…

…

“…please don’t contact us anymore.”

Allison jolted awake.

What time is it? she thought.

She looked at her phone, wincing from the sudden brightness. 

8:43 AM?! I need to get ready… and…

As she began to panic, thinking she needed to head to the Silver Strip, she looked towards her nightstand. There, she saw a shirt that had been stretched over a towel. Inside the shirt pocket was a small lump, with a tiny head peeking out. This head had messy black hair, and it all came back to Allison.

That’s right, it’s Brian. I brought him here.

Allison Starr had decided to save Brian Bentley, the most hated man in the country, from death. She took responsibility for his life, as he had been condemned for a crime he did not commit. She caught a glimpse of his pain when his own mother, on national television, stated that she couldn’t care less that he had been executed. After witnessing this, Allison came up with a goal for herself: She wanted to make Brian happy. Now that it was morning, and it was time to start working towards that goal, Allison had one question.

How am I supposed to make Brian happy?! I can’t imagine the trauma he’s been through, and I’m only two years older than him, a-and I barely know how to make myself happy, and he probably doesn’t fully trust me yet, and…

As Allison was running through all the issues with her goal, she noticed something strange about the tiny man nestled in the shirt pocket. He seemed to be having a bad dream. He appeared to be tossing and turning, and his face was twisted into a grimace. Allison knew that she couldn’t very well let him have a bad dream if her plan was to make him happy, so she decided to wake him up. Using her index finger, she gently pressed down on his body from outside the shirt pocket, in some form of a humongous poke. It worked, and Brian’s eyes opened. He looked to be confused for a moment, but quickly returned to his usual neutral expression. He was already becoming used to waking up tiny. He then turned in the direction of the finger that nudged him awake, and he was met with his giant roommate.

Allison was wearing a loose fitting gray shirt, with checkered purple pajama pants. Her medium-long auburn hair, usually kept in a neat ponytail, was hanging loosely, the occasional stray hair jutting out. Her face, battling traces of sleepiness, was radiating warmth at her tiny companion.

“Good morning, Brian. Were you having a bad dream?” she asked, her tone conveying mild concern. The memory of his breakdown the other day was fresh in her mind, and she was desperate to not let something like that happen again. The unfortunate incident with his mother came close, but she was able to calm him down in time. With that being said, she didn’t know if he had any particular triggers, so she wanted to practice caution when it came to things that might upset him. 

“Morning, Allison. I did, but don’t worry about it,” he said.

“Was it bad? Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“It’s nothing worth talking about. Really, I’m okay. Please don’t worry about me too much,” he replied. 

“Alright,” she said, “but the past day or so has been extremely eventful and stressful for you, so don’t hate me if I worry a bit too much.”

Brian chuckled. “You know, I get the impression that you’re very hard to hate,” he said. 

Allison’s heart ever so briefly fluttered, and she grinned at him widely.

“Anyway,” Brian continued, “what time is it?”

“Around 8:45 AM,” Allison replied. Brian raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you have to be at work?” he said, his inflection taking an odd turn at the word work. Ignoring this, Allison shook her head no.

“I took the rest of the week off so I could spend more time with you while we get used to things. Today is Thursday, so we have four days.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Brian said. “Everything you’ve done is very kind. I feel bad that you suddenly took on so much responsibility.”

“What do you mean?” Allison asked.

“Well, the world thinks I’m dead, so everything that I do now has to be through the filter of you and your home. I don’t want to put pressure on you, but I literally will rely on you for everything. I’m somewhat useless at this size,” he explained. Allison pondered carefully for a moment, wanting to reassure him without dismissing his valid concerns.

“I understand, but I chose to do it knowing the responsibility that comes with it. I said that I wanted to help you, and I’m completely fine with whatever form that help takes. You don’t need to worry or feel guilty. Thank you for being considerate, though,” Allison replied. 

“Also,” she said, “you’re not useless.”

“Thank you. Well, on the bright side, the fact that I’m ‘dead’ means that there are pretty much no restrictions on what we can do,” Brian said somewhat jovially, before his face slightly darkened as he realized something.

“You can literally do whatever you want to me.” 

Allison quickly tried to reassure him, “Brian, I would-”

“It’s fine, Allison,” Brian said, his face returning to normal as he held one hand up to stop her. “At this point I’m fairly certain you’re not going to do anything bad to me. I was just thinking out loud.”

