My name is Nate and I've always been tall for my age. Currently, I'm 12 and 4'10". That's no real surprise since my Mom is 5'10" and my Dad is 6'1". My little sister Hannah is also well above average in height. She's 4'2" despite only being 8 years old.

            Before we get going though, I should go back two years to the start of 5th grade. Two important events happened that day. First, my best friend Sam (Samantha officially, but everybody calls her Sam) asked me to be her boyfriend. Sam was pretty and fun to hang out with, so I said yes. What? I was 10, so the whole "special relationship" part didn't really matter to me then. Sam, on the other hand, put a lot more thought into it. She was convinced that girls should be shorter than their boyfriends, and since she was so tall (we were about the same height at the time but I had often been an inch or so taller), I was her only choice.

            It turns out her timing was pretty bad on that point. You see, Sam had just started puberty around that time, and her growth spurt was about to kick in, hard. Over the next several months she grew, and Grew, and GREW. Multiple girls in our grade were also getting taller, and as 6th grade began, several more would start sprouting up. But none of them could match my girlfriend, who spent the next year the same as she had the one before: needing a new wardrobe every couple of months.

            By the time we get to the present, I had managed to grow 4 inches over the past two years. Sam grew a foot. 12 inches! Now if I stand in front of her, she can easily rest her chin on my head.

            The other thing that happened on the first day of 5th grade was Hannah meeting the girl who would become her best friend: Jessica. At first glance, you would never expect that these two would become so close. Firstly, Hannah was starting 1st grade, Jess was in 3rd. Jess was really smart (a genius honestly) with the skinny nerd body you'd expect, while Hannah was more athletic. Not dumb by any means, but she definitely preferred PE over math. Most striking though, was the difference in height. Hannah was very tall, while Jess was super short. Even back then Hannah was the taller of the two, and the gap has only widened in the 2 years since. Today Jess is only 3'10", and if you didn't know them, it would be easy to assume that she was the eight-year-old, and Hannah was 10.

            It quickly became clear that my little sister was in charge of their little duo. She decided when they got together, what games they played, what shows they watched, etc. Now this wasn't super surprising to me. Hannah has always had a pushy side. She's not a bully exactly, she doesn't like hurting other kids, or calling them names to make her feel better about herself, but if she wants something she gets it. And she's not above using her size to intimidate anyone foolish enough to stand in her way.

            What's surprising is one: this works on Jess even though she's two years older and way smarter than my sister, and two: Jess doesn't mind. In fact, sometimes I think she almost enjoys when Hannah pushes her around.

            The one exception to this rule is Jess' monthly obsession. Every month or two, she'll get really focused on a subject. She puts that big brain to work absorbing all the information she can find on that topic. After a week or so, she gets a plan of action and her and Hannah implement it. This continues until she loses interest and starts looking for the next topic that interests her.

            Normally you would assume Hannah always going along with these trends was just her being a good friend. She dominates their activities most of the time, so it makes sense that she would indulge Jess every now and then, especially with how passionate she gets when she's obsessed. But I've figured out the secret. Every subject Jess gets obsessed with involves growing.

            Now Hannah's involvement makes sense. You'd think that standing almost a full head taller than her average classmate would be enough, but I'm not sure Hannah understands that particular word. She loves being taller, and stronger, than other kids. Hannah is also extremely competitive. Just being the tallest in her class, or the tallest in her grade, isn't enough. Being the tallest in her entire elementary school is still too small. She wants to be the tallest. No qualifiers. The tallest. Period.

            They've tried a bunch of things at this point. Yoga, and other stretching exercises, weird diets, workout routines, herbal teas, vitamin supplements. You get the picture. Thankfully, none of these things made either of them taller. I'm sure the first goal Hannah would grow towards, if they did work, would be to get taller than me. Like I said, she's super competitive. It doesn't matter that I'm four years older than her, if I do something, she wants to do it better. And then she gets upset if she can't. She's super happy every time the growth chart Mom keeps in the kitchen shows her even an inch taller than I was at her age. So I have no doubt she would out-grow me if she could. Normally, I don't care about other people's heights, but man would that be embarrassing.

            And that brings us to today, the last day of Summer Vacation.

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*Ding* *dong*

            I open the door to see Jess standing there, her blond head not even making it up to my shoulders.

            "Hey, Jess", I say, before turning to yell up the stairs, "Hannah, Jess is here to play!"

            I return to the couch while Hannah comes bounding down the stairs. There's only a few hours of break left before school starts, so I don't want to waste any of them.

            "...but it's so hot today! Can't we just stay inside? I know, let's play that game you got for your bir..."

            "Jess," my attention was drawn back to the two girls just as Hannah interrupted her friend. Jess had moved to the bottom of the stairs, while my sister was standing a few steps closer to the door and looking back at her over her shoulder. "What did I say?", Hannah asked.

            "That we were going to play outside. But..."

            My sister let out a theatrical sigh before turning around and walking back to where Jess was standing. She stopped close enough that Jess had to tilt her head back to look Hannah in the eye. "Jess", she repeated, "what did I say?"

            "That..." As soon as Jess started speaking, my sister took another step forward, completely eliminating the space between the two girls. They were now so close that their chests brushed against each other. Jess' voice died for a second as a shiver raced through her body. The size difference between the two was really incredible. It wasn't just Hannah's 4-inch height advantage. She was stocky, but in a fit, almost muscular way. So close to Jess' slender, doll-like body, my sister appeared almost twice as big as this girl 2 years her senior.

            "That", Jess started again, "we were going to play outside." Hannah nodded.

            "And so?" She said. "What are we going to do?"

            "Play outside" Jess answered quietly.

            "Right!" Hannah said cheerfully, her previously serious demeanor disappearing completely as she spun back around and headed for the door. She never even glanced back to see if Jess was following her, because she knew she was.

            Now you might be thinking "Wow Nate. Your little sister is such a bitch." First of all, tone it down. That's my sister you're talking about. Them's fightin' words. Second, yeah she might be a little selfish, but I've never seen her act this entitled and demanding with anyone other than Jess. But most importantly, I could clearly see Jess' face as they headed past me on the way to the door. She didn't look frustrated, or sad, or even resigned. Instead, she had a dazed look in her eyes and the biggest grin on her face. I don't get it either, but as long as they're both happy I'm not going to interfere in my sister's closest friendship.

            It only took an hour before they were back inside anyway, sweaty but still happy, even if Jess was clearly tired while Hannah seemed as energetic as when they left. After grabbing a couple of big glasses of lemonade from the kitchen they both headed up the stairs to Hannah's room. I fully expected to not see them again until dinner time, but it turned out they had other plans.

            "Nate!" I heard Hannah call, "Come up here, we need another person!" I glanced back at the TV. Oh, what the hell? The only things on were re-runs anyway.

            "I'll be right there!"

            Walking into my sister's room, I found her sitting on her bed, with Jess standing to the side. Hannah grinned when she saw me, and motioned for me to sit beside her.

            "So, what's up?" I asked.

            "Well, you know how Jess has gotten into hypnotism, recently?" Hannah replied. I nodded. It was her latest obsession, though I couldn't figure out what this one had to do with growing. It's not like hypnotizing someone into believing they were taller would actually make them taller.

            "She's gotten really good at it", Hannah continued. "But I'm the only one she has to practice on. She says she can learn more if she has more subjects." Hannah's grin got even wider. "I just want to see what it looks like from the outside."

            "Well that sounds ominous", I said. "What are you plotting?"

            "Don't be like that", Hannah said, pouting. "It's not like we can make you do anything you don't want to do."

            "Huh?"

            "She's right." I turned towards Jess' quiet voice. "Real hypnosis isn't like movie mind control. The only thing we're doing is bypassing your conscious mind to communicate with your subconscious. It will be more willing to listen to requests, but won't do anything that goes against your true desires."

            "I guess I can't argue with the expert", I said. "OK, why not? Do your worst."

            Jess moved to stand directly in front of me. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin taped to a piece of string. "You are getting very sleepy..." she stated, swinging the coin slowly back and forth.

            "Pfft. Ha ha ha!" I started laughing. "Sorry", I said, seeing Jess' frown. "I couldn't help myself. That has to be the most cliche hypnotism line ever." Hannah reached over and slapped me on the shoulder.

            "Stop that! It won't work if you don't take it seriously!"

            "I said sorry." I turned back to Jess. "Let's try it again. I promise I won't laugh this time." Jess pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and started swinging the coin again.

            "You are", she narrowed her eyes, "feeling very tired. You are sinking down into a state of complete relaxation. With each swing of the pendulum, you feel any distractions fade away. I am going to count down from 10. With each number, you will sink to a new level of relaxation.

10

            "With each number, you will draw closer and closer to sleep. Becoming less and less aware of anything other than my voice. Feeling more and more relaxed.

9

            "So very tired. So very sleepy. Your eyelids drop ever lower.

8

            "With each level you sink, your consciousness fades. With each number, awareness lessens. So relaxed... So relaxed...

7

...

*Snap*

            I opened my eyes to see Jess' fingers in front of my face, evidently the source of the snap I had just heard. 

            "Did it work?" I asked. I heard Hannah giggle.

            "What do you think?" she countered. I was momentarily disorientated. Her voice wasn't coming from my left, where she should have been sitting. But from the right, and above. I whipped my head around... and stared straight into the side of her bed. As my gaze moved upwards to see my sister looking down at me, the pieces finally clicked. Hannah hadn't moved at all. Somehow in the split-second between Jess saying the number seven and snapping her fingers, I had moved from sitting on the bed to crouching on the floor on my hands and knees.

            "Whoa", was all I could say, as I slowly shifted back to sitting upright.

            "Right?" Hannah exclaimed, before jumping down to join me on the floor. "Jess usually gets me back in my original position before waking me. I think she wanted to get you back for laughing at her earlier." I glanced towards Jess but she avoided my eyes, blushing slightly.

            "I guess I deserved that", I chuckled, before turning my attention back to my sister. "So, what did you guys have me do? Or was I on the floor just for the prank?"

            "I knew you'd ask", she answered, "So I recorded it." She pulled out her phone and scooted close to me so we could both see the screen. 

            The video started right as Jess finished her countdown. I watched in growing embarrassment as the girls commanded my body to climb down to the floor and bark like a dog. Then in quick succession, they had me Sit, Shake, and Roll Over. Then it was back to all fours for more barking and what the girls called tail wagging, but due to anatomical difficulties was just me jerkily shaking my butt back and forth. This last "trick" caused Hannah to finally transition from giggles to full-out laughter. The camera lost focus as she rolled over in glee before mercifully cutting out a few seconds later.

            "I thought you said you couldn't make me do anything I didn't want to", I snapped at my sister, who had resumed her laughter halfway through the replay.

            "We couldn't", Jess answered for her. "Think about it, didn't you ever play make-believe with Hannah when you were younger? How is this any different?"

            "I... We haven't done that in ages."

            "And if she had just asked you to play make-believe when you came up here, would you have done it?"

            "No, that'd be way too embarrassing."

            "What if I wasn't here, and she really tried to convince you to do it? Would you?" I thought for a second and realized she had me there. I loved my sister and even if I refused initially, I would have given in eventually.

            "I guess", I admitted. "But you were here, and it didn't look like there was much convincing going on."

            "That's what the hypnotism is for", Jess replied. "Accessing your subconscious allows us to skip working thru your reluctance and embarrassment. Here's another example: I couldn't hypnotize you into breaking up with your girlfriend, because that would conflict with your true desires. But I could hypnotize you into sending her a mushy love poem, because you'd agree with the intent, even if your conscious mind would disagree with the execution."

            "So my subconscious is me with no inhibitions, like if I was drunk?" I inquired.

            "I believe so", Jess nodded, "although my mom wouldn't let me use her wine cabinet for a direct comparison."

            "Well I'm glad you went with the animal impression rather than the love poem", I said. "Sam would have killed me." I grinned and got a smile from Jess in return. "That said, if Hannah really wanted to relive the good old days, I'm surprised she didn't go for the Horseyback Ride. Or maybe the Princess and Her Knight in Shin..."

            "Stop that", Hannah butted in, whacking my shoulder again.

            "Kids! Dinner's ready!" Mom's voice floated up from the kitchen. "You need to eat fast, so we can get Jess back to her house. It's a school night remember."

            "Coming", we chorused. Right. School. Oh, joy.

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            Well, one day was enough to dispel any dreams that middle school would be better than elementary school. Or even just different. Sure it was a separate building, all the way on the other side of the street. Math was still math, same with history, English etc. Even the kids were the same.

            "Heh, I've always wanted to try this, but the stupid lockers in our old school were too small."

            Speak of the devil. Rounding a bend in the hall, I saw that Brad had cornered Timothy again. Brad is the stereotypical school bully: Taller, broader, and dumber than the usual 7th grader. Also evidently a fan of overused tropes from 80's teen movies. Timothy, in contrast, was the stereotypical nerd. Skinny, wears glasses, and only a couple inches taller than my little sister. So Brad bullying Timothy was a pretty common occurrence in elementary school and it looks like he has no intention of turning over a new leaf this year.

            "Hey Brad, did you leave your common decency at home? Or are you just a douche 24/7?"

            "Dammit Nate", Brad growled, turning to face me. "Go be a goody-two-shoes somewhere else. I'm busy here."

            "Why don't you make me?", I said, putting on the most annoying grin I could muster. "Oh, right. You're too chicken to fight anyone that might have a chance of beating you."

             Brad stomped up to me, but immediately had to contend with the fact that I was about two inches taller than him, greatly diminishing the intimidation factor he usually depended on.

            "Grrr... If you were just a little smaller you wouldn't be able to act all high and mighty", he declared.

            "Ha", I laughed right in his face. "Fat chance. Even if we were the same height, I could still take you, and you know it. Now if you were smaller, that would be interesting. I bet even Timothy here would be too scary for you then." I cracked my knuckles. "Now scram."

            Brad quickly looked me up and down, as if to make sure I hadn't turned into a bean-pole in the last 15 seconds.

            "Fine, I have better things to do than hang around school with you two losers anyway", Brad said, before turning and walking back towards the exit. But I guess he couldn't resist the urge to get one last word in, because he paused and looked back over his shoulder. "One of these days, Nate. You're gonna regret getting in my way."

            "Sure, Brad. Sure. I'm not gonna hold my breath though", I replied. After pausing a couple seconds while Brad continued down the hall, I turned my attention to Timothy.

            "T-Thanks", Timothy said softly.

            "Don't worry about it", I replied, before striking my best Superman pose. "Besides, foiling that villain's dastardly schemes is my heroic duty." We both chuckled. Stopping Brad's bullying had become such a habit last year that I had started coming up with cheesy lines to break up the monotony. Sadly, the conversation petered out into an awkward silence after that. Eventually, Tim muttered a quick goodbye and hurried towards the door. It's too bad. He seems like a nice guy, but we just don't have anything to talk about. 

            Oh, well. After a quick stop at my locker, I left the building too. I didn't have time to dawdle anyway, Sam and I had decided to walk home from school after all.

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            We usually took the bus like all the other kids, but since the trip wasn't even 2 miles, sometimes we decided to walk. This gave me a chance to spend half an hour alone with my girlfriend instead of 10 minutes jammed in a yellow tube with a bunch of nosy middle-schoolers.

            The first few minutes were nothing special. Just small talk. What we each thought of our first day in middle school, what we had gotten up to for the few days of break since we had last seen each other, the sports anime the other girls at her basketball camp had hooked her on. Less than gripping dialogue to anyone else, but I was happy just spending time with her. 

            Like I said earlier, we've been best friends for years, so I've always enjoyed her company. But over the last few months, I realized another reason to cherish these moments. My girlfriend is sexy! Her long legs. The way her tan skin contrasts with her bright red hair. How her breasts deform the front of her tank top. I'm so lucky.

             "...and then during break, I had to deal with that bitch Kerry", Sam said, bringing my attention back to our conversation, "strutting around in her designer clothes like she owns the place." 

            Kerry was the resident rich girl, her father was the vice president of some company or something like that. She's another early-bloomer, I'd say about 5'3", not including the 2-inch heels she wore to school today. According to the other boys, she has the best tits in our grade. I may be biased towards my girlfriend but even I have to admit they're pretty great. Widely rumored in 6th grade to be a 32-B, it seems like she grew another cup size over the summer.

            "Alice and Lisa were discussing how much they grew over break", Sam continued, "and Kerry has to come over and butt in. Bragging about all the modeling scouts her father introduced her to this summer. Then she said: 'They all insisted I had the perfect body to be a model. Sadly I doubt you two would measure up.' So I get up and go stand right next to her."

            "'Before you tell other girls they don't measure up, maybe you should get your daddy to buy some heels that actually make you tall', I told her. The face she made when she turned around and realized I still had an inch on her was just great."

            I was immediately distracted by the image of Kerry, who could look straight over my head in her bare feet, failing to measure up to Sam even in heels. Hell, the two girls that Kerry was putting down were each at least an inch taller than me. Luckily I managed to maintain enough attention to catch the rest of Sam's story.

            "So she said that she doesn't need to be taller than some 'muscle-bound freak'", Sam continued. "So I called her a little skank that substitutes fancy clothes for a personality. Of course, that's the moment that Mrs. Stamford walks in, which means I'm the one that gets in trouble."

            "Ouch", I replied. In just one day, Mrs. Stamford had established herself as the most no-nonsense teacher in the school. "Luckily you didn't get detention."

            "Yeah, she said she'd let me off with a warning since it was our first day."

            "Well, Kerry's an idiot anyway if she thinks she can insult your muscles. They just make you more attractive."

            "Oh? You like these?" Sam inquired, flexing her biceps. "Maybe you should get some of your own."

            "I have biceps!" I retorted, flexing my own arms. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. Although, they didn't seem so impressive next to Sam's baseball-sized mounds.

            "Mmm, yeah. Look at my strong little boyfriend. So manly." Sam chuckled.

            "Hmph. Anyway, you weren't the only one that had to deal with a bully today", I said, changing the subject. Then I proceeded to regale her with my encounter with Brad and Timothy.

            "Wait, Brad Peters? Little Brad Peters?" Sam exclaimed, bringing her hand up and placing it palm down about an inch above her collarbone.

            "Hey", I retorted. "He's only a couple of inches shorter than me." Sam just grinned down at me while moving her hand up to her chin then back down a few times. 

            "Well sorry that we can't all go away to camp and grow an inch in a single month", I griped. "He's still bigger than several of the girls and most of the boys."

            "I'm just teasing you", Sam insisted. "Though it is hard to see him as a serious threat. He just looks so titchy from up here."

            "I don't see him as a serious threat either", I said. "I'm just trying to help out the kids that are too small to stand up to him."

            "I know. And I really do love that part of you. My heroic little boyfriend."

            "Ugh, thanks, but can we maybe come up with something better than 'little boyfriend'?"

            "Like what?"

            "How about: 'Sexy stud muffin'."

            Sam snorted. "You are such a dork."

            "A sexy studly dork?" I asked, grinning up at her. Sam looked thoughtful for a second, then grinned down at me.

            "How about this?" She said, reaching down and grabbing me under my armpits. Then, without even a grunt of effort, she lifted me bodily into the air.

            "Wha... Huh?" I stated eloquently, still looking up an inch or so to see her eyes despite my feet dangling above the ground. Sam pulled my body into hers and gave me a deep kiss. For what seemed like an hour, I couldn't think straight. My brain ping-ponging at random between a few thoughts.

            "Holy cow, her boobs are pressing against me!"

            "Wow her lips feel so good!"

            "Oh My God! She's still holding me in the air!" 

            Eventually, she pulled out of the kiss and her cocky grin returned.

            "When you get big enough that I can't do this anymore, then I'll stop calling you my little boyfriend", she said. Only then did she slowly lower me back to the ground.

            I know we must have continued talking for another 10 minutes or so before reaching her house, but for the life of me, I can't remember a single thing we said after that. 

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            "Nate," Mom said, sticking her head out of the kitchen, "dinner's almost ready. Can you go get your sister? She's playing with the other kids down at the lot."

            "OK", I replied, pausing and saving my game. The lot was just that. A grassy field down at the end of the street where another house was supposed to be. Evidently, the housing developer for our neighborhood ran out of funds before it could be constructed. The HOA got together and decided to keep it mowed and clean as a sort of mini-park. It was great for playing games with big groups of kids.

            That was definitely the purpose it served today, as about a dozen third to fifth-graders were running around when I walked up. It seemed like they had decided to play football. I grinned. Hannah would have gotten a talking-to if Mom had gone to get her instead of sending me. My parents didn't have a problem with touch football, but this looked like a much more full-contact variety, with about half the kids forming a loose skirmish line and the other half acting as quarter and running backs.

            Hannah was in the skirmish line with her back facing me. Across from her was a nine-year-old named Jeremy. He was pretty tall for a four-grader so he actually managed to match Hannah in height. As I got close enough for Hannah to hear me, her team's quarterback yelled "Hike!" and everyone burst into motion.

            "Hannah! Mom says to come home and get ready for dinner!" I called out. Hannah kept pushing against Jeremy but looked over her shoulder to answer me. Before she could get a word out though, her opponent saw an opening. Jeremy stopped pushing back for a moment, causing Hannah to lose her balance. Then just as she lifted a foot to stop herself from falling forward, he charged back in, knocking her flat. Then he ran full speed towards the quarterback, causing the smaller boy to panic and throw the ball away to avoid being tackled.

            "Dang it!" Hannah growled, as she got back to her feet. "That was a dirty trick, Jeremy!"

            "Maybe you should keep your head in the game", Jeremy taunted back. "Welp, you guys played a good game. Better luck next time."

            "What do you mean?" Hannah asked. "We're winning."

            "Yeah it's 4 to 3", Jeremy answered, "but we agreed that first team to 5 touchdowns wins. You have to leave and there's no way your team can play 5v6, so that's a forfeit."

            "Besides", another kid added, "that was fourth down, so it's our ball now." Hannah was silent for a moment, then she turned back to me. She had a serious look of determination that I knew very well. It was the expression she got when she had decided to do something, and woe be it to anyone that tried to stop her.

            "Nate, stall Mom for me. I need 5 extra minutes." I nodded and started back towards the house. There wouldn't be any point in arguing with her. Jeremy wasn't a bad kid, but even I would have a hard time losing a game like that. And Hannah was way more competitive than me. I paused for a moment when I heard the next "Hike!" signal the game resuming. I looked back just long enough to see Hannah ramming her shoulder into Jeremy hard enough to lift him off the ground.

            It took almost 10 minutes for her to get back. She was covered in twice as much dirt and grass stains as before, but the grin and swagger, like a Roman general back from a successful conquest, told me who won.

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            As the next few days went by, the incident with Sam just wouldn't leave me alone. It seemed like every time my mind wandered, the memory of her lifting me was what it settled on. Then I would have to worry about hiding my boner in the middle of class. 

            And it wasn't the kiss or the feeling of her breasts against my chest that really got me going. Don't get me wrong 10/10, would recommend, but they just couldn't compare to the lift itself. Her hands supporting my weight. Looking up into her eyes as my feet dangled above the ground. How effortless it seemed for her. How strong she must be. Is that weird? Am I a weirdo? I even had the stray thought, after a particularly vigorous evening masturbation session, that if growing taller meant Sam wouldn't be able to do that anymore, then I would rather stay small.

            Of course, I dismissed the idea right away. I don't want to be a shrimp. And there's no way Sam would keep dating me if she didn't think I would eventually grow into her ideal boyfriend: tall, dark, and handsome.

            While I was distracted, Sam had something else on her mind. Basketball. I thought of basketball as a fun game to play with friends, for Sam it was serious business. She not only played whenever she got the chance, she practiced regularly, and spent a month of her summer vacation every year at a basketball camp. Our elementary school didn't do much in the way of organized sports, but the middle school had a basketball team. And the tryouts were next week. 

            Now since our school was pretty small, we only had one team for both grades and it was co-ed. This was exciting, because it meant I would get to spend a lot of time with my girlfriend, but also worrying because a lot of the girls and even some of the guys trying out would be taller than me. That's why I was out in the driveway this afternoon instead of watching TV. 

            My skills weren't bad. It would be impossible to be Sam's best friend and boyfriend without gaining some experience with the game. But if I was going to be playing against mostly taller players, I would need to up my speed and accuracy to compensate. At least until my growth spurt could kick in. So I was running back and forth, without looking at the hoop, and trying to make a shot as soon as I stopped. I figured this would be the best way to keep bigger but slower opponents from blocking me.

            "Hey! You're playing basketball? Can I join?" I turned to see my little sister leaving the house.

            "I dunno", I replied, "You always get super pissed when you lose."

            "I do not!"

            "Yes, you do. Last time we played, you sulked for the rest of the day."

            "Hmph. Now I'll be pissed if you don't let me play."

            "Fine. But I reserve the right to say 'I told you so'." I tossed the ball over to her. "We'll play to 10. You can go first." This could be good for me. It would be more fun than practicing by myself and as long as I didn't shoot when she was right in front of me, I could still work on my skills against taller opponents. Hannah walked over to the crack in the driveway that we used as the out-of-bounds line. Then to my surprise, instead of dribbling towards the basket, she raised the ball above her head and jumped.

*Swish*

            I felt my jaw drop. A perfect 3-pointer. Nothing but net. Hannah smirked at my astonishment.

            "1-0. Maybe you should worry about whether I'll lose, instead of what my attitude will be afterwards." I couldn't help grinning back. She'd definitely been practicing. I might have to play seriously.

            The game went back and forth from there. Hannah continued to surprise me with her speed and shooting ability, but she couldn't overcome my years of additional experience. Also I couldn't figure out a way to pretend I didn't have a height advantage when blocking her shots, besides just letting her shoot, and that wasn't going to happen.

            "Dammit!" Hannah exclaimed as I sunk a lay-up to end the game 3-10. She kicked the ground petulantly. "All that time I spent practicing my shots and you just block them."

            "That's what happens when you play against someone 8 inches taller than you", I countered.

            "Bullshit!" Wow, she's lucky Mom's not here to hear all that language. "You play against Sam all the time, and she's way taller than you."

            "OK, first of all, I play with Sam for fun, not to win. Secondly, you can score against a taller opponent if you get around them before shooting. Just work on your dribbling and footwork."

            "You make it sound so easy", she grumbled.

            "It's not easy, height is a big advantage in basketball. But it's doable. I mean it's how I scored this game, since I'm trying to get ready for tryouts and some of the other kids are going to be taller than me." Before I even finished the sentence, I could see Hannah's face getting red.

            "You were taking it easy on me?!" she practically shrieked.

            "Of course I was. I'm four years older than you and have way more experience playing this game."

            "So? I beat older kids all the time. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to lose to someone who isn't even trying?"

            "No! Because I don't expect to beat people with that much of an advantage", I said, starting to get angry too. "Maybe if you weren't so competitive all the time, you'd have more fun."

             "Ugh! I don't get you!" Hannah shot back. "Why even try to get better if you can still have 'fun' being a loser?" Not waiting for an answer, she turned and stomped back towards the house.

            "I told you so!" I yelled as she slammed the door.

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            True to expectations, Hannah refused to even talk to me for the rest of the day. Thankfully, the following day contained an event sure to improve her mood: the annual doctor's visit. Not that she liked shots, or brightly-lit rooms that smelled like antiseptic. But the annual check-up included height and weight measurements. Always a good time. More important though, was the follow-up. Something Hannah couldn't just do herself with a tape measure and the bathroom scale. The growth chart and the height-percentile chart. This gave her a visual representation of her growth over the past year and showed just how much taller she was when compared to other 3rd graders.

            "Hurry up Nate!" she shouted from Mom's car, grinning like these weren't the first words she'd said to me since the game. The middle school let out later than the elementary school, so I imagine she'd just been vibrating with expectation for the last half-hour.

            I'll skip the boring bits. Most of the visit was the same as every check-up involving two healthy kids. At the end, Dr. Feldspar brought us into his office to reveal the charts. He's been our family doctor since before I was born, so he liked to make a little presentation at the end knowing this was Hannah's favorite part.

            "Ooh, Hannah, you've been doing a lot of growing this year", he said, pulling her chart up on the monitor screen.

            "Yup, I've been eating healthy and getting lots of sleep", my sister proudly replied.

            "Excellent! Well, that bumps you up to the 95th percentile. You're taller than almost all other eight-year-olds." Hannah beamed. "And you weigh 64 pounds, which is on the high end for 4'2", but not enough to worry about."

            "That's because I've been working out", Hannah stated, striking a double-bicep pose. "And muscle weighs more than fat."

            Huh. I knew Hannah had been exercising, but I guess I hadn't realized how serious she was about it. Those were some impressive biceps for an eight-year-old. No wonder she could overpower kids like Jeremy.

            "That's true", Dr. Feldspar said. "Now Nate, you're down to the 84th percentile, but I wouldn't worry. That drop is mostly due to some boys starting puberty early and raising the average. You're still well within the margin compared to last year and your weight is fine too." Hannah smirked. I shrugged, it didn't really bother me.

            "Hey", Hannah interjected. "Are there percentile charts for adults too?"

            "Yes. In fact, the curves on this chart here go up to age 20", the doctor replied. "At that point, most people are done growing." Hannah leaned forward excitedly.

            "So can you follow the line and tell how tall we'll be when we're grown up?"

            "Well it won't be exact, but yes. If you follow this curve you can see that it ends between 6'2" and 6'3". So you could say that Nate will probably be one of those heights."

            "What about me? What about me?" Hannah was practically bouncing in her seat. No, scratch that. She was literally bouncing in her seat. Dr. Feldspar switched back to her percentile chart.

            "The 95th percentile is here", he said. "So you should eventually be six feet."

            "Six feet what?"

            "Hmm? Oh. Sorry: six feet even." Hannah's face fell. Uh-oh.

            "That can't be right! That's shorter than Nate! Heck, that's shorter than Dad!"

            "He's your big brother sweetie", Mom interjected. "Of course, he'll end up taller than you."

            "What does that have to do with anything? I'm way taller than he was at my age!"

            OK, I had to correct that. "I wouldn't call one inch..."

            "Two inches!"

            "...fine, two inches: 'way taller.'"

            "Boys just grow more than girls", the doctor tried to explain. "You will have a bigger height advantage over the average woman than Nate will over the average man. But not enough to overcome the difference between those averages."

            "So even though I'm working so hard to grow, he's just going to win without even trying? Typical! That's such bullshit!"

            "Hannah! Watch your language!" Great, now Mom's getting angry too. Hannah's hands were clenched into fists and an angry blush was beginning to cover her cheeks.

            "No Mom! It's bullshit, so I'm gonna say it's bullshit!"

            "That's enough young lady! You march right out to the car and wait there. I'll save your punishment until we get home."

            "Fine!" Hannah got up. "I'll prove you all wrong. I'm gonna be taller than Nate. I'm gonna be taller than everybody!" And with that, she exited the room and slammed the door.

            Mom apologized to Dr. Feldspar and finished up the paperwork so we could leave. Luckily Hannah didn't dig herself any deeper and just spent the ride home in a silent sulk. Maybe that's how she avoided getting grounded, or so I assume, since Mom didn't turn Jess away when she came to play that evening. 

            I figured I wouldn't hear from Hannah for the rest of the day, hell maybe the whole weekend. Even if I wasn't the one at fault, her resentment was directed towards my height, and therefore me. Instead, about half an hour after Jess arrived, my little sister called for me.

            "Nate, can you come up here?! Jess needs another subject!" She probably wanted to hypnotize me into doing something stupid again. Oh well, if it made Hannah feel better, I could deal with a little embarrassment. I got up and headed towards the stairs.

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             When I woke up the next morning, there was one thing I knew with unshakable certainty: Dr. Feldspar was wrong. I wouldn't grow to 6'2". In fact, I would never grow another inch.

            When I woke up this morning, there was one thing I knew with unshakable certainty: Dr. Feldspar was wrong. I wouldn't grow to 6'2". In fact, I would never grow another inch.

            I didn't have any evidence to back this up. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was an active, healthy 12-year-old boy that had just started puberty. A licensed medical professional had just told me that my growth spurt should be starting soon and that I would probably end up over 6 feet tall. But none of that mattered. My brain would brook no argument. Logic and data reduced to falsehoods before the Truth: I was done growing.

            I entered the kitchen on autopilot, pouring myself a bowl of cereal as I tried to remember anything that would have led to this impasse. After we returned from the doctor's visit, we ate dinner, I watched TV, then joined Hannah and Jess for some hypnosis.

            "Aha", you say, "they hypnotized you and stopped your growth". But no. Jess was practicing using hypnosis as a sleep aid. Evidently, that's what it is mainly used for. Calming the mind to combat insomnia and anxiety, working through phobias, stuff like that. I guess she could have made me believe I was done growing, which would be a relief, since my body would still grow regardless. But I just couldn't accept that. I knew I was done growing, just like I knew the sky was blue. No, even more certain than that. It was a Fact, with a capital F.

            A few minutes later, I was joined by my little sister, who descended the stairs full of energy, a radiant smile on her face. We traded good mornings as she fetched her own bowl and filled it to the brim. I continued to pick at my food, absorbed in my impending shrimpitude. What finally roused me was the sound of Hannah going to the fridge to get the milk again. Somehow, in just a few minutes, she had eaten a whole bowl of cereal and was going for seconds.

            Now Hannah had a healthy appetite, as you might expect. But that was a full-sized adult bowl (the kiddie bowls having been banished from breakfast for almost a year now). Even Hannah rarely needed a second serving. But as I watched, she proceeded to demolish this bowl even faster than the previous one. And then she started pouring in more.

            "Wow sis," I commented. "I've never seen you eat a third bowl. Just how hungry are you?"

            "Starving", she replied, with a self-satisfied grin. "I must be starting a growth spurt. I'm going to get sooo much taller this year, I can feel it."

            "Huh", I stated. Just great. Not that even a big spurt would let her outgrow me, I was still 8 inches taller than her after all. But it would be embarrassing for her to be the one sprouting up while I was the one going through puberty. Not that it matters, a part of my brain reminded me, she'll outgrow me eventually either way.

            "Ahhh!" Hannah's satisfied sigh caught my attention. I looked up and couldn't believe my eyes. While I had been lost in thought, my little sister had finished off her third bowl. She had just eaten basically a whole box of cereal in one sitting. I looked back at my own breakfast, still only half eaten. Hannah followed my gaze and her smile widened.

            "Are you gonna finish that?" She asked. I slid the bowl over to the black hole that had replaced my sibling.

            "I'm just not that hungry", I stated, standing up. "You can have it."

            "Thanks bro." I turned to walk back up to my room as she dug in. As I climbed the stairs, another thought hit me. A problem much more immediate than Hannah's height.

            Sam! What was I going to tell Sam?

------------------------------------------------------------

            Too quickly, the weekend was over and it was time to go back to school. I still had no idea how to break the news to Sam, so I had to just pretend everything was normal. Eventually, classes were done and it was time for the basketball team tryouts. I had tried to convince some of my other friends to join me in applying so that there would be some guys I knew going, but I wasn't sure any of them would show up.

            By the time I got to the gym, there was already a sizable crowd of kids there. Luckily, my girlfriend was easy to spot even with a bunch of 8th graders in between us. I made my way across the room to find her chatting with another tall redhead.

            "Hey, babe", I said, looking up at her.

            "Oh, Nate! I didn't even see you get here. This is my friend Chelsea, from basketball camp", Sam said, gesturing to the girl beside her. "Chelsea, this is Nate. My boyfriend."

            "Nice to meet you", I said. We shook hands and I was only momentarily distracted by how long hers were compared to mine. "I've heard so many stories about you." That was the truth. Basically, any time Sam talked about camp, Chelsea was at least mentioned.

            "Well, we gingers have to stick together, ya know?" She replied, wrapping her arm around Sam's shoulders. This gave me a good opportunity to compare the two. Chelsea was about an inch taller than Sam, but skinnier, with the classic pale skin and freckles to contrast my girlfriend's perpetual tan.

            "I've heard a lot about you too", Chelsea continued. "Nice to finally meet 'The Little Boyfriend.'"

            "Oh great!" I groaned, turning to Sam. "You've got her saying it too." But Sam didn't hear me. She was distracted by another girl walking by.

            "Kerry! What are you doing here? This isn't cheerleader tryouts."

            "Hmph. Shows what you know, meathead", the snooty blond shot back. "This lousy school doesn't even have a cheer team."

            "Then why are you in the gym? You might break a nail if you're not careful."

            "Do have any idea how hard it is to look this good? I have to work to maintain this figure. And if I can get my aerobics in while showing you up, that's even better."

            "C'mon guys", I interrupted, stepping between the two. "Let's not get kicked out for making a scene before tryouts have even started."

            "Oh look, the little boyfriend", Kerry said, casual dismissal dripping from every word. "Run along now; the big girls are talking." I groaned inside. I guess this is just my identity now. Though I couldn't deny how fitting it seemed in this group. And it will be only more and more fitting from now on, my brain chimed in. Yes, thank you. I really needed the reminder.

            "That's another thing I'll never understand", Kerry had gone back to talking to Sam, right over my head. "How you can stand to date someone so much smaller than you."

            "Hey", Sam replied indignantly. "He'll grow. He's still one of the tallest boys in our grade. And it's not like I've ever seen your boyfriend. Let me guess. He's 6 feet tall, but he goes to another school, so we wouldn't know him." Kerry just smirked.

            "5'8" actually, but he does go to a different school. Douglass High, he's a sophomore." Sam's jaw dropped.

            "A highschooler!?"

            "Of course. Boys our age are much too small and immature." I expected Sam to jump back in to defend me, but instead she paused, a thoughtful look on her face.

            "I dunno", said a voice right behind me. "I kinda like how small they all are." I turned and looked straight into a set of bright yellow braces.

            "Hi Alice", I greeted the newcomer. Alice used to be bullied for her buck teeth and skinny figure, before puberty blessed her with more than the usual amount of height and curves. Now she was one of only a few girls that had outgrown me without at least being taller than average beforehand.

            "Hi Nate", she replied, smiling down at me briefly before continuing to talk to the other girls. "I mean, I used to think you guys were huge, but now all the boys are shorter than me. Honestly, it'd be kinda nice if they didn't get to catch up." Little does she know. Shut up, brain.

            Before anyone had a chance to reply, a shrill whistle pulled everyone's attention to the front of the gym. A tall, fit woman in her 40s called for everyone to come over.

            "That's Coach Anderson", Chelsea told the group softly as we shuffled forward. "She's super serious about basketball, so no talking while she's talking. She almost kicked me out of tryouts last year just because I wasn't being quiet enough."

            "Told you", I whispered. Sam stuck out her tongue at me. Kerry didn't even bother to turn away from the stage.

            As everyone gathered together, I saw that two of my friends, Matt and Damian, had shown up. They were both athletic and almost as tall as me, so I figured they had a good chance at making the team, even if they'd rather play football (the football season wasn't until next semester). But given that I hadn't even noticed they were here until just now, maybe being almost as tall as me wouldn't be enough.

            "Alright, listen up! My name is Coach Anderson and this is the basketball team tryouts. Now let me make one thing clear: this is not a fun, relaxed, after-school club. I am not running a daycare. I am looking for dedicated talents to form a national-level team. If that doesn't sound like you, leave now before you waste everyone's time." A couple of kids walked out.

            "Well at least two of you were honest", Coach continued. "For the rest of you, make a line and we'll run some drills." It turns out the basic qualifications were successfully dribbling while weaving through a line of cones, and scoring at least 2 shots out of a set of five. I got three, as did Kerry. Chelsea made 4 out of 5 shots. And Sam casually sunk all 5, including backing up to the 3-point line for the final shot.

            "Show off!" Chelsea declared, raising her hand for a high-five as Sam joined us on the qualified side. In the end, 18 of us managed to qualify, while about a dozen did not. The only one from our little group that failed was Alice. This didn't surprise me too much; she was never much of an athlete, and I don't know that she ever played basketball outside of P.E. She only made one basket and, while she made it past the cones, her dribbling was painfully slow.

            Luck was on her side, though, as it seemed Coach Anderson needed a round number for the next stage. She picked Alice and an 8th-grade boy I didn't know before sending the others away.

            "You'd better up your game quick", she warned. Alice and the boy nodded and jogged over to the rest of us.

            "Whew", Alice sighed. "I wanted to try basketball now that I'm finally one of the 'tall kids', but I totally forgot how hard it was." No time to reflect on rash decisions, though, as we were quickly divided into four 5-man teams. I ended up with Alice, Kerry, and two eighth graders: Victoria (a member of last year's team) and Raymond (a guy about my height).

            "Now we'll run 10-minute games until each team has played the other three. Then I will pick the 12 best players to form our final roster."

            And so the games commenced. Turns out my practice method works. Most of the people there were taller than me, but I was still able to get a solid number of shots and passes through by dodging the player sent to guard me. Defense was another story. One game I was guarding an eighth-grade guy that was only a little taller than me, so that wasn't too bad. But against the other 2 teams, I was paired with a tall girl. I couldn't stop them. Often, they wouldn't even bother to jump, just shooting over me effortlessly. The best I could do was throw off their aim.

            Kerry surprised me, though I definitely wouldn't tell her that. She moved gracefully, almost like she was dancing. And she had a lot of stamina, allowing her to be on the move constantly. I guess she wasn't lying about those aerobic exercises. If she improved her basketball-specific skills to match her height and general athleticism, she could be very good.

            Speaking of basketball skills, Alice wasn't wasting her second chance. Realizing her dribbling and shooting were subpar, she decided to play smart. At the start of every game, she immediately latched onto the shortest member of the other team. Even though her height wasn't remarkable in this group, each team had at least one member that was shorter than her. 

            This meant that on offense, she could pass or shoot over them, so she just pivoted in place and waited for an open teammate, only dribbling when absolutely necessary. On defense, she just got right in her opponent's face, using her speed and height to deny them a clean shot. Her strategy wouldn't fly in a higher-level game, of course, but given her skill level it was remarkably effective.

            The first two games we played went very well, and left me feeling good about my abilities. Watching the other games was also fun, as I got to see my girlfriend absolutely dominate the field. It was clear that she was a cut above even the best 8th-grade girls. But then it was time for the final game: Sam's team vs mine.

            It started out well enough. Sam immediately went for Kerry, which left the eighth-graders and I with more chances to score. And Alice got to go up against my friend Damian, who, while a fine athlete, was about 4 inches shorter than her 5-foot height. She milked that advantage for all it was worth, basically shutting him out of the game. He didn't get to make a single shot in the first half of the game, and she even managed to steal the ball once, as he desperately tried to dribble around her.

            About 6 minutes in, my team was up 10 to 7. I managed to get away from my defender just in time to catch a pass from Alice. I dribbled straight towards the basket before my opponent could catch up. I was almost ready to shoot when Sam jumped in front of me.

