That fateful day, Alice had woken up as if her life wasn't about to be changed forever.

She rose from her bed to the sound of the alarm. Walked past her desk, where the unfinished dress she was making for her latest cosplay: Celeste from Danganronpa, and went to her bathroom to take a warm shower before a stressful day at college.

Her bathroom was as much of a mess as her room (or her whole life, as she herself put it some times) was. The clutter of hair and skin products and makeup was a mystery to everyone but her, which she carelessly ignored as she took the oversized t-shirt she fancied as a pajama and stepped into the shower.

Alice didn't think much of the day ahead. Shower time was sacred for her. She gently washed away the night's sweat from her slender body, and hummed a simple tune to herself. Alice took great care to rinse delicately her long black hair, her great pride. Once she was done, she walked, still naked, to the kitchen counter of the small studio apartment her parents were renting for her and grabbed her favorite breakfast: pop tarts and cigarettes. 

Today, she was feeling casual, and wore a black, but still cute dress. This was far from the gothic lolita style she would use on photoshoots but she was, after all, just gearing up for a normal day at college. For makeup, a simple eyeliner and some shade, matched with long eyelashes and black lipstick. After all that, she was finally ready.

Alice walked down the street to the bus stop, smoking another cigarette and listening to her favorite Spotify playlist. She hadn’t timed her commute, she never did. If she was late or not, who cares? She would be the only one truly affected by her (admittedly) bad decision making. The fact that the bus arrived and she was actually early for her first class of the day was merely luck, and not welcomed by Alice at all.

She hopped on the bus, and searched for her favourite seat, the one on the back where the windows were so well positioned she could get some wind both frome her seat and the one in front and stared out to the world from the window, and ran for it. She almost never ran, except for this kind of occasions.

Then, she stared out from the window. It was still autumn, and the skies already turned grey, almost fusing themselves with the concrete buildings and roads. Alice liked it. While some called the view almost depressing, Alice felt very relaxed by it. She kept staring, slowly letting everything melt away. This was her space. This exact seat on the bus on the way to College.

Alice wondered if this was what some called the Nirvana. A wonderful state of almost non-existence. No goals and no problems and no effort. No pressure from her parents to get that stupid Law degree. No thirsty young boys in her inbox. No-

A hand poked her shoulder. A gentle hand, whose touch was so familiar Alice didn’t really had to think of who it belonged to. While an interruption nonetheless, Alice couldn’t, in any possible way, get mad at his particular person. She unplugged her headphones and turned to meet her best friend. 

"Alex!" She greeted. With genuine joy in her voice.

Alex was a short, delicate trans boy with hazelnut colored hair. He was, in fact, at least five inches shorter than Alice. He wore some light blue jeans, a pair of Converse shoes, and a loose Hawaiian shirt. He was binding, as he had not taken a mastectomy at least for now. He was the embodiment of relaxation. Alice secretly thought that the only reason he hadn’t gotten his breasts removed was that the procedure was too much of a bother for him. Of course, she never asked that.

And while even if his upbeat attitude threw her off sometimes, Alice was glad to have a loyal friend such as him. Alex and Alice had known each other since childhood. They had been best friends in High School. Alex lent his shoulder every time Alice needed to cry. She had done the same, and supported him every step of his transition, she even taught him how to bind, as she had experience with it from cosplaying male characters. When her father had forced her to take up that Law degree, Alex had followed her to the very same college and enrolled in the same courses as her.

The two had spent the most formative years of their respective lives together. Many speculated they were partners. And of course, there had been some tension. They had kissed each other on the mouth during parties while they were drunk and slept together in sleepovers in each other's houses. Still, they maintained that they were just best friends. 

Alex quickly sat beside Alice and gave her a long hug. He kissed her cheek, and asked “How is it going?”

"Honestly?" She replied. “I’m doing like shit”

"That's… unfortunate. What's wrong?" He said, still maintaining  his usual cheerful tone.

"My back is aching like crazy man” Alice said “I spent last night catching up to Criminal Procedures, curved over my desk like a fucking shrimp”

Alex put his hands on her back without asking permission, as it was not actually needed, and started gently massaging Alice’s back.

“My, you were right… you’re as rigid as an iron stick” he said, worried.

Alice shifted her back towards Alex, letting him continue in a more comfortable position. “I honestly don’t know why I’m bothering with this Alex, why couldn’t I just study something easier?”

“Becouse they forced you, sis” Alex said “You really didn’t have much of a choice back there”

He was right. College was the only way she could get away from her awful family, after all. And her father wanted a lawyer daughter. Alice couldn't help it, she was a “people pleaser” as some would said. And if it helped getting away, what was wrong with a little compliance on her part?

“You know… sometimes I wish I could just… vanish” Alice said “Somewhere far away, where I’m not bothered by anyone ever again”

Alex didn't press on questioning her. He knew that she would sometimes just get like this: catastrophizing, desperation, the sudden need to disappear. Alex knew Alice was under a lot of pressure.

