sudden motions right now would only make them freak the fuck out and what would happen from there is anyone's guess. He kept his breathing to the shallowest increments and through sheer grit and determination kept himself from blinking, shaking, and any other nervous reaction.

“I can't believe how life-like they've made it.” The brunette said as she started probing all over his body with her pointer finger. She was gentle for the most part, but a few of her pokes were a tad rougher and caused Tanner to grunt, he kept it low enough for them not to notice. The brown haired lass continued her test of authenticity at his lower region and began to prod and rub at his genitals.

Oh you gotta be kidding me. Tanner lamented and bit on his gums, every time he felt an involuntary response he kept biting down, soon enough his gums started to bleed in his attempt to use pain to block the stimulation that the young woman was unwittingly providing. As valiant as his efforts were, it was a done deal as soon as an iota of blood headed downstairs and seconds after his entire manhood sprung to attention.

“Holy crap, it can even get a boner!?” The blonde noted.

The brunette was puzzled. “That’s dumb, what the heck are you supposed to do with a boner that small?”

Gee thanks, asshole. Tanner thought to himself.

“Maybe you’re supposed to stick the whole toy in yourself?” The blonde speculated.

“Why not just buy a dildo? They have shit that's way bigger than this thing.”

“I knew a girl in my class one time who was into tiny dudes. If business class taught me anything, it's that there's a market for EVERYTHING.”

“You think it may vibrate too?” The brunette inquired.

“Where would you even put the batteries in it?”

“I bet I know.” The brunette answered.

No, you really don’t know. Tanner was almost in total panic and almost ready to drop the charade when the girl flipped him over onto his backside. He didn't think much of it at first until every hair on his body spring to life from the astonishment of her finger that she started prying with to gain access into his butt.

“Jesus Christ, do they want me to lube my finger just to get it in there or something?” The brunette complained, thinking her digit was too large to fit inside what she thought was Tanner's battery chamber.

“Try harder.” The blond suggested.

Screw this, the gig is up!

“…Can I have that back?”

The two girls turned to face the person talking to them and pointing right at the ‘toy’ in the brunette's hand. Though he didn't turn to look, Tanner recognized the voice belonging to Gail.

“Oh this little guy was yours? Sorry, we were just wondering how it worked.”

Gail heard some of their comments from afar and their assumptions of what Tanner was. Which was the very reason why Gail’s face was rose red since as far as they knew she was asking for the return of a sex toy.

“We found his boxers too.” The blonde said. “Where'd you even get it anyway?

“...Amazon.” She simply answered trying to keep the talking at a minimum. “So can I have him- it please?” She quickly corrected herself.

“Hey, we understand go do your thing.” The brunette winked as she deposited Tanner into Gail's hands and the blonde returning his boxers. With that at an end Gail scurried away into the bathroom and into the first empty stall.

Finally in a safe spot Tanner relaxed his tense body and took deep breaths; his nerves were shot after having to keep a poker face for longer than he ever has. “That was…an experience.”

“Are you alright?” Gail asked.

“Surprisingly yes.”

Gail stood up and was prepared to leave. “Let’s get you back to my mom and sister then.”

Her suddenness left Tanner flabbergasted and despite the oddity of the circumstances it did yield a chance for them to talk that he couldn’t pass up. “G-Gail wait.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“It’s not that, um are you mad at me?”

Gail stopped in place when he asked. “About the Ingrid thing? No. Who am I to judge you if that’s how you feel?”

“I thought, I may have messed up and you didn’t want to be friends anymore.”

Gail’s face softened as she considered how distant she acted. “…I guess I was sort of ignoring you. I’ve never liked anyone before and didn’t know how to talk to you after yesterday.”

Tanner was instantly relieved after hearing that and glad he didn’t ruin one of the first friendships he’s made in who knows how long.

“I’m sorry for what I said about Ingrid, I know she’s an important person to you. I haven't given up, but I'll still be a good friend and support you.”

“I appreciate that.” Tanner smiled.

“Do you think she likes you back?”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out.” He sighed. “Love is hard.”

“It is.” She replied. “Almost as hard as you.” She added at the end, a small smirk appearing at the corner of her lips.

“Is that supposed to be some kind of innuendo?” Tanner asked at the hint of some sort of sexual context that he didn’t expect to hear from her.

“You may want to put your boxers back on.” She clarified. Once she said that Tanner grasped what she meant and looked down at his still erect cock and held his hands over his privates.

“I- um. oh.” He stammered, too flustered to say anything else. Gail covered her mouth and giggled quietly.

Back outside Blair and Blake were trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as they inspected the pool, having finally ceased there squabbling for long enough to realize that Tanner wasn't near them anymore.

“How could you have possibly lost him?!” Blake chastised her mother.

“Me!?” Blair rebuked. “You were the one who started it all!”

“Did not!”

“You wanna go for round 2!”

“What are you two doing?” Gail asked at her family members who were about to lose sight of their objective.

They turned to look at her and the tension dissolved in an instant to see Tanner safe in her hand.

“It was a good thing he wasn't in any danger.” Gail rolled her eyes wondering why she had to be the responsible one among her two elders.

“It wouldn't have happened if you didn't call me old.” Blair huffed at Blake.

“Says the one coming to a pool in a beach bikini.” Blake countered. Just like that the two looked ready to lock horns again

“Don't you think that's enough action for today?” Gail sighed.

“Fine.” Blair and Blake simultaneously said, staring daggers at one another.

Shenanigans and all, the group ended up spending more time at the gym than intended and didn't have much time to do much else aside for waiting for Julie's arrival. Gail and Tanner waited downstairs, while the others were upstairs getting his stuff in order.

“...Do you think you'll be able to visit again?” Gail's eyes drifted back and forth as she summoned the fortitude to ask.

“If Ivory puts me off of house arrest we'll see.” Tanner responded truthfully.

“...Blake visits you guys a lot, if you don't mind..can I come see you too?”

“Like you even need to ask.” Tanner smiled giving her a thumbs up.

Moments later as anticipated Julie knocked on the door and was greeted in by Gail.

“Holy crap, you're still alive.” Julie's tone had a mixture of sarcasm and genuine surprise that he survived in the household of high octane people.

“Or you could be senile and be seeing my ghost right now.” Tanner offered as an alternative viewpoint.

“Wouldn't be the strangest hallucination I've had.” Julie replied, briefly thinking back to the drugs she tried back in her college days. In a heartbeat after Julie came in, Blake and Blair nearly tripped on the stairs as they rushed down to the front door to say bye, followed by Abel.

“Take care of yourself Tanner, I'll try to keep those two out of trouble.” He laughed, giving Tanner a fist bump.

“You're going to have your work cut out on that one.” Tanner replied.

The ever expressive Blair barged her way to the forefront and picked up Tanner right from off the hallway table and bear hugged him right into her chest, erratically rocking him back and forth. “Tanner we're going to miss having you so much!” She whined and lifted him straight up to plant a big wet one right one his face.

Tanner half-hardheartedly laughed and wiping his face with his shirt. “I'll uh, miss you too but relax you're acting like you'll never see me again.” He said, shaking his head clear of the cobwebs after being shaken.

“Oh I know dear, but you're practically part of the family!”

“Lemme see him, it's my turn!” Blake announced plucking Tanner right out of her Mom's hands and into her own. While more subdued than her, she still nuzzled him to her cheek. “It was so great having you over, I'll be sure to bug Ivory everyday to let you stay over again!” Similar to her Mom, Blake released him to give him a more reserved kiss on his cheek, granted it still covered most of the side of his face.

“I'm going to need another shirt at this rate.” Tanner said wiping his face again.

“I'm sorry, I have a little sister already.” Blake said pulling in Gail by the shoulder pulling her into her much larger body. “But, I've always wanted a little brother to complete my set.” She beamed looking back and forth at her much smaller younger sister in her arm, and the tiny little brother she never had in her hand.

“You're such a weirdo.” Gail attempted to sound aloof, though a trace of a smile still appeared on her face. “I want to hold him too for a second.”

Blake obliged handing him off to her younger sister. As soon as she did, Gail quickly leaned in to give him a fast peck on his forehead. This one left Tanner speechless, despite being much more restrained than Blake and Blair, he expected the dramatic shows of affection from the latter two. Seeing even a fraction of it from Gail though caught him off guard.

“Don't give me that look, think of it as a...” Gail twirled a stand of her hair “Good luck kiss.”

This time neither Abel nor Blair ruined the moment, Blake however was a different story.

“Hold up, so do you like Tanner or something?” She asked.

Gail looked away. “...Shut up.”

“You lot are an interesting bunch.” Julie stated with no traces of sarcasm, but as an honest assessment.

“I hope I can see you all soon.” Tanner waved as Gail passed him along to his last destination to Julie.

“You ready to go back home?” She asked.

Tanner nodded. As ready as I'll ever be.

Ingrid's Reminiscence III: Being Better

I wish I was nicer to Tanner early on. Sure I was going through my own issues, but I can’t begin to imagine what it was like going through life in his shoes. Just trying to describe what it’s like to be in the same household as someone who was shrinking leaves me grasping for words. Even saying “Tanner is shrinking”, alone sounds far fetched enough to earn some questionable glances if I said it in public. It was blatantly obvious that he was unusually small and the first time Ivory explained to me that he was literally shrinking I thought she was pulling my leg.

The only way I can think to describe it was like watching someone grow up in reverse. Being around him on a day to day basis the changes were subtle enough to where I didn’t always notice right away if he lost an inch or two, the ever increasing gap between our height told no lie though. Without measuring myself I could barely distinguish if it was me growing more or if he was shrinking whenever the gap widened. I won’t be dishonest enough to act like I cared a lot at the time, I was still hell bent in flaunting my superiority complex to Tanner in every way possible and having such a monstrous size advantage made it that much easier. Even on his best days he wasn’t exactly challenging, but at least capable enough to be a nuisance if I got too lackadaisical. But then 3'5 turned to 3'4, 3'3, and so on, once he was under 3'0 it was to a point where I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say anyone could beat him with their eyes closed. Despite not being able to see it right away if he shrunk, I could certainly feel in our competitions; each time he was a little weaker, slower, and easier for me to work over. No matter what it was he used to play like he had a shot at winning despite the lopsided odds. With every game l and inch of his height lost, that moxie dimmed to where he appeared resigned to impending defeat.

That was no fun for me who still had a lot of pent up aggression and since our contests weren’t a viable outlet anymore it started to seep out in the household.

One afternoon when we were 11 I entered the kitchen to see Tanner standing on a chair near the counter top as he tried to reach towards the back. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get to the cookie jar.” It was adorable to see the 2’7 Tanner struggling to such lengths for a cookie, on the other hand it was pitiful to see the 2’7 Tanner struggling to such lengths for a cookie. Any decent sibling would’ve simply helped, in that moment though I could only think about showing him that the mountain for him to climb was a mow hill for me. Off the hunch I’m sure he was trying for a couple of minutes to get to it and the time it took for him to move the chair across the kitchen. All of that effort on his part and within 5 seconds I was able to walk over, reach to the jar, and take out a cookie.

“Uh-oh, looks like I got the last one.” I smiled dangling it in front of his face.

Though not as bad as I am at times, Tanner could still be a hot head and was understandably irritated. “I was here first though.”

“So? I got it first, if you want it then take it from me.”

I wanted to see it, I wanted to see him try and challenge me for it. I knew he wanted to do something about it, but he only looked down and sighed before walking way. “Why bother…” I think he whispered.

I put the cookie in my mouth as I watched him leave and something was off. Aside from not really wanting the cookie in the first place, it didn’t feel like a win at all. I wish I could slap myself from back then every time I pushed him around at home…

One time coming home after a hot and sweaty day of practice on the field I crossed paths with him in the hallway and I lifted him up and wiped my forehead off of the perspiration all over his shirt. If that wasn’t bad enough I lowered him and used his face under my sweating armpits, dragging it back and forth to clear it of any perspiration as well.

“Thanks squirt.” I patronized after sitting him back on the ground, it goes without mentioning he was repulsed to say the least.

Oh gosh, then there was the time where we were playing hide and seek. It was one of the few instances his stature played to his benefit and I had to consider the spaces he’d be able to fit that I wouldn’t consider if it were a normal sized person. I eventually managed to single out his hiding spot in a closet space, instead of going in to catch him I sat down in front of the door while he kept pounding on it for me to let him out. There’s enough stories for me to write a memoir on, it was a long time coming but the day finally came where things went too far.

It was on an weekday evening and I went downstairs to watch television and was greeted to the sight of Tanner already down there watching a basketball game. Obviously I wanted to watch a soccer playoff instead.

“Beat it runt.” Compared to the times where I've literally sat on him, it was nice behavior from me relatively speaking.

“I was here first.” Tanner answered and tried to tune me out by turning the volume up. Being a pretty big fan of basketball he wasn’t so willing to yield on this matter as he was with others. This time I doubled down and puffed up to appear more intimidating before asking again.

“Gimme the remote.”

“Make me.”

Those words caught me completely off guard considering his acquired meekness. Don’t get me wrong he was a pretty mouthy guy when he wanted to be, but it was a total 180 from his behavior at the time. Whatever caused it was no skin off my bones, those two words constituted a challenge in my mind.

“Oh really? Then we'll just play a game of uncle. If you quit, I get the remote, if I quit you get it.”

Whatever spunk he had disappeared instantly and regret came in its place. I basically gave him a challenge that was unwinnable, unless he was armed with a weapon he had zero chance of being able to make me physically succumb.

“N-never mind, just take the remo-” He wasn't getting off that easy, he turned his back and tried to hightail it out of there. Before he made too much ground, I used my better reach to grab him by the shirt and reel him back in. After getting acquainted with Blake's parents and learning Abel used to wrestle he showed me a couple of the moves he used back in his collegiate days. None of which should be practiced without proper gear let alone in a living room. That didn't stop me from using Tanner as a test dummy from time to time. Lowering my level I coiled my arms behind his legs and effortlessly scooped him off his feet, a double legged take down Abel said it was called. Tanner was looking for the first opportunity he could to quit and I wasn't going give it to him. While he was on his back, I pinned him down with my body for a mounted position. Having been in that spot before when Blake and I sometimes played around and wrestled I can attest it’s a crappy spot to be in especially with her being taller and slightly bigger than me. That meaning it must’ve been outright agonizing for Tanner to be in this spot when I was twice his size. Covering his mouth I made sure to prolong this as long as possible and pretend I couldn't understand him.

“Mmffmff...”

“Huh, what was that? You haven’t had enough?” His muffles grew louder as he kept trying to free himself. Uncovering his mouth, he started to utter the magic word but was cut off by me laying the entirety of my body over his both silencing and smothering him. I periodically eased up long enough for him to get a breath of air before collapsing back on him. If it wasn't getting dull, I could've kept at it all night if I wanted and he wouldn't have gotten close to escaping.

To keep it interesting I sat up and flipped Tanner over to his stomach. He got up to his knees looking to run again and was intercepted again by me coiling my bicep around his neck for what Abel said was a sleeper choke. I was at least mindful enough of my strength not to squeeze full blast and put him out, that would’ve found me in a world of trouble from Ivory who was upstairs on the phone. I squeezed enough that he was still in the hapless spot of having to continue the game where I wasn’t affording him the opportunity to give up.

Tanner caught onto my intent and instead of pleading was trying to find any chance he could to flee. He uselessly flailed around like a fish out of water and tried to uncurl my arm; my grip remained secure and stable and his small hands couldn’t phase me in the least.

“…” I couldn’t help but sigh, it was painfully easy. It was harder for me to find ways to amuse myself than it was to subdue him. Switching gears again I stood all the way up and twirled Tanner around right into a bear hug. Employing the same tactic, I kept his voice unintelligible this time by burying his face to my chest. He didn’t even have the strength to struggle or flail anymore.

“Aw, the pipsqueak is all tired out? Didn't you want to watch basketball?” I mocked him while harshly jerking his body back and forth. I thought for sure that'd get a rise out of him, it didn't. “What? You really taking a nap baby?” I shook him again and still nothing, that time I got worried.

“Tanner?” I let up on my squeeze and the answer to why he wasn’t doing much of anything became crystal clear once I saw his limbs dangling limp.

“Tanner, Tanner!” Ice went through my veins as I held him, at 11 years old my first thought was to assume the worst and fear he was dead. I lightly tried patting him on the face and shaking him much more gently to another non-response, I may as well have been holding a rag doll. Right when I was ready to call 911 he stirred in my grasp.

Those were the longest 30 seconds of my life, it was relieving to know he was alive, but his eyes were momentarily glassy and unfocused.

“…Tanner?” I said once it looked like he was all there.

Once his mind started filling in the gaps of what happened on instinct he jerked himself out of my hands and fell onto the floor (which also looked like it hurt).

“H-hey are you oka-” I wanted to help, but as soon as I took a step closer my entire body was paralyzed at the scene in front of me.

“Uncle...no more... please.. no more.”

Victory always felt fantastic and made me feel like I was 10 feet tall. Not in that moment, victory felt vile and revolting. Tanner was shaking. Tanner was whimpering. Tanner was crying. Tanner was scared. Because of me. Seeing another person in that state and realizing I was responsible for it rendered me mute. I didn’t know what to say, what to do, and I responded in the most cowardly way possible by walking away in shame. The sight of him on the floor burned in my mind with every step upstairs.

“I don’t care about that; I don’t want Tanner in school anymore!”

Hearing his name, I stopped in my tracks in front of Ivory’s shut door. I wasn’t entirely sure what the context of the conversation was, since she didn't know I was close I stayed and listened in.

“Let’s look at the cons here though mam’, this could be detrimental to his social skills.” That sounded like another female voice on speaker, I recognized it belonging to the principal.

“I don’t care if it will be detrimental to his social skills! What’s detrimental is the fact that so many kids are bullying him!” Ivory shouted.

“M-Mam, I assure you we’re taking this very seriously and bullying is not tolerated.”

“Clearly it’s not being taken seriously enough when I have to see him come home and ready to bawl his eyes out every day!” Ivory explained unable to keep her emotions in check.

“For the time being, bullies are not as likely to pick on people if Tanner hung around a group of friends as opposed to by himself.”

“Oh silly me, because it’s so easy for him to make friends when he’s half the size of everyone else. I’m done with this conversation. I’ll be up at the school later this week.” Hearing enough of the excuses Ivory hung up the phone and I bailed to my room before she figured out I was listening in.

… Guilt? No, that would put it too lightly. Ashamed barely began to do justice to heaviness in my heart. At no point did it ever cross my mind to how difficult of a time he may have been having in school. We went to the same school, but our schedules left us rarely crossing paths. Middle School was a wild time for kids as they transitioned into puberty, into teen hood, and started growing into their bodies. The girls got cattier and the boys definitely got more aggressive. Images flashed through my mind on the field day bullies must have been having on him. It was hard enough for a regular kid, for someone in Tanner's position? I bit my lip trying to imagine how much he dreaded going to school, each day being aware he was going into the lions den and each day they looked a bit bigger, fiercer, accumulating in making his current day harder than the last. That wasn’t the worst of it, the worst and hardest part for me to acknowledge was that I was no better. If they were making his life a living hell at school, I was doing the same at home. Why did I treat Tanner like that? Deep down, I knew the real reason why and taking it out on him didn’t help anyone. It didn’t give me what I truly wanted and left me feeling worse than I ever had. As for Tanner? I only succeeded in making him afraid of me.

