"So, what exactly are we doing just sitting here in the middle of the park?" Ashton asked, tuning back in to the conversation the other two boys were having above him.
"This is the first time we're all back together after your little predicament." Chandler remarked. Ashton squinted at the possibly intentional pun at his size. "And we should probably have a...serious discussion on what we're going to do about it." He added.
"And figure out how it happened!" Eli chimed in, "but I've got my own theory." He said in a quieter voice, smirking. The other two perked up.
"Really? What is it?!" They shouted at the same time.
"Ashton didn't shrink until you guys made out." He deadpanned. Faces became red on tiny and normal sized boys alike.
"I, uh...we-we didn't make out!" Ashton spluttered, "we...kissed...for a few seconds at most!"
"I have it on video, that was TOTALLY a make out session! Here, let me play it for-!"
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!!! Both flustered boys cried out, and Eli put his phone away smugly.
"Ugh...I'm bored. I'll let you guys work this out while I go...somewhere else." Ashton declared as he turned to leave. He was abruptly stopped, though, when Chandler blocked his way with a hand.
"No way, too dangerous." He stated. Ashton rolled his eyes. He still deserved to make his own decisions!
"What? I'm not allowed to? I'm tiny and surrounded by grass and trees, I'm not exactly wearing a large red blinking arrow that says 'hey look! A shrunken boy is right here! Come steal him away!' you know..." Ashton crossed his arms as he finished. Chandler sighed.
"There's a reason we're over here in the wooded area of the park, and not by the playgrounds with the screaming children and oblivious adults." Chandler said worriedly, "buuuut...I guess that means it's fine if you wander. Please just...stay out of sight of others, for your sake, y'know?" Ashton smiled, and turned to walk away.
"Don't worry, I know how to fly under the radar." He reassured, a half smile on his face. After Eli assumed the small boy was out of earshot, he whispered over to the other.
"So, you worried about your little boyfr-?" He was stopped by a hand on his mouth.
"Don't finish that sentence or I'll find a way to make you small, too." Chandler replied, he leaned back to his normal position and continued.
"I'm just...worried for him. He's so small in this world now, and everything that wasn't dangerous to him, now is, like a careless 6 year old, could be walking through the park, and he could be right there, and just...yeah. I know I shouldn't try to keep him "contained", but if I don't, what if something bad happened. And if I do, what if he hates me for it?" Chandler was spilling his feelings from the past few days all at once, and finally took a breather, "we've been a friend group for almost a year now. I...care about him, and I'd feel at fault if he got hurt." He added, looking in the direction that Ashton had walked off in.
~~~~~
Ashton was enjoying his time of peace. Free of being looked at, free of being treated like glass, free of feeling helpless. The quiet whistling of wind past the longer blades of grass sounded nice. It was a nice change to the hectic world of the last couple of days. It was...good.
But even he knew. All good things don't last long.
The ground rumbled more and more violently with every passing second, and Ashton knew what that meant. People. He took refuge by the base of a tree, panting from sprinting nearly the length of a football field to reach it. He knew this wasn't Chandler or Eli, because they wouldn't be careless enough to charge full speed in his direction.
The footsteps came closer, and he started to hear the voices of what sounded like young boys. He had to force himself not to scream when a massive shoe made a deafening boom next to him as it hit the ground. He could see the combination of dirt and dead bug remains near the edge of the sole. He cringed as he pictured himself in those said dead bugs' places.
"Can't catch me, Garrett!!" The towering boy shouted behind him, most likely to his friend. Ashton tried to slink out of the boy's line of vision, and all seemed well until:
"Woah...what is that?" Ashton tensed and his stomach did a flip. In no time flat he was booking it in the opposite direction.
"Hey! Get back here, little guy!" The kid called after him as Ashton escaped into some tall grass. This was not how he wanted his independent time to go. A small part of him started to think how Chandler might never let him be alone again after this. No! No time to think about that! I'm running for my life, here! Ashton thought to himself, bringing his mind back to reality.
~~~~~
"Ashton's been away for a while...should we go look for him?" Chandler asked, about to stand up. Eli shrugged.
"I dunno. He said he wanted to have some time by himself...what if we just come up on him and make him mad?" He reasoned. Chandler thought of that, but shook his head.
"No...he'd be back by now. Ashton likes his alone time, but not for long. He would've come back asking if we'd go get him some McDonalds or something." Chandler stood up confidently, and turned to walk, before spotting two boys running around about fifty yards away. They seemed to be trained towards the ground, but what would they be chasing that was close to the ground other than-?
"Son of a bitch..." Chandler borderline growled. He turned back around. "Eli, get up now." He said sternly. Eli listened and stood, but was rather confused.
