Rebekah’s eyes slowly widen, as she figures out exactly what she was holding, and asks, in a soft tone “Oh my gosh, are you alright? Who are you?” And Nick replies, glad that he was found, saying “I’m really glad you noticed me! It’s me, Nick! I have no idea how this happened, but I was trying to get Tanya’s attention, but I ended up in your sock.”

Feeling satisfied with that response, Rebekah says “Oh, it is you! It was hard to recognize you at your size. I’ll try and help you out, but would you mind helping me out as well?” Nick gets a bit confused, and he says “I wouldn’t mind. But what could I possibly help you with at this size?” Rebekah blushes a bit, and nervously says “Well, it’s not anything major. But you know that I’m an international student, and I don’t have all that many American friends. So, would you mind talking with me about that kind of stuff? I’m really interested, and I don’t know many people to talk to about this stuff, besides Tanya and a few others.”

Nick smiles, and breathes a sigh of relief once he understands what Rebekah meant, and then he says “Oh, I could do that! Sorry I never tried to talk with you before. I’m not very good at small talk or starting conversations out of nowhere.” Rebekah smiles and says “Thank you, Nick! I would have asked you before, but I couldn’t think of a good way to ask you about it either.” Then Nick sits down, and Rebekah asks “Do you need to rest, Nick?” Nick simply nods, as his adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and the fatigue from getting affectionately abused by Tanya’s and Rebekah’s toes was starting to set in. So Rebekah grabs her empty glasses case, and arranges her cloth so it can act as a cushion, and places Nick inside of it as a makeshift bad.

Then Rebekah says, “Will this be good for you? I still have some more work to do, so let me know after you feel more rested.” Nick complies, as this experience was exhausting, even if it was pretty amazing at the same time. About two hours go by, where Nick slowly wakes up, feeling highly refreshed.

He climbs out of his glasses case bed, and walks over to Rebekah’s books and work area, and he has to dive to the side when Rebekah’s pencil nearly runs him over. Right around when the pencil nearly passed him, Rebekah looks down and is shocked to see Nick on the ground, so she stops and says “Oh no! I’m sorry, Nick! I didn’t see you.” And then she quickly puts her things away, and picks Nick up.

And before they leave, Rebekah asks “Would you like to see Tanya? I know you were trying to get her attention, and I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you.” Nick agrees, so Rebekah walks to Tanya’s side, and explains things to Tanya. When she shows her Nick, Tanya’s eyes light up, as she moves her face extremely close to his small body. She says “Oh my god, Nick! You look just so adorable now! You should just stay like this from now on.” She then pokes Nick, while giggling, and then she leans in and whispers, so Rebekah wouldn’t hear, saying “And you were even stuck to my foot? You must have been lucky, Nick!” Nick quickly looks down, not wanting to draw attention to his interest in feet and those things.

But Rebekah scolds her, saying “This is serious, Tanya! Nick is in a lot of danger, now. He must have been in so much pain, and I can’t imagine what he was going through while he was stuck in my sock, without a way to contact either of us!”But Tanya doesn’t seem convinced, and then she says with a smirk, in a very knowing tone “Oh I wouldn’t be all that worried, girl! Because if I know Nick, and I definitely do, then he probably wasn’t as miserable as you think he was.” Nick becomes incredibly nervous from that statement, and Rebekah just seems to be confused by what Tanya said. She asks, “Huh? Is this an American thing?” But Tanya just laughs, and says “Not really… I’m sure Nick can tell you though, later on!”

Then Tanya says, “But man, I would love to be able to take care of you while you’re so cute and itty-bitty, but I’m just way to busy right now. It’s such a shame!” Then she starts to pack up, and says “By the way, Rebekah; are we still on for tonight?” Rebekah replies, “Sure! I’m all finished my work.” Then Tanya widely grins, and says before leaving “Yay! And you need to let me borrow Nick at some point. I’d love a chance to hang with my bug buddy!”

Rebekah nervously laughs, and looks down at Nick and asks “Are most Americans as relaxed as that, or it just a Tanya thing?” Nick laughs, and says “Probably more of a Tanya thing.” Nick knew that Tanya would do whatever she could to mess with him, but he’d roll with those punches as they came. Then Rebekah says “Well, we should head back to my apartment. Are you alright with going in my pocket? You should be pretty safe in there.” Nick replies, saying “That works for me. Thanks for asking though!”

