Chapter 12 - Lauren - Realization: The good news

Lauren had barely slept that night. She grew more impatient with each passing hour. Yesterday she, and the world, officially discovered that men were shrinking. 

She had been discussing it the whole day with the rest of the basketball team. Of course some of the girls thought it was a delayed April’s fool joke. Others could not stop talking about how some of their ex boyfriends deserved this. But, certainly, most of them found it amusing. Ah the possibilities.

Coming back home on the bus, some of the girls asked their coach, Josh, if the news were true. After trying to brush them off, some of the girls directly asked if he had felt something off. Taking it personally, he meaningly shouted at them to go back to their seats. 

When she finally arrived home his step brother was already sleeping. Unlucky She really wanted to check if he had shrunk. She went to sleep early, eager to see him tomorrow.

Now, at 8 am on a Sunday, she felt like a kid on Christmas day. Ready for her present. Lauren believed that If she was taller than him, their parents would have to reconsider the hierarchy of the house. 

Not being able to hold it anymore, she went downstairs to the basement looking for a meter.

She knew that they had it there somewhere, and Ethan wouldn’t tell exactly where. After 10 minutes, it occurred to her.

“He wouldn’t hide it,would he? She asked herself

She went upstairs again. His door was still closed, Ethan usually slept until 11 in the morning on Sundays. She couldn’t understand how he slept so much, but in this case she prefered it.

She decided to rush into the nearest hardware store and buy a metter herself. Lauren put some shorts  and a basic white tank top, which she found that matched well with her fairly tanned skin. The closest store was 2 minutes away by car but she wasn’t allowed to drive without supervision and Ethan had the keys. It was a 10 minutes walk. Worth it? Ofc

Chapter 13 - Lauren - Hardware store: A glimpse of change

As Lauren entered, the automatic doors of the hardware store opened. She could feel the air conditioning hitting her shoulders. There were a few people, but with the long wide aisles  it didn’t feel crowded. She wasn’t used to these stores, Lauren didn’t like these kind tasks and left them to her stepdad or Ethan.

“Sorry” She approached the desk “Could you tell me where you store the meters?” Lauren asked

Among several shop assistants, one middle aged man raised his head.

“Yes mam, come with me.” He said

Following him made her nervous, she had things to check and the guy was kinda slow. 

Granted, his legs weren’t as long as hers, but he wasn’t putting any effort either. The chubby  man stopped all of the sudden in front of an empty shelf.  

“It seems like we ran out of that product.” He said

“Would you mind checking if you have any inventory left in the warehouse?” Lauren said, giving him a cute smile.

“Y-Yes, sure” He chuckled

Lauren started noticing when she was 16 and her body started to change- her lips became womanly,her frame evolved and grew as tall as many adults - that most men welcomed being treated politely by a young nice lady. Of course, that effect only increased in time.

While she waited, it was difficult not to overhear a conversation of a couple nearby. 

The woman was telling her husband that they should hire a professional to repair the roof. The husband, a little bit shorter than her, argued that he would do it. She reproached how he hadn’t done several tasks on the house before.

“If you don’t do it in time you will shrink more and we will have to come back and hire someone!”  The woman put her hands on her mouth as if she wasn’t supposed to talk about that “I am sorry babe, I didn’t mean to-” She apologized

Lauren had a hard time trying not to laugh. 

“I told you not to mention that in public. I don’t want to be a pariah” The husband took the box and started walking.

As the couple left the staff attending her came back with a meter. After paying she headed home, thrilled to see if she had her own pariah.

Chapter 14 - Ethan - Wake up call

Ethan yawned, still sleepy. His mind was blurry and unaware of all the drama of the previous days. As he opened the door of the room and dragged himself to the bathroom. He heard someone coming from downstairs. He felt himself being pushed unceremoniously against the wall.

As he opened his eyes, Ethan saw her stepsister’s face centimeters away from his face and her warm breasts against his chest. Oh-oh He felt her stiff hand on his head.

“No-fucking-way!” Her blue eyes were wide open and her lips drawed a smile in disbelief. Lauren became unaware of how hard she was pushing him against the wall and the hard on Ethan was getting. 

Ethan slipped away from her, who was still with her hand on the wall where Ethan’s head was.

“What the fuck are you doing spoiled brat?!” He said trying to hide his bulge. 

“Take it easy big bro, it's all in the name of science” She said taking a pencil out of her pocket and marking Ethan’s height on the wall. She took the meter out of her pocket.

“Hey where did you get that meter?” He asked, knowingly that the only one they had at home was on the rubbish.

“From home” She lied with a devilish smile.

Ethan knew she was lying, but if he told her that he threw the one they had in the garage, then he would have to admit that he was afraid of knowing what she was about to tell him.

Lauren bent to set the meter on the floor and stood up again, rolling it all the way up to the pencil’s mark.

Once she saw the height, Lauren used her free hand to cover her laughs. She knew that despite all the amusement she was having, this was hard for Ethan. At the same time, that thought only increased her joy.

“5’ 8’’ feet! Two inches shorter than me.” She said

For the first time, Ethan knew for sure not only that this was real, but that he was part of it. A part of him was gone and most likely it would never come back. 

He felt so impotent, he wasn’t that short since he was 17 years old. Then Lauren saw it, the tent on Ethan’s pijamas.

“Ew! Are you having an erection on being shorter?! OR EVEN WORSE, are you having an erection on me?!” She teased.

“No I’m not. It just happens in the mornings sometimes” He derailed “And talk to me with respect, I’m your big brother and I’m in charge”

“I do not see how I need to follow the orders of you, big brother, when you are two inches shorter than me.” Lauren said

“It's not such a huge difference” Thankfully “I am stronger, I am a man.”

“Are you? Because I only see a scared little boy.” She teased

“1-on-1 on the backyard. When I win you leave me alone for the day.” Ethan said

“And if you lose?” She wondered

“I’ll accompany you with the car. Wherever you want to go”  Ethan offered

“It is on.” She smiled