~

Elizabeth lightly knocked on the door, letting the inhabitant know that somebody was about to come in. After a moment, she took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom. Trying to move as quietly as possible, she closed the door behind her and stood in front of it. She then looked towards the front of the bed. What she saw shocked her into silence.

He was fine.

While she expected him to still be tightly pressed against the pillow, trembling in fear, what she found instead was him calmly walking along the edge of the bed, looking all around the room. Even more surprising was the fact that he was wearing his new shirt again. While his face still carried traces of his previous stress, he otherwise looked relatively neutral.

“B-Brian?” Elizabeth stammered. “Are you okay? Did you remember anything?”

Brian slightly flinched at the sound of her booming voice, and Elizabeth internally scolded herself for forgetting to lower her tone.

“Sorry, no,” he replied calmly. Elizabeth let out a small sigh.

“That’s too bad. How are you doing, then, sweetie? I’m surprised to see you up and about,” she asked, smiling reassuringly. Brian shrugged.

“I’m fine, I just needed some time to get used to my surroundings, as you said. It also helped to know that nobody was planning on hurting me,” he replied plainly.

Elizabeth was shocked by his casual attitude.

“J-Just like that? You were so scared, though…” she said. Once more, Brian shrugged.

“I’m over it. Now, I’m just confused,” he replied.

He really just rolls with things, doesn’t he? Memories or not... Elizabeth thought.

“Huh. You’re a pretty incredible guy, you know that?” she said appreciatively. “So, is it okay if I come a little closer then?”

Brian paused for a moment, before nervously scratching his neck.

“Er… yeah, it’s okay. Just move slowly, okay? I feel like I’ll get dizzy if you move really quickly,” he answered sheepishly.

“Of course,” Elizabeth said softly, before slowly and carefully moving towards the bed.

Brian watched as this titanic woman grew even larger in his field of view, and he unconsciously took a few steps back. Although his primal terror had mostly faded, he was still vulnerable to the intimidation that came with being one-inch tall in a world of giants. Elizabeth’s truly gentle demeanor reassured him that he wasn’t in any danger, though, so he was able to push back the fear.

Elizabeth reached the edge of the bed, and kneeled down so her face was roughly at his level. At his size, Brian was able to see every small detail of her face, and he couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of the mature giant before him. Her age was apparent, but it in no way detracted from her overall charm. Her dark brown eyes glowed with reassuring tenderness, and her inviting pink lips were showing a smile so warm it could melt an iceberg. If forced to choose a word, Brian would have described her overall aura as comforting, and…

Wait… Brian thought. Comforting… when did I…?

“Sorry, this is gonna sound weird, but could you show me your hand?” Brian asked. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

“My hand?” she asked quizzically.

“Yeah, sorry, but could you?” he asked again. Elizabeth decided to roll with it, and held one of her hands out towards him. Brian stared at it for a minute, taking in the minutiae of her wrinkles and crevices. After a moment, something clicked in his mind.

“Have you held me in your hand recently?” he asked, causing Elizabeth’s eyes to widen.

“Yes, I held you for the very first time just yesterday. Are you starting to remember something?” she replied hopefully.

“Not exactly… It’s just… this is kinda embarrassing, but I was just thinking to myself that you seem like a very comforting person. It felt familiar when I thought that, and your hand came to mind for some reason. So, I must have been thinking the exact same thing when you held me the other day!” Brian exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. He felt like a detective who had just discovered a clue.

Elizabeth was blushing heavily from the unexpected compliment, thoroughly caught off-guard. After a moment, she broke out into a delighted smile.

“That makes me so happy!” she said jovially, before drawing one hand to her mouth. “Oops, I forgot to lower my voice.”

Brian lightly chuckled at her apologetic expression.

“It’s fine, you really don’t need to do that. It’s not like the volume is painful or anything, it was just surprising at first,” he replied reassuringly. Once more, Elizabeth smiled widely. Her eyes were sparkling with loving appreciation.

