A long while passed. Ups and downs came and went. Catatonic in bed some days and seemingly fine others. But that first handful of days was the worst. The majority of the time spent questioning if I'd done something incredibly stupid and childish and rash. I'd merged two arguments into one, mixing emotions and stirring up everything until it swelled into a malignant juggernaut, totalling the relationship. She'd triggered me with her teasing - something I really shouldn't have let get to me - but the real issue had always been the last size transfer. They were intrinsically linked to our relationship but still entirely seperate. It's not like our relationship needed the size transfers to persist, right? I tortured myself going in circles in my head. Wondering if it was all my fault or if I was justified in my reaction.

I'd type messages to Ae Ri and then delete them. Over and over again. Unlike last time, she hadn't sent me a barrage of messages. I chalked it up to her anger being too strong to beat her desire to talk. In need of some conversation, I redirected my attention. Might as well bite the bullet and cancel the size transfer. On Saturday morning I rang Dr. Wilson.

He sounded surprised to hear me. I understood why when he told me that Ae Ri had already rung to cancel the transfer. He stuttered then, clearly figuring out why we'd be ringing seperately to cancel. However, I was too tense to mind, instead probing about the possibility of a cancellation fine. That garnered a perplexed reaction. "Cancellation fee? Our original contracts had them in, but we removed them when we opened the procedures up to the public." The knot across my heart loosened. Relief was short lived though. Had Ae Ri made a mistake? Or had she been using a lie as a wrench to get me back into line with her expectations. On one hand that seemed insane, but on the other, after everything I'd seen and heard at her work party, I began to wonder if it was possible. Someone had mentioned her memorising full contracts. She read the be contract right in front of me...

"Oh... Uh, I was worried they might have been a thing." I tried to play it off, lying for some reason to avoid throwing Ae Ri under the bus.

"That's fine. If you wouldn't mind though, would you visit us for a last session? To close your procedure, I mean. I'd love to have a chat, get some feedback and have a few diagnostics done? But, no pressure. I know last time it was a bit... Traumatic."

He was right, of course. It was. But what he was asking didn't seem too terrifying and I did feel guilty for cutting this last session. As long as I stayed far, far away from one of those bracelets, I was fine to go back in. So I agreed, and we set up a meeting for a few weeks time.

After the call one thought dominated my mind, spinning around and around in my head. Had Ae Ri been lying about the fine? Would she? The possibility she may have, alone, helped to re-enforce my discipline in not contacting her. Which was great timing. On Sunday a message from her popped up on my phone, asking to talk. I didn't open it, frightened to let her know I'd seen it. Right now, I wasn't certain of anything and really didn't want to be moving backwards in the break up.

The weekend concluding was exactly what I needed. Work filled the gnawing void that ate away at me. A welcome distraction, I threw myself it head first. Productivity soaring, I even started to work overtime, just glad the gremlin was quite while I was focused. That Thursday we had a post work team get together. Last week I'd never have entertained the idea of going but this week... I sought out any excuse to keep my mind off of Ae Ri. So I went. I prewarned the guys that I was smaller, hoping to blunt the reactions a little. It didn't work.

"Fuuuuck. This is too trippy." Justin was right in my face, opposite me, and mentally comparing our sizes. He was still shorter. Only by a little.

Tim was grimacing, a step back from Justin and Dan, looking even more perturbed than last time. "This is weird." He stated uncomfortably.

"Guys, give him some room." Dan said, reeling the other two in. "Let's sit down. It'll be harder to gwak at his height then." He slapped the back of Justin's head lightly, passing by us both, towards the bar.

"Hey!" Exclaimed Justin, laughing. "This is a natural reaction!" He followed Dan and I followed, Tim awkwardly trailing behind me as if I were a leper.

We grabbed drinks and went to sit on some stools at a high table. Then, for the first time in a long time, we talked shit back and forth. I caught up on the lives I'd missed out on for the last few months, amazed that I'd been so out of touch with my friends.

"So, how's Ae Ri?" Dan asked, pronouncing it rather statically due to his lack of understanding in Korean names.

"Ummm, I wouldn't know." Around us the air seemed to ice over. Mid drink Justin froze, Tim's eyes widened a fraction and Dan's expression twitched.

"Is everything okay between you guys?" Dan's brow furrowed as he carefully navigated the conversation.

"We broke up."

"And, um, like... How likely is it that this is just a bump in the road? Like, are you two gonna get back together maybe?" Justin asked, eyes slitted, slowly lowering the drink.

I made a face. The fuck type of question was that? "Uhhh... Pretty fucking unlikely."

"Oh, thank fuck for that." He breathed, exhaling.

My eyes fluttered, taken by surprise. "Are you serious?" Dan asked me leaning in. "No way you're getting back together?" Tim was on the edge of his chair too, expectantly waiting for my answer.

"N-no, I'm pretty sure we're not getting back together."

"Oh man, we hated her." Justin's hands clenched into fists, quivering slightly as if he were garrote wiring the air.

"You didn't even meet her!"

"Dude, everything you said about her made her sound bat shit."

"What?"

"Yeah, man." Dan took the reigns again. "You were clearly mistified by her so we didn't say anything but she seemed so fucking crazy. That shit at the restaurant you described. All the dates. The fact you were footing the bill even though she's making bank. Not to mention the fact you were literally giving away your body. We were worried about you, man."

"And shit, you basically turned into a ghost! You disappeared!" Justin added.

Shattered psyche, I felt the wool peel back from my eyes. "Why didn't you say any of this!?"

"How can we talk crap about a girl while you're actively dating her?" Dan looked bewildered by the idea.

"Hey, I wanted to but he wouldn't let me!" Justin said, accusing Dan with a spear tipped finger.

"Would you have listened?" Dan riposted the spear.

"I... Nah, I mean... I guess not." I admitted and Dan clapped his hands together, vindicated. "Do you agree with them?" I asked the silent stoic. Tim nodded emphatically. Hunching over, I let it all sink in. All the times I'd assumed they were giving me shit, they were actually looking out for me, subtly trying to get their point across without voicing it fully. It had felt like they thought she was too good for me when, in actuality, the opposite was true.

