“Melanie said she’d be gone for awhile,” Juniper explained, “so if any of those other women were in that room, she probably took them away. It kinda sounds like she’s not planning on coming back. So… what do we do now?”

Nicky shook her head, one hand swiping at her brow while the other kept the hem of the sock up at her chest. “I don’t know.”

Juniper nodded, looking aimlessly around the room for a silent few seconds. “Do you wanna try smoking?”

“Yes,” Nicky said, “yes please.”

Juniper’s grin flared, though she was bashful about her dumb expression. She stood up off the bed, this time more considerate of the tiny woman in a sock she sat alongside. Her weight was relieved from the mattress gradually, avoiding any unintentional bounces that could shoot Nicky into the air. After having heard her story with Melanie, the last thing Juniper wished for was to cause any more inconvenience or strife; hence why she was so eager to get Nicky to smoke.

The bong, always reliable, was chosen to be used. Juniper filled the bowl with ground weed and obtained a lighter, but froze as she stood over Nicky. She glanced back and forth between her and the bong, which was the height of a house compared to the shrunken woman. “Hm… I think there’s a problem…”

Nicky, who had grown excited for the hit, slumped in despair. Her posture whipped back up when the sock began to slip down her body. “Uhh, well… w-we can still try,” she said, holding firmly onto that shred of optimism that had remained after all this time. “Bring it down here, I’ll just… inhale. Really hard. Can you-- err, w-would you mind, uh, working the lighter for me…?”

Juniper nodded, pitying Nicky’s position. “Sure, but…” Her doubts went unelaborated, instead focusing on the attempt for now. She sat on her knees in front of the bedside Nicky was closest to, then aimed the mouthpiece of the bong at her with a slight angle. The opening was bigger than Nicky’s head, as wide as her shoulders even. “You ready?” she asked, flicking the fire of her lighter.

Before answering, Nicky gazed down the barrel of the bong’s mouthpiece. It would be like smoking from a playground slide, but all that mattered was getting a lungful. Putting her hands along the circular rim, she was amused by what she was about to do. “Yeah, let’s try,” she giggled, putting her head up to, and partially into, the opening.

Juniper then lowered the flame to the green powder, keeping the bong steady. The fire was angled into the bowl, and she heard Nicky breathe, her mouth opened wide for a long, heavy intake. But nothing filled the bong, nor did the water inside ever bubble. Nicky exhaled, having gasped only clean air, but tried again right away. Another huge inhale, which failed to bring up any smoke. Realizing that this would not work, Juniper lowered the bong, but Nicky held onto it insistently.

“L-Let me try again!” Nicky urged, though her strength was no match for Juniper’s. The bong’s mouthpiece was tugged out of her grasp, almost causing her to roll off the bed. Yet, she was more concerned about the bong than she was having nearly fallen. “Come on-- don’t do this to me, man! I-I’m sure I can get it to work…”

“J-Just hold on, for one second,” Juniper chuckled nervously, not having expected such a desperate response. “It’s just weed, no need to get upset...” It was a comment she didn’t think much of, like most of the comments Juniper made, but she comprehended its impact on Nicky. She noticed the life in her drain, as if bearing a major defeat. She grimaced, believing it to be an overreaction to not being able to smoke, but it slowly dawned how vital this simple comfort was to a woman that had, allegedly at least, endured through so much.

Juniper flicked the lighter to life again, this time using it for her own hit. Nicky watched with unabashed envy, crossing her arms in such a way that she hugged the sock’s hem to her chest. From beneath Juniper, she could only watch as bubbles popped rapidly within the glass bulb, gray smoke filling the chamber just as it should. Juniper inhaled, moved the bong away from her mouth, and then exhaled into the air above the bed.

“Is this seriously all I get?” Nicky whined quietly, twisting in her sock as she gazed up at the cloud overhead. By the time it was falling over her, the smoke had dissipated into a fog too thin to be worthwhile. She frowned harshly, finding this situation to be a cruel joke -- “I just want to smoke…”

“Well, go for it,” Juniper suggested, her voice raspy from the hit. Nicky turned back to the edge of the bed, where the mouthpiece was waiting for her. She hobbled closer and gazed at the smoke that had been left behind, a fair amount that hadn’t been inhaled, its warmth softly touching Nicky’s cheeks. The odor stung her nostrils, but that familiar scent was more alluring than foul. She grabbed the rim and leaned over the mouthpiece, seemingly tickling Juniper who felt the little bit of weight lean on her bong.

Overcoming her hesitations, Nicky inhaled. Her eyes immediately widened by the successful breath, tearing up at the corners as she lunged away. She exhaled directly into a cough, the smoke she had taken spewing from her mouth in bursts. Juniper leaned in quickly, but kept a safe distance between her and Nicky. The little woman tripped over her sock and fell forward, alerting Juniper even worse, but a tiny hand flailed at her, gesturing her away. Juniper raised a brow as Nicky gradually recovered, occasionally still slipping into a cough.