            I was startled but immediately looked to pass to Kerry, who should now be open. But Sam knew this and had positioned herself between the two of us. I couldn't even see Kerry past my girlfriend's imposing frame. I tried to juke left and right, but I couldn't get past her; in fact, she was slowly backing me towards the other side of the court.

            "What now, little boyfriend?" She taunted, a smug grin on her face. A quick glance showed no openings for a pass. Even Kerry was covered now; the girl who had been guarding me had switched by this point. But past Sam's head, I could see the basket, still right in front of me. 

            Desperately, I moved backwards, hoping that would provide enough distance to arc the ball above her reach for a 3-pointer. I jumped, but as the ball left my hands, I knew it was all for naught. Sam didn't even bother jumping herself, just taking a single step forward before reaching up and knocking the ball out of the sky.

            "Not in my house!" she yelled, raising her fist in victory. The game went downhill from there. Sam turned up the heat, the girl opposite me realized she could just shoot over my head, and the whole team just stopped giving the ball to Damian altogether. Four minutes later and it was all over, 14 to 21.

            After that, Coach Anderson revealed the results. Sam and Chelsea made the cut, of course, but me, Kerry, and even Alice were chosen too. The rest of the roster was filled with eighth-graders, although only two of them were guys. Looking around, I realized a fact that shouldn't have surprised me but still did: I was the shortest member of the team. Even the other guys were an inch or two taller than me. Better get used to it, that one part of my brain chimed in.

            "Yes! Nate, you made it!" Sam exclaimed, pulling me in for a one-armed hug. "This semester is going to rock!"

            "Thanks for the invite, Nate", Damian called out sullenly as he and Matt walked by. "I really needed to end my day getting clowned on and made to feel like a shrimp by Alice of all people."

            "Sounds like you need to get good", I replied, far too happy to feel sympathy for my friend's sour grapes.

            "Yeah, yeah, have fun flirting with your girlfriend all semester", Matt responded. "Just wait till football season starts in January, then it'll be our turn."

            Today started out weird and stressful, but ended with a high that not even the voice in the back of my head or the sight of my little sister repeating her morning performance over dinner could dampen.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Over the next month, my life settled into a new normal. The certainty that I was done growing remained just as strong, but for now things were going well. I wasn't just a part of the basketball team, I had even made the starting lineup. I still hadn't figured out how to tell Sam about my condition, but otherwise, we were closer than ever. 

            And even though she was consistently eating about twice as much as before, my little sister hadn't suddenly shot up like a character in a fantasy story. On the other hand, she wasn't getting fat, so who knows what her body was doing with all those extra calories. 

            I got back from school today to find that Hannah and Jess had already claimed the couch. Jess was sitting super close to Hannah, almost like she was hugging her when I walked in, though I only got a glance before she jumped away. She started to stutter an excuse, but my attention was immediately drawn to my sister as she turned around to face me.

            "Oh, Nate. Welcome home." Hannah said, nonchalantly.

            "Whoa! What happened to you?" I exclaimed. Hannah's face was swollen just under her left eye, which was already beginning to turn into an epic shiner.

            "This? I had a run-in with Chris Struthers today", Hannah replied, waving her hand like getting into a fight with a boy three years her senior was no big deal. "I guess he thought I was fair game since you go to a different school now."

            I suppose this deserves a bit of backstory. I've mentioned before how Hannah and Jess met two years ago when Hannah started first grade. But while they became friends almost immediately, the event that would make them inseparable happened about two weeks later. You see, Jess had always had a problem with bullies. Being short, skinny, introverted, and seen as a teacher's pet made her an irresistible target. 

            But that day was particularly rough. Jess had brought a book to read during recess instead of playing with the other kids. This caught the attention of three boys in her class. They took her book from her and spent the rest of the period taunting her and shoving her to the ground whenever she tried to get up and escape. When they finally got bored, they tossed the book into some bushes and left Jess crying in a ball on the ground.

            Jess' reading spot was out of the way, which is presumably why the teacher didn't notice her missing. She was still there when the next class, Hannah's class, came out for recess. Hannah found her still crying. After calming her down and wiping her tears, Hannah got Jess to tell her what happened. She then retrieved the book and, in a voice that brooked no argument, demanded to know the names of the three boys. Jess told her, probably figuring she was going to give the names to a teacher.

            But Hannah had something else in mind. By the end of the day, she had tracked down and picked a fight with each of the bullies. Now you might be wondering how a 6 year old girl could win three separate fights against 8 year olds in the same day. Even a girl as big and athletic as Hannah. What you have to remember is that these were little kids.

            A normal fight would only last a couple of punches before one kid started crying or ran away. But my sister wasn't fighting to prove she was the toughest kid on the playground, or because some teasing made her mad. She was fighting with a determination born from righteous fury. Taking a couple punches was just the price of admission. So even if each fight was pretty even in terms of damage taken, her opponent was always the one trying to flee or begging for mercy.

            After that, it was open season on bullies for a few weeks. Eventually, everyone learned that Jess was not a viable target unless you were willing to fight a rabid wolverine in the rough shape of a first grader before the day was over. Most of the bullies moved on to easier targets.

            This just left a few kids like Chris Struthers. Chris was a fourth-grader. He wasn't particularly large for his age, though still several inches taller than Hannah at the time. But he was mean. He had established himself as the toughest fourth-grader and figured backing down would damage his standing. So he was one of the few kids that came back for a second fight with my sister, and then a third.

            Until eventually, I had to intervene. I told him that if he didn't stop getting into fights with a first-grader, then I wouldn't feel bad coming down from the fifth grade to take my turn kicking his ass.

            Back in the present, I thought history might be repeating itself.

            "Do you need me to come back and teach him a lesson?" I asked. Hannah chuckled.

            "Nah. I don't think he'll be messing with us again. This", she gestured to her black eye, "was just a slip-up. I haven't been in a real fight in a year and a half. It was pretty one-sided after that."

            "One-sided?"

            "Yup. I don't think Chris realized how much bigger and stronger I've gotten since first grade. I'm almost as tall as him now, and I'm pretty sure I'm heavier than he is. I gave him a bloody nose, then I punched him right in the gut. Wham!" Hannah punctuated her statement by punching the air.

            "Then with the wind knocked out of him, he couldn't stop me from picking him up and slamming him against the wall. Then I just sorta held him there until he promised to leave us alone."

            "Wow, really?"

            "Yeah. I mean, I was holding his arms, and he couldn't really get any leverage to kick me with his legs dangling against the wall."

            "Not that. I'm surprised by how casually you're talking about lifting an 11 year old. All that extra food you've been eating must have gone straight to your muscles."

            "Some of it, yeah... Wait! didn't I tell you?"

            "Tell me what?" I asked. Hannah hopped up from the couch and suddenly I saw it. Her clothes were tight, and the t-shirt that I was sure had covered her last time she wore it, now exposed a sliver of her firm stomach.

            "That I got taller! I just measured the other day. I'm 4'3"!"

------------------------------------------------------------

            My time with the basketball team continued. We had spent the previous month in training, honing our skills and practicing our teamwork. The first two weeks focused more on the basics and letting Coach Anderson get a handle on our individual strengths so she could assign positions. That way, we could spend the rest of the time before we faced another school practicing as a team. 

            I got picked to be the Shooting Guard. Clarise (one of the players from last year's team) became the Point Guard. Chelsea was chosen as the Center and Sam got Power Forward. The position of Small Forward was given to Victoria. Kerry immediately noticed the ironic naming.

            "Wait! There's literally a position with small in the name", Kerry had said, "and you didn't give it to Nate?"

            "The small in Small Forward is to differentiate it from the Power Forward", Coach explained, deciding to ignore the jab at me in favor of a teaching moment. "They're usually in the middle height wise, since they need to be able to play in the Key with the Power Forward and Center. Both the Shooting Guard and the Point Guard are shorter on average."

            "Oh, I see", Kerry remarked snidely. "Congratulations, Nate. I guess that makes you smaller than small."

            "And what position are you?" Sam interjected. "Oh right, Back-bencher."

            Funny enough, Kerry got assigned to Small Forward on the backup team. The rest of the positions were filled by the two other guys on the team and two of the remaining eighth-grade girls. The final eighth-grade girl was designated "the Sixth", which coach explained was the term for an experienced player that could sub in for any of the five roles on the main team if necessary.

            That just left Alice. Coach had obviously seen some potential in her, but she clearly lacked the basics. So while the rest of us practiced mock games, she continued basic drills under the supervision of whichever player was currently off the field. Usually the Sixth, a girl named Sandra, but sometimes one of the members of the backup team would take over, so Sandra could get some game time in.

            A few days after I learned Hannah had grown, it was finally time for our first real game. We were playing a home game vs Edison Middle School, another small public school in the next town over.

            The game started out well, when the opposing Shooting Guard turned out to be a guy not much taller than me. I covered him decently well on defense, and on offense I was able to get clear to pass or shoot pretty easily. I mostly looked to pass, because despite "shooting" being in my position's name, I still wasn't that confident in my 3-pointer skills.

            Thankfully that just played into our team's main strength: my girlfriend. Sam dominated the key, and by the end of the first half, she had scored more points and blocked more opposing shots than any other player in the game.

            The second half wasn't as one-sided, but the backup team still played well. Kerry's performance was especially impressive given her lack of experience. She was still no match for Sam, but her stated goal of beating her rival on her home turf no longer seemed completely insane.

            After the game, my day only got better. The whole walk home, I listened to my girlfriend gush over the experience, while admiring her muscular body, emphasized by her sweat-soaked uniform. The past month had only made her stronger. While the need to concentrate on my own play had kept my libido in check during the game, just walking next to her afterwards was enough to give me an erection.

            Once we reached her house, she leaned down and gave me a kiss to rival the one from the first day of school. The only thing that could have made it better would have been her picking me up again, but I didn't have the courage to ask. And honestly, it was probably good that I didn't; if she had done that, I might have blown my load right then.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Unfortunately, that first game turned out to be the high water mark of my basketball career. As the next few games played out, it became clear I was outmatched in a couple different ways. 

            First, while my skills were pretty decent for a casual, the starting lineup of most teams was a place for hard-core basketball enthusiasts. Against that group, my skills were average at best.

            Second, not a single team we faced put seventh-grade boys in the starting lineup. And a few were made up of only eighth-grade girls. That meant that sometimes even the shortest member of the opposing team was 4 or more inches taller than me. And, as that one part of my brain liked to remind me, that gap was only going to widen.

            Whereas in the first game, I really felt like I was an asset to the team, now I was beginning to feel like I was holding them back. And I wasn't the only one. Kerry was particularly vocal about my performance, and only became more so as her own skills continued to improve.

            Today's game was even worse than usual. The other team's Shooting Guard was at least 5'3". She towered over me, and it quickly became clear that she had more experience and superior skills as well. My only advantage was a slight edge in speed. This let me get a couple passes around her. It also opened up a chance for me to make a play.

            A few minutes into the game, I managed to get around her and make a break for the goal. Even though I was far too short to play close to the basket normally, in this situation, no one was blocking me. And if one of the other players moved to intercept, it would leave Sam, Chelsea, or Victoria open and I could pass to them. In this case, no one got to me in time, and I was able to score a quick 2 points.

            It was a nice play, but I couldn't feel good about myself, since my opponent had already sunk more than one 3-pointer. And afterwards, she continued to shoot over my head like I wasn't there. Eventually, Clarise had to switch with me just to stop the bleeding. The situation barely improved, however, as the opposing Point Guard was still much taller than me. She just preferred to pass and direct plays over my head instead of scoring herself. By halftime, I was exhausted and our team was down 24 to 37.

            "Great", Kerry complained loudly as the backup team took the field. "Once again, Sam's little boyfriend leaves a mess and I have to clean it up." Her use of my nickname was always mean-spirited instead of teasing, but today it actually hurt. Not as much as what came next, though.

            As she walked by me, Kerry shifted slightly, casually hip-checking me. While the impact barely slowed her down, I was almost knocked off my feet. She might not have Sam's muscles, but six weeks of intense training had left her toned body firm and solid. Worse, her long legs and height advantage combined so instead of taking the blow on my own hip, I was struck right in the gut. She left me gasping for breath, hands on my knees. Eventually, I was able to stumble back to the bench.

            Luckily, Sam had been walking in front of me, so she didn't notice anything past Kerry's comment. My girlfriend getting into a fight in my defense might have made me feel better, but it was the last thing the team needed right now.

            "Don't let her get to you", Sam said after I sat down next to her. "Everyone has an off day. I'm sure you'll do better next game."

            I wasn't so sure. I had been so proud to get selected for the starting lineup, but now it just seemed like a mistake in judgment from Coach Anderson. Hell, joining the basketball team in the first place was starting to look like a bad decision. I just didn't have the drive to improve that everyone else seemed to have. While I would give it my all in game or during practice, after school I just wanted to relax in front of the TV.

            Maybe Hannah was right about me. I had always relied on my height and natural athleticism to get me through any physical challenge. I could stand up to bullies like Brad and Chris because I had always held the size advantage. Just the basic skills I gained from playing casual games with my sporty friends allowed me to outperform most of my age group. Even spending the last two years watching several girls pass me in size and sometimes strength, hadn't worried me. It had seemed like a temporary problem. I just had to wait until puberty combined with my favorable genes to put me back on top.

            But all that changed when I stopped growing. I would never catch up to the girls, and even compared to other guys I wouldn't be tall for long. Honestly, it's surprising that it took so long to finally click in my head.

            Now the game hadn't stopped during my mental revelation. The backup team was desperately trying to even the score. While it would have been nice if Kerry had been all talk, she was playing harder than anyone. I guess she really hated to lose, no matter the circumstances. And her effort was actually paying off. Between her own shots and assists with the Power Forward and Center, she was directly responsible for at least a dozen points by the time the game ended. Sadly, it wasn't enough, and the other team managed to squeak by to win 55 to our 52.

            Afterwards, Coach Anderson called everyone over for a team meeting.

            "Alright, everyone played their heart out today. Even though we didn't win, you should still feel pride in that. That being said, now that we've played five other teams, it's time to change the lineup to better reflect who has grown and who still needs some work."

            "About damn time", Kerry grumbled, just loud enough to make sure everyone could hear.

            "You'd better curb that attitude, young lady", Coach responded. "Don't make me change my mind about you." Kerry's face lit up.

            "You mean?"

            "That's right, I'm moving you to the starting line-up. You'll be our new Shooting Guard. I saw your potential during tryouts, and out of everyone here, you have done the best job growing into that potential. Sandra will fill in on the backup team for the next few games, until I can figure out everyone's new positions."

            Well, there it is. I guess reality had finally caught up to me.

------------------------------------------------------------

            You'd think that my new realization about myself (and such a blatant object lesson on the consequences) would motivate me to turn things around. Maybe I would set some time aside every day to focus on improving my skills or strengthening my body. Maybe I would look up videos of NBA players to see how they handled taller opponents. Maybe I would go to Coach for guidance.

            Turns out none of those things would happen. Oh, I thought about them, but really, what would be the point? I could dedicate dozens of extra hours to basketball, work my ass off for weeks, and what? Maybe Coach would put me back on the starting lineup? Right before the playoffs? Not likely. And even then, I would still be 4'10". How tall would my opponent have to be before no amount of skill would make up for the difference? 4 inches? Five? Six? Eight?

            Sitting on the sidelines for a week only cemented those doubts. You see, on practice days, I was now the one helping Alice catch up. Not that Alice herself was mean to me. While we weren't exactly close (she had always been on the opposite side of the jock/nerd divide in elementary school), I did consider her a friend. She had many of the same interests as Timothy, but while Tim was quiet and introverted, Alice would talk your ear off whether you understood the topic or not. In short, she was cheerful, energetic, and friendly. And the last few weeks hadn't changed that.

            The problem was the way she played and how fast she was improving. During tryouts, she could barely get the ball in the basket, even without someone guarding her, and any time she tried dribbling, it was just an invitation for the opposite team to steal the ball. Now her skills weren't too far behind what mine had been during tryouts. And I had only improved marginally in comparison.

            Worse was her playstyle. Clearly, the reason Coach Anderson had kept her on the team was her ability to single-mindedly lock her opponent out of the game. I say clearly because her training had been heavily slanted toward improving that skill. Our time was basically divided between me coaching her through drills, and her mercilessly crushing me in 1-on-1's. While I could pretty reliably throw off her aim, she could completely shut me down. I couldn't even get off a shot with her guarding me, let alone make one.

            And in those 1-on-1's, I saw my future. I could train all I liked, but what would it matter if I could be shut down by someone with less than two months of experience and a few extra inches of height? And it really was a few, not a couple, because (to really drive home that everyone else was still growing) at some point Alice had hit 5'1".

            Now I wasn't going to quit. I wouldn't be able to face Sam if I did. And coach did eventually put me back in play. I was now the backup Shooting Guard. The guy who formerly had that spot was bumped over to Small Forward so Sandra could return to her role as the Sixth. I would still try my best during games, but that was the limit of my motivation.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Thankfully my life wasn't solely composed of basketball training and games. Take today, for example. It's Halloween. And while I was stuck in the weird limbo of being too old to trick-or-treat, but too young to go to Halloween parties, I could still dress up if I was willing to chaperone Hannah and Jess around the neighborhood.

            I was wearing a Star Wars costume while they were going as She-Ra and Entrapta from "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power". No bonus points for guessing who was cosplaying which character. One interesting point was Jess' decision to use purple lipstick. Interesting because I hadn't really seen Jess wear makeup before, and I didn't remember any lipstick in the character's design.

            Honestly, Jess had been acting weird for a while now. It felt like she was annoyed whenever I was around, though I had no idea what I could have done. On the other hand, Hannah and I were getting along better than ever. I guess she had decided that she was going to outgrow me one day, so there was no reason to be mad about our heights now.

            We circled our cul-de-sac and then ventured out in the vague direction of school, Hannah pointing out each new target with her giant plastic sword. We had been at it for about 45 minutes before we ran into the person I was waiting to see.

            "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" A voice behind me said.

            God, I love my girlfriend. I turned around and looked right into the undersides of a pair of boobs, encased in a tight blue jumpsuit.

            "Wha..." I said, my cock jumping to attention. The blue jumpsuit I expected. Sam had told me that she was going to be cosplaying Zero-suit Samus. Hell, I even expected the boobs. It was the elevation that was wrong. The top of my head came up to Sam's chin, so usually, if I was looking straight ahead, I would be eye-level with the top of her breasts. Now, somehow, even her nipples were above my view.

            "Ha, I knew keeping these a secret would be worth it." Sam's voice came from above me. "Check it out." She took a step back and I was finally able to tear my gaze away from her chest and look down. She was wearing a pair of blue and yellow high heels. I didn't even know she owned a pair of heels. Did she buy these just for Halloween?

            "Hey! It's Zero-suit Sam!", Hannah exclaimed. Dammit, libido! That pun should have been mine!

            "Y-You're so tall..." Jess mumbled, her face turning red.

            "Hey Hannah, hey Jess", Sam said, grinning. "I'm 5'10" in these. But you know what? That's still not as tall as Samus herself. She's 6'3"."

            "Wow", I whispered breathlessly. A vivid image of Sam standing 5 inches taller than she was now flashed through my brain, causing my dick to surge again. I was suddenly very grateful for the cardboard armor covering my crotch.

            "Nate! Nate! Look how much candy I got!" A high-pitched voice interrupted my fantasies. I looked down to see a miniature Queen Elsa holding up a plastic bucket decorated to look like a snowball. A couple steps behind her was a little boy in a fireman outfit. Just in case you thought Sam had come just to see me. She had chaperone duty as well. The kids were her little sister, Taylor, and her little brother, Edward. They were 4-year-old twins.

            "Wow, what a haul! You too, Ed! And your costumes look great." I leaned down close to Taylor and whispered, "I don't have any candy to give you. I hope you won't freeze me with your ice powers."

            "I wouldn't do that!" She giggled. "I only freeze bad guys!"

            "I guess we should get going", I said, standing back up. "There's a lot more houses to get to before it gets dark."

            "I dunno", Taylor said. "We've already walked so far; I'm getting tired." This was a blatant lie. Taylor was a ball of inexhaustible energy, even more than a normal preschooler. "But maybe I can keep going if you carry me." She lifted her arms.

            "As you wish, my Queen", I stated seriously, squatting down with my back facing her. She squealed and jumped on my back. I stood up and was joined moments later by Sam, with Ed on her back.

            "Ladies man", Sam teased, as we started walking towards the next house.

            "Hey", I replied, "she may be my queen tonight, but you'll always be my lady."

            "Jess. You know you can't get what you want, if you don't ask for it."

            "P-Please..."

            I had almost forgotten that I was watching two kids as well. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Hannah running to catch up with us, Jess bumping up and down as she tried desperately to hang on to Hannah's back.

            Eventually, the setting sun forced us to call it a night. We stopped by Sam's house first, the twins dashing inside with their spoils. Sam paused at the door, leaning down (and down) to give me a kiss goodnight.

            "Thanks for being so good with Taylor tonight", Sam said. "She has quite the crush on you."

            "I don't mind", I replied. "Whatever I have to do to spend time with you."

            "Maybe next year Hannah and Jess can watch the twins, and we can go somewhere more fun."

            Once we got to our house, Hannah asked me to go ahead while she walked Jess back to her place. I wasn't about to argue; I had walked enough today. It didn't take long for Hannah to return, but as she passed me on the way up to her room, I saw something that wasn't there before. For some reason, she now had purple lips, just like Jess.

            ...Oh!

------------------------------------------------------------

            Sadly, after every Halloween comes November. And for me, that meant another month of basketball. The games themselves were actually better than in October. Being on the backup team meant facing the opponent's backup team. Which meant less skilled and usually shorter opponents. I wasn't having a good time, like at the start of the season, but at least I didn't feel like I was dragging everyone else down.

            No, the problem was the rest of the time. Or, to be specific, spending the rest of the time with Kerry. Before, her disdain towards me had been mostly just because I was Sam's boyfriend. So any verbal grenades lobbed my way would hit Sam with the shrapnel.

            But ever since Kerry joined the starting lineup, she and Sam seemed to sign a truce. They weren't friends by any stretch, but there was respect there, if only begrudgingly. For me, though, no respect. Whether due to my lackluster performance affecting her chance at winning or some other reason, I was her main target now.

            Her previous undermining of me verbally was out thanks to Coach, so she found two new ways to make me feel small and useless. First, we were paired up during practice games, since we were both Shooting Guards now. And she took every opportunity to show me up, shut me down, and push me around with her size and increasing skill.

            Second, she evidently liked how effective her hip attack had been. So, whenever no one else was watching, she would repeat it. Or she would back into me, knocking me over with her ass. If I was in front of her instead, she would just run right over me, then claim she didn't see me "down there".

            The worst part of it was, part of me enjoyed it. The fact that she was able to do all this to me. How it emphasized her size and strength. Though I hated to admit it, it turned me on.

            Mentally and emotionally, this was very different from the effect Sam had on me. Kerry made me feel pathetic, small, helpless. Like I was a lesser being. With Sam, I still felt small and helpless, but also somehow safe, like it was okay to be small and helpless as long as she was there. My dick didn't care, though. Evidently, "Big, strong woman!" was enough. Yeah, that settles it; I'm definitely a weirdo.

            Eventually, Kerry got tired of dominating me during practice games and opted for outright dismissal instead. On defense, she had to interact with me somewhat, but on offense, she acted like I didn't exist. She would just pause and casually line up her shot before shooting right over me.

            Finally, she went to coach and asked how she was supposed to practice without a suitable opponent. And this time, Coach sided with her. But instead of subbing in Sandra like everyone expected, Coach decided to give Alice a chance to play. On the bright side, this gave me a chance to watch Kerry actually struggle, as the defensive technique Alice had worked on for so long finally got to shine.

            What happened next was easy to predict. Within a week, Coach had subbed Alice in for me during a real game, and then changed the roster for good. I had completed my slide from promising talent to bench warmer.

            Thankfully, there wasn't much of the season left. Before long, it would be time for Thanksgiving and then Christmas break. I did have to spend the first week of December attending the regional tournament, and the following Monday at the state-level tournament. But this isn't a shonen manga; we got eliminated in the Round-of-8. I was finally free.

------------------------------------------------------------

            The next day, I finally got a chance to talk to Jess. I hadn't wanted to confront her in front of Hannah, but for once, Jess was the one to call me up for hypnosis practice.

            "Hey Jess. Where's Hannah?"

            "She's taking a bathroom break. We can get started without her."

            "You know, we don't have to keep doing this if you don't want to." Jess' eyes widened in surprise, but she covered it quickly.

            "What do you mean?"

            "You've seemed frustrated for a while now, and the only reason I can see is that I'm taking up time you'd rather spend with my sister. I mean, I get it. I'd be upset too if a third wheel was always interrupting my time with my girlfriend." Jess blushed, then looked away angrily.

            "You wouldn't understand."

            "Maybe not", I admitted, sitting down on Hannah's bed. "It did take me a while to even realize that you two were more than best friends. But if you'd just talk to me..."

            "Just drop it", Jess interrupted, her gaze locking onto mine.

10

            Immediately, I began to feel sleepy.

            "Jess..." I tried to keep talking.

            "Drop it." Her voice had settled into the soft, rhythmic monotone she used when performing hypnotism, but there was a surprising amount of steel in those two words.

9

            I felt myself slipping away...

8

...

------------------------------------------------------------

            My grandparents (on Dad's side) had a big ranch house out in the country, so they would always host the family Christmas party. It was held about a week before Christmas, usually over 2 days, so relatives that lived a few hours away, like us, could spend the night before having to drive back. I usually had a good time, even if it tended to get boring if we stayed too long. But this year was harder to enjoy for a couple reasons.

            "Oh, a sweater. Thanks, Aunt Denise."

            "I know your mom sent that email with your sizes so everything would fit, but boys your age grow so fast, that I figured it would be better to go up a size."

            That was one reason. Why do adults think clothes are good presents? I guess I finally have a reason to be happy to get socks. At least those would fit. Not that I could blame them for expecting me to grow. Many of them hadn't seen me since last year's party, and I actually was a couple inches shorter then. The "Oh, look how much you've grown" comments still stung.

            "Oh dear. I'm glad I kept the receipts. That top is clearly too small for you. I was sure I bought the correct size."

            "No worries, Nana. Mom sent the measurements out a month ago. I've just gotten bigger since then."

            "You sure have! And look at those guns. You might even be stronger than your brother." Hannah giggled.

            "Not yet, Uncle Ben."

            "Ha ha! Careful, Nate, she's gunning for you."

            I sighed. If my uncle knew the power in those words, maybe he would have used them more responsibly. This was the other reason I wasn't having a good time this year. Hannah was now 4'4". This was a good 4 or 5 inches taller than she was last year, so I couldn't blame everyone for commenting. But did they have to make such a big deal out of it? 

            Thankfully, carols and hot cocoa should be activities without a reason for height comparisons. Then I just had to make it through breakfast tomorrow, and I'd be on my way back to see my girlfriend.

            I met up with Sam on Christmas Eve. I brought some toys for Taylor and Edward, but the main gift was for Sam. I had found a basketball signed by Candace Parker (her favorite WNBA player) on eBay and managed to get it for cheap. Although, cheap for signed sports memorabilia still took a big chunk out of my savings. But the look on her face made it all worth it. And getting dragged under the mistletoe didn't hurt either.

------------------------------------------------------------

            January and the new school semester came way too fast for my liking. At least this time, I wouldn't have to worry about playing a sport. I didn't even attend tryouts for the football team, even if Matt and Damian considered it bad form. I wasn't about to spend another semester slowly getting outgrown and outshone by my classmates. I mean, Matt was as tall as me now, and my other guy friends were beginning to catch up too.

            Christmas break had been surprisingly rough on my physique. While my gains had seemed small compared to my teammates, I had gotten stronger thanks to basketball practice. But now, just a month later, and I was back to the body I had at the start of the school year.

            Maybe I should start lifting weights. Not that I would ever look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Or with my height, Danny Devito, if he was actually Arnold's twin and followed him into bodybuilding.) But at this rate, in another month or two, I would be a skinny wimp. Eh, why bother? The voice chimed in. I'm going to be a shrimp anyway, and exercise is too much work.

            At least Kerry was leaving me alone now. Not that her opinion of me had improved; we just didn't share any classes, and I guess she didn't think I was worth tracking down.

            That said, Kerry did do me a massive favor about 2 weeks into the new semester, though I doubt that was her plan.

            "Whoa, Sam, slow down!" I said, as my girlfriend raced off the bus, practically dragging me behind her. I knew that she wanted me to come to her house for some reason, but she had refused to give any details until we were alone. Finally, we got through the front door, and I could try to catch my breath.

            "What's, hah, going on?" I wheezed.

            "OK, this is going to sound stupid, but just listen to me", Sam said. "Kerry was bragging about her relationship with her boyfriend, and she asked how far we had gone. I was feeling defensive, and without thinking, I blurted out that we had gotten to second base."

            "But we haven't..."

            "I know, I know. But I couldn't just take it back. And now I feel like a liar. So I figured, if we do it now, it'll be true, and I can stop feeling bad." I gasped.

            "You mean it?"

            "Yes", Sam sighed. "But we have to hurry. Mom will be home with the twins before too long. So, my room. Now."

            "Yes Ma'am!" 

            As I followed Sam, something about her seemed off. I had had this nagging feeling for a few days now. She seemed sexier, somehow, maybe even a bit intimidating. Especially when I was standing close to her. I shrugged it off after a second; I had more important things to think about right now.

            After we got to her room, Sam closed the door and shut the blinds. Only then did she take off her coat. My eyes were locked on target as she began unbuttoning her blouse.

            "Do you have to stare so hard?" I looked up. Sam was blushing.

            "Sorry. I'm just really excited."

            "Boys." She shook her head, and her nervousness seemed to fade a little. She shrugged off her blouse, and her bra soon joined it on the floor.

            "Oh my god", I breathed, entranced. They were beautiful. I raised my hands, only to realize they were shaking. Seeing my hesitation seemed to bring back Sam's confidence, and she smiled.

            "Well? Go on", she said, stepping forward. I reached out and cupped them, my fingers sinking slightly.

            "Mmm. Be gentle. They're sensitive." 

            I was in awe. Her skin was so smooth. Her breasts were soft, but somehow also firm, with a perkiness that belied their weight in my hands.

            "I didn't think they would be this big. I can't fit all of them in my hands."

            "My bras have been tight since break. I think I ate too many sweets."

            "If this is what happens when you overeat, I promise to dedicate my life to the culinary arts." Sam snorted.

            "Dork."

            I continued to gently massage Sam's tits, slowly moving my hands to make sure I covered every part, occasionally rubbing her nipples with my thumbs. 

            "This is awesome", I thought, harder than I could ever remember being. "This is the greatest day of my life."

            Sadly Sam didn't seem to feel this rapturous emotion. As the seconds turned into minutes, her playful smile slowly transitioned into a look of boredom, then one of resignation. Eventually, she gently but firmly pushed my hands down, and took a step back.

            "Ok, that should be more than enough to say we did it."

            "What's wrong?" I asked. "Was I not doing it right?" She sighed.

            "It's not your fault, I just wasn't feeling it. I don't think I can, as long as we're like this."

            "What do you mean?"

            "I can't get aroused, OK?!" Sam exclaimed. "Not when you're so much shorter and weaker than me."

            "But the dates we've gone on", I protested, "all the times we kissed, the mistletoe on Christmas Eve. You didn't feel anything?" I could feel tears starting to form. This couldn't be happening.

            "Oh, Baby. No", Sam's voice softened, "that's different. I still like you." She leaned down so she could look straight into my eyes. "It's just... How can I explain it? Romantic vs sexual, I guess? You're sweet and funny, but not sexy. I enjoy going on dates, and even kissing you, but I don't, like, masturbate thinking about you." Sam straightened back up.

            "I mean, look at us. You look so small from up here. I know we're the same age, but it feels like I'm trying to get it on with a kid. Imagine you were getting felt up by a little 4th grader, maybe one of your sister's friends."

            "But..." I tried to interrupt.

            "It's not like it'll always be this way, OK?" Sam continued. "We just have to wait until you catch up a little." She bent down and grabbed her bra off the floor.

            "But what if I never..." I didn't get a chance to finish.

            Sam had started to straighten up again, and as her face passed mine, she stepped forward. She was probably planning to get close to emphasize our size disparity, but she misjudged the distance. As her face continued to rise, two other objects were also gaining altitude. Her bare breasts engulfed my chin, then my mouth, then my nose.

            Now while my brain had been getting rocked emotionally, my dick hadn't been deterred at all. It had remained rock hard throughout, even twitching when Sam said "short", "weak", "small", and "little". With her boobs trying to swallow my face, I was barely holding on.

            Then, as her tits started to cover my eyes, it hit me. I knew what had seemed off about her. It wasn't just her boobs that were bigger. She was bigger. My girlfriend had gotten taller. That thought sent me over the edge.

            "Aaaaahhhh!" I yelled. My face slipping out of its velvet prison as my body hunched over from the force of my climax.

            "What the hell?" Sam exclaimed, jumping back. But as I looked back up at her, my face beet red, my hands trying to cover my crotch, she understood.

            "Wait! Did you just cum? Oh my God!" She started to laugh, but cut it short. "Shit! You've got to go. This would be a thousand times worse than Mom catching you feeling me up." She grabbed my shoulders and started pushing me towards the door.

------------------------------------------------------------

            I can't believe I almost blurted out my secret in front of Sam. Of course, I still meant to tell her eventually. But after learning how she felt about me, it was even harder to figure out what to say, let alone get up the courage to say it.

            Things were weird between us for a while, but in the end, we just settled back into the way things were before. We even had a nice date today, it being Valentine's Day and all. I got her chocolates and flowers (OK, one rose; flowers are expensive), and she managed to resist the urge to ask if "I was still dry down there" after her tits brushed against me when we kissed.

            Now it was evening, and my parents were about to head out for their date night. Thankfully, Hannah and I were old enough to not need a babysitter. Mom and Dad had even allowed Jess to stay over.

            "T-thank you for letting me spend the night, ma'am", she said.

            "Of course, dear", Mom replied with a smile. "If only all of Hannah's friends were as polite and well-behaved as you."

            "Better than her trying to sneak a boy over, at least", Dad joked.

            "That's enough out of you", Mom retorted lightheartedly. "You'll have to forgive him, he has romance on the brain tonight. Don't stay up too late."

            After the parents left, I headed off to my room. I figured I should make myself scarce this evening. Especially now that I knew Hannah and Jess were more than friends. No reason for me to watch two kids awkwardly kissing.

            Eventually, I had to take a leak. So I left my room and went down the hall to the bathroom. On the way back, I noticed a sliver of light shining from Hannah's room. Weird, I was sure the door was shut when I came by a minute ago. Then I heard the sound. It was a rhythmic, high-pitched noise, almost like whimpering.

            I crept to the crack in the door and peeked in. What the hell? Inside, I saw my sister standing in the middle of the room. One foot on the floor, the other raised on a stool so that her thigh was parallel to the ground. Her shorts were rolled up so that basically her whole leg was uncovered. And straddling that thigh, her toes not quite brushing the floor, was Jess. And she was naked.

            I knew that I shouldn't keep watching, but I couldn't look away. Jess was seated close to Hannah's knee, with both her hands gripping Hannah's thigh near the top. She was pulling herself forward several inches and then pushing herself back. And every time she moved, she let out a whine. Then I realized that wasn't the only sound in the room. Hannah was talking. Not quite whispering, but speaking so softly that I hadn't noticed it before.

            "Look at me, Jess. I'm getting so big. I'm so much taller than you now."

            Jess' pale skin was flushed, her nipples hard as they bounced atop her budding breasts. Hannah looked down at her, her expression one of calm satisfaction mixed with a kind of protective affection.

            "I've waited so long for this. To just grow, and grow, and grow. And it's all thanks to you, my little Jess."

            Jess' breathing was becoming ragged. Instead of whimpers, she was now letting out short gasps.

            "My thigh's so thicc, you can barely get halfway 'round it even with both your hands. Oh, Jess, your toes don't even reach the floor. I wonder what would happen if I did... this?"

            Hannah lifted her leg slightly, and then swung it to the right, so her foot was no longer resting on the stool. And then she just stood there, suspending Jess' entire weight in midair. Jess gasped.

            "Oh... My... God... Hannah!"

            "You're so light! Take all the time you need; I could do this all night."

            "Hannah! I'm gonna cum! I'm! Cummi-"

            Jess' cry was cut short, as Hannah reached forward and grabbed her by the thighs, completely stopping her from moving.

            "H-Hannah?"

            "I don't remember giving you permission to cum."

            Jess let out a long, frustrated whine.

            "That doesn't sound like a 'please' to me."

            "Please, Hannah! Please let me cum!"

            "Hmmm... I don't know..." Hannah's thumbs started rubbing small circles on Jess' inner thighs, never quite touching her swollen lips.

            "Ah! Ah! Hannah! Ah! Please!"

            Hannah leaned forward until their faces were almost touching.

            "Remember who's in control." Hannah's voice was still quiet, but no longer soft. "This isn't up to you. You only get to orgasm when I want you to."

            "You're in control, you're in control! Ah! Oh god, please!"

            Hannah paused for one second, her left thumb lifting off of Jess' skin.

            "Alright. You can cum. CUM!" As Hannah said that last word, her thumb jammed itself against Jess' clit. Jess screamed, her whole body shaking as the dam finally burst. Then she collapsed, falling limply into Hannah's arms. Hannah slowly sat down on her bed, settling Jess onto her lap. One arm continued to hold her while the other reached up to softly brush her hair.

            "There you go. There you go, baby. I've got you. You did such a good job."

            Finally, I was able to move. I tiptoed back to my room and softly shut the door. What was that? When did Hannah learn to do that? How? Only then did I look down and notice my throbbing erection.

             What The Hell?

            I woke up groggy and bleary-eyed. I had barely been able to sleep after the events of last night. How was I supposed to face Hannah after that, let alone Jess? Not just because of what I saw, but because of how it affected me.

            Now I could try to handwave it away. I'm a guy going through puberty, and a cute girl just worked herself into a frenzy and eventually orgasmed in front of me. Of course, I would get an erection. Just ignore the presence of my 8-year-old little sister. Pretend that I just happened upon Jess masturbating in Hannah's room while she was away. Same result, right?

            But I couldn't lie to myself. Not that Jess isn't attractive; she's quite pretty. But watching that scene, I didn't want to be Hannah, having Jess (or some other girl) riding my dick, getting off to what a big, strong man I was. No, I wanted to be Jess. I wanted to be the one brought to orgasm by a tall, powerful woman.

            Not Hannah, of course. Sam was my girlfriend. She was the girl fueling my fantasies, the one I thought of when I jacked off. Hannah had never even crossed my mind as someone who could be sexy. Obviously, right? She's my little sister, and even if she wasn't, she would still be a third-grader and quite a bit shorter than me. But I had seen what she did last night, heard what she said, witnessed her strength, her control. I couldn't put that genie back in its bottle.

            Well, It's not like I could hide in my room for the rest of my life, so eventually I had to grit my teeth and head down for breakfast. And, sure enough, not five minutes later, Hannah and Jess were walking into the kitchen. I looked up, but as soon as my eyes met Hannah's, I had to lower them again. I could feel my cheeks heating up. Dammit, are you trying to out yourself as a voyeur?! Act natural!

            "Morning, Nate!" Hannah said. "Sleep well?"

            "Urgh, not really. I was tossing and turning all night. You?"

            "Great!" Hannah slid into the seat next to me. "Not like Jess, though. She was asleep the moment we turned off the lights. I think I wore her out last night."

            *An image of Jess frantically grinding on Hannah's thigh flashed in front of my mind's eye.*

            "R-", I coughed. "Really?" What is she doing? Does she know? Is she trying to get me to slip up and admit my crimes? Is she getting revenge by making me squirm?

            "Mhm", Hannah confirmed, her smile widening. She paused as Jess tried to take the chair on her other side. Hannah grabbed her gently but firmly by the waist and pulled her onto her seat; settling the smaller girl between her legs.

            "We were playing a pretty active game", she continued. "Jess was really getting into it."

            *I saw Jess gasping as Hannah lifted her foot off the stool.*

            "And I wanted to keep playing, so I stretched it out."

            *Hannah holding Jess immobile, thumbs rubbing her inner thighs.*

            "I might have gotten a little rough at the end."

            *Hannah jamming her thumb onto Jess' clit, Jess spasming in climax*

            "And then she spilled some stuff all over her legs. Some of it got on me, on the carpet. A little even got on the bed. So if you heard the shower last night, that's why. We had to clean up after the game."

            My face had to be redder than a stop sign. But then I realized there was someone even more embarrassed than me here. Jess had been at the edge of my awareness this whole time, but now it clicked. She hadn't looked in my direction once, and the more Hannah talked, the more flustered she had gotten. At this point, she looked like she was hoping a hole would open in the floor and swallow her.

            That's what was going on here! Hannah was talking to me, but the target of her double meanings was Jess. Of course! Subtlety wasn't Hannah's style. If she had known about my peeping, she would have confronted me last night. She was just teasing her girlfriend. This was probably overdoing it, though.

            "Well, everyone makes a mess at some point", I said. "Especially if you're bringing drinks up to your room. No need to make a big deal of it. You're embarrassing her."

            Hannah paused, then glanced down at Jess, her shit-eating grin dissolving.

            "Oh! Sorry, Babe. I took it too far, didn't I?" Her arms wrapped around Jess in a tight hug.

            "S'okay", Jess mumbled.

            "No, I should have been paying more attention. I'll make it up to you."

            I smiled, turning back to my neglected meal, my secret safe for the moment. Whew, I can't believe I made it through that.

-------------------------------------------------------------

            A while later, Sam and I were talking in front of our lockers during a break between classes. We were having a good time, enjoying each other's company, when we were rudely interrupted.

            "Sam! Just the person I was looking for!"

            I turned towards the voice and caught a glimpse of a shapely neck and collarbone before Kerry slammed into me. The impact sent me careening into my girlfriend, thankfully allowing me to stay on my feet.

            "Oh, Nate!" Kerry exclaimed in mock surprise. "I didn't even see you."

            "Kerry! Knock it off", Sam snapped, wrapping an arm around me protectively. "You could have hurt him."

            "Hmph. I don't see how it's my fault that you insist on dating a little wimp."

            "He'll grow. He was taller than you a couple of years ago, and he's going to be taller than both of us a few years from now."

            "Right. And yet he seems smaller every time I see him."

            I cringed inside. It was true that the gap was widening. Kerry had definitely grown since September, at least an inch, maybe two. But I needed Sam to think I was still growing, however slowly, until I could find a way to break the news to her gently.

