"Is it President Theodore Roosevelt?"

"Yes! Yes it was, very good Elizabeth!"

"Thank you." She politely responded with big grin.

"Now, who can tell me what Theodore Roosevelt's greatest achievement was in office? Hm, anyone?" The Professor continued, politely ignoring  Elizabeth's still raised hand, as she had just answered a question. "Hmm, well how about you then, Johnny?"

A small kid in the back of the class flinched noticeably at hearing his name, and looked lost for a moment before shaking his head and making a strained expression, as if he were concentrating deeply. The entire classroom's eyes were on him, and the professor waited expectantly.

"H-His uh, his greatest achievement in office was the, uh, it was..." Johnny began, searching his memory for the answer. "It was, uh.."

A small groan and a few sighs started making their way around the room, only furthering his determination to answer the question. Mouthing the words to himself before he said them, he gathered up his courage and looked the professor square in the eye for an instant.

"Former President Theodore Roosevelt's greatest achievement in office was his pet while in office, a vicious Honey Badger! Generally regarded as one of the most vicious animals around, Roosevelt kept and raised it after it was thrown at him by a little girl, and it was named-"

Mercifully, before Johnny could continue, a bell interrupted him, and with a disappointed wave goodbye from the professor, the class gathered their belongings.

Blushing in embarrassment, Johnny sat down to pick up his things and tried to blend into the crowd as it exited. Keeping his eyes down to avoid eye contact, he made his way through the halls silently, trying to remember the correct answer to the question that had been asked as he did.

"YO! JOHNNY!"

Not wanting to be tormented any further, Johnny kept a low profile, quickening his pace.

"JOHNNY! WAIT FOR US!" A different voice called out.

Turning his head, Johnny scanned the crowd behind him, slowing his near-jog to a walk. The hallway behind him filled with more students, making it more difficult to spot who was calling out to him as he walked.

Too difficult, a fact he realized when he found himself bumping into someone he couldn't see, and hearing her squeal as they fell to the floor together.

Johnny's face grew red as he jumped to his feet almost as he quickly as he had fallen, and offered a hand to the girl he had knocked over.

Offering a warm smile in return, Elizabeth, the girl who he had knocked over graciously accepted his hand. Johnny's heart raced as he used all his strength to help her to her feet again, and watched her stand to her full, luxurious height. Though he kept his eyes down in humility, she gave him a pat on the back, and a quick wink.

"Thanks for helping me up, John-boy." She said, before leaving him where he stood, to catch up  to her own friends.

Johnny's face grew bright red at her words, and he was grateful that she wasn't looking at him anymore to see it. John-boy was a name he hadn't been called in awhile, not since, well, he and Elizabeth were children.

The world continued around him, but Johnny stood motionless, lost in thoughts. He watched as a younger version of himself and Elizabeth played in their front yard. He remembered how happy he had felt when she was around, rather than the nervous mess he became now. He remembered the secrets they had shared together. Finally, he remembered, now tinged with a wave of sadness, the day her parents had inherited a sizable sum of money, causing her entire family to pack up and leave.

"JOHNNY!" A voice nearly yelled in his ear, accompanied by a slap on the back.

"W-what?!" Johnny asked, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest at the surprise contact.

"Dude! You look totally out of it! What's wrong man?"

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all Shawn!" Johnny answered, forcing a bit of laughter and scratching the back of his head unconvincingly.

Squinting and examining his face with uncertainty, Shawn, one of Johnny's best friends eventually shrugged and pet his buddy on the back once more. Johnny flinched noticeably at the contact, a detail completely lost on Shawn.

"Well as long as you say so, so what are we gonna do for lunch today, man?" Shawn asked, punctuating it with another pat on Johnny's sore back.

"I dunno... I don't feel like going out to eat today. I think I'd rather just stay on campus." Johnny answered meekly.

"THEN STAY ON CAMPUS WE SHALL!" Another voice nearly shouted, making Johnny's heart skip a beat and drawing the attention of everyone nearby to the group.

"Jesus H. Christ! Did you really have to shout it that loud Adam?"  Shawn asked, rubbing his ear in discomfort.

"Oh you know it bro!" Adam, the third member of their little troupe responded happily.

"Yeah, well, if we wanna get something we should probably hurry up, you know as well as I do how prone the cafeteria is to running out of food." Shawn urged.