“I-I’m… fine, d-don’t worry,” Nicky said, not facing Juniper as she flailed an arm in her direction. “Ohh, jeez… That was… big… I couldn’t even take a full breath…”

Juniper’s worries whittled and her slouch forward relaxed. “So it worked?”

“I mean... “ Nicky sat there on her knees and one arm, the other making feeble attempts at grabbing the sock back up to her breasts. She shook her head, then rolled over onto her side like a lazy dog. “I mean, yeah, I think it did. My throat is one fire, though…”

“Sounds like it,” Juniper snickered. “Besides that, err, do you feel good? You know… um. High?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nicky panted, “I’m… getting there. I’m definitely…” Her lips moved like saying words, but if anything had been said, Juniper didn’t hear it. Nicky curled into the sock like a sleeping bag, the arm she had used to wave at Juniper now tossed over her head aimlessly. A wide smile stretched across her face, bright enough that even Juniper could see.

“Seems like it’s working pretty good.” Juniper matched her smile, feeling the effects of the weed herself. She carefully rested an arm on the bed’s edge, leaning against it without disturbing Nicky. Finding the scene so surreal, she shook her head, “I can’t believe I’m not imagining this. I’m really toking it up with some little tiny person.”

Nicky winced. The relief and wonder that filled her system was combated by the dread and fatigue of so much trauma, rekindled by Juniper’s words. Emotions fumbled into one another while she stuttered up what was once an argument, then a plea, but ultimately became a question. She coughed, then spoke up, “Juniper… What are you gonna do? I-I don’t-- wh-what I mean is, with me… What are we going to…?”

“I… I don’t know that one, buddy,” Juniper replied, glancing elsewhere out of nervousness. She swallowed, remembering the history between Nicky and Melanie that had been explained to her. “I can take you anywhere, but, like, I dunno what would happen to you, you know? You know, you might get… I dunno. Hurt?”

“Yeah…” Nicky nodded, too weakly to even be noticed. “I’m aware…”

“So if you’d rather, like…If you wanna stay here with me, I wouldn’t mind. Like, until we find a way to… uh… cure? You?”

Nicky’s body chilled over, as though her nude body was not blanketed by the sock. She bit her lip and asked, “You wouldn’t let her find me? She’s your roommate…”

Juniper scoffed with a confident smile. “I wouldn’t let her hurt you, dude. I wouldn’t let anything hurt you! You’re so small, dude, I’d keep you safe all the time.” She nodded encouragingly, though it resulted in her head collapsing onto the mattress in a display of dizziness. “I’d keep you in my pocket and you’d always be close to me! Someone else would have to, like, get into my pockets. You know? And then find you. And I don’t let Melanie in my pants -- ugh,” she grimaced, but bubbled over with a laugh, “I wouldn’t ever let Melanie in my pants. Motherfucker looks like she crawled out of a TV.”

To that, Nicky whistled with a haggard laugh of her own. She rustled under the sock’s fabric, warm enough to move again with heavy motions. “Okay, but… I-I don’t know about being in a pocket… all the time…”

“Nah, not all the time, of course not,” Juniper hurried to explain, not wanting to leave any doubts. “I just mean, like, I can hide you easily. Like, anywhere.”

“Not in the back of your pants!” Nicky shuddered, remembering how she had been stashed there minutes ago. The view of Juniper’s ass rocking with every step was still a vivid and humiliating memory. But, after having spoken up for her comfort, she huddled back into the sock, reflexively worrying over the repercussions of talking back.

“I won’t, I won’t~ Not unless it’s an emergency like last time,” Juniper assured her. “Or, if you ask for it. Politely.”

“Please…” Nicky shook her head, giggling when she wanted to restrain herself. “I do not want to be all… up in your ass again…”

“You sound so disgusted. I’ve got an amazing butt, you know. You’re just, like, too tiny to appreciate it.”

Both laughed at each other’s sense of humor, only taming their amusement when their eyes met from their collapsed positions on the bed. A peaceful silence was prolonged until Nicky chirped with a request, “Can I… have another hit…?”

Police arrived that following morning. They combed Melanie’s room for evidence and questioned Juniper for any information about her whereabouts or activities. Through them, Juniper learned that Melanie had gone missing -- one of three women that disappeared in just one night, added to the ever-growing list of victims. From this, Juniper concluded that trouble had finally caught up to Melanie and her hexed schemes. Something had happened to her, or perhaps she had moved away; in any case, Juniper withheld what she knew. It was not so much to honor Melanie’s last request, as much as it was to keep herself uninvolved.

Thus began a major shift in Juniper’s life. Deciding it to be too dangerous between the police’s search for Melanie and, of course, Melanie herself, she packed up her few belongings and moved. Many students began dropping out or transferring to different schools after the dean’s abduction, and Juniper was one of them, riding that excuse to smoothly get away from the chaos. Her lease was successfully ended early, and by the end of the week, she was out of the apartment and onto a new, temporary home.