            "Even if he does outgrow you someday," Kerry continued, "are you really going to wait all that time? When you could ditch the little boy for a real man right now? Just let me talk to Rick for you; I know he has some hunky friends. We could even make it a double date."

            Rick, I assume, was that high-schooler Kerry claimed to be dating.

            "Did it ever occur to you that I might be dating Nate for more than just his body?" Sam retorted, causing a warm feeling to fill my chest.

            "Well, I'd hope so", Kerry chuckled. "Wait! Is it true love? Anyway, your relationship with your boy-toy isn't what I came to talk about. We need to figure out our group project for Mr. Pritchard's class."

            After that, Sam and Kerry talked right over my head for about 10 minutes. I couldn't really contribute to the conversation, since I wasn't part of their group, or even in that class. But I didn't want to leave.

            Sam's strong arm was still draped across my chest, her body touching my back, her warmth enveloping me. Her breasts pressed lightly against me, from my ears to the top of my shoulder blades. Not to mention Kerry's sizable tits, hanging just a bit lower, less than a foot from my face.

            The fact that the two of them seemed to completely forget about my presence, made me feel so insignificant. Like I was beneath the notice of such towering beauties. This only heightened my arousal.

            Thankfully, they finished up, and we parted ways with a few minutes still remaining before the next period. That allowed me to make it to the men's room instead of busting in my pants.

-------------------------------------------------------------

            Well, there was no getting around it now, Hannah was definitely having a growth spurt. The first inch coming so quickly after her claim that she was growing could have been a coincidence. Even the second inch, arriving just a couple of months later, wasn't undeniable proof. It's not like kids grow at a steady, constant rate. But her growth just wouldn't stop.

            I remember reading somewhere that the normal growth rate for a kid pre-puberty is 2 to 3 inches a year. Hannah had reached the upper end of that range in 6 months.

            And then there was her strength. After Valentine's Day, I had seriously started to wonder if she might already be stronger than me. While before I would have cringed at how embarrassing that would be, now I had to worry about a far worse outcome. That it might arouse me.

            Fortunately, I figured I just had to avoid situations where our strength could be compared. Unfortunately, someone had other ideas.

            "Nate! Arm wrestle me!"

            "What? No!" I said, turning away from the TV to see my sister standing behind me. Shit, Red Alert! Begin evasive maneuvers!

            "Ah, c'mon! Why not?"

            "Because I don't want to." I turned back to the TV, hoping she would just drop it. But that wouldn't be like Hannah at all, now would it? There was a moment of silence, then a whoosh and a thump, as she vaulted over the back of the couch to land beside me.

            "Seriously? You've seen this episode before. It's not even a good one."

            "Why do you want to arm wrestle me, anyway? Wouldn't someone your own age be better?"

            "Ha! I could beat everyone in my grade at school before I started this growth spurt. Challenging one of them now would practically be bullying. Besides, I want to know if I'm stronger than you yet."

            "I've really been pushing myself with the arm workouts lately", she explained. "Since my legs are already stronger than yours, obviously."

            "What do you mean, 'obviously'?" I retorted. While I doubted I could lift Jess with one leg like Hannah did that night, I couldn't admit to knowing that fact.

            Hannah scooched closer to me, so that our thighs were touching. Then she raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Seriously?" I looked down. Holy cow! The difference was clear as day. Her leg was muscular, even when relaxed, and visibly wider than my skinny limb. Obviously stronger indeed. I mean, her thigh was just so big... so thick...

            Wait! No! I looked away from her and shifted so our legs weren't touching anymore.

            "Ahem. What's in it for me, anyway? If I win, it's not like I can be proud of beating an eight-year-old, and you'll probably just get mad and go sulk."

            "C'mon, I promise I won't get mad. I know! If you win, I'll give you my allowance and do your chores for a week."

            Dammit, that was actually tempting. I sighed. It looked like she wasn't going to drop this either way, might as well get it over with.

            "Fine."

            "Yes!" Hannah and I moved to the floor next to the coffee table and put our arms in position.

            "Hey", Hannah said as our hands locked together. "Since you get something if you win, if I win, you have to do a little favor for me."

            "That wasn't part of the deal", I protested.

            "I am altering the deal", Hannah stated, making her voice as deep as she could. "Pray I don’t alter it any further." I snorted.

            "Fine. Just a little favor, though."

            "OK! On three. 1... 2... 3!"

            I gave it my all right from the start. It's not like I had no chance of winning. Guys usually have stronger upper bodies, while a girl's strength is tilted towards the legs. And I wasn't a wimp or anything, right? Still, no sense in taking any chances.

            For a split-second, it seemed to be working. I was pushing her arm back, but then it was like I hit a wall. My hand stopped moving forward, and no matter how hard I pushed, I couldn't get it going again. After grunting and straining for a few fruitless seconds, I finally looked over at Hannah.

            Her bicep was clearly visible, a smooth dome rising from her arm. But while my arm was beginning to shake from the continuous exertion, hers may as well have been carved from marble. Her initial expression was surprise, like I caught her off-guard, but it quickly morphed into a look of quiet determination.

            I had just enough time to realize that I was in trouble, that my little sister was only getting started. Her firm grip on my hand tightened, her bicep expanded, and in an instant we were back to the starting position. Then she began forcing my arm down.

            I tried to resist, looking for some untapped reserve I could draw on, but I was tapped out. I had been pushing at 100% this whole time, and now I could actually feel myself getting weaker as my stamina ran out. My hand slowly dropped lower and lower until it touched the table.

            It was over. I had lost.

            The shame of losing a contest of strength to a third-grader caused a swelling in my pants, leading to deeper shame. I looked up, expecting to see Hannah's grin, but instead, she just looked confused.

            "What's wrong? You won. I figured you'd be jumping for joy right now."

            "I mean, I am happy", Hannah replied, contemplatively. "I've been looking forward to this for so long. But, it's just... I guess I expected it to be harder. I could have won this weeks ago."

            The idea that my little sister wasn't just slightly stronger than me, but noticeably stronger, only aided my erection. Hannah stood up, her smile returning.

            "Oh well, I still won. I'm finally stronger than you! C'mon, stand up! It's time for that favor."

            I really didn't want to get up, in case my hard-on was visible, but there wasn't much I could do. And staying seated, with Hannah's muscular torso filling my vision, wouldn't be ideal, anyway. So up I went. The sight of Hannah's head at the level of my mouth might have calmed me down, if my brain hadn't immediately reminded me that only a few months ago, she didn't even reach my chin.

            "Now?" I asked. "What is it?" Hannah grinned up at me, mischievously.

            "This'll just take a sec. You don't need to do anything; just hold still."

            "What are you...?" I didn't get to finish my question. Hannah stepped forward, wrapped her arms around me, and lifted.

            Oh, God! I shuddered, as my cock was pressed into and then dragged up her abs.

            "Whoa! Hannah, stop! Let me down!"

            "Nope! You agreed to this", she rebutted. She giggled, bouncing me up and down, causing further stimulation. "You're lighter than I thought you'd be. Or maybe, I'm just even stronger than I thought."

            "Hannah, please. This is embarrassing."

            "OK, fine. Spoilsport", she said, her smile never wavering. She lowered me to the ground. As soon as she let go, I quickly sat down on the couch. How could she not have noticed my erection rubbing against her? Did she just not realize what it was?

            Hannah turned and skipped away. As she reached the stairs, she looked back over her shoulder at me.

            "That was a lot of fun, Nate. Thanks for letting me play with you."

-------------------------------------------------------------

            Before I knew it, spring break had arrived. I had planned to spend the whole week relaxing, but I only made it to Tuesday before my Mom demanded that I go outside before I "became a permanent part of the furniture".

            So here I am at the mall. I've been walking around for a while, and my feet are starting to hurt. And to further drive home my lack of exercise, I noticed my jacket doesn't fit right anymore. It was the same one I had worn during the fall, but now it felt loose around the shoulders.

            At least the day hadn't been a total loss. I managed to find a used copy of my favorite retro game in the back of the video game store. But that, plus lunch at the food court, meant that I was now out of money. I was about to call it a day, and find somewhere to sit and browse YouTube on my phone until it was time for Mom to pick me up, when I saw a familiar figure by the entrance.

            Sam! What a lucky coincidence! I was about to wave and call out to her, when I noticed the girl standing beside her. Kerry. That figures, the two of them have been hanging out more and more recently. Before I could decide if seeing my girlfriend was worth interacting with Kerry, the blond waved over a couple of guys.

            Who are they? They definitely weren't boys from our school; the shorter of the two was as tall as Sam. Wait a minute, could that be Rick? He actually exists? So who's the other guy? He had to be almost 6 feet tall. Oh shit! Is this a double date?!

            Sam seemed to be having the same thought, as I could see her angrily gesturing from here, even though I couldn't hear what she was saying. But then Kerry pulled her a short distance away and, I assume, tried to convince her to stay. No way my girlfriend would agree to that!

            But then they walked back to the guys. And together, they started heading towards the cinema that occupied one side of the mall. What? Why? I quickly jogged to the entrance myself and looked inside.

            The four of them were nowhere to be seen. Damn it! How did they get through the lobby so quickly? Did they pre-order tickets? I guess I could buy a ticket to a random movie and sneak through all the theaters until I found them. No wait, I already blew all my cash. I only had a couple of bucks left.

            I would have to wait them out. I found a bench where I could watch the exits from the cinema. As I sat there, I tried to think about why Sam might have gone along with this.

            Oh! That's it! They must have pre-ordered the tickets like I thought, and it would have been a waste to not see the movie then. So Sam agreed to go with them after making it clear she wasn't interested in a date.

            That line of thinking made me feel better, but I still wanted to wait and see what happened when they left. Unfortunately, only 30 minutes later, I got a text from my Mom that she was here to pick me up.

------------------------------------------------------------

            The next day, I went to hang out at Sam's house. I had sent her a text asking to meet up before leaving the mall, and we agreed on a time when she replied that evening.

            "What's up?" Sam greeted me at the door. "Couldn't last a few days without seeing your girlfriend?"

            "Well, Mom wants me out of the house. And if I can't watch TV, I might as well hang out with you instead", I joked.

            "Sooo glad you can fit me into your busy schedule", Sam snarked back, flopping down on the couch.

            With her long limbs sprawled out, I had to squish into one of the armrests to fit beside her. God, she was big. Even her loose casual clothes couldn't hide her maturing body, her bulging muscles. Wait! Don't get distracted.

            "I'm not the only one with a busy schedule. We could have hung out yesterday if you hadn't taken so long to text me back."

            "Oh, um, yeah. I was at the movies, so my phone was on silent. Kerry invited me to watch a chick-flick."

            "Girls-only day, huh? I get it."

            "Uh, yeah! Just... just us girls." Wow, it was rare to see Sam so nervous.

            "You've been hanging out with Kerry a lot lately. Didn't you guys hate each other?"

            "Honestly, she's not so bad once you get to know... Nah, who am I kidding? She's still a massive bitch. We just really bonded during basketball season, you know? Now we shoot hoops together, and she shows me how to apply make-up and other girly shit."

            "I'll have to take your word for it. It seems like she dislikes me more every time we run into each other."

            "Yeah, she's weirdly negative when it comes to you, even compared to normal Kerry behavior. It's like, now that we're friends, she doesn't think you're worthy of me, or something."

            I mean, yeah. Sam's this gorgeous amazon, who just keeps getting bigger, and stronger, and hotter. While I'm a weak, skinny, little shrimp. She could do so much better.

            "Which is ridiculous", Sam continued. "Your worth isn't determined by your height or athleticism or whatever. Like, sure, I'd like it if you worked out more, or if your growth spurt came sooner. But that doesn't mean I'm lowering my standards to date you."

            "I dunno, it does feel like you're out of my league", I said, looking away from her. "Maybe a varsity football star would fit you better than a wimp like me."

            And there it was. The real reason seeing her with that guy got me so worked up. It wasn't just the fear that she would cheat on me. It was the idea that, maybe, it would be better for her if she did.

            "Shut. Up." Sam's hands slammed down on either side of my head, one on the back of the couch, the other reaching across my body to the armrest. I spun around to see her face right above mine.

            "Nobody gets to talk about my boyfriend that way", Sam growled. "Not even you. Fuck Kerry and her stupid highschool friends. I decide who's 'worthy' of dating me. Understand?"

            "Yes'm."

            "Good." And then she kissed me hard enough to force me into the couch cushions.

            I never should have doubted her. Even if she was too embarrassed to tell me that Kerry tried to trick her into a double date. It's not like I could bring myself to be 100% truthful with her either.

------------------------------------------------------------

            OK, that's it. I can't keep going like this. I need to shape up. Just because Sam still wants to date me, doesn't mean I shouldn't try to become a more fitting boyfriend. I may be doomed to forever be a shrimp, but I can at least be a buff shrimp. I'm going to start exercising.

            Oh, come on, the voice in my head butted in. How strong could a puny guy like me even get? And lifting weights is just too much wo...

            No! Screw you, stupid voice! I'm getting fit, and that's final!

            Of course, there was one other mental hurdle. Our family did have a small home gym in the basement. Just some dumbbells, a treadmill, and a pull-up bar.

            The collection started about a year and a half ago, when exercise became Jess' obsession. Hannah and her pooled their allowance to buy a set of small dumbbells. Even after Jess moved on to a new topic, Hannah continued to work out. She slowly added more weights with birthday and Christmas gifts to keep up with her growing strength.

            And that's the issue: the gym is Hannah's. It would be rude to use it without her permission. Also, I could look up exercises and techniques online, but if I'm going to do this, I want to do it right. So I should get personal advice from someone who knows their stuff. I'm just going to have to swallow my pride and ask my little sister to show me how to lift.

            "Really?" Hannah gasped. "You want me to help you get fit?"

            "You don't have to, if you don't want to."

            "Are you kidding? This is awesome! I get to hang out with you and show off a thing I'm really into."

            "I guess we really haven't been spending that much time together lately."

            "Right? You should pay more attention to your cute little sister." I snorted.

            "But seriously, you were so excited when you found out you were stronger than me. I didn't think you would want to help me get stronger."

            "Hey", Hannah said, her tone suddenly serious. "Just because I like being stronger, doesn't mean I want you to be weak or anything. Besides," her grin returned, "I'll keep getting stronger too, so it's not like you can catch up."

            "Hah! We'll see about that."

------------------------------------------------------------

            Jess seemed strangely cheerful when I came up for hypnosis a few days later. I thought her annoyance at my presence was a given at this point. Well, I certainly wasn't going to risk ruining her mood by bringing it up, so I went for another topic instead.

            "We've been doing this hypnosis thing for a while. I figured you guys would have moved on to something new by now."

            "Oh, we still come up with new things to do", Hannah stated, throwing a sideways glance at Jess. Jess blushed. "But hypnosis is different. She has a real talent for it. I think we're going to stick with it for a long time."

            "That's great! She could even become a professional hypnotist someday. That's a thing, right?"

            "Yes, it is", Jess stated. "But I would only want to practice my own style of hypnotism. And it's hard to perfect that without more test subjects."

            "It's been really hard to get people to volunteer", Hannah added. "Mom and Dad would only do one session, and Jess' Mom stopped after two. You and me are the only people who've been willing to commit to it long-term."

            "That's a surprise. It's really easy, and I always wake up relaxed and refreshed, like I had a good nap. None of your friends were interested?"

            "Nope", Hannah sighed. "We tried asking a bunch of them months ago."

            "I guess, I was reluctant at first too. Maybe you just need to find a way to show them that it's safe and beneficial. Like a demonstration."

            Hannah's eyes got wide, and then a second later, a big grin covered her face.

            "That's a great idea!"

------------------------------------------------------------

            I don't know if I can keep this up. I've been working out with Hannah for a few weeks now, but I'm not making any progress. And every day, I have to fight a battle with my own brain just to get the motivation to walk down to the basement. Knowing Hannah was waiting for me was the only thing that kept me from ditching some days.

            Then, during the workouts themselves, I feel like Sisyphus pushing that boulder. Like, if I just pushed a little harder, I would reach the top and get my strength back. But no matter how hard I try, I can't quite make it. Instead, I just end up back where I started.

            After exercising, I'm tired and sore and sweaty. Hannah says a good lifting session leaves her energized and ready to conquer the rest of the day, but I just end up feeling exhausted. And it seems like I've barely recovered before it's time to report back for another workout.

            Honestly, the only good part of this whole experience is getting to spend more time with my little sister. It feels like we've drifted apart recently. We used to hang out and play together all the time. Now she's usually busy with her friends (and girlfriend), while I'm doing my own thing.

            It's really great hearing the passion in her voice when she talks about lifting weights and exercise. Seeing her gleeful expression when she gets a new personal best. I think I would enjoy coming here just to hang out and talk while she works out. If only I didn't have to exercise too.

            If only being weak didn't feel so good!

            OK, let me walk that back a bit. Obviously, in general, I don't like how weak I've become. I hate how low my stamina is. P.E. has become my least favorite subject. I've even started to avoid playing sports with my friends, because it's depressing seeing more and more of them outperform me.

            But whenever I'm around Sam, Kerry, or even some of the other girls at school, I find their strength incredibly arousing. And the weaker I get, the stronger they seem by comparison. Any one of them could just walk up and do whatever they wanted to me. There would be no way for me to stop them. And just thinking about that makes me so hard.

            So exercising feels like a battle. Not just against my body, but against my mind and my libido too. And I'm not sure it's a battle I can win.

------------------------------------------------------------

            It's now April, which means Sam's birthday. This year, she decided to have a girl's only party to celebrate. I guess that makes sense. Now that everyone's in puberty, it would be awkward to have a bunch of boys over to her house.

            Of course, that doesn't mean I won't get to celebrate with her. In fact, I get to give her my present on the actual day, while all the girls will have to wait for the party the following weekend.

            "What's this?" Sam asked. "No quips about dating an older woman this year?"

            Since Sam's birthday is before mine, there's a two-month window where she's "a year older". We would use the opportunity to tease each other. I would joke about her "getting old" and she would wonder if I "was up past my bedtime". Silly stuff like that. At least, that's how it used to be.

            "Well... it just seemed a little too... on the nose this year", I said, gesturing at her body and then mine.

            "Ah."

            "...yeah." Great, now I've made things awkward. It used to be so easy to talk to her, but not anymore. Sometimes, I can still get some good banter going, but other times I can't seem to find the words. I just don't have the same confidence I used to.

            "Ahem. So, are you looking forward to the party?"

            "Yeah. It's gonna be great. All the girls from the basketball team are coming."

            Ah. I feel even less bad about missing out now. Kerry might have been the loudest, but she wasn't the only one in that group that didn't like me.

            "It's too bad most of them are leaving for highschool", Sam continued. "We would have such a sick roster otherwise."

            "So you all still play together?"

            "Yeah! Even Alice. I wasn't sure if she would stick with it, but she's been really dedicated. She's going to be a terror on the court next year. You should join us sometime. I think you would get a kick out of watching her play against Kerry."

            "Ah. Yeah. It would be awkward just to show up to watch, though. Maybe in a couple of years, when I'm tall enough to play again." Yeah right.

            "Oh, sure... But you'll come to cheer us on once the season starts, right?"

            "Of course. I wouldn't miss it." That was 100% true, at least. Man, it feels like our activities and social circles are getting further and further apart. If only things could go back to how they were before.

------------------------------------------------------------

            "Nate, let's play some basketball!"

            I turned to see Hannah, ball in hand, a determined look on her face.

            "Nah. You go ahead, I don't feel like leaving the house today."

            "Nope", Hannah declared, marching around the couch to stand in front of me. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. If you're going to skip out on our workouts, the least you can do is give me a quick 1-on-1."

            Ouch. It was true, though. I had managed to attend regularly for a whole month, but after that, my motivation bottomed out. I just couldn't see any reason to continue. I hadn't been able to increase what I could lift in a single exercise. The best I could say is that my endurance improved a little.

            So over the past week, I only made it to 1 out of 5 sessions. The first couple of days, I came up with excuses, but it was obvious that I had given up.

            Hannah took my silence for further resistance. Frowning, she shifted the basketball to one hand so she could grab my arm with the other.

            "C'mon!" she said, pulling me to my feet and towards the door.

            "Alright, geez! You don't have to drag me."

            "I'm pretty sure that I do." Once we were at the door, she let me go so I could get my shoes on. But she didn't stop glaring at me until we were outside.

            "Why are you so set on basketball, anyway?" I asked. "Last time we played, you just ended up angry."

            "My dear big brother", Hannah said, finally smiling now that she had gotten her way. "You forget that last time I was but a little girl. I have grown so much since then." She paused for effect. "You know, as a person. I'm much more mature now. Also taller. So much taller."

            I sighed. "Just don't be disappointed when you lose. I still have the advantage."

            Hannah just smirked, walking to the out-of-bounds line opposite the basket.

            "Ready when you are, bro."

            I walked up to cover her. No sense in giving her a free first shot.

            "Let's do this."

            Hannah raised her arms and locked her eyes on the basket. Was she really going to try to shoot with me right in front of her? Her legs bent slightly. She was going to jump.

            I had to immediately start my own jump. Last time we played, I could block her shots without jumping, but the height difference was much smaller now. She could probably jump higher, too.

            As my feet left the ground, Hannah burst into motion. But not into her own jump. I had been so focused on countering what I thought she was doing, that I hadn't noticed that she had paused after bending her legs. Now she released that energy to dodge right past my left side.

            By the time I managed to land and turn around, Hannah was already halfway to the basket. 1-0.

            Once again, my little sister had caught me completely by surprise right at the start of the game. Thankfully, I was able to turn things around after that. But even as I slowly built a lead, I could see that things were different this time.

            Last game, it was clear that Hannah had practiced shooting baskets to the exclusion of everything else. Which made her terrifyingly accurate for an 8-year-old, but left her outmatched by anyone who could reliably block her. Now her skills were more balanced.

            She had improved her dribbling, footwork, blocking skills, and general game sense. She must have found someone to play with; you couldn't get this good just running drills by yourself.

            Honestly, the only real advantages I had left were my greater experience and my remaining height advantage. She was faster, stronger, and more agile. She could out-jump me, out-shoot me, and even dribble better than I could.

            But as the game went on, I figured out all her tricks. And if she couldn't juke me, I could block her. It wasn't easy. If she jumped, I really did have to jump too.

            And I couldn't just shoot over her head, either. Her powerful legs almost negated my extra height, so I could only barely avoid getting blocked by jumping as high as I could. Even then, she could at least throw off my aim.

            2-3, 3-5, 4-8. I could do this. I could still at least beat a 3rd-grader at basketball.

            But then, my stamina started to give out. I was having to put so much effort into keeping up with Hannah just so I could be in a position to block. And each point I scored was hard-fought.

            She slipped past me and banked the ball off the backboard. 5-8.

            I managed to throw her off, by jumping backwards instead of straight up, giving me enough distance to arc the ball over her. 5-9.

            I blocked her next three shots, but each time she kept me from scoring in turn. Then she finally got the ball in the air before I could get in the way. In her haste, however, she didn't line it up perfectly. The ball hit the rim and bounced away.

            But not far enough. Before the ball rolled out of bounds, Hannah was there. And I was still halfway across the court. Now she had more than enough time to aim. 6-9.

            I realized this was my last chance. I could feel my strength failing. I would need to give it my all just to score. And if I gave 100% this time, I would have nothing left the next time I got the ball. It didn't matter that Hannah still needed 4 points to win. Once I could no longer keep up, she would get those easily.

            I dashed to the right, then desperately juked to the left. Hannah stayed with me. I ran right again. No dice. Left again. Right again. My legs felt like they would give out any second. Just a little more! I headed back to the left.

            Or so she thought. Instead, as soon as my body started moving to the left, I reversed course and jumped further right. I almost tripped all over myself, but I just barely stuck the landing. I only had a second before Hannah would be back on me. I took a deep breath, aimed, and threw.

            The ball went in. I did it. 6-10.

            I slumped to the ground, sweat pouring off me. I wouldn't have any energy to argue with my sister this time. She could rant to her heart's content. And when I looked over to her, she was clearly frustrated. But as soon as I saw it, her expression changed, her grin returning.

            "Well, I guess that's it. Good game, bro."

            "Uh, yeah, you too." I watched dumbfounded, as Hannah trotted over to retrieve the ball and then back towards me. "I guess I should apologize. I really expected you to blow up. I guess you have matured."

            "I mean, don't get me wrong, it is frustrating", Hannah said, reaching out a hand to help me to my feet. "I honestly thought I had you this time."

            "You really almost did", I replied. The fact that I was still gasping for breath served to underline my admission. Hannah's grin widened.

            "Thanks. But I figure there's no reason to be upset, since even if I didn't win, I still got twice as many points as last time. And I've only gotten halfway through the height gap. Besides, you definitely didn't hold anything back this time."

            "You can say that again", I agreed. "I'm not sure I would be able to make it back inside without your help."

            Wait. Halfway?

------------------------------------------------------------

            Well, it finally happened. I've been dreading this day for months. If the only ones outgrowing me were girls, that would be fine. I could even live with my guy friends getting taller than me. But, of course, that wasn't the case; everyone in my grade was growing. And unfortunately, everyone included Brad.

            It was the start of March when I noticed Brad had caught up to me in height. Though, as I had predicted, that wasn't enough for him to challenge me, I knew it was only a matter of time. Through that month and the next, as I got weaker, he got bolder. By May, Brad was clearly stronger than me, and even worse, when we passed in the halls a week ago, I noticed he was an inch taller as well.

            He hasn't bullied me yet, but I'm sure that's only because he has yet to catch me alone. He won't pick a fight with Damian or Matt, let alone Sam. If only I was the only one affected, but right now, just around the corner, he's caught Tim again.

            "Well, well, look who we have here. And with no one around to get in the way", Brad crowed. "Though it wouldn't even matter if we weren't alone. Have you seen your 'hero' lately? Nate's become a total wimp. Even you might have more meat on your bones than he does now. Honestly, I wish he would show up. Then I could finally get revenge for all those times he humiliated me."

            Dammit, he's right. If I tried to intervene, I would just be giving him another victim. And that's why I've been dreading this scenario more than him bullying me personally. It proves that I'm a hypocrite. I always said Brad was too chicken to pick a fight he didn't know he could win, but it turns out I'm no better.

            I should confront him anyway. Even if I can't win, it would be the right thing to do. But my legs won't move. The very thought of calling out and revealing myself makes my throat close up. I'm a coward.

            Maybe it's not too late. I think Matt was still in the classroom when I left. If I can get him to help...

            "Well, looks like that will have to wait. At least, I can show you who's boss. Time to get in the locker, nerd."

            Oh, God! Time's up. What am I going to do?

            "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

            All three of us turned to look, and there, striding down the hall, was Alice. I was surprised that she was choosing to get involved. Brad, being an equal-opportunity asshole, had picked on Alice for being a skinny, awkward kid in grade school. While her transition to tall, curvy teen had lessened her appeal as a target, she hadn't had the physical presence that would allow her to protect others.

            Clearly, she thought things had changed, and as she got closer, I had to agree. Almost nine months as a basketball enthusiast had changed her body once again. Brad, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice. He was annoyed at the interruption, but not angry that his fun was being spoiled.

            "Buzz off, Alice, unless you want me to send you to Wonderland", Brad growled, shaking a fist at the approaching girl. Alice paused, glancing to the side with a frightened expression. But then she steeled her resolve, gritting her teeth and balling her hands into fists.

            She turned back to face the bully and stomped towards him. Brad had just enough time for his bravado to falter before she had fully closed the distance. Then, giving him no time to react, Alice grabbed him by the arms and slammed him into the nearest locker door.

            The ease with which she handled her former tormentor surprised everyone, Alice included. But she was the first to recover, a smile breaking out on her face as she looked down at him from a height advantage that his recent growth had done nothing to close.

            "Well, looks like I've eaten enough of the left side of that mushroom."

            "Wha?" Brad uttered, too stunned to struggle. Alice frowned.

            "I know eating too much cake is bad, but it seems to be working out for me."

            "Huh?" Brad still didn't get it. Alice sighed and shook her head.

            "I guess I was expecting too much", she stated, then crouched down to Brad's level. "Look, Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, changes size a lot, right?" Brad nodded.

            "Well, me too. Except, I keep getting bigger", she straightened back up. "...and bigger", she rose up onto her tip-toes, causing her chin to pass the top of Brad's head. "...and bigger. And I don't plan on shrinking anytime soon."

            "I've always thought that Nate went too easy on you. Sure, you'd back off in the moment, but you always started bullying us again whenever he wasn't around. So I'm going to do things differently."

            "Listen carefully", she continued, grabbing Brad's chin and forcing him to look up into her eyes. "I'm only going to say this once: if you ever touch Tim, or any of my friends, again, you're going to be the one shoved in a locker."

            Alice released Brad and turned, grabbing Tim's hand.

            "Let's go", she said with a smile, before pulling him down the hall and out of sight. Leaving me and a still-trying-to-hard-reboot-his-brain Brad. And then just Brad, as I snuck off in the opposite direction before he could recover and notice me.

------------------------------------------------------------

            And so probably the worst and definitely the weirdest school year of my life finally came to an end. But there was one last event before everyone went their separate ways for the summer, at least among my friends. You see, my birthday was less than two weeks after the last day of school.

            Every year, about a dozen guys would descend on my house for cake, games, and a rowdy good time. And this year wouldn't be any different. Well, a little different. This would be the first party where I wouldn't be the tallest in my friend group. And the first where I wasn't looking forward to the inevitable football or basketball game.

            That won't keep me from enjoying myself, but it is going to be a little awkward.

            As the first guests arrive, I pull them into playing Smash Bros. on the big TV in the living room. This is, of course, all part of my master plan, as the more time we spend playing video games, the less time I have to spend trying not to embarrass myself outside.

            It also serves as a good icebreaker for the one guy who hasn't been here before. I finally invited Tim over. It turns out he's really good at Smash. Also, I've been able to hold a conversation with him better since I started replacing sports with games and TV.

            Once everyone arrived, we had to start taking turns. There were only 8 spots and 14 of us (Hannah had come down to play too). Thankfully, everyone seemed happy to watch or chat when they weren't playing, so we should make it to cake time without any problems.

            At one point, Hannah and Tim were off the switch at the same time. She took the chance to introduce herself.

            "I haven't seen you before. I'm Hannah, Nate's sister."

            "Uh, I'm T-tim. Nice to meet you."

            "Oh, Tim! I've heard about you. Nice to meet you too."

            "'Heard about me'?"

            "Yeah! The other day, Nate said he was happy to have finally found something you both liked so he could talk to you about it."

            "O-oh. I was worried that he was complaining about always having to r-rescue me from Brad."

            "Don't worry, he wouldn't do that. Honestly, I think he feels bad that he can't help you more."

            There was a pause, and I almost got sucked back into watching the match. It was a little weird to be listening in while other people talked about me.

            "Hey Tim", Hannah said, "can you do me a favor? Stand up for a second."

            "Uh, sure, I guess?" Tim slid off the edge of the couch, and scooted around one of the guys sitting on the carpet, to stand next to the chair Hannah was perched on.

            "Thanks. I just wanted to check something", Hannah said, before getting to her feet as well. She turned and stepped right in front of Tim. Then she smiled as she looked down into his eyes.

            "Hey Tim, you're in the same grade as my brother, so that means you're 13, right?"

            "Y-yeah", Tim stuttered, clearly not used to someone standing so close to him.

            "Cool. I'm taller than a 13-year-old."

            "H-How old are you?"

            "I'm eight", Hannah replied, her grin widening. "Well, nine in a couple of months."

            "No way! I t-thought you were eleven, ten at the youngest."

            I could understand his confusion. He may have been one of the shortest kids in our school, but he was still 13. And, unlike me, he had grown a couple of inches this year. But I knew Hannah would be taller. The top of Tim's head came up to my nose, whereas recently Hannah had gotten tall enough to block my view if she stood right in front of me.

            "Do you l-like being tall?" Tim asked.

            "Of course, being tall is the best!"

            "It seems like the g-girls at school can't wait for the boys to g-grow taller than them. Well, except for A-alice, I guess."

            "Oh? She likes being bigger than the boys, huh? And what about you; what do you think of her height?" Hannah pressed. Tim looked away, his face turning red. "Haha, that's what I thought."

            Weird. I guess Tim and I have more in common than I thought. I felt a swell of nervousness, though. How long would it be before Hannah was looking down at me like that? Before I would be a shrimp even compared to Tim?

            Cake and presents followed soon after. And then I had to face the music, as the guys trooped out to the vacant lot to play football. Thankfully, I was able to pull rank as the birthday boy and get to play quarterback. There's no way I could be in the skirmish line like I used to.

            It wasn't too long before I was put on the spot, however, as Matt managed to break through and tried to sack me. I narrowly dodged him and broke into a run towards the goal. For a moment, I thought I could go all the way. But then Andy, one of the opposing running backs, slammed into me from the side.

            Andy was only 4'9" and had a runner's physique, but that was more than enough to take me down. I landed painfully on my skinny ass, but managed to wave it off and continue.

            At least, my speed was still OK, and my dodging skills carried over from basketball. And I was able to conserve my stamina by mostly passing, only running when absolutely necessary. This allowed me to make it through the first game.

            Even so, by the end, it was clear I was way more winded than the others. Everybody noticed. I could see the surprise, and worse, the pity, in their eyes. This was the downside of avoiding these games for the past few months. Instead of watching my gradual transformation into a wimp, it was hitting them all at once.

            "Um, maybe we should head back inside", Damian suggested. "You have the new Madden NFL game, right, Nate?"

            And so I was saved from further humiliation. Soon enough, it was time for everyone to go. But the day wasn't over yet.

            Sam arrived about an hour before dinner. I immediately received a surprise gift, when my Mom came over to greet her and I realized that they were almost the same height.

            Of course, that wasn't the present Sam had prepared. We went up to my room to open that one. But when I removed the wrapping paper, I found only an empty box.

            "Surprise!" Sam exclaimed. "The box was just cover. I figured we hadn't done anything romantic in a while. So my gift is whatever you want to do between now and dinner."

            "No way", I whispered, my mind's eye immediately filling with lewd images.

            "Within reason, of course. Your family is still here."

            That was all the time I needed. An obsession, filed away for months as impossible, had overwhelmed every other idea. I'm not sure what gave me the confidence to request this now. The fact that it was my birthday? Sam's surprising forwardness with this gift? Maybe, after a day of pitying looks and visions of future shrimpitude, I just needed a win. And I was willing to take a risk to get it.

            "Do you remember the first day of middle-school?"

            "Sure. Why? Did something happen that day?" Of course, she wouldn't remember. What had been a life-changing event for me, was just a bit of flirting to her.

            "When we were walking home, I asked you to stop calling me your 'little boyfriend'. And then you... you picked me up and kissed me. You said that when I got big enough that you couldn't do that, then you would stop calling me your little boyfriend."

            "Oh! I remember that", Sam chuckled. "You were spacing out for the rest of the walk. Wait, that's what you want to do? Why?"

            "Are you kidding? That was the sexiest kiss we've ever had. It was all I could think about for the rest of the week."

            "It wasn't supposed to be sexy! Well, I guess the kiss was supposed to be a little sexy. But not the picking-you-up part. I was just teasing you about your height. Ya know, like I used to before you developed a complex about it."

            Ouch. Of course, I'd get a com... No! Don't get distracted!

            "Well, it was sexy to me. That's what I want to do."

            "That's just too weird. Guys aren't supposed to want that kind of thing!"

            "Well, I do! Besides, in a year or two, I'll be too big, like you said", I lied. "I have to enjoy it now while I have the chance." And now the Coup de Grace. "But maybe it's already too late. I guess we don't have to do it if lifting me is too hard for you now."

            "What?!" Sam exclaimed, then her eyes narrowed. "Oh, so that's how you want to play it? Fine. I'm going to rock your world, little boyfriend, so you'd better enjoy it."

            Enjoying it wouldn't be an issue. I had been erect basically since Sam arrived, and now that she had finally agreed, my cock was twitching in anticipation. But she didn't reach under my armpits like last time. Instead, her right hand grabbed my t-shirt at the center of my chest. My jaw dropped as I glanced at her left arm hanging motionless at her side. No way! Even Sam couldn't possibly be that str...

            Sam let out an angry growl as her bicep exploded in size. Her whole body tensed up, and my feet left the ground. My girlfriend curled me like I was a dumbbell. My dick throbbed. I managed to tear my eyes away from the massive muscle threatening to tear her sleeve apart, and looked up at Sam's face. Just in time for her to overwhelm my mouth with her own.

            Her tongue pushed inside and proceeded to claim its territory. I had never been kissed so aggressively, and I only lasted a few seconds. My body spasmed as I erupted in my pants, Sam's mouth muffling my moans.

            Only when I had finished, did she lower me back to the floor.

            "There", she said, unable to completely hide the pride in her voice. "Now go clean yourself up, weirdo."

------------------------------------------------------------

            I thought that went pretty well, even considering Sam's reluctance, but I was soon proven wrong. It became clear the next time I saw her that things had gotten even more awkward between us. And, unlike our experience in January, this awkwardness never really went away.

            Now it's been almost a month, and we haven't done anything more intimate than the occasional kiss. Hell, today I'm at her house, and she's not even there.

            Now, this isn't that unusual. Sam and her parents both had things they wanted to do this afternoon, so they brought me in to babysit the twins. I had done this several times since I got along well with Taylor and Edward, and their parents trusted me. It just provided an uncomfortable metaphor for my current relationship with my girlfriend.

            That said, I didn't mind babysitting. At least, the twins still treated me the same as they did before I stopped growing. Currently, Ed was on the couch reading a kid's book. He had a pretty high reading level for a kid that hadn't even started kindergarten yet. That left me with the not-insignificant job of keeping Taylor entertained.

            "Nate, give me a piggyback ride again!" She demanded, jumping up and down. I had already run around the room with her on my back an hour ago. Honestly, I was proud of myself for managing that, but there was no way I could handle a second round.

            "I don't think I can, Taylor. You're getting too big."

            "Awww", she pouted, but her smile quickly returned. "I guess I'll just have to get big enough that I can give you a piggyback ride instead!"

            "Haha! I'm looking forward to it."

            "I bet! Big sis said that you like getting picked up. Is that why you're so much smaller than her?" Jeez, Sam. What are you telling a 5-year-old?

            "No, girls just grow faster at our age. All the guys are shorter than her."

            "Nuh-uh. The guy that came to pick up Sam today was taller than she is."

            Wait, what?! Sam said that she had made plans with... Kerry. Oh, God. No, hold on, gotta confirm.

            "Are you sure that wasn't her friend's dad?" I asked. Taylor shook her head.

            "He was old, but old like you guys. Not old like a parent."

            I was sure that time at the mall had been a one-time thing. Just Kerry misjudging Sam's commitment to our relationship. But now I had to question every time Sam and Kerry had hung out in the last few months. There's no way that I just happened to find out the only two times it happened.

            Why would Sam keep going along with this? Would Kerry really keep trying if she wasn't responding positively?

            My suspicion only intensified when Sam returned that evening. On foot. Did she have them drop her off at the end of the street so I wouldn't see the guys? I should have just asked her, but I didn't have the courage.

            I wouldn't find the courage in the following weeks, either. And then it was too late, Sam left for basketball camp. I wouldn't see her again until right before school started.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Being around Hannah wasn't helping my confidence either. Not that she was being purposefully mean. She just loved how big and strong she was getting, especially compared to me. She also really enjoyed my reactions to her growth. So she didn't miss a single opportunity to flaunt her size and strength in front of me.

            As if that wasn't enough, today, her ninth birthday, she received her first gift directly from her own body. I was woken up by her barging into my room, claiming that her pajamas felt tight. She demanded that I measure her, and sure enough, she had gotten even taller.

            In just a year, my sister had gone from 4'2" to 4'8". She was now only two inches shorter than me.

            I didn't have time to come to grips with this newest development, as I was roped into helping with her birthday party. The party was being held at the park downtown, and there were too many kids coming for my parents to keep track of alone.

            It might seem weird that Hannah has this many friends, since I've barely mentioned any of them other than Jess. But they just haven't factored into the story so far. In reality, Hannah was quite popular. She's friendly, extroverted, and a natural leader.

            And she didn't care about school cliques. Just counting party attendees, there were jocks and nerds, tomboys and girly girls, shorties and tall kids. Ranging in age from 7 to 11. Enough to fill a classroom, including a dozen or so boys.

            And so, Mom, Dad, and I, along with a handful of other parents, spent a couple of hours keeping an eye on everyone while the kids played tag, spread out for a game of capture the flag, and chowed down on a picnic lunch with a massive chocolate cake.

            This gave me ample time to see just how big Hannah was compared to the other kids. It went beyond her just being the tallest. The only kids that came close to her height were the ones two grades ahead of her. She towered over anyone her age or younger. Even Jeremy, who matched her in height just a year ago, looked small standing beside her. She seemed to be a good 3 or 4 inches taller than the older boy.

            Eventually, the party wound down, and most of the kids headed home. Jess and a few of the girls got to go to our house for a sleepover. We only had so much room, so Mom made her limit the guest list to seven for this part.

            This was also the time when Hannah got to open her presents from the family. Well, mine was already open, since we set it up in the basement last night. She just hadn't seen it yet.

            "A punching bag? That's awesome!" Hannah exclaimed, nearly crushing me with a quick bear hug. "Thanks, Nate!"

            "Gloves too", I added, once I got my breath back. "Just be careful. You can really hurt your hands if you hit it wrong."

            "I'm always careful when I'm working out", Hannah replied in a serious tone.

            "And this is from your mother and me", Dad said, handing over a large box.

            Hannah tore open the packaging, her face lighting up as she revealed a pair of rollerblades.

            "It's the exact kind I wanted!" She squealed. This item had been at the top of Hannah's wishlist, even beating out weights and gym equipment.

            "I've got to try them out!" And she was gone, dashing up the stairs without so much as a second thought.

            "There are elbow and knee pads in the box!" Mom called after her. "And don't forget your helmet!"

            Jess had followed her immediately, though at a slower pace. I turned back to the other girls.

            "Sorry about that. That's just..."

            "...how she is. We know", Cindy finished. The other girls nodded in agreement, even Sarah and Sally, who had only moved here this year. "I'm sure she'll remember she's supposed to be hosting a party at some point."

            We all headed to the living room to wait. I ended up standing as the girls took up the available seating. It was a pretty varied group, much like the larger one at the park.

            Cindy was 10, about 4'4", and athletic. She lived nearby and was a regular participant in games down at the lot.

            Sarah and Sally were identical twins, both just under four feet tall. Sarah was a gymnast, while Sally loved to draw. They were ten as well.

