Lorita was impatiently passive throughout the meeting, seated nearly sideways in her chair with her gaze out the window. The counselor across from her could barely keep her attention, driving him into a sigh that befell the records spread out on his desk. There had been a long silence with only a one-word reply, and so the counselor asked again, “Do you really want to make it into that university…?”

“Yeah,” Lorita replied, same as before, unblinking.

“Then these grades need to improve,” the counselor chuckled, “or there’s no way that can happen. Your GPA is the worst it’s ever been, Lortia. You might only graduate by the skin of your teeth.”

Lorita rolled her eyes, “Is that really so important? It’s just a college, why can’t I just pay the tuition fee or whatever?”

“A university of this caliber doesn’t exactly function like that.” The counselor organized Lorita’s files with a sharp frown, deciding the meeting was over. “It all comes down to this year, Lorita. You’re a senior. It’s time you take responsibility for yourself, if you ever--”

“Got it,” Lorita interrupted, grabbing her purse off the floor as she swung up from the chair and out the door. The counselor withheld a groan, believing that she had not listened at all to what had been talked about, but Lorita understood the situation entirely. If she wanted to party through college alongside her besties, she would have to improve her grades -- a simple solution that she knew was beyond her reach.

Lorita was more of a socialite than a student. School was just an excuse to be surrounded by adoring peers and her closest friends. She partook in campus-wide gossip, but failed group discussions; she memorized the names of every varsity football player, but would forget to turn in assignments. The weight of the world ahead of Lorita was light on her shoulders, knowing well that her prestigious family would carry her through life comfortably. But what the counselor had said was very true, and she had no intention of bearing through college without familiar faces she could trust. What else was the point?

Begrudgingly, Lorita took herself to the library right after her meeting with the counselor. If nothing else, she would at least attempt to finish her math homework during lunch, but she stewed over the broader issue. She effectively had one semester left to turn around her grades into an acceptable level, a feat she was confident would be impossible to achieve with her lack of skills. If she was going to boost those numbers, it was not going to come from study nights or extra credit.

Lorita glared at the math problems she could not solve. Worse than simply not recalling how to find the solutions, she found herself distracted by a conversation happening a couple aisles behind her table. Despite trying to focus on the worksheet, she involuntarily eavesdropped, and found that it was not a pleasant chat, but bickering between students. Two jolly boys, and a distressed girl between them.

“Look at this-- she doodles on her notes, bro! These are so funny!”

“I-I need those! Th-That has notes for a test tomorrow--!”

“What else you got in this backpack? It’s huge!”

“D-Don’t dig in that, please…!”

“We’re making it lighter so you won’t always be so greasy!”

“P-Please just give it back…!”

“Not until you thank us, bitch!”

The squabbling continued without interruption, the librarian having been pulled away too far to notice the bullying taking place. The girl protested with a meek voice that fell weaker the longer it went. The more she resisted, the more the boys ripped out her belongings and scattered them across the floor. When the backpack was entirely dumped out, her glasses were targeted, swiped off of her by one of the boys and held too high for her to reach. The girl whimpered, giving up on the struggle as her bullies’ giggling rolled over her.

“Ethan? Andrew? Weird seeing you guys here!” Lorita stepped into the scene with a cheery smile, quickly pulling the attention of the boys onto her. They knew her, but she knew them far more intricately. “I thought for sure the football team took B lunch, not A lunch. Does Coach Wallace know you’re out here?”

The boys chuckled nervously, kicking their feet around the fallen papers and pens. The empty backpack was dropped unceremoniously, and the glasses were taken back by the freckled girl without a fight. “Yo Lorita,” Ethan muttered. Andrew stuttered, “We, uh, thought she had something of ours. Coach Wallace doesn’t need to know.”

“No, maybe he doesn’t have to,” Lorita said, her smile wickedly persisting. “But if you keep making noise, I might have to find somewhere else to study.”

Knowing a threat when they heard one from Lorita, both jocks gave up the turf and walked past her, uttering apologies to her as they did. Once they had left, Lorita turned to head back, but she hovered by the bookshelves with an eye turned onto the girl. Like all the students of the high school, Lorita knew her name, dug up from far parts of her memory. This was Cassidy, a nerdy student, but not one of the geeks -- that was a clique with its own circle, but Cassidy was never involved with any of that. She was her own outcast, living in an anti-social bubble that others loved to poke and prick at, knowing that no one would back her up.