"DUDE! Bro's right bro, let's go bro!" Adam said while motioning for Johnny to follow him.

The three ran as fast as they could to the cafeteria, bobbing and weaving through the crowds of students loitering or simply talking. They were a rather odd bunch, to any onlookers. Johnny looking relatively normal, though rather short, while Shawn looked like a stereotypical nerd in every way. Somehow fitting in even less was Adam, who looked as if he had stepped right out of the 1960's with his messy hair and constantly bloodshot eyes.

Unlikely a group as they were, they were still the best of friends, and after picking something up in the cafeteria, they made their way back outside to enjoy their food. The area around the cafeteria was sparsely populated, most students choosing to actually enjoy their lunch by going off campus.

"All I'm sayin' is, I think your answer should have been considered right bro! Having a badger as a pet is like, the most notable thing ever!"

"Yeah, but I don't think anyone else agreed with me." Johnny gloomily said. "I probably looked like an idiot in front of everyone."

"Well yeah, you did. But everyone gets an answer wrong sometimes." Shawn said while sipping his cup of water.

"Not that Elizabeth chick bro, she's like, super smart!" Adam laughed as he twirled some spaghetti on his fork. "She doesn't even look like she'd be, man! She's totally hot, got some cool-ass piercings, but not like, cool ass piercings. Like, the piercings are cool, not saying she's got a cool piercing on her ass. She looks like an old school punk rocker man! Even wears Chucks without socks, cause she's probably like, fighting the man, bro-" Adam rambled before getting slapped in the back of the head.

"She's also totally right over there!" Shawn whispered behind his hand while pointing to a group of students standing in the shade of a tree.

Doing his best to look inconspicuous, Johnny turned away from his plate, hoping to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth again. She wasn't facing him, thankfully, and he couldn't help but crack a smile just at seeing her again.

"Bro, I think Johnny here has a thing for Miss Elizabeth" Adam whispered to Shawn while nudging him with his elbow.

"He really isn't good at hiding it." Shawn sighed.

"Bro probably doesn't even know that we know he's totally staring at her."

"Maybe he just doesn't care."

"I dunno about you, but I'd care bro, and I'd probably tell you guys to shut up about it or something."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, he's still staring.

"JOHNNY!"

Snapping out of his stupor, Johnny looked around in shock before seeing both of his friends snorting with the effort of containing their laughter. He tried his best to look nonchalant about the matter, but their reactions were quickly breaking his will.

"How do you like the view bro?" Adam began.

"Johnny, do you uh, have a thing for her there?" Shawn asked, covering his mouth to stop the laughter.

"Well, yeah, but who wouldn't!" Johnny almost shouted in defense. It was an honest question in his mind, she was cute, super smart, and was among the kindest people he had ever known. It may not have entirely matched her appearance as a rough punk, but he knew better than anyone that she hadn't always been like that.

"I dunno about you bro, but I would too. Problem is she's so far out of my league I've never bothered." Adam said honestly, a first for him. "She's way too smart to fall for someone like me. I need an idiot."

"Surely, you have an angle if you think you have a chance Johnny." Shawn said, adjusting his glasses as he did. "Like stupid here," He began, motioning to Adam as he said this. "I don't bother fantasizing about a girl I'll never get to be with, as it'll only lead to disappointment."

"Oh you know it, bro!" Adam said, unfazed by the insult.

"So, what's the secret you're not telling us? Do you know something deep and dark about her that she'd be willing to date you to keep secret?" Shawn asked. "Or maybe you saved her life when she was in danger, and is looking for a way to pay you back?"

"Yeah, or maybe she was in trouble, and you were like, no officer-bro, that's my weed, not hers. And she's still grateful, or something." Adam added.

"No, nothing like that. It's nothing big, just that we, you know, grew up together." Johnny explained in a near whisper, afraid of his friends laughing over his reasons. A nervousness that proved to well-founded as Shawn choked for a moment.

"You know I love you like a brother, bro, but is that like, all? I'd hope one of my closest bro's has more to go on than just some old memories." Adam said, slapping Johnny on the back.

"Well, that and..." Johnny began, ignoring the pain his back was quickly going into from the repeated attacks. "Well, she called me something that I haven't been called by anyone for a really long time."