So Rebekah carefully places Nick in one of her pockets, and gets her things together, before leaving the library to head back to her apartment. The walk back was uneventful, and soon Rebekah makes it back to her apartment, and heads inside. She removes her boots, and lazily leaves them to the side of her door, and walks to her kitchen while her socked feet got to air out a bit. She takes out a bit of leftovers, so they can eat some lunch together.

After the food is heated up, Rebekah places her plate on the table, and cuts a small section off for Nick, and places his portion on a napkin. She says “Since you’re so small now, that bit should be enough. But let me know if you need any more. But don’t try and grab something yourself, because it’d probably be dangerous!” And Nick was keen on following that advice, because even though he’s into giantess stuff, he didn’t want to end his adventure with his new attractive friend by being eaten. There wasn’t a point if he died, after all.

So as they ate, they started to chat about things, wanting to learn more about each other and to hopefully grow a bit closer so they can hopefully feel like actual friends soon. Most of the conversation revolved around Rebekah asking Nick about various American habits, and him giving his opinion on them. And even if he was doing most of the talking, he didn’t mind, because he enjoyed seeing Rebekah stare at him with wide and excited eyes.

But eventually, the conversation shifts over to what Tanya suggested earlier, and she asks “So what was Tanya talking about back there? I don’t think it’s an American thing, right?” Nick got red in the face, and Rebekah noticed, and says “Are you okay? What was it?”

Nick replies, saying with a somewhat meek tone, “Well… It wasn’t really that serious. And I guess know what she meant, but it’s a bit awkward.” Rebekah reassures him, saying “Don’t worry. You’re trying to teach me a lot about cultures I’m unfamiliar with, so I won’t judge you for whatever it is you tell me.” She then gives Nick a kind and supportive smile. So Nick says “Okay. Well I guess I kinda… like feet. And I was always pretty into the idea of shrinking to a really small size, like I am right now. I’ve always felt embarrassed about it, so I haven’t shared this with anyone, except for Tanya back when she pressured me. But she only knew about the first part though.”

Rebekah, looking a bit surprised, says “Oh, okay. I think I’ve heard of those kinds of things, but I don’t know the name. Would you mind explaining a bit more about it? As long as you don’t feel uncomfortable.” So Nick says “Well, they are things called ‘fetishes’ which mean specific interests. For example, if a person really liked breasts over other physical attributes, then they’d have a fetish for them. Personally, I don’t like the word, because I feels like it has a negative connotation.” Rebekah smiles and says “Well, thanks for explaining it to me. And it doesn’t bother me about what you like, so don’t worry about being judged here!”

Then she continued, saying “But I’m surprised you can still say that you like all of that stuff, at your size. Isn’t this stuff dangerous for you now? Wouldn’t this be the difference between fantasy and reality? And I didn’t treat you very gently back there, since I thought you were a pebble, so you must have been in a lot of pain!”

She pauses, and then adds “I’m still really sorry. Whether you liked it or not, I really regret putting you through any harm.” She lowers her head in shame, and Nick quickly says “Don’t worry too much, Rebekah! I’m pretty sure that I’m a lot more durable now. I took so much punishment from both you and Tanya before, that I can’t think of another explanation as to why I’m not even slightly injured.”

Rebekah replies, with a hint of skepticism “So you mean you got a lot tougher? Hmm… Are you sure you weren’t just lucky? I’ve been studying this science major for a while now, and I’ve never seen anything confirming that. Although, manipulating size is seen as more fiction than science anyway.” Then Nick says “Maybe. I’ll use an analogy, because I’m not well versed in science in the least. For a normal sized person, having something that’s the size of a bus rest on top of you would easily crush you, right? But I never even felt any pain, really, while I was in your shoe and all of that.”