Lifting alcohol to my lips, I chugged it down. In silence they watched. "Well," I stifled a hiccup from drinking too fast, "we're broken up now so, fuck it." I shrugged.

"No. Fuck her." Justin said, clapping a hand to my shoulder. He waited for me to echo the sentiment. I couldn't. I wanted to. I wanted to say something negative, anything, but the words didn't come. Sorrowfully I simply looked down into my glass. "Okay... Let's get some shots. Wash away the break up blues." He grinned.

From that point on, the alcohol flowed, a white, rapid river - even if it was really more of an amber colour. I'm just trying to say, things got incredibly wild. However, despite distracting me from the break up, the 'break up blues' didn't end completely.


Meeting Dr. Wilson was another eye opener regarding my former relationship. "And so, we think we've pinpointed why you lost so much weight." We'd been through testing and lots of record keeping - diagnostics for their future transfers. As he put it, the height transfers were the cutting edge of a still a developing science, so they needed all the data they could get. Especially with such a curious case. "You understand that weight and height do not have a proportional relationship, right?"

I blinked a few times. "As in... To make a shorter person taller their weight increases faster than their height?"

Snapping his fingers he pointed at me. "Exactly! And we've accounted for that. To an extent anyway, we've tried to keep things as balanced as possible. That's why we measured weight and body fat and a few other metrics before you were fully accepted into the transfer procedure. So, what we were seeing with you two was really peculiar. Completely out of the ordinary."

"But you think you've figured it out?"

"Well, a few months before your transfers began a scientific paper was published by our sister branch in Asia. They had findings that showed diet and exercise could have a surprising impact on the transfers."

Stretching the capabilites of my memory, I pulled on the thread of a conversation I'd had when I was half asleep. "Ae Ri did mentioned something like that when I woke up after the last transfer."

"Yes, Dr. Hamilton did some reading after we saw the result of your last transfer with Ae Ri. He didn't fully explain it even to me at that point though. Basically, the transfers are very sensitive, even dialled into metabolic rate and a number of other factors. The recipient specifically can greatly influence the mass being transfered in each proceedure. If their weight has been increasing between procedures - eating a surplus of calories, it results in their metabolic rate spiking and their body almost demanding more mass in the transfer."

I tried to maintain a poker face. Ae Ri's appetite skyrocketing and the amount she was eating and gaining was a direct cause of the transfers sucking me dry. She'd even said it to me herself. I'd been so angry and outraged that I'd not even contemplated it after I'd heard it the first time. Again, I was left questioning if maybe she'd been doing it on purpose.

"The effects in your situation were further compounded by Ae Ri working out between transfers." I felt a cold shiver run through me, dreading what he was about to say. "Hormonal levels in her system, her metabolism and the fact that she had damage to her muscles, forcing her body to be actively repairing itself, meant her body was in overdrive during the transfers. She was leeching away your muscle mass due to the intensity of her workouts." A click in my brain sounded out. Two pieces of the puzzle fastening together. The way she'd push herself to 'break PRs' before each transfer. The insane, magnitude of weight she'd shoot for, pushing herself passed her limits and destroying herself the week before every transfer... She was doing it all to throw them out of whack. To force her as much out of me as possible. Literally stealing as much of my mass and muscle as possible. Fuck, she'd even said something like that once, hadn't she?! I remembered it clearly, the time when I thought she was just going down some weird dirty talk rabbit hole. She fucking told me she was doing it right to my face! There was zero doubt in my mind. She must have known. She must have.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Wilson asked. My face was pallid and a sickly sweat had formed across my skin with this horrible realisation.

I licked my lips to stop them feeling like sandpaper. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Uh, why hadn't anyone seen the paper before? You mentioned it was published before our transfers began."

"We didn't have a Korean speaker on the team. Dr. Hamilton was using Google translate to understand snippets of it after your transfer. Once you'd both left he actually called the author of the paper and requested an English copy." I drooped in my chair. Korean. Any possibility that this was a series of freakish, weird coincidences evaporated. I felt sick.

"Where is Dr. Hamilton? I... I'd like to apologise for my outburst last time I saw him."

Wilson grew quiet then, shuffling in his seat. "We've actually parted ways with Dr. Hamilton." That woke me out of my nausea.

"What? Was it because of what happened?"

"No, not entirely. There was some other events that called his... It made us doubt that he was fit for the team. I can't really discuss it with you fully." He admitted.

"It's fine. Maybe it's for the best. It would just be another embarrassing conversation I'd have to have." I let out a half laugh.

A quiet fell over the room as we both mulled over everything that was going on. "Well, I'm happy for you at least." Wilson said, cutting the break in the conversation to an end. "It may not be my place to say it, but Ae Ri seemed... Not to have your best interests at heart. I'm glad you put an end to the transfers when you felt it was necessary." Feeling very defeated, I tried to summon up the energy to let something vile about her spill forth. Something. Anything bad. Once again, nothing came.

"Yeah..." I eventually murmured.


The grief goblin began to feel lighter over the next few weeks. I'd still be hit with pwangs of it every now and then but, it was mainly the monotonous cycle of life that held my attention. Work. Shop. Jog. Eat. Sleep. A repetitive cycle. Oh, yeah, I started jogging. It was a good way to kill the voices in my head. Drowning them out with music and a runners high. I wouldn't be gaining any muscle but it was something healthy both physically and mentally. Although this spartan lifestyle did start to grate on me after some time.

Ae Ri, even if she was manipulative and evil, had left a gaping hole in my life. An added adventurousness that I just didn't have now. Partly because of my devastated savings but also borne from a nervousness that I'd developed. The fall out of my relationship left me untrusting of most people, which impacted on my social life, leaving it pretty scant for options.

It all pushed me into browsing social media more. And even though I hated it... I found myself going back to her. For the first time in over a month, the sight of her graced my eyes. My pulse quickened. The first post on her Instagram was her laughing, wearing her usual tight, skimpy gym clothes, stood in front of a rock climbing wall. A shaft of light cascaded down onto her, bathing her skin, making her look golden and iridescent. Metaphorically, I felt myself inch closer to the ground. The goblin around my neck cackling as it grew. God, she looked amazing, her clothes almost bursting with the abundance they contained. Each swell of muscle looked full and strong, juicy enough to smother myself with. Her slender middle made the curves above and below look even more immense. Hips as wide as my shoulders and teardrop tits squished into a, frankly, too small sports bra. We're they bigger somehow or was my mind playing tricks on me? I could feel my libido climbing at the thought of it. This was a terrible idea and even still, thumb trembling, I swiped to see the next image.