The following day, Ivory went out to meet with the principal and Tanner understandably stayed home considering how bad his school situation was. She asked me to stay home as well to watch over him since it wasn’t getting any easier for him to navigate the house. In hindsight I’m amazed he never told Ivory about any of the things I did to him, granted that may also have been a byproduct of him being scared of what I may do in retaliation.

I picked a decent enough moment when he was flipping channels downstairs to confront him. Forget any soccer game playoff or brutal practice, trying to keep eye contact with Tanner after the way I was acting was the hardest thing I ever done in my life. I had to approach him in the same way you’d approach a deer. Slow steps, no aggressive posture, no sudden movements, all to ensure him that I was coming with no ill-intent.

I looked down to Tanner who was having as hard a time as me in making eye contact, it was subtle, but noticeable that he was shivering and it was breaking my heart. It's weird when you've known someone for so long and think that you still don't really know them. To this day I wonder wonder how often he thinks about shrinking, how much it consumes his thoughts, if he thinks it defines his life. I’ve never had the heart to ask him those questions, however as we looked each other in the eyes I saw a glimpse of his soul laid bare and could discern three things about him. One, Tanner knew he was small. Two, he was scared because he was small. And three, he was scared because he knew he was going to get smaller. It was then where I steeled my resolve to be the sister I should've been and the sister he needed. Without a word I softly herded him into my embrace, words weren't my strong suit in that instance they weren't necessary and he knew what I was trying to convey.

-------

If you ever had that sense of dread before going home because you knew something bad was waiting for you, that summed up all of Tanner's apprehension. The thought hovered around in the peripheries of his mind that he'd have to go back, he kept pushing it to the back burner every time he dwelled on it for too long.

“Thinking about what's going to happen when you're home?” Julie accurately presumed based on the faraway look in Tanner's gaze.

“Yeah.”

“You know I'm here for you right? If you need some more time, I'm sure Blake and company won't mind having you around a while longer.”

Tanner entertained the idea in his head for a moment, but ultimately decided against it. “It'll be weird going back home whether it's today, tomorrow, or next week. May as well not delay it and rip the band-aid right off.”

“That's headstrong of you.” Julie praised.

Tanner felt silly for being as shell shocked as he was once Julie pulled into the driveway. He was only gone for a day and a half; yet when that was the longest time he's spent away from home than he could remember that day and a half seemed like months.

Julie didn't even make it a few steps into the door before being met with an overjoyed Ivory.

“Oh my gosh sweetheart!” She practically snatched the boy out of Julie's hands into her own and started dotting his face with several kisses now that he was back in her vicinity. “I missed you so much.”

“Uh hey.” Tanner greeted. His return back to normalcy should've been great, yet he still had the sense that his world was in disarray; the cause was obvious.

Once her incessant smothering stopped, he noticed Marcelle standing a few paces away from his stepmother. “There's my favorite little guy, I missed you.”

Only a gag reflex would've been the appropriate response to her hollow pleasantry; since he couldn't manifest one on the spot he instead chose to not acknowledge her.

“Okay, okay, guys that's enough for the greetings. Lets get this done.” Julie cut in, instantly souring Ivory's uplifted mood.

“...I don't know why you're doing this now.” She grumbled.

“Because it'll be unhealthy and unproductive otherwise.” Julie countered.

“Uhuh.” Ivory begrudgingly rolled her eyes. Before giving Tanner one last quick peck on the head. “I'm sorry dear...I didn't want her to...we'll talk all about it later.” She said before reluctantly handing him back to Julie.

“Alright both of you upstairs now.” Julie ordered.

“I wish I could get video footage of how this goes.” Marcelle complained before heading upstairs. Ivory appeared to have her own reservations as well, but remained silent and followed suit.

Needless to say Tanner felt totally in the dark at the moment. “Okay, what the heck is with all the cryptic talk? What's going on?”

“As you said before... ripping the band-aid off.” Julie answered as she walked into the living room. Tanner was about to complain how that did little to answer his question until the meaning of her statement unveiled in full clarity once he saw who was sitting on the sofa, Ingrid.

Tanner looked across the room to his stepsister as if he were looking at some kind of apparition. It didn't elude him that this moment was a long time coming, he never considered the possibility that Julie was going to get right into it. As for Ingrid, she looked the same as always for the most part; not that he should expect any different, granted it did appear that there was a lot on her mind.

“I know it caught you by surprise but you don't have to get that quiet on me. It won't be good for anyone if you're both under the same roof with so much unresolved tension so...” Julie sat Tanner down on the opposite end of the sofa. Then she sat down in a chair that she brought in beforehand. “You two are going to talk it out right now.”

It was a sound plan in theory, in practice though there was a whole lot of nothing. For the next several minutes both siblings were looking everywhere but at each other. The few times there gazes met they averted away. There were a few glimmers where it may have appeared one of them would say something only to change their minds at the last second. Neither of them had a clue on where to begin and the only noise gracing the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

“Can't say I'm surprised...” Julie thought to herself, she didn't expect anyone to open up immediately, but she did want to start out leaving the floor open for someone to take the lead. She was glad she stuck around in case they needed a kick start, she didn't intend to stay for the duration since it was a moment that they needed to have together.

“Alright, since that went nowhere lets start here. Ingrid what happened on Friday night?”

Ingrid blunk in apprehension, if she had the ability she'd rather erase it from her mind forever. “I was dru-”

“Not to me, talk to Tanner.” Julie specified.

Ingrid huffed and turned her body to face Tanner. Julie was right about there being tension, the step-siblings both recognized it, had a lot to get off their chests, and didn't know how to go about it. “Marcelle came into my room and persuaded me into drinking... I had one too many and the next thing I knew I walking to you. I started talking..” She remembered bits and pieces of what she said and did; her cheeks were losing color the more she recounted what happened.

“You mocked me for being in love with you, you called me a freak, and said you were always better than me.” Tanner summarized.

Ingrid was stunned how bluntly he stated it all and hearing it made her tightly clench the cushion. No matter how astute it wasn't an easy thing for Tanner to say, nor was it for Ingrid to hear. “...It was a mistake.”

“A mistake?” Tanner repeated. Was it really? The physical actions he could accept being a heat of the moment impulse where she knew no better while being intoxicated. Her words were another matter.

“Yes...” Ingrid sighed. “I wish I hadn't said any of that. I don't...” She stopped looking for her train of thought, it was a rare day where she had to express herself so verbally. “I don't even know why I said any of it.”

What was coming over Tanner was tough to explain. Perhaps this is what is called coming full circle? After biting his tongue for so long, here was a chance to have a chat with no filters where he could just... talk. “I know why.”

“What?” A perplexed Ingrid asked.

“You said it because that's how you really feel.”

Ingrid doubled down. “No, it isn't!” Her grip on the sofa's cushion was hard enough to nearly tear into the fabric. By the skin of her teeth she managed to catch her momentary temper flare, though she was still offended. “It isn't.”

“So you don't think I'm a a burden to you?”

“Ugh, what's wrong with you today!? No, I don't!”

“I don't believe you.”

Ingrid's face was in a scowl at the sudden distrust and cynicism being displayed by Tanner. “What do you mean?” She tried her best to keep her voice calm, the irritation was still evident.

“You don't get upset that Ivory comes down so hard on you about me and Marcelle says-”

“Fuck Ivory and fuck Marcelle!” Ingrid snapped. One was never there for me and the other was a good for nothing bitch and still is! I'm sick of always getting dragged through the mud and I'm sick of this!” Having enough Ingrid prepared to stand up and end their discussion before Julie intervened for the first time since the siblings started talking.

“Ingrid, stop. Your honest feelings are important to Tanner.” Coincidentally that statement really set her off.

“You know what else I'm sick of?! Hearing about Tanner all the time! Tanner this, Tanner that, I'm sick of always being an afterthought! What about me?! I was an afterthought after Dad died and I was an afterthought after you came into the picture! Why do I always have to be put second to you?! Do you know how it feels to be an outsider in your own family!? To feel like you don't matter?!”

That did it, that outburst from Ingrid triggered something in Tanner that he's kept in for far too long that's been begging to be released and he wasn't going to ignore it anymore.

“Ingrid... LOOK AT ME! I don't matter to the freaking world!” He seethed. “The story of my life is about degradation and humiliation! What do you or anybody else know about having to go day after day seeing the world grow around you!? I've had to live with MY INDEPENDENCE, MY DREAMS, MY FUTURE, withering away! Here I am, 3 ½ inches tall and I hate it, I hate it,I hate it,I hate it, I HATE IT.” Tanner paused to catch his breath. His throat was almost burning from all the venom that he unleashed and he wasn't finished.

“I hate it... and it hurts. It hurts to know I have to wake up every morning knowing I can't do anything for myself! It hurts that there's nothing out there for somebody like me! It hurts that I love you and I know you don't love me the way I love you!” He wanted to hear it. “Just say it...”

The fury of words he unleashed hit Ingrid completely out of left field and almost left her speechless. “...Tanner.”

“Admit it...” He needed to hear her say it. He didn't need any explanation, only the confirmation right out of her mouth.

Ingrid didn't understand why he wanted to hear it so badly. Was it going to grant him some kind of peace of mind to have confirmation of his presumption? She couldn't help thinking that she was about to impale a knife right into his heart, but he was so hung up on it that she didn't have a choice. “I don't.... not in that way.”

“Heh..heh...heheheheh. I knew it.” A couple of uneasy chuckles escaped from Tanner. Certainly the last reaction Ingrid expected. There wasn't anything humorous about it, but he still found it self-deprecatingly hilarious. He bet he looked like an utter fool laughing at his rejection while tears streamed down his face and he thought he was a bigger fool for clinging onto the abysmal hope that he'd be wrong. Reality was a cruel thing. “...I don't blame you. I don't even think I love myself. Heheh” His last laugh was notably empty and his out pour of emotion had left his tone somber.

“The worst of all of it is that I've been watching... Watching you grow into a woman, while I've regressed. Soon you're going to graduate high school, head off to college, you'll end up playing soccer professionally. The sky's the limit for you. Me? This.... This house is my limit. I'll just be here while you're out tackling the world, experiencing things I'll never get to experience, seeing hings I'll never get to see, doing things I'll never get to do. You're going to live your life and forget about me, your tiny step-brother who you'd be better off without.”

Pain, what came out of both of them was nothing but unfiltered pain. Julie figured she overstayed her welcome and decided to silently leave the room to let the siblings have their moment. For as many sob stories or tragic events that she's heard or seen throughout her career even she couldn't hide the formation of a tear that she quickly wiped away as she exited.

Ingrid and Tanner were in the exact same predicament, both in emotional shambles, bawling their eyes out, and there wasn't any immediate solution or magic word that would fix everything. In the face of such a wrenching moment the two comforted each other the only way they knew how in an embrace, if for anything else to let the other know that they understood their pain.

Time was practically nonexistent; they had long lost track of it and the floodgates kept pouring until their eyes were incapable of producing anymore tears. The two remained in a hug for a few minutes longer while they got a hold of themselves. As they finally regained some semblance of calmness, Ingrid stretched out on the sofa laying flat on her back, while Tanner stretched out on her stomach. They both stared aimlessly at the ceiling.

“...I've never seen you cry before.” Tanner noted at the rare sight.

“Shut up, I've seen you cry plenty of times.” Ingrid rebuked, wiping her eyes.

“Someone put onions in the room is all...” Tanner poorly attempted to explain.

“Someone must've been doing that a whole lot to you.”

“You have no idea how many times I've wished I could be you.” Tanner digressed.

“Are we really getting melancholy again?” Ingrid playfully asked.

“Sorry, sorry. It's just, you're everything I wish I could be. Talented, strong, independent, selfless, and you've done so much for me. It's unbearable that I can't do anything for you.” Luckily in there current seating arrangement Tanner couldn't see the blush on Ingrid's face prompted by his praise.

She felt Tanner tensing up as he admitted to more of the insecurities that plagued his mind. Gently, she moved her hand over his torso, the warmth emitting from her palm soothed his rising nerves. “You've done a lot for me too Tanner.”

He wasn't buying it. “You're just saying that.”

Ingrid shook her head. “I'm not. I always acted like I had something to prove to someone and being the best was the only way to prove it.” Thinking back for all the accolades she received, it didn't come without it's share of detractors. For every sentiment of praise for her talent there was another for the poor sportsmanship she once displayed. “Things were rough at first, but you taught me something that I never knew before. Even if it was inadvertent you taught me how to care truly care for somebody and how to have compassion.” Ingrid paused, having one more thing to make clear.

“..Tanner if you're ever going to believe me about anything believe me when I say I won't ever forget about you and I'll always be here for you. No matter where we end up or what size you are, you're the best brother I could've ever asked for.”

This time it was Tanner who was lucky that his position didn't allow for Ingrid to see his face sporting a crimson hue.

“I love you Ingrid...like a...not like..but, err... You can stop me at any time.” Tanner stopped before he dug himself further in awkwardness. His stammering drawing a faint laugh from Ingrid.

“Yeah, yeah. I know what you mean. I love you too Tanner.” It wasn't the way he wanted her to love him, but that was okay.

“So, what now?”

“I dunno.” Ingrid honestly admitted. Neither of them knew where they went from here, however it did make them both feel better to just talk and so talk they did. Having their fill of serious subject matters the two reminisced on more comical and light hearted moments.

“I can't believe my first rejection came from my step-sister.” Upon reflection Tanner thought it'd make for an interesting story in the future.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ingrid smirked, dragging a finger in Tanner's hair. “It's better than how mine went. I confessed to a guy I liked in 6th grade with a note I left in his locker, when he left his response in mine he put that I was too scary and intimidating!”

Tanner tried his best to keep a straight face before caving into the humor.

“Oh you think that's funny wise-guy? How does it feel to admit Blair was your first kiss?”

That comment stopped Tanner right in his tracks as he shuddered at the memory. There were worst first kisses out there and she was admittedly attractive, but the boisterous giantess was a lot of woman to get used to. She and the rest of the family came over during Christmas a few years back when he was around a foot and a half tall. Near the bathroom he found himself being underneath the mistletoe with her. She was all smiles and before Tanner knew it she was lifting him up, telling him not to be so embarrassed. In fairness Tanner realized it was partly his own fault; she was honestly trying to kiss him on the cheek, but he was squirming so much that her lips made contact onto his. Having witnessed the event, Ingrid got a lot of mileage out of that incident.

“I don't blame the guy you liked for being scared, you probably would've kicked him to death if he ever pissed you off like you almost did to me that one Halloween.” Tanner referenced.

“Wait a minute, if memory serves you were hiding underneath the kitchen sink and jumped out to surprise me.” Ingrid filled in with the context of her actions, she remembered screaming and nearly kicking him through the wall on reflex for scaring her so badly.

“Okay, that was my bad. There's not too many moments to use my size for fun.”

“It took me a while to talk you into it, that same year though you dressed as a baby and I put you in a stroller while I went trick-o-treating as a teen parent.”

“That almost worked too well. More houses took it seriously and gave you cash than they did candy.” Tanner recounted; that memory drawing several chuckles from both of them.

The two went on and on, until there trip down memory lane came to a close. Being both mentally and emotionally exhausted neither were ready to get up yet. Ingrid found it oddly therapeutic making small gyrations of her finger on Tanner's mid-section; while the latter was drawn into relaxation by the lifts and drops of his sister's stomach from her every inhale and exhale. With them both quiet again they were accompanied again by the ticks of the clock that was rhythmic enough to lull them both to sleep.

After a half hour of napping or so Ingrid stirred awake. Accustomed to Tanner sometimes falling asleep on her body when they watched television or movies together she was cognizant not to move too much and only propped her head up first to see that he was already conscious. “How long have you been up?”

“I dunno, fifteen minutes maybe? It was hard to sleep through you snoring.” Tanner pointed out to his step-sister's chagrin. For better or worse his size made him quite sensitive to noise and thus a very light sleeper.

“As if you don’t?” Ingrid grunted, usually a hard person to fluster one of the few things that could do it was Tanner pointing out her not so charming habits.

“The difference being I don't sound like a wildebeest when I do it.” He responded pointing out the vast difference in decibels their snoring produced.

“I can’t help it.” She scoffed.

Hearing some of their small talk Julie came downstairs to check on their progress. After a rare occurrence of her emotional side seeping through she had ample time to return to her dry self. Seeing them bicker over their sleeping habits was perplexing, but definitive progress to see them going back and forth as typical siblings do. “You both look like you’re getting along better.”

Both Tanner and Ingrid halted their squabbling and glanced at one another to see if the other had an objection before nodding in unison. “Yeah.”

“That’s great. On that note, I should ask if anyone has anything else they have to say before I leave?”

Ingrid shook her head, however Tanner nodded.

Reconciling with Ingrid was high on the agenda, but there was something else to be addressed that he neglected for far too long. “There is one last thing I need to say.”

Presuming it was meant for her Ingrid elevated her small sibling. “What's the matter Tanner?”

“I need to talk to Marcelle.” He elaborated.

“Marcelle?!” Ingrid parroted.

“And I need to do it alone.” Tanner expounded.

“What!?” Ingrid shouted again, forcing her step-brother who was near her booming voice to cover his ears to preserve his hearing capability.

“Do you mind?”

“Err-sorry, but what’s so important that you need to talk to her all of a sudden and alone?!” Ingrid tried to calm herself but Tanner’s declaration out of nowhere left her too riled.

“Ingrid please.” Tanner did not want her pressing the topic.

“Tanner what has she been doing to you?” Despite being worked up Ingrid's question was spoken with a cold seriousness. Her hand was steady up until that point and Tanner began to struggle to keep his balance as her palm shook.

He knew she had her buttons and a competitive streak a mile long, however he came up empty when he tried to think of times where he's seen her genuinely angry. Upon entertaining the thought, he suspected that was something intentional on her part because there was no hiding that she was livid right now.

“Ingrid, it’s my business I have to handle it.” It unnerved him just to watch her struggle to contain herself, there were dozens of retorts rumbling in her mind but she could tell his mind was already made up and they were at a standstill until one of them budged.

Ingrid wanted to commend Tanner for being brave and all, but why do this just to prove a point? She experienced first-hand the type of person Marcelle was and in her mind Tanner was the perfect target for her to torment. Marcelle used to always try her until she grew up more and was no longer easy to push around. That problem was nonexistent with Tanner, time has only made him smaller and easier to subject to her whims without him having a fighting chance. If left unchecked Marcelle would make him her whipping boy for life. No matter how hard she tried Ingrid couldn’t keep an eye on Tanner 24/7 and at any instance he was alone she just knew Marcelle was terrorizing him. Ingrid wanted nothing more than to be done with her for good, but not at the cost of devastating Tanner.