White fences and green lawns evenly spaced out the rows of pastel-colored homes. It was a suburb as bright as the unhindered sun overhead, every house a stunning example of middle-class luxury. It was a peaceful neighborhood where a group of children could happily play in the street, at least until a banged-up night-blue car drove up their road and urged them aside. The vehicle stood out and confused the kids, because no vehicle in such disrepair had ever rolled through their neighborhood.

Juniper turned into a cul-de-sac and parked along its curve, just outside a green-painted home. “Yep. This is definitely Marine’s crib,” she said, pointing up at the home. It looked exactly as she remembered from Marine’s engagement photo online, where she and her fiance smiled at the camera in front of a white-rose bush. “Ugh... Tacky, isn’t it?”

She spoke to Nicky, who sat atop the dashboard, wearing a doll’s shirt like a gown. A divet above the console allowed her a safe place to sit, just beside a hip-shaking hula dancer toy that was just slightly shorter than her. After parking, Nicky walked up to the glass of the window and leaned against it, awing at the home they would be staying in. Two storeys, a two-car garage, a patio with its own miniature garden, and a welcome wreath on the front door. “Is that a bird bath?” Nicky asked, pointing at one in the back corner of the yard. “Aw, this place is so… cozy!”

“You think so?” Juniper asked, taking the keys out of the ignition. “It looks empty. Like no one even lives here.”

“It’s cute~” Nicky laughed, glancing at Juniper’s reflection. “I’ll admit, it’s not really our style, huh. You said this was your cousin though, right?”

“Yeah~ my cousin,” Juniper chuckled. She pocketed a few items and then opened the door, instinctively surveying the area for any onlookers. “Sort of. My mom and her mom are best friends. They raised us together as far back as I can remember.”

“Oh. So you’re not cousins.”

“No but I thought we were til I was, like, eleven.” Juniper offered a hand for Nicky to climb into, smiling as she waited. “And she was fourteen and also didn’t know, so that’s like, way more embarrassing.”

“Weird relationship,” Nicky commented as she stepped into the palm and steadied herself. With her in hand, Juniper exited the vehicle and closed the door with a push from her waist. “But it does sound nice, having a childhood friend even up to now. It’s really kind of her to let us stay here.”

“Well… me, not us,” Juniper corrected. She marched up the patio steps and up to the front door, knocking on it with the blunt side of her fist. “She doesn’t know about my little buddy.”

“Uh… She will know if you keep me out like this.” Nicky gestured to herself, held out in the open between Juniper and the door. Realizing her error, Juniper frantically thought of how to hide her shrunken friend, and thus deposited Nicky into the wide pocket of her raggedy hoodie. Nicky squeaked from being tossed in so hastily, but Juniper couldn’t apologize before the front door was opening.

Nickly fumbled into the pocket’s middle, but froze still when she heard a greeting from what had to be Marine. “Juniper!” was cheered with a pleasant tone. What Nicky thought was a warm welcome was immediately followed up by a tight squeeze, the walls around her closing in without warning. Nicky gasped inaudibly from her muffled position, caught between two massive bodies that had collided in a hug.

“Marine~!” Juniper giggled, reciprocating the affection equally and without regards to the tiny woman. Only seconds into the hug did she remember Nicky and finally separate from Marine. “I-It’s been too long!”

“Oh, Juniper… You smell awful.”

“Wow. Like what?”

“Like weed…”

Nicky was relieved to be unpinned from the hug, but she was still bothered by her curiosity, unsatiated inside the pocket. She carefully crawled around the fabric tunnel, only wanting a glimpse of what Juniper’s “cousin” was like, and then she found a window for exactly that. A ray of light seeped in from a tiny rip, just big enough for Nicky to spy from. She gazed outside where a wall of clean white fabric immediately greeted her. It was a frill-ended blouse that she saw, a casual outfit alongside a sleek pair of jeans that popped with their maroon color. A healthy light surrounded Marine, emphasized by her straight black hair and neatly-fixed glasses. It wasn’t what Nicky expected, but the thrill of eavesdropping on anyone was enough to make her grin and shuffle eagerly.

Juniper walked into the house proper, invited in by Marine’s motion. She chuckled shortly to Marine’s accusation, “Yeah, do I? Sorry. My car sort of stinks.”

“Does it stink because you smoke weed in it?” Marine asked, propping her hands onto her hips as Juniper strolled inside. “That’s one reason it could smell like weed. You didn’t bring any of that with you, right? Because I said--”

“Marine!” Juniper laughed. “I literally have taken only three steps into your home. I know what you said! No drugs! It’s just a smell, it’s hard to get out.”

Marine rolled her eyes as she closed the front door with her back against it. Despite her concern, she still smiled brightly -- while grabbing a can of air freshener positioned nearby. “I know how you are… I have to make sure. There’s four cops that live in this neighborhood, you know.”