It was a video. The still showed her at the bottom of a rock climbing wall, wearing a harness, ready to start her ascent. Tapping the video it buffered for a moment before it started. A beeper went off and Ae Ri launched upwards, her coiled legs extending, blasting her up. Fingers clutched at hand holds, using the momentum, she scaled the wall with an inhuman pace. But... She never seemed to lose momentum. Mechanically, she went in rhytm, each and every movement playing off the one before, working in perfect synch to keep her flying higher. Hands and legs a blur the camera swung up to keep up with her, monkey like, ascending. The only thing I could make out was her back muscles flexing and dancing. My eyes widened as she hit the top and the bleeper went off again. The video was only 20 seconds and she'd rocketed to the top before it had finished. There was a distant 'whoooooo' and she punched the air, slowly lowering as the tension in the ropes kept her up high.

"Wow." I almost drops the phone then, a knife plunged into my heart as that word came out of the speaker. That had been a male voice. My mind hadn't been sharp enough to wonder who was filming but reality had punched me in the gut. It was a guy. Probably a new boyfriend. No. That's too quick. There's no way, right? Swiping again, there was a photo of my ex, hugging whoever must have been filming. It was a sideways hug, her other hand with two fingers up to make a V. Jesus, her smile hurt to look at. Fuck me.

I locked my phone and threw it away, onto the couch, yet the image haunted my brain, mind recreating it in my head. Ae Ri hugging some handsome, good looking, happy, asshole guy. They both looked happy while I stewed in my own neurotic PTSD.

He was well built but probably a little shorter than me. She made him look tiny though. Almost equal in height and just as broad. Why was that hot? Why did my stupid fucking brain have to still find that hot? I bit back the urge to wail and punch something.

Another month passed and, despite myself, I checked her Instagram every day. The guy didn't show up again. I scoured every picture looking for something that told me she was dating again but couldn't find anything. Was he just a friend she went rock climbing with? I told myself I was playing detective, coy and cunning. Keeping tabs on her. That wasn't really it though.

I craved her.

I needed her like I needed oxygen and it was fucking pathetic. Yeah, I'd pleasured myself, looking at her pictures too. Yeah. I know. Pathetic is an understatement. But I'd been spiralling again, the depression from e-stalking Ae Ri sending me plummeting back to rock bottom. I'd become more reclusive, only hobbling out from my cave to buy food or go jogging in the dead of night. That's when the voices were loudest now. When I was trying to sleep. One night I'd tried to force myself into a slumber, refusing to jog, adamant that if I just stayed in bed, pretending to sleep for long enough, that it would have to become true.

When the light of the sun bled into the room, around my curtains, illuminating the pigsty I lived in, it became too much. It was either jogging or jamming a fork into a plug socket. The decision came down to the wire. I chose jogging in the end.

Feet pounded soil, I turned my music up, drowning out the happy singing of morning birds. Fuck them and their joy. I'd been running for over an hour, drenched in sweat, lungs aflame. I knew if I stopped the self loathing would restart. I didn't even know where I was anymore. A park on the other side of the neighbourhood? I turned my head, trying to see a landmark or something to identify the park with. A loose rock underfoot made me twist my ankle and I crashed, tumbling to the ground. I cursed and kicked at the rock, sat on my ass, nursing my ankle.

"Paul?" Someone asked breathlessly, barely audible over the blaring speed metal. My head snap up to the silhouette outlined by the morning sun.

Pulling an earphone loose I asked back, astonished, "Christie?"

"It is is you." She said, doubling over to catch her breath. "I've been trying to catch you for like... 5 minutes." Wearing athletic gear, I assumed she must have been out jogging as well when she'd spotted me. "Boy, you really run fast, huh?" She wheezed. "I almost didn't recognise you."

"I... Yeah, I'm not surprised." I awkwardly laughed, getting to my feet. I looked haggard. Unkempt hair, unshaven and probably huge bags under my eyes. Standing up besides Christie, another reason for what she'd said became apparent. She hadn't seen me after the last transfer, I tried not to dwell on the size disparity. "Were you just out jogging?"

"Y-yeah." She heaved a breath and straightened up. "I saw you tearing through the park and called you." I turned the angry music rumbling out of my headphones down. "I was about to give up when you tripped."

"Sorry I - um - didn't hear you." It felt odd having a face to face conversation again.

"It's fine! I just wanted to see if you were okay. Um..." She eyed me up and down. "How are you doing?"

Lying would have been so easy. 'I'm fine!' 'I'm great!' Some other bullshit. The sincerity of her question and the sympathetic look told me she was actually asking though. "Not... Not great." I said, scratching at my stubbly facial hair nervously. "I broke up with my girlfriend and... It's just been tough." Muscling a smile onto my face I looked to Christie.

There was a moment of hesitation before she moved. Unexpectedly, she stepped forwards and wrapped me into a hug. Muscle went rigid before I melted, watercolour paints running in the rain. "It's gonna be okay." She said softly, reassuring me. "Sometimes a fresh start is what's needed."

A fresh start? A fresh start...

We talked more after that but that one sentence alone reshaped everything. A fresh start. She was right.

I looked for a new apartment. Something far away, the outskirts of the city. Somewhere cheaper.  I pinpointed a location. Then I started looking for jobs. Something remote. Maybe a step up in pay. Having a goal let me ignore the depression, to shake the break up goblin off of me, to close my social media accounts, to get my life back. Her grasp on me, I broke the fingers away one by one. This was exactly what I needed.

The ball was moving, rolling, and my future was on a set course. It took maybe another month, but my hard work began to bear fruit. I'd lined everything up. The new, cheaper apartment, a new job, everything. I'd given my notice in and started the process on my move. It was difficult to say bye to the guys, but they understood. I was sure I'd be dropping by to see them again once I was settled anyway.