Then Rebekah says, finally satisfied with their rationalization, “Well you’re obviously the expert here, since you’re living it. So I’ll trust you. And I guess if I’m being honest, playing with a pebble in your shoe can be fun. I’ve never even thought of it consciously before today, and it’s still an odd thing to think about. So if you really want to go in my shoes or something later on, then I won’t mind.” Nick’s eyes light up and he says “Awesome! Thanks for being so understanding, Rebekah!”

Then Rebekah says “Yeah, don’t mention it! But maybe you could do even more American culture explaining for me, to make things even?” And Nick replies, saying “Deal!” But then Rebekah quickly added, “Oh, I just thought of something! Please don’t go in my shoes or something without telling me first. I think that would be too dangerous.” And Nick agreed, not wanting to do anything too crazy.

And once their conversation ended, Rebekah picked up Nick so he was off his napkin, and then she cleared away her dish and everything else. Then Rebekah gets a phone call from Tanya, and she answers it, saying “Hi Tanya! Are you ready to hang out?” Tanya replies, saying “You know it! You can pick where we go this time, since I got to last time.” Then Rebekah says “Alright! I’ll let you know once I decide. See you soon!” And then Tanya says, before hanging up “Oh and, feel free to bring that little buggy with you too! I’d enjoy messing with him some more, if he wants to come along. Bye!!”

Then Nick asks, having only heard Rebekah’s side of the conversation, “So, what’s up? Are you guys going out soon?” And Rebekah says “Yep! I’m still thinking on where to go, but you are welcome to come along too. I know you don’t want to be alone yet, since this only your first day being so small.” Nick smiles, feeling glad that he’s not being seen as a bother, and says “Thanks! I’d love to come and hang out.” And Rebekah responds, saying “Great! And I think I should just bring you in a pocket, this time.” Nick smiles, and says “Yeah, we shouldn’t rush those things.

But then she quickly adds, “I also wanted to ask you about something Tanya’s been saying lately. Is there a reason she’s calling you a bug? Is it just supposed to be a play on that you’re small now?” And Nick explains, saying “I think so. She’s the type who would leap at the chance to mess with me, or give me a unique nickname or label. I think it’s more her playful attitude than anything else.” And Rebekah responds, saying “Okay. That makes sense. Thanks!”

And then Rebekah says “I wouldn’t be opposed to letting you ride in my shoe or something, but Tanya wanted to see you first. And I don’t want to take off my shoes once we get to the bar.” Then Nick says, in an understanding tone, “That makes sense. So you’re going out to a bar tonight?” Then Rebekah continues, saying “Yeah! I like going to bars, because I get a chance to experience some filtered local culture. Even the types of drinks that are available can change from place to place. It’s just so fascinating!” Nick nods, and says “I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. I’m learning cool things from you too, Rebekah!”

But then Nick looks down, and notices her bright black and orange striped socks, and he says “Oh, your socks look really nice!” And Rebekah replies, saying “Aww, thank you!” Then she sits down onto the couch, swings to her side, and carefully sets Nick down in front of her feet. Nick starts to walk a bit closer to Rebekah’s feet, and once he was a lot closer, she starts to wiggle her toes, nearly knocking Nick down. She starts to giggle, saying “I’ve never seen somebody compliment my feet.”

Then Nick gets up, and walks closer and gives her 2nd toe a big hug, and then he says “And they’re so soft too!” Rebekah smiles in response, and says “You’re so adorable Nick!” Then she lifts that toe, which brings Nick up with it, and then she quickly sends it back down, pinning him right under it. Then it starts to knead him a few times, pressing him against the couch, providing just enough pressure to keep him firmly under her toe. After a few more times, she stops and picks him up, and says “I hope that wasn’t too harsh or anything, Nick. I don’t want to hurt you!” Nick brushes himself off, and says “No, you did great!”

So Rebekah carefully places Nick in her front pocket, and then went to put back on her boots, before finally leaving her apartment. She messaged Tanya, saying “Let’s meet up at the school mascot statue. We’ll go out to a bar tonight! And Nick wanted to come too, so you’ll get to see him there.” And Tanya quickly messaged back, saying “Oh yeah! We’ll celebrate the weekend! And thanks for bringing the little buggy with you, Rebek!” After that confirmation, Rebekah continued on to the nearby university statue, to meet up with Tanya.

←To Be Continued