“... Do you need help?” Lorita asked, a scrunch in her nose the only signal that she would rather not offer a hand.

“N-No…” the girl whimpered, keeping her head turned away from Lorita. “Uh… Err, thank you…”

“Yeah.” Lorita approached anyway, kneeling down on her haunches behind the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Uh… It’s Cassidy…” The name was hushed, as if it were something offensive. “I-I don’t think we’ve ever met…”

Lorita smiled. They had not, and that was a fact she would manipulate while still having knowledge of her. One detail of Cassidy she was aware of, to begin, was her hobby as an artist. Usually found hunched over a secretive sketch book, pieces of Cassidy’s creativity could be found in the spilled notes. Lorita picked up some sheets and pointed to one such corner doodle, “This is really cute! Is this you and your dog?”

“... It’s a fairy and a wolf,” Cassidy replied, having to process what had been asked. She wanted to rip that paper out of Lorita’s hand, but instead only offered to take it from her politely, an embarrassed blush dotting her cheeks.

“Oh. I see it now,” Lorita said, letting the note be taken back. She continued to shuffle papers together, figuring it to be too awkward to simply sit and do nothing. “Well, I’m glad I butted in before those two ruined this. That would have been so sad.”

Cassidy became downcast, her fingers flinching before claiming the notes Lorita had bundled together. “... Yeah. You… saved them.” Her throat swelled, regretting speaking up like that, but enamored with the kindness Lorita presented. “I’m sort of used to this, though… Others do this type of thing a lot…”

“That’s not very cool.” Lorita helped with the last few papers as Cassidy packed her bag, filling it back up to its usual heft and girth. She stood up as did Lorita, the slight difference in height between them exaggerated by Cassidy’s hunch. Unexpectedly, Lorita took her arm by the wrist and gently tugged her towards the corner, “Come sit with me and those meatheads won’t screw with you. I’ll make sure.”

Though uncertain of following Lorita, Cassidy allowed herself to be pulled along back towards her table. A seat was pulled open for her, and being too shy to deny it, she sat down next to Lorita, keeping her backpack tightly hugged on her lap. As it were the only thing on the table, her attention was pulled to the math homework Lorita loomed over. Cassidy was curious, but hesitant -- Lorita would have to get matters rolling.

“Do you come here alone all the time?” Lorita asked, moving aside a stray lock of hair from her eyes. Cassidy nodded. “Ohh. I don’t come here often, actually. It’s lucky that I happened to have homework that’s due, huh?” She giggled, coaxing Cassidy to do the same. “I won’t be so lucky when I still don’t have it done, though. Ugh, this stuff makes no sense to me.”

Cassidy bit her lip as she narrowed her focus on what few problems had been completed, wincing at the wrong answers. “This is just… algebra.”

“Oh, is it?” Lorita tilted her head, jokingly tilting the worksheet upside-down. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Err… I-I could help, i-if you didn’t mind…”

“Wow! Oh my god that would be so nice of you!” Lorita played up her astonishment, feigning how grateful she actually was. She slid the sheet over to Cassidy as well as her pen. In little time, the first question was reworked and answered correctly, where it had taken Lorita four times as long to get an incorrect result. “God, you’re actually good at this, aren’t you!”

“... Well, I did ace algebra… years ago…”

“Did you?! I got put into easier classes and still can’t get the hang of it.” Lorita scoffed as she looked at the paper, continuing her act of disbelief. “You are way smarter than me. You’re saving my ass, for real.”

She had not noticed it herself, but Cassidy was smiling from such praise. Her blush flared up significantly, forcing her to keep a palm against her cheek. “Th-Thanks,” she whispered. “M-Math is okay, but I prefer chemistry, actually.”

“Ugh. Don’t even talk to me about science,” Lorita whined. “That’s another F I’m looking to get.”

“Mm… Did you want me to look at that, too?”

“What? Really? Uh, would you actually?”

