"Stop running, damn it!" Stacy yelled in exasperation from down the hallway. She had been chasing Theodore, one of the more shy students in her grade. But there was a little bit of a problem-- he had been one of the victims of the shrinking incident recently.

•Theo•

I kept sprinting, if just to save my life. What did this girl want? Why was she chasing me, and yelling? I've heard horror stories of less fortunate shrinkees, ones who were captured and tortured by sadistic people. And... disposed of in horrific, inhumane ways. I turned a corner in the hallway and noticed the school's janitor closet was slightly ajar.

"Oh thank God!" I half uttered aloud after I swooped inside the closet and heard Stacy jog past. My heart was pounding, and I was breathing heavily.

Shrinking is a rare phenomenon, so I am the only tiny person currently attending the school. In fact, I wonder why I even have to keep showing up here at all. It just doesn't seem safe, to me. I mean, I just narrowly escaped with my life from a girl a hundred times larger than me.

I poked my head out of the closet, and Stacy was seemingly gone already. I turned back to the safety of the darkness, since I was not going to take any risks outside just yet. I made my way to the back wall, looking for a comfortable spot to rest and catch my breath.

There wasn't much special about the maintenance closet, it was pretty much what you would expect. The staff keeps the school clean well enough, but for some reason, this part of the school looked like it hadn't been getting any love itself. The spider webs sticking to my feet is a testament to that--

Wait. "Shit!" I yelled, and tried to untangle myself. I was well and truly getting more stuck in place by the second.

If there's a spider web, then that means...

I felt eyes staring at me from somewhere in the closet. Perhaps I had some sort of sixth sense for it, but I decided to turn around and face the cracked-open entrance door, and sure enough, I noticed a big spider on the floor, just watching me. Menacingly.

If I wasn't already, I was trying very hard now to free myself. I squatted down and tried to pull the strands off of my ankles. In doing so, I forgot to keep an eye on my stalker.

I looked up in panic to see the spider had definitely moved towards me, ever so slightly.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I kept repeating to myself, adrenaline already settling in my bloodstream. First it was that crazy cheerleader, and now I'm going to lose my life to some spider because I chose to hide.

However... The door casually swung open, and I squinted as light poured in to the maintenance closet. A huge figure stood in the entrance. I looked at their shoes; an expensive looking pair of snow white athletic shoes with some signs of gym use around the soles. Further up, uncovered legs leading to a pleated skirt, then a slender jersey. So, it was Stacy.

Her eyes locked with mine after a second, and I felt my heart sink.

"Hi!" Stacy cooed smoothly like melted butter. It sounded kinder than the last little while she had been pursuing me throughout the school, yet survival got the better of me. I continued to struggle, and eventually broke free and ran slightly further into the closet. There wasn't much point in hiding, perhaps, but I had to try.

"Well, this place seems good as any to me. We shouldn't be bothered here," Stacy announced, and entered the closet, closing the door behind her.

I was well and truly fucked now. There wasn't enough of a gap between the floor and the door for me to squeeze under, unlike the rest of the building.

I peeked my head out from behind the business end of a broom. Stacy was already making her way over. As she did so, she casually stepped on the spider that had threatened to make me into a meal. I shuddered simply for the fact that she didn't even have to notice it to squash the life out of it. There was something surreal about someone smiling at you, walking towards you, and outright killing something on accident that you had little chance to defend yourself from previously.

I let loose a bit of a terrified, drawn out gasp.

"I-I-..." I stammered, whilst watching her kneel closer to my position. I was trapped. At least in the spider situation, I could have made it out the door. Now, there was no option but to submit. I found it difficult to form any words. I'm fucked.

"Well, I've finally caught you, Theo. Looks like running in here was a mistake for your little game of tag," Stacy sighed.

I was already trembling, teeth chattering, as Stacy captured me in one hand and lifted me up closer to her face.

"P-please don't hurt me! I-I- can get you some money, or--" I begged for my life.

Stacy went wide-eyed, and slightly let her jaw slack, lips parted in shock.

"Theo what are you even talking abou-- Nevermind, so, like, I wanted to ask you a favor?" Stacy grinned sheepishly, as her minty chewing gum breath replaced all the musty closet air that previously surrounded me.

I fidgeted nervously in her palms, trying to hold back from crying. "You mean... You mean you're not gonna..." I managed to finally speak out between sobs.

"Hurt you? Bully you? No, I mean, I know you're like a dork and everything but... I'm not like that," Stacy stated, trying to maintain a disarming grin.

I faltered on maintaining eye contact. I never was any good at it, even when I was normal sized. It was especially difficult with girls.