"Ooh... what is it?" Shawn asked interestedly as he leaned in closer.

"Yeah bro! This is what I was talking about! So come on! Out with it!" Adam cheered.

"Well, she called me..." Johnny began, before leaning in closer and swallowing hard. "She called me John-boy. Wh-which is what she used to call me when we were best friends as kids!" he said, hurriedly adding the second part realizing how weird what he had just said seemed.

"John-boy? What kinda nickname is that?" Shawn asked.

"I dunno, it's just a nickname I had as a kid. I used to call her Elly."

"ELLY! Bro! Why didn't you say so?" Adam interrupted excitedly. "You two were probably crushing all over each other back then! Maybe she's still got a thing for you if she's bringing up an old nickname like that bro!"

"Maybe." Johnny said, unsure of himself.

"I'd say its a possibility." Shawn said, adjusting his glasses. "But, tell us more first. If you were so buddy-buddy as kids, what happened to get you both to where you are right now?" he asked.

"Well, she moved away one day. One of her grandparents died, so her parents got rich quick. They probably didn't want to be around us middle-class citizens anymore, and moved to an area around Riverside." Johnny explained, trying to remember the details.

"Oh, so she became one of THOSE people." Shawn remarked bitterly as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, not entirely. Just... look at her!" Johnny whispered, nodding his head in her direction. "She looks nothing like the snooty types. Despite the turn her life took, she still looks close to what I'd have imagined she looked like, had she never left at all. Though we weren't too close when she started at the same High School as me, I figured she had just forgotten who I was and all the times we had."

"Oh you know it bro, the trust-fund Princesses tend to gravitate more towards the cheerleader archetype, while our lovely Miss Elizabeth here remains true to her roots, or so it seems." Adam explains, oddly intellectually for a change. "And she hasn't forgotten you, man!"

"And she seems to be a genuinely kind person." Shawn said, sighing heavily. "Shame, I was really looking forward to insulting you more about this, but even I'm slowly being swayed."

"So... you gonna go for it bro?" Adam asks, a big grin spreading across his face.

"...Go for what?" Johnny asked, having a bad feeling about the direction the conversation was taking.

"I still think it's a bit flimsy, but he's asking if you're going to try and "Get With Her" Shawn said, adding air quotations to the last part of the sentence.

"W-What you mean like ask her out?!" Johnny squeaked in fear. "Sh-She'd never go for someone like me! I'm the kind of guy she'd eat for breakfast! No way would someone like her ever go for someone stupid like me."

"Bro! You gotta quit beating yourself up if you're gonna ask her out!" Adam happily interrupted.

"But I'm not going to ask her out!"

"But you gotta do it bro! Her calling you John-boy earlier, that MEANT something. You've gotta do it!"

"W-What if she was just being polite, and happened to remember me just then? She is very polite, it probably slipped out!" Johnny nervously said.

"Much as I hate to justify Adam's logic, he's got a point. A flimsy one, but a point nonetheless. I say it's better to go for it and get rejected, than to not go for it at all." Shawn hastily said.

"Yeah bro! A nickname from a happier childhood doesn't just "Slip Out", she's probably just waiting for you to ask her!" Adam said encouragingly.

"D-Do you really think so?" Johnny asked, Adam's unwavering belief beginning to affect him.

"Bro, I'm your bro, bro. Now, being your bro, I'm telling you to get over there and go for it, bro. If I was in your situation I'd already be over there, but I'm not, so it's up to you, bro." Adam said sincerely.

"I'll be over here, providing moral support, I suppose." Shawn said, cracking a smile.

Johnny had heard enough. He was going to go for it. He was going to ask his childhood sweetheart, now a woman who he hadn't seriously been in contact with for ten years of his life. But who, at least in his mind, harbored some kind of feelings for him in return.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Johnny said to himself as he stood and made his way to the tree where she stood with a few of her own friends. Only moments ago it didn't seem to be too far, but now felt as if it were a journey of a hundred miles between he and her. Maybe he was making a big mistake, what if something did go bad. What if she got one of her big strong friends to teach him a lesson? What if she was only joking so she could humiliate him? What if...?

