Alena took a quick look at her phone, so she could double-check what she had to do next, and she saw that she needed to meet with Julie Thomas to work on a class project together. (from Shrunk in College: The Dance Studio) Julie Thomas is a 5’2” Caucasian girl, with medium length blonde hair. She had bright blue eyes and she had a nice light tan. She is an International Business major, and she still needed a few more English credits. She has a shoe size of 7 and is 21 years old. (All information is from the Dance Studio story)

Alena and Julie had an English class together, which focused on American literature around the 19th Century (1800s), and they needed to choose an author to do a short presentation on. The partners were chosen randomly, so Alena doesn’t know Julie all that well, and they’ve only spoken a few times so far. But she doesn’t want to make a bad impression and wind up late, so she hurries out of the café and toward the library, roughly crushing Nick under her toes. She wasn’t worried about hurting him, because she figured that she should trust his durability theory, since he was so convinced of it.

When Alena got to the library, Julie messaged her saying “I reserved us a study room. We’re in room 209.” So Alena rushed up the stairs, again smothering Nick under her toes in the process, and she makes it to the room without any trouble. When she opens the door, Julie happily greets her, saying “Hey Alena! How was your morning? I feel like we can bang this project out in a few hours!” Alena replied, saying “Hey Julie! I’m doing alright. And I’m looking forward to finishing this thing early.” Julie was wearing a white blouse shirt, a black skirt that went down to her knees, and a pair of black flats. She also had her hair tied in a pony tail.

Alena sits down across from Julie, and takes out her laptop and notes, and looks at Julie so they can figure out what they’ll focus on. Julie starts, saying “So who do you wanna choose? I’m leaning more towards Emerson.” Alena replies, saying “That sounds like a good idea to me. We can tie in Transcendentalism too.” And then Julie happily announces, “So we’ve already decided! We’re gonna do awesome on this project!” Then both girls went silent as they focused on the project, wanting to get a good start on it.

Alena slipped out of her moccasins and sat cross legged on the chair while Julie kept her feet in her flats, and relatively still as well. Nick hoped that he would get to travel with the toes that he loved so much, even if their master was still a bit peeved with him at the moment, but he was surprised when Alena made it a point to dislodge him from her toes before fully taking off her moccasins.

Nick felt like he was falling in slow motion, as he watched Alena’s perfect toes slowly leave him to wallow in the moccasin alone. He felt like he was being abandoned, and it gave him plenty of time to think about how he got in this mess.

Alena thought that a bit of silent treatment might be the best way to let her displeasure with Nick sink in right now, and her total disapproval in his actions this morning. She believed that if she kept on using Nick as a pebble, it would just keep him obsessed with the activity, and cause the exact opposite reaction out of him. She couldn’t deny that she did enjoy it when Nick was in her shoe, but she didn’t want her own desires to be above being a responsible friend.

He said to himself, “Maybe if I talked to Alena a bit more first, she would have eventually let me go in her shoes again when she approved. I probably worried her like crazy once she made the connection, too. I’ll make sure to think of a good way to apologize once the day’s over. I don’t want to ruin this friendship over a bit of physical pleasure, that’s for sure!” About a half an hour went by so far, and everything was quiet under the desk, which was good news for Nick, because he really wanted to find the best way to articulate his feelings on the events of today. Sadly, things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

During this time, Julie was getting a bit restless, so she kicked off her flats and started to play with them. She wanted to do her part in the project, and messing with something with her feet absentmindedly would be a perfect way to keep the rest of her focused on the task at hand. Eventually, her right foot found the moccasin that Nick was abandoned, and he was absolutely shocked when he saw a light tan set of toes cover the shoe’s opening slightly. Nick said to himself “This isn’t Alena’s foot! It’s tan, but it’s too light to be hers. And it’s facing the complete wrong direction too!”

But Nick’s thoughts were interrupted when Julie dragged both moccasins toward her side of the table, causing him to fall over. Then Julie swiftly rotated the moccasins 180 degrees, so she could easily slip them on, which inadvertently launched him deep into the toe section. Nick sighed, and mumbled to himself, saying “Well, this’ll be interesting, at least.” He got up and braced himself, as Julie’s foot lazily slid deeper into the moccasin, until her toes nearly collided with him. But the inevitable eventually happened, as Julie’s 2nd toe pounded into Nick and pinned him harshly against the fluffy material.