“I would have guessed more than that,” Juniper grumbled, a comment hidden under Marine’s spraying. She absorbed the interior of the home, already lost in the spectacle that was a well-decorated entry hall and dining area. “I’m looking to avoid trouble, ya’ know, not cause any more of it. Just show me my room and you won’t even know I’m here.”

Marine nodded as she approached and then led Juniper to a flight of stairs. “It’s crazy what’s going on down there,” she remarked at the first step. “I know you’ve been through a lot, so I don’t want you to feel like a stranger. It’s just a few simple rules to follow.” She glanced down at Juniper when she reached the turnpoint of the stairs, noticing an expression that was less than amused. “C’mon, Juniper. I’m not a dictator over here. We’re not kids anymore, we don’t get grounded for having narcotics, we get thrown in jail.”

“I get it, I get it,” Juniper sighed, digging her hands into her hoodie pocket. Nicky, having already been bounced up and down with each rising footstep, was ambushed by their arrival, finding herself cramped between them. Though she meant to lean away from them, the fingers came for her, searching for just a little contact, like pets wanting attention. “Like ya’ said, we’re not kids anymore. Don’t need to talk to me like one.”

“Sorry~” Marine muttered her apology upon reaching the second floor. Around a hall’s bend took the two to a shorter flight of stairs up to the loft. It was a wide space with a short ceiling that matched the angles of the roof. Spare furniture spruced the area up into being a fair guest bedroom, but there was still only a bed, a dresser, a body mirror, and a pyramid of boxes. Juniper was welcomed first into the room expected to be her’s, with Marine waiting at the door. “So… here it is! I know it’s not exactly the Cosmopolitan, but it’s better than my office or the living room sofa.”

Juniper took to the center of the room, looking to the featureless corners and then out the lone, circular window above the bed. She nodded lightly, “It looks comfortable. Thanks, Mari--”

By surprise, Marine pulled her friend into a hug from behind. Her fingers weaved together in front of Juniper, reeling her in by the stomach. Once again, Nicky was pushed around by Marine’s affection, this time strangled by her unknowing grip around Juniper’s waist. Nicky tried to pry herself free, but without wanting to risk detection, she had to endure the constriction until the embrace culminated in one last squeeze. Nicky gasped for air as Juniper turned with a warm expression.

“I was worried about you!” Marine said, half-laughing from her unsettled nerves. “I’d hate for you to get wrapped up into anything else. You should try to relax while you’re here.”

“I’m sure I’ll get enough relaxation,” Juniper giggled, trying to aim her bashfulness away. “Well… Thanks again for this. I knew you’d have my back.”

“I always do.” Marine stepped backwards out of the loft, pointing her thumb downstairs. “I’ll go grab your things from the car while you settle in. You said you brought everything you have?”

“Yeah, so,” Juniper scoffed as she fell into a seat at the bed’s edge, “two bags of stuff.”

“Oh.” Marine’s fingers rolled in taps along the door frame. “Uh, okay then. That’s less trips than I expected…”

Marine was away, closing the door behind her. Juniper listened to her footsteps drum quieter down the stairs until they could be heard no longer. A hefty sigh was unpacked then, and Juniper collapsed backwards onto the mattress with a notable bounce, her arms splayed out over her head. The impact was enough to toss Nicky up and over her own head, eventually tumbling into a crawl outside the pocket. She first poked her head out stealthily, then continued to creep out from hiding until she was situated on top of the pocket, facing a blanket-like plain that was Juniper’s belly.

“Juniper? You tired?” Nicky asked, waving up at the distant face as if gesturing to someone across a parking lot. She began a slow approach up the torso, taking in her surroundings. There wasn’t much to see, yet the scale of everything was guaranteed to impress Nicky on some level.

“Yep,” Juniper dismissed tersely, closing her eyes while her hands tucked under her head. “Long drive…”

“I dunno. I think it’s more than that.” Nicky climbed atop the mound that was Juniper’s chest underneath the hoodie. She sat on her knees, balanced there in the middle with a clear view of her friend’s face. “It’s about Marine, I guess? To be honest, you two seem… different.”

Juniper rolled her eyes. “Yeah… I forgot how much of a tight-ass she could be. I figured she would have grown out of that by now.” She huffed at the ceiling, as if that was where Nicky looked down at her from. “I thought college would make her a little less of a straight-edge, but all that did to her was give her some science degree.”

“Yeah~ I’m sort of surprised you, of all people, would be friends with someone like, uh, this.” Nicky scratched her head, not intending to sound rude about such a gracious host. “She said no weed… You didn’t tell me about that. I just kinda assumed anyone you moved in with would be--”

“Well not anyone,” Juniper groaned, sudden enough that Nicky nearly rolled backwards off her chest. She winced as an apology, a hand taken near to Nicky though it was not necessary. “Sorry, but like, she’s all I got. And I didn’t tell you ‘cuz… it won’t be a problem.”

