Thundering roars rang from drums, angrily beating to a now repetitive rhythm the entire band became accustomed to. Despite the monotony, there was an extra spark forced into the music, attempting to pump up the now disinterested crowd. Although the drummers have overall been tight and together, there was one who was offbeat and slow compared to the rest of the drum line.

"Goddamn it, Josh! It goes ba-dut-dut-daa-ba-da-da-dut." The band director, Mr. Calhoun, screeched grabbing Josh's drum sticks and proceeded to play the beat in a demonstrative fashion.

"I know," he said for the hundredth time that night, keeping his words short. He held a black glove to his forehead, wiping the perspiration off. Josh was avoiding eye contact, looking towards the freezing bleachers below him.

"Then set the example and play it right!" Calhoun passed the mallets back to Josh, well, he thrust the mallets into his chest roughly, knocking the senior back a few unstable steps.

The boy slumped down on the bleachers, burying his face into his gloved hands. Every other band member followed suit, preparing to watch their team's offense attempt to score. They all watched with a naive optimism and pessimism at the same time, helplessly spectating as their defending championship team was now down three possessions midway through the second quarter.

"Hey, Josh," a gloved hand gripped his shoulder pad, comfortably squeezing at the nape of his neck right afterwards. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered shortly, and swiftly. "Just off." Annie nodded, understanding Josh’s lethargic attitude and dismissing it as a common sickness.

"Take it easy, okay.” Annie said with a hint of concern. “If you’re not feeling well, just sit out.” This time Josh nodded, feverishly moving his head to get Annie to walk away. He bit his lips, holding back a cry for help. There were a million things he wished to tell her, but he had no clue on how to bring it up. The teenage girl sat to his right, laying her head on his shoulder. He was unresponsive, making Annie doubt that he was getting the hint at all. She sighed to herself, knowing for years how much of a blockhead Josh was sometimes.

“Hey, Mom?” A meek little voice called. Annie craned her head to see a freshman tuba player tapping her shoulder. She sighed, knowing what was to come next from begrudgingly accepting the position of being the collective band’s “mom,” a title given to the most responsible senior, regardless of them being female or not. It was a tradition started several years ago due to the consistent lineage of incompetent drum majors. Of course her constant coddling of Josh put her in the hot seat as the matron of the marching band before she was even a sophomore.

“What’s up, sweetie?” Annie asked, using a pet name after failing to remember the tuba player’s real name.

“My second valve’s stuck,” he said in a hushed breath, his nasally voice ingraining in her head.

“Right,” she answered back, knowing full well that he knew how to fix it on his own. “Just tell Calhoun and I’ll get a wrench from the band room.” Her voice seemed a little uninterested.

“I’m kinda scared to ask,” he said in an even lower whisper.

“Fine, whatever. Josh could you go to the band room and grab a wrench for me?” Annie asked, forcing a slow reaction from the sluggish boy. Josh did a mock salute and shakily walked away from the bleachers, nearly tripping over himself. Annie sighed slightly, feeling relieved as the freshman also sauntered away.

Annie slumped down against the cold metal bench, taking a sip of a water bottle before a familiar voice called “hey Mom” while jerking her shoulder a little too roughly.

“What!?” Annie yelled, turning to look at the source. Her anger was quickly dismissed as she noticed the woman who had shaken her around. She was an Asian-American young woman who stood slightly taller and had straight black hair that was tied behind in a ponytail. “Sally! You’re back. Took you long enough.”

“Of course I’m back, Mom,” Sally teased, taking her hands out of her old high school sweatshirt and bringing Annie in for a tight hug. “It’s the semifinal, and there’s no way I’d miss my team get its ass whooped.”
“Ouch.” Annie said, remembering that this following loss would probably be her last game.

“Touchy subject?” Sally joked. “Whatever, let’s go take a walk. Mom to Mom.”

The two walked away from the band and leaned against the rails. “So, how’s the band?”

“Good,” Annie answered frankly. “We’re definitely getting better.”

“Cool,” Sally answered shortly, establishing a clear ice-breaker. “So are you and Josh a thing yet?”

Annie only smiled, a light blush appearing on her pale cheeks. She played with her feet, twisting the ball of her foot on the ground a little sheepishly. “Well he hasn’t asked yet. Maybe he’s not interested.”

“I mean why don’t you ask him out then?” Sally inquired, pushing Annie playfully.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Annie answered quietly.

“It’s twenty fourteen, yo. There’s nothing wrong in the lady asking the guy out. The heart wants what the heart wants.” Sally advised before a string of uncomfortable silence appeared.

 “Close game, right?” Annie asked, ending the silence and changing the subject.

“Totally,” Sally agreed, “we got it in the bag. At least it’s not as bad as last year when we threw a pick six in the last minute.”

“Your year still got state runner up and a division championship.”

“Oh yeah. You were there too.” Sally added. “Wait, who’s your quarterback?”

“Rudy,” Annie answered as Sally’s smile dropped. She lifted her right hand fingering simply from three to one. And as her hand became a fist, a loud cheer came from across the field, and Sally brought her fist and face down in a triumphant manner. “Called it.” As she had predicted, Rudy had thrown an interception.

“God damn it!” a loud, grumbling voice yelled. A man in his early or mid twenties had rushed to the sideline, screaming obscenities at the players in general. From his mannerisms, both girls could tell he was heavily intoxicated. Annie, feeling somewhat dutiful, flocked toward the man.

“Chill out, dude. They’re just kids.” Annie defended, crossing her arms in a huff. The man was about a foot taller than her, but she felt that she wasn’t in any apparent danger.

“Fuck off,” he yelled, turning back to the group of players who tried their best to ignore him.

“It’s just a game, man. A high school game.” Annie’s comment seemed to annoy the man even further.

“Fuck off, bitch.” This time he had shoved the girl and she landed flat on her bottom. She jumped to her feet and nearly took a swing but was held back by a now interfering Sally.

"Annie, don't bother with him. Scumbag's not worth it." Sally advised, being a much needed voice of reason, which Annie on most occasions was. Annie found it somewhat ironic that the usually hot headed girl had kept her in check, passing it off with a sly smile.

"But he-"

"Chill, girl. You're a band mom, and what are moms?" Sally cutoff, grabbing Annie by the shoulders.

"Level headed and cool." Annie recited weakly.

"And what are you?"

"I'm a cool mom." Annie declared, quoting the final line of the matriarch mantra.

"Damn straight you are. Now let me handle this." Sally ordered, placing her hand on the top of Annie's head and ruffling the girl's short pixie cut.

Sally directed Annie away from the drunken man, giving her a playful passing wink as she stopped just short of the man. She put on a friendly smile before tapping the man’s massive back. “Whatcha drinking there, cutie?” Sally asked sweetly, swaying left and right slightly with her hands deep in her sweatshirt’s pockets.

“None of your business,” he replied coldly.

“Mind if I take a sip?” she asked innocently.

“How old are you?”

“Psh, old enough. Just give me the booze. This game blows.” The man complied, passing her the can of beer he held in his hand. Sally smiled back, taking her hands out her pockets and gratefully received the drink. She dexterously palmed a tiny glass vial, slipping in a couple drops into the drink before feigning staking a drink. “So how about we meet up after the game.” Sally aggressively squeezed his hand before waving him off and walking away.

Sally quickly regrouped with Annie, making gagging noises while joining her friend. “What was all that for? I’m pretty sure you would’ve punched him over the rail.” Annie asked, feeling a little disturbed by the show of flirtation.

“Relax, my dear little Annabeth. I have my reasons.”

“Care to explain?” Annie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sally reached into her pockets, pulling out an empty vial and brandished it teasingly in front Annie. “This thingy. Some really shady guy left an entire briefcase full of this stuff.”

“What is it?” Annie asked, hanging onto Sally’s words.