In the chaotic balancing act between his independence and physical limitations salvaging any bit of self-reliance meant the world to him which subsequently made Ingrid very conscientious about acting on his behalf. It always lingered in her conscience if that would be helpful or harmful in the long term. There were times she’s seen Tanner being picked on and asked if he wanted her to do something about it and he declined. Yet in instances where she interjected, it left him demoralized. Ugh, why did this have to be so difficult? She understood how emasculating that must be for a guy having someone else fight for them let alone a girl. It was truly a lose-lose situation, she’d never forgive herself if Marcelle too far in an incident that she couldn’t prevented. On the flip side if she took matters into her own hands, even if it was out of kindness he’d interpret the act with the underlying message that she didn’t think he could handle it.

Seeing the conversation at a standstill Julie interjected. “Ingrid, he’s set on his decision. You have to respect it.” She advised.

It was true, but a difficult fact for her to accept nonetheless. “...Alright.” She reluctantly admitted.

“I'll go get Marcelle.” Julie said and left for upstairs.

“I'm not going to ask what's going on, but I hope you know what you're doing Tanner.” Ingrid advised, more than anything because she didn’t trust herself not to do anything if he brought any of Marcelle’s actions to her attention.

“Something I needed to do for a long time.” It wasn't something he could easily explain; from any logical standpoint it'd be far easier for him to ask for help. Yet he's taking the gamble to tackle it himself. He was at a point in his life where he needed assistance for nearly everything, this problem should be no different, but it was. Marcelle has thrown everything including the kitchen sink at him in terms of tormenting and belittling him. Yeah, he had something to prove and letting someone else take care of the problem was not going to satisfy him. He mentally braced himself for what he expected to be another difficult conversation once he heard the taps of her footsteps on the stairs.

Stepping into the living room with one of her fake rosy smiles she set sights on Ingrid. “I believe Julie told me this was supposed to be an A and B conversation.” For no other purpose than to get her out of the way.

Boy what Ingrid would give to punch Marcelle in that smug face. She gave Tanner a last glance maintaining a last bit of hope that he'd have a change of heart. One request and she’d make sure Marcelle wouldn’t get near him again. Unfortunately, Tanner stuck to his guns and she had to trust in his judgment. Against her personal desires she obliged and lowered her hand for him to step onto the sofa. Whether Marcelle knew it or not, she was walking in a field of landmines where one wrong move will result in her getting involved, something she reflected by giving Marcelle a bump in her shoulder as she walked past her.

Paying no mind to the act of aggression she was only interested in making sure Ingrid was long gone before stepping forward. Déjà vu was in the air and Tanner thought back to the mistakes from the last time he tried to have a serious conversation with her. Assertion, confidence, and conviction were his key words, and what he lacked last time. He paid for it dearly, by Marcelle asserting dominance and walking all over him.

First things first, Tanner was not interested in talking to Marcelle while she stood over him. It was a subtle and effective act to reinforce how much bigger she was than him and in the past made him doubt himself, this had to be addressed straight away. “Can you sit down?”

“Whoops, sorry. I sometimes forget how teeny you are.” She lied with a giggle. She turned around and leaned over granting Tanner a view of her ass that was right in his trajectory should she choose to sit down. No doubt she was trying to make him believe that she'd sit on him again, but she subverted expectations and shifted over before taking a seat. Though she still loomed large over him the act at least metaphorically established they were on even footing.

“What business does my favorite little cousin have with me?”

There was no point in dragging it out or beating around the bush, he was going to lay out his cards from the start. “It’s time for you to leave Marcelle.”

“Aw, and here I thought you wanted me to stay longer.” She cooed in her sickeningly sweet tone.

“I don't want you here anymore and I'm not putting up with you any longer.” He doubled down. He was going to leave no room for interpretation or for her to get in his head.

“You're going to break my heart.” She pouted, but Tanner wasn't done.

“Also, you're going to tell Ivory what really happened at college and that you're expelled.” That statement drew Marcelle out of her patronizing pout and into listening with a straight face.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t tell her, I will.” Tanner made sure to look dead in her eyes and articulate his words to the upmost precision to leave her with no doubt that he meant it.

“It’ll be your word versus mine.” Marcelle countered, confident in her ability to fabricate a convincing story.

“All it’d take is one phone call to the right faculty to verify who's telling the truth.” Tanner rebuked.

“Hmm.” Marcelle audibly mused while tapping her chin. She had every reason to be worried now and if it were anyone else laying out this threat she’d be in a pickle, luckily it was not anyone, it was Tanner. Against him she had an ace in the hole that was always readily available and that she loved abusing. Her sheer size and might, the ultimate equalizer that he could never hope to match and always frightened him into submission. “Teeny Tanner is talking VERY BIG right now.” Dropping the cordiality Marcelle stood back up to remind him of the gaping difference between them, but Tanner stood firm. Marcelle crossed her arms, partly to appear more menacing though irritation was beginning to surface. That act alone should’ve been enough to make him tremble, looks like it was time to up the ante.

She expected him to flinch, gasp, protest, or break for it as she lowered her hand to grab him; instead he stood there and let her engulf him in her grasp.

Make no mistake about it, being trapped in Marcelle’s hand brought him a foreboding sense of danger, he couldn’t afford to show her that. His strategy thus far was working; he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“I wonder what I'd have to do to make you reconsider.” The breath from her words encompassed Tanner. She subjected him to a piercing gaze, one meant to cut him down and make him feel small and powerless in her grasp; still no reaction. Marcelle's face tightened in a flash of anger, he usually cracked by now, why was today different? “So, what suddenly got into you? A few days ago, you’re trying anything you can to keep me off your back and now you’re actually blackmailing me?”

“I finally had enough with taking your shit.” He earnestly answered.

“I'm sure you had enough taking my shit years ago, but that didn't stop you from doing it anyway.” She inferred.

“Yeah, well I'm not afraid of you anymore.” He had to admit that one was a bit of a stretch, even in her irritation Marcelle didn’t believe it and laughed.

“Really now? Even I can admit that I’d be afraid if I were in your shoes. You’re an ant who lives around regular people that could end you effortlessly. You have to be either stupid or crazy not to be afraid.”

There was no denying that nor was there any denying that it was a thought that’s crossed Tanner’s mind. “Okay, so what if I'm scared? I'm not going to let myself be ruled by it.”

“Aw, you're so brave Tanner. You won’t be ruled by your fear? Not even if I told you, I was furious and will crush you in my hand if you don’t keep your mouth shut?” Her grip closed tighter and drawing breath became a chore for Tanner. He was in too deep and he was only going deeper.

“Enough of the crap already! You’re not going to do it!”

Her grip tightened again making Tanner groan in anguish while more air was expunged from his body. “Oh, you think I won't?”

Life at his size came with all sorts of mundane perils where some of the most conventional actions or occurrences had the potential to be life threatening. The gradual nature of his shrinking at least allowed him some time to get acclimated to the substantial changes in his life. This is all to say contrary to what some may believe there had only been a handful of times where Tanner legitimately believed he was going to die. This was one of those times, he had blackmail over her, but she had the threat of physical violence on him. It wasn’t too late, he could back down, she’d probably make him do something humiliating, but hey that’s nothing new to him. He refused to though, to think saying a single word was going to be one of the most difficult things he’s ever done in his life. He was in the middle of Venus flytrap and his next move might make it shut completely. A drop of sweat ran down his neck. “No.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

He was still in her vice grip like clutches, however he emotionally felt his relief grow for every second that passed without her doing anything. If she was going to go all the way, chances are she would've done so the instant he said no. “Admit it.” He said, once he felt lax enough to talk again.

Marcelle sighed, it didn’t carry a depressed or defeated tone. She sounded as if she was mildly inconvenienced. She sat back down on the couch and dropped Tanner onto her lap. “Well, you’ve just become a lot less fun.”

Tanner’s jaw hung upon as he stood back up on his feet. He couldn’t believe it; she didn't do anything. That meant it was over... right?

“...That's it?” He thought he was masochistically testing fate with that question; getting off unscathed for the most part seemed too good to be true, only in his dreams would things have gone that well.

“I mean poking fun and teasing you is one thing. But I'm not a murderer and crushing you would be pretty gross, I don't want your blood and guts all over my hand.” She casually explained.

The dots were not connecting, forget the fact that psychologically terrorizing him in her mind was ‘poking fun and teasing’. “So, you mean to tell me that all I had to do was call your bluff and it would've stopped?”

Marcelle shrugged. “You'll always be fun to pick on, but it added a little something extra to see you scared when you really thought I'd step on you or eat you or something.”

He just didn't understand, everything she did to him and now she's sitting here nonchalantly acting like it was no big deal. He needed to know the reason and now that the tomfoolery was over and done with she'd hopefully give him one. “Why? What was the point?”

Marcelle silently stared, aware that he was expecting a grand elaborate answer and she only looked to raise the suspense before delivering what was going to dash his expectations in the form of the simplest explanation. “Because I can.”

Tanner stood motionless trying to digest her response, what the hell was wrong with her? She could do it so she did? It was so basic, yet simultaneously complex. Something he's been dying to know for the longest boiled down to something so... anticlimactic. “You know I’m pretty disappointed. Maybe I read too many books or seen too many movies, but I always thought you had some sort of hidden animosity towards me, jealously, or maybe I did something to piss you off years ago that you wanted to get back at me for. Now I realize that I was thinking too highly of you. You're nothing more than lying, spoiled bitch in sheep's clothing. I thought something was different about you, but it turns out you're the same as every other bully I've come across who has to pick on the smallest person they can find to feel good about herself.” He wouldn't have dared to say any of that prior to this; the security knowing that she wouldn't maim him combined with his pent up frustration left him feeling bold.

“So?” She responded unphased by his verbal onslaught. “Am I supposed to be like Ingrid or Ivory and act nice just to pity you? I won't. Am I supposed to feel bad because you’re a tiny runt? I don't. Despite the fact I’m big enough to practically be God compared to you, I’m supposed to act like you’re my equal? You're not.”

Tanner gritted his teeth, she was freaking incorrigible. They were speaking from such fundamentally different places, that they may as well have been speaking separate languages to one another. These past few moments he thought he was making progress and only realized he was running on a treadmill. What the fuck was he thinking? That he could actually reason with Marcelle? There wasn't anyone on the planet who he hated, however she was in the top spot of people he held genuine contempt for.

His judgment clouded by emotions he ran up the length of her lap up onto the waistline of her denim shorts and started to pound away at her midsection. “You're so infuriating! All the crap you've put me through and you're going to sit here like it's no big deal!? You don't even care?!” Blow after ineffective blow Tanner threw, unaware of Marcelle's glowing grin now that he was granting her what she wanted this whole time and what he was trying to avoid, control over his emotions. “We're supposed to be family!”

She was beyond entertained watching his futile efforts of trying to hurt her and pinched his shirt collar to bring him inches away from her face, grinning as he continued to flail at the air. “Family?” She laughed. “Why should I recognize a 3 inch pipsqueak as family? If you were living under my roof you'd be like, I dunno... a pet.”

“I am not a pet.” Tanner growled, ceasing his thrashing.

“Aren’t you though? You’re tiny like a pet. You need larger and more capable people to do things for you like a pet. You live in a cute little house like a pet. Ivory and Ingrid need to coddle you and are the only reasons their wittle pet is alive.” She demeaned with her child talk and tapping Tanner's nose.

Tanner shook his head to get her finger out of his face. “I can't believe you. I can't believe I actually thought we could...”

“Thought what?” Marcelle butted in bringing Tanner even closer to where he could feel her exhales on his body and whispered. “That maybe we could understand each other? Reach a resolution? Become friends?” Her words cut with surgical precision and made Tanner reflect on his ignorant wishful thinking in hindsight.

Seeing that he had no rebuttal, she figured her assumption was correct. “Aww, poor little Tanner. Even after all I did, you still want me to accept you? It must be pretty lonely living the way you do, stuck in place, and not being able to meet new people. Isn't it ironic? You call me a liar, yet you continually lie to yourself. No matter how hard you try to keep it together and act like you're in control of your life you aren't.”

Tanner again didn't have a word to offer that could've refuted her claim.

“It's a shame I'm going to have to tell Ivory the truth and leave tomorrow, but don't worry you'll always be my favorite little pet- I mean cousin.” She smiled at her convenient mess up of words and puckered her lips to give Tanner a melodramatic kiss. “I take it we're done here?”

Tanner nodded and Marcelle lowered him back onto the sofa and stood up.

“We're finished Julie!” She announced for her to hear.

Before she left for upstairs Marcelle blew a last patronizing kiss. “C'ya later Tanner.”

It was a mixed bag to say the least, that was closest thing to a serious conversation that they ever had. He expected to learn something new about her and instead had everything he already knew reaffirmed. Incorrigible, conniving, and devious... Yep, that was the Marcelle he knew, that was the person she was, and probably the person she always will be.

“Do you have any more last-minute surprises for me before I leave?” Julie inquired, her sarcastic streak on full display given the prolonged visit she was subjected to. Her personality was the epitome to what people call an 'acquired taste' but the people familiar with her work knew of her dedication and looked beyond her gruff exterior.

Upon initial thought Tanner considered the evening to be a mixed bag. He bore his heart and confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that Ingrid did not reciprocate his feelings. He loosely speaking managed to stand his ground to Marcelle and determined she’s likely to be an unpleasant bitch for the remainder of her life. On the flip side Ingrid and himself worked through the remaining tension and if all goes well with Marcelle, he won’t have to see her again for the rest of his life… Okay, he won’t have to see her again until the Holidays; all things considered things could’ve gone worse. “I'm good.”

“In that case you know the drill. I’ll come by in the foreseeable future, check in, the works.” Julie gave an expedited version of her typical dialogue as she collected her belongings.

“Hey Julie?”

“Yes?” Contrary to her usual sardonicism all traces of sarcasm left when responding to a serious inquiry.

“Thanks for everything.” Tanner graciously said.

“Don’t tell me we’re going to have an emotional spiel too.” Julie groaned.

“Seriously, my life has been... hectic to say the least and you’ve been around longer than anyone. You’re one of the few constants in my life and I’m glad you’ve been there for me this long.”

Besides the occasional grin or flippant smirk, Tanner was bereft of memory when he thought of times he’s seen a full-fledged smile on her face. Maybe his mind was tricking him or he was reading too far into it, but as he focused on her face he swore he noticed the slimmest arc of curvature on her lips.

“You did well today Tanner. Have a good night.” She concluded before making her exit.

On cue with the sound of the door closing and reaching her ear drums, Ivory made her way downstairs to reunite with her stepson resuming right where she left off, cupping him into her awaiting hands and nuzzling him near her chest. It threw Tanner for a loop to be standing upright one second and in the next being coddled into the soft flesh at her sternum. It was borderline smothering, but after enduring Marcelle’s death grip he wasn’t going to complain.

“Finally, we're alone.” She exhaled in relief and held her son outward to view.

“Yeah, I didn't expect to be thrown into all that so suddenly.” Tanner admitted.

“I want to hear all about how your last two days were, but I'm sure you're exhausted.”

“Yeah sleep was in short supply while hanging out with Blake and company.” Tanner chuckled at his understatement.

“Let's get you cleaned up, so you can get ready for bed.”

“That sounds great.”

After carrying him to the bathroom Ivory sat Tanner down on the sink top and inserted the stopper before running some warm water. While she waited for it fill up the earnest matriarch stepped away to bring two washcloths one of which for the obvious cleaning purpose and the other to dry himself since he’d easily be lost within a regular sized towel. Once the sink was up to half height in water, she pressed down on the handle to stop the downpour. Tanner kicked off his socks, tossed his shirt aside, and was halfway into pulling his pants down until he looked up at his gigantic guardian looming quietly above him. He blinked a few times hoping she'd read the atmosphere and leave without him having to say anything but judging by her static body posture and light drumming of her fingers on the granite sink top it seemed to be the furthest thing on her agenda.

“Is something the matter Ivory?” He inquired.

The mother shook her head at the silly child and smiled at his question “I'm waiting for you to take your clothes off you goof.”

“Huh?” Befuddled, Tanner did not see where she was going with this.

“How else am I supposed to wash you?” Ivory smirked as if they were both supposed to be on the same page.

“You haven't done that…in ages.” It was a fact Tanner was reluctant to admit. Over time the shower like most things became too large to operate and he required someone to turn it on or adjust the shower-head to accommodate his diminished size. With further time the shower went from being too large to operate to being too dangerous. During his final excursions in the shower Ivory insisted on being present to monitor him and even took it upon herself to wash him. Unfortunately for Tanner her habit didn't end when he transitioned to bathing in the much safer sink. Tanner was positive that Ivory thought he was one freak accident away from somehow swirling down the drain and it took several weeks of persuasion to convince her he’d be okay. He had every reason to ask why she was hung up about it again, but his return was already marred with enough heavy and emotional discussions. Since he’s been a part of the family, his time over with Blake’s family was the longest he was ever away. If her reaction to his return was any indication, she must be ecstatic to have him back, there wasn’t any harm in letting her have this.

That said it was still no easy task for him to strip bare in front of her. Tanner stared up at her a last time hoping she’d at least grant him a few seconds of privacy while he finished disrobing and was met with the same expectant smile from a mother who knew their child was about to do something cute. Accepting that discretion was not in the cards Tanner looked down so he could at least give himself the semblance that he was alone and not being leered at.

“Okay... Ready.” He said, failing miserably at masking his embarrassment as he covered his privates with his hands. His meek modesty was met with a short giggle from Ivory who found his shyness to be amusing.

 “You're so adorable, it's not like this is anything new to us.”

“Heh heh…I guess so.” Tanner tried to match her enthusiasm with a hollow laugh. Her statement wasn’t wrong, but somehow this all felt… degrading.  He was sure most teens would not be thrilled at the idea of being naked in front of their Mom but being so exponentially dwarfed by his own maternal guardian made him feel particularly small. Not in a sense of just physical size, but in his standing in life where he felt like a powerless child rather than a young adult.

Taking initiative Ivory cupped her son into her hands and deposited him into the sink and from there he was little more than a passenger along for the ride as she went to work rubbing the soap lathered wash cloth over his body. She didn’t give any instructions or warnings whenever she needed access to clean part of his body and simply used her nail tips to move him as she saw necessary.

The meticulous manner that she could manipulate his body never ceased evoking wonder in Tanner, her handle over him was unparalleled. Ingrid was a distant second and while he felt safe with her, in the back of his mind he knew he could make her life difficult if he struggled. In Ivory's handling, resistance didn't even seem like an option and there was no other choice but to move his body to her will as if he were a puppet on strings.

Tanner kept his eyes shut for most of the bathing process, feeling the motions every time Ivory shifted or turned his body around. Once the initial cleansing was completed, Ivory scooped him back up and laid him flat on her palm. Reaching with her unoccupied hand she grabbed a bottle of body wash and gave it careful squeeze to squirt a tiny increment onto his stomach. The touch of the cold gel on his skin prompted a slight yelp from Tanner and he opened his eyes opened for an instant. It was in that brief instance where he was able to see a smile on the face of his gargantuan caretaker. He had no reason to be surprised by that simple observation, after all he needed assistance for nearly everything in his day to day living and Ivory has always been happy to oblige, no matter how trivial the matter.