Nicky glared at her after finding her balance again. “Will it not be?” she questioned, smirking playfully. “She already smelled your wake-and-bake from this morning. You think you can smoke in her attic?”

“Bro, I’ve got years of experience smoking where I’m not supposed to be smoking. Just ask Marine.” Juniper’s smile was a relief, her emotions uplifted if only marginally, thanks to Nicky’s presence. “Besides… I figured if I have to hide you all the time, I might as well hide an ounce from her, too.”

Nicky laughed and stretched out atop Juniper’s breasts, but the sound of footsteps rising up the stairs severed the mood. In a rush to cease their conversation and hide the tiny woman on top of her, Juniper flipped around hastily onto her stomach. Nicky argued in the brief window of time there was before she was covered by the giant body, squashed between the plush mattress and the heavy chest. Juniper ignored the kicking and squirming that tickled her, pretending nothing was amiss as she blankly stared out the window.

Marine was then at the door, peeking into the loft. “Keys?”

Without rising from her spot, Juniper dug into her pockets, retrieved the keys, and then chucked them towards the door. Marine was open to catch them, but they were instead thrown into the wall next to her. “Keys,” Juniper chimed a second after the clang. Marine nervously giggled as she plucked the keys from the floor and headed back downstairs. Only when her steps were faraway again did Juniper lift herself off of Nicky, staring down at her with an apologetic grimace. “I-I was in a hurry…”

Nicky whined, both her hair and doll’s dress tossed over her messily as she writhed in the wrinkles of the bed sheet. “I guess it’s good you brought that ounce,” she said, “because I’m gonna need it…”

Within the week, Juniper had nestled into her temporary home, grown accustomed to the schedule of Marine’s life. Her worry that she might get in her childhood friend’s way or disrupt her routine rarely turned into an issue, as Marine was a particularly busy woman. She would disappear for long hours working at labs, and even when she was home, it was rare to catch her outside of her home office or not wrapped up in some other chore. Whenever she was gone, the house belonged to Juniper; Marine’s fiance worked out of state, and their ever-nearing wedding was yet another plan that preoccupied her.

Of course, that loneliness was exactly what Juniper had wished for. She swiftly memorized Marine’s schedule, and to her fortune, there were plenty of opportunities where her and Nicky could smoke without worry. It was best when Marine was off at work, giving the pair a ten-hour shift’s worth of time to relax. Their sessions were not as carefree as they had been at the apartments, and several precautions had to be taken to ensure the scent did not attach itself to the loft. The window would be cracked open, all exhales would be done through a homemade filter, and air freshener would be abused to cover up the odor as much as possible. All in all, every effort seemed to work, as Marine hadn’t once made note of any suspicion.

However, even Marine’s generosity had its limits, and she made it clear that she could not fully fund a new mouth to feed. Juniper had to get a job to make up the difference, and she was able to quickly secure one at a local convenience store. It would be enough to get by, but it introduced a change Nicky had not been prepared for. For the first time since her escape from Melanie’s desk, she would have to face the gigantic world completely alone, lasting until Juniper returned from work.

Juniper had left in a hurry, gone without a word. Nicky was abandoned in the middle of the bed, naked -- she hid herself under a pulled-up tug of the sheet, but the cold brought mad shivers down her bare back. The room was pitch dark, as if hours past when Juniper should have been home. Maybe, Nicky worried, she wouldn’t come back, and so she was trapped in the open, staring at the door without the reach to do anything else.

And then, the door opened. Nicky jumped back, failing to pull the sheet any higher up her body, her gaze focused forward. “J-Juniper…” she whispered, expecting her to appear from the door’s crack, hoping she was actually there, praying it could not be anyone else. But the emerald eyes struck her like lightning, paralyzing her after one sudden jolt of shakes. Beyond the darkness was even darker hair, long and messy, and a cunning smile that sliced through the empty room. It was not an unfamiliar face, but that of Melanie, creeping into the loft.

“Nicky…~ You got away from me…~” Melanie sang as she entered, footsteps too light to even make creaks from the floorboard. “Did you think I wouldn’t find you? Are you really that dumb of a toy?”

Nicky was frozen but in how she shivered, naked in the blizzard that was Melanie’s presence. She shook her head, she knew she got away so long ago, she knew Melanie was gone -- every footfall said differently. Horrors of before flashed to mind between every subsequent footstep approaching her. She bit her lip hard, deciding then that she would refuse that fate, just like she did before. In a panic, Nicky scrambled to her feet and ran opposite of Melanie, stumbling over the wrinkles of the sheet but refusing to trip. In that same direction, she ran as fast as she could, feeling Melanie’s breath approach from behind, closer and closer.

Suddenly, the bed was no more, and it was the windowsill that she was at the edge of. Nicky gasped, blinking rapidly until the bed was no longer seen under her feet. Instead, what she stared down into was the long drop to the floor. It had been a nightmare, one she awoke from only after having dashed into a sprint from where she had laid on the windowsill up to its very edge.