So he just stopped his massage, and gently hugged her from the back.

“But I can still bother you, right sis?” he asked.

Alice smiled. “Yes, of course you can”

The pair remained hugging each other for ten more minutes, until the bus came to a stop just outside their college, and both went to their respective classes. Alice kissed Alex on the cheek as a goodbye. Not knowing, not even considering the fact, that this would be the last time she would have lower herself to do so.

Alice just motioned his friend to her shoulder, where Alex's hazelnut head rested during the whole trip. They chatted about class, about the asshole professor that was getting on their nerves and of the protest programed for next week. The pair stepped out of the bus, not knowing it would be the last time they saw each other as equals. 

---------

Alice's day went on as normal. Class after class, lecture after lecture, she went through the motions of her life. God, she just wanted to catch a break. As his professor was going on and on about the history of the Rental/Lease contract, she stood up without a word for the back door of the room. 

Alice headed to the cafeteria for a soda, a coffee or an energy drink. Just anything that could keep her eyes open for the next hour. She just reached the courtyard. The cafeteria was just some yards away from her.

And then, Alice’s life suddenly stopped. Changed course completely.

She felt as if struck by a bolt of lightning. Her whole body was burning with pain. It lasted mere seconds but it was as if every muscle was contracting at the same time, as if bones broke and shattered and rebuilt themselves. It was enough to make the poor girl faint instantly. 

And when she woke up…

She thought she was dreaming, hallucinating, or just had gotten mad all of a sudden. 

Everything was… big.

She was lying on her back, she was still in the courtyard, she was still wearing her dress, the pain was totally gone. But everything was different. Everything was enormous, as if she had suddenly walked into another dimension, or turned into a doll spontaneously. 

Alice barely controlled her breathing. She looked in every direction for some sort of explanation, or just by the pure animalistic instinct that people feel in maddening situations.

So she stood up and ran in panic, aimlessly. She prayed for this to be a weird nightmare. But the floor on her feet and the wind on her face were anything but unreal. The courtyard was just enormous now, simple as that. Alice was sobbing now. Almost praying for a solution, for help, for an explanation, for anything. 

Luckily for Alice, a savior presented himself to her.

Resting on a bench was Alex. Soundly asleep. Alice recognized his hazelnut hair right away. She ran to the bench for what felt like miles but were actually just a couple dozen feet. There he was.

He was sleeping on his back. There was no way to catch his attention. Alice couldn't climb the bench. And even if she screamed with all her force, there was no way to tell if it would be enough, besides, she didn’t want to catch any unwanted attention in this state.

Actually, Alice dreaded being in anyone but Alex’s field of view right now, so she meekly hid under the bench, where she could sob in peace. The sobbing turned to crying quickly. Just what the hell was happening?

Alice thought of those times she said she wanted to disappear, and regretted every time she uttered the idea. She was expecting being left alone in her apartment, taking photos, experimenting with cosplay, not whatever this was.

And then… opportunity.

Alice whipped her tears from her eyes and looked at her best chance of salvation. 

Alex’s arm had dropped from the bench. He probably turned to his side, but whatever, now was her chance. Alice ran to his friend’s hand, and bit it.

The boy flinched in pain, and Alice barely evaded the quick instinctive motion of his arm to wipe whatever bug had just bitten him away. Alex had woken up, and peeked over the bench and to the floor.

Their eyes met. Alex was very visibly surprised, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just offered Alice his hand. She rapidly ran to it, and Alex’s fingers closed on her like a safe cocoon of flesh.

Alex stood up with Alice in his hand, hidden from sight. The boy, still silent, gently dropped her in his chest pocket.

“Stay out of sight” he whispered “I’ll protect you”.

Alice was crying tears of relief as she curled up inside his best friend’s pocket. It was such a comforting place… the warmth, the soft fabric of the shirt and… Alex’s smell. It was a soft musk of sweat and cologne, topped with the faint scent of his hair products. Alice didn’t dare to peek out from her safe space, but heard how Alex ran to a bus.

She heard footsteps and a greeting from the guard in Alex’s apartment building. Then the opening and closing of a door. Then, she heard and felt her friend collapsing in the couch.

However, contrary to what Alice was probably thinking, Alex wasn’t that tired or worried.

From her angle, she couldn't see his big, long smile.

After a few hours relaxing in Alex’s pocket, Alice decided to peek out.

Alex was resting on his back, and apparently sleeping. They were, also apparently, on Alex’s couch. The same couch they had both used while marathoning series or playing videogames, now was like the throne of a god. Alice had to balance herself against the rhythmic ups and downs of Alex’s chest as the giant boy breathed in and out, and admittedly, it was harder than expected.