My schedule had changed too. More structured and less random. Gorcery shopping had become more regular. I'd pick up some items after evening jogs, a little at a time. Regimented living was doing wonders for my sanity. But one evening, while shopping, that newfound sanity was put to the test.

Carrying a basket, I rounded a corner into a refrigerated, meat aisle. It was the first refrigerated aisle, one passed the produce section I'd come from. My heart stopped as I did. My face paled. The world went silent. I could actually feel my blood pressure tick higher. At the other end of the aisle stood Ae Ri, facing away from me. A basket of her own was in one hand, the other held a packet of meat she was examining. A billion thoughts rushed through my head, screaming through grey matter. Was this some mirage? Had I finally cracked completely without realising? I didn't get a chance to make sense of the other million plus thoughts though. Movement snapped me into action. Her head moved up. It only shifted a fraction of an inch but my taunt nerves were plucked, my basal ganglia kick starting a response. Not wanting to be seen, like a gazelle, I leapt backwards, cutting myself out of the aisle and back to the end of the other, with a squeak of my trainers.

That was close. I was 110% sure she hadn't seen me. My somewhat over the top response had been too fast. Stood there, ruminating on what action to take next, my ears pricked up at the sound of trainers moving along the floor. She was coming this way. As stealthily as a ninja, I darted back up the aisle I'd been in, hoping to cut back up the produce section and sneak sneak back the way I came. It worked but, senses heightened by adrenaline, I could hear Ae Ri trailing my path, the squeaking coming quicker.

What the fuck?!

Partially abandoning stealth, I slipped back into the meat aisle, running down the rows of packaged protrin, the chill of the fridges bitting at my sweat soaked underarmour. Opposite the aisle was a doorway that went into the back warehouse. Barrelling in, I closed the heavy door behind me and pressed myself against the wall. This door has a panel of safety glass in it, tall and narrow, a way to see if there was someone on the other side before opening it. Waiting a beat, I leaned out just slightly to check what was going on. Ae Ri passed by, a shark with the scent of blood. She disappeared from view and, a few moments later appeared again at the end of the aisle. Searching. My ex girlfriend was searching the area, visibly growing frustrated. She hadn't seen me. I was sure. More than sure. Yet here she was, looking for me like a bloodhound.

In relative safety, contemplation started up again. Why the fuck was she here? Why would she be shopping in a store so far away from her place? Had she been looking for me? It felt arrogant to assume she was but I couldn't figure out any other explanation for her being here, or for her odd behaviour. Ae Ri was looking for me. She'd been pretending to shop, knowing I was coming. Or had I caught her? A slip up?

My blood ran cold as a voice startled me. "Hey, you're not allowed to be here." Said a grumpy looking guy wearing the store uniform.

I shushed him, checking over my shoulder to see if Ae Ri was going to come crashing in after me hearing his protests. "Dude, please! I'm so, so sorry!" Seeing my terror the guy's expression softened. "Please, let me hide here! My ex is out there and I do not want to see her." I whispered, desperate.

He gave a perplexed look and leaned to the side to see the bombshell, tapping at her phone angrily. "Fuck me. That's your ex?" He sounded jealous.

"Trust me. She's insane. I think she's... I think she's stalking me." He looked skeptical, looking me up and down, doubting that Ae Ri and I could even be considered in the same sport, let alone league. If the roles were reversed I'd be thinking the same thing.

Tension mounted in my shoulders until he sighed. "Alright, stay here. I'll let you know when the coast is clear." He strode passed me, pushing back out onto the shop floor. Vaguely, I could hear him address her. "Hi, ma'am. Can I help you?"

Her reply sliced at my ears, beautiful voice acting as a blade plunged into my ear drums. I sat against the wall, pensively listening out for explosions, hidden in my makeshift bunker. I felt under siege. Wait... She knew what my car looked like. She'd find it in the car park and wait. I dropped my basket and peered out through the glass. The guy was approaching.

I stepped back to let him in. "She's gone. She went that way." He said, pointing towards the frozen section.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou." I said, brushing passed him and hauling ass through the store. I ignored the security guard telling me to stop. None of the alarms went off so he could screw himself.

Frantically, I got into my car and tyre-squealed my way out of the car park. Now more than ever, I was grateful that I'd taken Christie's advice. My impending move seeming more necessary than ever before.

From that point on, paranoia ruled my life. I felt constantly watched. A crawling sensation under my skin that had me checking over my shoulder whenever I was outside. I'd scope out the area around my house before leaving, I'd shop in stores further away and I'd make sure to stay vigilant for anyone following me 24/7.

Despite my wild actions, a niggling doubt would always linger while I did this stuff. There was no way Ae Ri could really be stalking me, right? I mean, why would she? She could get any guy anywhere at any time. So why me? Morbidly, one idea would surface every now and then. Maybe she wanted that last inch. Determined to take what she considered her owed pound of flesh? So, as if she were the boogeyman, I checked around the corners and under my bed at night. Okay, that's hyperbole, but you get what I mean.

All the stress had me beyond eager to move, counting down the days. Thinking she could be watching, I covertly packed everything I owned into boxes that I'd smuggled into my apartment as the days ticked down. If she was stalking me, this would be my chance to make a clean break. So, the night before my move, I packed everything into a truck I rented and, under the cover of darkness, I made my escape. I felt like a spy. One day I was there, the next I was gone.

I'd done it. I scrubbed my social media. I left no forwarding address. I kept everything secretive to everyone but a handful of trustworthy people.

It took a week for it to set in, for the feeling of being watched to fade. But it did. Months quietly passed. My mission had been successful and life was good. I had a new job, a new home and things just felt... Brighter? Like the sun was shining constantly. I still kept myself to myself and my savings were skinnier than I was but, I was happy. And I hadn't fallen off the wagon. I hadn't gone searching for Ae Ri on social media... Although I did have one regretful moment.