Nicky wobbled from the sudden stop, still comprehending the dream she had been lost in. Her foot slipped, for she was standing atop a few dollar bills Juniper had set down that evening. When one dollar was kicked off the edge, the rest of the change followed, dragging Nicky down with them. She flipped around in a gasp, reaching for anything to grab and stop the fall, but the nothingness at her feet riled her into a scream.

The fall was brief, cut short by a safety net. Nicky clasped her beating heart, twisting and turning out of intense worry, but it dawned on her that she was safe. Juniper’s hand caught her, though her legs slipped through the fingers and her body curled into the palm in an unflattering way. At least she was still dressed in doll’s clothes, better than being naked and three-inches tall.

While catching her breath, Nicky was raised back up to the bedside. She clung to Juniper’s hand, whose groggy expression was in great contrast to the fluster she now held. “Hey, hey...” Juniper muttered, trying to calm Nicky down. “What happened? What’s gotten into you?”

“Me-Melanie…!” Nicky stuttered, swallowing twice before she could say the name. She immediately was washed with a wave mixed with relief and anxiety, glancing around the loft for any worrisome silhouettes. Unable to steady her breathing, she struggled to elaborate, “Sh-She walked into the loft after you-- you went to work, a-and she was-- I was alone, Juniper, sh-she was just… g-going to take me again!”

Juniper quietly hushed her, gesturing with a free finger to try and ease Nicky. “I-It’s all good, there’s nothing going on,” she assured her, reeling her in more closely. “You had a nightmare. Just a bad dream. L-Look, right?” She nodded to the rest of the room, illuminated enough by the window to reveal that no one was nearby.

Nicky agreed, seeing for herself that she was in no danger, certainly not by Melanie’s hand. Yet, her skin constantly itched as though that were the case. The image of that sinister woman was branded into her mind, but Juniper’s comforting strokes helped dispel those haunting memories.

“I’m… sorry, heh,” Nicky sighed, repositioning herself in Juniper’s hand. “I don’t know what came over me. I… I had to run…”

Juniper giggled, much of it muffled as it was aimed into the bed. She shifted so that she could return Nicky to the windowsill, where a washcloth had been folded into a bed. Just beside it was Juniper’s pipe, their go-to tool for convenient smoking in Marine’s house. Juniper looked to it and the view outside, greeted by a calm and motionless night. “Maybe a hit would calm you down,” she suggested, already reaching for the pipe. “Help you sleep.”

Nicky crawled into her makeshift bed, but was perked up by the offer to smoke. She weighed it over in her head, then giggled, “Mmmmaybe that would help…”

Warm beams of light stirred Nicky awake, luring her into the day with a gentle pull -- but the slamming and stamping happening away from her did more to jolt her up. She used a corner of the washcloth to shield herself from the daylight, looking across the loft to understand what the ruckus was about. Juniper was dashing back and forth across the room, dressed in a uniform that was so freshly unpackaged, its creases were still visible. The front had not yet been buttoned up, allowing her bra-covered chest to hang out as she dug through piles of clothes.

“Juniper?” Nicky asked groggily, flinching when a stray beam of sun struck her eye. “Ung… What time is it? It’s so bright…”

“Noon,” Juniper spat. “Almost, anyway. Shit. Where the hell is that name tag, man? I thought I freakin’ had it…”

“The one on your shirt?” Nicky asked, pointing up at what clung to Juniper’s uniform. Juniper noticed, groaned, then began fixing up the rest of her outfit. Nicky laughed, “You look adorable in that uniform.”

Juniper rolled her eyes, “I hope my boss thinks the same thing so they don’t realize I’m late.” She swung her purse over her shoulder, still grabbing small items to stuff it with. “On my first day… I knew I should’ve set an alarm…”

“You didn’t set--? Oh, Juniper,” Nicky sighed, but wasn’t able to resist laughing a bit at Juniper’s misfortune. Her mundane amusement, however, faded fast after remembering that Juniper would be leaving her, all alone. Worse yet was that because of Juniper’s tardiness, Nicky had even less time to mentally prepare, or even say goodbye. Moments after she had woken up, Juniper was fully dressed and on her way out the door.

“Okay, wish me luck that this job doesn’t suck ass,” Juniper said over her shoulder, offering a wave as she went through the door frame. “I’ll be back in a few hours. See ya’.”

Nicky stuttered, wishing to say more or, better yet, keep Juniper at home. Fingers curled wanting to reach for her, but she was only able to squeak out her own farewell and wave. The door closed behind Juniper, and Nicky listened to each step drum down the stairs, listened to the front door beneath the loft be opened, and listened to her car cough up into life. Nicky gazed out the window, hand against the glass as she confirmed Juniper’s leave.

The house belonged to Nicky, or at least, what little of it she had access to. She had only to occupy herself for one short shift of work, but at her size, there were few options to fill that time. She could travel to the foot of the bed and back up to the windowsill, and nowhere else. Juniper had been considerate and left out a bag of cheese-flavored chips for Nicky to pick from, but snacks made for an unsatisfying breakfast. Yet, despite also lacking an appetite, Nicky was drawn towards the food. There was no other way to spend her time.