At that line, Allison sensed an opportunity to mess with him.

Take a note from Cathy, Allie. Try flirting with him, maybe he’ll get flustered!

“Without your consent,” she said. 

“Huh?” Brian asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I won’t do anything bad to you, without your consent,” she said playfully with an awkward attempt at a wink.

Brian didn’t seem to get it, as he blankly stared at her before muttering “right…”

Damn it.

“Anyway,” Brian started, “should we get going? I don’t want to keep you in bed too long.”

“Ah! Yes, good point. Maybe we can figure out some breakfast.” At that, she started to get out of bed. Brian began to remove himself from the shirt pocket as well, but Allison abruptly stopped him.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, “can you stay in the shirt pocket for a moment, Brian? I want to get something ready first.”

He complied, looking slightly bemused.

Allison rushed over to her closet and pulled open a drawer located at the bottom. Reaching to the back, she rummaged around before pulling out what looked like a large men’s shirt. It was plaid, with a somewhat haphazard mix of reds, blues, and greens. She moved to a small desk she had set up in a corner of the room, and pulled out a pair of scissors. She went to work on the shirt, cutting out various shapes in the fabric. Squares and rectangles of differing sizes, but none too big that they would not comfortably wrap around a one inch man. She laid them all out before Brian, still in the shirt pocket.

“Maybe I can look up some better designs later, but I thought you could maybe wrap these around yourself like a towel or something, so you at least don’t have to walk around naked,” she said. For well over 24 hours now, Brian had been naked, his clothes apparently confiscated before he was sent to Allison. Oddly enough, he didn’t seem to care, but Allison wanted to give him the option. Brian looked at the pieces of fabric before him.

“Does the lack of clothes thing bother you?” he asked.

“A little bit, yeah,” she replied.

“Oh,” he said, “I’m sorry I’ve been making you uncomfortable.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Brian, but I would honestly appreciate it if you would put one of those on.” Allison turned to give him some privacy. Soon, Brian let out a miniscule cough, signalling that it was okay for her to turn around.

Doing so, Allison saw that he had wrapped one of the rectangular pieces of fabric around his waist, like one might do with a bath towel after exiting the shower. It covered his private areas, but it didn’t exactly look secure. Suddenly, Allison came up with an idea. She moved to a drawer filled with office and craft supplies and pulled out some string. She cut off a small strand and handed it to Brian.

“Try tying this around your waist. That should act like some kind of a belt, yeah?” she said. Brian nodded, impressed.

“That’s a good idea,” he said, before securing his waist with a simple shoelace knot. Just like that, a tiny outfit had been assembled. Now that Allison didn’t need to try so hard at averting her eyes from his waist, she admired his figure. As she had noted earlier, he was surprisingly muscular for a supposed child murderer. His arms were thick and toned, while his abs sported the smallest hint of a six-pack. HIs chest was similarly chiseled, and a sudden cough from Brian indicated that she might have been staring a bit too long.

“My eyes are down here, sister,” he joked, with a deadpan expression. Allison was caught off guard by the sudden joke/call-out.

“S-sorry!” she said, flustered. “Anyway, h-how about that breakfast meal, huh?”

Brian nodded, and she took him in her palm before making her way to the kitchen.

After some deliberation, Allison decided to try cutting up some soft fruit into extremely small pieces using her best knife, which Brian would be able to skewer with the broken end of a toothpick. It was somewhat unwieldy, but it was good enough for the time being. Afterwards, the pair found themselves in the living room. Allison was still wearing her pajama pants, but she had put on her softest sweater. Although she wouldn't admit it, she had done so just in case Brian wanted to rest on any part of her body at some point.

“So, what are you wanting to do now?” Brian asked. “I suppose you’re going to want to know about three years ago.”

“Actually, no,” Allison replied, confusing Brian.

“I mean, yes I want to know, but I don’t want to force you. With that being said, I do have one important question for you,” she said. Brian closed his eyes and braced himself for an uncomfortable question.

“How would you like to have a nice, lazy day today?” Allison asked. Brian’s eyes shot open. Although his expression concealed it, he was very surprised.

“What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.

