Nathan leaned back against the half emptied bottle behind him, making an effort not to look at his friends’ smug faces. He had tried to use a chair like the rest, but he could barely reach the table, let alone reach the food and drinks. Carmen was happy to place him on the table, and now he was surrounded by three very amused giants. The bar was only two blocks away from the casino, but his insistence on walking there had left him completely drained.
“Want another one?” Nathan winced as Will shoved the oversized chip in his face. He shaked his head. A couple of them had been more than enough for him, just the sight of more food was making him dizzy. “Oh, whatever. You know, you could just stay like that. Imagine how much you’d save on food each month!”. Nathan sighed and watched the massive chip quickly disappear inside Will’s mouth. He expected Carmen to tease him, but Will? Will had always looked up to him, adored him. And now he was having more fun than anyone else.
The only one who seemed just as miserable as him was Dylan, who kept looking down at his tiny chair, afraid it would break under his weight. Will punched his arm, not quite reaching his shoulder. “What about you, huh? Bet you must be enjoying this!” Carmen chuckled and shook her head. She knew Dylan wasn’t exactly enjoying the situation. Sure, he felt big and strong, but that had never been a problem. Everything just seemed more fragile than before, and his usual feeling of taking up too much space had gotten even worse. “Well, uh… of course! Everyone’s looking at me, you know how much I love that!”
Will smiled, not detecting even the smallest hint of irony. Carmen looked up at her now giant friend. “You know, Dylan, luck might be on your side! If I were you I’d come back tomorrow, try my luck again. What’s the worst that could happen?” Dylan smiled and nodded, getting what she was implying. “Yeah, I’ll go back, bet 10% again. Maybe at poker this time”. Will’s eyes widened. “Poker? But you’re terrible at that! Why would you risk everything you won?” Dylan, tired of the attention, stood up, narrowly missing the bar’s ceiling fan. “You know what? I’m really tired, and we’ve all got stuff to do tomorrow. You guys coming?”
Nathan stood up on the table, welcoming the chance to get away. “Sure! But I’ll have to ask for a cab. I ain’t walking that far”. He turned around to see Will’s face. He had a smug expression he’d never seen before, and he didn’t like it. “Oh, you don’t have to. Dylan and you live on the same street, remember? He can carry you!” Dylan and Nathan locked eyes, and to any observers it would have been impossible to determine who was more terrified. Carmen cackled and pushed Nathan towards his towering, flustered friend. “That’s a brilliant idea, love! Come on Nate, climb on.”
Dylan extended his arms, but Nathan scoffed. “I don’t need you to lift me, you big doofus. Watch this!” Nathan sprinted over the table and leapt forward, trying to get to Dylan’s shoulder in one fell swoop. Instead, he slipped on the fabric and found himself falling, only for his friend to catch him. Dylan looked down at Nathan, cradled in his arms, and finally broke, laughing at the whole situation. Carmen and Will gladly joined him. “W-what’s so funny? Just… just lift me up already, anything but this”. Nathan fell himself being raised by Dylan’s strong arms, and placed on his shoulder. He was trying so hard to be mad, but he was also holding his laughter. He ruffled Dylan’s hair. “So that’s how the world looks from up there, huh? Come on King Kong, take me home. Forward!”
The strange group marched on through the empty city. Will and Carmen struggled to keep up with the giant’s pace, and Nathan kept mocking them from his advantageous position. “Come on now, hurry up, work those legs! And you, don’t you dare slow down for them”. He tugged Dylan’s ear, laughing to himself as Carmen shook her fist “You better hope I don’t catch you, you little shit! Gosh, I hoped that would knock him down a peg, now he’s even more insufferable!” Will shrugged and pointed to a side street, yelling at the other two “Well, that’s us!”. Dylan turns around. “Right! Have a good night! Nate and I will probably be at the Casino tomorrow if you want to drop by!”
Not much later, the odd pair made it to Nathan’s apartment. Dylan carried him upstairs, much to his annoyance. “Alright, alright, we’re already there. You want to tuck me into bed or something? Lower me onto the couch, you big dumb… AAAAH!” Dylan, tired of Nathan’s bullshit and feeling an unusual surge of bravery, grabbed his shrunken friend and tossed him onto the soft couch. “There you go.” Nathan climbed down, furious. The old Dylan never would have dared to do that. “You prick! I’m gonna kick your ass…” Nathan stopped dead in his tracks, as he realized how far up his leg he’d have to climb in order to kick his friend’s massive ass. Dylan kneeled down, still towering over him. “Nate, you’re a great guy. I know you don’t think you are, but you are.” The giant pointed a massive finger at Nathan’s chest, making him take a couple of steps back. “But you’re also an ungrateful little shit”. Dylan poked his friend, easily dropping him on his butt. He leaned forward, casting a huge shadow over Nate, who was looking down at the floor, unusually quiet. Dylan gently lifted his chin with just one finger. “I just put up with your annoying tiny ass all evening, and brought you back home. What do you say to that?”.
“Th-thank you D-Dylan”. Dylan smiled and got up. “Great, you’re welcome! I’ll pick you up tomorrow at the same time, alright?” Dylan stayed seated on the floor, still in shock at seeing a new side to his friend. “Uh… y-yes, sure. Have a good night. And thank you again”. Dylan walked up to the door and started descending the stairs, the adrenaline slowly coming down. “I did that. I just did that. I just told him… oh God”. Dylan puked on the stairwell.