"Is something wrong?" He asked cautiously.
"Ashton's in danger."
~~~~~
This was hell.
It was like a never ending game of tag, but if you were caught, then you'd be taken home by a careless 11 year old boy whose room would be filled with action figures larger than you and dirty clothes lying everywhere.
Ashton felt like his lungs were numb at the sheer amount of running he had to do to evade these persistent "little" fuckers. He used the trunk of a tree to steady himself before stumbling onward. He'd grown so fatigued he could barely walk straight. He felt the ground rumble again and knew the boys were back on his trail. He sluggishly scanned the environment for a hiding place.
There. There. A hole, one that barely looked like anything to a regular sized human, but to Ashton, it was his savior. He slid down into it, and for good measure he decided to cover himself in mud and dirt to blend in. If they looked down and saw his bright clothes against the dirt, well...he stuck out like a sore thumb. When he felt sufficiently masked, he placed his hands over his mouth as the kids grew nearer.
"Where is it? It must be close!" The first kid from before declared.
"Don't let it get away!" A second shouted, probably the one the mystery boy had called Garrett. Ashton begged to the universe that he wouldn't be seen. He felt like he was being toyed with by some gods, who were taking great fun in watching him run for his life. He felt this even stronger when a rubber sole completely covered the ditch he'd taken refuge in.
"Where are you, tiny thing? Come on out..." The boy cooed, in a sickeningly sweet voice you'd only hear while talking to a frightened animal. Soon the shoe left, and he couldn't hear footsteps any more. Ashton took this cue to crawl out of his hiding spot. If he'd been normal sized, everyone would've thought he'd taken a mud bath. His clothes were nothing but brown and littered with small bits of rock, sticks, and grass that were sticking to him from hiding.
"God, I'm filthy as hell." Ashton whined to himself, knowing he'd have to clean himself. He went red at the thought of having to get undressed in his giant friend's home, and then have to leave his clothes with him so they could get washed too. Ashton would trust Chandler with his life now, but he could never be too careful in case his friend had some sinister...ideas.
His worries were stopped short when a hand wrapped around him, proceeding to lift him effortlessly into the air.
"Jesus! L-Let go!" Ashton exclaimed in fright. The hands instantly opened, revealing a very distressed Chandler staring back.
"Christ, Ash, what the hell did you get yourself into?! You're muddy as hell!" He exclaimed in a whisper. Ashton averted his eyes. Was Chandler upset with him? Ashton turned away from him, and right then he nearly fell over in more fear.
Those boys. He could see them. They obviously didn't realize that the thing they were looking for was now in plain view, but Ashton wasn't going to sit around and wait for that to actually happen.
"Ch-Chan...Chandler." Ashton could barely form words, "th-they-they're coming, I have to h-hide-!" He was cut off when the hands under him slid him into the pants pocket. A more discreet pocket than the one in the shirt.
Ashton silently thanked Chandler from down low, and the two boys began to leave the park. Chandler suddenly felt a large mass bump into him. He turned, and saw a boy stepping back, rubbing his head.
"Sorry!" He said meekly, before pepping up again, "excuse me? Me and my friend are looking for this tiny creature, we think it might be a fairy!" Chandler tensed, and he felt the lump against his leg tense likewise. He wasn't sure what to say, but Eli jumped in and saved the day.
"Sorry, kid. Fairies don't exist, and neither do tiny people. Maybe it was a frog, or a bug you saw. Either way, we haven't seen anything tiny around here, maybe try looking by the playground. Those pesky things move pretty fast." The kid took in what Eli had said, and nodded after a few seconds.
"Good idea! Thanks! Even if it is just a frog, it'll still make a good pet. But a tiny fairy pet...that'd be way cooler!" The kid replied, before dashing off in the direction of the playground area. Once he was gone, Chandler breathed heavily, turning around.
"Holy fuck, that was too close..." he whispered. "My heart felt like it was going to explode."
"You're damn right it was. Maybe it'd be best to take Ash home after...all of this." Chandler looked off, and nodded.
"Yeah, I will. I want to have a talk with him, too. About what happened...and we can't exactly do that out in public." Chandler turned to leave, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Eli gave a sympathetic look, and it took a moment for him to speak.
"Go easy on him, alright? If you were that scared for him," Eli gestured to the pocket, that was now shaking a little.
"Imagine how he felt."
Wow...it's done??? Is this even real??? I apologize for the unwanted hiatus lmao but look I did something good hehe
Jesus I just hit my head so fucking hard against the wall on accident maybe I'll pass out and wake up tiny fingers crossed wHEEZE-
Fuck, what was my saying for goodbye....oh wait I remember
Peace out my dudes!✌🏻🍪