“Cyanide, heroin, an experimental bio-weapon that shrinks people, you know, pretty tame stuff.” Sally said, rushing her last few words.

“What?”

“Pretty neat, huh?”

“A shrinking chemical? And you used it on that guy?”

“Righty-O. That scumbag had it coming.” Sally said nonchalantly. Annie was a flustered to say the least, trying to comprehend the ridiculous action. “Besides it’s not like I’m gonna kill him or anything, just teach him a lesson and leave him in a gift basket at the hospital once I’m bored with him.”

“You’re a sociopath,” Annie claimed, half joking, hoping it was a weird, morbid joke.

“Maybe, but hey at least that guy’ll start respecting women when I’m done. I mean try it yourself.” Sally said while passing another tiny vial and placing it firmly into Annie’s gloved palm.

“Bull.” Annie said, calling out the joke.

“Alright,” Sally said acceptingly, “Believe what you want, but you can try it on Josh and get yourself a cute little boy toy.” Annie blushed again, her cheeks turning a soft rosy red as she thought of the idea of an inch tall Josh. “Besides, it’s only a matter of time before he screws up big time.”

Annie looked at the tiny vial, remembering that she saw the same thing on the news along with the strange logo on the lid. “I-I guess.” Annie stuttered, feeling pressured by the girl. She unfastened the velcro strip on her marching jacket, placing it into the hidden inside pocket that held her phone.

“Atta girl, just don’t get it on you. Stuff’s real strong.” Sally advised. She turned to the drunken man from before, her grin widening as the man seemed to be fighting to stay awake. “Oh wow, gotta go. Scumbag’s passing out.” Sally rushed over to the side of the inebriated man, faking concern and leading him out of the school, shooting a victorious glance towards the stunned Annie.

Annie sauntered back towards the band, thinking about what the hell had just happened. She thought back to the little potion in her pocket, wondering what she was going to use it for if it was in fact the real deal. She patted her chest, making sure it was still there and intact.

The girl wasn’t watching where she was going as she bumped into a larger, unstable figure as they both tumbled to the ground. Annie helped the person up, slowly noticing his tan skin, dark brown hair and an unforgettable, unfocused look on his eyes. Of course the most noticeable feature was the powerful stench of alcohol on his breath.

“Josh?”

“Jesus Christ, Josh! Are you drunk?” Annie accused, her wavering voice drowned out by the waves of the shouting crowd. Josh only shook his head in denial, but it didn’t take long once Annie got a closer look to notice the glossy, bloodshot look in Josh’s eyes and his messily prepared band uniform. She brought her gloved hand to her forehead, brushing away the messy blonde hair from her forehead. “You’re fucking eighteen, man!” Annie shoved Josh roughly, forcing him to stumble backwards and fall to the ground.

“I know,” he recited.

“Come on. I’m taking you home.” Annie said, keeping her anger in check. She picked up the boy and had his arm over her shoulder, dragging him off to the tense band director on the sideline. She waited awhile, hoping the team made a good play to raise his mood even a little. “Hey Calhoun?”

“Yeah?” the teacher asked, his tone making it clear that he was not in the mood to be bothered.

“Josh’s not feeling well, and I’m kind of his ride,” Annie paused, “so…”

“You know halftime’s coming up, right?” Calhoun asked, referring to the band show that every band member knew no one watched in the first place. "It's probably going to be your last game."

"I know," Annie said through grit teeth. “Trust me I don’t want to be leaving either.” She jerked the boy's right arm back onto her shoulder in an attempt to keep him stable. Calhoun simply nodded and waved the girl off, turning his attention back at the game, watching the team’s defense try to provide damage control to the interception.

Annie dragged the staggering Josh away from the home side of the field. The two were bombarded by impolite jeers and jokes from the visiting crowd. The drunken calls from the opposing fans didn’t help her mood as she was reminded of the state Josh was in. Annie kept her head down, covering her eyes with her hat.  She bit her lip, biting back screams and protests against the hollering crowd, remembering her teacher’s overstated professionalism speeches.

After stumbling through the verbal gauntlet, Annie graciously welcomed the overall silence in the parking lot compared to the rowdiness of the game. There was a soft buzz of the electricity in the distance, and the bright lights shone in their eyes as their slow steps began to feel coordinated.

Ambling at a painfully slow pace, Annie managed to get Josh to her car, which she affectionately referred to as a deathtrap on a good day. Popping open the truck, Annie began to remove her tight, clingy uniform, shedding the cobalt jacket, ridding herself of the scratchy black and silver sequins and the pitch black overalls. She winced a little as her skin held contact with the chilly November air.

Annie began to help Josh do the same, holding him close to her as she rather forcefully removed his jacket in a platonic, disappointed way. She bit her lip, remembering her attraction to her friend, but she quickly dismissed her thoughts as she remembered why she was in this situation.

As his jacket came off, a somewhat large flask hit the ground with a noticeable clank, catching Annie’s attention immediately as she dropped down to get it. The girl looked at the bottle with horror and disgust as it registered fully into her mind. She took a quick smell of the inside and immediately recoiled by the powerful odor, scrunching her face in an indignant manner.

“Is this what you want?” Annie asked, keeping no control in her voice or tone. “To end up like you piece of shit dad?” Josh only looked down once she referenced his negligent father and his drinking problem. Burning hot tears lined Annie's eyes as she swallowed back her anger, trying to keep a level head.

There was an odd tension to Josh’s quiet and unreceptive demeanor, but Annie couldn’t tell whether or not it was shame or the alcohol that kept him silent. Neither spoke as Josh, although inebriated could tell that Annie was fuming at this point.

The teenage girl helped her friend into the tiny car, fastening his seat belt before climbing in her own side. Starting the car, she looked over at the boy. His face was stoic, and his eyes seemed fixated out the window. Josh’s breaths were strained and slow and were the only signs of life that came from him. He watched the scoreboard in the distance slowly count down as the bright red numbers ticked to zero.

The car started with a disruptive groan, and the radio came on with a light static accompanied with a gentle melody. Annie held a look of frustration on her face, waiting till they reached Josh’s house before she could chew him out on his stupidity. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and began to feel her teal painted nails to dig into the already decaying wheel. They sat in silence as Annie steered the car down the streets and quickly found themselves in front of Josh’s house.

The obnoxious engine slowly died down as the teenagers were reacquainted with the surreal sound of silence.

Without warning, Josh let out a tiny unnoticeable whimper, which became a groan, and quickly evolved into throaty sobs as he buried himself into the shoulder of his best friend, who was completely caught off guard by the sudden breakdown. Annie’s brown eyes widened in surprise as she quickly set aside her anger. She looked down at her crying friend as she helped him lie down in the car, his head resting on her thighs. The blonde slowly brought her fingers through his chestnut brown hair, hoping it would calm Josh.

“Everything’s all right,” she consoled, not knowing what to say or do. Before she never even knew her friend drank, but she quickly assumed her friend was an emotional drunk. Annie let him cry, doing nothing other than stroking his hair and simply being there for him. She let the cold drops of tears hit her legs as she tried her best to be as considerate and comforting as possible. Her thoughts were immediately debunked as Josh began to mumble.

“I fucked up,” he admitted in a low tone. “I’m sorry.” He buried his face into her lap, finding comfort in Annie’s words. “I fucked up,” he repeated.

“No, Josh, no,” was all she was able to say. “We left before you got caught.”

“It’s not that,” he sobbed quietly, trailing off slightly. He was clearly flustered about something, but he didn’t seem comfortably saying so. He kept on muttering the same three words after that in between chokes and sobs.

Annie only nodded, feeling he didn’t owe her an explanation, although her burning curiosity wanted to know. She simply kept running his short, soft hair through her fingers. “You don’t have to tell me anything, if you’re not comfortable.” Josh didn’t reply.