Alice decided it was enough of resting already. She was, for some reason, barely inches tall and while she appreciated Alex’s help there was no excuse for delay now, as her entire life was in jeopardy. With great difficulty, Alice crawled from Alex’s chest to the boy’s face. 

If anything, her greatest distractor was Alex’s aroma. The soft musk of sweat and cologne he always had was intensified by several orders of magnitude hare, on this scale. It was now strong, and basically the only thing that Alice could smell now.

“Oh there you are sleepyhead!” A familiar yet booming voice came from in front of her.

“Alex?” Alice asked to his giant friend “You were awake?”

“Aha!” he said. “I just like, wanted to see you crawling in my chest and all…” He giggled. Even at this scale it was cute when he giggled.

Alice laughed. “Don’t make me crawl if I don’t need to, you dumbass!” She said.

“Aw, there’s no fun in that.” Alex said, with an obviously fake and dramatized sad tone.

Alice laughed again. Alex laughed too. Alice had to really put a great deal of effort in not rolling over Alex’s chest. She was grabbing her friend’s shirt as it was the only way for her not to fall over.

When they finally stopped, Alice took a long breath and said “It’s so good to have you helping me out on this.”

“No problem!” Alex responded “Doing my part!” he said, with a fake military salute.

Alice took her time to accommodate herself on her best friend’s chest, crossd her legs, and asked.“So, what now, Alex? We should get some help”

“Well, there is no need to go find help just yet don’t you think?” he answered.

Alice was baffled by that statment. What the hell was Alex thinking? Was this all a big joke to him? Where was his sense of urgency? “WHAT?! ALEX LOOK AT ME!” Alice said, pointing at herself. “In case you haven't noticed, I'm SMALL!”

“Hey, hey it’s ok” Alex said  “I know this is hard on you, I know this is weird and bizarre and unexplainable and we’re going to look for help but why don’t we like, chill for a bit?”

“What do you mean?" Alice said, still baffled at her friend’s characteristic relaxed attitude even in such situations.

“I mean you’re so small right now… isn’t it exciting for you?” he said.

“I don’t see how this could be fucking exciting, Alex”. Alice said.

“I get it, I get it, I really do but isn’t it amazing to see the world from this new perspective?” Alex said with a smile. “You’re probably the first person in that condition. You’re seeing things no human was ever seen before, you can do things no one has ever believed could be done!”

“I suppose you’re right…” Alice said. Maybe it was just that Alex wanted to cheer her up. Maybe he just wanted to put a positive spin on this horrible day. What could go wrong with a little positivity in her life? Alice felt almost guilty for screaming at him. Alex was doing his best to keep her morale up.

“Yeah! There's like, sooo many fun things we could do right now!” Alex said, cheerfully. 

Alice felt admittedly a little nervous by that statement. Not because she distrusted Alex as a person, but she distrusted, at least a bit, his definition of ‘fun’. Of course there was no harm in trying to do something fun at her size but what was Alex thinking of? Meekly, she asked:

“L-like what?”

“Like this! Watch!” Alex said.

A giant hand came from her left to grab her. It was so fast Alice didn’t have time to protest, resist or even gasp. Suddenly, she was trapped on a warm fleshy box of fingers and palm. Alex, on his part, jumped out of the couch with her best friend tightly secured in his hand and gently dropped Alice beside his feet.

“OH MY GOD YOU’RE SOOOO SMALL NOW!” he said, like an excited little boy.

Alice suffered a little vertigo and some dizziness from changing environments so fast, and by looking up at his friend’s giant form like this. It was very different from their first encounter as shrinkee and man, as Alex was resting on a bench. Now, at his full height, he truly felt like a massive, walking and breathing skyscraper.

“Let’s play a game!” He announced.

Alice still hadn’t stood up as she tried to respond “What kind of game?”

“Cat and Mouse!” Alex declared.

Alice was well aware of the implications that choice of game had. Fuck. She really couldn’t get mad at Alex. After all, if any person had to find her while she was just some inches tall she was thankful it was him. But still, he could be a little more comprehensive with her situation.

Alex was a giggling giant. He jumped back, making Alice trip and fall to the floor again as she was just standing up. And then he said “ON YOUR MARKS”

Alice wasn’t ready.

“SET”

She had finally stood up. Like an animal, she instinctively looked for hiding spots, cover, anything that could help. The couch? Yes she could go under it as long as-

“GO!”

Alright, there was no time to think. Alice ran to the underside of the couch as fast as she could. But all it took was Alex taking a single, loud step for the tremors it made to make her trip and fall.

Alice rolled over her back to stand up quickly, but Alex was already over her. She waited for his hand to snatch her out from the floor, instead…

Alex's sock-clad foot came down on her. Alice's reflexes acted up and she covered her face waiting for the worst. But obviously, her friend had no intention of crushing her. Instead, his foot gently pressed her against the floor, pinning her down, and preventing her from making any movement.