In the first week, while unpacking, I kinda, maybe stumbled onto that t-shirt. You know, the beast mode one. It had fallen from a hastily packed box into a bundle on the floor. Okay, you gotta understand, I was - shit, am still getting over her. Even with everything that has happened, it's impossible to shed her influence completely. So, when I plucked it from the ground, gravity unravelling the dark material, and I saw the fractured, broken white letters, it affected me. First emotionally, and then in another way. Inhaling the lilac infused perfume, my emotion wracked being reacted in a very instinctual, carnal way. Memories of her taxing the fabric danced in my head. The sheer size she had to fill it out. To fill out the top that was baggy on me. The letters breaking apart a little at a time as she breathed, straining it. God, and the fucking look on her face. The smugness. I breathed her in, intoxicated by horniness and sadness. Huffing her scent I dropped everything I was doing and carried it to the bedroom, pressed over my nose. I... Relieved myself.

Immediately, overwhelmed by shame, I'd thrown the top under my bed, disgusted. I left it there too, a relic to my weakness. Facing it meant facing what I did, and, potentially, unearthing the sway she had on me all over again. So I left it there, a haunted crypt. I hoped the half life of that effect was short.

Besides that blip, I was a changed man, keeping memories of that part of my life locked in Pandora's box. Which is why when I got a notification on LinkedIn from a 'Charlotte Sinclair,' I felt my pulse quicken and my temperature rise. It was the only form of social media I'd really kept. I'd purposefully left my current work situation out, of course, so I hardly ever got a notification from the site. Her message was just a simple 'Hi, is this the right Paul?' Quickly browsing her work history I could see she left Ae Ri's firm in the last two months. Had she escaped too? Did she want to bond over the trauma or did she have some news I needed to hear? It all seemed very suspicious.

Against my better judgement, I accepted the friend request and messaged her back. It's not like she could see where I was through this anyway.

"Hey? I think you got the right Paul."

"OMG! Hey! I didn't think you'd respond. How are you?" The response was almost instantaneous.

"I'm good. I'm just surprised to see a message from you, to be honest."

There was a delay this time, but eventually she replied. "Yeah. I just really needed to talk to someone and, considering what happened at the last party, you're one of the few people that would believe me."

"So this is about her?" I felt silly not writing her name. Like she was a character from a fantasy book that I could summon just be using it.

"Her. Lol. Yeah, it's about Ae Ri."

I let out a heavy, heaving, exhaled sigh. Down the rabbit hole we go. For the next hour Charlotte dished and bitched and complained. She told me about how Ae Ri was hired as her assistant, and manipulated people and events, rapidly leap frogging through the ranks. She stole clients from Charlotte and dragged her name through the mud. Even her take over from the company had been puppeteered with rumours of Justin sleeping with Charlotte. It was all lies, and everything pointed to Ae Ri being at the origin. However, everyone was too smitten by her. Too wrapped up in the persona she'd crafted. She got away with it all, growing in power and control of Charlotte, gradually making her life more and more of a living hell.

Jesus, even I had trouble believing all of this. But something told me that it was the truth for the most part.

Charlotte apologised for her outpour of emotional release,but quickly asked if she could ask a question. I was confused by her needing permission.

"Sure."

The text on screen struck me hard. "Why did you keep donating size to her?! Didn't you see any red flags?"

It took me a while to formulate something. "I saw some but it wasn't enough I guess. She just seemed to really understand me and we had a lot in common. I dunno. That probably sounds stupid."

"No, I get it. There was more going on than what I could see. Right?" The message hung there for a second, like she was waiting for me to follow up. "Is there anything you want to get off of your chest? I feel like I just had a massive bitch fit and you had to endure it. I'm happy to hear how she fucked you over lol"

Fingers hovering over the keys, I sat frozen. This was the chance I had to finally let it all out, to someone that would understand and empathise with everything. Making a fist, I bashed my desk. Why couldn't I bring myself to do this? To release all the anger. Why was I still bottling this shit up and protecting her fucking name whenever someone asked about it. Over the last few months I'd come to accept that I still had some lingering attachment. I needed to get rid of it. Just... Not today.

I told Charlotte I didn't want to talk about it. She understood. Then she said she'd like to keep chatting anyway. My spirits lifted. Warmth in my cheeks, heart thumping, I redirected myself, continuing to chat.

Charlotte and I stayed up talking into the night. Then the next night. And the next. We exchanged numbers and rapidly, the brightness in my reclaimed life grew brighter. For a few weeks we'd be talking back and forth via text, pinging each other constantly.

A desire to take it to the next level began to form in me, however, when Charlotte replied in kind a bundle of nerves formed. This would be the first time I dive back into dating. This would be the way to cut that last, clinging tendon of emotion. A part of me felt like this was too soon. The wounds might not have had enough time to close. Or maybe I didn't want to cut that connection? No. No it wasn't that. It couldn't-

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked to meet up." Came her response in my silence.

Either I responded or the chance to meet would slip away.

"No. It's fine. I'd love to meet up." I hastily typed and hit enter. "How about we hit a café or something? It would be nice to can catch up in person."

"Yay! Alright, how about Saturday?" That acceptance threw me into doubt. She seemed incredibly eager... And it was Thursday, so that was a quick turnaround. No. Stop thinking like that. The madness had been left behind. Better safe than sorry though.

Suggesting somewhere to meet, I purposefully put the ball in her court. If she accepted again, without thinking, it would be another warning sign. She turned it down though and for some reason, that dispelled my worries fully. With just one declination my heart rate slowed. Suddenly, I felt much better about this. Letting her choose a spot, I agreed and, finally, looked forward to putting the final nail in the coffin of my last relationship.

Saturday morning was hectic. The nerves had returned and I'd spent at least 15 minutes agonising in front of the mirror, combing my hair in slightly different angles. Now, a short drive, a train ride and a five minute walk later I was standing outside of the café, butterflies fluttering in my gut. This felt surreal. A part of me felt guilty that this was someone that was an enemy to my ex...

Fuck, was this the right decision? Running a hand through my hair, it took me a moment to realise that I'd just nullified my hard work. Alright. We talked about this, Paul. Final. Nail. I repeated that in my mind over and over, building my fortitude up. These thoughts would be exactly what she wanted. But there's no strings on me anymore. No more manipulation.