The two stayed silent as Josh’s cries faded away to nothingness. Annie sure as hell wasn’t prepared to console a broken friend, but she tried her best to help him anyway she could. She looked down at the boy in her lap and said, “let’s get you inside.” She helped the stumbling boy out from the car, holding him a she directed him across the walkway, muttering soft words of comfort as they reached the door. Annie knocked against the front door before asking, ”is your dad home?”

“No,” he answered bluntly. Annie found it hard to figure out whether or not Josh was grateful his deadbeat resentful father wasn’t home. “Prolly gettin’ shitfaced.” Annie sighed at the irony of that statement. Josh dug into his short’s pockets, awkwardly fumbling with his keys as he quickly grew frustrated and handed off the keys to Annie.

Letting herself in, Annie ushered the boy into Josh’s uncharacteristically well kept room, and Josh flopped tiredly on the bed sheets. Annie sat next to him, resting her hand on his side as she waited for his breaths to become slow and relaxed.

Just before Annie was going to leave him alone, she spotted a rather large glass bottle on his dresser. She frowned and let out sigh of discontent, eyeing the golden brown liquid that was within arm’s reach. She quickly remembered seeing the bottle locked away in Josh’s father’s liquor cabinet, which was literally a padlocked pantry.

“I mean the glass is right there,” Annie mused to herself looking over the alcohol with a joking glare, diffusing her own discomfort. “I still don’t know why people drink.”

Annie quickly grabbed the bottle, letting the self righteous thought settle in her head as she planned to throw the bottles into her death trap to never see the light of day. She lunged a bit too roughly knocking over a stick of deodorant, some cologne bottles, and most notably a tiny unsealed envelope hidden under the bottle.

Letting the curiosity get to her, Annie looked over the envelope, surveying the strangely legible writing that read To Whom It May Concern.

“I guess that’s me,” she chided to herself, hoping to dilute the growing tension as thousands of anxious thoughts entered her mind. She looked over at the sleeping boy, double checking to see if he was still unconscious.

She clutched the envelope to her chest, which tightened with every step she took. She stopped just outside of his room and slumped down against the now closed door. Her heart raced as she fought back tears praying to anyone who would listen that the letter wasn’t what she thought it was. Annie had her suspicions about Josh recently, noticing his lack of drive, and one day out of the blue he shows up drunk at a high school football game. It’s not like him, she thought to herself.

She slowly opened the envelope and looked at the writing, reading through the letter and growing more and more worried by the word. It only took her a sentence to realize the letter's purpose.

It was a suicide note.

"Alright, Annie. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak the fuck out, Annie." Her voice quivered as she fought back tears as her words sped up. Her attempts to calm herself were completely in vain as she tried to cope with the brutal reality. "Calm down. You can do something about this. You just need to be smart about it."

Her mind was numb, unable to process the information all at once. Questions rose, ranging from how long has Josh been suffering, how did she not figure it out sooner, why wasn’t she there for him. Annie profusely blamed herself, cursing violently, which was usually something she never done unless something really bothered her.

Annie quickly found herself frantically pacing around Josh’s tiny house, listing all the possible things someone could off them self with. She scoured the house, raiding medicine cabinets, taking knives, and even cleansing the house of any alcohol to keep her drunken friend sober.

The tears were now free falling from her face as her rushed attempts to keep her friend from killing himself seemed insurmountable. She was a broken, bawling mess as she dumped whatever she deemed contraband into the trunk of her car. Her eyeliner ran as her tears dripped into the plastic bags full of bottles, knives and an abundance of painkillers.

The girl was on her knees, her head resting on the back bumper of the two door car. She knew her solution was only temporary, fully acknowledging she couldn’t possibly keep her best friend at her side at all times and that Josh would eventually find another way to take his life. She begged a higher power to give her an answer but she kept drawing blanks.

Her mind froze as a single idea manifested itself. It was farfetched and probably a joke, but it didn’t hurt to try. She dug her hands into the trunk, accidentally pricking herself on a stray knife, but she didn’t mind as she finally pulled out her band uniform’s overalls. Annie reached into the inside breast pocket and pulled out a tiny vial of crystal clear liquid. She flicked the side of the vial with her neatly manicured fingers, making sure every drop was collected at the bottom.

She couldn’t stop herself from running to Josh’s side, slowing down rather abruptly before reaching his room, somewhat regaining her composure. Her breaths steadied, but the tears still fell. The girl made sure her steps were silent, not wanting to wake the now heavily sleeping boy.

Annie sat on the bed right next to Josh, unscrewing the vial’s lid and dropping the liquid into his open mouth. She carefully emptied it on his chest, making sure she didn’t get any on herself not knowing exactly how to apply the serum. Annie sat by his side, waiting for at least a half-hour where nothing had happened.

“Annie?” Josh’s voice called weakly, breaking the silence. 
“Yeah?” Annie asked, her heart rushing.

“I…I… I’m sorry.” Josh apologized, “I’m sorry.” Annie only nodded, looking at the boy who faced the wall. “I fucked up.”

“It’s okay,” she said in a hushed breath. She hoped she was right that Josh hadn’t done anything drastic just yet, almost forgetting that she did so herself.

“I love you,” he mumbled. Annie’s heart fluttered in surprise, not sure if she could genuinely accept the comment.

“I love you too,” she answered back gently. Josh seemed to smile a little as he fell back asleep after a quiet few minutes.

Annie laid down on the bed right next to him, humming softly to pass the time. She attentively looked over the sleeping boy, studying his every move with anticipation and anxiety. His light snores seemed to be the only indication that he was still alive.

Annie began to lull as it was well into the night, but she actively refused to let Josh out of her sight while he needed help. She played around on her phone, hoping the artificial brightness would keep her awake. She texted her mom, saying she was staying the night at a friend’s and quickly lost track of time. Sure it was a lie, but she felt Josh needed someone at his side.

Josh began to lurch, having a loud coughing fit with uncomfortable, wheeze. He rolled around slightly on the bed, grabbing wildly against the now ruffled comforter. Annie’s eyes began to bulge as she looked at Josh’s thrashing form, noticing his body begin to contort and get smaller. She gasped in both shock and astonishment, watching his body dwindle to an impossible size.

His body reduced from a solid six feet to a mere inch or so right before Annie’s eyes.  She bit her lip, finding it hard to believe that Josh was actually shrinking. She leaned over to the tiny boy, cradling him in her palms. She promised herself that she would watch over Josh until his mental health had recovered, fully acknowledging it was a rash decision, but it was for Josh’s own good.

At least she’d like to think it was.

There was a certain peacefulness in the air as Annie finally had a still moment to think on her actions. It took her a few seconds of regaining her composure to realize the full extent of what she had done. “Oh god,” she said weakly. Her heart sank, remembering no mention of a cure. As far as she knew he was stuck like this indefinitely. At least he’s safe with me, she thought, finding a very small silver lining with her situatuon.

Annie looked down at the shrunken boy in her palm, complete bewilderment in her eyes as his tiny body twitched spastically. She couldn’t help but stare at his tiny chest that rose and fell consistently.  Her mind eventually drifted to how fragile he looked. His tiny, helpless form only took a fraction of space on her pale, fleshy palms. At his height, he was slightly shorter than an inch but not enough to even warrant an exact measurement.

“So stupid…” Annie sighed under her breath. She slammed her head against the backboard of his bed, ignoring the thud her impact made as she stared into the ceiling. She bit her lip harder than before, feeling her teeth sink deeply into her lips as she just had to accept the panicked decision she made.

All Annie did was sit against the back of the bed, her legs crossed and her tiny best friend in her hands, wondering her next course of action. She felt the symptoms of sleep as she actively fought against them, but she knew that sleep deprivation wasn’t going to help anyone. She laid down keeping the tiny Josh on her chest as she nestled herself into the bed, her right hand pinning him down. She sighed loudly, telling herself that she would hopefully figure everything out by the morning. Unfortunately for her, she found her night to be sleepless until a worried fatigue finally put her to rest.