“You’re such a sweetheart…” she sighed, causing Brian to slightly blush. This snapped her out of it.

“Er, anyway, I assume you’re not injured? You’ve been able to walk around okay, and you’re not in any pain?” she quickly asked. Brian nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“That’s a huge relief, honey. I’m surprised to see you wearing that shirt, as well. Where did you find it?” she asked.

“Yeah, I was going to ask about this. I just found it on the bed over there, like it had been tossed aside,” he answered, pointing to an area in the distance. Elizabeth’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Seriously, Allie? You couldn’t even put it on the nightstand? What if it had gotten ripped?! she thought.

“I see…” she muttered.

“So anyway, yeah. It’s a little big, but it’s really comfortable. Where did it come from? I assume you can’t just order clothes for tiny people,” Brian continued.

“Oh, um… well, I actually made that for you,” Elizabeth answered, somewhat bashfully. “It was a gift, since before that you were just tying pieces of cloth around your waist.”

Brian’s eyes widened in appreciation.

“Really? You made this, for me?” he asked. “That’s really impressive! I might not remember how we met, but it's safe to say I’m really glad that we did.”

Once more, Elizabeth blushed at his kind words. 

“If you’re trying to sweet-talk me, young man, it’s definitely working,” she replied teasingly with a huge grin, which Brian reciprocated.

Elizabeth took note of how quickly he was letting his guard down, as compared to when they first met. After a moment, though, a realization broke her heart. Brian was more trusting because he had no memory of the previous three years. He had no memory of the murder, his arrest, or his wrongful conviction. He had no memory of his mother’s betrayal, or of the three years in which he was despised by the whole world. He had no memory of being abused, harassed, or tortured. Simply put, the Brian in front of her had not had his heart broken by the world yet.

“Is something wrong?” asked Brian, looking concerned. Elizabeth’s face had saddened without her realizing, and his voice snapped her out of it.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you, that’s all,” she hurriedly replied, adopting a fake smile. Brian nodded appreciatively.

“Yeah. Well, calming down didn’t seem to bring anything back, so why don’t you fill me in on what I’m forgetting? Maybe the details will register in my mind,” he suggested. Elizabeth sighed, as she didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. Still, she couldn’t keep him in the dark anymore.

“That’s fair. I suppose question one would be how much time has passed, right?” she asked. Brian nodded in affirmation.

“Um… it’s been three years, honey,” she continued, making her voice as gentle as humanly possible. Brian’s eyes widened slightly.

“Three years?” he repeated incredulously, before taking a breath. “Well, I don’t know what I expected. Alright. Three years. Three years, it’s fine. Not one, not two, but three. Got it.”

With that, he gave a brisk nod to himself, cementing the realization in his mind. Just like that, he was ready to move on. Once again, Elizabeth was impressed.

“Alright, then, why am I small?” he asked, gesturing to his one-inch body. Elizabeth fidgeted for a moment, wondering how best to phrase it.

“Just give it to me straight, I can take it,” Brian said resolutely. 

“Oh fine,” Elizabeth sighed. “You got the Shrink Penalty, Brian. You’re one-inch tall.”

Brian was stunned speechless for a moment. Then, his face twisted in confusion as he processed the information. Suddenly, he adopted an expression of dread.

“Shit!” he exclaimed. “Are you telling me that future-me is an uber-criminal?!”

“No no no!” Elizabeth quickly assured. “You were framed, sweetie! You never did anything wrong, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

Brian held his head in his hands, letting out a frustrated groan.

“So, you’re telling me that I wake up three years in the future, and I’ve been permanently shrunken to one-inch tall for a crime I didn’t commit? What kind of shitty-ass time travel is this?!” he lamented. Elizabeth gazed at him with sympathetic eyes, waiting for him to regain himself. Her overwhelming concern even caused her to forget to mention that the shrinking wasn’t permanent. After a moment, Brian let out a huff and looked back up at her.