Johnny steeled his nerves. Being humiliated would go away within a few days. The pain from a beating would fade. His friends were right, it was best that he keep moving forward. Anything negative occurring from this would fade quickly. Anything positive could potentially last a lifetime, and that was something worth risking his reputation and comfort for. Were the results reversed, he never would have gone for it. If rejection and pain never faded, he'd be happy in his shell, never reaching out to anyone, but he could take it.

He hoped to God he could take it.

The air on his skin felt cooler, he was now out of the bright sunlight and into the shade. The big tree Elizabeth and her friends had gathered around provided a great place to relax, and he'd have to remember to convince his own friends to have lunch there, instead of the shadeless tables at some point.

Johnny took a deep breath as he tilted his head up, to look Elizabeth in the eye. She really was pretty, and he hoped she'd respond positively. He had drawn the attention of everyone in the shade with his walk to her, and he swallowed hard before clenching his fists again.

"H-Hi Elly." Johnny stuttered out before flinching visibly. He had just referred to her by the nickname she had when they were kids, a name she likely never went by anymore.

A wave of snickers and murmurs swept the small group, breaking Johnny's concentration for a moment.

"ELIZABETHIWASWONDERINGIFYOUWEREN'TBUSYMAYBEYOU'DLIKETOGOSEEAMOVIEORSOMETHINGSOMETIMEYOUKNOWASADATEORSOMETHING!" Johnny blurted out in one breath, his heart racing the entire time.

Everyone within earshot struggled to contain their laughter, while Shawn and Adam, still at their table, placed their palm over their faces.

"I don't see why not, we can do it right after school." Elizabeth said with a sly grin. "I've gotta ask though, how did you get up the confidence to, err, ask me like you did?"

Johnny spent several seconds staring at Elizabeth, wide-eyed at her response to his outburst. She hadn't gotten mad, the group around her seemed to respect her decision, and things were really looking up.

"Johnny?" Elizabeth asked, snapping him out of his stupor as she waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"Wha-? Oh! I was nervous, but my friends at the table over there helped me." He said, smiling like a buffoon.

"Mm." She hummed in approval. "Well, What do you say we meet here at 5:00? University's empty after classes are over, and you really get to appreciate the beauty at that time." Elizabeth suggested.

"Great! I'll be here early! I can't wait!" Johnny nearly yelled before turning and running back to his friends, who both congratulated him with pats on his quickly getting sore back.

The day passed quickly and Johnny slipped into a happiness-induced daze. While the previously bright blue sky grew darker from an incoming storm, his emotions never dropped a moment. He almost immediately lost track of his friends after lunch, but they'd be there for him tomorrow no matter how bad the weather got.

Quickly as the day passed, Johnny felt it could have gone by faster as he ran towards the designated meeting spot. Harsh winds were blowing, as distant lightning and thunder preceded what was sure to be a terrible storm. Not even this could darken his sunny disposition though, as he began waiting for Elizabeth, a full half hour before he had to.

The few remaining people dissipated within that half hour, until Johnny sat on a table alone. Droplets of rain quickly gave way to a downpour. Still, Johnny endured it with a great smile, waiting for Elizabeth.

A light tap on the shoulder brought Johnny's attention as he turned around to see Elizabeth standing behind him, holding a frying pan over her head to stave off the rain.

He smiled at her.

She smiled back.

And Johnny, so overcome with emotion, promptly passed out.

-

A resounding rumble stirred Johnny back into consciousness.

He slowly opened his eyes, trying to remember where he was, and why he had fallen unconscious. Another rumble shook the ground beneath him, and everything came back to him.

Jumping to his feet, he took in his surroundings nervously, not recognizing the place immediately. He wasn't outside anymore, the floor was wooden so he  had definitely moved someplace indoors. It didn't look like a hospital, nor his own home, and he couldn't think of any other place he should be after he had passed out.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared over his head, and grew darker very quickly, before the source of it appeared and slammed onto the floor. An old canvas shoe, monstrous in proportion had nearly fallen on him.

Heart racing, Johnny followed the shoe up and nearly fainted upon seeing it wasn't just an oversized decoration, but attached to a leg of equally monstrous proportions. Fears confirmed, he jerked his head upward, and saw it was Elizabeth who had nearly crushed him beneath her shoe.

She smiled down at him, but it was not the smile he had grown accustomed to since that morning. It was an amused smile, one that showed little regard for his well being, and the death she had nearly brought upon him.