Later into the night, Josh found himself awake, his head still unclear and unfocused. But for once in as long as he could remember, he felt somewhat at ease. The general warmth around him seemed to elevate that sensation of comfort. His mind was clear, clearer than it has been for years, no longer filling with bold, unforgiving statements of self hatred, hopelessness or even confinement. He felt safe and at ease from the relaxing heat that seemed to melt away his troubles.

The world around him was pitch black, but the boy did not care at all about the lack of sight. All he wanted to do was to hold onto the feeling for as long as possible, knowing that at one point the thoughts would return, leaving him on his own again with nothing to shield him from his ruthless psyche.

It didn’t take him long to notice that he was alone, which was something he had feared most of his life but had to reluctantly deal with on a daily basis. Although now, he didn’t mind it as much, enjoying the surreal isolation he was in without a single problem. He couldn’t say the same about the weight that was just heavy enough to keep his entire body immobile. Josh tried, but could not find a way to describe whatever was keeping him down as his arms and legs remained completely stiff, yet he had movement in his hands and feet.

And then it hit him, it was dark, absolutely quiet, and he was unable to move. He was dead.

Josh didn’t know whether or not to cry out of elation as the resounding thought of “now what” had become apparent. Sure he was at bliss, but he couldn’t help but think about what he had done.  The boy began to doubt himself as a single question burned into his head.

Was it worth it?

At any other moment, Josh would’ve answered with an absolute yes, but now he was having some regrets about his choice.  He began to weigh his accomplishments in life finding nothing to be proud of as he realized that at his current rate there was no way he’d get into college, and he could honestly say he nothing about anything, having absolutely no specialized skill to keep him afloat in the world. He had no one to care for him, which was what he kept telling himself as a certain girl kept capturing his attention.

Annie. There was something about her that he admired endlessly. She always had a wide chipper smile and her endless confidence in everything she did. As much as he tried, he could not keep her out of his mind. The petite blonde with short hair always stood by his side, and he couldn’t help but feel he had only let her down.

And then he remembered. Josh remembered the look of heartbreak on her face as she held a flask in his face. On the surface she was furious, but her body language said everything as he had a clear memory of her quivering lip, her teary eyes, and the way she made eye contact but immediately broke it to stare at the pavement.  The realization of the way her voice cracked when she cursed haunted him as her words rang in his head, scolding him for unforgivable deed of becoming as worthless as his drunken father.

But she still forgave him, she still took him home, she still cared, and he had just left her behind in a moment of self obsessed weakness. He couldn’t remember his last words, but he definitely remembered saying something to Annie as he faded into unconsciousness. He racked his brain but drew nothing as his final words were still a mystery to him, eating away at him with no end to its hunger.

Doubt was the only thing that he could remember as his newfound appreciation of life would probably ripped away before he could thoroughly appreciate it. Who knows, maybe it would come back.

Annie found herself in her home at five thirty early that Saturday morning, frantically tending to the stove, watching as the various pans began to sizzle invitingly. She blocked out the thoughts of the night before, telling herself that she would address everything once she had a decent meal in her stomach.

The teenage girl stared down at the various plates of food on her small, rounded dining table. Her breakfast was a somewhat excessive selection of eggs, bacon, breakfast sausages, a rather large bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice, and half a grapefruit. The teenage girl shrugged off any feelings of shame and anxiety as she dug into the meal without thinking.

"Annie?" A voice called, startling the teenager as she looked up to the source as a half eaten strip of bacon hung from her mouth. Her eyes were wide, ravenous and somewhat worried as she glared at her mother standing in the doorway.

"Mmph?" she moaned, addressing her mom in a less than lady like fashion.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" she asked, walking closer to the dining table, brushing away loose streaks of platinum blonde hair to get a better look at her daughter. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Annie lied, "Why?"

"Because you look like the poster child of a balanced breakfast." Annie's mother answered, receiving a sheepish grin from the girl. "You can't keep emotionally eating like that. It's not healthy."

"But it's turkey bacon..." Annie mumbled, her voice sinking a little as she swallowed the bite.

Annie's  mother, Heather, approached the dining table, sitting next to her daughter as she adjusted her thick lavender bath robe. She leaned over, grabbing a napkin and wiped away loose crumbs and jam from her daughter's face. "Now tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing," she insisted, stuffing her mouth with the second half of the remaining toast.

Heather brought her neatly manicured hand to Annie's shoulder, lightly squeezing at the nape of her neck the way the young girl always appreciated. She loved her daughter, proud of everything she had accomplished but was definitely annoyed on how secretive and cryptic Annie was sometimes. "We can dance around this all you want, but we need to talk."

Annie swallowed the rather large bite, her brown eyes looking into her mother’s green ones. "My..." Annie paused, "friend is kinda in a rough spot right now.” Heather nodded, listening intently to the child’s words. “I’m really worried for him, like mentally.” Annie gestured to her head, finding it hard to explain the truth.

“Well do you know what’s bothering him?” Heather asked, remembering her old school guidance counselor days.

“I have an idea,” was all she said, before taking a large sip of the orange juice. The mother simply gestured for her to keep going, but Annie had made it clear she had stopped talking and didn’t intend to speak further.  Annie sighed, running a slender hand through her short hair. “What would you do if you knew, but your friend didn’t know you knew that he was…” Annie paused, trying to find the right words after slightly fumbling a stuttering slightly. “Suffering?”

Annie’s mother stared blankly, analyzing the statement before saying, “it depends on how severe it is. Do you know how bad your friend might be hurting?” Annie simply shook her head, having a bleak expression on her face. “Just be direct. No fluff, no filler, just sit him down and talk. Just don’t be patronizing, and make sure you take everything he says seriously.”

“Okay,” Annie answered silently, getting a better idea of her next course of action.

“If you’re concerned about your friend’s,” she coughed a little before continuing, “health, don’t hesitate to come to me, okay?”

“Okay,” Annie repeated, standing up from the table. 

“I’m serious,” Heather reinforced gripping Annie’s hand tightly, “keeping your friend alive is much more important than keeping his problems secret.”

"Thanks, Mom," Annie siad graciously as she nodded again, an increasing doubt weighing heavily in the back of her mind, thinking about the tiny boy she had left unattended in her room. “I’ll be right back,” Annie piped, leaving the room and rushing upstairs. She practically ran into her room, rushing towards the desk in the back corner of her room with a worried alarm. She approached the shoebox of her old favorite hightops and peered inside feverishly.

In the center of the box, there was an impossibly small teenage boy lying on top of old white t-shirts stacked high enough to provide a decent padding but not enough to provide an escape route. Sure it was oddly specific, but she wasn’t sure if Josh was going to wake up when she wasn’t around, being over precautious for Josh's own good. Luckily for her he was still fast asleep and completely tranquil. Annie sighed as she stared sympathetically into the box for a short, silent minute.

Breaking the silence, Annie’s small, tight stomach gurgled rather loudly, reminding her of the panicked feast she had prepared for herself. She looked down once more, dreading the moment the teenage boy wakes up. She left the room, her worried anxieties quelled for now as she went to finish her breakfast.

Inside the room, Josh began to show signs of life as his weary eyes opened slowly as he stained to even see clearly. The room around him was bland with absolutely no sign of decoration around him, the walls bare and featureless. The floor was nothing special; the boy found nothing of about the ground other than its simple plush texture.

The cold got to him next as he noticed the burning briskness of the air. He rubbed his arms thoroughly, struggling to recapture the all encompassing warmth he had felt earlier. He sighed at the sight of his gym shorts and his thin blue t-shirt, staring at the hairs that stood up from the cold.

He was cold and miserable. Oh yeah, he was also alive.