“I mean exactly what it sounds like. How would you like to relax on this sofa all day, doing absolutely nothing aside from wasting time on the internet and getting to know each other better?” she replied.

Allison wanted to do this for several reasons. For one thing, she herself was exhausted from the events of the previous day. She wanted a break from life-changing, emotional events. Additionally, she wanted Brian to get used to being one-inch tall. As he had revealed the day prior, his meeting with Allison took place immediately after being shrunken. Although he seemed to not find it particularly stressful, Allison had a feeling that he needed to adjust more than he let on. She figured that spending a day on the sectional in her presence would allow him to get familiar with what it feels like. Since they were going to be spending a lot of time together, she wanted him to become comfortable with her.

Beyond that, she knew that Brian had been more or less cut off from the world for three years, so giving him some time to get caught up on current events seemed like a good call. She also felt like giving him some time to relax might make him more comfortable with having difficult conversations later on. Lastly, although she would never admit this to him, she was worried that he might try to hurt himself again. If you recall, Brian had thrown himself off the edge of the table in Allison’s SPAR. Although she was pretty sure that he only did that in response to his belief that Allison was planning on torturing him to death, she wanted to make sure that she was around him at all times in case he exhibited any self-harming behavior. Allison had planned this out the previous night, after the incident with the news, and she hoped it would ease his mind while deepening their relationship.

“Really?” Brian asked. As you can imagine, Brian had more or less given up on the idea that he would ever have the luxury of wasting a day off again, as he didn’t get any days off from, well, the whole world despising him. Being faced with the opportunity, he was feeling the unfamiliar stirring of excitement within his stomach. Allison smiled. Turns out, not even one inch tall, wrongly convicted murderers can resist a nice, lazy day.

“Really,” she said. “What do you think?”

“That sounds nice. Thank you. I’m sorry in advance, though,” Brian said.

“For what?” Allison asked.

“For the fact that you’re gonna have to relay every internet search I can think of into a computer for me.”

At that, Allison was reminded of something.

“Ah!” she exclaimed, “That reminds me. Well, first of all, you really don’t have to apologize for that kind of thing. Second of all, though, yesterday I actually thought of a way you can browse the internet without my help.” 

With that, she got up and dashed to her bedroom. When she returned, she was holding an odd, rectangular device. It had a screen, which was about 6 inches long, but only 2 inches wide. She folded out an included stand on the back, and propped it up in front of Brian- long side down, so the screen rose to about twice his height. Brian was nonplussed.

“What… in the hell… is that?” he asked. Allison suddenly looked somewhat embarrassed. 

“Well, that’s uh… the iPhone Slim,” she replied. Brian slowly turned his head to look at her.

“That awful thing… is a phone?” he said, incredulously.

“Well, er, yeah! It came out last year. They said it was, uh, innovative. You’re meant to hold it with both hands, see?” she said, before grabbing it and demonstrating. Indeed, she was holding the long side with both hands, pretending to type with her thumbs.

“Innovative,” Brian repeated, “did they also say it was ugly as shit? How much did it cost?!”

“Well, now I don’t want to tell you! Anyway, you’re definitely right that it’s ugly. Uncomfortable to use, too. That’s why I got a different phone soon after. But, well… I got caught up in the hype, okay?” she said, hanging her head in defeat. Brian looked at her with great pity.

“Anyway, what does this have to do with me?” he asked. Allison placed it in front of him once more.

“Well, since the screen is only twice your height, I thought you might be able to use it! If I place all the important apps on the lower half of the screen, it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to reach. You should have no issues with the keyboard as well. I can enable the assistive touch features, so you would be able to control everything without pressing any buttons, and you would be good to go! What do you think?” Throughout her explanation, Brian’s face transitioned from judgemental to appreciative. 

“Allison, you’re brilliant.” Her face lit up.

“Thank you! It doesn’t have cellular capabilities anymore, but it can still access the internet. This means we can’t message each other if we need to, though,” she said.

Brian’s face narrowed in contemplation for a moment.

“What if… oh, I’ve got it. Set up an email address on both phones, and we can send messages to our own email address. That way, we’ll both be able to see the message. You can delete them after, just to be safe,” he said.

“Brian, you’re brilliant!”