“Alright, fine. What was the crime?” he asked exasperatedly. This was the question that Elizabeth had been dreading, and her face darkened. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, before closing her eyes and lightly shaking her head. She couldn’t bring herself to go there.

“Bad news, huh?” Brian said softly, as he looked down at the bed. “Maybe another time, then.”

Elizabeth sighed in relief.

“That’s a good call, for now. Like I said before, I don’t want to overwhelm you. On that note, how are you feeling? Do you want to take a little break?” she asked kindly.

“I don’t know, my head is kinda buzzing…” Brian muttered. “Feels like my neurons are firing faster than my brain can process the information…”

“I see… well, how about you take a minute to rest, then? Maybe I could get you some of that red velvet cake I mentioned earlier?” Elizabeth suggested, adopting a reassuring smile. Suddenly, though, Brian held one hand up to stop her.

“Wait, I need to know one more thing,” he said. “If I got the SP, then why am I still alive?”

~

Elizabeth approached Allison, who was still laying on the sofa. Her expression was completely empty, as if her life force had evaporated. Very few thoughts of substance had passed through her mind since Elizabeth’s scolding, but her feelings of guilt and shame were no less intense. At the sound of approaching footsteps, though, her awareness was rebooted. She looked at her former mentor with tired, defeated eyes. Oddly, Elizabeth was holding a pair of pants.

“He wants to see you,” she said flatly. This was the last thing Allison had expected to hear, and she perked up instantly.

“Really?” she asked quietly. She was still afraid of Elizabeth’s fury, and thus adopted a quite meager tone.

“Yeah. He’s adjusting to all this extremely quickly, and he’s more or less normal now. He still hasn’t remembered anything specific, though. I told him that three years have passed, and that he was given the SP for a crime he didn’t commit. I haven’t told him what the actual crime was yet, or the fact that his family abandoned him. I also haven’t told him that he was assaulted in prison, so be absolutely sure that you don’t bring up any of those things,” Elizabeth explained.

“Okay. Did he… did he ask any more about what I said to him?” Allison asked nervously. Elizabeth’s eyes darkened slightly.

“Yes. I told him that it was a very bad, poorly timed, inappropriate, inconsiderate, insensitive, and completely distasteful joke. I didn’t tell him all the details, though, in case it would trigger something again,” she answered coldly.

“I see. Is he still afraid of me?” Allison asked, averting her eyes.

“I don’t think so. He seemed to buy what I told him, and I was very clear about how you meant no harm. He also heard me yelling at you, so he knows that we’re taking it seriously,” she replied. “Be sure to apologize, though.”

Allison nodded.

“Okay. Thank you for telling him that. So, why does he want to see me, then?” she said.

“I told him that you saved his life,” Elizabeth replied, her eyes softening. Allison looked up at her in surprise.

“I told him how you were his Chevalier, and you realized his innocence and smuggled him out. I told him how you quit your job to take care of him, and that we’ve all been working together to clear his name. I simply told him the truth, Allie,” she continued. Despite her vehement disgust over what Allison had done to Brian, Elizabeth still had to give her some credit. At these unexpected words of kindness, Allison got slightly emotional.

“Anyway, let’s go in. I’m sure you’re dying to see him,” Elizabeth said. Allison nodded, and stood from the sofa. Elizabeth then handed her the pair of pants she had been holding, and Allison looked at them quizzically. After a moment, though, she slowly looked down at her legs, and a realization stopped her heart. Throughout this whole ordeal, she hadn’t been wearing any pants. She had grabbed a shirt in her haste to reach Elizabeth, but her lower half hadn’t been quite so lucky. As such, all she was wearing down there was black, lacy, and very racy lingerie, which had been on display to Elizabeth the whole time. Allison yelped, completely mortified, and frantically put on the pair of pants. Elizabeth let out a small sigh, before motioning her to follow. Just before they reached the hallway, though, Allison spoke up with one final question.