"So.. you chased me here for a, uh, favor?" I asked, trying my best to not sound too nervous, but my knees wouldn't quit shaking. Stacy seemed to finally notice my peril.

"Well, yeah dude, but like... Are you okay?" Stacy asked, sounding a little concerned.

"I'm o-okay," I lied. I wanted to tell her she had scared the shit out of me and that my life had flashed before my eyes just minutes ago, but I was just happy she wasn't here to cause me any trouble. "How... How can I help you?"

"Well... Um... So this shouldn't be like, too hard, but... Do you know who Sarah is? You know the one, the goth girl?"

"Well, yeah. I've seen her around a few times," I replied.

"Are you two friends?" Stacy asked.

"I... I haven't really talked to her before," I admitted.

"Oh, well... Why not?" Stacy questioned. "She's super nice! Probably even nicer than me, actually..."

"I mean, I don't know. It's hard to?" I answered.

Stacy looked confused. "... It's hard? I don't think it is, I've talked to her plenty! You two also kind of seem like you would get along."

I laughed a bit. I didn't really know how to reply to that.

"Wait a minute, Theo. Why did you say it was hard to talk to her?" Stacy questioned.

"You haven't figured it out?" I replied.

Stacy looked deep in thought. "Does she intimidate you or...? I mean I know the whole goth aesthetic can seem a little--"

"I can't, she's too pretty to talk to," I finally admitted.

"Oh my gosh, that can't be your actual reason Theo, that's... That's all in your head!" Stacy pep talked me.

"I struggle to talk with girls, and the prettier they are, the more I have to avoid them." I replied.

"I mean, aren't you talking to me right now, little dude? I'd call myself a 'pretty girl.' Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I work really hard to look good. Don't even try to deny it, Theo. I've poked a hole in your logic already," Stacy answered, sounding confident.

"This isn't the same, Stacy. You... You literally chased me through the hallways and cornered me in a closet! I'd never have just... Randomly struck up a conversation with you on my own merit. And being small doesn't help things, either," I countered.

Stacy looked pensive for a moment. "Oh... Haha!" She was blushing, ever so slightly.
Stacy shifted her position, and sat cross-legged on the floor. I wanted to warn her there was probably a spider carcass smushed into her ass now, but couldn't find a good way to bring that up in natural conversation.

"S-some people might like the small boys," Stacy suggested.

"Nonsense. I've already given up on getting a date before graduation," I deadpanned.

"Oh! About that... So, like, good news little man!" Stacy answered, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Y-yeah?" I replied.

"So that favor I mentioned... Yeah, I kind of owe Sarah a little bit of money, but... Well--" Stacy paused for a moment. "She agreed to forget about the debt if I could talk you into... Going on a date with her."

Adrenaline flushed through my system. A date with the Sarah?

"S-Stacy! I struggle just to say hello to her! How am I supposed to ask her out on a date!? She's like way out of my league--" I stammered, getting flustered.

  Stacy was getting a little bit animated now. "Ugh you... Have you even been listening to me? She basically asked for you. I told her I would see what I could do about being her wingman. I know you're nervous, but please, just--"

"But--"

"Theo. You just said she's cute, and I just told you that she's a sweet girl, and that she has had an interest in getting to know you. Apparently for quite some time, if she's going this far to get your attention. Girls don't normally do that on a whim, ya know?" Stacy urged me.

Stacy stood up, and cupped her right hand around me, cradling me close to her stomach. With her free hand, she opened the closet door and the stark white lights in the hallway practically blinded me when compared to the dim maintenance closet ambience.

"What... Where are we going?" I asked, desperately.

"I'm taking you to Sarah, dude." Stacy replied, and rolled her eyes.

"Wait-wait-wait-wait! Stop, please! Let me on the ground--" I protested. I wanted to hide and crawl into a corner. No, I wanted to be underground. I wanted to be a long lost skeleton in a graveyard with no name on the tombstone because it's been worn away by erosion for twenty thousand decades. The gravestone is pebbles. No, sand. No, gone. I wanted to disappear. Stacy did not break her stride.

"School day's almost over, just... Y'all just go eat out or something okay? You're saving me like twenty bucks by doing this," Stacy giggled to herself. I was practically yelling for mercy, but she just closed her hand over me even more to drown me out. From the darkness of her palm, I heard a slight groaning noise from her stomach, which likely completely dwarfed me. I would rather be in there than what embarrassment Stacy was about to subject me to. "You're so sweet for agreeing to do this for me, Theo!" Stacy announced.

"You're delusional!" I shouted, muffled by her hand. Deep down, I would love to be closer to Sarah, but I've talked myself into solitude for so long, and it was uncomfortable to break my mental shelter like this.