It wasn’t Alex’s foot that was bothering Alice right now. Not his foot per se. It was the smell of the foot.

Alex had clearly worn his shoes all day and it showed. His socks were soggy and dirty and all around her was the smell of sweat trapped within a shoe and a sock. Even if Alice squirmed and pushed, there was no way for her to realistically take it off from her.

“Take this of me now!” She screamed up. Unintentionally opening her mouth and letting the humid fibers of the sock in for a brief moment. It tasted horrible, bitter and salty. Alice dreaded the fact that Alex could have noticed it.

“Uhhh, don't wanna” He said, with a lightheaded tone.

“ALEX!” Alice screamed again. Although this time with just a little bit of genuine anger in her. 

“Ok, ok! No problem!” Alex said, gently removing his foot and looking down mockingly on his best friend laying on the floor, a sight that made him giggle like an amused young boy yet again.

Alice took the first chance she got to try to rise up from the floor. It was a nice attempt, but Alex just shoved his foot right back in. Again, he used little force. A mere touch  was all it took to make Alice fall back down on her ass again.

“Sorry!” He said “It’s just so much fun to see you down there like that!” He said, and honestly, Alex was speaking the truth here. Watching her best friend pinned down, hopelessly fighting for release against not him, but just his foot, was the most amusing thing that Alex had seen in his life.

“IT’S NOT FUNNY, ALEX” Alice shouted at him. Now, she was definitely annoyed by her friend’s teasing attempts.

“Aw come on, it really is” Alex said, pouting. “You’d do the same if I were tiny, you have to admit this is really funny”

“IT 'S NOT!” Alice said.

She gave up. Alice stopped squirming and pushing and fighting to reflect on her position. Alex was merely teasing her, that was right. But he was just so much more powerful than her now. If he had wanted to, he could have crushed her like a bug several times over. 

And then it sank in. She was powerless. She depended on Alex for everything now. Her life was entirely reliant on his whims.

Alex, above, felt how Alice suddenly stopped and removed his foot to reveal her friend curled up and crying. Concerned. he backed off and dropped to the floor on his belly, in a position that best allowed him to look Alice eye-to-eye.

“Look, I’m sorry if it got out of hand, it’s just kind of irresistible” He apologized.

Alice cleaned her tears with the sleeves of her dress, and took a big breath. “Don’t worry Alex, I guess I’m going through a bad moment, that's all” she said, still depressed.

“I’m sorry, again” Alex said with concern in his voice “Do you need me to do anything for you?”

“I need you to get help!” Alice said. “Just look at me! I don’t know what happened to me. I don’t know how it happened, I don’t know if it’s even possible for me to grow back! We need to get someone! A scientist or a doctor or anyone!”

“That’s going to be a bit of a problem” Alex said, backing off a little “you smell like feet right now. I believe you should clean yourself up a bit before going to meet anyone else, it would be a bad first impression if you roll up smelling like some dirty socks.”

That was very much true. Alex’s smell had somehow stuck to her. It was everywhere in her dress, hair, and face. 

“I smell like YOUR feet because of YOU!” Alice shouted at her friend. “You should be the one finding a solution!”

“Well… I can help you smell nicely right now!” He said. “Although you probably wouldn't like it. The thing is, I've been chewing mint gum all day, you know?

Alice connected the dots immediately. “Oh no, don't you da-”

Alex, in an almost feline motion, lunged forward to grab Alice with his mouth. Only her kicking feet were out of his body, and he promptly pushed them in as he stood. He wasn’t lying, his mouth did smell nicely. 

“ALEX!” Alice said. “LET ME OUT THIS INSTA-” and again, Alice was interrupted by Alex’s mouth. His tongue, acting as a bathing sponge, licked Alice’s entire body. From her feet up to her head, Alex spared no place from his tongue.

He went back to the couch, playing with his little prey on his mouth. Alex moved Alice from cheek to cheek, between his teeth. Covered her entire body with his saliva. He even took the care to give Alice some brief moments of respite to catch her breath.

After a few minutes, Alex opened his palm right below his mouth, and gently dropped her friend from inside of him, covered in a blob of mint-scented saliva. Alice’s hair was a mess now, and her pretty dress would need a wash later, but she was otherwise unharmed.

“There! Now you smell like fresh mint!”

Alice had cried a lot while inside Alex’s mouth. It wasn’t that she felt violated by him, not at all. It was all too frequent among the pair to grab each other unannounced and to sleep together occasionally. Intimacy among them was no taboo.

No, Alice had cried because there was nothing she could do to stop him.

But right now she wasn’t crying. As her mess of a saliva-soaked body tried to find her footing in Alex’s palm she just laughed nervously.

“I guess we can look for help now?” She asked

“First we wait for you to have an actual bath, silly”