Dan was suddenly pulled out of sleep by a loud buzzing alarm situated next to his bed. He blindly groped for the snooze button, eventually finding it after some frustration, then lay with his eyes open facing the ceiling. Today’s the day, huh? Dan thought. No use delaying things now.

               Dan slowly lifted himself out of the bed and slid his feet to the floor, before grabbing his toiletries and walking to the bathroom. In the hall, he saw Alex just stepping back into his room, a towel wrapped around his waist. Dan was not much of a morning person, so he tended to avoid conversations until after he showered, but Alex had no such tendencies.

               “Good mornin’ man,”” Alex said happily. “How’d you sleep?”

               “Pretty well,” Dan mumbled groggily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to emphasize his lack of wakefulness. Alex waited for Dan to continue the conversation, but soon realized that wasn’t going to happen.

               “Alright man,” Alex said. “I’ll go prepare some breakfast while you shower, give you some time to wake up.” Dan smiled at Alex appreciatively, grateful for his understanding. He then went into the bathroom and began to prepare for the day. During his shower, Dan thought back on the events of the previous night, and reevaluated his decision to confront Lexy. He knew he had to talk to her, he just had no clue what the best way to go about it was. Best not to overthink it, Dan thought. Might as well just go for it.

               Dan got out of the shower, finished brushing his teeth and shaving, before heading to his room. Wanting to dress nicely for his first day of class, Dan put on a pair of jeans and a button down shirt, then rolled up the sleeves of the shirt in order to feel more comfortable. He fixed his hair in the mirror, made sure he had everything he needed in his pockets, then grabbed his backpack and headed to the kitchen. He saw Alex sitting at the table, with a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice set up for Dan.

               “Hey Alex,” Dan said. “Thanks for preparing breakfast.”

               “No problem man,” Alex smiled back. “You seemed nervous, I might as well help you feel at ease.”

               “Aren’t you nervous though?” Dan asked.

               “A little,” Alex replied, “but I am far more excited. This may sound weird, but I really missed going to school like I used to before the shrinking. Sure, the classes were dull and homework was rough, but I really missed the atmosphere of normal school.”

               “I can understand that,” Dan replied. “I just hope we don’t have bad teachers, since it will be difficult to confront them at this size.” Dan smiled in order to show Alex he wasn’t entirely serious, and Alex grinned back. They ate breakfast together while comparing their schedules, then saw a green light flash throughout their room. Dan’s stomach suddenly felt strange.

               “Looks like our other roommates are ready too,” Alex said. Dan nodded, preparing himself for the conversation to come. “Shall we,” Alex asked as he began walking towards the balcony. Dan slowly stood up and followed behind Alex, making a conscious effort to appear brave. They opened the door and stepped out on the balcony, then found themselves greeted by a similar site to the other days. Lexy, Kate and Lindsey stood around them, each dressed in casual clothes and carrying a backpack. They smiled at Alex and Dan, before offering to pick them up. The boys stepped into their palms, Alex into Lindsey’s and Dan in Lexy’s, then were placed on the girls table while they prepared breakfast. Kate was the first to sit down, and she quietly ate until Alex broke the silence.

               “How’re you doing this morning Kate,” Alex asked, stepping closer to her.

               Kate seemed taken aback by the greeting, then slowly calmed down. She smiled at Alex. “I’m doing well, thanks. How about you guys?”

               Alex and Dan both assured her they were doing well, then proceeded to compare schedules with Kate. Dan was surprised to see he had quite a few classes with this girl, and decided to make more effort towards befriending her in the future. Then Lindsey and Lexy sat down with them and the whole group compared schedules. Lindsey seemed to be in mostly higher classes than the group, although her and Dan shared a math class, while Lexy seemed to be in relatively easy classes. Dan was concerned to learn that he and Lexy were involved in the same music class, while Lexy looked thrilled at the prospect.

               The girls began to finish their meals, and started to clean up, when Dan decided to approach Lexy. “Hey Lexy,” he said, using all his willpower not to mumble. She perked up at hearing her name, and smiled at Dan.

               “What’s up little guy,” she asked innocently, throwing Dan off. Her eyes held none of the lustful energy they had on the previous night, and her words did not have that dismissive nature from before.

               “Do you mind if we go somewhere to talk,” Dan asked. Lexy slowly nodded, a look of uncertainty flashing across her face, before offering her hand to Dan. Once he was situated, she stood up and began walking to her room, telling the others that Dan lost his phone and it might be with her clothes from yesterday. Once they were in the privacy of her room, she placed Dan on her bedside table and sat on the bed near him.

               “What’s up lil’ fella,” she asked with her eyebrows raised. Her demeanor was starting to become more similar to last night’s. “Did I do something wrong?” Her voice had taken on an adorable tone, almost as if she was speaking to a puppy.

               “Listen Lexy,” Dan said, already losing his confidence. “I don’t think what happened last night was okay.” Lexy smirked at this.

               “Not okay,” she said innocently. “It seemed to me you thought it was okay.” Lexy smiled seductively at Dan.

               “The issue is not what happened,” Dan explained, “it’s how it happened.” Dan began to sweat, this girl knew how to get to him. “I just felt like you were treating my like an object, not a person. And you not using my name to talk to me makes me believe you actually feel that way.”