Once again, Josh wasn't sure what to think as he remained conflicted about what he really wanted. On some days he was perfectly fine, going throughout his day with nothing more than an anxious anticipation to his depression, wondering when it would strike him again. On others, he fought actively to keep it contained as he kept his quivering thoughts of self loathing at bay, refusing to tell anyone as he had felt it would just be an inconvenience or even a burden.

Even then on his good days, when he felt courageous and confident enough to take on the world, he still refused to tell anyone, feeling he didn’t deserve the help. Of course in late nights he was cursing himself for never reaching out for help, actively refusing to be a burden on anyone but himself. Besides, he just assumed no one really cared.

His mind quickly trailed to how much his head hurt, finding the pain a bit dull and meaningless as he had definitely remembered the sensation on several occasions beforehand.

His attention went back to the floor beneath him. It was soft, thick and a bright white, resembling snow as the tiny hills rose and fell along the room. He stood up, taking slow steroids that sunk slightly into the ground, leaving an ambiguous imprint as he strolled. The tiny hills flattened beneath his feet as he reached the dark brown wall that used to be well ahead of him.

It was tall and brown as he looked up into the sky above him where the actual ceiling seemed miles away. The way remained solid and strangely melancholy as the small almost unnoticeable imperfections gave him no clue on his location. He struck the wall, finding it rough and scratchy, completely unlike wood or some as its near paper like quality confused him.

Out of the corner of his eye, there was a tiny shape sticking out of the ground like a weed in a garden. Although it had the same ivory shade, it seemed glossy with something written on it. He rushed to it as the curiosity burned the closer he got to it.

Josh gripped the object with both hands, pulling against the heavy resistance. He felt himself begin to make progress as he quickly realized that it was buried deeply under the ground. He slowly worked against it until the built up force sent the boy tumbling backwards once it became dislodged.

Josh feverishly crawled towards the cloth, looking it over as he studied the text that simply read:

Women's S

At first the words didn't register, assuming it was an incomplete code as he racked his brain for the missing word but found none that made sense. The other side provided more information that consisted of percentages of fabrics like cotton and polyester.

He staggered backwards, slowly processing the information as the softness of the ground began to make even less sense, his mind racing the same farfetched conclusion.

Before he could say anything he heard a slight pounding in the distance getting louder by the second as each boom resounded and grew heavy.

Slowly a figure appeared over the edge of his prison. He slowly made out the features, struggling to comprehend the sight before him.

It was statuesque, the facial structure perfectly rounded with a pale but peachy skin tone. Its nose was thin with a slight upturn, and its cheeks were rosy red. He looked into the deep eyes of the giant, getting lost in the earthy brown eyes that stared at him invasively. Sure enough he could never forget the look in the eyes even if they were as large as him. Her telltale blonde hair rivaled silk and shone brightly in the gentle sunlight.

"Josh?" she called, her eyes wide with complete shock as she looked down at the young boy. She watched him come to terms with what was going on, noticing his confused and frightened expressions as he slowly crawled away from her, pushing backwards on his legs and arms.

"Annie?" Josh asked his voice small and a bit shaken, "what happened?" His heart pounded heavily in his chest, recoiling in fear as Annie’s larger than life face peered straight into him.

Annie took a deep breath, sizing up her next words carefully. "We need to talk."

"Annie," Josh called again, a nervous tension in his voice as he looked up expectantly at the giant girl, "what happened?" His voice was soft enough to mask the fear, but Annie, perceptive as she was, quickly caught the breathy huff of desperation. The look in his eyes was anxious, his gaze darting to Annie's equally nervous face.

"I--I," she stuttered, finding it difficult to place her words. "I don't know." Her words were quick, almost as if she had no direct control over them, but it was the opposite, and she couldn't help but bite the inside of her cheek, nearly drawing blood as a direct response to her shameless, unnecessary lie.

In reality she knew exactly what had happened, but she couldn't bring herself to be honest. Acknowledging that Josh's inch tall form was most likely permanent, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him she had forced him into a life under her watchful eye without hesitation.

"You don't know?" Josh asked, his voice now wavering in defeat. His question was not one of disbelief, but one of bargaining as he wished to himself that Annie would answer differently. A slow, grim nod of the head was all it took for Josh to reaffirm what she had just said. Whatever hope he had on getting answers was immediately crushed by a lie consisting of only three words, although it was the ambiguity that bothered him most of all.

It took Annie a second after it was too late to realize that Josh would have accepted the truth. His voice and expression practically begged for an answer that she had nervously refused to say. Mentally kicking herself, Annie promised herself to commit to her story for now until it was the right time to speak the truth.

The blonde sighed before saying, "you just started shrinking, and I don't know why." Her words were robotic and spoken in a way that was meant to convince herself just as much as him.

"Oh," he said hopelessly. As soon as he spoke, Annie felt a needle stab cleanly into her chest as the guilt finally settled in. She looked at the boy and felt the need to do something, console him, talk to him, hold him, anything to lift his spirits, but instead she stood there, feeling sorry for both herself and the shrunken boy.

They waited in total silence, and the painful tension between them biting at their minds, they spoke as if they were total strangers, completely forgetting their near six year long relationship since middle school.

Annie, feeling responsible for the situation, acted first, reaching into the cardboard shoebox with her palm facing upwards. Josh instantly recoiled in fear, falling flat on his back and pushing away with his hands until he hit an immovable wall. His heart raced as he couldn't help but stare at the massive hand that seemed too aggressive for his liking.

Much to Annie's surprise, Josh avoided eye contact as he stared directly into the floor below him. A newfound sensation of claustrophobia washed over him as his breaths grew shorter and the feeling of asphyxiation became more real by the second.

"Josh," Annie called, keeping her voice soft enough to be approachable, "please." She lowered her fingers, creating a gentle slope for him to climb on.

Taking a deep, relaxing breath, Josh cautiously inched towards her, placing his hand onto her ring finger's padded tip. After getting a quick, uncharacteristically careful judgement of his landscape, Josh slowly climbed his way to the center of Annie's open palm, fighting to keep his balance while doing so.

She brought her right hand to eye level, albeit a bit too roughly as the movement's force  knocked the boy off his feet. "Sorry," she apologized meekly while looking into the startled expression of the tiny boy.  Instinctively, Annie cupped her hands, placing one over the other and creating a protective dome of soft skin around Josh. Of course Josh stayed silent, trying to ignore the nervous perspiration coming from Annie's clammy hands.

Annie made her way to her bed, sitting crisscrossed in the center of the sea foam green comforter while sinking firmly into her soft bed. She simply dropped her friend off directly in front of her, watching him slide down her hand and onto the comforter.

He hit the plush surface with a soft, albeit heavy, thud, using his forearms to break his fall. He laid on the ground for a brief moment, sluggishly standing up and taking in the awe inspiring sight of his giant best friend.

She was beautiful, radiant, despite the stony expression on her face,  and he was completely transfixed. Her massive form seated in an enlightened position, she was stunning, her form rivaling the greatest of monuments dedicated to greater deities. It made him wonder why a goddess like her would waste a second with a lowly wretch such as himself.

They waited in an absent, unbearable silence as neither wanted to speak up first, letting the interminable pause last out of pure reluctance.

"About last night," Annie said softly, breaking the silence when it became too painful. She looked down at Josh, searching for a sign that he was listening but found none, his expressionless face staring right through her. "You-- You were drunk." Once again her words fell upon deaf ears, and irritation settled in, nestling itself forcefully into her mind.

Josh stayed silent as Annie began to feel a little heated by her friend's lack of response. She dug her nails into her calves, something she did while nervous to help get her mind on something else, but she found the situation too important, and the dull, self inflicted pain wasn't enough to stop her indignant thoughts from taking over.

"Josh," she called  harshly, her sudden shift in tone breaking the boy's trance. His head bolted upwards, his focus moving from whatever he was staring at to the giant, nearly angry woman in front of him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Annie continued,  "you don't have to talk, just listen." This time Josh responded with a slow nod, not wanting to incite any more aggressive actions.