“I-I don’t mind. I’m ahead on my homework, so, I can fit it in--”

Cassidy gasped, suddenly under attack by a warm hug. She stiffened in Lorita’s embrace, too shocked to move a muscle while the other girl squeezed her. “Ohhh you are too sweet! You’re my savior, Cassidy~” Lorita’s thanks caused Cassidy’s heart to drum, never having experienced such forward affection from another person. All her life, she had been walked over and ignored, only noticed for her quirks and loneliness. Yet for simply offering a helping hand with homework that was far beneath her skills, she was rewarded with a moment that she would treasure forever.

But the hug was lasting too long, and Cassidy was growing anxious. She wiggled out of the grip, having been too afraid to return the hug, but Lorita took no offense. Cassidy’s expression was blank, but her lips teetered on a smile she was tepid to reveal. “I’m… j-just happy to be useful,” she plainly remarked. “Your name is… Lorita, right?”

“No, call me Lori! All my friends call me Lori!” Though pushed out of a hug, Lorita insisted on keeping a hand placed on Cassidy’s elbow. “Are you gonna be free tomorrow? And maybe this weekend? Cuz, hah, I’ve got a lot of work due next week. Maybe you can hang at my place and help me?”

Cassidy clenched her teeth when posed with such a suggestion. Despite her nerves crying out in fear of having to interact with someone she barely knew, her heart overpowered all instincts into having her agree. And so that became their relationship, beginning first with study sessions where Cassidy did all the work, followed by lunches where Lorita brought her into her circle of friends. Steadily, Lorita’s grades began to improve over the rest of the school year, and during such time, not one student dared to touch a dry hair on Cassidy’s head, not while under the protection of a prestigious prep.

The setup was exactly the relationship Lorita had hoped to foster, one of manipulation and selfishness. As long as she extended her influence over Cassidy, Lorita assumed that she would be under her thumb until graduation. But Cassidy, known only by herself, was not attracted to Lorita because of her protection, nor was it because she felt rescued by her. What drew Cassidy everyday to Lorita’s side was devotion to the first kind peer in her life, a sincere attraction that came from the soul. Cassidy wrestled with these feelings for months, but knew it to be true, that she was obsessed with Lorita -- she was in love.

Senior year happened quick, and so too did its prom. Never before had Cassidy cared for school functions or even casual parties. This, however, was her dream opportunity, her one chance to claim her love. Anxiety riddled her for weeks leading up to the moment, but on a Friday after school, all of Cassidy’s courage was swelled together so she could approach the star-like student.

The final bell of the day rang. Cassidy navigated the buzzing hallways, her huge backpack in tow. Her nervousness made her feel like hollow glass, but still she marched onward, inspired to commit when she saw Lorita ahead, laughing alongside a mix of social circles. Usually, the two separated after school and would not meet again, but Cassidy had waited too long, now fearful the moment might pass if she hesitated again.

A frail hand reached forward, touching Lorita’s upper back. “Uh, h-hey Lori,” Cassidy said meekly, flinching when Lorita turned around towards her. “I, um…” She swallowed on what words were to follow, her confidence slipping when the eyes of Lorita’s other friends all turned onto her.

“Huh?” Lorita struggled to keep down her scowl -- rarely was she caught with Cassidy around so many other people. She stroked her hair and adjusted herself, “Uh, hey. What’s up?”

The toe of Cassidy’s sneaker twisted into the tiled floor while she untangled her thoughts. “Well… You know how, err, prom is coming up…” She chuckled nervously. “I wondered if… if we could go together…”

Lorita blinked, as did her peers on either side. “E-Excuse me?”

Cassidy fidgeted further. “I-I dunno, I’m not very good at this,” she admitted -- the sweat on her brow and the deep blush streaked over her nose were certainly proof of that. “I want t-to go to prom with you. It would be special if we went -- I-I want to ask you out!”

It rambled like that, free from her tongue like something slipped out from her grasp. Cassidy was leaning forward with emotion pulling her ahead, she watched as her words landed over Lorita and made their impact.

“... Eww,” Lorita gagged, shuffling backwards from Cassidy. “Uh what the fuck? Wh-Where is this coming from?”