Striding through the door, a bell jingled above my head. The cozy, homly café was squished into a tight corner, sunlight pouring in through the large windows that lined two sides of the store. I could see the entire seating area. The redhead I was waiting to meet wasn't here... Checking my watch, I went over to the counter to order a drink. Maybe she was running late. Posting up in a comfy armchair with a latte in hand, I sat with my back to one wall, facing the door. Time ticked by slowly. A full 15 minutes in, I sent a text asking if she was okay. As each second passed an uneasy feeling began to build. Something felt wrong. I gave her another 15. No response came via text. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I felt my nerve ebbing away. Something wasn't right. Getting up, I stiffly walked out. My pace increased as I walked, feeling eyes on my back, toward the train station. When I entered I waited at the departures board instead of at my platform. I waited until the last few minutes. Then, power walking, almost running to the platform, I slipped into the train. Spinning, I faced the staircase I'd ascended, waiting for someone to be following me. The doors closed.the train rumbled alive, beginning yo move. No one came.

Letting a laugh burst out of me, I relaxed. Yeah, that was stupid. Ae Ri had probably forgotten all about me, moved on to some hunky, gym stud who better fit what she looked like now. The itch to check her social media surfaced behind my eyes. I battled the urge. I focused on something else. Something productive instead of destructive. I closed my eyes. The rocking of the train lulled me into a calm state. The rush left me and I eased into the seat, mind unflexing. I'd gotten good at blanking my thoughts, pushing everything aside so I didn't wrap myself up in anxiety riddled worries.

What felt like seconds later, the automated voice woke me, informing me that my stop was a few moments away. Tranquility was replaced with the mad rush to check my pockets and almost fall out of my seat. I made it to the doors just as they opened and, glad I hadn't missed my stop, groggily stepped out. Rubbing my eyes, lethargic, I shuffled through the station.

Today had been a roller-coaster. I hadn't even had time to process my disappointment that Charlotte had stood me up. Occupied by these thoughts, I got into the car and drove home. The pink streaks across the sky felt oddly fitting for my slightly melancholic mood. I was still lost in thought when I got out of the car. Strolling up the drive way to my place, fiddling with the keys I questioned what had happened today. I found the key for the door, finally. Inserting it into the lock, hearing the metal pushing the pins open.

Time descended into molasses, the world slowing as a presence near me became apparent. "Hey, Paulie." A smokey voice whispered over my ear, close enough for the warm breath to make me erupt into goosebumps. A split second later her body crashed against me, soft, heavy, large orbs pressed against my back, pushing me against the wood and sending a panic through my bones.

Her hand wrapped around mine, rotating it and the key in the door. Our combine weight forced it open, letting me spill into my home and away from prying eyes. Falling forwards, twisting in fright, I turned to faced her, bumbling into my narrow hall. A grinning, Korean monster. She pulled the keys from the door and followed me, stepping through the threshold, keeping too close for comfort. A kick of her leg shut the door behind her, a metaphorical seal on my fate.

"Wha - how did you find me?" I sputtered, backing away, deeper into the invaded sanctuary. Face to face, eye to eye, I looked into the large pools of honey streaked mahogany looking back at me, crinkled at their edges because of her smile.

"Pffft, isn't it obvious?" My stomach sank, already knowing that I'd taken her bait like a moron. "Can we meet and complain about that bitch Ae Ri?" Pouting, she said it in an airy, high pitched, mocking voice. Walking after me, the distinct lack of a certain noise sent a chill through me. An absence of heels against my hardwood floor. She wasn't wearing heels. She wasn't wearing heels and she was eye to eye with me. Now I realised. I realised how absolutely fucking huge she looked. I'd thought she looked imposing at 5'6, but once again, she'd leveled up. I had flashbacks to the party and how she filled the narrow space. My hallway was even narrower and she was even bigger. "Oh, you finally noticed." Her smile took on an air of pride and excitement. "What do ya' think?" Her eyebrows bobbed up and down as she asked, spreading her arms as wide as the space would allow, fingertips dragging along the walls, presenting herself like a prize as her approach slowly continued. Swinging her hips with every step, suffocatingly filling the space with her girthy hourglass, I wondered if this is how explorers felt when they entered a booby trapped room and the walls closed in. "I'm 5'10." She stated, pronouncing the words as clearly as she could. "I'm your height. And I fucking love it."

"H-how?" I croaked.

Tittering, she tutted, wagging a finger. "Aw, you really should read the terms and conditions. Donors can only donate to one recipient. Recipients aren't limited to one donor though!"

My brain snapped back to reality, the threat before me being processed as just that. A threat. An intruder. I didn't have time to goggle at her or converse. I span and ran away, digging for the phone in my pocket.

Her longer, stronger legs, pumped alive and, even with all my recreational running, I couldn't match her blistering speed. The gap between us evaporated before I'd even gotten into the kitchen. Muscle and steel mashed against me, slamming me into the wall, knocking a picture frame to the ground. I swung our weight, trying to dislodge myself. Expertly, she directed me around, grabbing my wrists and effortlessly sending me over her hip and to the ground, robbing the air from my lungs. She landed on me hard and smashed the hand with the phone against the floor, forcing it from my grasp.

"Get off!" I growled, resisting as best I could, again stuck in this horrible loop of deja vu and panic. "Get out of my house!"

There was a flicker of emotion on her face. Pain. Sadness. Real, gut wrenching emotion. Then she laughed. Fuck me, she could play me like a fiddle. All those emotions were just a joke. Masterful acting to lull unsuspecting people into her web. A web I'd somehow escaped before. Then again... Maybe I never had. "Aw, but Paulie, I came all this way for you! Look! Look what I did to myself for you! Look how big I got." Did she really just say 'for me?!' Insanity edged into her voice, bleeding from her face, leaned over me, grinning. This didn't feel like the Ae Ri I'd met so long ago. The mask she'd worn had broken away cometely. Gyrating against me for a moment, she brought her chest down more, face close to mine and breasts, an ocean, over me - Fuck. There was so much of her. More than before. More than too much. My body responded to her touch, the sensation of her movements against me making my body tingle, dick hardening. This was the first feminine touch I'd had in months. I breathed in her perfume, her pheromones, her scent. A tsunami of it all rode the flood of tit merely inches away from my chin, buffeting my senses. Overpowering. It defined her now in every way.