"E-ELIZABETH!" Johnny screamed up in worry, hoping he was just imagining the cause of her smile.

Her slight grin turned sour at his voice.

"HELP! I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BUT... WELL LOOK!" Johnny shouted upwards as he felt himself losing coherency trying to formulate his thoughts.

"Don't call me that." was her only response, though it was much louder and had a slight echo to Johnny's ears.

"DON'T-DON'T CALL YOU WHAT? ELIZABETH?" Johnny yelled in response.

Her sour grin turned into a frown, as she lifted her right foot from the floor, and positioned it over Johnny's tiny body. Much as she wanted to grind him into the nothingness he deserved to be, she waited until he was just out of her shadow before slamming her foot down with all the strength she could muster.

"DON'T. CALL. ME. ELIZABETH. OR ELLY. OR BETH. OR LIZA, OR ELIZA, OR ANYTHING." She screamed at Johnny.

Johnny's heart was racing now. Something was wrong, this wasn't the girl he knew. She would never yell at him like this. She would never...

"Do you understand?" She asked sternly, interrupting Johnny's train of thought.

"Y-YES!" he shouted up.

"Good. Now I'm sure you'd like some explanation, am I correct?" She asked.

Johnny nodded his head as he gulped audible.

"Hmph. Though you don't deserve it, I feel there's a certain... excitement! To letting one know their fate, particularly when it's unavoidable, and will last quite a while." She said, her frown gradually changing back into a smile.

A small chill ran down Johnny's back at her words.

"Well, you're shrunk. And so were your two friends." She began. "I had planned on bringing them here and showing you what will await you if you don't do as I say, but one of them attempted a little escape on me, and had to be taken care of."

Grin turning into a vicious smile, she lifted up her left Converse sneaker, and Johnny felt his blood turn to ice as a sticky mess of blood and viscera separated itself from the shoe and floor. Bile rose in his throat at the sight of the clean sole stained deep red, and he looked up fearfully.

"Hmm, what was his name? Adam? Or maybe it was Avan?"

Johnny felt his stomach drop at her words. One of his closest friends, wiped out like he was nothing. All the time they had spent together, and he was gone. Never to be given a proper burial, not even around to have a chance of rescue from one of his friends.

Johnny wanted to vomit. Johnny wanted to mourn. Johnny wanted to get out of here. Johnny felt as though the world around him were going black, and he was hoping he'd just pass out, and everything would be back to normal upon reawakening.

"Also refused to call me Goddess Eliza." She said, far above Johnny.

Tears in his eyes, Johnny looked up, afraid of what she'd do if he didn't look at her as she addressed him.

"And if you hope for even the slightest bit of mercy, you'd do well to learn from his mistakes." She said, smiling expectantly.

"YES GODDESS ELIZA!." Johnny squeaked out, as her powerful stare subdued him alone.

"Ah, that's much better. I do so love being called that. Not cause I believe myself to be one, not at all. I'm mostly a normal human, after all. But even that, a 100% normal human is leagues and miles more powerful in every conceivable way than someone like you could ever be. With just a step, I was able to crush one of you. Your life ended beneath my sneaker, and it felt grand." Eliza said, savoring the memory as she twisted her foot into the floor again.

"And then, forcing you to refer to me as a deity, despite what I have done, and will do." Eliza began, trailing off. "Showing humility to someone who would never hesitate to take your life. Respecting the person who can, and has no problem with making you suffer a lifetime. Just makes it all worth it."

Johnny stared up, blinking away the moisture in his eyes. He found what she said hard to take in all at once, and didn't want to believe any of it to be true.

"Mm. Right, About that explanation." Eliza began, sitting down on the edge of her bed, right above where Johnny stood. "Well, it's really simple, only worth going into for what it'll do to your fragile little psyche." She said in a sing-songy voice.

"A general overview first. Yes, it was me that shrunk you, yes it was intentional, no I don't plan on undoing it, and yes I've done it before. But why? Lots of reasons, most of them being that I, well I just don't like you too much." Eliza said slowly, lips curling into a grin at the end of the sentence.

Though he didn't feel as though his mood could sink any lower, Eliza's words did the trick wonderfully. There was almost no contact between them for all those years, and after a mere couple of meetings, she was ready to be rid of him forever.

"I really do LOVE your pained reactions to all of this." Eliza taunted. "Before I continue, I'll need something to make explaining things I shouldn't have to more fun."