            June was Hannah's closest friend from the same grade, 4'1" tall, and an avid martial artist, Judo, I think. Also, she was born in November. No, I don't get it either.

            Naomi was 9, 4 foot even, and always wore dresses. Evidently, she had done the beauty pageant circuit a few years ago, but her parents had pulled her out when they realized how toxic the competition was. She was one of the few people I knew who could pull Jess' attention away from Hannah, usually to talk about whatever she was reading at the time.

            Finally, there was Rosie, 7 years old, 3'9", and an avid fan of whatever Hannah was doing at the time. She idolized her the way kids do if a cool, older kid is willing to hang out with them.

            "Well, would you look at that? Hey down there, little bro."

            I must have been spacing out a little; I hadn't realized Hannah was back until I heard her voice right behind me. I turned to face her.

            "What do you mean, litt..." My voice died as my brain froze up. Less than a foot away, directly in front of my eyes, was Hannah's nose. I stared, mouth open, as she smiled down at me. For a second, I was unable to form a coherent thought. After that, I wasn't any less confused; I was just able to actually generate questions.

            Why did I have to look up to meet Hannah's eyes? She couldn't be taller than me! How could she grow 3 inches in the ten minutes she was gone?

            "Hannah! Take your rollerblades off when you come in. You'll scratch the floor."

            "OK, Mom!" Hannah called over her shoulder before turning back to me, her expression somehow even more smug than before. She put one finger under my chin and pushed my mouth closed. Then she spun around and clomped back towards the door to remove her skates.

            Only then did it click that I had been had.

------------------------------------------------------------

*Snap*

            I woke up sitting on Hannah's bed, surrounded by her and her friends, with Jess directly in front of me.

            "How do you feel?" June asked.

            "Pretty good. I was starting to get a little tired before this. Now I'm awake again, like I just had a good nap. But I'm still super relaxed, like all my worries have melted away."

            "And you don't remember anything from when you were hypnotized?" That question was from Sally.

            "Nope. It was like Jess snapping her fingers happened right after number 5 in the countdown."

            "Amazing", Cindy said. "I didn't believe it at first, but now that I've seen it, wow." Rosie started giggling.

            "What?" I asked. "You didn't make me do anything funny, did you?"

            "Cross my heart", Hannah said. "Hypnotism's just weird, the first time you see it."

            "I wouldn't know. You never let me watch your sessions."

            "Yeah, yeah. I promise I'll let you see it someday. Now, shoo. Everyone's getting a turn, so we have to be quick."

            "Alright, alright, I'm going." I headed to the door.

            "We haven't all agreed to do it, yet", June reminded my sister.

            "Oh you will", Hannah stated confidently. "Just watch."

            I walked over to my room. A little while later, Hannah finished her session. I could tell because of all the noise they started making.

            "Amazing!"

            "Wow! Oh, I'm definitely trying this!"

            "That is so cool!"

            "Me first, me first!"

            I'm not sure what part of Hannah's hypnotism got them so excited, but I'm glad that my idea worked.

------------------------------------------------------------

            The annual check-up with Dr. Feldspar was coming to an end. The atmosphere was somber, everyone wearing a serious expression. Well, except for Hannah, of course.

            She radiated barely restrained glee, along with a smug sort of pride. I wasn't surprised. This was her moment of triumph, after all. Her outburst from last year vindicated. From the moment we entered, the doctor's jaw dropping at the sight of her next to me, to now, the grand reveal.

            "Well, ahem, let's begin with Hannah's chart", Dr. Feldspar announced. "You've grown 6 inches this year, which is a lot for someone in the middle of puberty. Even more so for you, since you haven't even started puberty yet."

            "That puts you at 4'8", or over the 99th percentile for 9-year-olds. Now, according to the graph, this would leave you at least 6'2" as an adult. But I need to caution you that an unusual spurt like this is usually followed by a year or two of slow growth as the body compensates."

            "Oh, I'm not worried", Hannah responded, with unwavering confidence. "I'm going to keep getting taller, and when I do start puberty, I'll just grow even faster."

            "Well, either way, it hasn't negatively affected your health, but I'm still going to send your data to an endocrinologist just to make sure."

            "Uh-huh", Hannah nodded, unconcerned. "What about my weight?"

            "85 pounds. Which, like last year, is high for your age and height, but not concerningly so given your, um, physique."

            Hannah smirked, not even bothering to strike a pose. She didn't need to. Her biceps were clearly visible, even without flexing.

            "So... I'm five inches taller than Nate was when he was nine. Is that enough for me to be taller than him as an adult?"

            "Hannah!" Mom exclaimed. "Don't be insensitive. How can you ask that now?"

            "What's the big deal? So, he's short now. He'll be fine."

            "That's just it", the doctor explained. "We don't know that he'll be fine. He hasn't just grown less than expected this past year, he hasn't grown at all. That shouldn't happen to a healthy boy. And until we know the cause, we won't know what side effects might show up later."

            Hannah looked like she was about to argue, but then her eyes widened. She sat back in her chair and seemed to be seriously thinking about something for a few seconds.

            "I'm sorry, Nate", she said, suddenly subdued. "I wasn't trying to be mean. I hope you'll be OK."

            "Don't worry about it. I know you wouldn't do that on purpose." It's true. She's never been cruel. She's just too self-centered, sometimes. Pushing ahead without thinking about the effects her actions have on other people.

            "There are several reasons why something like this could happen", Dr. Feldspar continued. "We can already rule out several of them. Most of the genetic causes would have other effects that we don't see, delayed puberty is out because we can see other signs of puberty, etc."

            "There is one thing that could be related but would worry me even if you were still getting taller. That is the weight loss. Last year, we recorded your weight at 83 pounds. Now you only weigh 70 pounds. That is dangerously underweight. You've lost almost one-sixth of your body mass."

            "Maybe you should have kept coming to our workouts", Hannah accused. "I bet most of that lost weight was muscle."

            "I stopped because it wasn't working", I shot back. "A whole month, and I didn't gain a pound of muscle."

            "Both of you be quiet", Mom demanded.

            "That is concerning", Dr. Feldspar said. "Your body should be able to maintain a decent amount of muscle just due to testosterone produced via puberty. Together with the growth failure, I believe this is either a hormonal imbalance or malabsorption. Malabsorption is when your body can't process all the nutrients it needs, even if you eat enough.

            "Sadly, both conditions can come from a variety of causes, so I won't be able to prescribe anything today. We'll know more once I get the results back from my more specialized colleagues."

            He started to wrap things up after that. I should have let it be, but there was one piece of information left, and I just had to know.

            "Doctor Feldspar. Just for curiosity's sake, what's my height percentage now?"

            "Ah." He pulled my chart back up. "49th percentile."

            Well, there it is. I guess I'm just average now.

------------------------------------------------------------

            A couple of days later, I was standing on the porch. I had just gotten a call from Sam. She was back from camp. I guess distance really does make the heart grow fonder. Despite the awkwardness of the summer, she seemed excited to see me. And I was eager to see her as well.

            And what a sight it was. Before she even got within speaking range, I could tell she had grown. She was wearing the same outfit when she left a month ago, and it no longer fit the same. Her top was tighter, the text on the front a little more distorted. Her pants didn't quite cover her ankles. And as she got closer, I had to look up more and more to keep eye contact.

            "Hey there, little guy. Did you miss me?"

            "More than ever."

            She grinned and leaned way down, until her lips met mine. Too soon, she broke it off and stood back up.

            "Whoo, I'm gonna get a backache bending down like that. Guess what? I grew again. I don't know what's in the water at camp, but damn, is it effective. I'm 5'10", now. That means I'm as tall in these flats as I was in my Samus costume last Halloween."

            I quickly lowered my gaze so I could look straight ahead. And there it was. The same view as in October. Well, the level was the same. The view was very different. Sam back then was beautiful and athletic, and her breasts, while modestly sized, were damn sexy.

            Sam today makes her previous self look like a skinny little girl. Her muscles are bigger, her hips wider, her breasts fuller. But despite their greater mass, they're so perky that my view is still of their undersides.

            Her current tank top and jeans might be less flattering than a skintight jumpsuit, but they fail to hide her beauty or dampen my arousal.

            Unfortunately, the size comparison wasn't just apparent to me.

            "Wait a minute", Sam said, confused. "That can't be right. It looks like you're the same height as back then, too. Shouldn't you be a little taller?"

            "Uh..." I desperately tried to come up with something to say but the pause was long enough to make Sam suspicious.

            "Nate, how tall are you?"

            "Four-foot-ten", I admitted.

            "But that would mean you haven't grown at all this year. Not an inch. Is that even possible?"

            I froze up. All the lines I had come up with over the past year. All the little lies to delay the inevitable. All the ways to state the truth that might cushion the blow, disappeared from my mind. The only thing I could do was be honest.

            "I didn't grow at all. I-I'm done growing."

            "Oh my God, Nate. I'm so sorry. I... hold on. How long have you known?"

            "Since the first week of middle school", I confessed, miserable. "I didn't have proof then, but I knew."

            "A year?!" Sam exclaimed. "And you never told me? Were you ever planning to tell me?"

            "O-of course, I was. I just couldn't find the right way to break it to you. I was afraid of what would happen, especially after January."

            Unfortunately, my candor did nothing to stem Sam's anger. Actually, I think I was just making it worse.

            "What, you were worried that I was going to dump you for being a shrimp? Instead of dumping you for being a liar? Dammit, you even lied to convince me to pander to your weird amazon fetish!"

            "Well, forgive me for being attracted to my girlfriend's actual body, instead of just keeping her around, hoping she eventually grows the body I want her to have!"

            "That's not what I..."

            "And don't act like I'm the only one being less than truthful here!" I continued, shouting right over her response. "Were you ever going to tell me about all those dates you've been going on behind my back?!"

            I knew I shouldn't be saying this. I was in the wrong. I should be apologizing and looking to de-escalate the situation. But it was like a dam had burst inside of me. All the worry, stress, and embarrassment I had been bottling up over an entire year boiled over in that moment.

            I just wanted to respond to her anger and accusations with some of my own. To fight fire with fire. To make her feel a little of the pain that an uncaring universe had dumped on me. And seeing her furious expression replaced with a look of shock, and maybe even guilt, just spurred me forward.

            "You thought I didn't know, huh? I saw you and Kerry in the mall over spring break. Then, like an idiot, I decided to trust you. 'Oh, it must have been a misunderstanding. Sam would never do something like that.' But then I found out you went on a second date. Months later! I can only imagine how busy you must have been in between."

            "Was it fun stringing me along? Letting me take you on dates and buy you presents? Then skipping off to swoon over a hunky highschooler? I bet you didn't have any trouble getting aroused around them. I wonder how many of them you slept wi..."

            My voice died mid-rant as my body reacted before my brain fully registered the danger. Sam had had enough. I didn't even finish insulting her virtue before her hand raised. This activated my flight response, causing me to raise my hands to protect my head as my body curled up on itself.

            Now TV might suggest that the slap would sting my pride more than my face. But Sam was no delicate damsel. The hand about to strike me was the same one that she had used to lift my entire body two months ago. Her slap might knock my head right off.

            But by the time my mind caught up to the situation, Sam had already relented. I guess I looked too pitiful to kill.

            "For your information", Sam spat. "I didn't go out on a single date. If Rick's friends didn't want to hang out without a chance to get with me, I left. Sleeping with one of them was never even mentioned. But maybe, I'll give them another shot, now that I don't have a boyfriend."

            Without another word, she spun around and walked away.

            "Wait, Sam! I didn't mean that! I'm sorry!"

            She didn't even look back. Oh God, what have I done?

------------------------------------------------------------

            "Nate? I heard you and Sam yelling. What happened?" Hannah opened the door to my room and found me curled up on my bed, sobbing.

            "G'way", I mumbled.

            Hannah didn't listen. She strode over and climbed up beside me. Then she wrapped her arms around me, pulling my face to her chest.

            "I said, 'Go away'", I sobbed, attempting to push her away. I might as well have been trying to shove a brick wall. Eventually, I gave up, and let her hold me, until I cried myself to sleep.

            Last night was the worst night of my entire life. But, in the morning light, things didn't look quite so grim. Sure, I had messed up, more than I ever had before. But this wasn't the first fight Sam and I had had. We always made up eventually. Why should this time be any different?

            I was worried that she might not let me be her boyfriend again, even after forgiving me. But I had been afraid that she would dump me since the day I stopped growing, so I was used to dealing with that fear.

            Now I just had to get her to talk to me so that I could apologize properly. I had sent her a couple of desperate texts right after she left. But when I checked my phone this morning, she hadn't even read them. This was just a delay though, surely. If she had been anywhere near as emotional as I was last night, it makes sense that she wouldn't want to see my texts. I'll just send her a more composed message and wait until she's ready to respond.

            But the hours passed with no reply. Eventually, I sent her another text and then even later I tried calling. Of course, she didn't pick up, so I left a voice-mail. But I wouldn't hear from her that day.

            The next day, I walked to her house to try to talk to her in person. Her Mom opened the door and wouldn't let me enter. She told me that I was no longer welcome there and I should leave before Sam's Dad noticed me.

            At least, my own parents were a little more lenient. They didn't approve of what I'd said and done, obviously. But they could see how distraught I was and decided that they didn't need to add their own punishment.

            Hannah, on the other hand, didn't seem angry with me at all. In fact, she was being too nice. She had done a complete 180 and now seemed to be actively avoiding anything that would lead to a height or strength comparison. She had an almost guilty expression around me, like she was the one that had messed up. I guess she felt bad for exacerbating my insecurities.

            Anyway, if I couldn't get Sam to read my texts, and I couldn't go to her house, then I would just have to wait. School was about to start again, and there was no way she could avoid me there.

------------------------------------------------------------

            I knew I was average now, (well 1% below avg.) but seeing it was still surprising. Half of the 8th-grade boys were taller than me now. And given how skinny I was, even the ones that were my height seemed bigger. The girls were even worse. (Better?) Only the latest of bloomers were still waiting to outgrow me. And the rest, dwarfed me. Several of the 7th-grade girls were already taller than me too.

            But they were all just background noise. The only thing that mattered was Sam couldn't avoid me here. I would make her listen to me. And it didn't take long to find her. Her towering form as clearly visible as mine was hidden in the crowd.

            "Sam!" I called out. Her head turned towards my voice but she didn't see me. I waved and yelled her name again. Her gaze finally met mine but then she clenched her jaw and turned away.

            "No! Sam wait!" I pleaded as she began to walk in the opposite direction. I tried to keep up with her, but the crowd made way for a 5'10", 175 lb. girl significantly more than a 4'10", 70 lb guy. Thankfully, I couldn't lose sight of her for the same reason.

            I caught up to find her talking to Kerry and Alice. They had grown over the summer as well and formed an intimidating trio. Comparing them to Sam and I, it looked like Alice had reached 5'5", while Kerry stood an incredible 5'8". I pushed into their circle regardless.

            "C'mon, Sam. Are you really going to give me the silent treatment the whole year? At least, listen to my apology." The girls kept talking like I wasn't there, even Alice now easily able to look over my head. Though, she at least had the decency to look uncomfortable while doing so.

            "Dammit, Sam. I'm not letting y..." I was cut off by Kerry's hand covering my mouth. Her long fingers wrapped almost halfway around my face.

            "Did you hear something?" She asked, nonchalantly.

            "No, nothing", Sam replied. My heart sank. "Anyway, can you believe they want us to do history first period?"

            "I-I know, right?" Alice answered, stumbling slightly over her words. "There's no way that I can memorize Greek philosophers at 8 AM."

            "Ugh. Try French," Kerry rebutted. "I swear that language was invented by a sadist. A deaf sadist."

            "And what's up with the new students?" Sam wondered. "There's no way we were that lost on our first day."

            "They're so tiny and cute, though", Alice enthused. "I swear, I haven't seen a single one that's as tall as me. It's amazing!"

            I was determined to wait Sam out, even if I had to chase her to her first class. But then, Kerry slowly pushed my head back, forcing my view up to Sam's face. And there I saw the emotion that her voice had hidden.

            Her cheeks were wet with tear tracks, and as I watched another slid down from her right eye. My frustration and determination evaporated. I didn't even try to resist as Kerry slowly pulled me out of the group, twisting her arm back until I was behind her. As soon as she let me go, I fled.

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            I managed to stumble my way through the rest of the day without incident, almost. As I was on my way out, halfway from my last class to the front door, my feet suddenly left the ground. I flew threw the air and into an empty classroom. I found myself staring straight into someone's neck, a pair of hands under my armpits. As she kicked the door closed behind us, I finally realized who was holding me: Kerry.

            "Don't say a word", my captor warned. "I'm going to talk and you're going to listen. Then, if you're a good little boy, I might give you permission to speak." I shut my mouth and looked up.

            "God, you're such a pushover", Kerry said, her stern expression slipping for a moment.

            "Alright, in case this morning wasn't enough for you, let me spell it out. Leave Sam alone. I don't know why, but she's really upset about this breakup. So you're going to give her space. You are not going to call her, or talk to her, or follow her around yapping like a lost puppy. This will last until she decides otherwise."

            "'But Kerry, you're such a massive, evil, self-centered bitch, why do you care how Sam feels? It's not like you two are friends.' What? I know what most people think of me. Besides", she said, flashing a predatory smile, "they're only half wrong. Most people don't deserve my friendship, so I don't give it to them. But Sam proved herself to me. So now, she is my friend, and I don't like seeing her cry."

            "Now you might be thinking that I already bullied you last year, what more can I do? But that's because you're an idiot. During basketball season, you were an annoyance, so I pushed you around a little. Afterwards, well, turns out that physically overpowering a weak little boy is pretty fun. The point is that it was never serious."

            "You don't want me to get serious. I will destroy you. Socially, emotionally and physically. Not that breaking your body would be an impressive achievement. I'm pretty sure my niece could put you in the hospital if you pissed her off, and she's 10."

            "But enough of the stick, let's talk about the carrot. Now obviously, going to our games once basketball season starts is out. Can't have you distracting our top player. But if you behave, I have a way to sneak you in. Also, I'll be sure to keep teasing you."

            "Oh come on, don't pretend that you didn't enjoy it. You've been hard this whole time, even while I was threatening you. You might just be the horniest little sub I've ever seen."

            "Really?" She said, seeing my confusion. "I knew Sam was weirdly innocent, but you too? Don't you have the internet in your hovel? Sub as in submissive. Probably some masochism and macrophilia too."

            "Basically, you like being dominated by big, strong women. And it doesn't matter if they're nice", she gently lowered me to the ground, "or mean." She took a quick step forward, smashing her bust into my face hard enough to knock me down.

            "Now don't misunderstand, you won't be my boyfriend or anything. Like could you imagine? You'll just be my little toy that I play with when I want to be reminded of how superior I am."

            "Anyway, I've said what I needed to. Nod if you understand."

            I slowly moved my head up and down.

            "Good boy. Alright, you may speak. I'll even answer a few questions. Oh, but no getting up. Being on the floor suits you."

            I glared at her, but stayed sitting propped up on my elbows. There were some things I wanted to know. Even if knowing them wouldn't really help me.

            "Why did you want Sam and I to break up so bad?"

            "Isn't it obvious? She deserves better. She's tall, strong, hard-working, focused, and honest. She isn't afraid to piss other people off. And to top it off, she's the second hottest girl in this school. She deserves a partner who has those qualities too. Not someone who might have had the first two when she started dating him but now has none. Next question? Maybe one that you couldn't figure out yourself with a little thought?"

            "How many double dates did you take Sam on?"

            "None. She refused to go anywhere without making sure that the guys knew she wasn't looking to trade her current boyfriend in for a better model. And boy did that make my life difficult. The first guy I tried to set her up with gave me an earful after she left. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay in the popular clique in high school? Let alone as a seventh grader? My reputation took a real hit that day."

            "Wow", I said sarcastically. "I'm so sorry that I inadvertently caused a drop in the value of Bitchcoin."

            "Oh, so you can talk back. I don't think I like it." Kerry placed one of her feet on my chest and pushed me onto my back. Then she started pressing down. Her foot covered a significant portion of my torso, and as the weight increased, I started to find it hard to breath.

            "We're not friends, or equals. I am better than you." The hard sole of her shoe was beginning to seriously hurt where it pressed on my ribs. "I deal out the verbal and physical abuse. You take it silently, like a good little bitch. If I allow you to talk, you will be respectful, or at least civil, when addressing me."

            "But I'm feeling generous today", she said, lifting her foot off of me and placing it back on the floor. "So I'll answer the question you meant to ask. We went on eight outings with different guys. After that first hiccup, I managed to convince Sam that everybody was on the same page vis-a-vis her relationship status. That allowed her to enjoy the eye-candy guilt-free, I guess.

            "Oh, actually it was nine times. Tony came back for a second round. I think I'll remind Sam of that fact when she's done with her 'mourning period' or whatever."

            "Well, that's all the time I'm willing to waste on you today. Just remember, do what I want and reap the rewards. Piss me off and", she placed her shoe back on my chest, "suffer", pain exploded through my body as she lifted her other foot and stepped over me, "the consequences."

            I lay there, trying to get my breath back, as her footsteps faded into the distance. Eventually, I got up and exited the school. I made it outside just in time to see her climb into the back of an expensive-looking car. The last bus had already left, so I had to settle for walking home alone.

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            Over the next few days, Kerry's threats turned out to be mostly redundant. Seeing Sam cry would have been enough to get me to leave her alone, at least for a while. And it turns out, my social life was already destroyed. I had heard stories where an entire friend group would side with one person in a breakup. Now, I got to experience it firsthand.

            Not that I could really blame my friends. I was clearly in the wrong. And I had been drifting away from the group for a while, anyway. I hadn't even seen most of the guys between my birthday and the start of school. It still sucked.

            I had a feeling that this semester was going to be very lonely. This made me even more determined to get one particular person to go back to treating me normally.

            I opened the front door after another long day at school, to see my sister immediately rush to the couch and take a seat.

            "Um... Hi, Nate. Welcome home."

            "Hannah", I sighed. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better but this needs to stop."

            "Huh?"

            "This whole thing you've been doing since the breakup. Like taking a seat as soon as I walk into the room so I won't be reminded that you're almost as tall as me. You used to take every opportunity to show off how strong you were, but now you act like seeing you lift something heavier than your school bag will make me break down in tears."

            "But, but I..."

            "I get it", I said, walking over and leaning against the back of the couch. "My insecurity over my height and athleticism was one of the things that led to the fight. But it's not like you were the only one outgrowing me. So stop acting like this is your fault." For some reason, this statement made her wince and look even more guilty.

            "Besides, none of the stuff that happened to me this year made me say the things I said that day. I could make excuses, but in the end, I was the one who messed up. If I had handled the situation better, hell, if I had been honest with Sam from the start, things would be different."

            "My point is: you're just making things awkward, when what I really need is someone who treats me normally. So please, go back to the way you were before."

            Hannah didn't seem convinced, but after a moment, she shook her head, as if clearing away her own doubts. Then she sprang to her feet with the look of determination that I knew so well. I straightened up as she rounded the couch to stand in front of me. She broke into a grin that only seemed a little forced and slowly rose onto her tip-toes.

            "Well", she stated, looking down into my eyes, "whatever makes you happy, little bro."

            "Ha ha ha. Don't push your luck", I replied, smiling for the first time in what felt like ages. In reply, Hannah's grin turned more genuine. She wrapped me in a quick hug before lifting me off my feet.

            "Ah! It feels good to be back."

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            "Well, well, well. Look what we have here", a voice from behind me observed, "a weak, little nerd with no friends."

            I turned around to see Brad walking towards me. Shit. It was the very end of the lunch break and I was at my locker getting ready for the next class. No one else was around. Presumably, they had gotten their stuff earlier or just didn't have as much trouble carrying their books and so needed to visit the lockers less.

            I guess a week was long enough for Brad to decide that all my friends really had abandoned me. Meaning no one would retaliate on my behalf.

            "C'mon Brad. You don't want to do this." Brad's smirk flipped to a frown.

            "Oh, I don't, huh?" He growled, shoving me hard. I slammed into my locker, pencils and papers spilling out around me. "Don't try to get smart with me, Nate. I've been waiting for too long for this day to come. I finally get to pay you back for all the fun you stopped me from having."

            "We'll be late for class. Next period starts in..." Brad cut me off by burying his fist in my gut. I bent over, gasping as the wind was knocked out of me.

            "Shut up. Though I guess you've got a point. Don't worry, I'll make this quick." He reached past me and started shoveling my books onto the floor. "That way, only one of us will be late for class. Now get in."

            I hesitated for a moment, but when he raised his fist again, I gave in to the inevitable. One punch was painful enough. Even with the bigger middle-school lockers, it was still a tight fit, made even more so when Brad slammed the door closed. Then he locked it, trapping me inside.

            "I told you that you would regret getting in my way."

            And he walked off. Thankfully, he didn't bother cleaning up the school supplies that were scattered in front of my locker, so it was pretty easy to get someone to notice me. I still missed two classes and had some serious cramps thanks to my contorted position.

            Honestly, as far as villainous revenges go, it was pretty mild. Sadly, I doubted Brad was done with me.

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            Today was my first hypnotism session since Hannah's party. I was looking forward to it. The last few weeks had been very stressful and it would be nice to relax for a bit. The pre-hypnosis atmosphere was not very conducive to relaxation, however. Jess was even grumpier than usual.

            "Hurry up and sit down", she grumbled. "Let's get this over with." She wasn't even trying to be polite anymore. It was bad enough that even Hannah noticed.

            "Jess, is something wrong?"

            "Huh?" Jess started, like she had forgotten that Hannah was in the room. "It-it's nothing. I'm just tired." She looked away from us, her face turning red. But the embarrassment tinging her tone wasn't enough to hide the resentment underneath.

            "No. That's not true at all", Hannah responded. It wasn't a question. "Jess, look at me." Jess met her eyes reluctantly, but obediently. "Hmmm..." Hannah shifted to the edge of the bed and leaned forward. She peered into Jess' eyes intently, like she was looking into her soul.

            "You weren't like this at school", she stated, almost like she was talking to herself. "But you have been a little on edge since we entered the house, haven't you?" Jess nodded, nervously. "It was worse when you woke me up from hypnosis, I just wasn't paying attention. But, why? It's almost like..." Hannah's face broke into a sly grin. "Jess, you're jealous, aren't you?"

            "N-no, I'm not", Jess stuttered, her face going pale.

            "You are! You're jealous of all the time I've been spending with Nate lately. Oh, Baby, we just had a sleepover a few weeks ago. Though, I guess there were other girls there too. Honestly, you're so silly, Jess." Hannah got to her feet, forcing Jess to look almost straight up to maintain eye contact. "All you had to do was ask."

            I may seem like a broken record at this point, but it really was incredible just how much Hannah had grown. Jess was going through puberty and, unlike me, her puberty included a growth spurt. She was about 4'1" now. But Hannah had so thoroughly eclipsed her that the top of her head only reached Hannah's chin.

            "I was going to drag Nate down to the basement after this", my sister continued. "To see if I could at least get him to do some cardio. But I might be convinced to take you instead. It's been a while since you watched me workout, you might not be able to handle seeing what I lift now." Jess was blushing again. Her whole body trembling as Hannah bent down to whisper in her ear.

            "I might even set a new personal record today, just for you. Would you like that?"

            "Yes... Please, Hannah..." Jess panted. I couldn't blame her. Hannah's display of dominance was making me hard and it wasn't even directed at me.

            "Hmmm, OK. But first, isn't there something you need to do?" Hannah sat down and nodded in my direction. 

            Jess glanced at me, then quickly turned away again, her face somehow finding an even deeper shade of red to display. But she took a few deep breaths, and by the time she turned around, she had managed to get herself under control. She stepped in front of me and met my eyes.

            "You are getting very sleepy..."

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            Turns out I was right about Brad. He hasn't trapped me in my locker again, probably because there's too big a chance of teacher involvement, but he hasn't left me alone either. He actually has quite a repertoire of bullying tactics. From just shoving me into the wall as he walks by, to verbal attacks, to the legendary swirly.

            I didn't think anyone actually did that last one, but I was proven wrong today. And let me tell you, you haven't realized how nasty a public toilet is until you've had your face shoved in one. He got me in the morning too, so I've been in damp clothes all day. Sadly, his bullying is far more common than Kerry's more stimulating interactions. Though, today, I ended up getting both.

            "Ugh, what is that smell?" Kerry exclaimed. "Did you forget to shower this morning and decide to take a dip in a sewage drain instead?" I pulled myself upright using the wall Kerry had knocked me into in lieu of a hello.

            "Brad dunked my head in the toilet this morning. I haven't had a chance to take a shower since then."

            "Wait, a swirly? I thought those only happened in old movies."

            "I'm pretty sure that's where Brad gets his ideas."

            "Well, that wouldn't be a problem if you didn't let Brad of all people bully you. I didn't think you swung that way."

            "I don't let him do it because I enjoy it. I don't let him do it at all. He just does it."

            "Wow, how pathetic do you have to be to get bullied by little Brad Peters."

            That particular title caused a memory of a year ago to surface. God, I missed Sam. I managed to muscle down my emotions in time to avoid tearing up in front of Kerry.

            "It's too bad", she continued. "I was going to reward you for managing to go two weeks without making Sam cry. But your stench is ruining the mood. I hope you didn't leave loser residue on my top." She brushed the spot on her blouse that had connected with me earlier, sending a distracting jiggle thru her big breasts.

            "Oh! I've got it, I just have to use the bottom of my shoe. It's almost as dirty as you, and it'll move your odor further from my nose. That just leaves one question: are you going to lie down on your own, or do you want me to force you? It is your reward after all."

            Well, it wasn't like I had a choice either way, but the tiny bit of pride I had left didn't want to just get on the floor myself. I'd basically be begging her to step on me. I was also kinda curious how she would get me on the floor with just her feet. I straightened up and put on a brave face.

            "You're going to have to make me." Kerry just grinned.

            "Lying down on your own would have been delightfully pathetic, but I'm glad you chose the fun way."

            Then she just raised her foot until she could rest it against my chest, like I was a slightly higher than normal stool. She pushed me back into the wall and then dragged me down it until my ass hit the floor. Her shoe moved to my side and tipped me over before nudging me until I was flat on my back. Then it was back to the center of my chest. Thankfully she was wearing a soft-soled sandal today, so it didn't hurt even as she leaned more weight onto me.

            "Mmm. There we go. Hey, try to escape. I want to see what would happen if you really tried to resist." I gathered my strength and pushed against the floor as hard as I could. No dice. I tried to roll or shift to one side then the other. Nothing. Every time I managed to make the tiniest bit of progress, Kerry would just press down a little harder. Eventually, I was completely immobilized.

            "Damn, you're so weak. I'm not even trying. My other leg is still holding most of my weight." Kerry's face was slightly flushed; her breathing a little uneven. But it wasn't from exertion. It suddenly hit me that she was turned on.

            "I remember when we first met. You seemed so big and strong then. Now you can't even beat one of my feet." She slid her foot back until her heel bumped the tip of my penis. "Oh! It's the little boy's little dick." She moved down my twitching erection until her sole covered it. "It's so hard, but I bet I could still squash it. You're lucky I'm such a nice girl."

            "C'mon", she urged, shifting her foot from side to side. "Show me how much you love being inferior. Shoot your loser juice all over yourself."

            "Uuuuuuhhhh!!" I came, spasming on the floor. Kerry smiled triumphantly and walked off without another word.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Dr. Feldspar welcomed us into his office. The test results had arrived.

            "Let's discuss Hannah's results first, since they're more straightforward. Her body is producing unusually high levels of all the various growth hormones and processing them very efficiently. However, there are no indicators of a pituitary tumor or an overactive thyroid. It seems that her body is just going through a period of rapid growth."

            "I still expect this to even out over the next year or two, but even if she continues to grow at this rate, I wouldn't worry. As long as she stays healthy, it's best to just let her body do its thing."

            Hannah just sat in her chair looking satisfied, apparently feeling no need to reiterate her opinion on this matter.

            "For Nate, well it's complicated. I'll be honest, none of the specialists I consulted have seen anything like this. But I'll do my best to summarize what we do know. Unfortunately, there's bad news and good news and, well, bad news again."

            "First of all, those wrist x-rays I sent off just to be thorough, turned out to be very important. Generally, we would be measuring bone age for either precocious or delayed puberty, neither of which applies to you. But what we found is that your growth plates have completely closed. This shouldn't happen until the end of puberty at the earliest. I'm sorry to say that this means you won't grow anymore, and there's nothing we can do."

            "But I did say that there was good news. Closed growth plates before the end of puberty should result in harmful side effects, but we don't see any of them. Instead, your body seems to be performing a delicate balancing act that allows you to get all the results of a normal puberty without trying to force a growth spurt your bones cannot perform. And it has maintained this balance for several months."

            "Oh, well that's good", I joked. "I didn't want the height and muscle anyway. But I couldn't handle giving up the acne, BO, and awkward voice cracks."

            I smiled to show the sarcasm was cheerful, not sullen. Surprisingly, this wasn't an act. I hadn't really expected Dr. Feldspar to solve my growth problem. The certainty that I would always be this height made it hard to believe in an easy solution. So this news was more relieving than disappointing. 

            And my joke helped to reduce the tension in the room. Hannah's giggle was expected but I got a chuckle from the doctor as well.

            "Don't knock it too quickly", he chided with a smile. "If your body keeps this up, you should be a healthy teenager that becomes a healthy adult. Just a shorter than normal one."

            "But I did say there was more bad news", he continued. "Your muscle loss is another puzzle we couldn't solve. Your body is maintaining testosterone levels consistent with normal puberty, but it isn't promoting the muscle growth we would expect. Normally, the body maintains an equilibrium between breaking down old muscle proteins and synthesizing new ones."

            "As far as we can tell, you are free from complications that would prevent the body from reaching its desired equilibrium, like malnutrition, disease, or extensive muscle trauma. So the problem is where your body wants that equilibrium point to be. Even so, regular exercise should raise that point as it convinces the body that spending the calories to maintain extra muscle is necessary."

            "But your body has decided that you only need the muscle mass you currently have, despite it being lower than normal even for a sedentary teen, and isn't changing that equilibrium in response to exercise. Sadly, we don't know why this is happening and any attempts to artificially increase muscle growth could disrupt the hormonal balance we discussed earlier."

            "So until your body's finished developing, the best prescription I can give is a healthy diet and light to moderate exercise. Even if it doesn't result in regaining your lost muscle, it's still important for maintaining a healthy body."

            "Don't worry Doc", Hannah said, reaching her arm around me and pulling me against her. "I'll make sure he sticks to it this time."

            "Haha. Well, I'll leave him in your hands."

            Oh boy, looks like the taskmaster is back in business.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Well, I did it. I managed to avoid Sam for the whole first month of school. Now, I'm not saying we hadn't seen each other at all. We shared several classes, after all. But I did my best to stay out of sight, and she pretended that I was invisible. Outside of class, I avoided her entirely. Not that it was easy for me. She seemed to grow more beautiful every day and worse, I missed spending time with her.

            But today was finally the day. The basketball team's first game was right after the end of school, and Kerry had promised to get me in. I would finally be able to watch Sam without worrying about her noticing me.

            "There you are", Kerry said, as I arrived panting, to an out-of-the-way corner of the school. "Could you move any slower? Some of us have places to be."

            "I came as fast as I could. Maybe, you could have given me the details before the last minute."

            "Hmph. You should be grateful that I'm doing this at all."

            "So, what's the plan? How am I going to watch the game without Sam seeing me?"

            "Oh, she'll be able to see you", Kerry explained, with an evil grin. "She just won't recognize you. Because you'll be wearing this."

            She unfurled the bundle she had been holding to reveal...

            "A mouse costume?"

            "A field mouse to be specific. Don't you recognize our school mascot? You're going to be our biggest supporter, leading the crowd in cheering us on, all while remaining totally anony-mouse."

            I didn't dignify that pun with a response.

            "We didn't have a costumed mascot at our games last year."

            "Of course not. Middle school games are too low-key to bother. But I managed to convince the Principal and Coach Anderson that it would increase school spirit and camaraderie."

            "Um, wow, thanks. I didn't think you'd go through all that effort for me."

            "I did it for Sam, idiot. But, when I make a deal I always uphold my end. And since you did as well, you get to reap the rewards. Besides", she leaned down and gave me a smirk, "what better way to sneak a little boy into a pride of lionesses, than by disguising him as a mouse?"

            She straightened back up and shoved the costume into my arms.

            "Now hurry up and get changed. Coach will fill you in on your actual duties when you get to the court. I have to get ready too. After all, the show can't begin without the star."

            I decided against mentioning that Sam was the real star, instead scrambling for the nearest men's room to don my disguise. Thankfully, it wasn't hard to get into, and I got to the gym before the game started. Coach didn't seem too thrilled with the mascot idea, so there was no big plan for what I should do.

            I was just told to stand on the floor in front of the bleachers and "come up with something encouraging to yell." She seemed mostly concerned with warning me to avoid various stupid things like wandering onto the court.

            I manned my post just in time to watch the players arrive. My eyes locked onto Sam as she strode out at the head of the team. God, she looked hot in her uniform. Her big arms were on full display, and the shorts hid very little of her long, muscular legs. She was also clearly taller than anyone else on the court, including the two coaches.

            In fact, once I let my gaze shift from my former girlfriend, our team as a whole seemed more statuesque than last year. Back then, our tallest player was Chelsea at 5'7". Both Sam and Kerry are taller than that now, and even Alice isn't that far behind. Then it hit me. This year's basketball team was all girls! And tall ones too, even the 7th graders.

            At this point, the game started and it became even harder to concentrate on anything other than Sam. She had managed to significantly improve her skills and athletic ability despite already being the MVP last year. Now she was basically unstoppable.

            I felt my erection rise and harden as she dominated the members of the other team unfortunate enough to be in the starting lineup. They didn't score a single point from inside the key. By the end of the first half, we were far ahead, 12 to 32.

            Thankfully, the mascot costume hid my arousal with ease. I even managed to remember to do some jumping around and yell things more coherent than "WOOOOO!" and "YEAAAAH!" Not that there was much of a crowd to get riled up, though there were a few more students watching than we usually got last year.

            Only when halftime hit and Sam moved to the bench did I notice a conspicuous absence: Alice wasn't part of the starting lineup. And as the backup team took their positions, she stayed behind. Surely, Coach hadn't relegated her to bench warmer again this year.

            The second half began and our team immediately ran into trouble. The enemy shooting guard was very good. She wasn't tall (comparatively, she looked about 5'1" or 5'2") but she was fast, accurate, and skilled. It made me wonder if she was only on the backup team, so she could face shorter opponents. Right from the start, she ran circles around the similarly sized 7th grader trying to guard her.

            Things weren't looking good for us. In just a few minutes, the score had narrowed to 26-34. But then Coach Anderson called a timeout. She sent our shooting guard back to the bench, and replaced her with Alice.

            Suddenly, everything made sense. Alice didn't have a position so that she could be subbed in wherever the other team's strongest player was. She was the Sixth, but more than that: she was an Anti-ace. As the game resumed, it became clear that she hadn't wasted the 9 months between seasons. Her skills had improved by leaps and bounds, in addition to her 4-inch growth spurt.

            Her opponent had no chance. Alice matched her speed and refused to fall for any of her tricks. And due to the height difference, she easily dominated on offense as well. The opposing team's plan for the second half had centered around getting the ball to this girl and helping her score. Now they just fell apart. The slaughter only ended when the final buzzer sounded. At 31-57, our victory was total.

            The crowd, such as it was, erupted in cheers, while the team huddled together to excitedly congratulate each other. Even the super serious Coach Anderson was sporting a wide grin. And why not? The team as a whole wasn't perfect, but she finally had a core that might just make it to nationals.

            As the teams lined up to shake hands, I made my exit. My "job" was done, and I didn't want to give anyone the chance to ask awkward questions.

------------------------------------------------------------

            I had hoped that Brad would lighten up on the bullying once he had gotten his revenge, but no such luck. It was now mid-October and he was only getting bolder. He made a point of tormenting me at least once, basically every day. And after weeks had gone by with no one coming to my rescue, he stopped waiting until I was alone to strike. He would pick me out of the crowd hurrying between classes and just start harassing me.

            I thought I had managed to avoid him today, but no such luck. I was on the bus about to head home when he boarded and immediately took the seat next to me, an evil grin on his face. I was trapped.

            "Nate, buddy!" He exclaimed, putting an arm around my shoulders. "I almost thought you were out sick. Where were you today?" His voice dropped to a low growl. "Thought you could get away, huh?" He pulled me into a head-lock, and gave me a vicious noogie.

            "Ah! Dammit, Brad. Ouch!" I struggled futilely.

            "God, you're such a wimp", he chuckled. "This is too easy. You catching that shrinking sickness or whatever is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

            "I'm not shrinking", I protested.

            "Whatever, nerd."

            This continued for the entire bus ride. I was starting to worry that he would make me miss my stop, but he let me go right on time. I scrambled out the door, but Brad followed me off the bus.

            "W-what are you doing, Brad? This isn't your stop."

            "Nah, mine's just down the road. I'll be able to get home just fine after I've had my fun with you."

            I was about to run for my house when Brad stepped up to me and shoved me hard. I toppled over backwards, falling to the sidewalk. I scraped up both my elbows trying to break my fall and still managed to whack the back of my head on the concrete. Damn, that hurt! Tears began to fill my eyes.

            "Aww, don't start crying yet. We're just getting started."

            My parents wouldn't be back from work for a couple more hours, and even then, there were several houses between my home and the bus stop. I was on my own.

            "Look out! Coming thru!"

            Brad turned towards the sudden voice just in time to jump out of the way as Hannah barreled down the sidewalk on her rollerblades. She hit the brakes and screeched to a stop right beside me.

            "Hey, Nate!" She greeted me cheerfully. She glanced at Brad and then back to me. "Is that little boy bothering you?"

            "Who are you calling little?" Brad demanded.

            "Hannah, what are y..."

            "Bro, I need you to be honest with me", she interrupted, crouching down so her face was closer to mine. "Is that little boy one of your friends or not?"

            Suddenly, it hit me. Hannah was going to pick a fight with Brad on my behalf. But this wasn't like the incident with Alice. Alice had 4 or 5 inches on Brad and he had been too shocked at one of his former victims overpowering him to even struggle. My little sister was 4 inches shorter than Brad and purposefully riling him up. Even if she won, she would have to take a beating on the way.

            "Hannah, don't. You'll get hurt." She just nodded, her smile never faltering.

            "I said: who are you calling a little boy?" Brad had stomped over to stand right behind Hannah. She nonchalantly rose to her feet and turned to face him.

            "Do you see any other little boys around? Other than Nate, of course."