Setting the wash cloth aside Ivory used her bare digits to spread gel throughout his body. She was cognizant of the exact level of exertion needed to be productive while leaving him unharmed. Tanner felt like he should have nothing to complain about, but the unease plaguing him wouldn’t leave and the sensation went beyond simple embarrassment. Ivory’s gentle hum filled Tanner’s ears as she guided her digits around his frame. That unease increased tenfold when her digits reached his nether regions.

The unease didn’t come solely from her fingers lingering around his genitals because as reluctant as he was to admit it, this was not out of the ordinary back when she took it upon herself to bathe him. While it wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, he could usually focus in on something else to refrain from being too conscientious about it.  This was not one of those times and there was a resounding déjà vu from the fiasco at the pool that he couldn’t disregard. Knowing how that situation played out he tried to think about anything else, but like metal to a magnet the thoughts of those girls prodding his body and eventually his genitals infiltrated his mind. The chain reaction went into full effect as he remembered himself desperately trying to refrain from becoming erect and by extension he hoped the same wouldn’t happen at this very moment by his stepmother’s hand. In what had to have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, him entertaining the thought and trying to tell himself to stay calm was inducing the opposite effect.

At most Ivory spent 10 to 15 seconds in the area, but in an anxious state he perceived those seconds as several minutes. He attempted to block it out, imagining he was being held by the ugliest ogre of a woman that ever existed, but that illusion kept giving way to Ivory. The very person who her daughter took after so much in appearance and possessed the same beauty refined in a more elegant and mature package. It was a lost cause, with the only minor consolation being that there were some remnants of soap covering his reddened face.

To his surprise Ivory was undeterred and continued about her business, humming along as she turned on the water again to rinse him off, it did make him a little happy that she wouldn’t make a scene of his involuntary reaction. Ivory ran him under the light downpour of water for only a few seconds at a time and using the wash cloth again to clear his body of any remainders of body wash or soap. After all traces were clear from his body, she sat him back on the sink top and handed him the second cloth to dry himself. He didn’t want to try his luck and ask if she was really going to let him do it himself, figuring she’d take that liberty too if he questioned it.

“My little boy is all nice and clean.” Ivory smiled at her handy work. “Now let’s get you to the bedroom.”

Finally, a suggestion he could get behind. Tanner eagerly stepped into her palm, after a chaotic few days he was more than ready to return to his mundane life. Step after step, Ivory drew closer to her vanity that perched his house and as it seemed she was going to stop to place him down she instead kept moving towards her bed and sat down, propping herself upright against the headrest.

Tanner could’ve sworn they had a mutual understanding that he wanted to go to bed, again the unnerving tension returned in his gut and he wasn’t content to ignore it any longer.

“Are you okay Ivory?” He watched as her face scrunched in a faint disgust.

“Ivory.” She repeated with a hinge of venom. “I’ve taken care of you for years, haven’t I?”

“Yeah.” Though he was disappointed that she responded to his question with a question he answered anyway.

Maneuvering one of her palms above Tanner’s head she began gently caressing his head. “I've done much more for you than your real mo-... than that woman who birthed you,”

Tanner was almost certain she was about to refer to ‘that woman’ as his ‘real mother’, before deciding against it. Regardless of how left field the comment was, it wasn’t incorrect. “Of course.”

“Mom.”

“Huh?”

“I want you to call me Mom.” She clarified.

“Oh! Okay…” It wasn’t something Tanner gave much credence to. Naturally, it was hard for him to call her Mom when he was first adopted and relationships were still being established so he always referred to her as Mam, Miss Ivory, and once he was more comfortable just Ivory. She never made any fuss about it before, so he assumed all was well.

“Why do you sound surprised, aren’t I much more of a mother than her?” At that question Ivory stopped caressing and waited. It came off as a rhetorical question to Tanner, but the silence that followed gave him the impression that she wanted him to respond... or more specifically wanted him to agree.

Objectively speaking there wasn’t any denying that his biological mother was just that, a relationship only by blood with a total absence of personal and emotional connection.

“You are.” Tanner offered his most authentic albeit forced smile. “I'm pretty beat, can you drop me off in my house please?” He requested, making sure to add in a fake yawn for good measure. Where ever this conversation was going, passed point of making him uncomfortable and he wanted to hit the abort button. Evidenced by the formation of Ivory’s frown Tanner realized he must’ve hit the wrong note with his request.

 “You’d rather be in your stuffy house than sleep by me?”

“O-Oh, it's not that. I just thought, y-y'know... it'd be pretty dangerous if you fell asleep and rolled over.”  He stammered. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to respond naturally when her behavior this evening has been abnormal in every regard.

“Would I ever hurt you Tanner?”

“No...” Tanner hoped she didn't detect that his response sounded more unsure than he would’ve liked.

“Exactly, I’ll never hurt my precious little son. Now give your Mom a goodnight kiss.”

After bringing her hand near him Tanner stepped onto the platform and waited as he was brought to his mother’s face. The dozens of questions that stormed in his mind were rendered mute when he stared into Ivory's anticipant eyes, even though he needed to manage a few paces to reach her face each step dragged as if he had weighted shackles attached to his limbs. Gentle, soothing, maternal, those were some of the first words that he immediately associated with Ivory and was how she always treated him. Tonight, he noticed there was something else in her demeanor and wondered if it was a new development… or something that was always there.  It was only a small peck he gave her on the cheek but luckily it was enough to placate her, and she lowered him back onto the bed.

“Goodnight son.”

“Goodnight Mom.” He forced himself to say with any degree of normalcy. Closing his eyes, Tanner hoped sweet unconsciousness would greet him soon to relieve him of his lurking anxiety that told him that Ivory still had her gaze locked onto his sleeping form.

Ivory’s Reminiscence I: My Incredible Shrinking Son

The memory of the day Tanner and I met at the group home was ingrained into my memory as I came face to face with the then ten-year-old Tanner; a ten-year-old that was only as tall as my waist. My reaction was one I’m sure he received dozens of times and by sheer happenstance did I manage to keep myself from saying “Wow… he’s short.” Though I’m sure it was written all over my face what I was thinking.

The length at Julie went in detailing his medical records to brace me with the grand reveal that Tanner wasn’t just short but was getting smaller would be enough to make anyone’s mind spin. In hindsight, I do wonder how most people would respond to being told that a loved one was shrinking. Perhaps a mixture of shock and denial at the possibility of such a phenomenon being real? Then it’d give way to an impending fear as they’d have to confront the possibility that said loved one may end up shrinking and they weren’t certain when it’d stop? Is it wrong when the bombshell of Tanner’s shrinking was revealed to me my reaction was none of the aforementioned? Instead I was curious… fascinated even.

When the time came to bring Tanner, home did I make the true connection of what his condition meant. As he opened the back door to the car his apprehension was obvious when he spotted the booster seat for him to sit in when most children his age should have been beyond the point of needing one. “I’m sorry dear, it’s just to ensure you’re safe.”

Understanding, Tanner swallowed his reluctance and sat down in the booster seat for me to buckle him in. The lasting image of him sitting docile in a seat meant for kids younger than him and his feet not even touching the floor left me in a complete mental disconnect. What I should be seeing was a young boy about to enter his pubescent years, yet I almost entirely disassociated him from his adolescence, however that was only scratching the surface. By the time he’s a preteen, teenager, and even a young adult it was guaranteed he’d be even smaller. This wasn’t just some safety precaution, it was a precursor.

For the remainder of the day I was plagued with a barrage of what if scenarios. What if Tanner was too small to reach the dinner table, would he have to use a high chair? I couldn’t believe I almost squealed girlishly at entertaining the thought of him sitting on my lap. There were occasions while I showed him around the house where I had to make a conscious effort to slow down my pace when he started to trail too far behind me, what if he became too small to get from place to place on his own? My heart fluttered at the idea of carrying him everywhere he needed to be… What? I’m just considering inevitable realities. That was nothing compared to the roller coaster my mind went on during his first night.

Around midnight after Tanner already went to sleep, I decided to check on him one last time before heading to bed myself. I peeked through the door and was greeted by the sight of him thrashing in his bed sheets.

“Tanner… Tanner… Tanner!” I called out his name several times as I nudged at him until he finally came to in a cold sweat. It took him several seconds to register his surroundings and realize where he was before responding.

“Oh, sorry Miss Ivory… I guess I was just having a bad dream.” Despite his deep exhales Tanner tried to put up a calm façade.

“Sweetie, it’s alright to talk to me. What did you dream about?” I asked, sitting down next to him.

“I…” Tanner audibly gulped, steeling his nerves before explaining.

“I… had a dream that I was shrinking… I was shrinking, and it wouldn’t stop.” He uttered.

It was obviously difficult for him to explain and at that point I should’ve interjected with something to the effect of ‘everything will be okay and that wouldn’t happen’. But, I didn’t. Why? Because I was hooked on his every word and my imagination went wild envisioning him dwindling before my very eyes as he went into depth explaining what happened in his dream.

“Everyone started staring at me, I got so scared and didn’t know what to do.”

 At this point he was roughly a ¼ of my size and still shrinking, the circumference of my thigh alone was probably thicker than his whole body. Mesmerized I scooted in closer to my still shrinking son. “What happened then?”

Tanner clenched the sheets tightly before continuing. “I just ran…ran as far as I could, but I was still getting smaller.”

“Mhm?” I urged him to continue, scooting closer yet again. The distance between us now was non-existent as I watched him sink further into the bed, now small enough for me to easily cradle like a newborn and showed no signs of stopping yet.

“By the time I stopped shrinking and running everyone was giant...  I was too small to get anyone’s attention. They just stepped over me and-”

I was tuned out of anything being said at that point and was transfixed at the sight of Tanner who finally stopped shrinking leaving him no larger than my little pinky. I couldn’t have even begun to imagine if this was what lied in the future. How would it even be possible for him to live normally? What a redundant question, he simply wouldn’t. The world would simply be too big for him. What would he be able to do on his own? Another redundant question. Nothing, he’d be too small. Eating, moving, drinking, anything, he’d need someone… he’d need me to do everything.

“I just… don’t know what’s going to happen to me.” Was the next thing I remember Tanner saying, on the verge of tears. I would’ve loved nothing more than to scoop his tiny form into my hands and smother him with hugs and kisses until my heart’s content, but my mind already checked back into reality and Tanner was back to his normal size.

 “Oh sweetie, just let it all out.” I cooed, pulling him into an embrace as he sobbed into my chest. I lost track of how long I kept gently swaying him back and forth until he settled down. Eventually his sobs gave way to silence and light snoring.  Smiling, I gently rubbed his head and whispered. “Ssh, I’ll be here for you and protect you no matter how small you get.” What? It’s not like I was hoping he’d get smaller, I’ll always be there for him… and he’ll always need me.

Tanner was pleasantly surprised he managed to sleep through the night as well as he did after his Mom’s unsettling behavior; if last evening was a one-off occurrence then he was more than willing to repress it in the recesses of his memory. The morning was also going smoothly, excellent even. Not only was he back in his safe corner of the world, that being his house of course, but around mid-morning Ivory told him that she’d be taking Marcelle to the train station at noon for her to go home. He nearly wanted to pinch himself that it was actually happening and with there being ten minutes before the afternoon, Tanner was counting down the minutes like a kid before New Year’s.

Expectedly once it was five minutes till, Ivory stopped by to let him know she was leaving. “Alright Tanner I’m going to go start up the car and drop off Marcelle so she can catch her train. I shouldn’t be any longer than an hour sweetie.”

“Sounds good.” Tanner smiled, trying his best to withhold his enthusiasm and urge to make a comment such as ‘Tell Marcelle I told her to fuck off and never come back.’

Ivory gave Tanner a small peck before heading out. It was all clear skies from here he thought… or would’ve liked to have thought before the bane of his existence made her presence known. His face instantly went sour as he heard her footsteps and the wheels of her suitcase drawing closer, until she reared her head over his house in the typical Marcelle fashion  he hated so much that made him think he was being looked at as her personal plaything.

  “I guess this is it for now Tanner. I’m going to miss my favorite little cousin.” She pouted while turning up the sweetness in her voice to levels that made Tanner’s stomach churn from the disingenuity.

“I won’t miss you at all and I hope I never see you again.” Tanner responded offering a similar dishonest tone along with one of the shit eating grins he’s seen Marcelle wear too many times. It did feel pretty good to serve Marcelle a bit of her own medicine, especially when he wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing so a mere 24 hours ago in fear of imminent punishment or humiliation.

Marcelle rolled her eyes ignoring the venom being spewed at her.  “Come on, it couldn’t have been THAT bad. These past few days with me around were probably the most excitement you’ve had in your whole life.”

“Oh, pardon me. I forgot being nearly squeezed to death, sat on, or stuffed between your boobs is the EPITOME of fun.” He recapped.

Scoffing, Marcelle took it in stride. “As if you didn’t like it, most guys would’ve had to take me out and buy me some drinks before even thinking about getting that close. You got to the goods free of charge!” She winked, propping up her boobs from underneath to make sure her step cousin received a good glimpse.

“… Yeah, I’m the luckiest guy alive.” Tanner’s comeback came with delay. At the time there was nothing amusing or captivating about those ordeals, but in hindsight imagining the up close and personal time he spent against Marcelle’s body caused some… stirring in his loins.

“You sure are, I’ve lost track of how many guys have tried to cop a feel.” Marcelle continued and leaned her body further over Tanner’s house, leaving the tiny teen inside subject to a solar eclipse courtesy of her cleavage. “And you honestly want to complain when a tiny guy like you gets to see a giant set of quintuple XL tits and even got to spend playing in them? Even if you don’t know it yet, trust me you LOVED IT.”

If he was quicker on the draw he would have looked away, but when the massive Grand Canyon of boobs overtook his view his undivided attention was drawn in like a sailor to a siren’s song. His mental voice of reason kept telling him to look away, but his male instincts and libido shut that voice down and kept his attention fixated on the gigantic mounds above him. Begrudgingly, he had to admit she was impressively endowed beyond the extent of his Mom, Ingrid, Blake, etc.  There was no doubting that her feminine assets have made other girls envious and guys lustful.

Dare he admit if her personality was excluded Tanner would have a hard time denying Marcelle was not far from a 10 out of 10 on most people’s arbitrary scale of beauty… including his own. Fucking hell, was she right? Maybe being trapped in her boobs wasn’t bad at all? Life at his size came with numerous hurdles, but he was positive that he was the only guy alive who has ever been sandwiched between a pair of giant boobs from a giant woman.  What was that feeling? No, not just in his loins. Regret? If he wasn’t in such a panic at the time, he wondered what it would’ve been like if he hadn’t struggled when he was trapped and simply let himself be enveloped by the warmth and softness-

Tanner shook his head and jolted himself back to his senses, it was bad enough he was actually entertaining these thoughts, but the fact they were inspired by his worst tormenter of all people? He needed to get a grip. To his chagrin, Tanner realized he must’ve been in deep thought because he didn’t notice Marcelle’s snickering above at him having already moved her breasts out the way to peer down at him again.

To his further misfortune, he realized she wasn’t only snickering because she clearly had him enticed by her words and breasts, but also at the obvious erection he was sporting evidenced by the tent formation in his pants. Tanner bit his gums and looked away, it just had to be Marcelle of all people. It’s been this way ever since she arrived, sure he had urges like any guy his age but they were normal urges or so he thought. Ever since she mentioned that macrophi-whatever it was, it’s been one thing after another each time he’s around the women in his life and when he started to think of the magnitude of their bodies it was just… ugh. Tanner shook his head again realizing his erection would never settle down if he kept thinking about such things.

“Whoops, did that get you all hot and bothered?” Marcelle chimed back in relishing how easy it was to flip his switch. “I forgot it must be a lot for a little guy like you to handle seeing my giant body. Do you need a few minutes to get your rocks off or do you need me to stay so you have some visual stimulation?” She was playing him like a violin and loved it.

Tanner didn’t bother trying to save his dignity now. “If you’ve gotten your jollies, get out already.”

“You’re such a riot little guy. I swear, it almost made me forget what I came here for.”

“What?” Perplexed, Tanner stared at Marcelle who didn’t answer and just grinned down at him for the next several seconds, considering she stayed in the guest room during her whole stay there shouldn’t be anything she needed out of Ivory’s room. He figured she just dropped by to pester him one last time. “…” Except he was wrong, that was not the only reason she came in Ivory’s room and there was something in the room she wanted. The instant Tanner made the connection he ran.

“Where you going Teeny Tanner? Hehe, I can’t finish packing without YOU.” Tanner heard from above in the midst of her incessant giggling.  By the skin of his teeth did he manage to scurry to the corner and out of the path of her hand that descended above and ravaged through his house.  There wasn’t any time to rest though, he ran again as she made another attempt to grab him. He was on borrowed time and he knew it, from the confounds of his house he was bereft of options to hide or escape from Marcelle who was bulldozing everything out of her way with her palm.

Thinking fast, Tanner avoided capture once more by sliding underneath his bed but as anticipated his evasive efforts were only a nuisance to Marcelle who easily plucked the bed out of the house to leave him in the open fray. “Peek-a-boo.”

Tanner was about to make another break for it but his step-cousin was already prepared with her unoccupied hand on standby waiting for him to be exposed, there was no getting away this time.

“Come to mama!” She boasted as she scooped him into her grasp.

“Stop! You fucking bitch! You can’t do this, you can’t do this! Bitch! Bitch!” A defeated Tanner was reduced to only being able to squirm and launch a barrage of insults at his captor until the very last second as he was lowered into her purse.  The last thing he had the displeasure of seeing was Marcelle’s cocky self-assured smirk looking down upon him.

“We have a train to catch.”  Were her parting words before sealing her purse, leaving her captive accompanied by cosmetics and darkness.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” Tanner ranted while being carried away. He continued to shout out for Marcelle to free him, unsure if she could even hear him. Not that she’d care either way. His only grasp of what was happening around him were through the muffled noises he heard from within the bag and the motions of Marcelle. The drop off in elevation signaled she was going downstairs, followed by the sound of the front door closing meaning she was outside, and finally the sensation of his feet on solid ground once she entered the car.

“Sorry about that Auntie, I almost forgot to pack something.” Marcelle apologized with a very believable falsehood. She was already sure the odds of Ivory hearing Tanner were slim to none, even so she eliminated the remotest of possibilities by turning on the car radio to ensure he was drowned out.

The unsuspecting Ivory thought nothing of the sentiment beyond assuming her niece’s forgetfulness almost led to her forgetting some luggage. “It’s alright, we still have plenty of time.”

“Mom! Mom! MOM!!” Naturally the trapped Tanner was in a frenzy, frantically running his hands against the interior of the bag hoping there’d be a way to escape. It wasn’t long before he deemed his reconnaissance futile and was left shouting for Ivory until exhaustion.

“Crap…” He panted. It was no use, he heard Marcelle turning up the charm to keep Ivory’s attention occupied with small talk. As Tanner stood still to catch his breath did the perils of reality start to truly dawn on him. Marcelle kidnapped him! Tanner’s heart raced, this wasn’t like her normal acts of torment or bullying, she was making a serious effort to take him with her and was well on her way to succeeding! But why!? What was the point of this- Right as he tried to pin down a motive he came to an epiphany.