Standing from the bed, Eliza walked just out of Johnny's sight and returned with a ring box. Johnny's blood ran cold as he had a bad feeling about the contents of the box. Eliza continued to approach until she was directly above him again, where she bent over, and opened the ring box, spilling its contents onto the floor.

"Two and a half inches by two and a half inches, it's the perfect size for you guys, if you were something actually worth displaying." She said as a body tumbled out of the box and onto the hardwood floor between her feet. "By the way here's the other idiot who gave you the bright idea of asking me out."

Shawn looked to be barely conscious, lying on the floor, his only visible movement being his breathing.

"Anyway, as I was saying." Eliza began once more as she sat down on the edge of the bed, and bent over, unlacing her shoes slowly for dramatic effect. "So I've had this ability for quite awhile now, I've also got another that I'll go into in a few minutes when you've outlived your usefulness."

Johnny stood, too afraid to make a move towards helping his friend.

"Now, this is how I frequently find myself having a good time." Eliza said, stopping to grunt as she forced her right bare foot out of its shoe. The cool air already working wonders as she flexed her hot foot around, wiggling the toes to get as much exposure to the cool air as possible.

"Or, at least as often as I can, it does have its limits." She concluded after sighing in comfort, and setting to work on her second shoe. The ritual repeated, with her left foot popping out of its confines, and welcoming the cooler, outside air.

Eliza kicked both of her shoes aside, the left one still dripping as it landed on its side. Her soles stuck to the hardwood floor thanks to her perspiration. Though she paid it no mind, it was having quite a different effect on Johnny, who had gone lightheaded from the sudden rise in humidity and overpowering scent.

"For one, I can only do it to men. Don't know why, just can't force it to work on any women." Eliza casually explained as she moved her right foot over Shawn, and gently pressed down, ensuring she could still see his face between her shiny, black painted toenails.

Johnny still stood, watching in terror as Shawn finally seemed to stir into coherency. He wanted desperately to warn his friend of the dangerous place he found himself. He wanted to break free of his paralyzing fear and drag his friend out of there. He wanted his remaining friend to survive.

"Wha-What the HELL is going on?!" Shawn shouted in worry as he pieced together his current situation the instant he woke up.

A quick twist of Eliza's foot brought forth an ear-splitting shriek of pain, alongside a series of quick, almost simultaneous crunches. She stared Johnny in the eye as she did it, trying to hold a straight face, though it did falter momentarily as Shawn's screams broke down into sobs.

Johnny turned his face down, no longer able to look at Eliza.

"Also seems like I can't do it all the time. Did some experimenting here and there, and it seems like it runs on some kinda internal clock, at least a month between them, though I have been able to shrink more than one guy if I go more than a month without using it." Eliza explained casually, firmly clasping and releasing Shawn's head between her still-cooling toes.

"So, I had to decide to use it only when needed. Your pathetic display in class today just confirmed what I've been considering for a very, very long time Johnny." She venomously added, putting more pressure onto her foot, renewing Shawn's struggles.

Shawn found it hard to breathe through lungs he believed were punctured, and found it hard to remain coherent over the intense pain wracking his body. Still though, one word she said had clicked in his mind. He turned his head slightly to the side, and with all his might, started to scream.

"JOHNNY?!" He managed to get out, stopping to cough after just that. "H-HELP!" was all he could manage before he could feel blood begin to rise in his throat, choking him.

Eliza smiled a wicked smile. Already thoughts of how to prolong his suffering for her pleasure, minute as it was, were playing in her mind.

"Well, John-boy? You going to rescue him?" She smiled, licking her lips and shaking her toes. "I'll let you try."

With that, Eliza spread the big and second toe of her powerful foot, revealing which parts of Shawn weren't trapped underneath her. Holding them apart gave her a great deal more air than she had received earlier, and she relished the feeling.

"Cool air and a struggling bug, what more could my feet ask for?" Eliza taunted.

Johnny was conflicted. He wanted nothing more than to save his friend. At the same time, the hopelessness in him told him it was a wasted effort. It was also an order from Eliza, who could do terrible things to him if he didn't comply. Then again it was probably just a trap, to lure him into somewhere far more dangerous.