After completing the necessary preparations, their lazy, wasteful day began. Allison alternated between her phone and laptop, blissfully drifting between social media, news, and strange listicles. Similarly, Brian went to town on his new device, desperately taking in as much information as he could about the events of the last three years. He read about some of the most interesting scientific discoveries. He read about what happened to some of his favorite TV shows and video game series that ended while he was incarcerated. He read about celebrity deaths that saddened the world, and celebrity scandals that maddened the world. Whenever there was a video he wanted to watch, he would ask Allison to pull it up on the television, and they would watch it together.

Every now and then, Allison would notice Brian staring at her from the corner of her eye. As she had suspected, he was still adjusting to being small, and he seemed to be marvelling at her enormous figure. She never acknowledged it, as she didn’t want to discourage him, but she found it extremely cute that he found her so enthralling. Slowly, Brian was warming up to her.

Whenever Brian and Allison were watching a video, more than anything else Allison wanted to ask if she could hold him in her hand while it played. She loved the feeling, and she wanted him to become physically comfortable with her, but she was too shy to ask. She was afraid she would make him uncomfortable, so she simply sat there, occasionally glancing at him while he was immersed in whatever video was playing.

Eventually, the doorbell chimed, startling Brian. 

“It’s okay, it’s just a package that I ordered yesterday. Do you want me to put a pillow in front of you while I open the door?” she asked. Brian nodded.

She retrieved the package, and beckoned Brian into her hand. She then placed him on top of the box, and once he was secure, they moved into the bedroom.

Placing Brian on the bed, Allison opened the package. Unsure how Brian would react to this, she braced herself and pulled out what was inside. It was a small pet carrier.

Meant for small animals, it was about eight by eight inches. The bottom was made of solid cloth, while the walls and ceiling were breathable cloth mesh. Due to the mesh, the inside was completely visible. The top zipped open, which allowed easy access from the outside. Allison was more than a little nervous that Brian might insinuate that she sees him as a pet, but she felt that it provided a way for him to have his own enclosure at night, without having to leave her bedroom.

“W-what do you think? I thought you could have your own space at night while still in my bedroom. I can make sure that you’re okay from the outside, and I can easily get you if you need help. We can put some kind of cloth cushion on the bottom, and we could even set up your phone on the inside, if you wanted to use it there. I really hope you’re not offended, I promise that I don’t see you as some small animal, but-”

“Let me stop you right there. It’s great,” Brian said.

“Really?” asked Allison.

“Yeah. Thank you very much, Allison.”

Allison breathed a sigh of relief. However, there was one issue that she wanted to address, despite the fact that it was extremely embarrassing.

“There is… uh… one last thing I wanted to ask about, though,” she started, refusing to make eye contact.

“I was, er, a little concerned that you wouldn’t have any privacy around here, especially at night, when you, uh… you know… might want to engage in some… activities…” she continued, her cheeks turning red. Brian was confused.

“What activities are you referring to, exactly?” he asked.

“Oh come on, you know…” Allison replied. “You’re a man, and sometimes you need some… r-relief, right? That’s what I mean…”

Brian suddenly got it.

“Oh, are you talking about jerking off?” he asked. Allison’s eyes went wide.

“Oh my god, Brian! I was trying to be subtle!” she cried.

“What’s the need? What’s so embarrassing about cranking one out every now and then?” he said teasingly.

“Eww! Cranking?! What the hell is wrong with you?!” she exclaimed, burying her head in her hands. Brian could practically see the steam rising from her head. He couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction to his teasing.

“That’s very considerate of you, Allison, but you don’t need to worry about it. I can’t get that kind of relief,” he said sullenly. Allison raised her head to look at him, suddenly concerned.

“W-why? Do you have any medical issues I need to know about, you know, down there?” she asked nervously. Brian shook his head.

“I do have an issue, but it isn’t medical. You see, I’ve… I’ve been in pain for a long time. Eventually, the human mind can’t take it anymore, and it starts to lose certain… senses,” he said, sadly looking at his feet. Allison brought a hand to her mouth.

“Oh, Brian… are you saying you can’t…?” she asked.

“That’s right, Allison,” Brian declared stoically. “I will never again feel the joy of a woman’s touch.”

“And that’s not all,” he continued, turning so his back was facing Allison. “I can't recall the taste of food, nor the sound of water, nor the touch of grass. I'm naked in the dark.”