“It’s my fault.” Tanner mouthed out. Why else would this be happening? He blackmailed her out of the house and for his transgressions she’s taking him. What if this was her plan from the start? What if he has to live with Marcelle!? … Live with Marcelle. The mere thought sent shivers up his spine and put him on the verge of mental pandemonium. Her occasional visits throughout the year were already more of her than he wanted to see. Having to wake up day after day knowing he was in her possession was a scenario straight out of his nightmares.

The conniving young lady already made it crystal clear that she in no way saw him as an equal, citing his stature as too measly for her to pretend that she even respected him. While harsh, that was something he already inferred after being treated like her personal plaything and demeaned by her more times than he’d like to admit.

What was still jarring him was her comparison that likened him to a pet, stating if he lived under her roof that’s exactly what he’d be. Tanner didn’t dare go down the rabbit hole imagining that kind of life. By her own admission Marcelle wasn’t amoral enough to crush or eat him as she threatened/implied before, that didn’t change the fact she still had all the means and willingness to make his life a living hell. The worst part? Without Ivory or Ingrid to interfere she’d have all the time in the world to do it.

“What was I thinking?” Tanner buried his face in his palms. Laying his cards out on the table and talking his best game to Marcelle left him feeling quite courageous in the heat of the moment. Looking back with hindsight he pictured himself with a shovel digging himself into his own grave. Now after mustering up all that moxie to try and act big, Marcelle was retaliating with due diligence reminding him that he wasn’t.

“Don’t act like you’re small huh?” Tanner slumped down continuing to muse about his predicament. He almost had a tough time believing it was Blake of all people to deliver such an insightful message that encouraged him to stand up for himself, something he never believed he’d attempt at 3 ½ inches tall and to Marcelle of all people. Then there was Gail who commended him for facing the tribulations of a world where he was constantly dwarfed, referring to it as brave. A word he thought was the farthest thing from an accurate assessment of his character.

At face value he wanted to dismiss both their insights as hollow platitudes that he’s heard before from other people. Yet the further he reflected upon it and the genuineness they spoke from did their words resonate with him. As early as last week he would’ve been terrified at the thought of confronting Marcelle, believing history would repeat itself with him succumbing to her intimidation, shaking at her feet while she seemed to infinitely tower over him, capped off with her laughing at the hilarity of his feeble effort. Sure, he was still scared even during his exchange with his worst tormentor, but because he found his courage and didn’t waver, things were different. Marcelle took him seriously (more or less). Now there was a parallel between Blake’s past and what was happening to him in the present. After telling Marcelle he wasn’t going to take tolerate her pushing him around anymore this was her counterattack to put him right back under her thumb and you know what? He was not going to let her have that satisfaction, somehow someway he was getting out of this jam. The million-dollar question was how.

He already checked the interior perimeter of the bag for escape openings, so now all he had left was the slew of items in her bag. It may be a long shot, but he had to bet on something being able to help him. There was a small opening from above where Marcelle didn’t zip the bag shut, a calculated move so he wouldn’t die of oxygen deprivation during the commute. While it was nice not having to worry about suffocating, this opening also provided him a sliver of light.

Getting to work, Tanner rummaged through each item in his vicinity for anything that might be useful. Based off the limited visibility available and touch he deducted that many of the items around were probably cosmetics. Putting down what he likely thought was a pocket mirror he heard a distinct rumbling-like sound, a vibration.  In awe he turned around to face the bright light emitting behind him and it was coming from the one device that would be his ticket to thwarting Marcelle, her phone.

Scurrying through the other objects Tanner eyed its presence like a thirsty traveler in the desert seeing water, unsure if what they were seeing was real. Despite all the trouble she’s caused, he almost wanted to hug Marcelle right now for making such an oversight. Touchscreen technology may have been cumbersome for him to utilize, but not impossible.

Though this breakthrough was enough to warrant some relief, Tanner knew better than to preemptively celebrate. From within the bag he had no reference to deduce how far Ivory was from the train station, so he had to assume time wasn’t in his favor. With urgency racing through his veins Tanner maneuvered himself to the side of her phone and pressed the power button to turn on the screen. Now for the difficult part, getting the device to recognize his touch and from his experience the only one way to make that happen was via sheer persistence.

Several times Tanner swiped his palm horizontally against the glass screen that continued to taunt him with its stubbornness in refusing to grant him access to the homescreen. Eventually his will proved greater than the phone’s and he was rewarded with Marcelle’s homescreen featuring none other than her own breasts as the background image appearing like they were struggling to be contained within the wallpaper dimensions and would burst through the screen at any moment.

“Classy as always.” He scoffed. With more diligent probing of the screen Tanner navigated to her contacts where he located both Ivory and Ingrid. This is where things got tricky. The temptation was there for him to attempt a phone call; however, the risk was too high. Ingrid would be out of the question; she was in the middle of school hours and would only have periodic instances to check her phone. That and what are the odds that she’d accept a call she thought was coming from Marcelle of all people? Alternatively, if he called Ivory, there was a high chance she’d ask Marcelle why she was calling when they were next to each other. It would be an instant giveaway to his captor what was going on, he had to be subtler.

Selecting both Ingrid and Ivory, Tanner started a text message. It’d be great if he were able to swiftly type up something succinct like, “Help, this is Tanner and I’m trapped in Marcelle’s bag at the train station, save me.” However, with a looming time constraint he couldn’t afford to type something so refined. Rapidly jabbing at the screen Tanner did his best to convey a coherent message that would at least raise suspicion when read. Subtlety his plan needed, but he needed some luck as well. Poking at the screen a final time his message was sent.

“I don’t know Auntie, college is cool and all, I’m just not sure if I’m the scholarly type.” Marcelle mingled.

“You always want something to fall back on incase modeling doesn’t pan out.” Ivory suggested, pulling up beside a gas pump. “Hold on, let me fill my tank right quick.”

Marcelle had half a mind to check on her ‘passenger’ once Ivory stepped out of the car, that is until her attention was diverted by her aunt’s phone display turning on from the dashboard mount with a text message appearing on screen, the sender identification caught her eye.

From: Marcelle

 “What the fuck.” Initially perplexed, Marcelle froze as she read the message in the text box.

Help tanner in purse, train station.

Marcelle’s mouth hung open while she connected the dots. That runt can use a phone!? He even managed to send out a text!? She reluctantly wanted to acknowledge his resourcefulness. Nonetheless, the top order of business was making sure Ivory did not see that text. Working fast she leaned over to the screen and with nimble fingers she reached the message in question with the sole purpose of deleting it. She kept the bulk of her attention on Ivory to make sure she wasn’t looking her way or coming back to the vehicle, only turning focus back to the phone in the final seconds to press the trashcan icon and confirm the deletion. Avoiding disaster, she returned the device back to the homescreen. With seconds to spare she leaned back to a nonchalant position right as Ivory came back to the car.

“Like I said, what’s another three or so years of university in the long run?”

“But college classes are so boooring.”  Marcelle resumed right where they left off in discussion.

The train station wasn’t much farther from where Ivory stopped to get gas and Marcelle was beaming. No one knew Tanner was gone, she handled his last-ditch effort to reach out for help, all that was left was boarding the train and she was in the clear. After Ivory parked, both women stepped outside.

“Thanks for the ride Aunt Ivory, I’ll let you know I’m back home. Tell Tanner and Ingrid I said bye one last time for me.”

“Hey, you don’t have to be in such a rush to get rid of me. Your train won’t be here for another 15 minutes. I can at least wait to see you off.”  Unbeknownst to Ivory what she meant as a joke was precisely what Marcelle wanted.

It wasn’t worth drawing Ivory’s suspicion if she appeared too insistent on make her leave, another 15 or so minutes shouldn’t be a problem. “I appreciate that.” Marcelle smiled.

The station didn’t appear busy with a handful of people scattered about waiting for their respective trains. “I’ll be right back Auntie; I’m going to use the girl’s room.” Marcelle notified before heading to the bathroom making sure to enter the last stall so she could make sure the others were empty.

Tanner for the most part heard the general gist of what was going on, specifically that Marcelle was aiming to get Ivory out of the picture just to have another potential problem out of the way. As expected, she also did not come to the bathroom to relieve herself when he heard the bag unzipping and was greeted with her massive hand retrieving him out of the purse.

“Enjoy the ride?” She whispered keeping in mind the chance that someone else may enter.

If Tanner had to look at her smug simper any longer, he might gag. In a sick way it was worthy of praise how often she outdid herself in proving to be the ultimate bane of his existence. Each time he thought he experienced the worst of her behavior she managed to cross the arbitrary line again “…Really?” He plainly asked.

“Really, what?” Marcelle parroted.

“Kidnapping me? Do you have ANY idea how much trouble this will cause?” Tanner was aware of the direness of the situation, but dare he say he was morbidly curious as to how she rationalized this?

“I bet your peeps are going to lose their shit.” Marcelle inferred treating it as if it were no big deal.

“And has it not occurred to you that you’ll be the prime suspect once someone realizes I’m missing!?”

“Or maybe, the step-sister that you recently had a falling out with.” Marcelle redirected. “And even if I was, what proof would they have? Without anything directly connecting me to it, your disappearance is more likely to be attributed to an accident, you running away, or just sheer carelessness.”

Freaking incorrigible. “So now what?”

Marcelle snickered, maneuvering Tanner flat on his back and began kneading his body with her thumb for no reason other than to make him uncomfortable, she easily overwhelmed his efforts to fight her off.

“Now it’ll be just the two of us, no one to help you, no one to stop me.” Marcelle’s whisper dropped in pitch producing a faint trace of a growl and she brought the boy closer to her mouth, watching him grimace with each rough nudge and prod of her thumb. “You’ll be my little pet. I’ll play with you whenever I want. I’ll play with you however I want. I’ll play with you with whoever I want...” Marcelle paused to bring him as close as possible to her lips, making sure he’d feel the full effect of her hot minty breath over his body and the power of her voice shaking his very being. “I’ll make you do whatever I want.”

There was no hiding that her last declaration rattled Tanner who fidgeted at the sinister delivery. “You’re out of your mind.”

Marcelle closed her hand around her new pet as punishment for his backtalk. “That’s no way to speak to your owner, I see it’s already time to start disciplining you.” Marcelle grinned and began unbuttoning her jeans. Tanner had a hunch where this was going and prepared himself for the worst as he watched her pull at her black lace panties and lined him up with the space that would leave him sandwiched between them and her crotch.

“Better get comfy, my stop won’t be for an hour.” She mockingly advised and released her grip on his body.

Tanner yelped and flailed his limbs in freefall until he came to a slight bounce when he landed in her undergarment. After gathering himself from the disorientation, he looked up to Marcelle who blew down a kiss. “Enjoy the ride.” She winked and redid her jeans, trapping him once and for all.

“Mmm…” She moaned, relishing the sensation of her prisoner struggling against the sensitive skin at her groin. “No tickling.” She giggled and rubbed her hand over her pants in the area Tanner resided until he settled down.

Marcelle was all smiles and triumph until she stepped out of the stall. Being no stranger to ruffling feathers and drawing the ire, today was the day she was happy that looks couldn’t kill when the first thing she saw standing across from her was a fuming Ingrid.

“Give him to me.”

After endless badgering from their guardians Ingrid and Marcelle exchanged phone numbers, which they both knew was a waste given that neither had any desire to interact outside of familial gatherings. That made Ingrid’s bewilderment even more baffling when she witnessed a text message appear on her phone while she was in the middle of class. If that wasn’t shocking enough, the real kicker was the message itself.

Help tanner in purse, train station

Was that supposed to be a joke? Marcelle was leaving today so maybe she was trying get under her skin one final time? The kneejerk response was to ignore it; however, her gut was imploring her to reconsider. Having never exchanged a single call or text why would Marcelle send a message like that so randomly? A message to help Tanner, with an associated location. To what benefit would Marcelle get from sending that? A message to help Tanner…  unless Marcelle wasn’t the one who sent it.

Ingrid’s deduction took a steep turn, pondering the possibility of someone else sending the text. A message so far out of left field coming from Marcelle didn’t make sense no matter how she tried spin it. That left her with the only one logical alternative, the only person it would benefit, Tanner. Under that premise there was a drastically different connotation, it wasn’t a barb sent by her bitchy cousin to rile her up, instead it was a distress message from her brother who needed her help URGENTLY.

Being a high achieving student spared her the hassle of having to explain beyond, “Something important came up.” To be excused from class. After taking some generous liberties of the road speed limits, she reached the train station in record time, with a single purpose on the itinerary.

“Ingrid what are you doing here!?” Ivory naturally inquired, expecting her daughter to still be in school at this hour.

“Where’s Marcelle?”

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Ivory questioned further.

“Where… is… Mar…celle?” Ingrid repeated slower.

“She’s in the bathroom-” Ivory had more to say, but Ingrid didn’t listen to another word after that and walked away.

“How the hell did she know?” That was the only thought circulating in Marcelle’s mind. She did not have the benefit of time to think her way through this as Ingrid inched closer. Be that as it may there was no reason to incriminate herself, it’s best to feign ignorance.

“Give you what-” Marcelle barely uttered the whole question before being slapped in the face producing a harrowing echo in the bathroom. She fell to a knee and touched her cheek in a daze trying to comprehend the throbbing pain in her face.

Having seen Marcelle’s purse slip off her shoulder onto the ground, Ingrid took the opportunity to pick it up and pluck through its contents in hopes of finding Tanner. If he was in there, she would expect him to make his presence known as soon as she opened it up, but even after rummaging through everything for good measure there was no sign of him. If it were anyone else, she probably would’ve considered them clear of suspicion, for Marcelle however she was only convinced that Tanner wasn’t in the purse.

“You fucking BITCH!” Marcelle sprung to her feet and cocked her arm back to retaliate with a strike of her own, but with sharp reflexes Ingrid grabbed her wrist and forced her backwards into the wall. For good measure she drove her forearm against Marcelle’s throat to ensure she wouldn’t attempt another sneak attack.

“Ack!”  Marcelle winced.

“Where is he?”

With her breathing restricted Marcelle’s voice came out labored and raspy. “What’s the matter…feeling lonely at school… without Tanner to feel superior to?” Without a word Ingrid replied with a fist right in Marcelle’s gut making a thud against the bathroom wall. 

“Oof!!” Marcelle hacked several times after having the breath expunged from her lungs, the only thing that stopped her from doubling over onto the floor was Ingrid grabbing the back of her shirt and leading her into a bathroom stall.

The brief instance when Ingrid’s back was turned to lock the stall door, Marcelle made another desperate attempt at blindsiding her with a reckless tackle, an effort that that the stronger Ingrid fended off with ease by shoving her back to the wall.

On wobbly legs from the collision Marcelle felt a handful of her hair being grabbed and then found herself being yanked over to the toilet bowl. Even in her weary state she knew what was coming and grabbed onto the edges of the toilet seat like her life depended on it; but it was clear that her strength was no match for Ingrid’s and was well on her way to being overpowered, having to watch haplessly as the bowl full of toilet water crept closer.

“HEL-!” In a last-ditch effort Marcelle attempted to scream out, hoping to get anyone’s attention and for her troubles earned a clubbing blow to the back that shut her up.

“Don’t scream.” Ingrid lowly growled. “Last chance, give him to me.”

“I don’t have hi- no!” Marcelle’s final plea of ignorance ended with a yelp followed by the splash of toilet water as Ingrid overwhelmed the last of her resistance to dunk her head into the toilet. For the entire duration she spastically flailed her limbs looking for anything to grab hold of for leverage to push herself out. If Ingrid had to bet, the bubbles on the surface were being formed from either Marcelle screaming or swearing up a storm.

After what was the longest thirty seconds of her life, Marcelle’s head was pulled out of the toilet and she began coughing up the excess water she inadvertently swallowed. Looking worse for wear she sported every bit of repulsion on her face after being submerged into a public restroom toilet. As if she wasn’t suffering enough already, it added an extra layer of shock that this deliverance of retribution was coming from Ingrid. Oh, how she enjoyed walking the thin line of that hothead’s patience, always being a step ahead, always getting her in trouble with the adults, always having an ace in the hole. And now? It was being made painfully clear that she had finally went too far.

 “…You’re …a fucking… maniac.” Marcelle spat between some heavy gasps of air.

“Ready for another dive?” The only reason Ingrid was holding off was to ensure Marcelle wouldn’t pass out on her.

Marcelle switched tones fast at the threat of another round of toilet snorkeling. “Ingrid…Ingrid… Please, you have to listen to me.” She coughed, whispering her anguished plea. “I swear to you, I swear. I don’t have Tanner.

Ingrid was unmoved. “Say that again and I’m dragging you to a stall that hasn’t been flushed.”

“Wait, just wait! What is it going to take to convince you? I’ll do anything!” At last Marcelle earned a reprieve, feeling the stranglehold released on her hair. Even if she had it in her for another attack, she wouldn’t dare lest she wanted to reignite Ingrid’s fury. Making no sudden moves Marcelle stood up and waited as her younger cousin stared at her in contemplation before speaking.

“Let me search you.”

Marcelle paused before answering. “You already looked through my purse.”

To anyone who wasn’t accustomed to living or dealing with someone the size of their pinky that excuse would’ve sufficed, but Ingrid wasn’t buying that coming from Marcelle. “That was just your purse, you could’ve hidden Tanner anywhere.”

“My bags are outside with Ivory-”

“You’re not that stupid.” Ingrid interrupted again, privy to the attempt at throwing her off. “You and I both know he’d get hurt if you were trudging him around in a suitcase. You’d keep him close by.”

 “…I suppose, that makes sense.” Marcelle’s response came slower realizing she was running out of rope and fast.

“You said you’d do anything to convince me.” Ingrid reminded.

If she wasn’t already wet from her toilet plunge, Marcelle would be sweating bullets right now. Ingrid was hanging her by her own words and continued resistance would only make her more suspicious. “…Right.”

“Then you should have nothing to worry about. That is unless, you DO have him.”

 “…” Marcelle had nothing to offer in response and she had every reason to suspect that Ingrid was about to explode in a fit of rage, but instead the reaction to her silence was even worse than that… a smile.

“You really enjoy fucking with him, don’t you?” Ingrid hummed, strumming her fingers along the top of Marcelle’s head. If she weren’t in enough peril already, the complete 180 in tone had the young lady near speechless.  

“It’s okay. I was like you once upon a time. Can you believe the principal of my elementary school called home to talk to Ivory about my aggressive behavior? Me of all people, aggressive.” Though Ingrid’s sarcasm was on full display, Marcelle was still flustered as to where this was heading.

“But holy crap did Tanner get the worst of it. It was like you said it made me feel so… what was it?” Ingrid snapped her fingers a few times.

“…Superior.” Marcelle weakly squeaked, even though Ingrid had been speaking in a low whisper to this point her voice managed to come out as even quieter than that.

“Exactly! I knew you’d get it. It just makes you feel so untouchable because he can’t do anything about it? It’s great isn’t it?”

After a dry audible swallow Marcelle responded. “Yes.”

“He’s your ‘favorite little cousin’ huh? Don't you remember when you used to treat me like that when we were kids? Those were the days.” Ingrid’s smile was gone and the levity in her tone shifted back to a grave seriousness. “What happened Marcelle, why don’t you ever try me anymore?”