            "You're shorter than I am! You're just wearing roller skates!"

            "Oh, wow", Hannah's tone was mocking. "Three inches taller than a fourth grader. Really impressive."

            "Shut up!" Brad shouted, shoving her with both hands. Hannah slid back a few feet but didn't fall.

            "Is that it? That's just sad."

            Brad growled and gave her another shove. This time she didn't move an inch. He glanced down to see that she had anchored herself by grabbing his shirt.

            "My turn." Her shove knocked Brad to the ground.

            "You bitch! You're going to pay for that." Brad climbed to his feet and took a swing at her. Hannah shifted to the left, dodging the blow effortlessly. She proceeded to dance around him for several seconds while he made increasingly desperate attempts to land a punch.

            "Stay still, damn it!" Hannah skated back out of his reach then stopped.

            "Aw, need some help there, little guy? Here you go." She pulled her shirt up several inches, exposing her midriff. "Take your best shot."

            My jaw dropped. What was she doing? Was she insane? Brad seemed surprised too, but he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to finally score a hit. He stepped up and slammed his fist into her abs. Hannah let out a grunt but kept her feet. Brad clutched his hand.

            "Ow! What the fu..." His voice died and he took a step back. I looked at my sister. She was still smiling, in fact, her grin had gotten wider.

            "Not bad, I almost felt that. Wanna try again?" She paused. "No? Guess I'll come to you then." She started forward. Brad took another step back, fear showing on his face. He turned and I think he would have run right then, but it was too late.

            Hannah's fist connected with his temple, causing him to stagger to the right. A second later, her other hand buried itself in his gut. He bent over, but she grabbed his head, pulling it up before slamming it down onto her rising knee. His head snapped back and he dropped onto the grass like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.

            Brad had been terrorizing me for over a month. Hannah had taken him down in three seconds.

            But she wasn't done with him yet. Brad was flat on his back, blood leaking from his nose as he howled in pain. Hannah put one foot on his chest and leaned over him. She was no longer smiling.

            "Shut up", she growled. Brad's jaw closed so fast I heard his teeth clack together. "You see that boy over there." She pointed at me. "That's my brother. Nobody. Hurts. My. Brother." Brad whimpered as Hannah dragged the wheels on her roller blades across his ribs with each word.

            "If you touch him again, I will come to your school, hunt you down, and put you in the hospital. Understand?" Brad nodded rapidly, tears in his eyes. "Then get out of here. I'm tired of looking at you." Hannah took her foot off his chest and turned her back on him. She didn't look back as he got to his feet and ran away. Instead, she walked over to me and held out her hand.

            "See?" She said, helping me to my feet. "Nothing to worry about." She glanced down at my arm and frowned. She pulled my hand up to get a better look at my elbow. "Shit, Nate you're bleeding. We need to get to the house and fix you up."

            We started walking back towards the house, Hannah still holding my hand. Her arrival and the subsequent fight had hit me with one shocking event after another. Now that my brain had time to process what happened, I felt my dick begin to rise.

            My sister was only nine, but she had just utterly dismantled a 13-year-old boy. One I couldn't even think of challenging. Her strength, her confidence, it was just insane. And she was still shorter than me. She still had so much room to grow and improve. All the shame I usually felt for getting aroused by my sister was overwhelmed by awe. At least for the moment, I fully understood why Jess had fallen for her.

            "I'm sorry, Nate." Her apology brought me back to the moment. I looked up to see her staring ahead with a frustrated expression. "If I had gotten there a little sooner, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

            "No way!" I objected. I stopped and tugged on her hand until she turned to face me. "You were amazing! It was like I was watching a fight in an action film. You should be proud, not regretful." I slowly coaxed a smile back onto her face. "Besides, it's just a little scrape. It hardly hurts anymore. I'm more worried about you. Did that punch really not hurt?"

            "What?" She giggled. "No, that hurt like hell! I'm gonna have a massive bruise later. Sure fooled him though. I don't think he'll be bothering you again. That reminds me..." Her expression got serious again and she stepped up so she was right in front of me.

            "Nate, This wasn't the first time he bullied you, was it?"

            "No, he's been picking on me since just after the start of school."

            "Why didn't you tell me?"

            "Why didn't I tell my little sister that I was being bullied so she could rescue me? Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind." Hannah sighed.

            "OK, I get it. But now you know I can handle myself. So tell me next time someone messes with you, alright?"

            I nodded. It was still hard to wrap my head around, but she was right. She was stronger than me, would soon be taller than me, and had probably always been tougher than me. Big brothers are supposed to protect their little sisters but Hannah was far more capable of that than I was.

            Then it hit me. This feeling was the same one I used to get around Sam. I felt small and weak, but safe. Like as long as Hannah was with me, everything would be OK.

            Then with her standing so close to me, I realized something else. My eyes snapped down to look straight ahead, right at her... mouth?

            "Hannah, are those new skates?"

            "No. Why did you think that?" She asked, confused. But then she grinned. "Oh yeah! I totally forgot the whole reason I was waiting to ambush you when you got off the bus. I got taller again! Only 1 inch to go!"

------------------------------------------------------------

            A few days later it was clear that Brad had learned his lesson. He didn't even come to school the day after the fight, and when he did return, he looked nervous and skittish. I guess he was worried that someone might find out the bruises on his face came from a fourth grader. Or maybe he was scared that Hannah would suddenly appear, out for blood.

            I almost felt bad for him, almost. Mostly, I was just happy to be able to go to school in peace. On the other hand, Brad had been interacting with me more than any of the other students, so now my loneliness became even more acute. I was eating lunch alone again today, despite the cafeteria being full of middle-schoolers.

            "N-Nate..."

            I turned at the sound of my name and was shocked to see Timothy standing there. I don't think we had had a single conversation this semester. He looked really uneasy for some reason.

            "Oh, hey Tim. What's up?"

            "I-I just... I w-wanted to... I'm sorry!"

            "Huh?" He paused, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself.

            "I'm sorry, Nate. F-for the way I've been treating you lately."

            "What do you mean? You haven't done anything to me. We haven't even talked since school started."

            "Exactly! After everything you d-did for me: defending me, being friendly even when we didn't have anything in common, you even invited me to your birthday party. Then when everyone turned against you, I-I abandoned you too."

            "It's only natural, after what I did."

            "No, it's not! E-everybody's overreacting. It's not like this one thing changes who you are. You shouldn't lose all your friends just because you and Sam broke up. So, if you're willing to forgive me, I-I'd like to be friends again."

            I felt a smile break out on my face. Maybe things were finally getting better.

            "I'd love that."

------------------------------------------------------------

            "Hey, little mouse", Kerry called out, striding towards me. "Why do you disappear at the end of every game? Scared you'll turn into a pumpkin?"

            "I'm trying not to blow my cover, unlike a certain someone", I replied, gesturing down at my lack of costume. I was on my way to change for today's game, so my mascot outfit was still stuffed in my backpack.

            "Well that's no fun", Kerry huffed. "Some of the girls have been getting curious about their biggest fan. Stick around today so I can introduce you."

            "Are you cra..."

            "It wasn't a request. But don't worry, I have a plan. Just follow my lead and everything will be fine."

            Well, it's not like I had a choice. I just had to hope she knew what she was doing.

            So I stayed put as the game wrapped up. I saw multiple girls glance my way, and sure enough, several of them walked in my direction as soon as Coach Anderson dismissed the team. I looked for Kerry, only to see Coach pull her aside before she could leave. Shit! I had to abandon the plan and get out of here. But it was too late.

            "Hey there, little guy", the first girl said as she walked up to me.

            "I'm pretty sure we didn't have a mascot last year." That was Lisa, one of Alice's friends. "So why are you doing it now?"

            "I hear you're our biggest fan", another girl giggled. I'm pretty sure she was a 7th grader, though she was still several inches taller than me, of course. "Though that really doesn't seem like the correct adjective here."

            What was I going to do? Kerry hadn't told me her plan, and I couldn't exactly follow her lead if she wasn't here.

            "Well, I, um..." I stuttered, trying to disguise my voice and think of something to say at the same time.

            "That's a lot of work just to watch some girls play basketball. It's kind of creepy, honestly."

            "I think it's cute. It's nice having someone cheer us on. Coach isn't exactly liberal with the praise after all."

            I was basically always hard during the games. Watching girls, all taller and stronger than me, showcasing their height and athleticism. This included the opposing teams, which were mostly composed of girls as well. And then I got to see those same girls look small and weak in front of Sam.

            My current situation left me terrified but that only seemed to enhance my erection. I felt more helpless than ever. And then there was my perspective. You see, due to the design of my costume, while I could move my head somewhat side to side, I couldn't tilt it back any further than straight ahead.

            With the girls standing so close to me, I couldn't look any of them in the eye. Instead, I was staring at mouths, chins, and necks. It made me feel even smaller, like I was a little kid, caught spying on his older sister's slumber party.

            "Well, at least take off that costume and introduce yourself."

            Oh, no! The one thing I couldn't do. Sam would recognize me. And without the mascot outfit to dampen my body language, these girls would all see that I was trembling with arousal.

            "I... I..." Great, Nate. Real articulate.

            "Now, now girls. I said you would get to meet him. Not interrogate him."

            I felt relief wash over me at the sound of Kerry's voice, which was a novel experience for me. Once she finished speaking, I saw her stride into view. Well, her tits entered my vision, but I assume the rest of her was attached to them.

            "So, who is he then? He won't tell us for some reason."

            "Of course not. That's the whole point of wearing the mascot outfit. He's just a shy little boy, you see. Cheering, jumping up and down, making a fool of himself every single game. It would be far too embarrassing to do if people could recognize him. What would his classmates think if they knew about his deep, passionate love... for basketball?"

            "So he went to you, the notorious good Samaritan, for help?" Ouch. Joining the team hadn't changed the relationship between Kerry and Lisa, I guess.

            "No, I was the one that initiated contact, obviously. I needed something, and he was the best person to get it. I told him that he would get a reward if he did a good enough job and this is what we settled on. Besides, this team deserves some adoration, don't you think?"

            "OK. But why'd you let us meet him then? His secret is safer if he leaves right away like he has been doing."

            "Because he's just too fun to mess with", Kerry said, stepping beside me. She grabbed my shoulder and pulled me against her. Even through the headpiece, I could feel her boob pressing against the side of my face. My dick twitched.

            "He turned into a stuttering mess after just a minute with you girls. It's hilarious. This also lets me get ahead of any rumors. One of you might have ambushed him otherwise."

            "I'm still curious which of the boys he is", another one of the girls piped up. She was the shortest one there, only a couple of inches taller than me. "I wonder if we share any classes."

            "Oh, he's not a 7th-grader. Hard as it is to believe, this little guy is the same age as me."

            "No way! But he's so small!"

            And that did it. Having a girl a year younger than me, who was just a little above average herself, shocked by my tininess, was too much. I barely managed to clamp my jaw hard enough to not moan as I orgasmed. But with Kerry pressed against me, there was no way she didn't notice. I couldn't see her smirk, but I could feel it.

------------------------------------------------------------

            "Nate! Time to get up!" Hannah threw open the door to my room and strode in, a huge grin on her face. "Rise and shine, bro. It's workout time!"

            I sighed theatrically, but didn't argue. Hannah had pushed me back into exercising, keeping her promise to Dr. Feldspar. But it didn't turn into the burden I thought it would. She was relentless, but only when it came to attendance: an hour in the gym, five days a week. For the workouts themselves, she stuck to the prescribed light to moderate aerobics, only pushing me enough to make sure I challenged myself.

            I really only had to last until I tired myself out, usually around 30 minutes. This meant that I sort of got my wish from the spring, since I could spend the rest of the time chatting with Hannah while she finished up her own workout. I got to know my sister from a new angle, hearing about her classes, her friends, and all the stuff she got up to when I wasn't around.

            She listened to me ramble in turn. She seemed really happy to hear that I was hanging out with Tim and his friends, and genuinely interested in the exploits of the basketball team. I did keep my interactions with Kerry a secret, no reason to let her know how much of a deviant I was. I was also a little afraid that she would challenge Kerry to a fight, if she knew how she treated me.

            Of course, getting off to Kerry's bullying wasn't the limit of my deviancy, I was also aroused by Hannah herself. Ever since my eyes were opened to the possibility of finding her sexy, no amount of reminding myself that she was my little sister could quench my libido. She was too big, too strong, too dominant to ignore. And she just kept getting taller and stronger.

            When we tried exercising together in the spring, I got lucky. Every time I would start getting aroused, the misery of my workout routine would distract me. But that no longer applied. My aerobics are easier and require less attention, and then half the time I'm just sitting around talking.

            With nothing to keep my eyes from wandering, I can't ignore her muscles, glistening with sweat. Her workout clothes stretched over her growing body. The preposterous weights she's lifting. So I'm erect at some point basically every session. And let me tell you, exercise shorts are not the best at hiding a hard-on.

            It seems impossible that Hannah wouldn't have noticed it at some point. And if she did notice, surely she would have said something, or at least reacted in some way. But nothing of the sort had happened so far. Maybe I'm overthinking this. Despite her relationship with Jess, she's still a nine-year-old. Maybe she just doesn't know how boys work.

            "Nate look! I finally completed a full set of leg curls using the heavy band!"

            I looked over from my cooldown stretches to see Hannah lying on her stomach on a bench. A thick resistance band stretched from her ankles to the bench's base.

            "Wow, that's amazing. Didn't you only start using them recently?"

            "Yup, I bought them with my birthday money from Grandma. They're really great. Check out how pumped my hamstrings are! My thighs look so huge right now!"

            I really should have just agreed and continued stretching, but I couldn't resist. I got to my feet, and walked over for a closer look. Holy crap! She wasn't exaggerating. Her swollen muscles bulged out from the bottom of her shorts. The separate muscle groups that made up her thighs were clearly visible, rather than just hinted at on an otherwise smooth limb. I'm pretty sure you could fit both of my legs inside just one of hers. Suddenly, I heard her giggle.

            "You got so quiet all of a sudden. I bet you're wondering if they're as hard as they look. Why don't you feel them and see?"

            What the hell? She is just an innocent kid, right? I should say no, but why would I refuse if I wasn't turned on? They're just legs, after all. I have to pretend it's no big deal. Like I'm just curious about her progress as a proud big brother.

            "Sure, why not? Gotta make sure they're not just for show." 

            I slowly placed one of my hands on her thigh. Oh, no! It feels too good. Her skin was soft and warm and when I squeezed my fingers made a slight indent. But that was it, any further progress was halted like I was trying to grip a steel beam. Her muscles weren't firm, they were rock solid. I almost lost myself but I managed to pull my hand away. My heart was beating like I was back on the treadmill. Then I looked over and saw Hannah smirking at me. My dick surged.

            "Yup real hard good job i'm proud of you wow i think i hydrated too much i gotta go bye!" And then I ran for the stairs.

------------------------------------------------------------

            As October turned into November, things really were getting better for me. Hannah and I were getting along. Jess didn't seem as jealous as before; she was at least polite when she was around me. Brad wasn't a problem anymore, and I was really having a good time hanging out with Tim and his friends. He even got Alice talking to me again. It wasn't that hard of a sell, Alice had never seemed comfortable with the "Shun Nate Project", but I was grateful he was willing to stand up for me.

            If only Sam would forgive me that easily, life would be perfect. I guess being accepted by the rest of the basketball team would have to do for now. A couple of them were still suspicious of me but the others were pretty friendly. That said, their treatment of me wasn't exactly normal.

            I don't know if it was Kerry's influence, the size difference, or the fact that they only saw me in my mascot costume, but none of them treated me like a fellow student. Instead, some of them acted like I was a little kid, and some like I was their pet.

            "And then he was all, 'don't wear those when we go out, you'll look ridiculous next to me.' More like he'll feel ridiculous next to me."

            Marcia was having relationship trouble again. So, naturally, she had grabbed me after today's game to vent. She was the member of the team that had gotten the most attached to me, and she would often use me as a captive audience.

            It was a little awkward for me, as she was the one whose comment had tipped me over the edge the day I met the team. Having a girl make me cum before I even learned her name, made follow-up conversations hard. Luckily she seemed happy to talk whether I replied or not.

            "I mean, he's shorter than me even without my heels", she continued. "So what difference does it make? You think he's being silly too, right Mouse?"

            The girls needed something to call me, and since my name was off-limits, they had settled on Mouse, because of my costume. Kerry's suggestion, of course.

            "He is", I agreed. I could have left it at that, Marcia would have kept going on her own, but maybe I could be more than just a pet today. "But try to see it from his point of view. We watch all these shows and movies where the guy is taller than his love interest, then when we finally start getting interested in girls, they're all taller than we are. He probably feels like he doesn't measure up, and the heels only make it worse."

            "Sure, I guess. I still don't like him telling me what I can and can't wear."

            "And he shouldn't. I'm not saying 'do whatever he wants'. It's just... communication is important. And it'll be easier to talk to him about it if you know where he's coming from."

            "Hmmm... OK, I'll try. Thanks!" She got up on her knees on the bench and gave me a hug, pulling my face against her chest. "You know, you're pretty smart for a little mouse. Are you sure you're not actually a boy in disguise?"

            "Ha, ha. You got me", I admitted. She giggled then sat back down beside me.

            "I'm a little worried, though", she said, her voice serious again. "You know what happened to Sam, right? She broke up with her boyfriend at the end of the summer. I heard that he couldn't handle her being so much taller than him. I don't want the same thing to happen to me."

            "You don't want what happening to you?" Asked a voice from above me.

            Marcia jumped to her feet like someone had put an electric current through the bleachers.

            "Sam? Hey! N-nothing important. Wow, look at the time! Gotta go, bye!"

            The voice that had startled her into motion had paralyzed me. I sat frozen as the speaker walked up and sat in the spot Marcia had evacuated. Even sitting down she was so big that I couldn't see higher than her neck. For the first time in months, Sam was going to talk to me.

            "So you're 'our biggest fan'. Mouse, was it?" I nodded. "I'm Sam, though I guess you already knew that."

            "She's not wrong", Sam sighed, leaning back against the next level of the bleachers. I could finally see her face. "Well, the details aren't right, but the basic story is. We both handled it like idiots."

            "I've had similar worries lately. Not about my height. Can't change that. But sometimes I wonder if I can keep a boyfriend as I am now. What if we go on a few dates, and then I find out he doesn't like my muscles? Or he thinks I'm not girly enough, or that I'm too obsessed with basketball?"

            I had an evil thought: Yeah, it would suck to not live up to your lover's expectations, huh? See how you like it. But I immediately banished it. I might hate that Sam had decided to cut off all contact with me, but that didn't mean that I hated her.

            "I don't think you should have to sacrifice what's important to you", I replied quietly. Sam raised her eyebrows.

            "You're not going to tell me that relationships are all about compromise?"

            "Well... I guess they are. But if you give up too much, won't you just end up hating them? Or hating yourself?"

            "Heh", Sam chuckled softly. "And I heard you were so shy you could barely talk." She reached over and put a hand on top of my head. "You should speak up more often." She stood up and started to walk away. "And don't let the others pick on you too much. It would be a shame to lose our biggest fan."

            And then she was gone.

------------------------------------------------------------

            It turns out that Kerry did get the adoring crowd that she desired. Last year, the only people watching our games were friends or family of one of the team members. But more and more frequently, I was seeing random students show up to cheer the girls on.

            And it wasn't hard to understand why. The new members of the team had improved rapidly and the veterans hadn't slacked off in the slightest. As a result, you could expect some cool plays and an eventual victory, basically anytime you showed up to watch a game.

            There was only one problem, and unsurprisingly, that problem was Kerry. She had been getting more and more into my "reward" sessions. Regardless of how it started, it was now clear that she was as turned on by her domination of me as I was. She had been pushing the envelope for a while, but today she crossed the line.

            The game was unusual from the start. Sam was absent with a cold, so Alice took over as the Center. This meant that Kerry didn't have to share the spotlight nearly as much as usual. Add in a weak lineup from our opponents, and the result was Kerry running over the opposition for the entire first half.

            Her almost single-handed domination of the other team had a visible effect on her. As she walked back to the bench, her face was flushed and she was fidgeting like she couldn't figure out what to do with her hands. Anyone else would interpret it as exertion and post-adrenaline jitters, but I had learned to read the signs. She was aroused and trying to resist the urge to touch herself.

            During the second half, she went from hot and bothered, to frustrated and impatient. I wasn't surprised when she made a beeline for me as soon as the game was over.

            "Get out of that ridiculous outfit and meet me in room 104", she demanded. "Don't make me wait." Then she spun around and headed for the locker room.

            I had gotten pretty adept at removing and packing up my costume, but it wasn't enough. I walked into the empty classroom to find Kerry waiting for me. She grabbed the back of my head and mashed my face into her torso as she shut the door with her other hand. I didn't have enough time to wonder why her underboob was sandwiching my forehead before she tossed me to the ground.

            "I thought I told you not to make me wait", she growled, her shoe taking its usual place on my chest. Only then did I have a chance to take in the scene.

            Kerry hadn't taken the time to shower or change, just grabbing the gym bag I could see tossed in one corner of the room, her sneakers beside it. While waiting for me she had traded them in for a pair of stilettos. That explained her tit elevation, she had to be around 6 feet tall in those heels.

            "Did you see me out there today?" She asked, her irritation evaporating as lust took over. "God, I was unstoppable. Who told those midgets they could play basketball?" Said midgets had been around Alice's height, not that the details mattered to Kerry. She was already panting, one of her hands caressing her tits.

            "I thought I was going to explode when halftime hit. Luckily, I have my own personal midget to finish me off."

            Usually, Kerry at least pretended to be coolly aloof during our sessions, but she was too far gone to keep up the act today. On the other hand, while I was rock hard, I couldn't enjoy it nearly as much.

            Her choice of footwear was part of it. The hard toe was already a bit painful and she wasn't even pressing down much. The heel spike scared me. More frightening was the purpose of the session. When the stated purpose was my pleasure, I could count on her to at least be careful. But now, I had no idea how far she would go.

            "Even those titchy bitches would look like amazons next to you. What does that make me? A giantess? A Goddess?" The hand not occupied with her assets was creeping closer to her shorts."I feel so powerful right now. I could squash you like a bug." She leaned more of her weight onto me. I gasped as the pain increased in turn.

            "Kerry, you're hurting me!"

            "I know!" She moaned. "And there's nothing you can do about it." She began rubbing herself. "Beg. Beg your Goddess for mercy."

            "Please, Goddess. Please stop hurting me." At that point, I was willing to say anything, as long as it made the pain go away.

            "Mmmm... No." She dug her heel between my ribs. A spike of agony shook my body.

            "Aaargh! Please stop!" I squirmed side to side, desperately trying to find relief. But she just pressed down harder.

            We screamed together as she finally climaxed. Only then did she lift her foot off of me. We were both silent for a while, recovering from the experience. Eventually, I managed to get to my feet.

            "What the hell, Kerry? Were you actually trying to skewer me?"

            "Awww, did the big, strong girl play too rough with the little boy?"

            "I'm serious."

            "Well, too bad." She stepped closer to me. "God, you have to look up just to see my tits. Who do you think is in control here? I get to do whatever I want and you just have to hope that I decide to go easy on you. Honestly, you should be grateful. What other girl would touch a deviant like you, even if you weren't also a skinny dwarf."

            "What about you? What would Rick think if he knew you were getting off while stepping on a 'skinny dwarf'?"

            "Rick? Oh, I dumped him months ago. Turns out he was an early bloomer, so he's the same height now as he was when we hooked up. He was the best a 12-year-old who hadn't even finished grade school could get, but I decided it was time for an upgrade."

            "Seriously, when we met, he was 6 inches taller than me, now he's shorter than I am. Less than an inch, we're both technically 5'8", but it's pretty noticeable when you're close enough to kiss. My new boyfriend is a 6'1" varsity football star. Much more appropriate for a queen like me. As far as our playtime goes, well, what he doesn't know won't hurt me."

            "I was going to finish you off, but I think I'll let you stew today. Maybe next time you won't be so whiny over a little pain."

------------------------------------------------------------

            That day was a wake-up call for me. I used to think that Kerry was going to do whatever she wanted so I might as well try to enjoy it. I couldn't accept that anymore. Of course, this decision didn't mean that I could suddenly stand up to her physically. I needed a plan. For now, though, I would just try to avoid being alone with her.

            This worked through the end of November. Luckily, Kerry had an image to maintain, so she couldn't just hunt me down in the open like Brad used to do. It was also easy to spot her in a crowd before she saw me.

            Unfortunately, I forgot one important detail. Kerry had followers, minions, cronies. And a few of them were on the basketball team. After the last regular game of the season, several of the girls gathered around me to celebrate. When Brenda, one of the seventh graders, positioned herself behind me, I didn't think anything of it.

            When the group broke up, I tried to leave as well, only to find myself stuck. Brenda had grabbed the back of my outfit, holding me in place. So, I could only watch as Kerry walked in my direction.

            Brenda strong-armed me after Kerry until we reached an empty classroom, then left us alone.

            "What the hell, Ke..." I was cut off by Kerry's leg slamming into my crotch. The impact lifted me off my feet, leaving me straddling her thigh. I slowly slid off to one side, collapsing onto the floor. She kicked me onto my back, then stomped on my balls.

            Pain and nausea rolled through my body. I would have screamed if I had been able to breathe.

            "Thought you were real clever, didn't you?" Kerry hissed. "Just gonna hide from me forever." She ground her foot back and forth. "Looks like my little slave needs to be reminded of who owns him."

            I was gonna be sick. Holy shit, that hurt! It was an effective way of making sure I couldn't talk back, I guess.

            "Listen, tiny bitch. It's playoff time. Everyone made a fuss, so you get to come cheer us on. And, of course, outside game time, you will make yourself available for my pleasure. Work hard and I might just forgive you for the last few days. Keep making me mad, and I might decide to castrate you. Consider this a preview."

            She stomped down one last time and walked off.

------------------------------------------------------------

            This turn of events was both terrifying and thrilling. Well, once I had a few hours to recover anyway, before that it was hard to feel anything other than pain.

            Kerry would have me at her mercy, isolated far from home. But I would get to see the team play in the championships, maybe even Nationals. More importantly, I had figured out a plan of action. I just had to be ready when the time came and I would be free of Kerry for good.

            The regional tournament was like a series of standard games, hosted at various schools. So the only real change for me was I got to attend the away games, riding there and back on the bus with the team.

            We had faced these opponents during the season, so I knew we had a good chance of victory. In the end, the only real challenge was the final game against Selma Middle School. Their Center was even taller than Sam, and the team as a whole was quite skilled. But we were just a little better, and defended our title.

            Kerry didn't have a chance to get me alone that week. Everybody was grouped together from the start of each game to our parents picking us up.

            But then it was time for the state tournament. That was held at the capital over the course of one long day. Each of these games was a real fight. I could only watch in amazement as our team rose to the occasion. Again, and again, and again.

            Last year we made it to the round-of-8, and were lucky to get that far, despite everyone playing their hearts out. This time it felt like we really deserved to be here. The round-of-8 came and we made it through. Then came the semi-finals, against the school that had eliminated us last time. They were still tough, but they couldn't hold us back today. We pulled ahead in the final minutes to win 33 to 39.

            The Finals brought us up against last year's champions. Sam once again showed her status as MVP, grinding out a lead in the first half. Then Alice took charge of the backup team, defending that lead to the end. Our opponents couldn't catch up. I cheered from the sidelines as the final buzzer sounded. We did it! We were going to Nationals!

            I thought Kerry had gone to the locker room with everyone else, but she was waiting for me as I walked back to the bus. She dragged me into a back room and peeled off my costume. I braced for another torture session, but she was surprisingly gentle.

            She sat on the floor next to me, held me down with one hand, and used the other to finger herself while I struggled ineffectually. She even made sure I reached climax once she was done.

            "See what happens when you're a good boy and don't make a fuss", She stated. I'm sure she meant the experience to be reassuring, even tempting, but to me it just proved how fickle she was. She didn't feel bad about the pain she had inflicted on me before, she just didn't feel like repeating it today.

            I would have to be more careful during Nationals. Today, she had left me no time to get my plan going. If I was caught unprepared again, I might not get another chance until after Christmas, which would complicate everything.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Nationals were being held in Chicago this year, which meant a whole day on the bus just to get to the tournament location. We left early Friday morning. Saturday would be the qualifying rounds to narrow the 50+ teams down to 16. Then those contenders would duke it out on Sunday for the championship.

            Add in the ride back on Monday and I would be spending 4 days and 3 nights with the basketball girls. This would give Kerry ample opportunities to take advantage of me, so I had to be ready to put my plan in motion at any time.

            Getting on the bus, I passed Sam and Kerry, Kerry shooting me a smug grin. Jokes on her though, as much as I would love to spend time with Sam, sitting next to her all day making small talk would give me a heart attack. Across from them, Coach Anderson sat with Mrs. Stamford, who was acting as an additional chaperone. She huffed disapprovingly at my back.

            "I don't like bringing this random boy along. What if he tries something with one of the girls?"

            "Oh, please", Coach replied. "Any one of my girls could break him in half if he tried anything. He's the most harmless 13-year-old boy I've ever seen. Besides, the team itself could have had boys in it, like last year."

            "I still don't like it. 30 years of teaching experience tells me all boys his age are irrepressible horndogs." Kerry snorted. "Do you have something to add, Ms. Hemingsworth?"

            "Oh, no, Mrs. Stamford", Kerry said innocently. "Just talking to Samantha. But I wouldn't worry about little Mouse, my parents rented a bunch of rooms so they could come watch me play. He'll be staying with them. He'll only be around us on the bus and during the tournament."

            Of course, what she failed to mention was that her new boyfriend, Dave, was in one of those rooms with his friend Tony. That's who I'd be staying with.

            As for the bus ride, I ended up in the back, sandwiched between Marcia and Tammy, another 7th grader. In fact, all 5 of the 12-year-olds on the team were clustered in the back of the bus.

            "OK, Mouse, fess up. Which of the girls do you have a crush on?"

            "W-what?" I stuttered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

            "Oh, c'mon. Nobody goes through this much trouble just to watch middle school basketball. You have the hots for someone on the team, but you're too shy to confess, so you cheer them on in disguise."

            "Wait! Is it one of us? LOL!"

            "No way, get over yourself, girl. It has to be one of the 8th graders. Probably one of the Big Three."

            At this point, I realized I didn't have anything to worry about. This wasn't an interrogation. They were just looking for a conversation topic. It was 3 hours into the drive after all.

            "Alice? She hangs out with a bunch of little nerds, right?"

            "That's why it can't be her. Too approachable. No need to put in any effort, just join her group and hang out. Now Kerry, on the other hand."

            "No, no. Kerry was the one that set this whole thing up, remember? She already knows who he is."

            "Yeah, I can vouch for that", Brenda chimed in with a smirk. "Their relationship might be a lot of things, but distant pining isn't one of them." Oi. Don't act so smug, you damn accomplice.

            "Oooooh! Give us the details! C'mon, deets, deets, deets!"

            "Sadly, I don't know any of the finer details, and even if I did, do you really think I would leak Kerry's secrets?"

            "Boo! Cheapskate!"

            "That means it has to be Sam!"

            "Wow, ambitious. Although, if you're gonna have an impossible dream, might as well make it as big as you can. Right, Mouse?"

            "Yeah", I sighed wistfully. Wait! What the hell did I just say?!

            "I knew it! It was kinda obvious, guys. We should have just started with her."

            "Shove it, Marcia. Just because you have a big ol' girl crush on her, doesn't mean everyone else does."

            "Whadda ya mean, girl crush? I have a boyfriend, I'll have you know. But, if she asked me... I mean, how do you say no to that?"

            After that, they shifted to ribbing Marcia in earnest, and seemed to forget about me altogether. I guess it wasn't that big of a slip-up. There were probably a lot of guys with the hots for Sam, not just her ex.

------------------------------------------------------------

            The venue turned out to be a massive stadium, where several games could be played simultaneously. But there were still far too many teams for everyone to get to play at once, so we had a lot of time to burn when it wasn't our turn. Unfortunately, this meant we got to watch the other games. Several of the girls were very unsettled by the skill displayed by the other competitors, all champions of some kind.

            Thankfully, Sam was there. She jumped in, pointing out flaws in even the best opponent's play. Putting together strategies that could be used if we faced a particular team. I wouldn't say her every word was fool-proof, these were just off-the-cuff observations, after all. But they sounded convincing to me, and I had spent years listening to Sam talk about basketball.

            Our games were epic. You would expect that from the finest teams in the whole nation, but it was still thrilling to see in person. I yelled and whooped and cheered until my voice gave out. Then, I tried to compensate with energy and body language. Thank God for Hannah's workouts, I wouldn't have lasted more than a couple of games before she made me exercise.

            And I really needed the stamina, because, incredibly, our team refused to be eliminated. What had started as a rag-tag group of students from a small, suburban public school, was now one of the 16 best teams in the country.

            After dinner, everyone retired to the hotel to relax. Then the moment finally came. I got a text from Kerry summoning me to her room. I could have said no, she wouldn't show up to force me in front of her boyfriend. Probably. But that would just be delaying the inevitable, and going now meant I could come prepared.

            "Lose the stupid costume", Kerry demanded the moment I arrived. "The rest of the team is socializing in Sam's room. They won't be back for at least an hour."

            I left my outfit in a pile next to the door. I turned back towards Kerry just in time to see her drop her bathrobe. The sight of her in nothing but lingerie and heels gave me an immediate erection, in spite of my fear. But I couldn't give in. I needed to be clear from the start that I didn't want this.

            My attempts at refusal didn't sway Kerry, of course. In fact, while her face showed annoyance, I'm pretty sure my unwillingness only heightened her arousal. Her nipples threatened to tear through the thin fabric of her bra, already stretched taut by her impressive bosom.

            The first few minutes mirrored my previous experience with her stilettos. I begged for mercy and screamed in pain, she moaned and monologued about her superiority. But while that session had ended once she climaxed, it wasn't enough for her today. The haze of pain faded just in time for me to see Kerry toss aside her soaked panties. Then she was standing above me again, one heel on either side of my head.

            "It's not right that I'm doing all the work. I think it's time you worshiped your Goddess directly." And with that, she began lowering herself towards me. Her long legs stretched the moment out, as her pussy slowly grew to fill my vision.

            "No, Kerry! Don't mrphgh..." She moaned as she settled on to me. The weight of her amazonian figure pressing my face into her cleft.

            "Oh! This is your fault, you know", she panted. "I used to be just your average tall, beautiful, brilliant school queen. Wanting nothing more in life than a boyfriend befitting my status and the adoration of the masses." She swung her hips in small circles, grinding herself on me.

            "But then you came along. So small. So weak and pathetic. You made me feel so powerful, invincible, unstoppable. Like a force of nature." Her juices coated my face, filling my nose and mouth. "A queen who rules unopposed! A Goddess to be worshiped!"

            I was starting to suffocate. She wasn't going to stop until she was satisfied, so I had no choice but to try and expedite the process. I started to lick and suck in earnest. Kerry shuddered, her moans coming more and more frequently until she was unable to keep singing her own praises. But the closer she got to completion, the harder she pressed down and the wetter she became.

            Just when I thought I was actually going to drown, spots appearing in my vision, she came, her back arching. She lifted off me for a moment, allowing me to cough and take a single breath, before she collapsed on top of me, driving the air right back out again.

            Thankfully, she rolled off before I passed out, and while she grabbed her robe, I crawled to my costume.

            "Where do you think you're going, little mouse?" She said, settling down on a chair. "You can't leave without cleaning up your mess." She nodded towards the dark spot on the carpet.

            "No."

            "No?" She got to her feet and started walking towards me. "When will you learn? You don't get to say 'no'. I own y..." She went silent as I straightened up and turned to face her, holding up my phone.

            "Not anymore. I was recording the whole thing. Ah," I pulled back as she reached for my phone. "It's too late. I just uploaded the file to my email account."

            "So what? You're still a puny loser. All this accomplishes is pissing me off, and I already told you what happens next."

            "Yeah, yeah. You'll destroy me", I managed to keep the fear out of my voice, but it wasn't easy. One step closer and I wouldn't even be able to see her face past her tits. I had to keep reminding myself that I held all the cards.

            "But, you see", I continued. "I realized something recently. You're the one with something to lose. What can you take away from me? Sure, you might spread some nasty rumors at school, but all of my friends who might care about what you have to say have already left me. You might beat me up, I know I couldn't stop you. But you're already hurting me now."

            "On the other hand, you have a reputation to worry about. I spread this around and suddenly, you're not Kerry, the girl so pretty, so cool, that she had to go to a high school to find a suitable boyfriend. You're Kerry, the sadistic deviant who cheats on her boyfriend with that loser, Nate."

            The longer I talked, the less confident Kerry looked. Now she fully backed off, returning to her seat.

            "Fine. You got me. What do you want? Or are you just going to ruin me out of spite?"

            "No, I don't plan on sharing this with anyone, as long as you leave me alone. I don't want to be your slave anymore. That's it."

            "Really? You're going to give up all this", she gestured at her strong, sexy body, "just because I got a little rough? And don't act like you weren't as aroused as I was."

            She had a point. Even today, I had cum at some point during the torture.

            "I won't deny it. But it's not enough anymore. My dick might not care who gets me off, but I do. Maybe I can't have a normal relationship, but if I'm going to be owned by someone, I want them to be someone who cares about me."

            "Right. Have fun waiting for your imaginary dream girl. Now get out. I can't stand the sight of you anymore."

            I didn't wait for her to change her mind. Once I was outside, I breathed in the cold air. I did it. I won. I was free!

            Turns out Kerry had one final trick up her sleeve. When I made it back to my room, I found Dave and Tony waiting for me. Tony snatched the key card out of my hand while Dave shoved my backpack into my arms. Then they slammed the door in my face.

            Well, shit. Did she want me to freeze to death? This was Chicago, in December! We weren't staying in a hotel with internal hallways and a lobby I could crash in. This was a cheap motel where each room exited onto an exterior walkway.

            What options did I have? I didn't want to use my trump card now. Regardless of my bravado before, I didn't want a Kerry with nothing to lose looking to beat the shit out of me at school. So, talking to Coach Anderson or Kerry's parents was out, except as a last resort.

            I would have to crash with some of the girls, but how? The 12 of them were split between 3 rooms. One held Kerry and her cronies, so that was out. Sam was in another room, so that would be too risky. I didn't want my cover blown at the finish line.

            That left just one option. I trudged back up the stairs and knocked on the door to the final room. Marcia opened the door.

            "Mouse? What are you doing here?"

            "Could I explain inside? It's freezing out here." I tried to keep things vague, just saying that Kerry and I had an argument and her boyfriend kicked me out. And that would have been enough if I only had to convince Alice, Marcia, and Tammy. But there were four girls in the room, and Lisa wasn't convinced.

            "No, nope, not happening."

            "C'mon, Lisa. What's the big deal? It's just Mouse."

            "That's exactly why I won't do it. You all treat him like he's an actual mouse, or a little kid, but he's not. I'm not going to spend the night with a boy who won't even explain what happened or why he can't just tell Coach."

            Shit. I didn't want to do this, but I don't think she's going to give up.

            "Alice, can I talk to you in private?"

            "Um, OK", she replied, then pulled me into the bathroom. Once she had closed the door, I took a deep breath and unzipped my costume until I could flip the headpiece back.

            "Na...?!"

            "Shhhh!"

            "Nate?" She exclaimed, but quieter this time. "You were Mouse this whole time? What's going on?"

            I told her the whole story, from Kerry's ultimatum on the first day of school to tonight's adventure.

            "Wow, I knew Kerry was a bitch, but that's just crazy. And you still don't want to turn her in?" I shook my head.

            "Right now, it's mutually assured destruction. I want it to be over more than I want to get back at her."

            "And you're OK keeping Sam in the dark? September was a long time ago."

            "Until she decides that she wants to talk to me, it's all I can do."

            "Well, personally, I think you should give it another shot. But for tonight, I'll get Lisa to let you stay."

            "Thanks, Alice", I said, feeling a huge weight lift off my shoulders. "I owe you one."

            "Nah, this is just a down payment for me. I'll let you know when we're even. Now, no offense, but you need to take a shower, so I'll leave."

            I guess she was still grateful for the times I rescued her from Brad in elementary. Although seeing her now, it was hard to remember the time when she was just a skinny little girl. She had grown another inch during basketball season, so I only reached her chin. You'd think three years of rapid growth would be enough, but evidently puberty wasn't quite done with her yet.

            She turned towards the door, but paused before opening it.

            "Hey, did you really enjoy it, in the beginning?"

            "Yeah. It wasn't the same as being with Sam, but I really do love big, strong girls. Though if I had to choose, I would rather be picked up than stepped on."

            "Huh", and then softly, like she was thinking out loud: "I wonder..."

            "If Tim feels the same way?" I finished. "Regarding the exact details? I don't know. Regarding big, strong girls in general? I dunno. But for one big, strong girl in particular? Yeah, I think he does."

            "I have no idea what you're talking about", Alice replied, but I could see a big grin on her face. Then she exited the room. As I got ready to wash the last bits of Kerry's influence down the drain, I could hear the girls coming to a decision.

            "Even if you trust him, I still think this is a bad idea."

            "Aw, c'mon Lisa. In all the years we've been friends, have I ever made a truly bad decision?"

            "Yes! All the time!" Alice just laughed, and after a moment, I heard Lisa sigh.

            "Fine! I give up. But if anything happens, I'm going to kill you, you big idiot."

------------------------------------------------------------

            When the team gathered the next morning, Kerry looked surprised to see me but quickly covered it with an annoyed expression. Alice and the girls stepped in front of me and glared back. Kerry simply rolled her eyes and looked away.

            The final day of the tournament was the hardest one yet. All the other teams were from big schools with thousands of students to recruit from. A few were even known as training schools for future basketball stars. But the girls didn't flinch.

            Each game was a close thing, but we made it through the round-of-16 and the round-of-8. Then, finally, we met our match. Knocked out in the semi-finals. But that wasn't quite the end.

            Before the finals, there was a loser's match to determine 3rd place. Instead of letting the loss discourage them, our team played as hard as ever. And it paid off, letting us end the season with a victory.

            Coach got so emotional, that you'd think we got the gold instead of bronze. She tearfully embraced each of the girls, then let them go to meet their families.

            Now, most of the girls didn't have relatives here, traveling across half the country with less than a week's notice was difficult for most families after all. Those girls gathered around me instead, which made me feel very appreciated. I even got a hug from Alice and Marcia.

            But I didn't see one person in particular. Where was Sam? I looked over at the small group of families from our school. I didn't see Sam's folks, but I did see Kerry shamelessly sharing spit with Dave. Next to them was Dave's friend Tony, who was embracing another girl... Sam?