"You were drunk," she repeated, having a little more confidence in her voice as she spoke.  She gripped the comforter, creating tiny wrinkled hills between her fingers and bringing her hands to her knees to support her posture, rising as tall as she could while staying seated. "I took you home, and you said some pretty heavy things."

"Like what?" Josh asked, speaking up curiously. There was a certain intensity in his eyes as if he was caught committing a crime and was put on trial. He was unaware to the events of the night before, digging for an answer that he probably wasn't going to like. As far as he knew, Annie caught him drunk, took him home, and he then he was like this.

"You said that you fucked up and that you were sorry." Annie stated truthfully, debating whether or not omitting Josh's confession of love and more importantly his suicide note was a good idea.

"Oh," he said simply, his voice almost disappointed as the intensity began to die down and was followed by a shaky sigh of relief.

"You wanted to tell me something, but you couldn't." Annie brought up, hoping Josh would be comfortable enough to speak about his problem on his own. "You looked pretty bothered by it, and I just want to know if you, now that you're sober, would like to tell me something."

"No," he answered quickly, his statement forced and clearly hiding something.

"Oh, okay," the disappointment apparent in her response.

Annie's discomfort seemed to rub off on the shrunken boy. He shifted his weight between his legs, leaning over left and right. He began to think on how she stayed by his side the night before, wondering to himself on how Annie might have taken his death, noting and fully recognizing she was one of the few people who actually cared about him.

An overwhelming sensation of guilt washed over him, feeling his breaths decrease as the sensation of drowning filled his lungs. Sure enough, it dawned on him what he had put Annie through, believing he didn't deserve a single second of her time, much less what was happening now. Josh had her full, undivided attention and focus as he was her full priority, but he felt he didn't deserve any of it.

"Sorry," he croaked weakly, hoping to ease his thoughts of being a burden.

"Don't say that!" Annie nearly hissed, his apology striking the wrong chord with her. She realized the harshness in her voice by looking at herself from his perspective, noting how terrifying a giant woman's wrath might be, especially when said giant was all he had for support. "Just promise me that you won't do it again, okay?" Her voice became quiet right after her upset outburst, not wanting to startle Josh any more than she felt was just.

Josh's head bobbled with a terrified vigor, hoping Annie wouldn't yell at him again, his motivation being that he couldn't stand seeing her angry. He stared at the ground to avoid looking at the rage induced tears that began to form. Annie, quickly catching Josh's shifty body language, began to blame herself for his state of unresponsiveness.

Annie wiped the tears from her face, telling herself to be strong for both his and her sake. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid. I just don't know what I'd do if you..." Annie fumbled around on her last few words, finding it hard to bring up the topic of death. She was in a state of denial, refusing to believe her best friend would even consider suicide as an option.

"Got drunk again." Josh quickly interrupted.

"Yeah, that's it." Annie said quietly, kicking herself again for failing to bring up his note. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to mention it.

In an attempt to be direct and get rid of their emotional barriers, Annie had added an unnecessary filler by lying about how Josh shrunk, keeping her involvement secret and backing herself into a wall she had constructed herself while already feeling remorse. Her mind had convinced her that if she told Josh now, he would wonder why she'd lied, blame her for ruining his life, and find another way to off himself while she slept or was away. No, she couldn't bear to let that happen; it had to stay a secret for Josh's well being, at least that's what she kept telling herself.

A lie of omission is just as bad as a boldfaced lie, Annie thought, quoting her mother's words that she often brushed off without a second thought.

And in that moment, Annie realized how different she was than her mother. Responsibility was one thing, but maturity, whether it be mental or emotional was a whole other level that she wasn't ready for. She actively refused to believe Josh nearly killed himself and was struggling with his own emotions. She simply wanted to believe he was happy, and she wanted to him to be with her.

Annie knew it would have been definitely easier to  tell him the truth, to tell him she hastily shrunk him to protect him by keeping him at her side, to tell him she knew all about his mental illness and how he didn't have to hide it anymore, and to tell him he could cast aside his problems so she could handle them. But now her chances were gone, and she could only wish she had the courage and strength to say all those things.

She just couldn't.

She didn't want to.

“Have you found anything?” Josh asked as he looked up from the stack of textbooks he was sitting on.

“Uh, kinda, but you’re not gonna like this.” Annie answered, closing a tab of some viral video. After a quick online search, Annie had found a couple articles that detailed missing persons who turned up an inch tall at the nearest hospital to their last known disappearance.  “The problem is that they’ve been taken away by researchers.”

“So I’m not the only one?”  

“I guess not.” Annie paused, “maybe we should wait a little before we see a doctor or something.” Her suggestion was faint, and it took a good half-second before he even figured out what she meant.

“Why?”

“What if—what if they take you to a government lab and experiment on you or something?” Her tone was laced with a genuine concern for Josh, but she was also worried about him insisting on going to a hospital and leaving her. “I mean, they already have a couple dozen tiny people. It wouldn’t hurt to, you know, wait it out.” Annie half winced as there was a painful silence between them.

Josh didn’t know how to feel about Annie’s suggestion, but he simply droned, “okay.”  

Annie nodded before adding, “Just until they announce a cure.” Once again her statement was to convince herself.  Their conversation stalled their as neither knew what to say or do, and the unfamiliarity of the situation only made it worse.

Josh never really noticed how much he was starving as he doubled over in pain. He immediately sat back up, hoping Annie didn’t catch his movements. He hadn’t eaten since the night before, it began to take its toll on him as he clutched his gut in an attempt to dull the pain. He kept silent, not wanting to bother the massive girl who sat in front of him.

“Josh?” Annie asked, looking away from the computer screen. As much as Josh tried to hide it, Annie’s intuition somehow caught on to him. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” he forced.

“Do you want something to eat? You look kind of starved.” Josh’s head lifted up eagerly, Annie brought her hand up to the boy, and this time he hopped on with only a second of hesitation. 

About a minute later, Josh found himself standing on Annie’s kitchen counter, watching as the giant woman dug into the fridge.  Annie turned back to him with a small plastic carton of strawberries in her right hand. Moving towards the shrunken boy, Annie grabbed a relatively small butter knife and placed it right next to the boy who eyed it in awe.

Gracefully, Annie brought the knife to the strawberry, slicing it in half vertically before taking a half and cutting it into smaller chunks. She brought a piece to Josh, who accepted it and quickly began to gorge himself with the fruit, no longer caring about anything else as he satisfied his immediate hunger.

Annie smiled, letting out an amused giggle, and Josh looked up at the girl who looked amused. “What?” he asked, wiping away the red stains on his mouth from the half eaten chunk of strawberry.

“Nothing,” she answered lightly, “you just look really cute that small.”

At first Josh was a little ticked off by her comment, and he reluctantly accepted a second helping of fruit from her friend. It didn’t take him long to realize how much he actually didn’t mind the statement.   The way she spoke struck him as playful and endearing, meaning Annie wasn’t really coddling him anymore, which was a relief to Josh since he found himself hating the stiffness between them earlier that morning.

He sat cross legged, and Annie leaned forward on the counter, resting her hand on her cheek. She grasped the uncut half of strawberry and brought it to her mouth in a swift motion. It humbled the boy to see Annie eat the strawberry with no struggle at all since the fraction he ate took him several bites to even finish.

“So what’s it like, I mean, being tiny—what’s that like?” Annie asked, her smile staying put as her initiation of a casual conversation was welcomed by both of them.

“It’s… weird,” he answered truthfully. “Everything’s so big.”

“No duh, I just want to know what it feels like” she shot back playfully, bringing her long, slender fingers towards him. Her fingers mimicked a walking person that was easily a couple of times taller than him. He backed away in surprise as her unpainted fingertips marched on towards him in quicker strides. She stuck out her pointer finger and lightly shoved Josh, causing him to yelp in surprise. “Like that, how was that?”