“Wait. If you told him about what I said, and he heard you yelling… does that mean he knows that I’m his girlfriend?” she asked hesitantly. Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, before slowly turning back with a stern expression.

“No. He remembers what you said, but not the sexual context. And he couldn’t hear what I was actually saying, only that I was yelling. He doesn’t know about your relationship. And Allie…” she said, before taking one step closer and lowering her voice. “I would encourage you to keep it that way.”

At that, they finally moved into the bedroom. Allison had a conflicted expression on her face, and an even more conflicted heart.

~

Brian could tell that the somewhat tall woman with medium-long auburn hair standing before him was petrified, so he decided to make the first move.

“So, you’re Allison?” he asked. She flinched at the sound of his voice.

He didn’t say “Allie,” she thought sadly. Hearing him talk as if they were strangers broke her heart. Already, this was harder than she thought it was going to be. Unable to speak just yet, she simply nodded. Brian smiled warmly.

“This probably sounds weird, but it’s nice to meet you,” he said.

“Y-You too,” Allison squeaked, trying not to cry.

“So… I hear you saved my life,” Brian said, somewhat bashfully.

Allison nodded.

“I also hear you risked a heavy price,” he continued.

Once again, Allison nodded.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t know what crime I was accused of, and a part of me doesn’t want to know, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for a Chev to make the kind of decision that you did. You’re really brave.”

His kind words reached Allison’s troubled heart, and she managed to reciprocate his smile. Memory loss or not, he was still her Brian. Now that she was able to think clearly, there was important business to take care of.

“Um… u-um…” she stammered. “I’m, um… I’m really, really sorry about what I said. It was awful, and couldn’t have been at a worse time, and I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Brian said, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m sure there was some context I’m forgetting. I’ve said stupid stuff that’s been taken out of context before.”

“There really wasn’t an excuse… but thank you for saying that. How… how are you feeling?” she asked.

“Oh, you know. Physically fine, but this is all pretty disorienting. An hour ago I was talking to my sister, and now…”

His face darkened. Elizabeth and Allison grew concerned.

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.

“Jen… I promised I was going to read to her before bed. I promised her I was going to come back from my walk…” he said, before tearing up. He drew one hand to his mouth.

“I never came back… that was three years ago… does she think I abandoned her? Does she think I’m a criminal? Does she think I’m dead? Oh, god…”

He fell to his knees. He looked utterly and absolutely devastated. Both women began to panic, as they didn’t want him to break down again. They exchanged a few panicked looks, before Allison suddenly spoke up.

“W-We’re going to prove your innocence!” she exclaimed. Her sudden outburst caused Brian to flinch, and he looked up at her with teary eyes.

“We’re going to prove it! And you’re going to see her again. It’s not your fault what happened, and I’m sure she knows that! I promise, Brian, we’re going to prove it!”

Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wiped his face, before standing back to his feet. He was obviously still distressed, but he got it under control.

“You’re… right. You’re right. I have faith in her. I’ll see her again,” he said firmly. Just like Elizabeth had, Allison took note of the fact that he was more trusting and optimistic than the Brian she was used to. And just like Elizabeth, her heart broke when she realized why that was.

“Whew. God, this sucks,” Brian muttered. Both women nodded in agreement.

“Anyway… Allison, I have a question,” he said. She snapped to attention.

“Y-Yes?”

“Elizabeth said that it wasn’t until two weeks after you rescued me that we brought her into this. So… what did we do during that time? Maybe some details will bring stuff back,” he asked. Allison was caught off-guard, and she went silent for a moment. 

“Oh… oh, okay,” she said quietly. “Um… do you mind if I go sit down over there first?”

She pointed to the space in between the bed and the nightstand.

“No, of course not,” he answered. “I’ll go over to that side of the bed. And Elizabeth, feel free to sit on the bed. I’ll be fine.”