Minutes trickled by uneventfully into hours. After one lap around the bed, Nicky had seen it all, and she collapsed near the bag of chips with a great sigh. Juniper needs to leave me with something to do, she thought, staring up at the ceiling. It was a thought she dwelled on in the silence, nothing else available to occupy her mind. The emptiness of the boredom riddled her with anxiety, reminded of an atmosphere that was similarly dreary and strange. When she belonged to Melanie, there was equally a lack of anything to do but wallow in despair, waiting for her fickle captor to decide on a game to play. To that, she smiled and shook her head. “Anything is better than that…”

Just as Nicky rolled onto her side to possibly nap the rest of the time away, there was an abrupt knock at the bedroom door, a light series of taps that barely made a noise. Instantly, Nicky perked up onto her knees, hunched forward and ready to run like a wild animal. She held her ground, but dashed into hiding when the door opened a crack. She scuttled inside of the chip bag and froze, limiting how much noise she made with the foil.

But who was entering? Nicky was confident it couldn’t be Juniper, who would normally just charge through the door without warning. Curious to discover who, Nicky allowed only the tiniest glance to peek over the bag, watching the door as it opened. A voice chimed in, “Juniper…? Are you home?” It was Marine, Nicky realized with some relief. The question, then, was what her purpose for coming up was.

Marine snuck into the room on her tip-toes, only ever opening the door as wide as it needed to let herself in. She asked once more, “Juniper? D-Did you have any clothes to wash? I was going… to…” Her words trailed off as she learned the room was empty, with evidence of Juniper having rushed out some time ago. She paused in the middle of the loft with her arms crossed, leaving Nicky in heart-thumping suspense.

A moment of nothing passed, then Marine swayed over to the dresser, her gaze along the clothes-covered floor finding her nothing she was in search of. She sifted through the items on top, but soon after dropped to a knee and opened up the first cabinet. She said nothing as she dug through Juniper’s belongings, careful enough to not disorganize anything too obviously. Nicky crept further out from hiding, appalled by what she was observing. This break of privacy had only one explanation: Marine was searching for Juniper’s weed.

What the fuck is her problem?! Nicky wondered. Does she not trust Juniper? Or, does she already know she’s been smoking…? Shit, this ain’t good.

She wished to pass the message onto Juniper, but there was no way to do that. Instinctively, she looked to the pillows where Juniper rested her head, but there at the windowsill was a surprising find. Left behind from their midnight session was the pipe, only ashes within its bowl, but its existence alone would be damning enough evidence. If Marine spotted it, Juniper would get kicked out for sure -- Nicky refused to see her savior be ruined in such a way.

Marine grunted in disappointment as she moved onto the second drawer, ripping it open to similarly messy results. Nicky knew her window was small and shrinking; she would have to sprint to the windowsill, hide the pipe, and then hide herself. She imagined it happening too easily, only acknowledging the consequences passively. I’ll be lightning quick, she told herself as she stealthily left the chip bag and took cover behind a fold of blanket. She licked her lips, glanced once more at Marine, then made a mad dash forward.

Not being the athletic sort, it was not long before Nicky was panting from the effort. Each step bounced up from the plush ground, making her sprint all the more difficult; she tripped often, but would instantly leap back to her feet, always mindful of what Marine was doing. The third and final drawer had been opened, and Nicky had only just reached the hill-sized pillows, throwing her body into their softness before committing to the climb.

From the pillows, Nicky could walk right across to the windowsill. Such a step was simple, but the next was a puzzle. She had made it to the pipe, but what was she to do with it? It hadn’t occurred to her in such stress that she wouldn’t be able to merely pocket the pipe and have it be hidden. It was big to her, comparable to a gatling gun but fortunately much lighter with its glass material. Its weight would offer little benefit, however, as the problem was finding any place to hide it, and with time constantly ticking. The cabinet was closing -- Marine would be looking elsewhere any second.

With only so many possible options, Nicky rushed to the most convincing solution. She hugged the pipe up into her arms, then stumbled in the direction of the pillows -- specifically, the head of the bed. She hurried down the pillows and to the crevice between them, dragging the pipe behind her between the cushiony walls. Footsteps alerted Nicky of Marine being on the move, so as quickly as she could, she flung the pipe forward and into the space between the mattress and the wall. So frantically was this completed, Nicky threw herself onto the mattress in the same motion, gasping as the pipe dropped into the valley. She winced preemptively, realizing an error she could do nothing about--

Dink-dink-dink. Glass bounced off the wall and the railing of the bed’s base, succumbing to a dull thud at the floorboards. Nicky closed her eyes and held her breath, but the footsteps she listened to had halted. She could imagine it there between the pillows, Marine turning in her direction. As expected, the next steps resonated through Nicky, approaching where she was hidden. Her heart raced, caught without many places to duck away.