And since Julie had smaller feet than Alena did, she immediately lifted her legs into the air and started to shake the moccasins about, erratically tossing him all around her toes. Nick landed right between her 2nd and 3rd toes when she stopped shaking the moccasins, but then she slammed her feet back onto the carpet, roughly smothering him against her toe flesh. When Nick was crammed between her massive and soft toe flesh, he noticed a strong apple scent. But he knew that her toes wouldn’t remain this way for long, as the lack of socks combined with these warm shoes were a sure formula for plenty of sweat.

The noise made Alena instinctively glance down onto the carpet, and she immediately noticed that her moccasins were missing. Before she freaked out, she looked a bit further along under the desk, and saw that Julie was wearing her shoes, and her eyes widened once she realized what Nick was dealing with. Julie noticed her glance, and she felt a bit embarrassed, and she said “Oh, sorry about messing with your shoes. I guess I just did it without even realizing.” She started to harshly wiggle her toes, as she was starting to notice Nick’s presence in the back of her mind, but she still hadn’t realized it fully.

Alena laughed, trying to not sound worried or freaked out, and said “Oh, don’t worry about it. Our bodies do crazy things when we’re trying to focus.” Julia laughed a bit harder, saying “You’ve got that right! These shoes are really comfy, Alena. I should really get a pair.” Then she roughly tapped her feet a few times, which knocked the wind out of Nick, and Alena could only watch Julie unknowingly tortured him.

Alena smiled, trying to look relaxed, and said “Yeah, they’re great for when you’re feeling a bit lazy. Oh! Sorry if they feel a bit dirty; I kind of don’t wear socks with them.” But Julie laughed again, and said “I’ll just shower when I get home! And besides, who doesn’t like to wear these kinds of things sockless? I know I do with my slippers.” Then Julie angled her feet perpendicular to the carpet, and started to harshly press down with her toes, bending the moccasins (and Nick) to her will. Alena fought back a shocked ‘yelp’, and weakly laughed, and said “Yeah, that’s true.” Alena only hoped that Julie would get tired of playing with her shoes, and get a moment to get them back, so she could save Nick from this mess.

Nick really couldn’t hear anything that was going on outside of Alena’s moccasin, because Julie’s toes were furiously mashing and assaulting him right now. Sometimes they would viciously squeeze him, shoving him deeply in their smelly crevices between the toes. Other times he’d be brutally rubbed between the fleshly pillars, as if they wanted to grind him completely to dust. And Julie’s toes were beginning to sweat profusely, which thoroughly coated him in the stuff, and it mixed with the already built-up scents that were left from Alena as well.

And it seemed like for each passing moment, Julie would use her toes to mash into Nick more and more furiously, as if she was on a mission to eradicate him today. It wasn’t unpleasant or anything, and he actually liked it when somebody actually thought that he was a simple pebble or object, but he almost felt like he was cheating on Alena. And that was a strange thought, because she doesn’t even like him in that way, at least he thinks that she only thought of him as a friend. Although, to be fair, he hasn’t ever asked her on a date or anything to that degree, so he had no real way of knowing her thoughts for sure.

But he also felt that Julie’s meddling was just getting in the way of his introspection, which he wanted to use to make up to Alena in the first place. But all he could do was accept Julie’s cruel treatment of him, and hope that Alena would find a way to end this craziness, but he knew that it would at least be over once their study session was finished.

Eventually, Julie consciously notices Nick, and wriggles her left toes to confirm her suspicions, roughly rubbing him. She looked up at Alena, and said “Hey, did you notice a pebble or something in your left moccasin? I think feel something down there.”Alena nervously says “Oh, yeah. I think a pebble did fall in my moccasin during class this morning. But I just felt too tired to take it out, and then I forgot about it.” Alena started to laugh a little bit, not wanting to draw too much attention to her small pebble sized companion, and then she said “It’s not bothering you, is it?”