            She looked up into his eyes and he leaned in. They kissed as I stared, stupefied. At some point, Kerry noticed me staring and gave me a smirk.

            I-I had won, right?

------------------------------------------------------------

            I should have seen this coming. Sam hadn't contacted me for months. Eventually, she would move on and reenter the dating scene. At that point, it would be less a matter of finding someone willing to date her, than of finding someone good enough for her. I knew all of this. I guess I still subconsciously expected her to come back to me someday. And as long as she was single, I could hold out hope.

            At least it hurt less than the actual break-up. I didn't break down in tears in front of everybody. And with another night and a several-hour bus ride before anyone would see my face, I had enough time to recover.

            When I finally walked into my house, I was dead tired. The last four days had been exhausting, emotionally and physically. I was ready to go straight to bed even though it wasn't even 7 p.m. I'll use this as an excuse for why I didn't notice that something about Hannah had changed since I last saw her.

            Thankfully, winter break had started, so I didn't have to go to school the next day. But I didn't get to sleep in too much, as it was still a weekday, meaning Hannah expected me to exercise.

            "Nate! Wake up! No vacations from fitness!" I opened my eyes to see my sister leaning against the door frame, already in her somehow-always-a-size-too-small workout clothes, a basketball in one arm.

            "I know you're probably sick of basketball right now, but I really need you to play a game with me."

            "Hmm? Isn't it too cold to play outside?"

            "Nah, it's pretty warm today, and it'll be even warmer by the time you've gotten dressed and had some breakfast."

            "OK, it's certainly more interesting than the treadmill. But why do you 'need' to play a game today?"

            "I've been waiting for a certain event before challenging you to a rematch, and it finally happened while you were at Nationals. I think you'll figure it out pretty quick, even if I don't tell you what it is."

            That confused me. My first thought was that basketball season had just ended, but that didn't make sense. I hadn't played this year, so she wasn't catching me at my skill peak or anything. Maybe something regarding her own skills? But that wouldn't be apparent until we started playing.

            I guess she could have grown again. It had been a couple of months since the last inch. But what was so special about this...

            No. No way. I jumped out of bed and walked over to stand in front of her. She straightened up as I approached. And there it was. I was looking my 9-year-old sister in the eyes. Hannah was as tall as me.

            Now, I had known for over a year that this would happen at some point. Yet somehow, I still wasn't prepared. I just stood there, stunned, my mouth open. Hannah's grin got wider the longer I stared.

            "Well, see you downstairs in a bit, Nate", she said, finally releasing me from my stupor.

            I took a moment to change out of my PJs and quell my erection. I needed to focus. Not so that I could win. The last time we played was basically a toss-up, and she was 4 inches taller and even stronger now. She had definitely continued practicing as well, whereas my own skills had atrophied.

            No, I needed to focus so I could play my best. Because Hannah would be unhappy with anything less. With all the time she's put into improving, and how much she's been looking forward to finally beating me, I don't want to give her any reason to be disappointed with her victory.

            Once I had eaten, Hannah and I headed outside. I grabbed my jacket on the way; warm for December just meant it wasn't coat and gloves weather. Hannah, on the other hand, seemed unaffected by the chilly air, wearing the same clothes she used in our climate-controlled basement.

            I wondered how she would open the game today; she always seemed to catch me by surprise right at the start.

            "Nate, heads up!" I looked up in time to catch the basketball Hannah had tossed to me.

            "Why're you giving me the ball? You always take the first shot."

            "Yeah", Hannah replied with a cheeky grin. "Do you remember why that is? The first time we played, back when I had just learned how to shoot, you said that I should take the ball first because it would be more fair that way. Well, today, I think it'll be more fair if you start."

            I almost denied that fact reflexively, but I stopped myself. She wasn't wrong. And if she got overconfident, I might be able to use that to my advantage.

            "Fair enough." I took the ball to the out-of-bounds line. Hannah came over to guard me. I should have known that having the advantage wouldn't stop her from playing seriously.

            I did manage to surprise her with a burst of speed right out of the gate, ducking under her outstretched arm. I'm not sure I could have thrown the ball hard enough to score from that far back anyway. Sadly, I still didn't put enough oomph into it, and the ball fell a few inches short of the basket.

            Hannah was kind enough not to laugh at me, but I could tell it took a lot of effort. That set the tone for the first half of the game. Hannah didn't exactly run circles around me, but it wasn't remotely close. 

            I only got off one more shot (managed to hit the rim at least). Hannah blocked the rest. And she had no problem outpacing me when I tried to block her. Even when I was in position, she could still get a shot off by out-jumping me. Though I could at least throw off her aim then.

            The game was 5-0 by the time I had shaken off enough of the rust to play half-decently. I managed to throw Hannah off with a pump fake, and the following shot actually made it in.

            "Yes!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself. Was I really that happy to score a single point against a fourth-grader?

            "Nice one!" Hannah agreed as she ran to retrieve the ball. 

            You know what? Yes, I was that happy. I might be performing even worse than I thought I would, but what did I expect? I hadn't played a game since the last time Hannah challenged me, almost 8 months ago. And wasn't I the one that used to scold her for getting upset when far superior opponents beat her?

            Sure, she didn't tower over me like Sam did when I used to play 1-on-1s with her, but I didn't have a weird muscle-wasting condition then either. I knew from the start that my little sister was going to beat me. 

            So the real question was, was I going to treat this as a humiliating ordeal, that I had to endure this once and hope she never wanted to repeat? Or was I going to have fun playing a game I used to enjoy, pride be damned?

            The game didn't turn around after that; Hannah was still better than me in basically every potential metric, but it no longer mattered. I was having a blast. I even got another point before it was over.

            "I did it!" Hannah shouted, as the ball hit the ground after her final basket. "I finally beat you in a game of basketball!" She ran over and lifted me off the ground in a bear hug. "Yes!"

            "Good game", I wheezed, happy that she wasn't squeezing hard enough to keep me from breathing. "Hey, why did you wait so long for a rematch? You could have beaten me basically anytime since our last game."

            "Well, I kept hoping you would start exercising again, so I could beat you at your best. And by the time Dr. Feldspar told us you wouldn't be able to get your muscle back, I was pretty sure you wouldn't even make it through a game. No offense."

            "None taken. After all, that would still be true if you hadn't pushed me back into working out."

            "That's one of the reasons I was so gung ho about it. But don't sell yourself short: you made all that progress. I just gave you some motivation."

            "Thanks."

            "Anyway, I decided that I would wait until I hit your height, since last time we played was the halfway point."

            "Well, if it makes you feel better, even in my prime a year ago, I wasn't as good as you were today."

            "Thank you. That really means a lot to me." We stood there, smiling at each other, for a few more seconds.

            "Um. You can put me down now."

            "Hmmm, I dunno. Is that really what you want?" Hannah grinned as I felt my face start to turn red.

            "Please. It's kinda cold out here."

------------------------------------------------------------

            It was time for the family Christmas party. My Mom had spent the past week stealthily calling various relatives to explain my condition, so I wouldn't be swarmed with questions. I caught on, of course. I still appreciated the effort, but I expected a lot of attention anyway. She also failed to mention Hannah's transformation, so you can imagine the uproar when we arrived.

            Hannah, on the other hand, lapped up everyone's reactions like growing taller was a personal achievement. Adding to this were Aunt Pam and her three kids. Mom hadn't talked to them beforehand, probably assuming that they wouldn't be able to make it, like last year.

            "Oh my God, Hannah! You're so big!" Grace exclaimed, running around her cousin like she was a strange creature in a petting zoo. "You're as big as Nate!"

            "Not exactly", Hannah corrected the rambunctious 1st grader. "I might only be as tall as Nate, but I'm definitely bigger than him." She flexed, causing her body to swell to an even more imposing size.

            "Wow! I wish I was bigger than my brother. I bet Nate doesn't boss you around like Evan does to me."

            "Keep dreaming, sis", the aforementioned eight-year-old responded. Though he didn't look as confident as he sounded, especially as he got closer to Hannah.

            No surprise there. All three of our cousins were tall, like most of our family, but my sister was in a league of her own. The last time they saw each other, two Christmases ago, Evan came up to Hannah's mouth. Now the top of his head barely cleared her shoulder.

            "Yeah, it turns out Nate and Hannah are a special case." That would be Michelle, the oldest of the three. A similar but opposite comparison appeared as she walked up beside me. The now seventh-grader had gone from an inch shorter than me, to a full head taller. "Isn't that right, little guy?" I nodded.

            "I have a weird hormone thing that caused my growth plates to close early. The doctors still don't know why. They also don't know why Hannah is growing so fast, but nobody's worried as long as she stays healthy."

            "Also, 'little guy'? How long have you been waiting to use that?"

            "Two years", she replied with a grin. "I had just outgrown all the boys at my elementary school, including the sixth graders. Then we got to the Christmas party, and you were still an inch taller than me. I was so bummed. Too bad we couldn't make it last year."

            "Well, you do live on the other side of the country." Teasing aside, it was always nice to have the three of them with us. Having relatives who weren't adults at the party made it much less boring. Though I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it last year. Michelle would have already outgrown me, and I hadn't had enough time to accept my fate as a shorty then. Thankfully, I could just laugh it off now.

            Gift-giving commenced shortly thereafter. Being stuck at 4'10" actually turned out to be a positive this year. I guess everybody decided that I didn't need as many clothes since I wouldn't outgrow the ones I already had. So, I got some actual presents this time.

            Uncle Ben got me the new Spider-Man game, and Aunt Pam's present was a motion sensor that you could stick next to a door and it would play the Star Trek "woosh" noise every time the door opened. That was going in my room the moment we got home.

            I did still have to listen to everyone gush over Hannah, with the added bonus of comments about Michelle's progress through puberty. This didn't annoy me like last year. It was worse than that. It aroused me instead. I guess I'm 0 for 2 when it comes to rapidly growing female relatives.

            This was only made worse that evening when it was decided that we would drive into town to look at the Christmas lights. Since Aunt Pam and the cousins had flown in, we had to do some work to find seats for everyone. Dad volunteered to take the kids, while Mom joined Aunt Pam in another vehicle. That still left us one spot short.

            I tried to call Shotgun, but Michelle got to the car first.

            "Sorry, little guy. I need the legroom." It was hard to argue with that. At 5'6", she was already adult-sized. 

            I resigned myself to squeezing in the back. But once I turned to look, all the seats were taken. Hannah was sitting behind Michelle, with Grace in the middle and Evan on the far side. I decided to cram myself next to Evan; the middle seat was barely big enough for one, and Evan was way smaller than my sister. But when I started to walk around, Hannah called out to me.

            "Hey, Nate. Since we have too many people, you can sit on my lap." I stared at her in disbelief.

            "What? If someone's gonna sit on a lap, shouldn't it be Grace?"

            "We need her in the middle. Besides, they're our guests, so we need to make them comfortable first. C'mon! We're gonna get left behind."

            I didn't think host etiquette applied to cars, not that it mattered. Hannah was grinning, but I could see the determination in her eyes. I wasn't getting out of this one. I sighed and climbed in to a chorus of giggles.

            "There", Hannah said, as she pulled the seatbelt over the two of us. "See? It isn't too bad. Unless you'd rather I sit on your lap?"

            "No thanks", I replied firmly, earning more giggles. Even setting aside the fact that Hannah weighed a good twenty pounds more than me, there was no way I would let her sit on my lap. I could already feel my dick starting to rise from having her strong body pressed against mine. The last thing I needed was for her to sit right on it.

            We drove around for about 45 minutes. There was quite a spread of lights to "Oooooh" and "Ahhhh" over, from the gaudy, to the subtle, to the surprisingly beautiful. I think, anyway. I only remember bits of it. 

            I was too busy being distracted by my seatmate. The warmth of her body. The feel of her muscular arms wrapped around my waist. How surprisingly comfortable it was on her lap. How different my view was propped several inches above the seat by her massive thighs. Let's just say I spent most of the time fighting very unbrotherly thoughts and feelings.

            Eventually, we stopped at the town square. Giving everyone a chance to stretch their legs around the big tree in the center. Grampa ran to a nearby store and returned with hot chocolate for everyone. Then we had to squeeze back in and drive back.

            "I'll need to grow some more before we try this again", Hannah commented. I turned to look at her over my shoulder.

            "Don't tell me that I'm too heavy for you", I teased.

            "Not even close", she shot back, with a grin. "I just don't like having your head so much higher than mine."

            "Haha, of course it is; I'm sitting on top of your thighs. That's a 5 or 6-inch boost. And you'd have to grow at least twice that much since longer legs won't help here. I have no idea how tall you'd have to be to look down at me while I was on your lap."

            "Six-foot-four, assuming I don't slack on my leg workouts", Hannah replied instantly. "What? Jess and I worked it out once."

            "Why am I not surprised? I guess it'll be a while."

            "A few years, but don't worry, I'll get there." And you know what? I didn't even consider doubting her.

------------------------------------------------------------

            All too soon, school was back in session. At least this semester looked significantly less exciting than the last one. It wouldn't be void of basketball, however. Hannah and I had been playing whenever it was warm enough. I was surprised by how much fun I was having. I couldn't remember the last time I was actually excited to play, but now I looked forward to every game.

            Sure, I lost them all, but I still had fun. And now, with the rust gone, I could score 3 or 4 times before Hannah got to 10. Sadly, I could only use basketball to get out of my aerobics when we didn't have school. Otherwise, Hannah wouldn't have time to do her workout in the morning. She had been getting her cardio rollerblading to and from school for months, so time in the basement was fully dedicated to lifting.

            Her basketball skills really were amazing. She was going to be a terror when she finally got to play on a team. And basketball wasn't the only sport she excelled at.

            "Nate, can you go down to the lot and get your sister? Dinner will be ready in 5."

            "OK", I replied. I needed a break anyway. Studying for midterms was a real chore.

            I walked down the street until I could see the lot clearly. It looked like football was back, in spite of the cold weather. Hannah's team had the ball and was about to begin a play. I was suddenly hit with deja vu. It might be a little mean, but I couldn't resist the urge to wait until the quarterback yelled "Hike!" before calling out to Hannah.

            "Hannah! Dinner!"

            Once again, my sister looked over to me, and once again, Jeremy immediately tried to take advantage of the distraction. He stopped pushing against her, causing Hannah to lean forward until she lost her balance. Then he rushed back in, trying to knock her down.

            But things were different this time. Hannah was almost a head taller than Jeremy now and probably outweighed him by a couple dozen pounds. When he crashed into her, she barely moved. In fact, he was the one that almost fell over, as he rebounded off her solid body. Thankfully, Hannah reacted quickly, grabbing his arm.

            "Careful", she said, grinning down at him. "Don't hurt yourself." Then she picked him up by his armpits, took a single step forward and then one to the right. As if on cue, one of her teammates ran through the gap, carrying the ball to the end zone.

            "That's game!" Hannah's team cheered, while Jeremy's side groaned.

            "Dammit, Jeremy!" Cindy exclaimed, turning on her teammate. "I knew letting you guard Hannah was a mistake."

            "Like you were doing any better", Jeremy shot back. "The score wouldn't be 5 to 1 if you hadn't let her sack our QB so many times."

            As the two got in each other's faces, I did a double take. Cindy and Jeremy had both been around 4'4" during Hannah's birthday party. Now Cindy was clearly taller. She had to be about 4'7". I guess she was about the right age for puberty to kick in, but 3 inches in 4 months still seemed extreme.

            "At least, she didn't pick me up like I was a little kid."

            "Oh? Are you implying she couldn't have? Don't let her hear you say that."

            "C'mon, guys", Hannah interrupted, "no fighting between my friends."

            "Whatever, Mom", the two shot back in unison. But the argument dissolved into laughter regardless.

            Eventually, the group broke up, and Hannah and I started home.

            "Wow, it seems like you're running over everyone in those games now."

            "Yeah, I'm just so much bigger than the other kids." Hannah's reply started out cheerful, but by the end, her tone had shifted.

            "Something wrong?"

            "I dunno. I like winning, of course, but lately it's been too easy. I guess I just miss when winning was a challenge."

            "It's lonely at the top, huh?"

            "Haha. But seriously, I think I need to find some older kids to play against."

            "That might be difficult around here. It usually took a special occasion, like my birthday, to get enough kids my age for a game."

             "I guess I'll just have to play with high schoolers then."

            "That would be quite the challenge!"

            "Yeah." This time, Hannah's tone was eager.

------------------------------------------------------------

            As January continued, I noticed the other students had left me behind. I was officially short for an 8th-grader, even compared to just the guys. Even Tim was starting to get close. He was only 2 inches shorter than me now. The 7th graders were growing too. The tallest boys had reached my height, and at least half of the girls were taller than me.

            Kerry had been keeping her distance. Aside from the occasional grimace when our eyes would happen to meet, she seemed content to ignore me like I was any other little nerd. The distance between Sam and I remained unchanged, though I did have to watch her get picked up by her new boyfriend one day while waiting for the bus.

            Thankfully, my other friendships stayed solid. I had the geek squad over to my house for the first time, which was a hoot. In addition to Tim, there was Alice, Lisa, Carl, and Frank.

            Carl was a chubby guy about my height and an absolute beast in Halo multi-player. Frank was one of the few guys who had been around my height before I stopped growing, so he currently stood 5'3". But he was a classic beanpole, meaning he was the only kid taller than Brad that Brad bullied in elementary school.

            Watching the two of them meet my sister was the highlight of the visit. Carl was amazed that a nine-year-old was as tall as him, while Frank stumbled his way through complimenting her muscles. The inevitable basketball game between her, Alice, and Lisa was great too.

            This month also saw Alice and Tim finally stop tip-toeing around each other and admit their feelings.

            "A-and then she just leaned down and k-kissed me! I still can't believe it."

            "Well believe it, man. I think she's had a thing for you for a while."

            "But, why me? She's so p-pretty and tall, and she gets along with everyone. While I'm just a short, s-shy, wimpy nerd. I guess I've been her friend for years, but a bunch of guys can say that."

            "Maybe she just likes short guys", I said, shrugging. "But don't be so down on yourself, Tim. You're a great friend, you're fun to hang out with, and you've got killer smash-bros skills."

            "Oh, yeah. The one thing all girls want in a boyfriend: an addiction to a 25-year-old game."

            "Haha. Look, if it really bothers you, just ask her. Don't convince yourself that you're not good enough when she's right there showing you that you are."

            "O-OK, I'll try."

            Maybe it was time for me to make a change as well. I needed to stop pining after Sam. She had clearly moved on, and I should too. Not that I had romantic partners lined up waiting for me to become available. It's just that continuing on the way I did last semester wouldn't be healthy.

------------------------------------------------------------

            Before I knew it, February had arrived. And with it, an event that had been coming for a long time.

            The morning started off normal enough. I exercised with Hannah, took a shower, ate breakfast, and got ready for school. Same old, same old for me. Something did seem a little off with Hannah. She looked my way more than usual, and it was always with an expectant smile on her face. Like she knew something I didn't and was waiting for me to notice.

            However, it had been a long week, and I was too tired to solve a puzzle before school. So I just ignored it. If it was something important, she would tell me eventually.

            I had just walked over to the front door to grab my shoes, when I heard her walk up behind me.

            "Hey, little bro, I need a favor."

            "OK, first of all. Ease up on the 'little brother' title. You're not taller than me yet." I turned around, but where I expected to see Hannah's eyes, I instead found her nose. Huh? No wait, not falling for that again. "And didn't Mom tell you not to wear your rollerblades indoors?" Hannah giggled.

            "It's been a while since you looked this tall to me with my rollerblades on." Wait, she's right... But then...? My eyes snapped down, to see her bare feet opposite mine. I slowly moved them up again, until I was looking up into her eyes.

            "I... You'r..." Blood rushed to my crotch, my dick responding faster than my brain.

            "So anyway, that favor. You know how I've been rollerblading to and from school?" I nodded, mutely. "Well, it doesn't feel like a workout anymore. I need a way to make it more difficult. That's where you come in. I want to give you a piggyback ride all the way home from school."

            I needed to refuse. Just the thought of her carrying 70 lbs for almost two miles was enough to make my erection painfully hard. If I was on her back that entire time, my penis rubbing up and down with every bump, I wouldn't make it.

            "You're probably wondering", Hannah continued, as she crouched down to put on her rollerblades, "why I didn't just ask Jess. Well, I did, on Monday. She wouldn't have forgiven me if I went to you first. But she couldn't handle it. She almost fainted on the way home."

            "It was kinda hilarious, but I would feel bad subjecting her to that every day. She doesn't weigh as much as you anyway." I finally found my voice.

            "Hannah, I don't th..."

            She stood up suddenly, cutting me off. But she didn't rise to her full height right away. Instead, she paused when our eyes were at the same level. Then, with a smirk, she slowly straightened her legs.

            I stared as her eyes rose above mine, followed by her nose, then her mouth. I was looking straight into her chin, but incredibly, that too climbed up, until she was finally upright, leaving me gazing at her neck.

            "That's better. Hey, I can see right over your head now. Cool! So, I'll pick you up outside the main entrance. Thanks, little bro."

            And she was gone before I could protest further. I stood there, overwhelmed, for a few more seconds, before I realized what time it was. Then I had to scramble to get my shoes on and make it to the bus stop.

------------------------------------------------------------

            I tried to prepare myself during school. During lunch, I jerked off in the men's room so, hopefully, my dick would still be worn out by the time I had to meet Hannah. But eventually, the final bell rang, and I had to face the music.

            I paused once I got to the front exit, and peeked out to survey the situation. I immediately spotted my sister, standing on the sidewalk just to the right of the buses currently filling with students. She was pretty hard to miss, not only due to her rather unique physique, but also because of her height.

            With the 3-inch boost from her rollerblades, she was taller than all of the 7th-grade boys, most of the 7th-grade girls and 8th-grade boys, and even a fair number of the 8th-grade girls. In fact, a group of guys walked past her while I watched, and not a single one of them was tall enough to reach her nose. Despite them all being at least 3 years older than her.

            Obviously, I wasn't the only one that noticed her. She was getting looks from most of the passing middle schoolers. Hannah ate up the attention with a grin, radiating supreme confidence.

            Suddenly, someone gave out a startled yelp. From my vantage point, I was easily able to identify the source: Brad. He was standing about 30 feet away from Hannah, one arm pointing towards her, his eyes wide. Hannah turned toward the noise, and her grin widened. She waved to Brad. His face paled, and he let out a second, higher-pitched yelp, before making a mad dash toward the nearest bus.

            Amusement at Brad's expense aside, I realized there was a problem. If I met up with her now, half the school would get to see me dwarfed by my nine-year-old sister. And then carried off on her back, like a little kid. On the other hand, the longer I waited, the bigger the chance of some of my friends seeing her and staying to talk.

            But I didn't get any time to ponder the dilemma, as Hannah started waving in my direction. She had spotted me lurking by the doors. And, of course, the students watching her turned to see who she was waving to. I lowered my head and shuffled out to meet her, my face burning with embarrassment.

            "Hey, little bro!" Hannah said with a smirk. "I was starting to wonder where you were. Ready to go?" I nodded, meekly. At this point, rather than try to argue my way out of this, I just wanted to get away from all the prying eyes as soon as possible. Hannah turned so her back was facing me and crouched down.

            "Alright, hop on!" I took a second, now that Hannah wasn't looking at me, to adjust myself, trying to position my dick so it wouldn't be sandwiched between my stomach and her back. Then I reluctantly climbed on, wrapping my legs around her waist.

            She stood up, to the giggles of several onlookers. But before heading out, she grabbed the bottom of my thighs. I gasped as her touch sent a bolt of electricity up my spine. She jostled me gently up and down and side to side, like she was trying to find the most comfortable position to carry me in. She only stopped once my already-erect cock slid into the worst possible orientation.

            "Hold on tight", she ordered, only removing her hands once I clenched my legs, locking myself in place. Then we shot off towards home.

            Holy crap! I clung to Hannah's back as she hurtled across the pavement, her arms and legs pistoning like a well-oiled machine. Her breathing was deep and even, like she was pacing herself instead of sprinting down the street. Like carrying a teenager on her back was no big deal.

            With each stride, my dick rubbed against her back, providing constant, relentless stimulation. Every bump and crack in our path caused random jolts of motion, only adding to my torture. Soon, I was on the edge of a thunderous climax. My mind was overwhelmed by anxiety from the rollercoaster-like ride itself, as we barreled through crosswalks and swerved around pedestrians, and terror that I would explode all over my sister's back.

            Minute after minute passed as I desperately held off an orgasm. Finally, I saw relief approaching. The route from school was mostly flat, but just before our neighborhood was a steep uphill slope. Hannah would have to slow down there. She might even stop, let me down, and walk to the top.

            We reached the bottom of the hill, but Hannah didn't stop. She grimaced and tensed her core; her abs and obliques pushing against my legs. And up we went.

            Hannah finally started to show the strain from what she was putting herself through. Her breathing became ragged, her face turned red. But she refused to stop, or even slow down. We hurtled up the hill, like my sister was eager to prove that not even gravity was a match for her strength.

            Hannah's body trembled, sweat pouring off her despite the cold air. Just when I thought she had finally reached her limit, we crested the hill. A minute or two later, we were turning onto our street, and then we were home.

            I slid off Hannah's back, my legs shaking almost as much as hers. My penis throbbed, but somehow I had held it in. I desperately needed relief, but concern for my sister held me back. Hannah was huffing and puffing, bent over with her hands on her knees.

            "Are you OK? That was insane! You shouldn't push yourself like that!" Hannah immediately straightened up, plastering a smile on her face and slowing her breathing.

            "I don't know what you're, hah, talking about. That was nothing. See," she slapped her thigh, "all that way and I'm barely pumped at all." This was a lie. Her leggings (the only concession she made to the fact that it was still winter) had been tight before. Now they looked painted on, barely containing her swollen legs.

            "I could go straight into a leg workout, no problem." To demonstrate, she dropped into a squat right there. But it was too much. As she started to rise, there was a loud tearing sound, her thighs finally outgrowing the overtaxed fabric.

            "Well, OK", she admitted, her grin widening. "Maybe I pushed myself a little."

            That was the last straw. My body shook as I orgasmed. I came, and came, and came. Hannah didn't say anything, just smiling down at me as I blushed, stuttered unintelligibly, and ran inside.

------------------------------------------------------------

            I had never been more embarrassed in my life. Hannah made me climax in front of her. And her expression wasn't confused or disgusted, it was proud. Like she had been aiming for that exact result. But I don't know why she would do that. And I couldn't ask her about it, so I had to stew in impotent confusion.

            Hannah didn't mention my accident, but she didn't let up either. Every schoolday since then has ended with her carrying me home. She stands next to me every chance she gets, so she can look down into my eyes. And she acts like she knows exactly what she's doing. I haven't busted a nut to her since, but I'm suffering from near-constant blue balls.

            You'd think that, at least, would be easy to solve. Just pull up some porn and let loose. And I did, when I could. But I couldn't always drop whatever I was doing and find some privacy to bust one out.

            Today Hannah was especially ruthless. It was Valentine's Day, and she had been shamelessly flirting with Jess since we got back from school. And every so often, she would glance my way with a smug expression, as if she was saying: "I know you're enjoying this too".

            No need to tone it down around the parents either. They had gone straight from work to their own date. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and made a tactical withdrawal (fled) to my room.

            But there would be no escape tonight. I had just cleared my mind of images of my sister and started to stroke it to some smutty femdom when there was a loud knock on my door. I had just enough time to close the video and pull up my pants before Hannah pushed the door open.

            "Hey Nate", she said, then paused. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

            "No! Um, no. Just hanging out. What's up?"

            "Oh, I just wanted to let you know that Jess and I are headed to my room. I'm going to give her her Valentine's present. It'll probably take a while. So that's where we'll be if you need help", she glanced right at my crotch, "with anything."

            "I'll, uh, keep that in mind. Um, have fun?" Hannah's smile widened.

            "Oh, we will. Later, little bro." Then she walked out, not even bothering to close the door behind her.

            I sighed and got up. Just as I was about to shut the door myself, I noticed a sliver of light in the hallway. I felt a surge of deja vu. The door to Hannah's room was ajar, just like last year. To my embarrassment, I felt my dick return to full mast. With a conscious effort, I turned around and shut myself in my room.

            I tried to return to my porn, but as it was getting good, I heard a moan loud enough to penetrate into my room and through my headphones. Nothing happening in the video could account for it. It had to be Jess. Upon that realization, memories from last Valentine's flashed through my mind. I shuddered.

            Maybe I should do something else. But I was so hard! I tried to return to the video, but it was no use. Even once the amazon in the video started to have sex, her cries mixed with Jess' instead of covering them up. I couldn't keep thoughts of Hannah and Jess out of my mind.

            Eventually, I gave up. I put some white noise on and got into bed, my erection tenting the covers. I lay staring at the ceiling until sleep finally took me.

------------------------------------------------------------

            "I'll prove you all wrong. I'm gonna be taller than Nate. I'm gonna be taller than everybody!" I watched as my eight-year-old sister exited Dr. Feldspar's office and slammed the door. If only she knew how quickly she would be proven right.

            I closed my eyes, picturing my little sister looking down at me. Just a year and a half and things were so different...

            My eyes opened to see Jess standing in front of me. She was swinging that coin again, like the first time she hypnotized me. Her gaze was locked on mine; her voice soft but somehow authoritative.

            "You are feeling very tiny." Huh? Something was off. "You are shrinking down into a state of complete miniaturization. With each swing of the pendulum, you feel your strength fade away. I am going to count down from 10. With each number, you will sink to a new level of smallness. Four-foot-"

10

            "With each number, you will draw closer and closer to the floor. Becoming less and less athletic. Feeling more and more petite. Four-foot-"

9

            I felt a strange tugging sensation, like there was a point deep in my gut and every part of my body was being pulled towards it. My eyes widened as the room seemed to expand around me. As Jess continued counting down, I felt my heart rate rise. What's going on? How is this possible?

            "So very tiny. So very weak. Your height drops ever lower. Four-foot-"

6

            The sleeves of my sweater had passed my palms and were beginning to swallow my fingers. I was starting to get scared. Or was I excited? Imagine how much Hannah would tower over me now. Wait! Why was she the first girl I thought of?

            "With each inch you shrink, your strength fades. With each number, your size reduces. So tiny... So insignificant... Four-foot-"

2

            I gasped as my feet lost contact with the floor, my legs no longer able to reach that far down. I had to stop this. I hopped off Hannah's bed and stood up in front of Jess.

            "Jess wait! I don't wa..." I lost my ability to speak. At some point, Jess had ceased to be the 10-year-old that first hypnotized me, instead becoming the 11-year-old she is today. Meaning I was looking up slightly to meet her eyes. The slim, petite girl I had always towered over, was now taller than me. My dick surged.

            "You feel your body contracting", Jess continued, a slight smile the only acknowledgment of our reversal. "Your height slipping away. Four-foot-"

1

            All thoughts of resistance were replaced by an urgent need to flee as Jess' eyes climbed higher. I ran for the door as fast as I could with one hand holding up my pants. I grabbed the doorknob but my grip slipped, my sleeves now completely covering my hands. I pulled my sweater off and managed to open the door and escape into the hallway. But Jess' voice followed me.

            "Four-foot-"

0

            I tripped over the cuffs of my pants. I left them on the floor and made a mad dash towards my room. If I could just get away from her voice, maybe I would stop shrinking. I tore into my room and pushed the door shut...

            "I can't get aroused, OK?!" Sam exclaimed. "Not when you're so much shorter and weaker than me."

            I spun around to see Sam standing topless in the middle of her room, her 5'7" frame towering over me. I stepped timidly towards her. I should explain. I needed to explain the situation to her.

            "No, Sam. You don't understand. Jess shrunk me somehow. I'm not supposed to be this short!"

            "I mean, look at us. You look so small from up here", Sam continued, ignoring me. "Are we really the same age? It's like I'm dating a little kid."

            The closer I got to her, the smaller I felt, and the harder my dick became. My eyes were level with the top of her abs. My head didn't even reach the bottom of her breasts. Suddenly, I felt the tugging sensation return. But I wasn't the only one changing. 

            As I shrank, Sam grew and matured. Her muscles hardening, her breasts swelling, her legs lengthening, until she looked like she did on the last day of Nationals. I was looking straight at her belly button. And then Tony stepped into my view. Sam turned and smiled up at him. They kissed. She looked back down at me.

            "That's what kissing my boyfriend should look like. Maybe you can find someone more fitting too, like a 4th grader."

            I felt tears begin to form as Tony sniggered above me. I shut my eyes and spun around. I started stumbling in the opposite direction, feeling myself shrinking again...

            I collided with a firm, warm surface. I opened my eyes to see another belly button.

            "I dunno, I kinda like how small you are."

            I looked up to see Alice smiling down at me. Thankfully, she was the 5'6" Alice I was familiar with, not the 5'0" one from the basketball team tryouts. Even so, I must have shrunk quite a bit more. I was probably close to 3'6", about the same height as Grace, my 6-year-old cousin. Even little Rosie would tower over me now.

            "But, you know what I would like even better? If you got even smaller."

            I immediately felt the shrinking sensation return, but stronger than before. Alice looked taller and taller with each passing second. When it stopped, I was facing her wide hips stretching a pair of athletic shorts.

            "Alice, please", I pleaded. "I don't want to get any smaller."

            "Really? One part of you seems to be enjoying it." I followed her gaze to my twitching erection. My t-shirt was more than long enough now to cover it; in fact, the bottom was below my knees. But my cock still made its presence known, pushing the fabric away from my waist.

            In fact, it seemed to be shrinking slower than the rest of my body. From my perspective, it was longer and harder than it had ever been. My arousal suddenly swelled to match, becoming a throbbing need. Maybe stopping my shrinking could wait until after I found a place to relieve myself...

            "Wow, put that away, little guy. Aren't you embarrassed to be pitching a tent in front of your cousin?" I looked up. Michelle had taken Alice's place in front of me. She stood, hands on her hips, leaning over to look down at me. Her disapproval was a bit ruined by the grin on her face.

            "It's hard to believe that you were taller than me just a couple of years ago. Now you're like half my size. Oops, less than half, I guess."

            I was shrinking again. I watched as Michelle rose higher until her thigh filled my vision. Her leg was a cloth-covered pillar, wider than my shoulders. I gasped as my arousal intensified again, my swollen cock-head nearly reaching my sternum.

            "Did you just get even harder? You're such a perv! Sorry, little guy. No matter how cute you look right now, relatives are off-limits." I knew that, dammit.

            I glanced around. Thankfully, my grandparents' house seemed empty except for the two of us. I dashed down the hallway, Michelle's laughter echoing behind me. I needed to orgasm; otherwise, I might go crazy. This door should lead to the bathroom...

            "I told you that I would get big enough to give you a piggyback ride!"

            I somehow found myself back in Sam's house, except this time I was so small that even the 5-year-old in front of me dwarfed me with ease. In fact, Taylor seemed as big compared to me, as I had been to her the last time we saw each other.

            "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

            "Nuh-uh. I'm the big kid now. That means I'm in charge." Taylor turned around and squatted down. "C'mon! It'll be fun!"

            That's what worried me. But it didn't look like I had a choice. I climbed onto her back, and she stood up. Taylor immediately began running back and forth, giggling excitedly. I struggled just to hang on, and that task only became more difficult as I began to shrink yet again. Oh, God. How small could I get? I was already the size of an infant.

            "Taylor, slow down! I can't hang on!" The hyperactive kindergartner ignored me. My legs were too short to wrap all the way around her waist. Suddenly, they slipped off entirely, and I found myself hanging by my arms around her neck. There was no way I could support my weight like that for long, even if I wasn't being flung every which way. I felt my grip weakening.

            "Taylor!" I screamed one last time. My hands parted. I was swallowed by my t-shirt as I dropped off her back. Darkness enveloped me...

            "You're so small!"

            I opened my eyes and nearly passed out from shock. Right above me was Marcia's face, but much too big to be real. I felt the ground shift slightly beneath me, and suddenly realized that I was lying naked in her hand. I couldn't be more than 6 inches tall! My feet were at her wrist but my head didn't even reach the tips of her fingers.

            "I guess you really were a boy in disguise. Although at this point, you might as well be a mouse." I curled up into a ball, my whole body shaking. Faced with someone so unbelievably huge, fear was the only possible emotion.

            "Aww, don't be scared, Mouse. I won't hurt you. Although, you should probably put that away, I do have a boyfriend, you know."

            I had forgotten about my erection, but it hadn't gone away. On the contrary, it was even larger than before, despite my fear. But just as arousal pushed to the front of my mind, flesh-colored pillars surrounded me. I found myself cupped in a pair of hands slightly larger than Marcia's.

            "Hey! What's the big idea?"

            "Now, now, Marcia", said a second voice. Brenda! "You've had your fun, but this little pet doesn't belong to you. It's time I returned him to his owner."

            I felt fear consume me again. And it only worsened as I began to get even smaller. I felt Brenda's palm expand beneath me until I wouldn't reach the edges, even if I could manage to stretch out from the fetal position. Eventually, I was dumped roughly onto the floor. I blinked, momentarily blinded by the light.

*SLAM*

            I jumped to my feet as a shoe the size of a sedan landed next to me. Just the part of the sole under the toebox was large enough to crush my entire body. I looked upwards in terror, past a stiletto heel twice my height, up toned legs the size of office buildings, to a naked, dripping pussy. Even higher hung an immense pair of breasts, barely contained in a bra with cups larger than a house. Finally, above even them, was Kerry's aroused, billboard-sized face.

            She was a living skyscraper, more than 150 feet tall from my perspective. Her self-proclaimed title of goddess no longer seemed like conceited hyperbole. Now it was the only label that seemed appropriate.

            "Well, well, look who it is. The little mouse that thought he could defy me." Even Kerry's voice radiated power, sounding more like a loudspeaker at a rock concert than a human voice. "No, you're too small and pathetic to be a mouse. You're just an insect, and I'm going to squash you like one."

            Her foot lifted off the ground and moved to hover over my head. This isn't happening! This can't be happ... Shit! I leapt to the side just in time. The shoe slammed into the floor again, creating tremors powerful enough to knock me off my feet. I got back up and tried to flee, but it was hard to run with my dick so painfully erect.

            I managed to dodge another stomp, and another. Meanwhile, drops of Kerry's juices the size of water balloons fell from the sky. She moaned, the sound deafening.

            "Why are you running? Nothing in your insignificant life will be as important as this. You should be grateful that you get to die for my pleasure." She took aim at me again.

            Suddenly, I slipped. I had been so focused on watching her shoe that I hadn't noticed the puddle until I landed in it face-first. Kerry's laughter rolled like thunder as I tried to rise, covered in her slimy cum. But I fell again. I rolled over just in time to see the sole rushing towards me. I screamed, throwing up my arms and squeezing my eyes shut...

            But the end never came. I opened my eyes and sat up. Kerry was gone, along with the football-stadium-sized classroom. I sighed in relief, but then I realized that I wasn't sitting on a cold floor anymore. The ground was warm and soft. And flesh-colored?

            I jumped to my feet. Who was I on? What were they going to do to me? How small was I now? Looking around, I saw what must be the edge of a piece of clothing, a dozen or more feet to my left. And the same thing off to my right. I was standing on someone's stomach, and I couldn't have been more than an inch tall.

            "Hey, look who finally showed up. Welcome home, little bro."

            Hannah! For a moment, I was overjoyed. But then I saw her hand coming towards me, and I was in panic mode again. It was just too big. She could crush me with a single finger. I crouched down, raising my arms around my head.

            "Oh, Nate. It's alright. I would never hurt you." I felt her fingertip gently pat the top of my head. I slowly lowered my arms and looked up. Hannah's giant face was smiling down at me. "That's better. You're safe with me."

            I finally relaxed, sitting down as my strength left me. Hannah lowered her finger until the tip rested gently on my lap. Just the first segment was longer than my legs and wider than my torso. I leaned in and hugged her fingertip, feeling her warmth on my face. Hannah's giggles echoed above me.

            Hannah slowly pushed me over, until I was lying on my back. Then she began to rub her fingertip up and down my body, up and down my cock. I gasped as my dick surged even longer, the tip nearly reaching my chin. I could barely think straight. If this kept up, I would cum in seconds.

            "Hannah..." I moaned.

            "Shhh. It's OK, little bro. I said I would help you with anything." I had been hard for so long. I couldn't resist her. I... didn't want to resist her.

            "Now cum, Nate. Cum for your big sister." And I did.

            I spasmed, my back arching. My dick was a fountain, a geyser, a semen volcanic eruption. My orgasm seemed to go on for hours. Finally, I collapsed, and the world faded away.

------------------------------------------------------------

            I sat up with a start. I was in my bed, my normal-sized bed. It had all been a dream. I felt a shiver race through my body. And then, I felt something else. I threw back the covers to reveal an absolute mess. In my sleep, I had cum so hard that I was sticky from my belly button to halfway down my thighs.

            It had been a dream, mostly.

             I had to do something. After Valentine's Day, I was in serious danger of falling in love with Hannah. She was too perfect a match for all my fetishes, in a way no one but Sam had ever been. I needed to stop before I crossed (even more) lines that siblings should never cross. The only solution I could see was to get a new girlfriend. Of course, this presented a couple of problems.

             First, I had found Hannah arousing for a year now, and for half that time Sam and I were still together. And I couldn't imagine anyone else measuring up to her. But an imperfect distraction was better than none. A girlfriend would also hopefully help me get over Sam.

             Of course, I felt a little bad having such motivations. But it wasn't like I was just leading someone on, I did want a relationship. I wouldn't get back with Kerry for a billion dollars, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the physical intimacy.

             The second problem was who this girl could be. It wasn't like suitors were lining up to be mine. Several girls I used to be friends with wanted nothing to do with me after the breakup. And in the geek squad, only Alice seemed interested in short guys, and she was obviously off limits.

             There were a few classmates that I could try asking out, but my flirting skills were pretty lacking given how I had been with Sam since I got interested in girls. So it took me about a week to figure out what to say and work up the courage to say it.

             Eventually, I decided on Wendy from my English Lit. class. She wasn't really athletic, but she was pretty, and we got along. Also, since she was only a bit taller than me, I might have a chance with her.

             "Mr. Salisbury is really piling on the homework lately, huh?"

             "Yeah", she replied, "this book report is something else. Getting it done by Monday is gonna suck."

             "We could work on it together. You could come to my house on Saturday. And maybe, once we're done, we could catch a movie or something." Her eyes narrowed.

             "Catch a movie? Like a date?"

             "Um, yeah. But, only if you want to, of course." She sighed.

             "Look, Nate, you're a nice guy, but don't you think you're a little short for me?"