With that, all three parties got comfortable. Allison sat down on the floor, Brian reclined into one of the pillows near Allison’s position, and Elizabeth sat down on the far side of the bed. It was story time.

~

“The first day I brought you home, you slept from the morning to the evening. You obviously needed it, so I just let you sleep. When you woke up, we just had some food and eventually went to bed. Not much happened, since you were still apprehensive about the whole thing,” she began, leaving out the little detail that they had overheard his mother say that she didn’t care about his execution.

“The next day, we decided to just have a wasteful, lazy day. I thought you needed a day off, and I thought it would help you get used to being small, as well as being around me,” she continued. 

“Wow, that was really considerate of you,” Brian said appreciatively, with a big smile.

“That’s for sure,” Elizabeth agreed. This was the first time she was hearing these details as well. Allison lightly blushed at their compliments.

“A-Anyway, we just kinda continued like that. I had taken a few days off from work, and we spent that time…”

She trailed off. An unexpected pang of emotion surged throughout her body. 

“We, um… we spent that time having fun. Lots of fun,” she choked out, smiling warmly at the memories. 

“We watched Lord of the Rings in one sitting,” she said, causing Brian’s eyes to light up.

“Really? In one sitting?! And was it your first time watching them?” he asked excitedly. Allison nodded, grinning widely.

“Did you like them?” Brian continued, his eyes sparkling like a kid’s.

“Loved them,” Allison replied. Brian did a small fist pump, which she found adorable.

“Ah, that’s awesome. Score one for future me,” he said, causing both women to giggle at his excitement. Continuing her story, Allison’s eyes slightly clouded over.

“We did stuff like that, you know? You got to experience some of your favorite stuff again after three years, and I got to learn about all kinds of new stuff,” she said. Once more, a flood of emotions washed over her.

“You told me about some of your favorite musicals, which I found surprising… I also learned a lot about astronomy, like black holes, and stuff like that… I ended up quitting my job, just under a week after I rescued you. You can probably imagine why, but I became a Chev for… complicated reasons, anyway, so it was a long time coming.”

Brian nodded appreciatively, completely captured by the story. Elizabeth averted her eyes at the mention of why Allison became a Chev. Ignoring this, Allison continued, as if a dam had broken. 

“After that, we just, um… we spent a lot of time together, you know? We actually weren’t planning on trying to prove your innocence before we told Elizabeth, since we didn’t know how. So, we were just planning on moving forward with our lives, together. My family abandoned me because I became a Chev, so we only had each other. And that was okay, you know?  We were fine with that. We watched a lot of movies together, stuff both you and I liked… we got a 3D printer, and we were both enjoying learning how to program it. We used it to make cutlery, which allowed you to eat regular food again, so we started trying different kinds of food. We were in the middle of trying to find the perfect pad thai before Elizabeth came over. And, um… it was just fun, y-you know? We had lots, and lots… and lots of fun.”

Without even realizing it, Allison had begun to cry. Small tears were running down her face, and it became increasingly hard to form her words. Elizabeth had a suspicion as to why she was crying, but Brian was completely confused.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, looking extremely concerned. At that, Allison regained her awareness, and hurriedly wiped her face before putting on a fake smile.

“I’m fine. They’re just really good memories, and it makes me sad that you don’t remember them,” she replied. Brian nodded.

“I understand. Hopefully soon,” he said quietly, before slightly blushing. Despite his nerves, he simply had to ask something.

“Uh… this is really embarrassing, but can I ask you a question that has the potential to be extremely awkward?” he asked nervously. 

“Sure…?” Allison replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… w-what… what am I to you?” he asked, averting his eyes in embarrassment. Allison’s heart stopped, and Elizabeth grew nervous. Instinctively, Allison began to respond.

“You’re my-”

“You don’t deserve to be in a relationship with him.”

“…you’re my friend. My best friend,” she answered quietly, looking down at the floor. 