Then Julie confidently says “Nah, not really. It actually feels pretty good, almost like a really small stress ball. So don’t worry about it!” She happily winked at Alena, and then went right back to her work, making sure to use that pebble to its fullest. Once Julie focused on her work again, she started to roughly squeeze the strange pebble a few more times, cramming Nick between her now moist toe flesh, as she went back to focusing on her share of the project. And as she did her research, and prepared her segment, she started to ponder about that small object in the back of her mind. And during all of this mayhem, Alena kept a close eye under the table so she could eventually help her good friend.

She kept on squeezing and smothering it, loving how it felt between her toes, and she could swear that it squirmed a little bit. She assumed that she was just imagining things, but she couldn’t deny the rush she felt while messing around with the small rocky thing. She didn’t worry about what that might say about her as a person, as she just liked to enjoy herself, and it wasn’t like that pebble really cared about how she treated it. And the object’s texture was so strange and unique, so much so that Julie couldn’t resist continually scrunching it with her toes with extreme vigor.

But then Julie found a useful article about Emerson, and she got a bit excited, so she started to slip her feet in and out of the moccasins, while manically squeezing her toes. Nick was completely overwhelmed, as he was tormented by gusts of fresh and feet-filled air, because of her swift movements. Then she fully slipped both feet out of the moccasins, and started to slowly and rhythmically squeeze her toes, and Nick hoped that she’d just run out of steam sooner, rather than later.

As Alena was watching under the desk, she saw Julie expose her feet, and she could even see Nick mangled but still visible down by her toes. She lowered a hand under the table, and waved toward him, and Nick knew that she wanted him to look in that direction. He keenly observed, as Alena stealthily lowered a piece a paper that had a message on it, written with a thick black marker. It said ‘I’M GETTING YOU OUT!! GET AWAY FROM HER TOES NOW!! I HAVE A PLAN!!” Nick could only smile and trust in Alena, so he wiggled a bit, and quickly realized that he wasn’t as snugly wrapped between Julie’s toes as before.

He swung his arms and legs a few times, and he was surprised by how effective it was at breaking him away from Julie’s toes, and he wondered if he was a little bit stronger now that he was shrunk, but it still didn’t feel as potent as his durability. It wasn’t all that impressive, when he thought about it some more, but it gave him the chance to escape from this insane toe trap. He fully dislodged himself from between Julie’s toes, and he watched them as they lazily scrunched and wriggled, as an unconscious response to his exit. And when he landed, he saw Alena uncross her legs, and stretch a bit closer to him and the moccasins, and he felt like they were massive mother bears ready to rescue their helpless cub.

Right when Alena saw him succeed, she coughed and then said “Um, hey Julie? Can I have my shoes back? I kinda need to use the restroom.” Julie smiled, and said “You can always borrow my flats, to make things a bit more even!” Alena uncomfortably says “Thanks for the offer, but maybe another time.” Julie starts to laugh, and says “Relax! I was only kidding. Here you go, Alena! I’m seriously gonna buy myself a pair one of these days, though.”

Then Julie carelessly kicks the moccasins back towards Alena, causing Alena to nervously bite her lip until she saw Nick safely inside, and didn’t end up getting knocked out of it. But then Julie slams both feet right back into her flats, without giving either pair of shoes a second glance, before ruthlessly abusing them with her toes next. Nick was glad that this was over, because it really made him realize how dangerous going unaware in a shoe could really get. Nick looked up and he felt like he was observing a descending angel once Alena’s left foot went to carefully shuffle back into the shoe. He felt a wave of relief and security as her 2nd toe slowly buried itself into his small body, and he finally felt safe again, and he allowed himself to be lovingly enveloped in her unique and soft toe flesh.

And as Julie continued to work, Alena slowly got up and said “I’ll be back in a bit.” As she carefully walks away, to avoid putting too much pressure on Nick, Julie shouts back “Yeah, take your time!” Alena heads to the nearest bathroom, and gets in an empty stall, and carefully removes her moccasin, and gives Nick a chance to get up while still inside the shoe. Then she gently lifts him and places her into her open palm, before putting back on her moccasin. She softly says “Look, I’m really, really, sorry things got out of hand back there. I didn’t expect any of that to happen, Nick. I hope you’re alright.”