             "Well, it doesn't bother me if you're taller than I am. And it's only like an inch or two anyway."

             "Only an inch, huh?" She said, getting to her feet. I stood up too. "My growth spurt might have started late but my family's pretty tall, while you're done growing."

             "But..." I protested, looking up into her eyes.

             "I just don't think you're boyfriend material."

             "Oh, what's this? Nate finally found someone his size?" I turned to see Kerry's tits hanging just above my eye level. Damn. I had completely forgotten that she was in this class too. She was wearing heels today, towering over Wendy and I.

             "No", I corrected her. "I tried to ask her out, but she's too tall for me."

             "Hmmm?" Kerry bent at the waist, slowly lowering her head down to our level. "Oh, you're right! The two of you are so short, that I couldn't tell at first."

             I was used to Kerry's verbal jabs, but Wendy turned red with embarrassment. She glared at me like this was somehow my fault, before grabbing her stuff and storming off. I frowned up at Kerry, studiously ignoring the deep cleavage chasm her posture was exposing.

             "Was that really necessary?" She just smirked at me.

             "Interacting with titches like you two is rarely necessary. But it can be fun."

             "Wow, I almost forgot how much of a bitch you are." She frowned and straightened up.

             "Don't push your luck, little boy. That blackmail will only get you so far." And she strode past me, swinging her hip into me as she did.

             I was struck, literally, by how much difference the last year and a half had made. Instead of hitting my gut and knocking the wind out of me, Kerry's hip smacked into the lower half of my chest and knocked me to the ground.

------------------------------------------------------------

             Well so much for that idea. By the time Hannah picked me up on Friday, I had tried to ask out 3 other girls. None of them were interested in a single date, let alone a relationship. That was it for my list. Unless I wanted to start hitting on complete strangers, I would have to endure Hannah's behavior without a girlfriend.

             Thankfully, I was excused from working out on Saturdays, so I got to sleep in. By the time I got up, it was about 1 in the afternoon. I headed into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Hannah was already up and watching TV.

             "Oh, Nate", she called once the microwave dinging alerted her to my presence, "you're finally up!"

             "Yup. Just getting some breakfast."

             "Cool. Hey, grab a glass of juice for me, while you're there." I looked down at my hands. One held a cup of milk, while the other was needed for my plate of waffles.

             "Sorry, my hands are full. You'll have to get it yourself." Hannah sighed theatrically. I smiled and opened the microwave. After grabbing my food, I turned to see Hannah right next to me.

             I was startled, not just by her proximity but by her expression. There was a bit of irritation but it was mostly a look of stern disappointment. Like a school teacher who just found out that one of her kids was too stupid to follow simple rules. Not an expression you would expect a nine-year-old to make.

             "Nate. When I tell you to do something, I expect it to be done, understand? You can finish whatever you were doing afterwards. Serving me comes first."

             I was stunned. Did she really expect me to act that way? Like I was her servant or something? And why was I getting an erection?!

             "I... W-wha...?" My stuttering caused her seriousness to dissolve into giggles.

             "I'm just messing with you, bro." She reached around me to open the fridge and grab the juice herself. "Like, can you imagine? Me ordering you around like that?" She straightened back up, grinning down at me. "I mean, it sounds fun to me. But there's no way you would agree to that, right?"

             "O-of course not."

             "Of course not", she agreed, nodding.

             Then she stepped even closer to me, before rising onto her tiptoes. Her chest brushed lightly against mine as she stretched up to grab a glass from the cabinet behind me. I gasped, my heart pounding. Her biceps flexed on either side of my head as she poured her drink. Only once she had finished and placed the juice carton back in the fridge, did she step back.

             "I guess getting it myself was pretty fun too", she stated, glancing down at the tent in my pants, before turning and strutting out of the room.

             Why does she do things like this to me? I can't hold onto the idea that she doesn't realize what she's doing anymore. She's made it more than clear that she knows she's turning me on. What is she looking to accomplish? She's my sister! She already has a girlfriend! I just can't figure it out.

------------------------------------------------------------

             A few weeks later, there was a hypnotism get-together. This surprised me since I hadn't really seen any of the girls come by for hypnotism since Hannah's birthday.

             "Oh, yeah. It would've been awkward for them to have to come here for every session", Hannah stated when I asked. "Cindy's the only one that lives in the neighborhood, so we've just been doing it at school. Everyone's still participating. In fact, we've had several more kids join after seeing how good it was."

             "That's great! Jess must be really busy."

             "Yup. That's why we had to schedule this get-together. Otherwise, some of the girls would've had to skip a session."

             I ended up tasked with greeting the guests and keeping them entertained until it was their turn. Hannah said it was so each of them could have some privacy, but it almost felt like she was trying to make sure I stayed away. The girls had been together for their first session after all.

             June was the first one up. She had ridden the bus with Jess while Hannah waited to take me home. She was close friends with my sister so her coming over was a pretty regular thing. The next girl, on the other hand, I hadn't seen since the summer.

             "Hi!" Rosie chirped, as soon as I opened the door, before turning to wave goodbye to her dad. This gave me a moment to cover my surprise. She was tall!

             Not compared to me, of course, she was only seven. But for a seven-year-old, she was huge! The top of her head came all the way up to my shoulder!

             For a second, I thought I was overreacting. It had been half a year since Hannah's party, maybe Rosie had always been way taller than the average 2nd grader and I had just forgotten. But that couldn't be it. I distinctly remember most of the girls at the sleepover being about shoulder-height, and Rosie being a few inches shorter than them.

             The last hope vanished as I welcomed her in. Her shoes were basically flat, so that couldn't explain the gap either. I just had to accept that she had somehow grown about 3 inches taller.

             "June already started her session, so you should only have to wait a few minutes", I told her, as we headed over to the couch. I guess I could just ask. "You've gotten bigger since I last saw you. You must be about 4 feet tall now."

             "Yup! I'm the tallest in my class! I've been working out, too. I'm gonna be big and strong, just like Hannah!"

             "You'll have to work hard to catch up to her, but it looks like you're on the right track."

             "Yeah, she's so cool!" Rosie's eyes shone with admiration. "She's even taller than you now, right?" I nodded.

             "It's almost like she's getting all the inches I can't use anymore." For some reason that made Rosie giggle. But then, a knock signaled our last guest arriving.

             I opened the door and was immediately stunned again. I was looking straight at Cindy's nose! That couldn't be right! A low chuckle brought me back to Earth.

             "Well, are you gonna let me in or not?"

             "S-sorry!" I stepped to the side, pulling the door with me. "Come on in. M-make yourself at home." She strode past me and then bent down to remove her shoes. I finally thought to check, and sure enough, they were boots with at least a modest platform heel. She hadn't really grown 4 inches in the last two months or so.

             Once she straightened back up, I was able to confirm that yes, she was still shorter than me. But the boots didn't account for all her extra height. She was still taller than she had been in January, but at least her eyes were level with my nose, instead of the other way around.

             "Hmmm, not quite there yet", she said, like she could tell what I was thinking. "Though it is a nice preview."

             "I, I guess?"

             "If only my brother was as short as you."

             "Looks like everybody's here." I turned to see June walking down the stairs. "Your turn, Rosie."

             "OK!" The second grader replied, springing to her feet. As they passed each other, I was able to get a good comparison between the two. Despite Rosie's recent growth, June still seemed a few inches taller than her. I guess I see her often enough that I hadn't realized that she was getting taller too.

             That's three for three. Are all of Hannah's friends shooting up just like her? What the hell is going on?

------------------------------------------------------------

             I blinked sleepily and rolled over to look at the clock. Huh? Dammit! I overslept! A jolt of adrenaline hit me and I scrambled to change out of my PJs. I should have started my aerobics 5 minutes ago. Why didn't Hannah wake me up?

             Once I had my workout clothes on, I dashed down the hallway, glancing into my sister's room on the way. She wasn't there. I hurried down to the living room and then around the corner to the basement stairs.

             I could hear grunts of exertion coming from below. I guess she just forgot about me. I reached the bottom of the stairs but immediately pulled back. Did I really see that? I peeked around the wall dividing the stairwell from the basement itself.

             Hannah was indeed working out; she was using her new barbell for bicep curls. But she wasn't using the plates she would need to challenge herself. Instead, sitting precariously in the middle of the bar, was Jess. As I watched, Hannah curled the bar, bringing Jess' bare midriff towards her face.

             "Si-Ahh!" Jess gasped as Hannah kissed her right above her bellybutton. "S-six." Hannah smoothly lowered Jess down and then brought her back up. Jess again stumbled over the count as Hannah gave her another kiss.

             "Careful, Jess", she chided with a smile. "If you lose count, I'll have to start over." Hannah continued to curl her girlfriend, her lips moving a little lower with each rep.

             I really shouldn't be watching this, but it was hard to look away. At least, Jess was clothed this time. Though her crop top and shorts left little to the imagination. Just before Hannah would have had to strip her to continue her downward path, she finished the set.

             Jess climbed off of the bar, her legs shaking like she was the one who had been lifting. Hannah set the barbell on the rack and headed over towards the bench.

             "Are you sure no one will come down here?" Jess asked nervously. "Your whole family is home right now."

             "Don't worry", Hannah assured her. "Mom and Dad never get up before their alarm. And I always wake Nate up for our workouts, so he doesn't even set his alarm anymore. Just you and me for your birthday, like I promised."

             "OK", she continued, as she lay down on her stomach on the bench. "Climb on my legs and hold on tight."

             Once Jess was in position, Hannah launched into a set of leg curls. This was followed by leg extensions, and so on. My sister progressed through her workout routine, substituting Jess' sixty-ish pounds for her normal weights. Jess tried to keep count of each rep, but was often thrown off by Hannah's incessant barrage of teasing foreplay.

             I was rock hard, and not just from what I was watching. I realized almost instantly that I probably only weighed about 10 pounds more than Jess. 10 extra pounds wouldn't phase my sister. And after that my imagination was running wild, trying to picture how it would feel if I was the one Hannah was lifting.

             "H-Hannah", Jess panted, after 30 minutes of this, "I can't take it anymore. Please." She was out of breath, sweating, her face flushed.

             My sister, on the other hand, looked as fresh as when I first saw her. Working her petite girlfriend into her exercises had in most cases reduced the weight she had to lift. Which shows how much Jess meant to her; very few things could get Hannah to take an easy day.

             "Jess, we're barely halfway done. Are you implying that I would give my girlfriend half a present?"

             "Please!"

             "We really need to work on your endurance, Babe. But it is your birthday, so I guess I can let you off the hook, just this once. OK!" Hannah swooped in and lifted Jess into her arms, cradling her like a baby. "Last set!"

             Jess let out a whine.

             "Trust me, you'll love this one." Hannah performed a deep squat. Then another, Jess dutifully keeping count. I wasn't sure what she was up to, 60 pounds was barely a warm-up weight for her, at least when doing squats. Then she paused.

             "Hmm, too easy. How about this?" Her balance shifted slightly, then she lifted one foot off the floor. My jaw dropped as she extended that leg out in front of her and then started to squat, using just the remaining leg to support her and Jess' weight.

             "Hannah, Oh my God!" Jess gasped, as Hannah pushed herself upright. Hannah just looked down at her expectantly until she blushed a deep crimson and whispered "Three."

             Hannah smiled and continued her set. By the time she was done, I was ready to burst, and Jess seemed even closer to the edge.

             "See, wasn't that worth the wait?" Hannah asked. Jess just whimpered in reply, squirming weakly in her arms. "Oh, alright." Hannah grabbed Jess' shorts with one hand and whisked them off in one smooth motion. She grinned as she lifted Jess higher. "Working out always makes me really hungry."

             That's when I ducked back out of sight. Watching any further was definitely off-limits, I felt guilty for hanging around as long as I did. Jess' screams of ecstasy provided cover for my footsteps as I climbed back up the stairs. By the time they were done and Hannah got to my room to wake me up, I was back in my pajamas and under the covers.

------------------------------------------------------------

             Back to school and Kerry's antics. She hadn't crossed the line and made me use my trump card but she wasn't ignoring me completely anymore. It was about the same level as a year ago. Knocking me over in passing or looming over me in the lunch line. This was enhanced by her near-constant use of heels, making her seem 6 feet tall instead of her already imposing 5'8". Today was more of the same, except I wasn't alone.

             "Jeez, Kerry. Back off." Alice insisted. She stepped up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "My friends are not your playthings."

             Kerry glared at her for a moment, before the look of smug superiority she wore around me reinstated itself.

             "On the contrary, Alice, that's exactly what they are." She took a step forward so she could look down on her former teammate. This had the added effect of nearly sandwiching me between their Amazonian bodies.

             "Don't get a big head just because you're a little taller than the average twerp you hang out with. You're still a little girl to me."

             That was an exaggeration. Alice was tall enough that her chin cleared the top of my head with room to spare. She wasn't little in any sense. That said, thanks to her heels, Kerry could still comfortably look over her head. But before either of us could object, Kerry pushed past Alice and walked off. Of course, since I was in front of Alice, I got smooshed into her.

             "Sorry about that", I said, once I had regained my footing and turned around. "She's been extra bitchy around me lately."

             "It's not just you", Alice sighed. "She's like that to everyone smaller than her nowadays." Well, with her heels that was basically everyone. Hell, most of the teachers too. "Maybe it's relationship troubles. I hear she's going through a rough patch with Dave."

             "Must be my fault", I joked. "How can a mere high-schooler compare to this?" I flexed my biceps.

             "Yeah, that must be it", Alice agreed, and we had a good laugh.

------------------------------------------------------------

             Spring break came around once again, and I found myself dropped off at the mall after Mom got fed up with me lazing around. But this time, I wasn't alone. Hannah had joined me in exile. We were here to see the new Marvel movie in the theater that occupied part of the mall.

             "I'm really excited!" Hannah gushed. "The trailers looked so epic."

             "I just hope they can stick the landing. The franchise has been kinda disappointing lately."

             "OK, old man. Next, you're gonna say that back in your day they knew how to make movies and kids these days could never understand."

             "Haha. It's kinda true though. Maybe they can surprise me this time. But the movie doesn't start for a while. What do you want to do until then? Look around? Go to the food court?"

             The mere mention of food was enough to make Hannah's stomach growl, forcing a laugh out of both of us.

             "Well, I guess that answers that question."

             We headed to the food court and eventually settled on McDonald's. Once we got through the line, I was the first to order.

             "I'll have a quarter pounder meal, please. Medium size."

             "I want a large, double quarter pounder meal. An extra double quarter pounder, an extra large fry, and an oreo McFlurry. Oh! And two apple pies."

             "Wow, sis!" I exclaimed as we made our way to a table, Hannah having to balance two trays to carry all her food. "I guess I've gotten so used to you having seconds and thirds at home, that I forgot how much you're actually eating."

             "Of course", Hannah replied with a smile. "I'm a growing girl, after all."

             "I'm glad that we decided that I would buy the tickets and you would cover the refreshments."

             "It wouldn't have been fair otherwise", she agreed, between bites.

             "Is it really OK to be eating McDonald's of all things? Don't you usually stick to healthy foods?"

             "I give myself cheat days every now and then. Jess said it was the only proven way to stick to a diet long-term. Besides, is a life without burgers really worth living?"

             "No arguments here", I agreed, taking a big bite out of my own burger. We sat in silence for a few minutes, too busy stuffing our faces to talk. Eventually, Hannah restarted the conversation.

             "That reminds me, I need to ask Jess to come up with a diet plan for you too."

             "What for? I don't really need to lose weight you know."

             "Of course not. I'm not dieting to lose weight either. But it's important to eat right just to be healthy. Dr. Feldspar said that during our last visit, remember?"

             "I guess I can't argue with that. Just as long as Jess doesn't try to get me to eat the really nasty veggies, like Kale and Brussels sprouts."

             "I'll let her know. But don't pretend like you wouldn't eat those too if I told you that you had to." I sighed.

             "Yeah, you're probably right." Hannah's grin widened.

             "See, doesn't it feel good to do what I say?" This again? I just went along with what she wanted most of the time because it was easier than arguing. It's not like I enjoyed following her orders or anything. That would be weird.

             "It's only because you and Jess know more about diets than I do."

             "Sure, sure. Well, no time like the present to get started: that is an unhealthy amount of fries. You should let me finish them for you." I snorted but handed them over.

             "Whatever. We need to get a move on anyway. The previews are gonna start soon."

             A couple of hours later, the movie was over, and we were leaving the theater.

             "Damn, the first half was actually pretty good", I said. "But then it felt like they decided they were straying too far from the formula and chickened out."

             "I enjoyed it. The fight at the end was epic!"

             "But they had to pull so much bullshit to make it to that point. It only happened because half the characters acted like complete idiots for the last hour."

             "Don't be such a critic. It got me all hyped and that's what's important. I totally want to find a super-villain and throw down." Hannah started shadowboxing as we exited back into the mall proper.

             We hadn't been sure exactly when the movie would end, so we still had some time before Mom would get here to take us back home. We headed over to the benches by the mall entrance to wait, still discussing the film.

             But as we sat there, I saw a group of four high-schoolers walking into the theater. They weren't people I recognized, but I could clearly tell that they were couples on a date together. And that sent me on a depressing trip down memory lane. It had started here, a year ago.

             Eventually, Hannah realized that I wasn't participating in the conversation anymore.

             "Nate? What's wrong?"

             "Huh? Oh, sorry. Nothing's wrong, I got lost in thought."

             "I don't buy that", Hannah said. "You looked like you were about to cry." She scooted closer. "Talk to me." I sighed.

             "It's just... This is where my relationship with Sam really started going downhill. Last year during spring break I saw her and Kerry enter the theater with a couple of high-school guys. I gave her the benefit of the doubt at the time, but if I hadn't seen it at all, I never would have accused her of cheating on me. And then maybe we..." My voice cut off as my throat tightened. "Maybe we would still be together."

             Hannah had stayed patiently silent through my story. Now she reached over and grabbed my hand.

             "You don't need her anymore. You have me."

             "Huh?" My eyes had been drawn down to our clasped hands, but now I looked back at her face in confusion.

             "Nate, it's OK", she stated, her voice and expression completely serious. "You have me, so you don't need a girlfriend, Sam or anyone else."

             "Thanks. I know you're trying to make me feel better, but having a sister is different from having a girlfriend, no matter how much we love each other." Disappointment and frustration played across Hannah's face. She sighed and pulled away from me.

             "You still don't get it. All this time and you still don't understand what I want." Before I could reply, both our phones pinged. Hannah immediately stood up and started walking towards the exit. I jogged to catch up to her, but she refused to even look at me the whole way home.

             Honestly, I didn't really have to ask what she meant. At this point, I thought I knew the answer. But I couldn't accept it, so I had to pretend to be oblivious.

------------------------------------------------------------

             A few days after school started up again, I got a text from Marcia. She was having relationship issues and really wanted someone to talk to. I was reluctant to meet in person since I had given my costume back to the school. But she insisted.

             I guess it's fine; basketball season ended months ago. Worst case scenario, I have someone else shun me because of how I treated Sam. So, we set up a meeting spot after school.

             "Hey, Marcia", I called out once I arrived. She got up and met me halfway.

             "You're Mouse?" I nodded and she grabbed me in a hug. "I've missed talking to you." I awkwardly patted her on the back. Eventually, she let go and stepped back. "You're exactly how I imagined you."

             "Really?"

             "Yeah. Short and skinny. Cute in a nerdy kinda way."

             "Thanks, I guess." I deadpanned. She giggled.

             "So, are you gonna let me know your real name? Or should I keep calling you Mouse?"

             "Nate", I admitted. Marcia frowned thoughtfully, then her eyes widened.

             "Wait! Nate? Like Sam's ex? That Nate?" I nodded, bracing myself. Several emotions cycled across her face as she stared at me. The silence lasted long enough to get awkward.

             "Urgh..." She muttered, finally. "Wow, I really want to hate you. I've had this persona built up for months of the despicable guy that broke Sam's heart. But I can't. You're still Mouse, and I like Mouse." She walked back to the bench she was on when I arrived and sat back down. "This is making my head hurt. Can we just talk about my problems instead?"

             I nodded and joined her on the bench.

             "That's what I came for. But if it helps at all, I regret what happened with Sam every day."

             "Well, that's more than I can say for my ex-boyfriend, at least."

             "Wow, so it's not just an argument. You've officially broken up."

             "Yeah, I dumped him." Marcia sighed. "I tried to do all that stuff you said. See things from his point of view, talk it out, but it just wasn't working. Sure, we'd make up but then a few weeks later, we'd be fighting again."

             "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess I just ended up keeping you in a bad relationship longer with my advice."

             "Nah, it's not your fault. I'm sure it will come in handy with my next boyfriend. I just expected too much from Mr. 'I'm the man of the relationship, so you have to listen to me.'"

             She went on for a few minutes, going over the last few fights in detail, before ending on her walking up to him in her highest pair of heels to tell him it was over. I hoped the tightening of my pants wasn't too obvious as she described the look on his face when he realized that her chin cleared the top of his head.

             "Seems like boyfriend troubles are going around", I said, after she finished. "I hear Kerry's been having issues too."

             "Yeah, though I'm not sure what guys see in her anyway. You know, other than..." She cupped her hands a couple of inches out from her chest and pantomimed jiggling some impressive assets.

             "For some guys that's all it takes", I replied, chuckling.

             "Sam's had it rough too", she said in a more serious tone. "She and Tony split up a few weeks ago. Now she's dating another high-schooler. Alex or Andrew or something like that. Seems like a total douche."

             "Heh, shouldn't I be the one jealously criticizing her partners?"

             "Hmph. You'd agree if you saw them together. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, I don't want to make you miss your ride."

             "Oh, um, it's OK." I felt my cheeks starting to redden. "I told her that I would be a little late."

             "What's with that reaction? Wait", she squinted at my face. "Oh my God, I knew I had seen your face before. You're the guy that gets a piggyback ride from that muscly girl every day. Is she your girlfriend? She looks kinda young for that."

             "She's my little sister", I answered, my blush deepening. Marcia stared at me for a second before doubling over with laughter.

             "Your little sister, OMG! That's adorable!"

------------------------------------------------------------

             "Well, I would say we know for sure now. Though Jess will want more data, of course."

             Hannah was talking to someone on the phone when I came downstairs. I slipped into the kitchen to get breakfast, staying quiet so I wouldn't interrupt her.

             "Yeah... uh-huh... Every other Saturday after lunch should work. That way if you miss a session now and then it will still be OK, any longer and Jess says the body will start to reject the changes. Yeah... OK... Yup, I'll grab something to eat and then go get Jess. I'll call you from her place in about an hour."

             I had just sat down with my cereal when Hannah entered the kitchen, slipping her phone into her pocket.

             "Morning", I said. Hannah started, surprised to see me, but she covered it quickly.

             "Morning. I didn't know you were awake yet."

             "Yup, just came down to get breakfast." She smirked.

             "You know, this is lunchtime for normal people."

             "Whatever. I noticed you were on the phone with someone. More hypnosis subjects for Jess?"

             "Yeah", she nodded, looking slightly nervous for some reason. "Grace and Michelle."

             "Huh. How does that work?"

             "Video calls. I actually mentioned it to them at the Christmas party, and we've been testing it out for a few months now. Turns out that as long as they can see and hear Jess, actual distance doesn't matter."

             "I guess that makes sense. What about Evan? It seems like Jess doesn't have many guys to experiment with."

             "He wasn't interested. Which is a shame. Spending more time with his sisters could have been helpful when Grace gets her wish and outgrows him."

             "Ha ha, yeah. I would say that's unlikely but who knows? Actually, that reminds me. Cindy mentioned having a brother at the get-together. She also seemed to want to get taller than him."

             "Oh, yeah. Evan's lucky compared to him."

             "What do you mean?"

             "Well, you were always nice to me when I was little, so I haven't had a reason to be mean to you now that I'm bigger. Evan and Grace's relationship isn't that good, but they get along alright, even if he has an attitude problem. Cindy's brother, on the other hand, is an outright bully."

             "That's rough. Though, I'm surprised that it's still a problem. I would have thought that you would have set him straight by now." Hannah nodded.

             "I offered, but Cindy told me to leave him alone. I guess she wants to do it herself once she's big enough."

             "She has been growing really fast lately. But what if she doesn't manage to pass him?"

             "I wouldn't worry about that. Cindy's only a year older than me. She has a lot of growing left."

             It was weird. Hannah had the same air of absolute certainty that she had had when announcing her own growth. Like she had some sort of powerful insight into the inner workings of her and her friend's bodies.

------------------------------------------------------------

             Well, I should have seen this coming. In fact, now that I think about it, it's surprising that it took this long. It's been almost a month since Marcia learned my secret identity. And now, as I'm leaving school for the day, I find her talking to my sister.

             "...and so Mouse almost has a heart attack. It makes sense now that I know who he is, but at the time he just seemed really shy. Not that it mattered, the other girls had already moved to the next conversation topic." Marcia was telling a story, to Hannah's obvious amusement. She paused once she spotted me.

             "Look, it's the little guy himself! Hey, Mouse!"

             "Hi, Marcia", I responded, unenthusiastically. I knew this was going to be embarrassing. I couldn't even argue the "little guy" title. Marcia was about 5'3" now, and in her rollerblades Hannah was just as tall.

             "Nate! Why didn't you tell me you had a cute nickname?! And why have I never heard any of these stories?" Hannah exclaimed, before turning back to Marcia. "He told me all about the games, but I thought he just cheered the team on and then left. Now I find out he had this whole double life thing going on."

             "Yeah, little brothers can be tricky like that. You think you know all there is to know about them, until you see how they act when you're not around."

             "Tell me about it. Did you know he used to get bullied by Brad Peters? I didn't have a clue until I caught him in the act last year. Thankfully, I was able to fix that problem pretty quickly."

             "Wait, you beat up an 8th-grader?" Hannah nodded. Marcia glanced at me. I nodded. "OMG, Mouse! Your sister is so cool!" Hannah beamed. I sighed.

             "Please don't encourage her. She has a big enough head as it is." Unfortunately, Marcia would not be deterred.

             "Little brothers", she said, shaking her head. "They never appreciate all the things we do for them."

             "Yeah, but I'm working on it. He's actually pretty obedient most of the time. Even if he complains beforehand."

             "She keeps you in line, huh?" Marcia said, turning back to me.

             "I... I just follow her advice on the things she knows more about. That's all."

             "I make sure he exercises and eats right", Hannah continued. "He actually just started dieting last week. I expected him to complain more, but he was very good this time."

             As they continued to find humor in acting like I was Hannah's younger brother, I was just relieved that Marcia didn't ask why I followed her orders.

             Jess had come up with a diet plan for me, and Hannah had been delighted to see brussels sprouts recommended as a good source of Vitamins K and C. She insisted that I eat them, despite the plan listing alternatives, probably just to see how far she could push me. I decided to obey without argument just to see how it felt.

             Hannah was surprised, but she recovered quickly and upped the ante. She said that I had to ask Mom to add them to the grocery list myself, even though it was her idea.

             Submitting to her had given me a worrying thrill, but this brought it to a whole new level. I wasn't just accepting the situation, I was actively bringing it to pass. Complicit in my own humiliation at the whim of a nine-year-old.

             "So Nate would give you romantic advice?" Hannah asked, back in the present.

             "Sometimes. Mostly he would just listen to me rant about my shitty boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend now."

             "Oh? So you're single now?" Hannah seemed concerned.

             "Yeah. It's too bad, now that I've met Mouse for real, he's pretty cute. If we had gotten to know each other normally, I might have asked him out. But it would be too weird now, like dating my little brother."

             Hannah looked like she couldn't decide if she was relieved that Marcia and I wouldn't get together, or offended at the implication that brothers weren't valid dating prospects.

------------------------------------------------------------

             The school year was drawing to a close. But before it could end, there had to be a confrontation with Kerry. Though, I wouldn't be her opponent this time.

             "Well, well, would you look at that." I was brought out of a deep conversation with Tim and Carl by the sound of Kerry's voice. "I didn't know that the Lollipop Guild was meeting today."

             I turned to see Kerry striding towards us. Upon arrival, she towered over me, but maybe a little less than normal. I guess she was wearing a shorter pair of heels for once.

             "Does that make you the Wicked Witch of the East, or the West?"

             "Shut up, Munchkin. Although, I have been told that at least two parts of me are 'defying gravity'."

             Kerry thrust her boobs forward, causing them to nearly collide with my face. But I stood firm. You see, I knew this was a trap. There was a member of our group that was suspiciously absent. Alice had gotten fed up with Kerry lording her height over everyone, and bought her own pair of 4-inch heels to even the playing field. I just had to wait while she snuck up behind her.

             "I'm going with Wicked Witch of the East", Alice said, announcing her presence. "Which means you should watch out for girls surprising you from above."

             Kerry hadn't heard Alice coming, but she managed to keep any surprise from showing on her face. At least until she turned around.

             "From above? What, are you going to stand on a chai..." Kerry's jaw dropped as she found herself looking up into Alice's eyes. But she quickly looked down and saw Alice's new shoes. "Oh, very funny. Why don't you try again, without those platforms."

             "You first", Alice countered, her grin widening.

             Kerry frowned, but I could see the wheels turning in her head. Alice had clearly bought her heels to match or exceed the 6-foot mark Kerry's own shoes normally got her to. She had just gotten lucky that Kerry had worn a more modest pair today. So, surely, once they were both barefoot Kerry would have the advantage again.

             Kerry removed her heels and dropped down to her natural 5'8". She grimaced as she found herself eye-level with the bottom of Alice's chin.

             "There, happy? Now, it's your turn."

             "One second. I'm enjoying the view." Alice stood as straight as possible for a bit longer, before acquiescing and removing her footwear. Finally, her sock-covered feet joined Kerry's bare ones on the floor.

             Kerry's usual smirk had just enough time to return to her face before Alice straightened up, banishing it again.

             "Wait... You're..." Kerry sputtered, not looking up into Alice's eyes anymore but also not looking down.

             "Would you look at that? I guess I'm not a little girl anymore, huh?" She paused to give Kerry a chance to respond, but for once she couldn't muster a comeback. No problem, Alice had more to say anyway.

             "It seems like I'm finally tall enough for my opinion to matter to you, so let me spell it out. You need to find someone else to play your Queen Bitch games with. Because from now on, when you mess with my friends, I'll be there to remind you of how small you really are."

             Of course, Kerry stormed off without agreeing to Alice's demands, but I wasn't worried. They might be the same height now, and Kerry probably had another inch or two left before she stopped growing. But the way things were going, Alice could grow an inch or two just over the summer.

------------------------------------------------------------

             And just like that, the school year ended, and I graduated from middle school. Last year, I thought 7th grade was probably the worst year of my life. Well, 8th grade was definitely worse, but it doesn't really feel that way now. Looking back, more bad things happened this year and I reached my lowest point ever.

             But I think that's the difference. Last June, my life was rolling downhill. And it did get worse. But then, it got better. And even though my life is far from perfect, things are still improving, slowly but surely.

             I can pinpoint the exact time my life turned around too. It was the day Hannah beat Brad so bad that he hasn't dared to even look at me funny since. Yes, like so many things in my life, it all comes back to her. I can never thank her enough for that moment.

             So I guess it's only appropriate that my main worry today is how I'm going to deal with my sister. Ever since that day at the mall, she has abandoned all subtlety. She's made it clear that she knows that I find her arousing. And she likes it that way. She's been especially ruthless since school ended. I'm afraid that one day she'll take it too far and I won't be able to resist.

             She's backed off a little today, at least since the first guest arrived for my birthday party. The guest list was smaller this year, but it felt right to me. Tim, Carl and Frank were invited obviously, but I also decided to take a chance and invite the girls too. Surprisingly, they all said yes, so Alice, Lisa and Marcia are here as well.

             Like last time, the party started with Smash. It wasn't exactly the same though. Everyone took it much more seriously this year. Although, with this crowd, I should have expected that. Eventually, egos got involved, and we had to set up a 1v1 tournament to establish who the best player really was.

             I was pretty sure that Tim was a shoo-in for the gold. Frank had a chance, but it would be a pretty big upset. As far as I could tell, the rest of us ranged from decent to very casual players.

             In the first round, there weren't any surprises, Frank easily beat me, Marcia got unlucky and had to face Tim, Carl knocked Hannah out, and Alice won her match vs Lisa. The three girls immediately huddled up to talk about basketball, while I stayed to watch the rest of the games.

             Tim vs Frank was cool to watch. Frank played very defensively, and got in some great counter-attacks, but Tim slowly and methodically picked him apart. No dark horse victory this time. The next match was unexpected. Alice beat Carl decisively. I guess that despite all the changes she's gone through, she's still a nerd at heart.

             Then it was time for the finals. I was once again surprised by how good Alice was. The two of them were basically even. They went back and forth, neither player able to gain the advantage for long. But eventually, they were both down to their last life, over 200% damage each. Just one slip would allow the other player to strike for the win. And Tim blinked first.

             "Congratulations, Alice", Tim said, then sighed. "I was sure that spending all of middle school practicing and playing basketball wouldn't give you enough time for Smash, but you're still a pro."

             "Aw. Thanks, Babe. I couldn't let my skills get too rusty, or playing with you wouldn't be fun for either of us anymore. And I couldn't accept that." Alice responded, causing Tim to blush. "Besides, you're definitely better in a free-for-all now. I can still beat you 1-on-1 because I know all your weaknesses."

             "What? I-i don't... what weaknesses?" Alice just grinned.

             "Maybe I'll tell you someday. But only if you're a really good boyfriend."

             "If you two can pause the flirting for a second", Lisa deadpanned, "the cake is ready."

             Cake and presents followed. Then the girls announced that they wanted to play basketball. Thankfully, no one here expected athleticism from me, but it turned out to be a moot point anyway. The girls really just wanted a 2v2, they expected us to stay inside and keep playing video games. But I decided that it would be fun to watch, and the other guys agreed.

             They settled on Hannah and Alice vs Marcia and Lisa. The game started and I could tell right away that there was a problem. I've said before that Hannah had amazing basketball skills, and that's true, for a nine-year-old. Hell, she could join your average middle-school team and be one of the better players, but she wasn't facing average players today. The other girls were part of the number 3 team in the whole country.

             She clearly struggled on both offense and defense and I could see her frustration building as the game went on. Luckily, she had Alice on her team, and the geek squad's guardian amazon was on fire today. Neither of the other girls could handle her, so it balanced out. The game was pretty close, but eventually, Alice sunk the final basket, ending the game 10-7.

             Everybody was quick to compliment my sister on her performance. Marcia was especially vocal, as she was the only one who hadn't seen her play before. And to her credit, Hannah didn't throw a temper tantrum or stomp off to her room to sulk. But I could tell that the feelings were still there, Hannah just had the maturity now to keep it bottled up.

             She was quiet for a few minutes, but just as everyone was getting ready to head back inside, she spoke up.

             "Hey, let's do one more thing before we go back to sitting around the TV. I still have some energy to burn off."

             "Yeah!" Marcia quickly agreed. "That game got me all pumped up. What's the plan?"

             "Well, I was thinking that we could have a race. From here to the bus stop and back. First one to touch the mailbox wins."

             "That's not a bad idea, but it seems pretty easy", Lisa objected. "If you need to tire yourself out before more video games, wouldn't a longer race be better?" Hannah flashed a sly grin, clearly anticipating the question.

             "I've got a plan for that. You see, I would feel bad if we left the guys out again. So, to make it more challenging, each of us will pick a guy to carry during the race."

             OK, I could see her angle now. Basketball trained your speed and stamina, but carrying a teenage boy added a strength aspect that would play to Hannah's advantage. That being 4 months of rollerblading with me on her back. She also knew that I would be aroused by this competition, and she wasn't about to let that chance pass her by.

             "OK! I get Mouse!" Marcia exclaimed. Hannah's mouth dropped open. Man, this was not her day. While she was in shock, Alice paired up with Tim and Lisa claimed Frank.

             "Um, maybe we should time it or something", Carl suggested, nervously. "It wouldn't really be fair for her to have to carry me, and she might hurt herself too."

             Hannah immediately snapped out of her surprised state and her eyes narrowed. She stomped over to Carl.

             "Get hurt? You think I can't handle a little extra weight?" She stopped right in front of him and glared down from her 1-inch height advantage.

             "Um... I... it's not just a little extra. I'm kinda..."

             "Fat? Chubby? Congrats, you might weigh almost as much as I do. If we were in the gym I could lift you to warm up." Hannah turned around and bent her knees. "Get on."

             Carl hesitated, still uncomfortable with the idea. After a couple of seconds, Hannah sighed and looked back over her shoulder.

             "Listen, Carl. You're Nate's friend and you seem like a good guy, so I don't want to embarrass you. But if you don't climb on my back right now, I will pick you up and race with you in my arms, like a baby."

             Carl gulped and climbed on without any further protests. Hannah straightened up with a grunt. That signaled the rest of us to mount up and the girls lined up at the end of the driveway. As the birthday boy, I got to give the signal to start.

             "Ready... Set... Go!"

             And off we went. All of the girls were more than capable of running while carrying our weight, but Lisa fell behind almost instantly. Frank might be skinny as a rail, but he was still several inches taller than the rest of us guys. That said, he still weighed less than Carl, and Hannah was out in front.

             She channeled her anger into a sprint right out the gate and seemed determined to maintain that speed the whole way. By the time she reached the bus stop, she had built a comfortable lead.

             But then she had to turn around. And that broke her concentration and interrupted her stride. She got up to speed again, but as we passed, I could see that the strain was beginning to show. Alice, meanwhile, had pulled ahead of Marcia and I and was heading back as well. And then she started to speed up.

             She had been pacing herself through the first half but now she began closing the gap. Hannah, meanwhile, was slowing down, unable to keep up the pace. Alice got closer and closer. And then she passed my sister. Hannah grit her teeth and tried to push even harder, but it wasn't enough. Her determination was no match for Alice's much longer legs and the 30 or so pounds between Carl and Tim.

             Hannah still came in second, despite a final sprint from Marcia. Lisa finished a distant fourth, though she was able to make it to the end with little difficulty. Hannah sank to her knees in the grass and Carl climbed off. He offered a hand to help her to her feet.

             "Are you OK? I told you that I was too..." Hannah slapped his hand away with a glare. Then she got back to her feet and angrily stomped back to the house without a word. I apologized to the group for her actions, and we went inside to finish up the party without her.

             I didn't see my sister for the rest of the day, except briefly at dinner, where she shoveled her food in as quickly as possible before withdrawing again. Eventually, I went to my room to get ready for bed. I had just changed into my PJs when there was a knock at my door.

             "Nate, are you still awake? Let me in." I opened the door and Hannah slipped in and swiftly shut it behind her. It looked like she had decided to vent her frustration by lifting weights. She was in her workout clothes and all of her muscles were pumped and shiny with sweat.

             Today had been an exercise in hiding my erection, as I was titillated by four tall, attractive girls towering over me. Watching Alice and Hannah had been particularly arousing, although Marcia having no issue running with me on her back deserves mention too. Now, my dick surged to attention once again.

             "I'm glad you're still up. I need to give you your birthday present." I looked up at her voice but it took me a second to process what she said. I was distracted by the view of her mouth, so close and level with my eyes. How had I never noticed how pretty her lips were? I wonder what they'd feel... Hold on.

             "Birthday present? Didn't I open that before the party?"

             "Oh, that was just to throw off our parents. The real gift is my honesty. You seem determined to not take a hint, so I'm going to help you out."

             "What do you... Mmrphf!" Hannah cut me off by forcefully pressing her lips against mine. What is she...? Before I could recover and pull away, she grabbed my arms and spun me around. Then she pushed my back into the door. One of her meaty thighs pushed between my legs as her mouth continued to devour me.

             I gasped as she pressed her muscular leg against my cock. This left my mouth open enough for Hannah to push her tongue inside. What was I going to do? I couldn't back up and pushing her off me was impossible. The best I could manage was twisting my head back and forth a little. I was at her mercy. Just as I was about to explode, Hannah broke off the kiss. She looked down at me with an affectionate smile.

             "There. I don't think I can be any more obvious."

             "But... but why? Why are you doing this?"

             "Because I love you, idiot! And no, not just like all siblings are supposed to love each other. I'm in love with you, I always have been."

             "But you can't. We're brother and sister. That's..."

             "Wrong?" Hannah interrupted me. "Unethical? Perverse? I don't care. And neither should you. I know you feel the same way about me. You're always trying to hide it, deny it, talk yourself out of it, but I know better." She ground her thigh against my dick. "I can feel it."

             No. I had to talk her down, get her to back off. But I could barely think straight with her this close to me. I could still taste her. Her warmth enveloped me, the fragrant smell of her sweat filled my nostrils. My eyes were caught by her lips, wet with our shared saliva.

             What if she's right? This feels so good, so right. She's already so big and strong, and with every passing day, she just gets bigger and stronger. It would be so easy to give in and just do what she says.

             No! Dammit, how am I going to convince her that this won't work if I can barely convince myself?

             "Hannah, please", I begged, forcing my eyes up to meet hers. I struggled to keep my voice even, my tone serious, even as waves of arousal pulsed through my body. "Just let me go, and we can sit down and talk about this." She frowned.

             "Fine." She lifted her leg higher and higher, until I was forced onto my toes. "I'll back off if you do one thing for me."

             "What... what thing?" She slowly rose onto her tip-toes, lifting me with her huge thigh.

             "I want you to cum, little brother." My feet left the ground. "Cum for me." And my body obeyed.

             After I finished, she kept her word: lowering me to the ground and taking a step back. I stumbled over to my bed and sat down. Hannah didn't sit herself, instead she stood in front of me, arms crossed.

             "Please, turn off the dom for a minute. Let's just talk normally." She sighed, but I guess she was satisfied after pushing me to orgasm. She relaxed, a sort of tension leaving her body, and sat down next to me. I took one of her hands in both of mine.

             "I... You turn me on. OK? I admit it. But there are a lot of girls that I find sexy that I can't have a relationship with. Alice is in love with Tim, but I still get aroused by her. There's this girl Kerry who has an amazing body, but she's a bully and a sadist, so it would never work between us."

             "It's the same for you and me. I love you, maybe more than I should, but we can't be together like that. Incest is wrong."

             "I don't care! I don't care if other people think it's wrong, it feels right to me. You're mine, and that's all there is to it."

             "What about Jess? Are you just going to dump her?"

             "Do you think that I didn't talk to her about this? She's been helping me since day one. She'll still be my girlfriend, I'll just have a boyfriend too."

             "What about our friends? What about Mom and Dad?"

             "I don't care what our parents think!" She jumped to her feet, her voice rising. "I Don't Care!"

             "What about me?" I said quietly. "Don't I get a say in this?" Hannah's face got red.