“I-I don’t know…” Marcelle quivered.

“Really? Because I know what happened.” Ingrid stepped forward.

Trembling, Marcelle didn’t feel in control of her own body as she instinctively backed away and slipped on the wet floor, courtesy of her dripping hair. Anxiously, she scooted backwards until she reached the end of the stall. Being that the space was limited, Ingrid quickly closed the gap between them and cornered her cousin. Marcelle had half a mind to scramble back to her feet until she looked up and froze at the sight of Ingrid towering over her prone body, staring down at her with a cold disapproving disdain lodged in her eyes.

“We’re not kids anymore Marcelle. I’m taller, stronger, and bigger than you now. So, you know that means? From hereon you’re MY LITTLE COUSIN.”

Every word cut deep and Marcelle’s mouth hung agape as she sat paralyzed while Ingrid lifted her foot and pressed it to the side of her vulnerable cousin’s head, leaving it sandwiched between her shoe bottom and the hard wall. Despite it being painful Marcelle was too shaken to muster anything beyond a few mousey groans.

“You think Tanner’s size gives you the right to treat him however you want? Let me clue you in on the difference between you and him. Tanner is small in stature, you’re just a small person.”

At the end of her statement Ingrid removed her shoe from her cousin’s face and the two shared a gaze, the contrast between their demeanors couldn’t have been more evident. Whereas Ingrid continued to look down at Marcelle with a resolve that seemed forged with steel, it was anything but for the latter. Marcelle’s eyes and body waivered feeling the effects of every word burning into her psyche. In reality she was only 3 inches shorter than Ingrid, yet after everything said to her, the way she was being looked down at, and from her current vantage, she felt so … She couldn’t bring herself to think the entire thought. Even the instances when her eyes shut to blink; her mind flashed with images of herself being no larger than an ant by Ingrid’s massive shoe.

“Listen to your big cousin and give me Tanner, NOW.” Ingrid ordered.

Marcelle sat there motionless feeling what little remained of her will melting under Ingrid’s scrutiny. There was nothing more to say and in an act of sheer obedience she undid her pants to fish her captive out from her undergarments. Without any protest or resistance, she bridged out her hand to Ingrid’s and opened her palm to allow Tanner to stand up and cross over to his stepsister.

Though still on guard in case of any last-minute surprises, for the first time since arriving Ingrid’s posture relaxed and she smiled genuinely.  “I got your message.”

“Thank you, Ingrid.” For Tanner it was the ultimate weight off his back, he’d be lying to himself to act like he knew everything was going to work out. Although this whole ordeal lasted for a little over an hour, it felt like an eternity and was easily one of the most nerve wrecking experiences of his life. From the moment he was kidnapped he was a nervous mess of hysteria thinking the worst that he’d end up in Marcelle’s ownership without the faintest glimmer of hope to escape and be subjected to her will as she toyed with him until her heart’s content. And even from the moment he managed to send out his message for help, there wasn’t a single second where he wasn’t hoping for divine intervention in any form to help him out of this mess. To go from that to seeing his beloved stepsister come through for him as she’s done too many times in the past was enough to drive him over the brink and his eyes to well up.

As for Ingrid, it took an absurd amount of self-control on her part to see Tanner in tears after what Marcelle attempted to do and not break her jaw. Instead she dedicated her attention to her stepbrother who needed it the most and embraced him near her sternum. “It’s alright, I’m here. She won’t bother you anymore.” She consoled, but during the final sentiment set her steely sight on Marcelle one final time to communicate a nonverbal warning. A warning that if she even had the slightest inclination that she was making Tanner’s life difficult that there would be hell to pay. Given the reflexive flinch Marcelle gave in response, the message was received crystal clear.

After everything that had transpired without interruption the door opened and someone finally entered the bathroom. “Ingrid, Marcelle?” It was Ivory.

“You’re going to tell her everything.” Ingrid instructed to Marcelle who nodded without a word.

Ivory who initially entered after growing concerned by the prolonged absence of her daughter and niece went from concerned to baffled at seeing them exit out of the same stall. Of course, the cherry on top was when she spotted who Ingrid had in her hand.

“Tanner!? What’re you doing here?”

At this inquiry Marcelle stepped to the forefront to speak, but too browbeaten to look anyone in their face anymore. “He’s here because I took him.”

“You what-!? But, when!?” Ivory exclaimed reacting how anyone would expect.

“Right before we left, while you were outside starting up the car.”

For as large of a bombshell that was dropped on her, Ivory started connecting the dots. “S-so, that means Ingrid was here to-”

“To get Tanner.” Marcelle finished.

“But how did she know!?”

At this point Ingrid interjected. “Tanner managed to send a message using Marcelle’s phone, you were listed as a recipient too.”

“I saw it while you were pumping gas and deleted it.” Marcelle somberly added for further context.

Ivory stammered over and over again, simply trying to make sense of what was happening and only had a single question in mind. “But… why!? Why!? Why!?” She repeated, not for the purpose of receiving an answer because nothing would have made this any easier for her to process.

“My Tanner…My Tanner…” Ivory murmured a few times over.  “You tried to take him from me…” She went silent staring at the ground. The other parties did not have the foggiest idea what was going on through her mind.

Out of nowhere Ivory turned her back. “Ingrid, Tanner. We’re leaving, let’s go.”

Though still quite livid, Ingrid was now more perplexed at her mom’s behavior but nonetheless followed suit and walked behind her. Before exiting the door, Ivory turned to face her broken and downtrodden niece to deliver one message before exiting.

 “I never want to see you again.”

“You seriously dunked her head in the toilet!?” Blake sprawled out onto the sofa, unable to contain herself and wished she could have been there to witness the spectacle.

Sitting on the floor with her back propped against the couch Gail rolled her eyes in response to her elder sister’s juvenile sense of humor which had brought Ingrid’s recap to a standstill. “For the sake of my sanity please skip to the end so she’ll shut up.”

On the ground tying her shoelaces Ingrid shortened her recount of events to the bare minimum. “Long story short unless Marcelle is a masochist, she won’t be bothering Tanner anymore.”

“I bet you’re happy about that.” Blake said to Tanner who was sitting over at the coffee table in the center of the room. He did not appear to register her statement. “Hello, Earth to Tanner.”

“Huh? Yeah, that’s great.” He eventually answered.

“What’s the deal? You look more spaced out than me during history class.” Blake said, noting the fact he seemed half invested in the conversation.

“Give it a rest, he’s had a long day already. You ready to workout with me outside?” Ingrid interjected.

“Ugh, shouldn’t you be taking it easy at this point? The championship game is only a few days out.” Blake groaned using that excuse to disguise her desire to lounge around instead. 

“There will be plenty of time for that afterward.”

“I’ll be deaf afterward.” Gail lamented, already aware that she’ll be dragged against her will to the game and was mentally preparing for the assault on ears courtesy of Blair and Blake’s incessant cheering.

“Do you think Tanner will be able to come and watch?” Blake asked. It was an innocent question that yielded a pervasive silence from both Ingrid and Tanner who exchanged looks.

“I want to.” Tanner announced, knowing his want came with caveat. Ivory would have the final verdict on that decision and it was no secret that she wasn’t the easiest person to convince of these types of matters. His recent track record that included being taken to the mall without her permission and an attempted kidnapping was not going to help his case.

“We’ll think of something soon. Right now, it’s time for you to get your lazy butt up.” Ingrid concluded and walked over to drag Blake off the couch.

“No wait, I don’t wanna! Little sis please, don’t forget me!” Blake dramatically cried.

“Who are you?” Gail quipped.

“What!? You have a headlock with your name on it when I come back!” Blake declared as she was towed outside.

Once they were out of sight Gail slid closer to Tanner. “You know she has a point. I thought you would be in higher spirits after having Marcelle dealt with.

Tanner kicked his hanging legs back and forth over the table’s edge while he gathered the moxie to vocalize his paradoxical feelings. “You want to hear something crazy? I actually feel bad.”

“For Marcelle?” Gail questioned.

“For Marcelle.” Tanner exhaled knowing he had to elaborate.

“What Ingrid did to her was one thing, she had that coming for a long time. It was the way Ivor- I mean my Mom reacted. It was pretty harsh I guess.”  Regardless of how he felt about Marcelle it did not sit well with him to hear Ivory say that to her own flesh and blood. Even if she brought it on herself Tanner couldn’t help feeling a cloud of guilt hovering over him as if he were responsible for driving a wedge between the two. Marcelle was as selfish and manipulative as the day was long, but her relationship with Ivory was among the few things he’d say was genuine. The two shared the type sisterly dynamic that tends to develop between an aunt and niece. Ivory especially enjoyed having someone else around who liked partaking in more traditionally feminine activities that Ingrid either didn’t care for or would rather do with friends. Ever since coming home Ivory had been upstairs on the phone with Marcelle’s parents discussing what transpired. He didn’t look forward to how awkward the next family gathering was going to be.

Gail swayed her head from side to side contemplating. “Maybe she just needs some time? After finding out what almost happened to you, she probably reacted in the heat of the moment. I don’t know how many times I’ve told Blake that I hated her whenever she did something stupid.”

This drew a laugh from Tanner. “Yeah, hopefully that’s the case.”

“And the best part is that you can cross being kidnapped off your bucket list.” Given her dry delivery many people would not have interpreted that statement as a joke; after becoming more familiar with her personality Tanner was able to distinguish the intent.

“I’m the luckiest guy ever. Too bad it couldn’t have been someone nice.”

 “Weeeeell, since you’re pretty much asking.” A faint grin formed on Gail’s face as she hovered her open hand near Tanner.

Seeing where this act was going Tanner stood up and backed away. “Hold on, hold on! I said someone NICE!”

“Great idea, insulting me is going to change my mind. You’re digging your grave fast.”

Switching gears, Tanner changed his approach. “Um, have I ever told you that you had nice hair?”

“Cute, but too late for flattery.” Gail said, lowering her hand down which forced Tanner onto his back and blanketed underneath.

“What if I said you had really nice hair?”

Not listening, Gail continued with her act. “Now what should such an unkind person like me do with her little prisoner?” She mused out loud.

“Let me go kindly?”

“Ah yes, now that I think about it I’ve always wanted a living action figure to play with.” Gail continued. Though everything was said in jest and Tanner had played along so far that last statement triggered something in him.

Whereas the rest of Gail’s family took a double helping of everything from the genetic buffet, she was left with the scraps and ended up dwarfed next to her supersized elders. In context that is how he perceived Gail in relation to her peers, however in the grand scheme of his world he registered her no differently than every other titan in his life that surpassed his size several times over. The same Gail who’d struggle to do a pullup with a gun to her head was still endlessly stronger than him. Unlike when he was held captive by Marcelle and in legitimate danger the non-serious nature of their current banter left his mind free to frolic in imagination.

He wondered what she’d do with him under a premise where nothing was prohibiting her. He recalled her saying she liked the fact he was smaller than her? That’s right, she was constantly barraged with reminders of her family’s athletic achievements that couldn’t match.  But even without an athletic bone in her body she was still worlds beyond him in what they were physically capable of. How much he wondered would Gail enjoy relishing the opportunity to flaunt her size and strength over someone for a change? Whenever life became stressful and she found herself irritated by someone at school or the antics of her family he would serve as the reminder being the one person she could standby and be the giant with the ability to subject her captive to whatever her heart desired.

That was only scratching the surface of what regular people could do to him. Even during their light-hearted playing Gail had already pinned him on his back. Though he wasn’t in any peril it didn’t change the fact that she had all the power over him at her disposal and something about that… excited him.

Gail had waited for Tanner to respond to her mock suggestion, instead he was staring blankly at her.  “Uh, Tanner are you alright… Are you poking me?” She lifted her hand.

“I-it’s nothing.” He replied, jolting backwards with urgency and making a futile attempt to hide what was already seen.

“Sorry... I didn’t mean to- yeah.” She was sure he was embarrassed and it wasn’t any easier for her to address the matter, let alone realizing she somehow caused it.

“I said it’s nothing!” Tanner repeated with his back turned.

Gail flinched at his vehement reaction. Though she pondered if she should leave well enough alone, for him to respond with the vitriol that he did led her to believe there was more to it than being an embarrassing occurrence at an inopportune moment. Calming her nerves, she responded again in a smoother tone. “Seriously Tanner, it’s okay. It just happens sometimes, it’s normal at our age.”

Tanner shook his head in disapproval. “No, it’s not a normal.”

“Tanner, please.” Gail said with a light touch of comfort on his back. “You can talk to me.”

If he stuck to his guns maybe she’d drop the subject and for anyone else he might have pursued that course of action, but not to her. Perhaps this seemed more fitting to discuss with Julie or at least someone he’s known for a long time. Yet it was Gail who he only recently began to know who could reach a part of him that set his mind at ease enough to talk to in earnest without fear of being judged. Steeling himself Tanner turned around.

While staring at Gail he took specific notice of her massive size, as redundant as that seemed to point out it didn’t change the fact that it was still awe-inspiring. Most of the time he believed he was well accustomed to the relative stature of people and objects, but on occasion it was like his mind was simply incapable of processing how another human was so impossibly big. “Lately it's been harder not to notice the insane difference between our standings. Marcelle for example outright likened me more to a pet in her eyes." The sheer thought of how casually she declared that still baffled him. But dare he admit after some reflection he was almost able to fathom how she reached that line of thought.

"By comparison I'm so lucky to be around you guys. You're all so good to me but whether we admit it or not at any moment one of you could decide my opinion didn’t matter or subject me to anything you wanted whether I liked it or not.”

“None of us would ever treat you like that though.” Gail rebuked.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that we all know I don’t have the ability to stop any of you. Until recently I never truly acknowledged how much power you all have over me, it’s... overwhelming, so overwhelming that it’s scary.” Tanner began to grasp his thighs to keep his nerves under control. While everyone was kind and mindful to him 99.9% of the time the few instances that .01% emerged were telling. He didn’t hold it against them, after all nobody was perfect and everyone loses their composure sometimes. However, those occasions were borderline if not disastrous for him. Thinking back to Blake shouting at him, Ivory towering over him while he was on the floor, Ingrid’s intoxication, and pretty much every 1 on 1 interaction he had with Marcelle, which all left him either terrified or on the verge of grave injury.

“As scary as it is though, I’ve been finding a part of this all…exciting.” Tanner declared almost sounding in disbelief of his own words. “Thinking of how everything looked to me years ago to how it does now everything looks unbelievable. There are so many things I could experience that people never have or in ways they never will. Even looking at you right now I sometimes can’t get over how big you are. Everything you do from my eyes looks so amazing, so massive, and it’s incredible, and it’s freaking huge, and….and I don’t know if I’m making any sense now.” Once he gained some momentum Tanner was freely thinking out loud until he noticed himself rambling into repetition.  

Gail’s silence for the remainder of his explanation was in part out of respect to hear him out without interruption and in part because she was hanging on his every word, drawing every parallel in their perspectives that was too apparent to go unnoticed by her.

“Do you remember how I felt when I first had to hold you?” Her question was met by a somewhat puzzled nod from Tanner who wondered why he was being asked about something that didn’t occur too long ago.

“Yeah, you were super nervous and afraid you were going to drop me.”

“Right.” Gail acknowledged. “That was only half of it though. I always thought we were kind of the same, since we’re both the ‘small ones’ in the family. But when I went to lift you up you were so light and so heavy, it’s like I could.” She came to an abrupt stop, unsure if this was something she should say fearing it may come across as offensive or insensitive to him.

Noticing her hesitance Tanner spoke up. “I know it sounds taboo to talk about, usually everyone is trying to walk on eggshells when it comes to anything related to my size. I honestly want to know your unfiltered answer. There’s so much I’ve had to learn to cope and deal with and there’s so much more to unravel. Now I’ve been learning more about how you guys see me and what you think of when you see someone so small. So, please?”

There wasn’t any question that this meant something to him and for that reason Gail granted Tanner the same courtesy he showed her and answered without attempting to censor herself.

“It was surreal. I never thought of you as being a pet or anything like that, you’re as human as anyone I know. Which is why it was unbelievable, it’s like I could feel your very life in my hands and it scared me. If I had so much as stumbled, sneezed, or any accident, it might have meant the worst for you.” That portion Tanner inferred and witnessed himself, it was after she overcame her nervousness was where things took a turn.

“Once you helped me calm down, I experienced something more surreal, something I never thought I’d experience… power. Your life was in my hands and I had that same thought you described, that I could’ve done anything…ANYTHING. I mean of course I wouldn’t hurt you!” She quickly added in, hoping her reveal wasn’t too off-putting.

“A-anyways, when I thought back on it, I started to wonder, just about everyday people going about their everyday lives dealing with such a size disparity.  Thinking what would change? How would people treat them? Things like that.”

“I mean…” Gail looked up to spitball the first examples that came to her mind. “Just imagine if some tiny teacher was trying to get a handle on a rowdy class.”

The mere visual thought of a thumb sized instructor cowering under a desk while a class of goliath students wreaked havoc in the room sent Tanner into a cackling fit. “That teacher would deserve an award and salary increase asap.”

Likewise, Gail started giggling at her silly scenario. “You get what I mean thought right?” She defended. “Maybe on some innate level size does matter to an extent. I don’t even know if I’d listen to my own parents if they were small enough to where I could just end a conversation by stuffing them into my pocket.” She reiterated with a different example that was again met with a comical disapproving headshake from Tanner.

“Now that’s cold.”

“It’d just be until they piped down, like a timeout. You’ve seen firsthand how hard it is to get any peace and quiet at home.” She huffed. “Ugh, and don’t get me started to when I was still clinging to hope that I’d grow taller than Blake one day. I used to think of all the ways I’d get back at her if she were shorter than me. If she were your size though…” That train of thought could have sent her down the rabbit hole for an hour until Tanner chimed in.

“That’d be plain unfair!”

“You’re telling me? I’d almost feel bad for picking on her if that were the case.” She smirked. “Almost.”

“You know you love that big teddy bear.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She admitted with a roll of her eyes. “It still wouldn’t hurt if she were a small teddy bear.” Her grin remained as she continued indulging in her fantasy of Blake being a couple of inches tall.

“You’re still thinking about it aren’t you?” Tanner called out.

Gail shifted her eyes. “...Maybe”

“Geez, I’d hate to see what you’d do to people you didn’t like.”

Gail’s brows perked upwards, already conjuring a mental image a couple of students she wouldn’t mind seeing shrunk down to centimeters. “I bet they’d all be scared shitless to test my patience then. If they did then maybe I’d see to it that they have an accident involving the bottom of my shoe- I’m just kidding.” Gail looked away managing to stop herself from getting too graphic. “Too far?”

“Nah.” Tanner took it in stride and leaned onto his back staring up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe we’re really talking about this.” He didn’t have any expectations going into this discussion, regardless it was still a liberating sensation to admit everything he said. “What’s wrong with us?”

“Hmm nothing, maybe we’re just human.” Gail hummed, resting her hands on the table and setting her chin down. “I think it’s pretty cool that you’re looking at some of the unique benefits of your size.”