Elizabeth closed her eyes, internally relieved.

“I see… sorry for the awkward question,” Brian muttered, clearly embarrassed. Allison also detected a hint of disappointment in his voice, which further strained her broken heart.

“It’s completely fine,” Allison replied softly.

“On that note, how about we go to bed?” Elizabeth hurriedly suggested. “Maybe if you get some rest, Brian, you’ll remember more stuff tomorrow. You can have some cake for breakfast instead.”

“Yeah, okay,” Brian replied, looking back up. “Uh… how does that work?”

“You see that pet carrier on the nightstand? We use that as your ‘room.’ You like using a towel-and-shirt combo for your bed, and you use the shirt pocket as your blanket,” Allison explained. Brian peered over at the carrier, before nodding appreciatively.

“I see, that’s pretty clever,” he said.

“How about you sleep in the spare bedroom with Elizabeth?” Allison suggested. “If you need help in the night, she’s the right person to ask.”

Truthfully, she had suggested this simply because it would be too painful otherwise.

“Whatever works with you both,” Brian replied with a shrug.

“Excellent,” Elizabeth said jovially. “I’ll take the carrier and set it up in the guest room. Be right back.”

With that, she collected the carrier and exited the room, leaving Allison and Brian alone. An awkward silence overtook the room, as neither one had any clue what to say to the other. At that moment, though, a realization struck Allison like a bolt of lightning.

“Oh, fuck, I’m such a goddamn idiot,” she muttered, rolling her eyes and bringing one hand to her forehead. “I forgot to do this the first time, too.”

Brian turned towards her, an eyebrow raised. Allison calmed herself, straightened her shirt, and extended one finger to her tiny roommate.

“I never properly introduced myself. My name is Allison Starr. It is very nice to meet you.”

“Star?” Brian asked.

“It has two ‘r’s, but yes. Starr,” she replied.

Brian had the smallest hint of a smile for a moment, before extending his fist out to the gigantic finger before him.

“My name is Brian Bentley. Like the c-”

He stopped. He narrowed his eyes, as a look of extreme confusion overtook his face.

“Brian?” Allison asked concernedly.

“Star… Starr… Star…” he repeated quietly, before looking back up.

“Um, Star! Has anything happened with that word, like, ever? Involving you and me? Have I ever said the word ‘star’ since you rescued me?” he asked earnestly. Something was on the tippiest-tip of his tiny brain, and he knew it had something to do with the word “star.”

Allison could tell that this was a crucial moment, and searched her brain as hard as she could. After a second, a particular memory flashed into her consciousness, and the tears instantly returned. 

“You were sleeping on my shoulder…” she began quietly, her gaze distant. Brian listened with rapt attention.

“Once I was sure you were asleep, I transferred you to my palm. I loved watching you sleep. You looked so innocent, nobody would have been able to tell that you had been through so much pain. The fact that you were so comfortable around me… it made me realize how much we had grown to care for each other.”

As if in a trance, Allison held her palm out to the one-inch man on her bed. As if in a trance of his own, Brian instinctively climbed on. She drew her hand to her lap, and gazed down at him lovingly.

“After a moment, you half-woke up. You were still dreaming, and you asked where you were. You then looked up at me and asked who I was. When I said my full name, you relaxed and laid your head back down on my thumb.”

A tear raced down her cheek.

“A-And then, you said… you said ‘Starr… my shooting star.’”

She smiled through her tears.

“And I said, ‘that’s right, Brian, your shooting star.’”

Brian began to tear up himself. It felt like a door was opening in his mind.

“And you fell back asleep in my hand. And… a-and that’s when…”

She took a deep breath. Nothing else mattered.

“And that’s when I knew that I loved you.”

Allison was showing the most beautiful smile that Brian had ever seen. Something clicked, and his eyes widened in overwhelming realization.

“Allie?” he whispered.

"That's right, Brian. Your Allie," she replied, with a loving smile.

He was back.