"The clock is TICKING." Eliza said, putting a great deal of pressure onto Shawn's likely ruined lower body. Another series of sickening crunches occurred, and Eliza's pink soles turned white with the pressure on the floor.

Not knowing where his strength came from, Johnny broke into a run towards her big and second toe, where he found Shawn, clearly in a great deal of pain. The air between her toes was still thick, and her scent was everywhere, slowly beginning to affect his mind.

Shaking his head, trying to clear his thoughts, Johnny bent over and grabbed Shawn beneath the shoulders, trying to pull him up from the foot that was his entire world at the moment. His back hurt with the effort, and Shawn's tortured screams of pain escalated, but he wasn't able to move Shawn.

Grunting, and trying once more, Johnny pulled back as hard as he could, but lost his balance and fell onto his own back.

"Ugh, you're so pathetic. Can't even save your own friend. You parasites sicken me." Eliza said, her voice tinged with anger as she closed her toes, and turned her foot, slightly. "Mites like you are absolutely worthless even when my, or should I say, human-sized." She laughed. "You especially John-boy, you were never MY size were you. I'm cresting six feet, as a healthy adult woman, and you were still languishing in the lower five foot range. You were a mite then, you're just more of one now. "Eliza brutally said, pressing her big toe gently into Johnny, and enjoying his fading struggles for freedom.

"I may have worst things planned for you Johnny, but I'm tempted to let you breathe your last under my toe. All day long in my shoes without socks, I'd imagine it's not too pleasant, and making it be your final breath is an all too tempting deal." Eliza threatened as she lifted her big toe off of him and turned her foot so he was back in-between the big and second toe.

Finally free of her overwhelming presence, Johnny rolled and got on one knee before inhaling deeply, trying to catch his breath. He tried his best to forget that the oxygen all around him smelled Eliza, as if he were inhaling her into his very soul. He tried to ignore the fact that his friend had just been doomed. It took a minute, but he finally managed to stumble backwards out of the gap, where he could resume catching his breath without being in such a precarious position.

"Now, as punishment for continuing to..." Eliza paused, not sure which words to use to sum up her disgust.

"Exist." She finally settled on. "Say goodbye."

Her foot separated from the ground with a sticky, moist sound, and lifted a few inches into the air. Shawn's body was still attached, and he seemed to be going into convulsions as Eliza kicked her foot lightly to try and separate his body from her sole.

Johnny sat, hugging his knees to his chest, too afraid to watch.

Frustration mounting, Eliza waved her foot more forcefully to no avail. He was stuck good, and she didn't want to bend over to peel him off just to step on him right after. She stomped her free foot, and kicked harder. The tiny bodies upper torso bobbed around uselessly, slapping her sole, but still refused to break free.

"FUCK!" Eliza shouted as her frustration reached a boiling point and she slammed the foot with Shawn trapped into the floor. Though he met the ground at a bad angle, his body practically liquefied beneath her foots power.

The cracking signaling his friends demise was thankfully muffled with how hard she had slammed the foot into the ground. He had been holding back the entire time, but the sound was enough to send Johnny over the edge. For the first time since his whole ordeal began, he wept. He wished he had a moment to himself to grieve, but it wasn't to be as Eliza's bloodied foot slapped down next to him.

"Now, what do you say?" She asked impatiently.

"Th-Thank you for not killing me Goddess Eliza!" Johnny managed to say before breaking down into sobs.

"Thanking me for killing your friend. The power I hold over you is beyond anything you've ever experienced." Eliza said with a cruel smile. "I know you didn't want to say that, but you did it anyway, out of a fear of me. A fear well-founded, I might say." She hinted.

Johnny tried to ignore her words, but she was talking about his fate, so he listened, terrified as he was.

"So let me finish explaining." Eliza said as she pressed her clean, hot foot into Johnny, rolling him around with her sole as she spoke. "So, I've considered doing this since we were both just kids, but after moving I figured I'd never see you again, and garbage like you wouldn't soil the tapestry that is my life any longer."

"I was wrong." She said, after a pause. "But I tolerated you, as long as you kept your distance I'd save my shrinking ability for ex-boyfriends, and the like. To think, you pissed me off enough since this morning to do what I'm going to do to you."

Johnny clawed at the soft, yielding foot smothering him, but was unable to get any sort of purchase on the smooth skin. He was deathly afraid of what Eliza was hinting towards, and wanted nothing more than to avoid it.

