Soft, comfortable and plush, all features a couch must have, Drew closed his eyes and rubbed his legs. His body still hurt after going to the gym over the weekend. Much to his dismay, Taylor was right, no gains had been earned and instead he just ached all over.

An anime about a shy boy with psychic powers played on their TV, but he would have to rewatch the episode. Unfortunately, his mind was elsewhere, from his aching body to the impending heist on the Pierce estate, a swirl of emotions consumed him. Nerves, fear, excitement, he couldn’t pick one.

“You gotta pay attention to my recommendations, you can’t speak Japanese, can you?” Taylor said, standing in the hallway from their kitchen, she was dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and casual shorts with a carton of full-cream milk in hand that she had been chugging on. After the last census, she was almost as tall as the entrance.

“This is why I said I wanted to watch dub,” he didn’t bother looking at her, instead choosing to stare into the skin of his forearm that rested on his forehead.

“No way, dub ruins the experience, I hate how they sound,” typical, the usual complaint she used when they watched anime together. The droning sound of flatulence played from her rear; her lactose intolerance was playing up again.

“You’re disgusting,” his face screwed up at her indecency.

Taylor snorted as she strolled back to the kitchen, “sorry!” she called back in a sing-song voice.

Another feeling ate at him, a feeling of emptiness. Over the past two and a half years of living together, he and Taylor had grown quite fond of each other. They knew each other from school and while they weren’t super close, they got along well. Due to them wanting to move out at roughly the same time they decided to give it a shot, and he was glad he did. He’d come to cherish their friendship, even if she was an unhygienic freak at times.

Drew checked his phone for the time, Val would be here in 20 minutes. She’d offered to drive him to the location of the break in, there wasn’t really much other choice for him to get to the rich part of town. Most people in the lower brackets avoided those districts as it was not uncommon for people to go missing around there, never to be heard from again. Yet, here he was, preparing to venture deep into those neck of the woods.

From the kitchen, Taylor’s laugh quickly dissipated as she held similar feelings, she would miss Drew and desperately hoped that he would be safe. She didn’t support the plan but no matter how many times she tried to talk him down from doing it, he kept his belief strong. The floorboard creaked under her hefty weight as she put the milk away and wandered back into the living room. Her large body collapsed onto the opposite couch, her form took up most of the space, with her head resting on the side and her legs draped over the other arm of the couch.

“You’ll have your phone with you right?” she asked, eyes fixed on the flashing lights on the screen.

“Yeah,” he turned the volume down as he looked over to Taylor, her brunette hair cascaded down the side of the couch, “I will.”

“Cool.”

Drew could feel her worry in her words, she wasn’t usually this blunt. “I’m gonna be okay, you know,” he tried his best to reassure her.

“I’m just worried is all, but you know that,” he nodded, that feeling of worry was mutual, “I give you a week before I start to actually freak out.”

“Hm?”

“If you don’t come back in a week, I’ll be pissed,” she finally turned to look at him, her eyes had a gentle but serious expression.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back,” he returned her stare with a smirk, hoping to ease her doubts, “I’ll even bring you a souvenir.”

Her steely countenance cracked at his joke, he might be an idiot, but she couldn’t stop him now. A ding came from her hand as a message popped up on her phone, “shit, Val’s here.”

Shivers travelled across Drew’s skin; this was it. He hopped off the couch, not wanting to be tardy. Taylor’s boss had assured him that all he needed to bring was himself as she had all the supplies he would need for his journey. “Well, I’ll see you in a bit,” he said, unsure of how to say goodbye.

Taylor sat up from her lounged position and got to her feet, “come here, dummy,” her arms outstretched, ready for a hug. Drew fell into her embrace as she crouched down to meet him, her brawny arms entrapped him against her chest. The width of both arms went from his butt to his shoulders, his face pushed into her cleavage. Contrary to her usual fragrance the scent of her clean skin and flowery lotion entered his nostrils, warmth enveloped him as the bottom of her head rest against the top of his. Normally, he would feel uncomfortable being surrounded by her like this, claustrophobic even. But this? This was nice.

