Chris is running down a dark and endless room, with fear looming in over his shoulders. His heart beating quickly, he approached a door shining in the darkness. He reached for the handle, but it’s just out of reach. He can feel something approaching behind him, calling his name.
“Chris? …Chris?” the voice calls.

He desperately jumped for the handle and by the tips of his fingers pulls open the door.

“CHRIS!” Michaela yelled, shoving Chris out of his slumber.

Chris jumps before quickly realizing it was just a dream. A really, really weird dream at that. What was that all about?

“Yeesh, you don’t look so good. Were you having nightmares?” Michaela asks, looking concerned. She bends over and puts her hands on her knees.

“Um, yea, I guess. It was… weird at the least. How long have I been asleep for?” He asks, shaking himself awake.

“Oh, just about an hour. What kind of babysitter would I be if I let you ruin your sleep schedule on the first day?” She stood back up, correcting her posture. “We’ll both hit the hay in a few hours.”

Chris hopped off his bed to go to the bathroom. He washed his face off, trying to clear his mind from the dream. He wasn’t one to normally have nightmares, and when he did they were certainly nothing like that. He looked in the mirror and inspected himself for a while, which is something he didn’t do often as he detested having to get the step stool to see the mirror properly.

He definitely looked like he just woke up. His hair, which was dark brown and a bit too long for his liking and only getting longer by the week, was pushed in all sorts of wacky directions. Classic ‘bed head’ syndrome. His eyes had bags under them, fitting well with his pale skin. You could tell he didn’t invest much into his appearance. Why would he? He didn’t have anyone to impress, or to go out and see, so he just spent that time he would to clean himself up playing video games and sleeping instead. He sort of felt bad with Michaela now in the house, so he cleaned up his face as much as he could and headed for the living room.

From the hallway he saw Michaela on the couch, casually watching whatever is on TV. She was wearing some assorted pajamas, a pair of black sweat pants with ‘Hello Kitty’ print over it along with a long-sleeved red and white Hello Kitty t-shirt. Michaela liked the idea of matching outfits and being overall fashionable, which Chris was getting the vibe of at this point. Her long hair looked wet; she must’ve tried out the shower while Chris was taking a nap. 

Michaela looked over to see Chris admiring from afar. 
“Believe it or not, this couch has room for two!” she said, waving him over.

While walking over, Chris took the moment to admire the fact that Michaela had been so laid back all day. She wasn’t off put by Chris’ disability, or that his father lied about this whole situation. He almost felt lucky. Michaela could have been a total jerk about this whole situation but was mature about it.

Chris made his way to the couch and hopped on.

“Anything good on?” Chris inquired, glancing at the TV.

“Nothing, as usual. Man, cable sucks nowadays! The remotes yours if you want it, little dude.” She says as she offers the remote.

Chris looked down and away trying to not show that it bothers him that she called him small again.

“Oops, I’m so sorry.” She quickly said, not realizing the buttons she pressed.

“It’s fine I guess…” He said, trying to avoid the topic. “Oh hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What school do you go to? Do you live around here?” He was curious, since he didn’t remember ever seeing her at his school.

“I go to St. Petersburg.” She answered.

“Ah, okay. That’s why I haven’t seen you before.” Chris went to the other school in the county. This relieved him; something about the idea of his babysitter being a former classmate would have just made the salt in the wounds a bit more degrading.  

“So when you’re not earning A’s in school or cruisin’ in your sweet ride, what are you up to?” Chris inquired. While he was still embarrassed about this whole situation, he found it nice being able to talk to someone around his age. Having no friends, it got annoying having only your parents to talk to most of the time.

“Well, I like to dance, and I’m pretty good at it too! I actually instruct some dancing classes when Fall starts rolling in.” She explained. “I also just simply like to shop, since my dad only gives me money if I ‘earn’ it. Grades are easy to me, so it isn’t much work on my side. It feels rewarding to have the freedom of my own money and being able to spend it.”

Chris was gazing at her while listening. He may not have had an interest in dancing or shopping for clothes, but he admired her lifestyle so much. The ability to go wherever she wanted, when she wanted without having someone to tag a long or to tell her what to do was such a value to him.

“W-wow. You seem to have a lot going for you at your age.” Chris said.

“Really? I guess… I just sort of do what I think is fun. Oh! And before I forget, this is probably something your Dad didn’t tell you about regarding the situation earlier. My dancing lessons start in August, which means you’ll have to tag along for those.” She informed him.

“What? Really?” Chris moaned. “Are you SURE I can’t stay home for that?”

“Aww come on, it’ll be fun! I promise. You can even join in if you want. I’m sure the girls would love another dancing partner, there’s always room for more.” She said teasingly.

Chris rolled his eyes and took the joke for what it was.

“Fine… but hey you’re stuck with me if I want to do anything.” He poked back, trying to feel some form of light hearted retaliation.

“Sure!” she smiled. “I’m parched, gonna grab a drink from the fridge.”  