"Ri, g-get out. Leave me alone." I pleaded with her, already knowing it was a futile request.

"You don't want that." She sang with titanium enunciation.

"Wha - of course I fucking do!"

"I gave you so many chances." Confusion permeated me. I'd expected her to talk about the iron wrought, physical rection my body was stabbing her, just as she had before when she was drunk after the party. But she was talking about something else. My struggles absentmindedly slowed. "So many chances to say you hated me. So many reasons to agree with her and call me a bitch." Her hands moved up along my wrists and her fingers were forced into entwining with mine. Subconsciously, their size against my own made my stomach turn. Her hands seemed a lot bigger than mine, elegant fingers and calloused palms easily engulfing mine. "But you never did, did you?"

"What are you talking about?" My voice cracked, throat dry, knowing full well what she was talking about. I'd never been talking to Charlotte. And I was going to have to accept something I'd been in denial of this whole time. Deep down, that tether of attachment was stronger than I wanted to admit.

"Why? Why didn't you complain? Why didn't you talk all the shit you wanted to about me?" Her body pressed harder against me, seduction turning into something else. These were genuine questions.

Her breath washed over me, eyes hypnotically watching me, flashing with madness as she examined me, reading me. "You still want me, don't you?" I was speechless, mouth flapping open and closed. "You're addicted. " A beat later, she kissed me. Hard. Smacking the back of my head into the floor. Anger bloomed. This bitch was insane. Fuck the attachment. That was exactly why our relationship had ended. Furious, I turned my head side to side, unable to break the kiss. It was impossible. So I did the unexpected. I leaned in. I parted my lips. And I sank my teeth into that thick, juicy, purple coloured bottom lip of hers, biting down and making her squeal. Pulling away, my teeth clamped shut as she extracted herself.

Shock painted across her face. Then her smile returned, an even more unhinged twinkle sparkled. "I guess I'll have to make you admit it. Remember. You started the rough stuff first!" What happened next was faster than a bullet. Her giggle played in my ears as I opened my mouth to swear.

"Fu-" Ripping her fingers from mine she pulled her arm back. Knuckles cracked against my jaw, spinning my head and turning my brain into a crash test dummy.

Lights out.


When the lights came back on, the lights, ironically, were dim. Dusk had passed and it was now the middle of the night, a dim lamp illuminated my bedroom. Colours streaked For a moment, oil paints smeared on a canvas. I was almost tricked into thinking everything had been a warped dream. Until I felt the fabric in my mouth and the constraints around my wrists. "MHHHHPHHH!" I cried into the gag, springing against whatever bound me, making them pull tighter.

"Wakey, wakey." A voice teased my ears. "I was wondering when you'd wake up." She was laid next to me on her side, one hand propping up her head, fully nude, one fat tit oozing over the other, endless legs vanishing into my peripheral vision. My eyes bulged, scanning her up and down, over the peaks and valleys. Her new size was something to behold.  Everything it was before but even more. Bustier, thicker, stronger. It was so, so unfair. The hottest woman on the earth getting even hotter while I and whoever else she was taking size from became more insignificant. Letting her fingers graze over my chest, I noticed that I too was naked. Strapped to the headboard of my bed by what looked like sheets, mouth gagged with a haphazardly tied around my head. Testing the restraints angrily, I felt them tighten, cutting off more circulation to my hands. It didn't stop my attempts at freedom, grunting as they cinched painfully tight. Lifting her leg skyward with the poise of a ballerina, she casually let the meaty pillar fall onto my thighs. My ankles weren't tied but the weight of her leg was enough to keep my legs down.

"I wouldn't struggle too hard." She cooed. "Those are special knots. They only get tighter. Even I can't unknot them." She scoffed at my stricken expression. "Only one way out. Well, more than one, but either way I'll be getting what I want." Hooking her foot around my legs, she dragged me in, pressing my hip against the warm moistness of her crotch. "Can you guess what I want?"

"MHHHHHH!" I shouted into the gag.

She gasped then. "What?! God, get your mind out of the gutter, Paulie." Pretending to have understood my cries as something lewd she continued her villainous monologue. "Noooo, I don't wanna fuck. I'm thinking I'll withold that until you're begging for it." With every fiber of my being, I swore to myself that it would never happen. I hoped it would never happen. "Nah, I was just hoping for the truth. Y'know." She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "Admit it. Admit that deep down you do -" I chuckled into the gag, shaking my head side to side before she could finish, trying to get a tiny taste of victory by declining as quickly as possible.

Her fist hammered down onto my chest in response, caving in my solar plexus. An unimpressed expression graced her face. "Option 2 it is then." I didn't understand until she nodded to the right hand connected to the fist.

A bracelet. A metallic band made up of segments, with a little light. My aorta could have burst from how hard my heart clenched. Jerking my head up, I looked to my own wrists. The left one had a matching band, just peeking out from the knotted restraint. How? How? How?! HOW?! A hysteria swallowed me and, ignoring her, I poured every effort into pulling myself free.

The sheets binding me continuing tighter and tighter, crushing the slender wrists they held, lances of pain shooting down my limbs. Like a wolf, fixated on survival, knawing off it's paw off to escape a trap, I kept trying anyway. Ae Ri was talking but I channeled her out. My obliviousness to her efforts to calm me down stoked the fires of anger in her. A hand slapped onto my throat, pushing me down into the mattress, squeezing my windpipe. She lifted me by the neck and slammed me down, cracking a slat in the frame. Climbing onto me, she got in my face again. It was a position she seemed to enjoy, yet everytime she was on top, it was augmented. Size was fluid between our encounters and, this time, the aura around her was different.

"Don't ignore me, you little fuck." Although her eyes burned hot, a siberian ice eminated off of her. An anger colder than any temperature I'd experienced. "I came all this way so you could see this, you ungrateful asshole. I know how much you love it. You want to help me get bigger, don't you?" I gave a muffled response. "No matter how much you deny it, I can fucking feel it, Paul. I can smell it on you. I'm in your fucking head and I know, deep, deeeeep down, you want it just as much as I do." From somewhere a tablet appeared. She slapped it onto my chest, the screen under lighting the pendulous tit hovering over me, outlining the tiny bumps along her erect nipple. "So this is a gift. I waited, you know. It would have been easy to come here even bigger than this. But I stopped at 5'10 for you. I waited for you because I know how much you'd wanna see this. How much you'd wanna see me finally outgrow you - to fix nature's fuck up. To give me what I deserve and what you fucking wasted."