             "Aaugh! Why can't you just do what I say? Haven't I waited long enough?" She leaned down until her face was next to mine. Her voice was quiet but no less angry. "Fine. I'll back off tonight. But I'm not giving up. I'm going to grow and grow until you come to me, begging to be mine."

             And she spun around, stomped to the door, and slammed it behind her.

------------------------------------------------------------

             Hannah was annoyed with me for weeks after that. It's the longest she's ever taken to get over something. I suppose I should be grateful for the reminder that she's still my kid sister under the tall, confident amazon she presents to the world. But I'm not. I hate this. I guess I never realized just how dependent I've become on her over the past two years.

             It's more than just her saving me from bullying. She's the only one who's stayed by my side no matter what. Her smile, her companionship, her love was constant even as everything else changed.

             She isn't shunning me even now. We still work out together, she still uses her height to arouse me, she still flirts with Jess in my presence instead of going somewhere private. But it's always with an attitude of frustration and a short temper. The knowing looks and teasing smirk replaced with a glare and a frown. It's torture.

             At this point, I would do anything to get her to go back to the way she was before. Well, anything other than agreeing to be her boyfriend.

             "Nate!" Hannah's voice jolted me back to the present. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't realized that she had stopped lifting and walked over to stand beside me. I quickly stopped the treadmill and gave her my full attention.

             "Sorry, I was zoned out. What's up?" I asked. Oh boy, she was already glaring at me. As promised, she had continued to grow, gaining another inch just since the party. Even with me standing on the deck of the treadmill, we were eye to eye.

             "You need to buy me more weights. I can't get a proper workout with the ones I have now." She gestured to the barbell hanging on the rack, and sure enough, every plate she owned seemed to be loaded onto it. Could she really lift that? There was only one pair of 45 lbs plates, but added to all the smaller ones, and the bar, that still had to be close to 200 lbs.

             "I've already spent all the money I can", she continued. "Mom and Dad got so tired of me asking for advances on my allowance that they've cut me off for the rest of the summer. That means you need to pick up the slack."

             "I don't have a lot of money either. You could just take it easy for a while, what would you even do with the extra plates that you can't do now?"

             "Take it easy? Take it easy?! After what happened at the party, how can you even suggest that? You saw that race. I nearly killed myself and Alice wasn't even breathing hard! I need to get stronger! A lot stronger!" She walked back over to the rack. "And this?" She got under the barbell and stood up with all that weight on her shoulders.

             "This was my one-rep max a week ago. Now?" She dropped into a squat and growled as she forced herself back up again. "It's just..." Another rep. "not heavy..." Another. "enough!" Her fourth rep was accompanied by the sound of threads popping as her thighs tore her shorts open. She began slowly, forcefully, walking towards me. The treadmill squealed in protest as she stepped up onto the deck, still carrying the loaded barbell.

             "That, little brother", she growled through gritted teeth, "is why I need more weights. Understand?" I nodded, timidly. She rolled the bar off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor behind her with a deafening clang.

             "Good. Get me a pair of 45s and a pair of 20s. I'll wait for you here. You can carry them down yourself, since you're so worried about me straining myself. Oh, and no delegating. The parents can drive you and help unload the car, but once you're inside it's up to you alone."

             I left immediately to ask Dad to take me to the store. Not because I was afraid of what Hannah would do if I didn't. She was very intimidating, but I knew she wouldn't actually hurt me. No, I obeyed because I couldn't help myself. Especially after she added that extra restriction. The thrill of submission was too strong. The idea that I was being punished for merely questioning the orders of my nine-year-old sister turned me on so much.

             Thankfully, Dad had the day off and was planning to go shopping anyway, so I was back with my tribute after just an hour away. He was a little concerned when I asked him to leave the plates at the front door, but I managed to convince him. Now my brain just had to find a way to cash the check my dick wrote.

             The 20-pound weights weren't so bad. I could carry one using both hands if I took frequent breaks to catch my breath. I got them both down without hurting myself. Hannah was still in the basement, but she barely acknowledged my return, just a single glance before returning to her workout.

             The 45-pounders were a different story. I really should just call the whole thing off. Tell Hannah that she was being ridiculous and could carry them down herself. But I was in too deep to stop now. Still, how exactly was I going to do this? Each plate was more than half my body weight. I couldn't even get it off the ground, let alone carry it down a flight of stairs.

             It took several minutes, but I eventually hatched a plan. Grunting and wheezing, I managed to get one of the plates balanced on its edge. Then I put one foot on either side, to keep it from tipping over and slowly shuffled towards the top of the stairs, carefully rolling the plate forward between my legs. I reached the first step without incident, but now came the hard part.

             I planted my feet on the next step down, grabbed the plate with both hands, and using all my strength managed to haul it after me. It landed between my feet with a clang, its descent barely slowed despite my best effort. One down, twelve to go.

             By the time I reached the bottom, I was out of breath and covered in sweat. I looked over to my sister, but she didn't even spare me a glance this time. Grimacing, I turned and headed back for the last weight.

             I finally finished delivering the weights, 45 minutes after I got back home. I stood there panting, exhausted as Hannah walked over.

             "Good", she said, tersely. "It's about time." Then she reached down and grabbed one of the 45 lb. plates with each hand. She lifted them like they weighed nothing. Without another word, she turned and headed over to the rack.

             I slumped against the wall, crushed. Only now did I realize that I had been expecting something more. That she would look down at me and tell me I did a good job, that she would break character, and we would laugh at how ridiculous we were acting, that she would fucking smile, for a moment. Dammit, I could feel myself tearing up. I stood up to leave.

             I turned and made it two steps before Hannah's arms wrapped around me from behind.

             "I'm sorry, I went too far. I should have said: 'Thank you for getting these, it really helps me out.'" I sniffed. Shit, I really was crying now.

             "So... so I did a good job?"

             "Oh, Nate! You did a great job. You're such a good, good boy." She turned me around. "Honestly, I'm really impressed. I didn't think you'd actually bring them all down. The 20's maybe, but the 45's are way too heavy for you. But you didn't give up. I couldn't believe it when I heard you clunking down the stairs with that first big plate."

             "It was all worth it, now that I get to see you smile. I was starting to think that I wouldn't ever see it again."

             "Wait? Have I really not smiled around you?" I shook my head. "Since your birthday?" I nodded. "God, I'm such a brat. How do you put up with me?"

             "You don't make it easy, sometimes."

             "Well, I was mad at you, but I was exaggerating it today. I guess I should save that kind of play for after you become my boyfriend, and we can set some limits."

             I... You know what? I'll take it.

------------------------------------------------------------

             I love summer vacation. But no school does lead to a problem. All the time I would have spent in class, I now spend at home, with Her. My sister. My great temptation. Now that she isn't angry all the time, there's no barrier between me and the blinding light of her presence.

             Far from figuring out how to talk her into abandoning her incestuous goals, I'm finding it harder and harder to convince myself that she's wrong. She doesn't just arouse me, she motivates me, she comforts me, she makes me happy. Why wouldn't I want to spend the rest of my life with her?

             "Nate!" Hannah proclaimed, barging into my room. "Me and some friends are going to the pool. Get your swimsuit on so you can come with us."

             "That sounds like a pain. Can't I just stay here? I have this game I've been meaning to pl..."

             "Nate", she interrupted me, "what did I say?"

             "To get my swimsuit on so we can go to the pool. But..."

             My sister sighed theatrically before walking up to me, only stopping once she was close enough that I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. I felt my heart rate quicken.

             "Nate", she repeated, "what did I say?"

             "To..." I only got one word out before Hannah took another step forward. Now she was so close that her chest brushed against mine. I gasped as a shiver raced through my body; blood rushing to my dick. She was just so huge. It was more than just her 3-inch height advantage. With her thick, muscular body pressed against my skinny frame, she seemed more than twice my size.

             "To", I tried again, "get on my swimsuit, so we can go to the pool."

             "And so? What are you going to do?"

             "Put on my swimsuit and go to the pool", I answered, quietly.

             "Right!" Hannah grinned. She turned and walked out of my room. She didn't bother checking to make sure I was following her instructions, because she knew I was.

             I stood dazed for a second, a dumb grin on my face. Then I got changed and headed downstairs.

             Mom drove Hannah, Jess and I to the pool. We were the last to arrive. The three other girls got out of the water to greet us. One of them was Naomi, which allowed me to check on her growth. And sure enough, she was taller than she should be. Her growth wasn't as extreme as the other girls I had seen, but she was as tall as Jess now, which meant a 4-inch spurt in a little less than a year.

             I didn't know the remaining two girls, but they were both tall for their age. Were they getting hypnotized by Jess too? Was there a connection between those two things? It seemed impossible but it was getting harder and harder to ignore the coincidences. I was rea...

             "Up you go!" My train of thought was derailed as Hannah scooped me up into her arms.

             "Whoa! Hannah? What are you doing?"

             "I told you we were getting in the pool, but you were too busy staring at my friends to hear me." I immediately turned bright red.

             "I-I wasn't..."

             "Pull your legs up to your chest and hold on tight!" I was curled up as instructed before I thought to question her orders.

             "Hannah! Wait a seco..."

             "Cannonball! Launch!"

             And I was flying through the air, the surface of the water shining beneath me.

------------------------------------------------------------

             "Nate, can you go get your sister? She playing over at Jess' place."

             "OK, Mom!"

             High school was fast approaching. In fact, Hannah's birthday was only a few days away. A sure sign that summer vacation was almost over.

             I was almost at Jess' house when I saw the front door open and someone unexpected walk out.

             "Hey, Alice! What are you doing here?"

             "Oh! Hi, Nate", she said, as we walked towards each other. "Just finished my hypnosis session. Gotta stick to the schedule, right?"

             "You're doing hypnosis too? Since when?"

             "Since, like a year ago! Your sister introduced me to Jess when she found out I wanted to keep..." Alice paused, her eyes widening. "Oh! Um... I gotta get going! It's dangerous to bike after dark! Uh, see you at school!"

             And she ran to her bicycle, parked on the sidewalk. She hopped on and pedaled away before I could say anything.

             OK. That settles it. Something is going on. Hannah and her friends' unusual growth spurts, her certainty that Grace would outgrow Evan, Alice's extended puberty, they all had one thing in common. Hypnosis.

             Oh My God! I've been getting hypnotized by Jess. Does that mean...?

             I need answers. I'm going to have to confront my sister.

------------------------------------------------------------

             Hannah's birthday began, like her last one, with her barging into my room. She didn't want to get measured today (that happened a week ago). She had another development to show me instead.

             Hannah walked right up to me and, while I was still trying to wake up, she grabbed my hand and pressed it to her chest.

             "Whoa, Hannah! What are you doing?"

             "Do you feel that?" She asked. I paused. I could feel her warmth, the firmness of her meaty pectoral muscle. Her nipple poked the center of my palm through her nightie. Wait, no. That's too wide to be her nipple, what is...? I moved my hand slightly, trying to get a better mental picture.

             "Ohh..." Hannah let out a soft moan. What the hell? I tried to jerk my hand away, but she held it tight. "That hurt a little, but it also felt kinda good."

             "Hannah! Is that...?" She smiled.

             "It's called a breast bud, Nate. Do you know what that means?"

             "You've..."

             "I've finally started puberty! Now I can start growing for real. I'm gonna make 6 inches a year look slow." She finally released my hand, and turned towards the door. "Well, I guess we should get ready for the party, unless you want to perform a more thorough investigation?"

             "Actually, there is something I need to talk to you about. Maybe after the party?"

             "Some of the girls are coming over after that, but we're not having a sleepover this year, so they're only going to stay a few hours."

             "After dinner then?" She nodded.

             "It's a date."

------------------------------------------------------------

             The party was held at the park again this year. There weren't many places that could accommodate 30ish kids and a half dozen adults affordably. Once again, I was drafted into keeping watch to make sure none of the guests wandered off or got into trouble. This gave me the perfect opportunity to gather more data for my theory.

             And what data it was. Last year, I had been amazed by how much taller Hannah was compared to her peers. And while that was still true, it wasn't the only oddity.

             Everyone who attended the slumber party had grown significantly, but the trend extended beyond them. It wasn't super obvious, given the varied ages and puberty stages of the guests, but the more I looked, the more convinced I became.

             The girls were taller than the boys, at least on average. By an inch or two for the younger grades, and even more for the older kids. If this is really the result of Jess' hypnotism, she must be working overtime. And only on the girls for some reason.

             This led to some amazing comparisons. Cindy and Jeremy were together for most of the party, and she had left him in the dust height-wise. In just a year they had gone from the same height to Cindy standing a head taller. In fact, Cindy was now one of the tallest kids here, only a little shorter than the birthday girl.

             Rosie was the standout of the lower grades. At one point, I saw her talking to a couple of Hannah's classmates, and she was taller than either of them. She had clearly been following Hannah's exercise obsession as well. The two guys looked a little intimidated by the fit, energetic eight-year-old.

             But eventually, the games had been played, the presents unwrapped, the cake eaten, and it was time to go home. The upcoming part of the festivities made me nervous. Getting aroused by Hannah was one thing, the cat was out of the bag there, but popping a boner because of her friends was a new thing to worry about.

             I thought I might avoid the possibility entirely, just hide in my room until they left, but my sister squashed that idea pretty quickly. She said that I was an integral part of the activities, which only made me more nervous. I was acting doorman again, and about 10 minutes after we arrived, the first knock sounded. I opened the door to reveal Rosie.

             "Hey. Welcome." I greeted. But Rosie didn't respond, instead, she stood there with a serious look on her face. She placed her hand on top of her head and drew it across until it met my chin. She nodded thoughtfully.

             "Yup, that's about right." Then a grin broke out on her face, and she skipped over to the couch where Hannah was waiting.

             What was that about? Then it hit me: my chin? Just how fast is she growing? Six months ago she only reached my shoulder. Another knock brought my attention back to my duties and I let Naomi in. She smiled up at me.

             "I'm growing into a beautiful woman, aren't I? Or at least you think so, right? I've noticed you watching me."

             She gave me a wink, then walked past me without waiting for an answer, though I'm not sure how I could respond to that. I was saved from the attempt by the next girl arriving. Jess looked vaguely disgusted by something. After my greeting, she responded in a complete monotone.

             "Wow. I'm up to your mouth now." Then she left to sit next to her girlfriend. I guess she wasn't thrilled with the little show Hannah had organized. I had to assume that that's what's happening; the girls showing up one by one in order of height. It would explain why everyone was so slow getting here from the park.

             The next guest confirmed my suspicions, as Sarah arrived alone, her sister nowhere in sight. However, that was quickly pushed to the back of my mind by the sight in front of me. I knew the twins had grown significantly, and that Sarah, always the more athletic one, had become even more so. But I hadn't seen them close up until now.

             She was jacked! Even compared to the other girls, who all seemed to have gotten fitter over the past year. The only thing keeping my jaw off the floor was my constant exposure to my even more impressive sister.

             "Long time no see. What do you think?" She struck a double-bicep pose. "I've changed a little."

             "Yeah. Just a little, though. I might not have noticed if you didn't point it out to me." We shared a chuckle at that. Then she headed over to the other girls.

             This is bad. I had managed to keep my libido in check through the first few girls, but seeing Sarah had been too much. Her increased musculature combined with her growth caused a corresponding growth in my pants. I mean, holy cow! She had been quite a bit shorter than average a year ago, but now she had to be average for her age, if not a little taller. So, she grew what? Twice what a normal girl does during puberty? And her sister is even taller?

             I was only just over halfway through. I was screwed.

             June was next. She hadn't started puberty until a few months after last year's party, but she had definitely made up for lost time. She was almost as tall as me now!

             "I'll be bigger than you soon. Still getting used to that thought."

             Following her was the other twin. Sally was indeed taller than her sister. She barely had to tilt her head to look me in the eye.

             "Almost there. If only I had grown a little faster." She rose onto her tip-toes, forcing me to look up to maintain eye contact. "I guess this will have to do for now."

             "Uhhhh..." Evidently, I had lost the ability to speak. Sally giggled before continuing on into the house. My dick was at full mast, and there was still one girl to go.

             I didn't have to wait long for her to show up. I opened the door to see Cindy's chin. A quick glance confirmed that, this time, she was in flats. My gaze passed quickly back up her strong, maturing body to find her grinning down at me.

             "Wow", I breathed. Cindy's smile widened.

             "Careful, little guy. Someone is bound to get jealous if you're too impressed by me." She joined the others but it took me a second to shut the door and follow her. She hadn't just exceeded my height, she had blown right past me. It wasn't even close anymore.

             "Alright, Nate has a pretty good idea of our heights now", Hannah said, with a smirk, "but let's get some concrete numbers, shall we? There's a height chart in the kitchen that we can use."

             Oh, God. We weren't done with this? I was already burning with embarrassment, sure that everyone could see my hard-on pressing against my zipper. But when they all trooped off to get measured, I followed dutifully behind.

             It looked like the girls were going to stick to the same order as before, as Rosie stepped up to the growth chart first.

             "OK, Nate, check her height", Hannah instructed. I sighed. Of course, I was the one doing the measuring. Well, it's not like I could refuse.

             "So? How tall am I?!"

             "F-four-foot-three." Wow. I mean, I could have guessed just from the earlier comparison, but somehow seeing it on the chart made it more real.

             "Six inches in a year, impressive!" Hannah complimented her with a proud smile. Rosie beamed.

             Naomi was next. As I leaned in to read the chart, she smiled up at me, flirtatiously. I had to look away and cough, before I could continue.

             "You're 4'4"."

             "If you're not careful, you're gonna end up as the little girl of the group instead of me", Rosie said, cheekily.

             "Oh, please. I'm just getting started. Besides, there's another person here that really deserves that title." She walked over to Jess and put an arm around her shoulder. Jess blushed and looked away, but with a little smile on her face.

             Then, it was her turn to be measured. Revealing that she stood 4'5". She must have grown another inch over the summer. Four inches in a year for a girl in puberty was perfectly acceptable, but in this group, it left her tied with Naomi for the slowest growth.

             Now it was time for the really fast growers. The girls who had spent most or all of the last year in puberty. First up was Sarah, but I immediately noticed a problem, she was tall enough that I couldn't see over her head to read the chart. But just as that thought crossed my mind, Hannah's arms wrapped around me from behind.

             "Aww. Is she too tall for you, little bro? Let me give you a boost." And up I went.

             "Four-foot-seven", I gasped. This was bad. I was long past getting erect in front of Hannah's friends. Now I was worried that I might cum before we were done. Especially now that I was pressed against Hannah's body as she effortlessly held me up. And then I discovered that Sarah, the shorter twin, had grown eight inches this past year!

             June was a slightly less impressive 7 inches taller, though that still left her at 4'8".

             Then it was Sally's turn. My cock twitched as I announced her height to the room. 4'9"! She had grown 10 inches in 12 months. How is that even possible? Wait! If Sally grew this much, how much would Hannah grow before her next birthday?

             "Dang! So close. Well, there's always next year", Sally said. Rosie giggled.

             "I bet we'll all be taller than him next year."

             While my mind was whirling, Cindy took Sally's place. She was so tall that even with Hannah holding me several inches off the floor, I could only just read her height, 9 inches taller than she was last summer.

             "Five-one", I announced, to the cheers of the girls. Then Hannah set me down, leaving me gazing up at the towering amazon in front of me.

             "OK, my turn!" Hannah exclaimed.

             "I guess I'll help Nate out on this one", Cindy added.

             Cindy and my sister switched places before I could process what was coming. Then I was being lifted again, trying not to blow my load as Cindy's perky breasts pressed against my back. This wasn't made any easier when I realized I was looking at Hannah's forehead.

             "Um, I'm still not high enough."

             "Damn, girl. You're making this real difficult for us normal-sized people", Cindy commented, as if there was anything normal about a 5'1" sixth-grader. But she obligingly raised me a few inches higher, so I could finally reveal my sister's height to the others.

             "You're still the tallest of the group; standing 5'2"." I almost expected her to have somehow grown another inch just to surprise me.

             Once Cindy put me down, I breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, I had made it through that.

             "Hey!" Rosie interjected. "That looks fun! I want to pick Nate up, too!" Crap!

             "In that case, we should give everyone a chance", Hannah replied, looking down at me with a knowing smile. "Let's go in reverse height order this time."

             "I'm game", Sally agreed, walking up to me. Then she wrapped her arms around my waist and lifted me off my feet. She released a grunt while doing it though. Clearly, this wasn't as easy for her as it was for Cindy or Hannah, but she didn't seem to be straining too much either.

             She put me down pretty quickly, leaving the stage open for June to pick me up next.

             "You're even lighter than you look", she commented. "I throw guys around at the dojo that weigh a lot more than you."

             "Let's mix this up a bit", Sarah said, when her turn came. "Don't want it to get boring for you." She leaned down and scooped me up in her arms, cradling me like a baby. My face was bright red. My cock surged, as the girls laughed around me.

             "OK, Jess, you're up", she said, once she got tired of rocking me back and forth. Jess frowned.

             "I'm not interested."

             "Aw, c'mon. Everyone else is doing it", Sally insisted. "Don't be a spoil-sport."

             "Yeah. He's really light", her sister added. "Even you should be able to lift him."

             "Hey! That's enough", Hannah interrupted, her tone suddenly serious. She stepped up beside Jess and put a hand on her shoulder. "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."

             "But..."

             "We weren't..."

             "That's. Enough."

             "OK, OK." The twins backed off; their hands raised in surrender.

             You'd think that Jess would be happy watching her girlfriend defend her like that. But she just looked hurt. She walked a few steps away to sit down on one of the kitchen chairs. Naomi went over to join her.

             "I think I'll pass too, guys." She said. "We aren't all athletes here."

             "Guess that makes it my turn!" Rosie exclaimed, ignoring the tenser atmosphere of the last few minutes.

             "I don't know", I objected. "You're still a lot smaller than me. I don't want you to get hurt."

             "I can do it!" She insisted, indignant.

             "Don't worry, Nate", Hannah added. "She's been working really hard this past year. Besides, she isn't much smaller than I was, when I picked you up the first time, and I didn't have any trouble."

             I gave in. My desire to not be lifted by an eight-year-old while sporting a raging hard-on, overruled. But Rosie didn't grab me by the waist like the others, choosing to imitate Sarah instead.

             "Oh my God!" I couldn't be more embarrassed, being bounced up and down in the arms of a giggling third-grader.

             "I told you I could do it. You aren't that heavy. Are you really six years older than me?" At least her voice revealed that this wasn't easy for her, despite her words. Not hard enough to keep her from holding me for several additional seconds, however.

             Once she finally put me down, I was determined to retreat. Any more of this and I would either blow my load or die of embarrassment, probably both. But my sister wasn't done with me.

             "Hey! Don't go anywhere, little bro. I'm not satisfied yet. I've been able to lift you for over a year now. Hmmm... If only there was some way to up the difficulty." She looked thoughtful for a second. "Oh, I know!" And she reached out and grabbed the front of my shirt with her right hand.

             Oh, no! If she does that, I'll definitely...

             "Rrrraaugh!" Hannah shouted, her bicep swelling. And then my feet left the floor. My sister looked straight into my eyes and smiled.

             My whole body shook as I orgasmed, unable to hold on any longer. When I was spent, she lowered me back to the floor, and I fled the room.

------------------------------------------------------------

             A little while later, the guests left and dinner was served. I wasn't surprised to see Jess at the table, in fact, having her here would be helpful in the upcoming conversation. As we headed back upstairs after eating, Hannah gestured for me to come into her room.

             "So", she said, closing the door behind us, "what did you want to talk about?"

             "It's about hypnosis."

             "What about it?" She asked, though her eyes said that she knew exactly what I was getting at. Damn, I really didn't want to say it out loud. It just sounds so impossible. A ridiculous conspiracy theory. But I have to know.

             "Are you... somehow using hypnosis to... to get taller?" I paused. Looking for some sign from her that I wasn't crazy. She held my gaze without reacting for a moment, letting me sweat. Then she grinned.

             "I was wondering if you would ever put it together."

             "How? It doesn't make sense! I'm only asking now because I can't think of any other way to explain what's been happening."

             "Well, you're right. Hypnosis is making me taller. The other girls too. Jess can tell you how it works." She nodded towards her girlfriend.

             "We should sit down", Jess suggested. "This could take a while." Hannah and I sat on the edge of her bed, while Jess pulled the chair over from Hannah's desk to sit in front of us.

             "First of all, what is growth? If you break it down, it's just cell division. Creating more cells to build more tissue leading to a bigger body. But how do the cells know it's time to grow? Or how fast they should divide?"

             "Uh... Growth hormone?" She nodded.

             "It's much more complicated than that. Everything involving the human body is. But basically, yes. Growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Now, how does the pituitary gland know that it should make growth hormone?"

             I shrugged. That was outside my limited knowledge of biology.

             "It's another hormone, produced by a different gland. But if you follow the trail of cause and effect all the way back, where does it lead you? How does any part of the body know how to do anything, in the first place?"

             "DNA, right?"

             "That's it. But, DNA is just an instruction manual. What parts get read, and when, is very complicated and nobody really understands it all. For growth, there are a lot of environmental factors that affect how much we grow."

             I must have looked overwhelmed, because she paused.

             "Think of it like a water faucet. The more water that is flowing out, the faster you grow. DNA would be the construction plan for building the faucet and pipes and a guide for how much to turn the handle based on various conditions."

             "But DNA doesn't operate the faucet itself. Well, kinda of. I guess in this metaphor, step one of the guide would say: 'Hire a worker to monitor the conditions and turn the handle appropriately.' So what's the worker in our body? What organ is made specifically to take in and process information?"

             "The brain."

             "Exactly. But you don't consciously make growth hormone. Just like you don't order your heart to beat or your sweat glands to cool you off. That all happens in your subconscious." I gasped, my eyes going wide.

             "And hypnotism bypasses the conscious mind to allow direct communication with the subconscious!"

             "Yes!" Jess exclaimed, a smile breaking out on her face. Her previous melancholy pushed to the side by her passion for the subject.

             "At first, it was a mere trick for entertainment. Using the subconscious to do things the conscious mind would normally control, like moving the body. Then people realized it could be used for relaxation and reducing anxiety. Basically lowering the heart rate and changing the production rate of various brain chemicals. Something the conscious mind could only do indirectly."

             "But that's just scratching the surface! I'm the only one to realize hypnosis' true potential. If I can determine the proper instructions, I can use the subconscious to take control of almost any process in the body!"

             "So for me", Hannah quipped, "she stuck a giant post-it note over the guide that said: 'Open the handle all the way!'"

             "That makes it sound much easier to do than it actually is, but essentially, yes."

             I was floored. It still seemed like science fiction but Jess' explanation made it sound like an obvious next step from conventional hypnotism. If this was a movie, I would probably still dismiss it as something that could never work in real life, but there was too much evidence of its success right in front of me.

             That said, Hannah and her friend's amazing growth was only one part of the puzzle. I could extrapolate what the hypnosis had done to me, but not why.

             "Then why did you hypnotize me? Were you so impatient that you turned me into a shrimp just so you could outgrow me faster?" The two of them looked back at me. Jess' expression became serious again, while Hannah seemed hurt by my accusation.

             "Of course not!... Well, not entirely, anyway..." Hannah had the decency to sound a little ashamed of herself, at least. "I'll admit that at the start, I was just being selfish. I was certain the hypnotism thing would work, but Jess wanted to take it slow. She said we should focus on simple, harmless changes and only use it to help me grow after she was confident that she could do it safely."

             "Then Dr. Feldspar told me that I wasn't going to end up taller than you, even after all my hard work. I was really mad, so I lashed out. I decided that you didn't deserve to be tall and ordered Jess to hypnotize us both that night."

             "But if that was all there was to it, it wouldn't have worked for two reasons. One, I would have cooled down long before your next hypnotism session and called the whole thing off. If you hated being small, I wouldn't have kept you that way, just because I wanted to be taller than you."

             "Two, if you hated it, it wouldn't have worked in the first place. Don't you remember? Your subconscious won't do anything that goes against your true desires." She leaned towards me, her smug grin reasserting itself. "I only turned you into a shrimp because, deep down, you wanted to be a shrimp."

             "I... T-that can't be right. It took me more than a year to make peace with my height. Being small scared me, made me angry and depressed."

             "You don't understand", Jess interjected. "True desires sound like commandments written in stone, all pointing to some ideal future that will make you the happiest. But they're really just your deepest set of wants and motivations. They're free of all the complications your conscious mind adds to determine your behavior, but they still have nuance. They can change over time, even conflict with each other."

             "There were things that made you want to get taller", Hannah stated. "Becoming Sam's ideal boyfriend, being able to protect people from Brad and other bullies, improving your basketball performance. But you also wanted to stay small. You've always been a sub, little bro. It's part of your personality, whether you realized it at the time or not."

             "You like it when someone else takes control." She stood up and moved in front of me. "Feeling helpless before a big, strong girl turns you on." She leaned over me, placing a hand on the bed on either side of me. "And you love knowing that she's going to grow, every passing day increasing the gap between you."

             She stood back up, allowing me to breathe again. The tenting in my pants proof of the truth in her words.

             "So part of you wanted to get big, and part of you wanted to stay small. And the small side won out."

             "But how could you know that? Did you just gamble and hope for the best?"

             "Well, I could see the way you acted around Sam, especially once she started to tower over you. But I couldn't be sure until I asked you."

             "Huh?"

             "The subconscious doesn't just take orders", Jess explained. "It can answer questions too. And it never lies."

             "Here", Hannah added, sitting next to me again, "let me show you." She pulled out her phone and opened a video.

             I was confused. This was the video she recorded of the first time I was hypnotized. I watched Jess wrapping up her countdown, the two of them ordering my body to act like a dog, and Hannah laughing so hard the camera lost focus.

             "I don't get it. I've already seen that video. You showed it to me right after you filmed it."

             "Not quite. Did you notice that the video ended before we woke you up?"

             "No, but now that you mention it."

             "Well here's what happened next." I watched as another video started.

             *I could still hear Hannah's giggles behind the camera, but they died out as Jess ordered my body to sit cross-legged on the floor.*

               *"So he'll tell me anything?"*

               *"Yes, as long as you ask the right questions. The subconscious won't hide the truth, or make excuses. It just relays information."*

               *"Cool!" I could hear the eagerness in her voice, as the camera moved closer to me. "Nate, this is Hannah. Um, what do you think of me?"*

               *"You're my sister. You can be annoying and selfish and sometimes I don't get you."*

               *"Hey!"*

               *"But I also admire your drive and your cheerful attitude. I enjoy spending time with you."*

               *"Sorry", Jess said, the slightest bit of amusement audible in her tone. "I forgot to add that the subconscious doesn't have any tact either."*

               *"Hmph. It's OK. He didn't say anything he hasn't told me before. Let's try again. Nate, do you love me?"*

               *"Yes, I do. You're my sister. You mean the world to me."*

               *"Nate, do you think I'm sexy?"*

               *"No."*

               *"Why not?!"*

               *You're my little sister. I don't find little girls attractive."*

               *"Do you think Sam's sexy?"*

               *"Yes."*

               *"What about her do you find sexy?"*

               *"Her whole body is sexy. Her boobs are sexy. Her long legs are sexy. Her muscles are sexy. I am aroused by how tall and strong she is. I love her confidence. I love when she takes the lead. I love when she's in control. Kissing her feels so good."*

               *"When she's in control? You like it when she tells you what to do?"*

               *"Yes."*

               *"OMG! And her being bigger and stronger than you turns you on?"*

               *"Yes."*

               *"OMG! Jess! My brother is just like you!" Hannah giggled. "Don't give me that look, I mean under the tall, confident jock he's a little sub too." Her focus shifted back to me. "Nate, do you want to be smaller?"*

               *"No."*

               *"Huh? Why not?"*

             The questions lasted a few more minutes, but it basically boiled down to the same reasons for and against being small that Hannah explained earlier. Except this time, the against side won out. Eventually, Hannah sighed and leaned back.

             *"I guess he isn't exactly like you, though he might change his mind someday. Still, we can work with this. If he doesn't want to be small, I'll just have to grow even bigger. One day, he won't think I'm a little girl anymore"*

               *"You'll still be his sister. He might not even consider the possibility of finding you sexy."*

               *"I have a plan for that. But you should wake him up now. It's almost dinner time."*

             Then, Jess ordered me back to my hands and knees and the video ended.

             "Wow", I said. Having all my secrets available for the taking was a little disturbing, but it did explain some things.

             "Right? Why do you think I've been so good at turning you on since then? I know your kinks better than you do."

             "But that video makes it seem like you shouldn't have been able to stunt my growth. The tall side won."

             "That wasn't when we stopped your growth. It was the second time we hypnotized you, after the check-up with Dr. Feldspar, remember? I decided to ask the question again, and for some reason, that time you said yes. Something had tipped the scales."

             Oh. I saw a vivid image of Sam picking me up and kissing me until my brain overheated. I knew it was a life-changing event, just not the sheer magnitude of the change.

             "OK. But why were you so determined to be taller than me, anyway? I know you love being big and strong, but why was it so important that you outgrow me specifically?"

             "Do you remember when we used to play make-believe as kids?"

             "Yeah?" I answered, confused by the non-sequitur.

             "Well, my favorite games fell into two categories. The first group was the ones that had us in a relationship of some kind, like when I made you play house with me. Like I told you on your birthday, I've always been in love with you. I had a crush on you before I knew what crushes were."

             "The second group was games where I was in control. Like the horseyback ride. I'd sit on your back and you'd go wherever I told you to. Even back then I wanted to be in charge."

             "So, I wanted us to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I wanted to be the dominant one. I wanted to protect you and take care of you. So I had to be taller and stronger than you."

             "I guess that makes sense. But there is one more thing that's bothering me." I paused. This was the big one. The one that had been haunting me for days.

             "What is it?" Hannah asked, softly, her smile fading as she saw my serious expression.

             "Why did you keep it a secret for so long? Why didn't you stop it before my life fell apart?"

             Hannah looked away from me and took a deep breath. When she turned back, she looked nervous and guilty. I was surprised. It had been a long time since I had seen her look so... vulnerable.

             "I'm sorry. Let me just be clear on that right away. If I had known how bad things would get for you, I would have found another way. So, I'm really sorry."

             "But that isn't what you asked, so I'll try to explain. There were 3 reasons. For the first few months, I just convinced myself that you were fine. You know how, if I get really focused on something, I can forget to think about the consequences? I know that's a poor excuse, but I was so happy to finally be growing, that it was hard to worry about anything else."

             "I always planned to tell you but, as long as the hypnosis was effective, I thought that meant that deep down, you were fine being 4'10". And there was always another milestone if I waited a bit longer. You started getting aroused by me, I got stronger than you, I almost beat you in basketball."

             "It wasn't until the end of that school year that I started to realize that you were having problems because of your height. We were talking about you getting to know Tim better, and you let slip that you felt bad because you couldn't protect him anymore. So I decided that I had to tell you and let you choose if you wanted to start growing again."

             "But when I talked to Jess about it, she said your growth plates had closed. I thought we could just open the faucet again, but it turns out the water in the pipes had frozen solid. Jess was pretty sure there was a way to reopen your growth plates, but she hadn't figured it out yet."

             "So that's reason number two. I didn't tell you that summer because I didn't want to admit that we didn't know how to fix the problem. I knew Jess would figure it out, I just had to keep you in the dark for a little longer."

             "Um. Then you and Sam broke up. And I panicked. I didn't realize how bad things had gotten. It was all my fault and I couldn't figure out what to do. Every time I thought about telling you the truth, I got so nervous that I felt like I was going to throw up. I was sure that you were going to hate me forever."

             "That explains why you were acting so weird", I noted.

             "Yeah. Then you asked me to go back to treating you normally, and I realized what I had to do. I had to show you how good being small was. If I could convince you that you were better off short, not just subconsciously but consciously too, then I could tell you. So that's what I've been doing this whole year."

             "So, um... Do you hate me now?"

             I sighed, then reached over and slapped her shoulder.

             "Like I could ever do that, dummy! Sure, if you told me right after the fight with Sam, I would have been really mad. Maybe I wouldn't have talked to you for a day or two. But I could never hate you. I love you too much for that."

             "You really mean that?"

             "Of course, I do. Besides, the break-up still isn't your fault. It wasn't my height that drove Sam away, it was how I acted, my inability to deal with my insecurities. I can't even blame you for hiding it for so long, when I did the same thing to Sam. Just promise you won't do it again."

             "Cross my heart!" And then we hugged.

             Eventually, Hannah pulled away and shook herself.

             "Whew. I'm glad that's over with. OK, now that you know all my secrets, it's time for you to be honest with me."

             "About what?" I asked, as she got up and moved to stand in front of me.

             "Tell me how you really feel..." She leaned down and grabbed one of my thighs. I gasped. "...about me. I told you that I wouldn't give up. You've made me wait all summer." Her hand slowly slid higher. "So are you still determined to resist? Or are you ready to admit that we're made for each other?"

             She was making it hard to think straight, but I had to try. Could I really do this? Become Hannah's boyfriend? Her submissive? Everything about it sounded so wrong. But then why did it feel so right? My dick was already hers, a point she was literally rubbing in with her thumb on my inner thigh.

             But my dick was happy with any big, strong girl. I needed to think beyond that. She meant more to me than that anyway. She made me feel safe. She encouraged me, motivated me. When she found me crying after the break-up, her first thought was to comfort me, before she even knew what happened.

             Sure she can be selfish, impulsive, overly competitive, but nobody's perfect. And when she knows that she messed up, she tries to fix it. She loves me. And I love her. Even tonight, when she was vulnerable, confessing to hurting me with her carelessness, as far from a confident dominatrix as possible, it didn't change how I felt about her.

             Then it hit me. Something I said to Kerry during nationals. "Maybe I can't have a normal relationship, but if I'm going to be owned by someone, I want them to be someone who cares about me." And no one cares about me more than Hannah.

             "You were right. I love you. I want to be with you forever." There, I said it.

             Hannah smiled and for a second I thought she might start crying, but then she stood as straight as possible and glared down at me.

             "Then say it right. Beg for it." I became, somehow, even more erect.

             "Please, Hannah. Please let me be your boyfriend. I..."

             Before I could get any further, her lips were on mine.

             When we finally separated, Hannah took a step back.

             "There's one last thing for you to decide tonight." She said. "Where do we go from here with your hypnosis?"

             "What do you mean?"

             "Remember when I told you that Jess was trying to find a way to reopen your growth plates? Well, she did. And we even got to test it."

             "On Alice?"

             "Yup. She's actually been doing hypnosis with us for about a year. I got Tim to introduce me after we talked about her at your birthday party."

             "Wait, she started hypnosis before Sam and I broke up?"

             "Yeah", Hannah said, her expression darkening. "By about a week. But, I didn't know that she had abandoned you until after you became friends again. I would have..." Her fist clenched. She didn't finish her sentence. "Anyway, you forgave her, so I had to let it go."

             "The important thing is that the hypnosis worked. Her growth spurt was over, she probably would have gotten a little taller, but her growth plates were closing. Jess was able to open them back up and restart her growth."

             "So I can get taller?"

             "Yes", Jess answered me. "The ends of your bones will have to be broken down to make room for new cells, so there will be some joint pain for a few weeks. But then you will start to grow again."

             "If we do nothing else, you will have missed two years of your growth spurt, so you will still end up below average. Probably 5'5" or 5'6". However, once you are growing, we can extend or accelerate that growth just like the girls, so any height is possible."

             My head was spinning. I could still get taller? I could actually reach 6'2 like I was supposed to? But is that even what I want now?

             "That's one option", Hannah's voice pulled me out of my swirling thoughts. "Another one is to keep going the way we have been. You stay 4'10" and enjoy all the big, strong girls around you."

             I... this shouldn't be a difficult choice, right? Sure, I made peace with being stuck at 4'10", but that was because I didn't think that there was another option. Was pleasing my libido really worth staying a puny wimp for my whole life? Depending on my sister to protect me from even the weakest bully?

             But she would protect me. Why do I need to be big and strong when she can be big and strong for me? Why should I care if the rest of the world thinks I'm a tiny loser? She likes me this way. The biggest reason I wanted to be taller was Sam, wasn't it? And that ship has sailed. So what would be the point of growing? I like being small. I... like being small.

             I looked up, meeting Hannah's eyes, but before I could open my mouth, she held up a hand.

             "Hold on. I wanted to give you a second to think, but don't decide yet. I need to tell you two things, first. One: Don't worry about what I want, this is your decision. You've already given me the best birthday present I could imagine. And I'm going to keep growing too. So even if you're 6'2" someday, you'll still be my little brother."

             "Two: There's another option for hypnosis that I haven't told you yet."

             "What else could there be? I either grow or I don't." Hannah shook her head, her grin widening.

             "You stay the same height, or you get taller, or... you get smaller."

             "Smaller... Are you saying you can shrink me?!"

             "Exactly!"

             "How is that possible? Shrinking isn't something the body does!"

             "Neither is reopening a growth plate", Jess countered. "That was the second big breakthrough I made. I can do more than just tweak available processes. I can direct the body to use its resources in ways that it isn't designed to. But I have to be very careful, very precise."

             "In this case, it's the opposite of cell division. Controlled cellular destruction. The body will break down, reabsorb, and then expel excess tissue. The in-sync reduction of your bones, muscles, organs, etc."

             "How small would I get?"

             "I don't know. This hasn't been tested yet. You could shrink a few inches and that's it. At most, you could lose about a foot. I don't recommend this option, there's too much I don't know, too many possible problems."

             I barely heard her warning. As soon as she said that I could end up a foot shorter, I couldn't think of anything else. I had to see it. I turned and looked at Hannah and she understood. I slid off the bed and onto my knees as she moved forward. Her torso filled my vision, her top an inch from my face. Then she pulled it up, exposing her midriff. I was looking straight into her abs; her bellybutton level with my chin.

             My gaze slowly ran up her body, until I could see her smiling face looking down at me. I had never felt this small. Even Kerry in her highest heels didn't tower over me like this.

             Oh God, was I really considering this? 4'10" was small, but I could still live a mostly normal life. At 3'10", that would be impossible. I wouldn't be able to drive a car, many careers would be out of the question, even some household chores would be too much for me. I would be even more dependent on Hannah.

             But, looking up at her now, it felt like this was how it was meant to be. No matter how helpless I became, she would be there for me. I just had to do my best to make her happy.

             And I could tell that she wanted this. She had told me not to worry about that, that this was my decision. But it didn't matter. If she wanted this, then I wanted it too.

             "Please, Hannah! Please shrink me! I want you to tower over me! Even more than this! I want to get smaller while you get bigger and bigger!"

             Hannah's smile widened, and I exploded in my pants. And this time, my orgasm was followed, not by embarrassment or shame, but by joy.