Nick smiles, and says “I’m not half bad. I’m really glad you were able to rescue me. I couldn’t imagine being forced to go back with her, and not being able to see you anymore.” Alena blushes a bit, and says “I’m happy you felt that way, Nick. I’ll let you rest in my handbag while I finish up. I shouldn’t be too long. And when we get back, I think a serious conversation could help the both of us.” Nick agrees, saying “Thanks Alena; and I agree.” Then Alena gently picks Nick up, and deposits him in her a small compartment in her handbag.

Alena finishes her work, satisfied with her research on Emerson for today, so she packs up and says to Julie “I’m glad we were able to get so much done today. We’ll figure out another day to meet up again.” And Julie proudly replies, saying “We make a really good team! And it was fun getting to know you, Alena. Catch ya later!” And after that, Alena leaves the library, trying to walk a bit more balanced and even, so she wouldn’t disturb Nick while he recovered.

Then she makes her way back home, and fishes Nick out and places him on the dining room table. The room fills with an awkward silence, before finally Nick starts, and says “Alena, I’m sorry for sneaking in your shoe last night. I know you’ve been tough with me, because you care, and I didn’t think about how much you’d be worried by my behavior. I hope you can forgive me, and that we can move on from this.”

Alena sighs and smiles, and she says “I’m happy you understood how I was feeling. But I feel like I’m partially to blame too. I was too dismissive of your thoughts, and maybe I should have trusted you a bit more. I wouldn’t be against you going in my shoes, as long as we keep it controlled and a bit more infrequent. I get that you enjoy it, and I do like it too!” Nick smiles and says “I’m happy with a middle ground!” And Alena replies, saying “Me too.”

But then Alena adds, saying “But really though; I am sooo sorry about what happened with Julie! I would have never imagined that she’d just mess with my moccasins like that, and I didn’t know what I could do to fix it without drawing attention to you.” Then Nick says “It’s alright. I don’t think either of us expected it. And you pulled off an amazing rescue, Alena!” Alena smiles, and says “I had to do something, since I should have been more careful. But I guess this was a pretty good lesson, huh?” Nick smiled and said “Yeah, you’re probably right!”

Alena smiles, but then starts to blush a again, and says “By the way, Nick; what did you mean by not wanting to go back with her, earlier?” And Nick nervously says, while his cheeks get a bit red “Oh! Well, you’ve always been such a great friend, and you’ve been so helpful after this mess began. And even if that other girl looked nice, I think I’ve just started to really like you, Alena. I mean, you’re an amazing person, and you’re so beautiful, and you’re so gentle and kind, but you’re also responsible and serious at the same time, and… I think I’d just like to keep on spending time with you. I’m not sure how to say this, so sorry if it sounds dumb or lame.”

Alena’s eyes well up a little bit, and she says “Aww, that’s so sweet! But you don’t need to be so modest, Nick. You’re always trying to improve, even if you’re not good at something, and you don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it. And you’re a really good listener, and I feel like you actually take in what other people say, and do your best to empathize with them. So yeah, I think I like you too, Nick! But I think we should focus on getting you back to normal, before thinking of going on any dates or anything.” Nick’s eyes slowly widen, as he processes her response, and he eventually says “You mean it? Awesome!” Then he sits down, and breathes a sigh of relief, before adding “I’m glad I was able to get that out. I was so nervous!”

Then Alena smiles, and picks him up and gently rubs his head with her pinky, while saying “I’m glad too! Wanna help me figure out what we’ll do for dinner, tonight?” Nick simply nods, in-between loving head rubs, so Alena carries him to the kitchen.

←To Be Continued

But what could happen, if Alena’s rescue mission didn’t succeed, or if Julie found a way to keep the small pebble (Nick) for herself? How would Nick’s fate be altered if his life was in Julie’s hands, or rather feet? This might become the topic of a Side Story eventually.

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