               Lexy pouted. “Come now little guy,” she said, slowly standing up from the bed. “I’m not being mean to you.” She slowly turned around, pushing her butt up against the side of the table, causing it to shake and Dan to stumble slightly. In front of him was her enormous behind, barely contained by the tight jeans she wore. Dan felt a desire to fall forward into the denim, to rub himself against it, but he held back.

               “Lexy, this needs to stop,” Dan said, though not with much assertiveness. Lexy looked over her shoulder and pouted more.

               “We both know you don’t mind little guy,” she cooed. She then began slowly gyrating her butt sideways along the table, the slow motion of which quickly elicited a response from Dan’s member.

               Dan felt himself losing control. He knew he had to do something about her control over him, but he could hardly think. He was consumed by a lust, and it took all of his willpower not to plunge forward into her. “L…Lexy,” he stammered. “Please stop this and listen.”

               Lexy continued with her motion, moving faster and more sensually. “You are cute,” she cooed, “little fella’…”

               “ENOUGH,” Dan yelled, surprising both Lexy and himself with his sudden outburst. He saw her stop, and knew he was regaining control, so he pushed forward. “DAN! My name is Dan, Lexy. I understand you’re not used to dealing with men yet and I certainly am not used to dealing with women, but I won’t let you treat me like a toy. You seemed so kind in the kitchen this morning and during introductions yesterday, but right now you are being cruel!”

               Lexy had turned to face Dan, her face showing hesitation. “But guys like this,” she murmured. “They always used to act like this towards me, so I thought it would be fun to act like this towards them.” Lexy looked Dan in the eyes.

               “Lexy, listen to me,” Dan said, his anger fading. “Things will never be like how they used to be. You can’t try and behave like you did two years ago, because we are not in the same world as we were two years ago. We need to adapt and accommodate each other.” Dan then stood silent. He let his words sink in to Lexy while considering her response himself. It was clear to him now that Lexy had been involved with assholes before the shrinking had happened, guys who pressured her into doing what they wished without caring about her. Dan felt sympathy for her, realizing she had felt as small as he was at the time, which explained her behavior. He hoped his words got through to her as well.

               Lexy stood still for a long time, her face remaining vacant as she was lost in thought. Then, her eyelids began quivering as tears came forth. “Why do things have to be so different Dan,” she sobbed. “Why can I no longer live with my Dad? Why can I no longer cry into his shoulder when I am facing problems? Why am I now too large to rely on guys like I used to?” Lexy began to sniffle. “I just want to feel like a little girl again. To cuddle with my boyfriend as we watch a movie, to feel safe in my daddy’s arms as he says everything will be okay. Why am I in control now? Why am I the larger than life figure to you guys?”

               Dan walked forwards and placed his arm on Lexy’s leg reassuringly. “That isn’t true Lexy,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes. “Just because you are physically bigger does not mean you are emotionally bigger. You can still cry into our shoulders and rely on us for your issues. I promise you I can handle them, no matter how small I am.” Dan found himself suddenly wrapped up in Lexy’s fingers as she raised him to her cheek, before nuzzling him against her.

               “No Dan,” Lexy murmured. “I can’t cry into your shoulder like I used to be able to. This is the closest I can get to that, but it still helps. You really are a sweet guy, and I’m sorry about how I acted, but it’ll take me some time to start to think of shrunken people as normal people.” She placed Dan on the table again, before wiping her tears and smiling sadly at him. “I want to be friends with you, I just need to get used to all of this.”

               Dan smiled up at Lexy, understanding that she too has to adapt to this new situation. “I realize that Lexy,” he said. “I want to be friends too, but it will take a while for me to get used to how big you girls are. It’s hard not to think of myself as a toy sometimes, but I want to be a guy you can rely on. I don’t expect immediate change, I just think for now we should stop with these intimate encounters. They only serve to make me feel small and you feel large.”

               Lexy sniffed again, reaching for a tissue to wipe her face with. “I can agree to that,” she said, smiling sincerely at Dan. “For now, let’s just try to be friends.” She extended her pointer finger towards Dan, and he shook it with both of his hands, then laughed at how silly the gesture was. Lexy laughed too, then offered to put Dan on the walkway outside her room.

               “I would take you back to the table,” she said, “but you made me have to wash my face again.” She stuck her tongue out at Dan, while he noticed the black smudges that had appeared around her eyes.

               Dan rubbed the back of his head while laughing nervously. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Next time I’ll try not to make you cry.” Lexy giggled at his awkward attempts to make her feel better, and then placed him on the walkway in the hall outside her room.

               “I’ll see you at music class Dan,” she said, making an effort to use his name instead of “little guy”. Dan smiled back and waved before walking towards the kitchen.

               Lexy let the smile fall from her face as Dan walked out of sight. I can’t believe he could confront me about that, she thought to herself. He is a lot braver than I gave him credit for. Still, that just makes me want him all the more. Lexy grinned as she walked into the bathroom. Don’t worry Dan, I realize now you aren’t an object. I just have to be smarter at winning you over. It had been so long since Lexy was last with a man. She could afford to wait a little longer to win him over.