Cassidy’s lip slowly curled into a bite. She glanced over Lorita, desperate to find the joke in her response, but there was nothing to reveal from the prep. Lorita maintained the distance between them, further enforced by her friends when they too were shocked by Cassidy’s approach. Cassidy shook her head, “I-I thought we… I thought we were friends--”

Lorita interrupted swiftly-- “No, no? Oh god, Cassidy, we were not friends.” She spoke so quickly, her tongue callous to what she said. “You were just, like, my tutor basically -- I just wanted to get my homework done.”

Cassidy babbled back, the reality hitting her hard like a flat wall. She stuttered to speak up, but she was not sure what to even argue for. The eyes of Lorita’s real friends, and those of students still passing by, all weighed on her with a burning heat, and yet Lorita, still unconvinced she had made her point, continued.

“She is so clingy,” Lorita added, “she always wants to be by my side even when I didn’t want to. It’s so weird, I was just trying to be nice!”

Cassidy clutched her chest, feeling for the vacant spot in her heart. Laughter rained over her in the hall, and the humility drenched deep within her. Not another word was said before she turned away and dashed out of the building, throwing the doors aside in her rush. All the way home, she heard the laughing of her peers, but nothing burned her worse than Lorita’s response playing back in her head, a speech she would know by heart in the decades to follow…

Lorita ignored the next series of tremors, frozen in a standstill at the bar. These memories and more flashed before her, like remnants of a puzzle coming together. She feared the most obvious answer, refusing to believe it -- until a horrendous sound above her head woke her to the dark reality.

Crunch-scrack! Wood ripped away into shreds as the ceiling above Lorita was torn into. Pieces of the roof and the insulation in the walls fell into the house in the same manner as the storm, a rainfall of debris and dust that coated all of her furniture. Her scream could not overpower the raw destruction of her home, her voice lost against the tide of wood breaking apart, the clapping of electrical wires running loose, the shattering of glass -- so chaotic was the scene that Lorita fell to her knees behind her sofa, taking cover and praying she might be spared from this tornado-like event.

Wiser than she was hopeful, Lorita could not restrain herself entirely from looking up at what had come for her. She squinted through the droplets of rain, gawking at the immense form revealed by the hole made into her roof. A woman’s naked body loomed overhead, a wet mess of hair fallen over her lean frame. This was no movie prop or display, but a living person, a creature that curiously searched the home with gigantic eyes. A mighty arm remained pushed into the roof, a casual boast of strength that reminded Lorita how overpowered she was.

Yet nothing struck as much fear as the knowledge of who this was. Lorita fretted to admit it, but when those two eyes widened upon her, she shivered into a scream, “Cassidy!!”

The sound of pouring rain continued. Cassidy did not reply, for a time; a slow creep of a smile was her initial response, followed by a slump of her shoulders. Then, she leaned further over the house, rising slightly -- she was on her knees seated in front of Lorita’s home, but towering nonetheless. Under this suspenseful silence, Lorita repeated herself in a whisper, still cowering with an arm raised over her head.

Finally, the giant spoke, allowing her smile to spread freely, “I’ve finally found you… Lori…”

Lorita whimpered, her nickname like a dagger forged for just her neck. She still could not move, but otherwise defenseless, she conjured up a simple plea. “C-C-Cassidy… You-- Th-This is crazy! Cassidy, god, wh-what is going on?!”

Cassidy giggled, at first slow but gradually picking up a mad pace. She hushed herself, narrowing her gaze over her target. “Oh, Lori…Come here, won’t you? Come to me. I’d love to explain this to--”

When the giant’s lengthy arm stretched into view, Lorita immediately panicked. She scrambled to her feet and fled to a corner in her living room, pushing aside an end table to get there. She was thrown against the wall without a plan, only her instincts when faced with a massive, grabbing hand. She witnessed the fingers curl, water dripping off their nails above the space Lorita last had been. Following the wrist up to the body introduced a steeper angle of Cassidy, positioning her further as an unstoppable monster that could smile over this distress.

“No, Lori. Don’t be like this,” Cassidy giggled, reeling her arm back -- and knocking out more of the roof in doing so. “Our destiny together is long overdue… Let me see you. It’s been nearly twenty years, hehe…”

Another hand invaded the den. Two fingers rolled over the L-shaped couch and its love seat, pushing them against the front door and blocking off its exit. Lorita shouted for her to stop as she stumbled towards the kitchen, intending to dash into it for safety. Cassidy was however faster, and she blocked the kitchen off with a wall-sized palm. Lorita gasped and ducked, narrowly avoiding those fingers clutching her towel-robed form.