He couldn’t blame Annie for being curious, and her playful prodding served to break the ice between them. “Weird.”

“Come on, Josh, be more specific.” Annie pleaded. She leaned in even closer to the point where she loomed over him with her shadow directly over the tiny boy who arched his back just to get a better look at Annie’s face. Her cheek was pressed against her hand and compressed her face in an unflattering yet oddly charming way.

Her curious eyes were focused directly on him and his recoiling movements. She couldn’t help but be a little too playful as her teasing words and actions might have been too much.

“It’s hard to describe,” he answered quietly. “You’re so big, like, stupid big.”

Annie smiled at Josh’s description. “You’re tiny, like, stupid tiny,” she mocked. She tapped her right hand against the table as her fingertips hit the marble counter rhythmically.  “Don’t be stiff, dude.”

“It’s weird!” Josh defended, “this kind of stuff never happens.”

Sighing, Annie put away the butter knife and cutting board, snagging another strawberry before turning back to the shrunken boy on her kitchen counter. “So, what should we do now?”

“I don’t know.” Josh concluded, not knowing exactly what to do.

For a brief moment, a small, playful smirk formed on the corner of her mouth as she suggested, “we could play a game.”

“A game?” Josh asked. He was more surprised that a game was the first thing that she came up with. He knew something was up by the way Annie almost seemed to be beaming when she brought it up.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Annie continued. The giant girl brought her pale hand to her shrunken friend.

Eagerly and without a moment of hesitation, Josh jumped onto Annie’s open palm. It took both by surprise on how willing Josh was, and neither wanted to comment on it as they both enjoyed the glow between them. The familiarity of the hallways were now foreign to Josh, but the brief, awe inspiring views didn’t last long as Annie made her way into her bedroom while keeping the tiny boy in a safe and comfortable grip.

Her room was kept clean on most occasions, but it had gained a decent amount of clutter over the course of the week. She took a look at the strung out clothes, discarded cans, and various junk on the floor.  Her feet sunk into the shag carpet that seemed to further cement the idea in her head. She kneeled over, lowering her hand to the ground and dropping Josh onto the floor.

Annie stood to her full, imposing height, her stature intimidating the boy from her sheer size alone. Her hands on her hips, the giant girl simply sent down a cheeky smile in Josh’s direction to remind him that he wasn’t in any sort of danger, yet he still felt humbled at her towering figure.

Without any sort of warning Annie turned away from him and walked away, feigning disinterest, but in reality she fought to hold back a giddy laugh. She kept her straight face as she left the room, but right as she was about to leave she turned to Josh with her stoic expression.

“Run,” her voice more of a suggestion than a threatening order as she closed the door behind her.

Josh simply stood there for a second, completely confused by Annie’s order before realizing what she had in mind. With his mind already in a willing high gear, Josh took off and dashed to nowhere in particular. He didn’t know why he was playing along, but humoring Annie seemed to be one of the better decisions he made that day.

It finally dawned on him how much they wanted this, how much he wanted this. There was nothing stressing him out, nothing bothering him, just him, Annie, and a mindless, completely pointless game that he welcomed wholeheartedly. All he had to do was run, and he was perfectly okay with that.

Josh avoided the closest hiding spot, running past an empty bag of chips and choosing to skip a discarded beanie while opting to run further. He struggled as he pushed against the shag grasslands, which definitely slowed down his progress exponentially, but he didn’t mind since it added more of a challenge.

With his hands on his knees, Josh gasped for air, forcing himself to take slow, balanced breaths to keep him going. Thankfully, he spotted a decent hiding place a couple yards in front of him. He rushed towards it as he gained a better look at his preferred spot, noticing the gray, detailed etchings along an abnormally round shape.

Shoes, more specifically, high tops were what he had saw in the distance as the detailed imprints were the sole’s grip. One shoe was tipped on its side, creating a little cave that was a little too convenient, and the thought of how ridiculous his situation also weighed in his mind. He simply shrugged off the feeling as he climbed onto the opening of the shoe. His heart pumped heavily as he waited for what seemed like hours until he heard the sound of the door opening, and he quickly hid back to the heel of the shoe.

The inside was dark, but Josh could definitely see the imprint of Annie’s foot on the sole. Surprisingly the air wasn’t stale. In fact, there was no trace of a scent at all, and Josh was at least thankful for that, although he did find it a little humbling to be hiding inside of a shoe of all places.

Taking delicate, gentle steps Annie walked into the room and darted her eyes to the floor.  Her excited smile was now wide, and she couldn’t help but playfully stomp around the room, despite the fluffy carpet muffling the sound.

As a first thought, she reached over for the bag of potato chips, lifting it up into the air and looking down into the contents. Her smile faltered a little by seeing it empty with nothing greeting her but a few already stale crumbs. She should’ve expected that Josh wouldn’t be dumb enough to hide in the first thing he saw.

Annie dropped to her knees and began to search under her bed and found it just as empty. Sighing, Annie stood back up and toyed with the pile of clothes at her feet, kicking away t-shirts and socks and finding nothing underneath.

After scouring the room, Annie figured out that Josh was hiding inside of her shoes near the corner. She slowly made her way to the shoes and walked in front of the opening and faced away from the shoe, giving the illusion that she was turned away and was searching for him somewhere else.

Down below, Josh simply watched as Annie’s socked feet came into view. He found himself staring at them since they were the only things he can see through the opening of the shoe. He assumed that Annie had not found him yet as he simply waited in silence as an innocent, almost hokey kind of humming came from above. She turned to him and began to walk in his direction, but right before she got to the shoes she stepped directly over them, passing them completely as if she wasn’t interested at all.

Sighing out of relief, Josh laid his head against the worn heel of the shoe. And without warning, the tiny boy fell on his side, his face planting against the heel as he attempted to get a look out the opening. Sure enough, Annie’s smiling, cheerful face was greeting him.

“Hey, cutie.” Annie teased as she rustled the shoe enough to knock the boy off his feet.  She found the way he stumbled over completely adorably, watching his tiny form attempt to stand up.

“Alright, you got me,” Josh shouted up to the air.

Annie tilted the shoe at an angle, and Josh rolled down the slope uncontrollably until he landed in her hand. The shrunken boy was sprawled out on the center of her palm, his arms and legs extended, as he caught his breath.

“I thought you’d never find me. I swear I almost passed out from the smell alone.”

“Shut up, Josh.”

Annie could’ve sworn she saw Josh crack a smile.

Josh was breathless, absolutely fatigued, yet he couldn't help but feel good. His mind was clear, focused even, as he leaned against the leg of Annie's coffee table. He could hear the quiet footsteps in the distance. They were light, delicate and deliberate as he could barely make out the gentle slaps against the hardwood floor of the next room over.

Josh listened carefully, hearing the now muffled steps caused by the transition from hardwood to carpet. She was nearby now, standing on her platforms while masking her steps. He learned quickly how to recognize her search patterns as he slowly sidled to the inside of the coffee table leg.

Sure enough, Annie's bare foot came into view. Walking around in a predatory manner, she kept quiet, hoping to catch her prey off guard or better yet in a false sense of security. Josh held his breath, hoping his staggered gasp wasn't audible. He grinned, realizing he was caught again in his favorite situation that forced him between two options:

Run to a new hiding place, or stick to his guns and commit to his spot behind the table leg.

That was the only decision that mattered for the moment. He didn't even recognize that he was over thinking a choice that really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. All that was affected was whether or not the game lasted another ten seconds or five minutes.

He stood still, waiting and listening for the subtle all clear that came after six steps, a slight pause, and three quiet strides towards the next room. Walking out from under the coffee table, Josh took in a relieved breath. He arched his back, stretching out his arms comfortably. He couldn't help but feel something was off, almost like she gave up too easily.