As she got up to get her beverage, her body in motion caught Chris’ eye. Her butt looked amazing in those tight, girly, Hello Kitty sweat pants. The way it slightly jiggled with each step was a wonder to look at. You could tell she had strong muscles all over, but especially in her legs. That was no surprise for a dancer. She walked with such purpose; she always had the confidence to know exactly what she was doing in any moment. Bringing his eyes up, he realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra on under her night shirt. Her boobs were pretty impressive for her age, one breast was probably the size of Chris’ head! Or at least from what he could see, he didn’t have the gall to ask for a comparison. Continuing upward, her face was lit up by the light of the open fridge, illuminating her details in the dark kitchen. She had an angular, but still feminine face. She looked as bubbly as her attitude was, it was a nice fit.

She returned to the couch as Chris quickly focused his vision to the TV as to not get caught ogling.

“I’m back!” she said as she plopped on the couch, making Chris bounce a little.

“So Chris,” she said before taking a gulp of cold water, “I noticed that you left your pajamas from this morning on the floor. You should go throw those in the hamper real quick.”

Chris leaned back, “Eh, I’ll do it later. I’d rather hang out on the couch for now.”

Michaela put down her water and turned to him. “I wasn’t asking you, I was telling you. Besides, today it’ll be one or two pieces of clothing. Tomorrow the whole house will be a mess!”

“Give me a break, a little much don’t you think? My parents aren’t even that picky…” Chris responds, getting a little annoyed. Are one or two pieces of clothing on the ground really that big of a deal? Or was she trying to boss him a round?

Michaela’s eyes open a bit wider as she straightened her back to look down on Chris. You could tell she didn’t appreciate the tone.

“Okay look. I get that you don’t like being bossed around by someone both younger and bigger than you, but I’m being paid to be here and to be your babysitter. I take that seriously!”

Her tone, stance, and eyes gave Chris a chill down his spine. She didn’t seem angry, she just meant business. Chris was taken aback. He has been scolded, yelled at, and criticized by his parents, teachers, and other authorities alike, but never has it intimidated him so much. Just the way she held herself, the way she spoke, brought him a bit of a shiver.

Michaela, noticing this small shiver, toned it back a bit and smiled.

“Besides,” she said as she put her hand on her hip, “I think you need me more than you’re willing to admit.” She said with a playful look on her face.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Chris asked in an almost demanding tone.

“Just think about it. You had to stretch as far as you could to even see what I was making on the counter earlier. What would you have done if I wasn’t there? Could you have fed yourself?”

Chris thought about it for a moment. He went deep into thinking about the situation, and started to become a bit upset. Would he really be screwed if he had to be on his own? Did he need someone like Michaela to take care of him? He never had to ponder it much with his parents being around all the time, but now things have started to change for him. He’s becoming an adult now who can’t rely on mommy and daddy every day.

His excessive thoughts were interrupted by a small giggle, “And if I wasn’t here, whose butt would you stare at when waiting for your food?” Michaela smirked.

His heart sank into his chest. She noticed him looking? Did she notice all of the other times he was staring at her, like a moment ago? His face became red as he felt humiliated, he started sinking into the couch a bit more.

“Hey, I can’t blame you. I’d stare at this butt too if it was in my face!” Michaela gave her bottom a small, playful slap to ease the tension.

Chris chuckles a bit before he is yet again stopped by his own stomach churning. This reminded him of the fact that he’s only eaten half a PB&J today.

“It’s so cute when your tummy does that.” She says as she leans in to poke his stomach again.

He lets out a small laugh as the contact between her finger and his stomach must have hit a tickle spot. Chris quickly inches away.

“Awww, are you still ticklish??” She asks, having a new excited kick to her voice.

“Ummm, I, uh, n-no!” Chris stammered while he tried to get up off the couch.

“Oh yea? Well, then what happens if I do—this!”

Michaela grabs Chris by his arms and legs and starts going tickle crazy, wiggling her long fingers all over. From his neck, to his stomach, to his arm pits, it was all too much to bare. He was laughing so hard, tears nearly started forming. Trying to beg her to stop, he couldn’t get the words out between the gasps. She leaned in on his legs slightly and held his wrists together using only her thumb and pointer finger, making Chris realize the severity of how much larger she was. Try as he might, the only way this was going to stop was when she decided to stop.

“Will you go pick up your clothes?” she asked.

“Yes! Anything! Please stop!!” he begged, still gasping between laughs.

Michaela felt an odd warmth inside of her when tickling and touching Chris. Michaela wasn’t a stranger to contact. Having plenty of boyfriends throughout her highscool career she had done most things that were appropriate for her age, but she had never felt this. This nice feeling she got from handling Chris however she liked, it spiked her curiosity and intrigued her.

Chris, still being tickled, and still begging for freedom has now realized that he had gotten an erection. Something he really doesn’t want Michaela to notice. He wasn’t aware of the fact that he got an erection when she carried him to bed, so in his mind he was still evading more humility.  Unfortunately, the bulge was all too obvious.

“That looks like enough excitement for one night.” She said, letting him free after noticing the bulge. Now she was the one laughing.

“Chris you’re adorable, I hope you know that.” She said, smiling at his face. He was as red as a tomato at this point from all of the struggle and blushing.

“Go take care of your laundry and I’ll get us something to eat.”

Chris runs off to his room without a second thought while Michaela prepares their dinner.

The night was pretty calm from that moment on, they enjoyed their dinner and headed to their rooms to finish off the first day. Chris still doesn't entirely know what to think of Michaela. Either it be fear, trust, attraction, or a mix of everything, she at least is someone cool to hang out with this summer.