“Benefits? I guess that’s another way to put it.” For such a long time he viewed his size as a handicap that would forever prevent him from leading normal life. There was no denying it was challenging, but that didn’t mean it had to be all bad. In hindsight some of his experiences were enjoyable because of his size. “You know I had a lot of fun with you guys.”

“For real?” Gail inquired.

“I haven’t spent that much time away from home in a long time, so it was scary at first.” Sitting up, Tanner turned to look towards the door his attention fixated on the sunlight that shined through the glass. “I don’t get to do much a lot the time but going on the run, playing around with Blake and Blair at the pool, hanging with you, it reminded me that there’s more out there… and maybe there’s more out there for me.”

Visually following his line of sight led Gail to where he was staring. “Then let’s see what’s outside right now, besides those two amazon brutes that is.”

“I’m shocked.” Tanner stated.

“By what.”

“I thought you’d be afraid of turning to ash if you entered direct sunlight.” Tanner jabbed.

“Keep making comments like that and you’ll start to remind me of what I’d like to do to certain classmates I’m not too fond of.” Gail teased with a devious grin. “Now hop on my little prisoner.”

“Where are you two going?” Ivory questioned having just made it downstairs.

“Gail was going to take me outside for a bit.” Tanner answered, stopping in his tracks.

Ivory’s postured tightened after hearing that. “I’m sorry Abigail I need to have a word with him. Do you mind?”

“Um, not at all…” Gail obliged, albeit with a shred of doubt in her voice. The confusion in her mind was only a modicum compared to Tanner’s who wondered what was so pressing that it had to be discussed this very moment.

“Thank you.” Stepping forward Ivory cupped her son into her hands without a word and carried him upstairs to her room.

Unsure what to expect he was only able to pose his question after she sat down and elevated her palm with him standing on it to her face. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I don’t want you to go outside anymore.”

Tanner stood on Ivory’s palm waiting for a caveat to her statement and nothing followed. He realized that she meant it.

“I was only going to the backyard.”

“My decision is final.” Her stonewall face was unchanged.

“Do you understand?”  Ivory mastered the art of maintaining a calm and subtle sternness in octave, it was the dreaded ‘mom voice’. Most impressive was that she pulled it off on a 3 ½ inch child.

Tanner recognized the look lodged in her eyes. Focused, expectant, and delivered a non-verbal cue that anything besides ‘yes’ was an unacceptable response. Ivory managing the balance of being gentle and firm without frightening him had a greater influence when coupled with the gaping size discrepancy between them that drained him of any resistance he had within. It was a tell-tale sign that an argument was over, not this time.

“No, I don’t understand.” Tanner said.

Disputes with Ivory were rare and when they did occur, she overruled all arguments with supreme authority. For a decision this massive however Tanner was adamant to have his opinion acknowledged too.

“Excuse me?” Ivory asked.

Holy crap. Tanner thought to himself, did he just question Ivory’s authority? If he wanted to backtrack here was his opportunity. Talking back to her felt unnatural and it would be much easier to oblige without complaint. However, if he wanted a level conversation about this it wouldn’t happen if, dare he admit it acted small.

“I said, I did not understand.” Tanner repeated.

Ivory remained paused to comprehend what she heard. “I don’t want you outside anymore… period.”

Tanner noted the faint change in her pitch. This was already beyond the average disagreement length and entering uncharted territory. His foreboding anxiety made worse by her last statement, noticing traces of her being displeased and annoyed.

“What about what I want?” Tanner said.

“What you want?!” Ivory’s voice climbed another octave. “This isn’t a matter of what you want Tanner, I’m your mother, I’m the adult, and I’m telling you this is what you NEED.”

Tanner bit his gums. Ivory’s unwillingness to listen and expecting him to comply by merit of her being the adult was infuriating and that wasn’t the worst of it. The hollow platitudes she used while holding him in the palm of her hand were beyond patronizing. In simplest form he was being told, ‘I’m big, you’re small. Listen.’  

“No, it isn’t.” Tanner clenched his fist.

If Ivory’s mind was a computer this would be the moment a not responding prompt would appear. Her traditional tactics in quelling his pushback have failed and left her with an unknown error without a solution. “Sweetie, I know what’s best for you-”

 “No, you don’t!” Tanner snapped.

The silence was palpable as they exchanged wide eyed stares after the unprecedented occurred.  Tanner was first to break eye-contact after the adrenaline from his flare in temper diminished and regret filled the void. Second by second it dawned on him what he did, he shouted at Ivory.

Anger was an emotion Tanner seldom expressed. It was a deceptive feeling that lapsed his judgement and made him forget he was the weaker party in every dynamic. Having this lapse towards a parent was bad enough, but how does one recover when your guardian was a towering giant whose physical and authoritative presence emitted the very essence of power? Tanner lacked an answer and couldn’t bear lingering in silence.

“M-mom…I’m sorry. Can you just-” In brief spurts he worked up the moxie to look up at Ivory. It didn’t elude him that his outburst squandered the potential of a productive conversation. Now here he was with his head hung like a dog caught defecating inside. “Talk to me like a regular person?” He uttered.

More harrowing seconds of silence ensued before Ivory spoke. “We’ve had this conversation a few days ago about you going out.”

“We have, but it’s different this time.” Tanner said.

“…” Ivory paused again, still digesting everything that was said before speaking again. “You want me to talk to you like a regular person?” She asked and rose to her feet.   

Alerts of déjà vu fired in Tanner’s brain when his elevation dropped and he was placed in his most vulnerable position, the ground where his standing in life was put into its harshest perspective. For many people staring at the night sky or pondering the vastness of space made them realize how small they were in the grand picture of existence. He only needed to compare himself to an average sized human to achieve that sensation.

“Tanner, if you weren’t my son there wouldn’t be a conversation, I wouldn’t entertain the thought of talking to you as a ‘regular person’ because you aren’t one. I would tell you that you’re not going outside and that would be the end of it!” Ivory spat.

The barbed candidness of her statement had enough truth behind it to hit Tanner square in the gut and hearing it at his lowest point down at Ivory’s feet left his resolve severely diminished.

 “Your legs are already shaking Tanner; do you really think you can handle being around people who are THIS BIG?” Ivory questioned.

Being in this similar predicament a week ago allowed Tanner to manage his composure better, but he could feel his spirit shrinking by the second under Ivory’s scrutinous gaze.

 “I… can handle it...” He murmured.

Ivory leaned closer cupping her hand behind her ear. “What was that? You’re too quiet sweetie, how is anyone supposed to hear someone so little if you don’t speak up.”

Tanner realized what Ivory was doing and faltering now would reinforce her perception of him as a feeble child in need of her endless coddling. Don’t act small, don’t act small, don’t act small. He repeated to himself ad nauseam to strengthen his will.

 “I can handle it!” He exclaimed upward to his looming mother.

“Can you now?” Ivory walked away.

Tanner watched as she neared his house on the dresser. In an abrupt motion her hand glided laterally and swatted it to the ground

Tanner’s jaw fell in tandem along with the structure until it hit the floor with a resounding crack. Wide-eyed he scurried over to his refuge, once a perfect cubic structure now damaged into trapezoidal shape courtesy of gravity, velocity, and Ivory.

 “Why did you do that!?” He screamed.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” Ivory responded.

“I... uh…”

“How are you going to handle it if a really big bully says they are going to crush your little house?”

To his horror Tanner realized that wasn’t a rhetorical question when Ivory’s foot hovered above the damaged structure ready to render it completely destroyed.

In a frenzy he rushed over and pounded at the foot of Ivory’s supporting leg to get her attention on anything besides crushing his house. “Mom, please! Don’t!”

Unfazed she looked down to him.  “Is that how you’re going to stop me? You’re going to beg?”

Ivory looked like a complete stranger right now to Tanner, the way she looked at him was not as her beloved son. Instead she looked down at him as the 3 ½ inch person who was powerless to stop her and reduced to a helpless victim watching as her foot lowered simulating time running out in an hour glass.

Tanner fell to his knees without a shred of hope to stop her and could only fallback on emotional pleas to her pity. “Please, I’m sorry! I’m begging you; I can’t stop you! I can’t!”

“Do you know why you can’t stop me Tanner?” Ivory lifted her sole up. “Because you’re small.”  Her answer capped off by driving her foot down with her full body weight producing an unpleasant dissonance by the structural pieces of the house snapping and the inside contents creaking into unrecognizable bits.

Ivory removed her foot to observe the dilapidated remains of what she destroyed. When her attention shifted to Tanner her heart fluttered at the sight of her son staring at her through the tears in his eyes with the same question that she was now asking herself… Why?

Speechless, she turned her back to retreat into the bathroom and shut the door.

Tanner’s Reminiscence VI: 1 Foot Under

“You’re about… 1 foot tall exactly.”

Being measured was the worst part of my physicals. It was when I couldn’t hide from how much I’ve shrunk and when the physician told me I was only 1 foot tall it hit me differently from every other measurement.

Until that point sheer denial was all that helped me cope through shrinking. I clung to the hope my shrinking would stop while I was still 2-3 feet tall. While far from ideal I could envision myself living some semblance of a normal life. Now that I was at a height resembling a children’s toy more than a person there wasn’t any more leeway to fool myself.

Denial transformed into depression, every inch meant more than ever, and it was near impossible for me to see where I belonged in a world so big. The only things that placated my mind were sleep (when I wasn’t having nightmares about shrinking into oblivion) and watching television.

“Hey, little bro can we talk for a second?” Ingrid asked, taking a knee by the sofa while I flipped channels.

The days of her crouching down to put us at marginally comparable heights were over and now even with her compromising her standing, she lorded well above me.

“Yeah?”

“I know that I can’t possibly understand what you’re going through but, you know no matter what everything will be okay and we’ll get through this together.” She said.

I appreciated her efforts to cheer me up, but I don’t think the greatest motivational speaker alive would’ve brightened my spirits. The reality was my peers were in as much denial as myself when I continued to shrink beyond anticipated and were adlibbing how to handle it from my physical needs and psychological wellbeing.

I scooted off the sofa and onto the floor. From the moment we met Ingrid was huge from my perspective. Then I shrunk and she was an amazon from my perspective. Then I shrunk more and she was a giant from my perspective. Now here I was having shrunk even more and I wondered for the first time, what did she see?

“Ingrid how do I look to you?”

 “I mean…” Ingrid scratched the back of her head stalling so she could think through her response. I know I blindsided her with a difficult question. Pointing out how tiny I’ve become would come across as mean and beating around the bush would be disingenuous. Her delay was all I needed to know.

 “Pretty small huh…”

“It’s going to be okay Tanner; I’ll still be here with you every step of the way.” Ingrid said, putting a hand on my back.

True to her word she went out of her way for me, passing on several opportunities to hang out with friends to make sure I wasn’t alone. With the reality of my limitations becoming more evident the simplest acts she did became grander. Her company made the coping process easier and even allowed us to joke about it from time to time.

“Ugh, soccer practice was brutal today. I thought those suicides would never end.” Ingrid groaned on the ground, recounting the events of her day. Living vicariously through her experiences helped alleviate the bitterness of not being in school anymore myself.

“If it makes you feel better it didn’t hurt me a bit.”

“Haha, maybe it’d make me feel better if you were the team’s foot masseuse.” Ingrid suggested instead.

“What!?” I waved my undersized hands in Ingrid’s sight line.  Do these hands look equipped to deal with your team’s sasquatch feet?

“All the better to work through every muscle.” Ingrid said.

“On second thought have fun with bunions.”

She must’ve sensed my restless nights where I was accompanied by my darkest thoughts and snuck into my room with her tablet to watch funny compilation videos and we’d drowsily chat about the most random of things until I feel asleep.

“What would you do if you were my size for a day?” I asked out of the blue.

“Hmm, I dunno. Ride on a paper airplane I guess.” Ingrid said.

“I think you’d die if you tried that.”

 “Kill joy, then let’s reverse the question. What if you were giant for a day, what would you do?”

“Bring destruction on every roller coaster on Earth.” I’ve always wanted to go to an amusement park. “You?”

“Let’s see, after I give Marcelle the biggest loogie in history I’ll go on and be the best goalkeeper to ever live.” Ingrid mused.

“Cheater.” I quipped.

“Am not. I can’t help it if I was big enough to block the entire net.” Ingrid countered.

Ingrid made my days bearable and I could never repay her for that. The only fact that soured it was she still had her own life to live that didn’t involve me and had a future out in a world that looked more foreign to me with every inch I lost.

How was it possible? Why did the household I spent so much time in look so different when nothing about it changed? Why did the world look so unrecognizable to me? Why did I avoid the obvious answer to the questions? I was too small for the world.

I did have one place for solace, a gift Julie had made for me that helped me feel a little less out of place in this big world.

Ingrid was on edge as she walked upstairs. She only entered inside for a drink of water before being approached by Gail expressing worry for Tanner after Ivory came downstairs for him several moments ago and hasn’t seen him since.

Hopes that Gail’s concern was groundless shattered when the first thing Ingrid saw in Ivory’s room was a Tanner on his knees near the shambles of his house.

“Oh jeez…”

Ingrid approached closer and kneeled down next to him and he didn’t respond. Also worrying was that her assumption could be wrong. Initial thought led her to believe the house suffered an unfortunate fall, but now up close the extent of damage looked too great to be accidental.

“Little bro, are you alright?”

While Ingrid waited for her dejected brother to respond the bathroom door opened. Ivory stepped out wiping her puffy red eyes and the two locked eyes. The dots were aligning for Ingrid and a disheartening picture was unraveling. Standing to her feet she pointed down to the wreckage. “What happened?”

Ivory looked down to the remains of her destructive impulse and ignored the question. Each passing second of silence made Ingrid’s suspicions grimmer and left her to assume the worst.

“Don’t tell me you did this on purpose.”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Ivory barked.

“Didn’t have a choice, what does that even mean!?”

“He wanted- he wanted to go- to go outside!” Ivory stammered.

“So, you just crush his house to make a point!?” Ingrid snapped.

“Shut up…” Ivory murmured.

“You knew what his house meant to him!” Ingrid continued

“Shut up.” Ivory repeated.

“You know it made him feel nor-” Ingrid didn’t finish before being cut off.

 “Shut up, shut up, shut up! I swear, you’re the worst influence on him!” Ivory exclaimed.

“Excuse me?!”

“All you do is fill his head with these stupid ideas that he’s normal, that he’s still the same, that he can be like the rest of us! He isn’t! He’s small, he’s tiny, he’s weak, he can be stepped on, sat on, crushed, eaten, kidnapped, picked on! If it were left to careless people like you, he’d be dead!”  Ivory panted after her tirade. “I had to show him… how dangerous it is.”

“And now what, you’re just going to smother him here for the rest of his life!?” Ingrid rebuked.

“I-…” Ivory drew a blank like for a brief instance she realized the absurdity in locking Tanner away from the world, but she refused to relent and doubled down. “Then so be it. I don’t care if I have to crush his house or trample his dreams.” She overlapped both hands over her chest. “I’ll keep him here for as long as he lives whether he wants to or not. I’ll be his world.”

Ingrid was floored, unable to even begin making sense of the absurdity she heard.  “You’re out of your mind.”

“Enough!” Ivory snapped again. “I’m done explaining myself!”

“Good, because I’m done listening to your batshit excuses for controlling him!”

“I’m not going to tolerate any more of your backtalk either, this is no way to talk to your mother!” Ivory added.

“Spare me the mother shit! Maybe I’d actually call you Mom if you ever acted like one!” Ingrid retaliated.

Both their faces were painted hues of red at the apexes of their anger, Ivory in particular seething after the vicious remark from her daughter. What does she know? She wasn’t owed an answer and had no right to judge her.

“You fucking cunt… Get out.” She spat.

Ingrid went quiet. Their relationship was complicated and strained, but even so Ivory was still her Mom and it took all her fortitude to prevent from breaking into tears.

“Get out, get out, GET OUT!” Ivory shouted. “I’m not going to let you treat me like the bad guy! You’re the one who dropped him! You’re the one who almost killed him! You don’t care about him! All I need is Tanner, we don’t need you!”

Ingrid was still bewildered and couldn’t make any sense out of this facet of her mother she was witnessing. “You need help. I’m not leaving him with you.”

The defiance angered Ivory further. “I swear to God-”

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!”  

The heated argument came to an immediate halt at the blood curling wail penetrating their ears. The manifestation of shame was instant when they looked down to an out of breath Tanner and realized they not only neglected him on the ground but he also saw them at their worst and nastiest.

Unbeknownst to the giants above him Tanner’s wail wasn’t a spur of the moment impulse released when he couldn’t handle the fighting any longer. They didn’t see the prior moments of him trying to summon his every last drop of energy and courage that went into his cry.

His prior interjection attempts ended with voiceless audibles being devoured by the boisterous shouts of the clashing titans. Every bellow from above intensified the tension in the room until his body weighed 1,000 pounds and his quivering legs were set to collapse under his weight. Adrenaline was pumped out begging Tanner to do anything, but his body remained frozen in the clutches of pure terror. With blurred vision he watched as Ivory and Ingrid seemed to grow bigger with each escalating shout and insult launched.  It was too much, his heartbeat raged with the intensity of a jackhammer and the voices of his guardians morphed into indecipherable booms of thunder. He was afraid anything he said would suck him into the storm of the argument.  He couldn’t take anymore and screamed his lungs out until they had nothing left, leaving his mental and physical faculties drained. If it meant being free from this nightmare, he welcomed the sensation of blacking out.

The moments after were hazy and his brain teetered the lines of conscious and unconsciousness. The first sensation he was faintly coherent for was the distorted voices speaking in a fragmented conversation.

“What are you doing!?”

“He needs help!”

“Don’t call her! She’ll take him away!”

“He hit his head dammit, he needs help!”

“I won’t let her take him away!”

“Ivory what the fuck are you doing!? STOP!”

His body was in motion, being whisked upwards and moved elsewhere.  An objected slammed shut and clicked.

More talking ensued.

“Are you crazy!? OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!”  Raucous thuds followed.

“H-huh?” Tanner’s vision focused as came around.

“I’ll stomp on him if you don’t leave!” Ivory threatened and it was the first sentence Tanner understood in its entirety.

“What!? What’s going on?” Instinctually he struggled, but was light-headed and sluggish making his resistance weak against the cradling hands of Ivory who snuggled him closer to her chest until he was firm in place.

“Oh my gosh, my poor baby! You must be so scared, it’s okay Mommy’s here.” Ivory cooed, swaying herself back and forth.

“Where’s Ingrid!?”

“Shh…”

“What happened!?”

“Shh…”

Tanner’s follow up inquiries were hushed and the banging ceased leaving the room silent. The combined effects of his subsided adrenaline, energy depletion, and light-headedness slowed his already weakened struggles to a stop leaving him putty in his mother’s hands while she continued rocking him.

He fought to remain present, but his breathing slowed to match the rhythm of Ivory’s and his consciousness was sedated with every thump of her heartbeat. Each time he blinked his eyes remained closed a little longer, lulled by his mother’s words until they didn’t open again.

“It’s okay Tanner, just go to sleep.”

“No one is going to bother us now.”

“It’s just us.”

Ivory’s Reminiscence II: What Will It Take?