"Course, no one could ever know I'm this way. People have a problem viewing bugs like you as less than human, so I had to keep up a facade. But no more, as I'm going to dispose of you once and for all..." Eliza trailed off. "John-boy." She added with finality.

Beneath her sole, still being rolled around, Johnny was hysterical. The plush flesh all around him only gave into his struggles, still refusing to give him any sort of purchase.

"There's a second part to my powers you know, one that's got a... considerably longer timer. I've only used it twice before, and this will be my third time." Eliza taunted excitedly, rolling Johnny about more forcefully, and feeling a minuscule pop beneath her flesh.

Johnny tried to open his mouth, and let his pain be known, but as if by reflex, Eliza's foot pressed more firmly onto his upper body, forcing his mouth full of her foot's flesh.

"It's kinda weird, but, I can also turn people into things. Only done it twice before, turned a guy who broke into our house into a pillow, as I just wanted to get back to sleep once the house was safe again, and used him. As long as I slept on that pillow, I could sense he was still alive. Not being able to move, but still fully conscious, and experiencing anything that happened to him." Eliza explained, smiling happily as she told the story. "I eventually got tired of giving a thieving bug like him a free place to stay, so I burned the pillow one day, and could just sense all of the pain he was going through. It was..." she trailed off.

"It was amazing." She finished, rubbing her hand down her leg as she did. "Tried it once more on a random substitute teacher one day, just to make sure I could still do it. Sure enough, it worked, and I found myself with a new pencil, another odd choice, but I just wanted to see if it had any limits. I broke the pencil, and his spirit by association, and got the same, irreplaceable rush of power I get when I rid the world of its parasites.

Johnny now knew exactly where the conversation was going, and redoubled his efforts, which were only rewarded by another strong squeeze from the foot surrounding him, and he felt an arm break with her newest show of power.

"Course, it wasn't nearly as good as when I set the pillow on fire. I have a theory for this, and it's because I didn't allow him to suffer as much. So I told myself, the next one would need to last longer, and be something I'd wear, so I could have a constant connection to, and be the source of his torture. That way, when I finally got rid of him once and for all, the knowledge that I made the most pathetic examples of humanity suffer for some cheap thrills on my end, would be more satisfying than well, anything. Understand, John-boy?" Eliza asked, finally moving her foot away so she could smile toothily down.

Johnny was more focused on nursing his broken bones than responding, but couldn't believe what he had heard. He had always thought they were the best of friends growing up, and to know that she was willing to do something like this. It was enough to drive the man mad.

"WHY?! WHY ME?! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING" Johnny screamed at Eliza hysterically.

Toothy grin turned into a frown, as Eliza positioned her big toe over Johnny's legs and bore down without any resistance. His legs turned to mush beneath her toe, and she enjoyed his screams for a moment before giving him his answer.

"An insole to my shoe. That's what you'll be. And I already answered your question, your very existence is what offends me. If not for the fact that your knowledge of the years and years of psychological, and physical torture that await you would make this better for me, I wouldn't have even shared this much. Everything I've done for you, has only been for me. Now, before you die of blood loss, I think it's time I begin. Say goodbye to who you were."

Without any fanfare, Johnny felt a strange humming feeling passing through his body, as it began to grow stiff and immovable. The entire process lasted but a second, but he found his arms and legs were fused together, and that he was much bigger than his previous two and a half inch self.

He was still tiny in comparison to Eliza though, who picked him up and wiggled him around. He couldn't move, struggle, or fight back at all, just as Eliza had said. Emotions started welling up in Johnny's mind as she blew him a kiss, before stuffing him into the dark recesses of a shoe.

"You are paying off already." Eliza said nonchalantly as she stuffed her bloodied right sole into the shoe she had stuffed Johnny into. As soon as her foot made contact, she could feel his pleas for help, and his fear of what would happen to him. It sent shivers down her spine, and she rubbed a hand all over her chest at the feeling.

After standing, she almost collapsed again as her full weight only caused a sharp spike in the sensations.

"This is better than I imagined." She whispered to herself, her face flushed. "I need one for the other foot now, using an innocent person is just so, so much better.

Walking gingerly, Elizabeth took the first, pleasure-filled steps of what were sure to be an enjoyable few years.