“Be safe alright,” she pulled him out of her embrace by his shoulders, Drew swore he could almost see tears welling up in her eyes.

“You know I will, I’ll be back as soon as possible,” another alert broke the two from their farewell, it was another message from Val. “Okay,” he took a deep breath, “see ya later,” Taylor waved goodbye as he trudged out the door, the daunting reality of what he was about to do hit him like a tonne of bricks.

As he walked down the stairs, horrible images of Casey and her mother standing over him plagued his mind. If he was caught, there was little chance he’d see Taylor again. There was one simple solution – don’t get caught. The entrance to the apartment block was left in his dust as he walked towards a gigantic sleek, automobile that matched the colour of Val’s hair. She seemed to really like the colour red. As he walked towards the vehicle, he felt as if he were in a scene from a space movie, her car - a massive spaceship, that had just touched down on his planet. The side door opened automatically with a slow mechanised hiss; a small ladder protruded from the interior. Cars needed a revamp after the brackets were introduced so they were accessible to all.

“How are you Drew?” the enormous Val sat in the driver’s seat, dressed in knee length yoga pants and a loose-fitting sports top. Her fiery hair was done up in a ponytail that hung out the back of a visor, aviators donned over her eyes. It seemed that similarly to Taylor, she was off work for today. Stepping into the car, he walked across the passenger seat and came to a stop next to a hiking bag fitted to his size.

“I’m good, ready for a big day,” kneeling by the bag to see what was inside, he continued, “I imagine this stuff is for me.”

“Yep, there’s food and water which if you ration, should last at least two weeks, a portable charger,  multi-tool, flashlight, bedroll, camera, and a notebook with pens,” her fingers counted the items as she listed them, “I assume you’ve got your phone with you,” she confirmed her mental checklist.

Drew bobbed his head in confirmation, hoisting the bag onto his shoulder as he sat in the small seat behind the gear stick. Val’s thigh loomed next to him; a pliable wall covered in olive fabric. Looking down at him with an uncharacteristically straight face, she pulled the gear stick into drive and the car’s engine came to life. The seat vibrated from the power of the car. Surprisingly, the seat began to move upwards as it travelled along some kind of track that ended on the dashboard, the grand view from the front windshield filled his vision. A brief sense of amazement overcame him.  

“I’ve scoped out their new place, I won’t be able to offer much help once we arrive, there’s a locked gate blocking the driveway,” while she focused on the road, he received no other reassurance. Awkward silence filled the air for the rest of the 20-minute drive, mostly due to the millions of scenarios that rattled around in Drew’s head, he couldn’t form a proper sentence. Perhaps he could pull out now, Val did say that he didn’t have to do this, maybe she wouldn’t mind. One glance at her face revealed her eyes fixated on the road and an almost determined expression which convinced him otherwise.

Passing houses grew with each turn as they drove closer to the rich part of town. Scenery became lusher and the flora was replaced by other size appropriate vegetation. As they took another turn, the sight of the running river that cut through their city came into view, the glistening sun reflected off the water and reminded him that anyone who could afford to live a paradise like this lived in a different world to him.

“Wow, I knew these people were rich, but wow,” the vistas of monumental dwellings gave him a brief respite from his racing thoughts.

“I’m a rather successful woman Drew, but even I couldn’t dream of living in a place like this, only those who have figured out some kind of loophole or inherited immense wealth find themselves living here,” her voice took on an irritated tone, while she tapped the wheel impatiently as they waited at a set of lights.

She really hates rich people huh. Val’s coldness did little to ease his worried state of mind. So far, she had proven to be a friendly lady, yet now he wasn’t quite receiving hostility, but he expected her to at least comfort him a tad more.

A rushing tall, black picket iron fence that sat atop white concrete began to slow down as the car eased to a halt in front of a similarly styled iron gate that led to a paved driveway, a lofty modern mansion stood proudly at the end of it.

Fuck, this is really happening.

“Are you ready?” Val put the car into park and sat back from the steering wheel.