Spitefully, she jabbed at the tablet, inputting setting. "What did they say at the labs? Three inches per transfer, right?" Snorting, she continued tapping. "How about we try six?"

Biting at my gag, I wailed, screaming, pulling so hard on the sheets that I thought the bones in my wrist must be breaking. She hit the button. Bright, hot light poured out along my forearm. My body was slick with sweat, fear forcing me to overheat. I'd never been touching someone while the transfer happened. Feeling skin on skin as my body fell in upon itself. The transfers heightened my senses, the unnaturalness of it making everything clearer and distilled. Having Ae Ri atop me was a torrent of sensations.

Her weight grew, sinking the mattress around me and pushing my hips deeper. Fingers crawled longer around the branch I called a neck, their hold loosening as they did, her arm stretching longer in my point of view, a curved, muscled ramp up to the heavens, warping longer. My skinny middle thinned further between the trunks around me, further emphasising the disparity. Heels dragging up the bed, it felt as if her ass was consuming me. Air in my lungs didn't just overfill them, put painfully made my ribcage expand. It dragged on and on, aches radiating along my body as I shrank. And that was before she even started growing.

I knew exactly when that started. I knew because a quaking vibration rattled my teeth. It was her hand around my throat, rumbling, a horrible forewarning of what was coming. Typically, my shrinking would have stopped by the time she started growing, but this time things were clearly very different. A euphoric groan escaped Ae Ri, eyes shivering in her skull. Pulling her trembling hand back, she tucked her elbows near her waist and balled her hands into quivering fists, straightening her back, savouring every millisecond. Muscles swelled to attention - her traps inflating, seperation in her delts deepending and biceps engorging, an old, familiar, set of dusty blue veins pumping thicker along their length. "Ohhhh, ohhh fuck, I c-can feel it coming. P-Paul, it's - it's b-big."

I'm not sure if it was that prophecy triggering my body or if it was something else, but that's when the shrinking really started to hurt. My bones ached, marrow and calcium syphoned out magically, pumped into her. Muscle fibers withered and fat burned, all being devoured, added to the body that stretched and grew and expanded over me.

She was an obleisk, a towering, monstrous monument that elongated longer and wider above me, distorting reality as she eclipsed the view behind her more with every heartbeat, face rising away from me. Abs pulled taunt and then punched outwards, thicker, two at a time, obliques followed suit, stretching and then flexing back to their chunky shape, ribs creaked more barrel like as pectorals became slabs beneath the sun and moon of her breasts that obscured her ecstacy wracked face.

Hot cum spurted over my crotch and abs and chest as she bucked, the weight of her ass threatening to bend my thighs into concave curves as it's mass marched towards my knees. Each cheek probably had more muscle than my entire upper body at this point. Dense, firm and power laden. She bounced, rippling her tits and slapping, wobbling her glutes against me. Her rear was so wide that my point hips weren't visible at all anymore, buried under flesh. More cum blasted out as she reared back. "I'm getting s-so b-big." She half moaned, half laughed, arms bending in a curl motion until she was holding her head, lats and shoulders widening while her body continued to climb. Arching, her body jolted again, a burst of size throbbing her outwards, a seductive but pained moan and another orgasm splashing over me, soaking me.

My teeth were grit, still pulling on the restraints as my poor body flexed, spasming, size ebbing out of me. Suddenly, my half of the transfer ended. It stopped and I fell back, limp and frail and tiny. Ae Ri surged for a few seconds longer but eventually her growth dwindled and, panting, she slumped, arms falling to her sides and shoulder sloped, twtitching as her orgasm sent the last dreggs of her syrup oozing onto me.

I wasn't moving anymore, just happy that the pain had stopped. But as I recovered, I couldn't stop staring. Ae Ri looked magnificent. A mythological creature, too perfect and too large to be human, looking down at me. The 4'11 woman had almost completely traded sizes with me, scaled up to proportions that didn't make sense for her frame. So, so, so much bigger than me. I'd never, ever seen someone so big in my life. I grew up with tall parents but they didn't have the broadness and the muscle and the robustness that hung over me. I was a salmon trapped under a grizzly. As I stared at her, she was marvelling at me. At the twig between her thighs, each one far thicker than my emancipated waist. If I'd looked tiny to her before, now I probably seemed microscopic. Her unhinged smile returned then and she carefully planted a hand in my chest, noting how much of my pectorals it covered.

"I'm a full foot taller than you." She proclaimed in a huskier, deeper voice. Casting a glance at my arms, still tied to the bed, she looked surprised. "Wow. Look what you did, Paulie. If you hadn't struggled so hard those silly lil' knots would have slipped right off by now. But they still look too tight, don't they? Let's see if they're looser with you at 4'11." She smirked, sliding a larger finger delicately over the tablet that had fallen from my chest to the bed.

Escape had never really been an option and it was something I now knew. I couldn't let her take more of my size though. I squealed into the gag, trying to convince her to stop. Luckily, despite the sheets still being tight around my wrist, the muzzle she'd given me had loosened. Probing with my tongue, I pushed what I now realised was her underwear out from between my lips.

One word bounced free from my consciousness, dredged up from God knows where. I don't know how it came out, but it rolled off of my tongue immediately as a last bastion of hope. "Tangerines!" I rasped and coughed. "Tangerines. Tangerines!" Ae Ri's movement paused and her head creaked it's way into facing my direction. An excited, gleeful smile bubbled up and she discarded the tablet off of the bed.

"You used the safe word!" She gushed. "You remembered it! You - I... I knew, I knew it!" Laughing, she giddily glomping me into a shroud of a hug.

I stayed petrified in her grasp, inundated by her body, a toothpick in a closed palm. Amazed by my own gambit working, I breathed fast and shallow. I'd survived a little longer.