“... Juniper?” Marine asked, leaning in towards the bed. “Or rats? Which is it?” She smirked at her own joke, unaware that there was any audience. She crept onto the bed on her knees, edging further to the pillows. What she had heard undoubtedly came from behind the mattress, and to prove it, she plucked up the pillows and revealed what was under them.

Marine squinted -- not at the nothingness under the pillows, but the gap between the bed and the wall. Her eyes widened and she tossed the pillows behind her, her interest focused on that space. “Don’t tell me she still…” she muttered, crawling up to the space so she could dig into it.

Nicky dizzily lifted her head, her arms feeling at the wrinkles of blanket around her in a daze. When she had guessed correctly that Marine would look under the pillows, Nicky put all her faith in clinging to the underside. She was thus picked up and tossed aside to the foot of the bed, flung off the pillow after its first bounce and launched into the middle. As part of her senses settling from the sudden flight, she realized a tights-clad foot was sliding towards her. Without delay, Nicky flipped onto her feet and dodged being kicked away, finding herself stranded between Marine’s legs. The giant’s rear-end was raised overhead, forming an archway that went under the looming body bent forward. Marine must have returned from work not long ago, for she was still dressed in office-appropriate attire; this included a pencil skirt, which blissfully revealed to Nicky the ass that was suspended in the air, hugged by tights that stretched with every motion.

That same ass then began a rapid descent. Nicky gasped and scrambled away, narrowly avoiding being pinned under Marine’s rear. She was not completely safe, as the weight pressed into the mattress formed a pit that drew Nicky towards it. She stumbled and fell, rolling directly into Marine’s rear but pushing away from it immediately. Scared to death that she would be discovered, Nicky looked to the sky, expecting a titanic face to lock onto her.

But Marine did not twist around after rising up. Rather, she had found what she was looking for, giggling at the prize in her possession. “It’s like we’re still kids,” she mumbled. “This might have fooled your mom… Never fooled me, though.”

Nicky gasped when the grand weight in front of her then flew into the air. She shielded herself, wary of the leg that was then thrown over her and off the bed. After the mattress finally stopped shifting from Marine’s departure, Nicky balanced herself and gazed up at the giant. Marine turned towards the door, still cherishing what she had taken; the pipe, and a glass jar half-filled with green buds. All of Juniper’s weed now rested underneath Marine’s grin.

Fuck! Fuck me! Nicky whined, restless with her inability to change course -- Juniper had never revealed to her where she kept the weed hidden. She first ducked behind one of the tossed pillows, peering past its corner to keep an eye on Marine. Everything was crumbling apart, so she felt. Her attempts at saving Juniper from punishment had only lured Marine directly to the motherload. She could only watch Marine helplessly, left to imagine how she would explain this to Juniper and where the two of them would even go afterwards.

But Nicky had expected a more volatile reaction, which earned additional concern. Marine had not rushed down in a rage after finding a jar of weed; no angered phone call, not even a hiss or shake of her head. She kept smiling, glancing about nervously, only making an idle turn to look over the room once more. Her eyes lit up -- she found a lighter, and excitedly plucked it off from the floor where it had been dropped.

The following scene was surreal for Nicky to observe, as though cast into a dream. Working from the dresser, Marine opened the jar and pinched from it powder-like scraps from the bottom. She loaded the empty bowl with that meager amount, her lip bitten in suspense and her heel tapping nervously. Once prepared, Marine gave her handiwork a look over, nodded, and equipped the lighter with her other hand. Nicky blinked, but the scene played out as normal; Marine lit the green and inhaled lightly.

A series of horrid coughs instantly followed. Smoke erupted from Marine’s mouth as she gagged, hunched forward with an embarrassing, red-faced expression. She groaned in between haggard coughs, turning around where she stood as if having been punched in a boxing ring. Nicky would have laughed if she had not been so astonished. She’s smoking Juniper’s weed, she realized, and… she’s not even good at it.

Nicky was paralyzed with fascination. She had come to know Marine as a straight-edge authoritarian, but that character had blatantly been broken in the privacy of Juniper’s room. The image before her was unlike anything she imagined of Marine, still dressed neatly in professional attire yet keeling over from coughing, the bowl still smoldering. In her hacking fit, Marine accidentally tipped the pipe too far, and a layer of green spilled from it to the floor. Marine gasped and kicked at what fell, creating a scene that tripped Nicky into a bout of laughter.

“... J-Juniper?” Marine was suddenly still the next time Nicky looked at her. All motion in the room had slowed to a stop. There was no more coughing, and no more laughing. It struck Nicky with a delayed effect, that her eyes were being met with Marine’s. So carelessly, Nicky had revealed herself, unmistakably caught under Marine’s baffled expression. Nicky couldn’t move, but Marine inched forward, clutching the pipe and lighter between both hands. Her knees bent, but she hesitated to be near the tiny woman any closer than that. “... Who are you…?”