“As ready as I’ll ever be I guess,” faint whirring emanated from the seat below him as it began its descent to its original position behind the gear stick. Craning his neck upwards, he met eyes with the red head, some warmth had returned to her iris’.

“Good luck Drew, I believe in you,” she finally offered him a smile, “we’ll be in touch.”

That’s what he needed to hear, some comforting words. Instantly, he felt better about what he was about to do. The supple feeling of leather was felt against his shoes as he walked across the passenger seat and down the stairs to the sidewalk below, he waved goodbye to Val for what could be the last time he would see her in a while.

Hot wind blew against his face as he stepped out into the sunlight, it was a humid summer day, the pavement beneath his feet had been baking all morning into the early afternoon. Drew checked his phone for the time, it was 2pm, he had plenty of time to get to the house. It was a Monday so he knew Casey would be working until at least 5:30pm and as for her mother, if she was an important businesswoman she would be working even later. There was plenty of time on his hands.

The trek towards the house was lengthier than he expected, the pebbled driveway was deceivingly long. Inside his head, strategies formulated for how he would get inside, where he would bunker down and at what times would be the safest to explore the house, with each plan he concocted he became more confident. This was going to be a walk in the park, the riskiest part would be getting photos of the so-called ‘servants’ but after that he was basically on holiday in some luxurious manor.

Any false confidence that he had built up was immediately dashed as the towering view of the dark spruce door loomed over him, how any human being could move such a structure was beyond him, it stood at an impressive 30-feet in height, and to a measly 2-foot-tall man it utterly dwarfed him. It appeared that Val wasn’t wrong when she said the Pierce’s moved up a bracket. Instead of feeling afraid, Drew convinced himself this was a positive, as it would only lead to him being harder to spot amongst their giant home, though he dreaded the thought of being caught even more.

Drew climbed up the sandstone stairs that led to the front door, surprisingly finding many footholds to leverage himself up. He crept his way across a doormat that stretched several metres in each direction and found himself beholding the mighty door that could lead to his demise. Thanks to the size of the door there was just enough space for him to squeeze underneath, only just. After taking the backpack off and sliding it under, he crammed himself under the wooden slab.

Once inside, he was taken aback by how massive everything was, the door should have served as an entrée for what was to come, yet he was still stunned. Floorboards made up of redwood trees and gigantic marble features, it was truly a palace made for titans. He scanned the far-reaching hallway that led into a fancy living room area filled with expensive black leather couches and a white shaggy carpet. They had mostly moved in already as the furniture looked to be set in place, and there were minimal cardboard boxes littered about.

First order of business was to find somewhere to set up, his eyes lingered on a thinner door halfway down the hall which he assumed was some sort of linen closet. Another trek was underway as he began towards the closet, his footsteps barely registering against the wooden floor, it was eerily quiet for such a huge place, sounds would have to travel vast distances to reach him. Squeezing under the door, he was met with a pitch-black room, he pulled out his flashlight and shone it into the darkness, large woollen blankets of various muted colours were revealed. Drew checked his phone, it was 3pm, it had taken him an hour to get from the start of the driveway to this point, it was time to set up his shelter and do some more exploring before the colossal women arrived home.

The back side of the closet was free of debris and offered substantial cover from the outside if the Pierce’s were to ever open the door and peer inside. Thankfully, there was no need to worry about spiders or other insects as they were still their old regular bug-sized selves. After laying down his bedroll and hiking bag, he had a quick bite to eat, taking a moment to breathe and remind himself where he was. He was safe. Some downtime later and Drew decided it would be best to venture out briefly and investigate the living room. Deciding to leave the camera and notepad behind he ventured out with just his phone in hand, another check of the time revealed it was 3:30pm now, only two hours or so to work with.

Drew slid under the entryway once again and stepped into the infinite hallway, it was odd to be in such an open place that was still indoors. A sense of calmness came over him, this wasn’t too bad at all, during the day he would explore the house and when the evening rolled around, he would rescind back into his hideout. The living room was closing in, he’d already crossed at least half the distance. He began to whistle a tune as a smile crossed his face, this was easy in fact.