In her hectic backwards pace, Lorita slammed into a display cabinet, and the jingling of keys distinctly caught her attention. In the most rational thought she had yet, she snatched the keys and then made a sprint to the garage door, skipping over a mound of debris while a hand chased after her. Barely did Lorita slip into the garage, her back against the door-- smash! Tentacle-like fingers forced it back open, tossing Lorita forward into the hood of her cobalt sports car. While these fingers curled and clawed in hunt of Lorita, a haunting giggle hummed from outside, like a song tempting her to surrender.

Shaking plagued Lorita in all of her flustered actions, where even opening the door to her car was an obstacle. She threw herself into her seat and instantly inserted the keys. While the car powered on, she rapidly mashed the garage door opener, cursing to herself as it slowly reeled up -- only for it to be surged upwards, along with a long shred of the roof. Lorita screamed anew as more rubble fell down, her garage now being attacked the same way as her living room had been. Through the sunroof, she awed at the destruction and the glimpse of a smirk hanging above. Without a second extra of delay, she slammed on the gas and reared out of the garage, onto the rain-slick driveway.

A screech of a turn flung the car around as Lorita twisted it towards the gated exit. She was panting while barreling down the two-curved path, chipping a stone base to a palm tree on her exit out. The rearview mirror offered a foggy vision of Cassidy still perched in front of the home, but when Lorita twisted her neck to see out the back window, she witnessed the beast erecting towards her full height. One stabilizing stomp followed by another, tremors that threw Lorita into an even greater panic.

The car whipped out onto the street, and the giant was close behind. Lorita’s razor focus on the road was disrupted entirely when she saw a crashing footfall in the rearview mirror, followed by another that kicked right through the black bars of her fence. Lorita whimpered and hunched forward, her dangerous approach to max speed signalled by the wild squeal of tires. She hoped to simply speed down her road and be out of reach, but Cassidy was just behind her, catching up far faster than Lorita neither expected nor prepared for.

Suddenly, the straight path ahead was obstructed -- a giant foot, stomped into the street with a quake-causing slam. Had it not been for its shadow sweeping over Lorita to warn its descent, she would not have slammed the brakes and screeched the car to a stop just in front of the foot’s inward curve. Even with this quick reaction did the car slide and bump into the foot, a hard stop that shook Lorita within. Despite the surprise, Lorita swiftly shifted gears and was driving forward again, adapting to the turn she was forced to make.

“Holy shit, holy shit,” Lorita whispered to herself, all parts of her vibrating with worry except for the iron-grip of her fingers. She flashed a look out the window, despairing to see Cassidy twisting towards her still.

A four-way roundabout was situated ahead, met with blinking frustrating from the mad driver. Lorita swung the car into the circular turn, cutting the curve close to nearly shoot straight through the median. The path ahead was clear, and then instantly it was not; before Lorita committed to it, another giant foot was in her way. She gasped, turning sharper towards the other exit, only to be met by the other foot, nonchalantly bending a tree under its big toe. The third exit was found being sealed under Cassidy’s leg, and the last exit was lost under an ass seated over it. Lorita swore as she looked all around, discovering herself to be fully trapped -- in all directions was Cassidy, sat down with the intersection neatly between her crossed legs.

Lorita shifted the gears back and forth, attempting to turn the car towards an exit she dreamed had to exist. She hurriedly looked for an option, but the taunting laughter from above became too fierce to ignore. With great dread did Lorita lean over the panel and up from the front window, scanning the tall shape of Cassidy’s bare torso looming above. She swallowed nervously, straining her neck to survey the whole specimen, the entirety that was this familiar monster. In all but her nudity was Cassidy recognized, Lorita remembering the freckled complexion and the strands of twisted hair. It all seemed like a nightmare, a reality so twisted to her personal misfortune -- the one woman that would despise her the most was a titan, and she was trapped between her legs, looked upon with a devilish grin that blissfully ignored the rain.