Without any sort of warning, Josh felt an immense, sudden pressure on his back, catching him by surprise. And it finally dawned on him that Annie had pinned him down with her foot. She was seated on the couch with her left leg tucked under her, and she had the same cheeky grin on her face that came from the satisfaction of beating him again. The shrunken boy didn't even get a view of her smug expression as his face was pressed against the floor by the pad of her big toe.

"Okay, I give. You win." Josh admitted, his cheeks pressed against the floor, muffling his speech.

Annie leaned over from her perch and grabbed the shrunken boy between her index finger and thumb. She smiled, watching Josh flail at the sudden elevation. change.

"C-come on, let's go again." Josh stammered in between deep breaths. "I think I'll win this time."
"Yeah right," she mocked, sticking her tongue out at her tiny friend. "you're already out of breath."

"So what now?" he asked, there was a genuine enthusiasm in his voice. Josh found himself asking the question a lot more. The uncertainty of his situation weighed over his head as he desperately waited for Annie's cue, another suggestion for a game or a different time wasting activity.

"It's kinda late," she pointed out, "maybe we should go to sleep."
"I guess."

She held him in the center of her palm and walked off to her bedroom. Annie watched the tiny boy sway with her movements, trying to keep still as she gently laid on her bed.

Using her free hand, she blindly reached out for a small remote. There was a dull hum before the high pitched chime of the television.

"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Just putting on some background noise. It helps me sleep." Annie dropped the tiny boy onto her chest, laughing softly as he bounced slightly, finding the way he blushed adorable.

"They're just sacks of fat. Nothing to be bashful about." Abuse teased.
"Right." Josh answered, trying his best to be modest.
"Speaking of sacks of fat," she segued, "you ever watch this show?"

Annie pointed towards the tiny flat screen, bringing Josh's attention to the cast of brightly colored creatures with discolored gray stomachs.

"Teletubbies?"
"Yeah, it's just as bad as I remembered." Annie commented.
"Come on, Annie. That's my childhood you're stepping on right there. It can't be that-- oh god that sun-baby is horrifying."

"I know, right?" Annie asked. "Why do you think they air this near midnight?"
"Nostalgia probably." Josh answered.
"Nostalgia, huh? Never thought of that."

"And stoners, definitely stoners." Josh continued.
"Well, that too. You definitely have to be high to actually enjoy this."

Without any sort of warning, high pitched chimes came from nowhere, sounding muffled in the distance.

"Dude, make a wish." Annie instructed, leaning over and grabbing her cellphone from under the covers. She tapped at it, dismissing the alarm and moving it in Josh's view.

11:11

"What?"
"I have a bunch of alarms set to it. I know it sounds stupid, but just shut up and make a wish," Annie defended.

They waited in silence for the minute, watching the phone's backlighting dim and the number shift to the next minute.

"So, what'd you wish for?" Annie asked, curiously inching herself closer to the shrunken teen.
"Uh, besides being back to normal?"

"Besides the obvious." Annie clarified.
"World peace," he answered lamely, finding it hard to think of anything else.
“Hmm,” Annie hummed softly.

Their conversation ended there as the two began to drift odd to the sounds of the television in the background. Josh fell asleep first, his light snores catching Annie’s attention. She smiled as she noticed Josh was clutching her thumb tightly. She shut off the tv and let him lie there, having a hard time moving Josh to the cardboard box.

Josh looked down at the depths below. He had been standing on Annie's desk for what felt like hours with only one thing on his mind.

Jump.

Just one word, a simple action that would send him to his death. Josh had already made his choice. He wrote "I'm sorry" on the table top, hoping it would be enough of a goodbye. He didn't want to think about it, just do it.

The carpet seemed plush, but the height from the desk would be enough to compensate. Josh stood on the edge, perfectly in balance on his heels, knowing that one slip would be enough to send him over.

He was stiff, and his joints began to lock up. Whether or not it was out of protest, he couldn't tell.

The intrusive thoughts began to force their way in, reminding Josh of his failures, his short comings, his insecurities. Everything he wanted to forget came pouring into his mind. He didn't want to remember, and he didn't want to think. He just wanted to end it.

So he did.

His mind was clear as the hurtful clutter disappeared. Except he had the same feeling the night Annie brought him home, regret.

He hit the ground, hard, feeling something pop, twist, break under his weight. The pain was numbing, sickening, and Josh could do nothing but lie there, questioning his decision. The shrunken boy wanted it to end quickly, but he didn't even get the luxury as he could feel himself lose blood.

Josh's vision went fuzzy, fading in and out of clarity. He couldn't stand the waves of pain that came in and out in agonizing intervals. His thoughts came battering in, leaving him with the realization that he couldn't even kill himself right.

So he laid there, letting the tears flow and feeling like a failure in everything including death, and after what felt like hours of intense pain, Josh felt the faint vibrations in the ground. He knew it meant one thing, Annie was coming. Attempting to move only made it escalate. He struggled to move, hoping, praying, that he'd have the strength to move out of sight. He didn't want Annie to see him, not like this, not the broken mess he is.

"Yeah, of course I can cover for you. Okay, I'll be there. Six thirty? Sure." Annie's voice was light, delicate. She spoke on the phone, looking out and away from the floor. He latched on to the swiftness if her movements and the little nuisances in her face as she spoke.

He did nothing but watch. The footfalls were careless, booming around his paralyzed body. She continued talking on her cell phone, unknowingly stepping around Josh, threatening his life with her black flats.

Annie looked over to the cardboard box, expecting to see her shrunken best friend inside. Annie's eyes grew wide as the empty box registered, and her attention moved to the sloppily written note on the desk top.

"Oh god. No, sorry. I'm gonna have to go." Annie going up her phone, and her eyes darted towards the ground. She lifted her right foot, looked under it, and repeated it with her left. "Josh? Josh!"

Annie's gaze locked on Josh's battered body, her expression shifting to one of absolute horror at the sight of the bloodied mess below her. She dropped to her knees, one hand other her mouth and the other on the ground, keeping her from collapsing.

"What happened?"
"I fell." Josh answered, concealing the truth, despite knowing the note have everything away.

Josh could tell she knew he wasn't telling the full truth. She tried to cup him in her palms but was met with screams of pain and protest.

He could see the pity in her eyes, the heartbreak and sympathy he felt he didn't deserve. They both knew he was too far gone.

"Ann-- Annie, p-please... Just do it."
"No, Josh... I won't. I'm sorry." The tears were flowing, and whatever attempts to be strong were gone. "I can't!"

"Just fucking do it!" His screech was loud, high pitched. He begged for release as his voice became garbled as the metallic taste of blood entered his mouth.

An uncomfortable silence followed, ruined only by Josh's deep, pained breaths. "Please. For me."

"Okay," she said behind grit teeth.

Annie stood up, rising to her full height and towering over him. The lively light in her eyes had vanished, replaced with a stony look of sorrow. Slowly, the tears rolled down from her eyes and over her cheeks, cascading and crashing on the ground.

She lifted her left foot up high above him, the toe of her shoe pointed down over his body. She didn't want to risk him surviving the initial step, choosing to end it quickly, mercifully.

Josh simply watched as Annie's massive foot came crashing down, closing his eyes as he felt an immense, sudden pressure.

There was a loud sharp beeping in the distance, followed by a light bubblegum pop tune. Josh's eyes burst open, and he shot up to an upright sitting position. He scanned his surroundings and sighed in relief as the familiar walls of cardboard reminded him where he was.

Josh’s attention moved to the blocky alarm clock in the distance and the bright red numbers that read 11:11.

It didn't take him much longer to notice the giant sticky note with Annie's handwriting stuck on the inside wall.

"School! Be back at 3."

He couldn't help but think about it, and he questioned himself again on whether it was something he truly deserved or even wanted. He just didn't know how to feel, so Josh simply recounted what happened.

It was just a dream. Josh was alive, and he was alone.