A devastating noise coming from outside the front door broke him out of his happy trance – footsteps. Horror flashed across his widened eyes, it couldn’t be, it was still early, maybe it was just a delivery. Metal clangs caused him to slowly turn around, his whole body was shaking, the door handle rattled as whoever was outside fiddled with it. You gotta be shitting me, His head swivelled back and forth, living room or closet, there was no time to get to either, he stood out like a sore thumb against the wooden floor. As the front door whooshed open, Drew’s hair danced around due to the mass of air being displaced, the figure of who was responsible finally visible.

Oh.

Oh, no.

The girl who had forced his hand herself, Casey. Fucking. Pierce.

She hummed a familiar sounding melody while adjusting the Bose headphones that crowned her dirty blonde hair, her eyes were glued to her phone. Compared to when he had last seen her, she was truly monolithic. He thought he’d gotten used to the house, but nothing could prepare him for seeing a person fill such vast, empty space, especially someone he had such disdain for. Casey must have left work early as she was still dressed in her McDonald’s manager outfit, how she managed to make it fit to her figure boggled his mind, wide hips filled out the unflattering black trousers and her bust stretched out the blue top as if one of the buttons were about to fly off.

Paralysed with fear, Drew gazed upon her giant form, no idea which way to run. That’s when her movements began. Those mighty leather Doc Martens he had gotten to know so well made their first treacherous stride towards him, an earth shattering thoom made his knees weak as they slammed into the ground, the thunderous stomp echoed about in the chamber of their house. Each step rattled his bones in their joints, his arms instinctively flew out to the side to balance himself. Then, the moment he dreaded, her eyes lifted from her phone for a moment, at first, she looked straight ahead, but right before they darted back to her screen, something caught her eye. A tiny man.

Drew held his breath as time froze around him, Casey stopped in her tracks as she processed what lay before her. It was reminiscent of David vs Goliath as they both faced each other, their eyes locked in place, a pin drop could be heard over the tense silence.

“Huh?” confusion riddled through her words as she broke the silence and resumed towards him; burglary was unheard of against those in the upper brackets.

He didn’t want to stick around to answer, her movement spurred him into action as he spun on his heels and sprinted as quickly as he could towards the living room. Adrenaline coursed through his veins; he had never run so fast in his life. Not that there was much point to his struggles, Casey’s earth-shattering strides made light work of the minimal distance. She was upon him within a second, her boots landed on either side of him as he faceplanted into the floor, skidding against the glossy, varnished wood, his phone flew out of his hand and rested a metre from his reach.

“No, no, no…” he managed to croak out, this couldn’t be happening. Though, there was no point to resisting, he was got. The rubber treads of her boots resting a metre from his defeated position, directly on top of where his phone had landed, the soles stood taller than his laid down body, grease and grime coated the worn-down leather. Her gargantuan foot flexed inside the footwear as she crouched down, the leather creaking from her immense weight. A dark shadow overcame him as trunk-like fingers wrapped around his whole body. With others who were closer to his bracket he still felt like somewhat of a person, even around those like Val. However, the way Casey could hold his body in one hand, with only his head poking out of her fist made him feel like little more than a doll.

“Now, what do we have here,” his captor tsked above, there was no escape from this, she quite literally held his body in her hand. Drew was hit with a sense of vertigo as he was lifted from the ground, the black fabric of her pants rushed by his view, into the sight of her half-untucked manager shirt, a nametag reading ‘Casey’ clung to her breast pocket. Ultimately, he ended up face-to-face with his arch nemesis, except it was more face-to-eye as she examined him closely.

“What the fuck,” her voice boomed in his ears, Drew was in a daze as he took in her enormous face, he almost forgot what was happening in the moment as he came to analyse her face in such great detail. Since he had only ever seen her from ground level, he never had the time to appreciate how pretty she was, a lock of blonde hair covering one of her stunning emerald eyes, a cute, upturned nose, and some light freckles above her plush, full lips, her soft cheeks tugged at the corner of her mouth as she formed a smirk. How could such a gorgeous girl be so cruel?

“Drew!?”