I think I’m as responsible for Tanner shrinking as his condition is. His condition shrunk him physically, but I shrunk his world. If I wanted, I could have measured him daily, instead I kept a keen eye on him. Watching him interact with his growing environment was far more fulfilling and when something became inaccessible, I put a new restriction that further closed in the walls of his reality.

When I looked down at the 6-inch-tall Tanner I couldn’t believe I was staring at the same child I adopted years ago. On a whim I leaned down and picked him up in my hands for the first time. I shouldn’t have expected differently, it was as effortless as lifting up a doll, but the rush of power and control I felt over another human could never be replicated. My equally mystified son looked back at me. Were we feeling the same thing? Whereas I felt so powerful, big, and in control of every facet of his life did he feel weak, small, and incapable? Did he understand that I was his benevolent giant guardian who protected him? Did he understand there were malicious people out there? Did he understand that I was free to do what I wanted to him, but chose not to? Did he understand that not everyone was as kind as I was?

“Tanner, I don’t want you on the ground anymore. If you need to go anywhere, I’ll carry you.”

The changes were never easy and were always met with minor resistance every step of the way. It was the same here with brief tension followed by his dejected nod acknowledging my order. I could see it… that longing in his eyes. I hated it.

I love Tanner so much. Despite his stature and everything I’ve made him sacrifice I want him to be happy. But he didn’t see the world I saw, the world that would abuse him without a second thought. I thought it’d become clear to him the smaller he became, instead there was always that dormant vigor in his eyes… especially when he watched Ingrid.  Why did he always cling to her? 

I know I won’t win mother of the year any time soon with her. I looked away and suddenly she was an independent young woman who was ready to take on adulthood. She was always so brazen and capable.

Is that what you see in her Tanner? Is that what you want for yourself? I’m sorry my tiny sweetheart, but you’re not her. You’re not capable, you can’t take on anything. You’ve shrunk, I’ve shrunk your world and now I need to go one step further and shrink your spirit. When I make your spirit small then you’ll understand… How far will I have to go?

Tanner’s sluggish mind needed extra time to clear the cobwebs as he awakened. His attempt to sit up was thwarted by Ivory’s finger pushing him flat.

“Lay down sweetie. You gave me quite the scare there when you bumped your noggin. You need more rest.”

While the pain in his skull was undeniable there were more pressing events that preceded and followed it. He couldn’t put together the complete chain of events, but he knew enough.  “Where’s Ingrid?”

“You don’t have to worry about her Tanner. Right now you just need to close your eyes.” Ivory said.

“Did you really kick her out?”

“…Go to sleep Tanner.” Ivory sighed.

“And then what? Pretend everything before didn’t happen? That you didn’t crush my house and that you didn’t toss aside Ingrid like garbage?”

Ivory retaliated to Tanner’s probing by swiping him into her palm. “Enough, we don’t need her. It’s just the two of us now; everything is okay.”

“This is Ivory?” Tanner wondered about this facet of her he was witnessing. How strong was his denial to overlook her bizarre behavior as of late? A better question, how strong was his complacency that he let her shape his world the way she has and fueled her desire to continue doing so?

Tanner shook his head. “It’s not okay, none of this is okay.”

Ivory caressed his head with a digit. “It is dear, don’t think about it. Just rest your little head and let me handle everything.”

“Typical.” It’s what she always did in the face of his concerns. A gentle touch and platitude that placated him. In a life where he thought himself powerless and incapable Ivory was a godsend. Someone who showed him unconditional kindness and he was happy to relinquish control to. How much of himself did he surrender to Ivory that she can’t even talk to him as an equal and at what cost did his current security in life come? It was easy to constitute all his life’s problems to being small and fantasize how much better off he’d be at normal size. That’s what he always wanted, but only now realized what he needed was deeper than that.

“I can’t do this anymore. Not if you’re going to be like this.”

“Hm? What does that mean dear?” Ivory continued to rub his temple. His answer was nothing she could have anticipated.

“I don’t think I can be here anymore.”

Ivory immediately maneuvered her hand from holding Tanner in her palm to having him ensnared in her fingers.

“You don’t mean that.” Ivory said.

“I do.”

From within her grasp Tanner deciphered beyond her stoic demeanor and jittered in tandem with her trepid hand.

“…Heh...hehe.” Ivory steadied her wrist with her free hand and giggled.  “You’re so silly, this is why I’m the adult and you’re the child who doesn’t know what’s good for him.” Her grin stretched, remembering all his words were weightless. No matter what he said the fact remained he was the one trapped and weak while she was big and the in control.

“Look at where you are dear, you’re the one who is literally in the palm of my hand. In my room. Under my roof. In my house. Without me what do you have?” Her digit went back to stroking his hair, her grin curling to an elated smile. “I control your whole world and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re going to stay put and that’s that.”

“There it is.” There was so much praise he could speak of Ivory yet the critical component of her he never acknowledged. It all came from a place of her perceiving him as small and if need be she was able and more importantly willing to force herself upon him if necessary.

“Do you really care so little for what I think?”

“T-Tanner.” Her voice waivered and the quiver in her hand reignited. There were no other options.

“You don’t get it Tanner.” She said with renewed resolve. “I was so scared when she dropped you. I always thought the worst that might happen was an oblivious moment of carelessness. But, the extent of what someone would consciously do never occurred to me.” Ivory reinforced her grip and held her son within both hands.

“That’s when I decided to do some research and found all sorts of... people. People talking about what they’d do to someone like you, what they’d want if they were like you.”

Most of Ivory’s explanation was lost on Tanner until he connected the dots after the last statement. The fetish he understood as a layer of someone’s sexuality, the question though was what Ivory interpreted from it.

“Those are just people indulging in a fantasy.”

Ivory was unconvinced. “Fantasy? Well lucky for me I have the actual thing right here.” She poked his forehead and uncurled her hand to have him lying flat on her palm again.

“I wonder what they’d give to have someone so small around.” Her pincer-like nails gripped onto his shirt. “Many of them compared it to having their own doll that they can dress up and play with.” After some tugging she removed it and repeated the process on his pants.

“Ivory enough!” Flail as he did Ivory’s might prevailed and his pants were discarded alongside his shirt, his undergarments followed right after leaving him nude.

“No, it’s not enough Tanner. Do you honestly believe that everyone out there is as kind as I am?”

“So, what’s the alternative? You just expect me to be stuck here forever!” Tanner exclaimed.

“What choice other choice do you have Tanner? As unlikely as it is at least you would probably survive being someone’s doll, however there were far more popular preferences.”

Gripping Tanner’s wrist between two of her digits she lifted him above her head. Reasonably anything beyond the height of a table made him uneasy. The easy fix was simply not looking down, however in this flimsy grasp where his legs dangled over the equivalent of a multi-story building there wasn’t anything else to focus on than a long long fall.

“Don’t worry you’re not going to fall sweetie. After all, from what I saw several people would love to see something like this.”

Tanner feared any excessive movement would make Ivory lose her grip. He was forced to remain in static terror as she hovered him over her titled head.

“I must admit I’m curious to why so many people would like to eat you. I’m glad I get to experience first hand what the appeal is.”  

Tanner forced a swallow. “You don’t mean that.”

“Of course I mean it, it’s so easy all I have to do is lower you just like this.” Ivory demonstrated and parted her mouth open.

Tanner had to stay calm, he knew Ivory’s game now and this was her last-ditch effort to break him. This situation called for every tactic of mental resilience, but he was ensnared the second he looked down into Ivory’s mouth, so deadly yet oddly mesmerizing.

“She’s going to stop, she has to.” Tanner told himself. There’s no way Ivory would ever do that, then again, he would’ve said the same about her crushing his house, calling him not normal, belittling him while he was at her feet… would she really do it? She said it was just the two of them now, could this be her sick way to make sure they were always together as he was digested by her stomach acids- No! He can’t psyche himself out, she was going to stop she had to.

With every iota of descent Tanner’s next breath was harder to muster than the last. “She won’t do it.” He stared at the center abyss of the pink cavern that was the one-way ticket to her stomach drawing closer. “She won’t do it.” He was near her lips and the breeze of her exhales tickled his feet. This was the moment her fake out would be revealed. Ivory lowered him further and his feet were submerged first into her mouth.

“Ivory!”

The pressure on Tanner’s wrist lessened and his heartrate spiked as he wondered if she was going to let go at any second. He was lowered deeper leaving half his body from the waist down submerged. The cold sweat on his body contrasted by his lower half being encased by the humid warmth of her mouth.

“I-I-Ivory.” He stammered.

With a quick flick Ivory ran her tongue up his legs and Tanner cracked.

“NOOOOOOO!” Tanner drew erratic breaths desperately attempting to calm his shivering body while Ivory lifted him from her mouth. He closed his eyes trying to draw from his depleted well of courage, ignoring the tears on his face, and the fact Ivory placed him to the floor.

“Well that was interesting, though I don’t get how anyone would go through with that and not choke. Either or I almost forgot, there was one thing even more popular.” Ivory smirked. “Isn’t it fitting that everyone wants to crush you.”

Instead of fight or flight, his body conspired against him and froze. Tanner barely mustered enough control to clench his fists and tried willing his body and mind to do anything to overcome its fear. His being was aware it was faced with the perfect recipe of terror, associating Ivory’s godlike size with immeasurable strength, the danger she posed on his smaller being, and an awareness that he lacked any means of defense. It didn’t know the next move and the auto response generated was bladder relief.

Ivory couldn’t keep a straight face as the trickle of urine leaked to the floor. “Hahahaha, are you that scared sweetie! But let me guess you’re going to somehow survive out there?” She mocked before shifting back. “You’re pathetic Tanner.”

Amused she watched her pitiful child’s uncoordinated stumbles to a vertical base and him struggle to hobble a couple of feet away before she intercepted him underneath her toes with three steps of her mighty feet.

“You should have always known it would be this way.” She patronized increasing the pressure on his puny body through a careful dispersion of her body weight.

“I won’t give up…” Tanner squeaked, lacking an ounce of conviction.

“That’s what you don’t get Tanner. Do you think it matters whether or not you give up? You are under my foot because that’s where I want you to be! This fact is no different here than it would be anywhere else. You could be safe in my care, but you’d rather try your luck and inevitably be treated like this!” Ivory focused her weight further on Tanner who despite trying his best to resist his arms quickly gave out and he lied smushed onto the floor.

“Deep down you know it’s true too. How often have people looked down on you, picked on you, and humiliated you for no other reason besides ‘they can’? Everyone knows the answer except for you, because you’re small! We all know this Tanner, so when will you accept it?”

“…I don’t know.” Tanner wept. Why did it have to be this way for him? He wanted to forget the days of him being bullied, the stares of bigger people looking down on him, the condescension of people belittling him. What did he have to prove by going back into the world and subjecting himself to that treatment? What would he have to show for it besides abuse and misery? It was so scary, was he better off here?

“Give up Tanner, you’ll always be small.”

“That’s not true!”

Ivory paused, alleviating the pressure on her son at the unexpected voice from outside the door. After a moment of deliberation she recognized it belonged to the youngest daughter of Blair and Abel.

“Abigail?” Ivory questioned. “Why are you here? Leave!”

“I won’t leave.” Gail declared. “You’re wrong about Tanner. You don’t see the same Tanner I see.”

“You know it all brat. You don’t understand anything.” Ivory spat. “You’ve spent all of two days with him and you think you know him better than me? Tell me eavesdropper, do you know he’s underneath me right now? Do you know he’s utterly helpless while I’m having a casual talk with you? The same small Tanner that I see, is the same small person that everyone sees.”

“HE’S NOT SMALL!” Gail barked. “You think he’s small because you look at him for nothing more than his size. He’s more than just his height measurement, a lot more!”

Gail huffed and regained her breath. “He’s brave, braver than everyone I know. I thought it was tough being the shortest in family and in most places I go. But when I see Tanner who has gone through and dealt with so much, it’s inspiring, it takes real perseverance, yet all you want to do is shrink him down and make him feel like he doesn’t matter!”

“Tanner, please listen to my voice.” Gail relied on faith that he was listening. “I won’t stand by and let her treat you like this. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re so strong Tanner. I know it’s hard and there are times where you’re tired of fighting to find your place in the world, but we’re all here for you, me, Ingrid, Blake, Abel, Blair, Julie, all of us. You’re not small Tanner. You’re big.”

Ivory was stunned by Gail’s impassioned speech so much that she neglected her initial question of why Gail was there. While Ingrid and Blake did leave the house, they remained outside so the former could call Julie. Gail remained inside staking outside the door to ensure things didn’t escalate too far and only interfered when Ivory’s radical behavior neared its apex.

“Miss Ivory please open the door.” Another voice begged.

“Blake?” Ivory mouthed out. The last pivotal detail that flew under her radar during Gail’s speech was Julie, Ingrid, and Blake all making their way upstairs outside her door.

“Ivory please. I understand what you’re thinking, but this is not the way. This will not do any good for Tanner or yourself. So please just open up.” A concerned Julie tried to reason.

Ivory shook her head. “N-no, you’ll take him… I know you will.”

“Mom. If not for our family, if not for me, do it for Tanner’s sake. Please stop hurting my little brother.” Ingrid’s voice cracked.

“I would never hurt him.” Ivory said.

Every person standing opposite of her was ready to rebuke her statement, however the person who refuted it came from right underneath her.

“You hurt me more than anyone else.”

Ivory stumbled backwards off her son trying to reclaim her balance after his unnerving statement. “…Why would you say that?”

Tanner’s reserves of strength were long depleted. At times he felt life itself had a vendetta against him; stopping at nothing to knock him down and enforce his permanent residence on the ground. Tempting it was to swallow the bitter pill that he was unlucky being born into a world that became so large and he had to accept a life of complacency.  His strength now came from a different source or sources rather. Julie, Blake, Ingrid, and Gail the people who never gave up on him even when he was ready to give up on himself. He rose to his feet keeping his back turned to Ivory.

“Because it’s true.”

Ivory’s lip quivered. “…E-E-E-everything I’ve done has been for you.”

“This has all been for me?” Tanner repeated, more willing to accept the statement as a morbid joke than a serious response.

“Look at me Ivory! Look at us! You tossed out Ingrid! You crushed my house! You were threatening to crush me! You are literally trapping me in here while everyone is begging you to let me out! This isn’t all for me, it’s for you!” 

“I don’t- I don’t understand.” Ivory stammered and then snapped. “Why! Why do you want to leave me so badly!”

The moment he was waiting for has arrived where he had Ivory’s complete attention; with nothing but his words as the conduit to release years-worth of dormant frustration all barriers of cordiality and reservations collapsed for his unfiltered answer.

“Because I’m sick of this! I’m sick of it, I’m sick of it!  I’m sick of being stuck here! I’m sick of you fighting me every time I try to do anything! I’M SICK OF YOU TRYING TO RUN MY LIFE!”

After several silent seconds Ivory opened her mouth looking for words to exit and instead a chilling wail escaped as she fell to her knees, trying to wipe away at the torrent of tears cascading from her eyes.

The moment was every bit as cathartic as Tanner hoped but hearing the agonizing weeps from his mother brought him right alongside her in crying.

“Why did it have to be this hard?” He sniffled. “Do you know how many times I’ve tried to talk to you?”

“Sw-sweetie, I’m sorry I didn’t listen…” Ivory’s voice was hoarse.

“You didn’t want to listen.” Tanner corrected.

Ivory went mute again, following a hard and dry swallow she gathered herself enough to ask the one question plaguing her mind. “Why do you want to leave here Tanner? Why do you want to go back into the world? I remember how much you were hurting while you were still shrinking. How sad and afraid you were. Every time I found you alone crying because someone picked on you or because you didn’t know how small you would become or if the shrinking would ever stop. All the times I’ve held you in my arms until you calmed down… It’s so hard out there Tanner, it’s hard for anyone. But for you… I know you’re tired of me saying it, but you’re so small I don’t know what will happen to you out there, it’s so scary sweetie. You could be here with me where I can protect you… why do you want to put yourself through this?”

It's true, Tanner was sick of being reminded he was small from Ivory. But this instance did not infuriate him, her concerns were not patronizing and were genuine. In fact, Tanner agreed with her every word, the world was scary, and he didn’t know what lied ahead of him. There was one thing he did know, why he needed to leave.

“Because I need my dignity back.”

His answer was straight-forward and concise, not an iota of waiver for Ivory to detect. It was what she feared, his mind was made up.

“Tanner… please don’t leave me here alone.” She begged. “You’re all I have left. Issac is gone. Ingrid hates me… you’re all I have. Please don’t leave me.” She extended her jittering arms. “I promise sweetie, it’ll be different this time. I’ll be different. Please come here to me…stay with me.”

Tanner couldn’t’ look back now, he knew if he did, he’d cave at the sight of his weeping mother at her lowest point. With closed eyes to block his impending tears and clenched fists he hardened himself.

“I need this. I need this so much. You have no idea how much I’ve lost, how much I can never do.  How much it hurts to watch everyone advance while I’ve regressed, watching everyone live their lives while I’m stuck here. I don’t care how big the world is, I don’t care how small I am. I need to see it; I need to experience it. This needs to happen, I need this so badly, I need it like air. Ivory… this has to be goodbye. I don’t know for how long, but it has to be goodbye for now.” Tanner’s body shook unable to contain the waterworks infiltrating between his eyelids. “If you care Ivory, if things are going to be different… open the door.”

Ivory vacantly stared ahead at her son; arms still outstretched. How did their relationship deteriorate so badly? When did things spiral out of control? There was still a chance, she didn’t have to listen. She could still force herself onto him and make herself his only option until he had no choice but to accept her. Then all would be well in her world. Except it wouldn’t be. She would crush his spirit beyond repair, and he would never forgive her. Her hands trembled personifying the turmoil in her own conscience, before ultimately falling to her waist and her head dipped down.

“I love you Tanner.”

“I love you too Mom.”

Without another word Ivory rose and trudged to the door.

The foursome outside did not let a second go to waste once they heard the knob click unlocked. Rushing in they were ecstatic to see Tanner (albeit gravely distressed) unharmed. Though all of them had the same desire to comfort him, the three gave  space for his elder sister to pick him up. A disheveled sobbing Ingrid didn’t know what to do with herself or how to console her little brother and alternated between hugging against her cheek and barraging him with a series of wet kisses.

“Tanner… I’m sorry Tanner. I’m so happy you’re safe, I’m so sorry… I’m your big sister, I should’ve protected you.”

No worse for wear, Tanner was also a sniveling wreck of emotion trying his darndest to reciprocate the affectionate gestures but losing out to the more sizeable effects of Ingrid’s actions. “You’ve already done so much for me, all of you. I love you; I love all of you so much. Julie you’re the angel who has always looked after me. Blake you’re the gentlest giant who always makes me happy. Gail you’re the friend I wish I had growing up. And Ingrid you’re the best big sister I could’ve ever asked for.”

Suffice to say everyone surrounding him were in mutual bawling states and had nothing to add in words but joined in on the embrace. Alas in the overflow of emotion none of them took heed to Ivory in the background who drifted over to a nearby window and out the corner of her eye did Ingrid see half of Ivory’s torso hanging out.

“What are you doing!”