Allison gasped. “Brian, I’m so sorry,” she said, as she reached for him to give him some comfort. At that moment, though, Brian turned back towards her, and she saw something she did not expect. He was struggling not to laugh, a huge smirk on his face.

“Brian, what…?” Allison started.

“Yeah, I’m totally fucking with you,” Brian said. “I can hear and taste fine.”

“You fucking asshole!” Allison cried, flopping onto the bed. “I was seriously worried!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Brian said, still smirking.

“What was that about being naked in the dark, then?” Allison asked.

“I was quoting The Lord of the Rings, doofus,” he replied. “Frodo says that in The Return of the King.” Allison groaned in frustration, before breaking out in a smile herself.

“You like Lord of the Rings, huh? That really old book and movie series?” she asked.

“I do. Especially the movies,” Brian replied, his eyes sparkling like a kid’s.

“I’ve never seen them myself,” Allison said. Brian’s eyes narrowed.

“If we’re going to be living together, that’s gonna be a real problem,” he said.

Allison sensed an opportunity for them to bond, and she pounced on it.

“How about we watch them tomorrow? How long are they back to back?” she asked.

“Oh… counting snack, bathroom, lunch, and dinner breaks… about 12 hours?” he replied.

“12 hours?!” Allison exclaimed. “Oh, what the hell… let’s do it,” she said with an adventurous grin. Brian’s face lit up, and he matched her grin.

“Excellent.”

Back in the living room, Allison and Brian had returned to lazing around. Before they got too into it, though, Brian spoke up.

“I was lying about the emotional trauma part, but I really don’t need that kind of relief,” he started. “It’s kinda weird, but I don’t really get sexual urges. Never have,” he said. Allison’s eyes widened, this was unexpected.

“Are you saying you’re… asexual?” she asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. I appreciate beauty, I just don’t get aroused by it. Kinda like how one might appreciate a painting.”

Asexual, huh… Allison thought. I guess there really are all kinds of people in the world… wait, does that mean..?

“Wait, does that mean you never want to be in a relationship?” Allison asked, a tiny amount of nervousness in her voice. Brian looked up at her.

“No sex drive doesn’t mean I can’t fall in love, Allison,” Brian said. “Quite the opposite, in fact…” he muttered. Allison looked away, scared she had offended him. After a brief silence, Brian spoke up again.

“I have never been in love, though,” he said quietly. Allison could tell he was purposefully keeping his tone neutral.

“Have you?” he asked.

“Yeah, I have,” she said softly. “One time.”

“How did that work out?” Brian asked gently.

“Not very well,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” he replied.

Allison smiled, and extended her finger out to gently rub the top of his head.

“Thank you, Brian. You’re much nicer than he ever was.”

As she started to pull her finger away, something surprising happened. Brian caught it, and pulled it close to his chest. He wasn’t strong enough to do this himself, obviously, but Allison sensed his intention and allowed her finger to be pulled. He held it close, and rested his head on the skin right above her nail. Allison felt like her heart was about to explode.

“I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me,” Brian said quietly. “Whoever he was, he didn’t deserve your kindness.”

Trying to hold back tears, Allison softly thanked him once again, and he eventually relinquished his hold on her finger.

The rest of their day proceeded as it had been before, simply enjoying each other’s company as Brian got caught up in the happenings of the world. Allison ordered soup for dinner again, promising that they could figure out something solid in the future, and they eventually retired to bed.

In the animal carrier, which Brian insisted they rename Bag End, promising she would understand later, Allison placed the same towel and shirt combo from the previous night. It seemed like Brian had gotten rather attached.

“Alright Brian, what time should we start our movie marathon tomorrow?” Allison asked.

“Hmm… how about we wake up at 7:30, and start watching at 8:00?” he replied.

“That sounds good to me. I’ll set my alarm. I had a really nice day today, Brian,” she said warmly.

“I did too, Allison. So much can happen in three years. Thank you for everything,” he replied. Although his face carried the same neutral expression, his voice was emanating happiness.

“You’re very welcome. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

With that, Allison sank into her mattress, turned off the light, and reflected on the day’s events.

My goal is to make him happy, she thought, as if carving the words into her soul.

Today was a really good start.