“H-hey Ash…h-how´s it going?” he replied in a shy way.

Ashley couldn´t believe what she was witnessing, a man who once towered over her had been reduced into…well, this. He was not even shoulder level with her. She let the bag fall into the floor as she took a closer look of him.

“What happened?! Why are you so…so small?” she asked with a concerned tone.

“Uhmmm…well, it´s because…I…” they were still trying to figure that out, he was not able to give a proper answer, he just stood there for a moment. His breathing started to quicken; he was starting to feel overwhelmed. Nick couldn´t believe that he once could tower over Ashley, now, it was the other way around. His lip began to quiver as he ended up saying: “I-I don´t know…no one knows”

She could tell that question pulled up some knots in him. Maybe it wasn´t the smartest question to make, but she was shocked. She could see the distress on his face, it would be a good idea to talk about something else. But what could she talk about? All she could think of was how a man could shrink so much in so little time, it hadn´t even been a week since they last saw each other.

She placed her hand on his shoulder, she couldn´t figure out what to say, so she made her best to show him that she was there. Nick just rose his gaze to watch her face. He felt completely humiliated by the fact that he had to look up to Ashley now, he had to crane his neck to look at her straight in the eyes.

He grabbed her hand and said: “Thank you.”

Even if he had drawn a smile on his face, she knew he wasn´t well. His eyes couldn´t lie, she could see the sorrow on the teary way his eyes shined, but she chose not to say anything. He may not need someone to shoot a ton of questions at him now. She decided to start a conversation about something else, whatever will be fine, maybe that could change his mood.

“Doing the laundry huh?” she said, feeling stupid for not coming up with something clever.

“Oh…yes, Maddy asked me to…I guess, I can still do that…” he answered, but what he said, it just reminded him there were things he could no longer do.

Ashley saw the shadow of sadness that had covered his face, so she spoke: “Cool, so…uhmmm…do you need help?” she wasn´t sure what to say, it would´ve been better if she pretended as if nothing had changed and just treat him as usual, but seeing him so…short, it didn´t allow her mind to drive into other places.

He started thinking, why would he need help, he was still more than capable of doing it, he frowned and said: “NO, thank you but I can do this” as he walked by next to her, seeming a bit irritated by her words.

“Ok” she replied, rising her eyebrow as she wondered what had she said.

It wasn´t her fault, she was just trying to help, but for Nick, all these days with Maddy, who only kept offering her help over and over. Even if she said it in a carrying way, at his point it became annoying. She only meant to take care of Nick, but he didn´t wanted that; he wanted to still do things as usual, rather than having someone else doing it for him. If he could still do something, then he did it, else he will feel useless.

He loaded the laundry machine and turned it on. Ashley just sat on a chair and kept staring at him for a moment. “Why…how…I mean, look at him, his clothes are so oversized, haha, he could fit inside the bag…” she immediately started comparing him with everything. Watching how the laundry machine was as tall as his chest. In a way, it was funny. But she knew she shouldn´t make fun of him.

She normally teased him about regular stuff, such as…well, whatever she found different in him, maybe his socks, a strange shirt, messy hair. But now, even if this was the perfect day for her to say “S´up shorty” she knew that will be way over the limit.

“Ehem…so…do you have any news to give?” she asked.

“No…not really.” Nick replied.

“I see…” she didn´t knew what to say, she wanted to avoid the whole “You have shrunk” part, but she just couldn´t, after a couple seconds she could no longer take it and just said: “H-how´s Maddy taking your, ehm…shrinking?” she asked.

Nick froze for a second, he knew he was shrinking, but hearing someone say it out loud was…weird…for some reason it made him feel odd; he knew he was the only one who had suffered of something like this, and the worst part is that it hasn´t stop. He took a deep breath and answered.

“Well…you know, she´s actually taking it…pretty well” he said, thinking that she may be taking it a bit too well, he had seen how every time he turned to watch her, she was just smiling. She smiled at him in an adoring way, as if she actually liked this whole shrinking thing.

“So, she´s the one in charge now?” Ashley asked with a mischievous smile.

“Ha ha, very funny” he answered in a sarcastic way, “just because she´s still normal sized and I´m…” he stood in silence for a second staring at his reduced limbs, then frowned and continued: “just because now I´m fucking short it doesn´t mean that out of a sudden she will take control” he said in a slightly aggravated tone.

In reality, he knew she was the one in control, none of them will call it that way, but in some way it was true. Ever since that fight they had, he had given himself into her. Basically, she was the one in charge of him now, at least when it comes to getting out of the apartment. But she had started doing other things she didn´t, like force feeding him. He was wondering, will he reach the point where she will be the one making all of his decisions for him?

Maddy was a lovely person, but she had a dark side. Even if she was sweet 95% of the time, when she got mad, like really mad, she can become…let´s just say it wasn´t very pleasing to see her that way.

“Hey, calm down, no one´s trying to mess with you here, it was just a question” she said.

“Well, that “question” was pretty rude for me” he replied.

“Awww, did I say something mean? Am I being unpolite with the wittle Nick?” she said talking to him with a mocking tone as she approached and bent down in front of him.

“Cut it out Ash, and what´s with the stupid little voice?” he asked, she was just teasing him, like usual, but this time it was with something more serious. He knew Ashley liked to mess with him, in a friendly way of course, and normally he will allow it or reply something clever, but now the topic was…him, and all she was saying just pissed him off.

“I dunno, what´s with your oversized shorts?” she asked pointing at the small shorts that were baggy on him. Obviously ignoring what he was saying.

“You know why they are oversized…” he said, “don´t…just…augh! That´s enough Ash, just stop…stop bothering me!” he replied now closing his fists tightly and looking straight to her.

“Ok ok, calm down, I was just trying to sheer you up…” she said in a normal tone, trying to settle him down.

“Well, it doesn´t seem that way” he replied crossing his arms over his chest.

“Ok, I´m sorry, it´s just that…well, you must admit this is very weird.” She was trying to act normal, as if there wasn´t a huge pink elephant in the room; more like a small elephant though. Judging by Nick´s reaction, he was not up for this kind of jokes.

“I know it´s all very strange, but…I…” he wasn´t sure whether he could talk with her about it, but what else could he do, if he talked about his feelings, which he hated, maybe she will understand.

“C-can you…maybe be k-kind about it?” he asked feeling extremely embarrassed. He was literally asking her to be nice, which made him feel lame.

He lowered his head, then, he felt Ashley´s hand slowly ruffling his hair. He rose up his gaze and looked straight at her.

“I don´t want you to feel bad about it, I guess this whole thing is giving you a hard time, but listen, I´ll try to be nicer with what I say…but that doesn´t mean I´m not gonna throw up a short´s people joke on you from time to time.” She tried to make amends, at least in her very own way.

Nick couldn´t blame her, he knew that she was the type of person who´s always messing with you but at the same time, even if it doesn´t seem like it, still cares. He had no other choice, maybe she will get bored about the whole shrinking thing and leave it; but it will be very hard, given the fact that he´s still shrinking.

“Anyhow, how´s work?” she asked.

“Well, it´s actually…pretty good, they gave me a one-week vacation starting tomorrow” but he forgot that tomorrow will also be the day that Cynthia will start coming. He hated that.

He was really happy when he mentioned his week off, but then his face turned into a more bitter one as he remembered Maddy´s mother visit.

“What´s the matter? Don´t you like vacations?” Ashley asked.

“Oh no, I do, it´s just that…well…” he felt really shy for what he was about to say, but why hiding what was evident, “It´s just that…Maddy doesn´t trust me to be home alone no more, apparently I can´t take care of myself.” He said with in an upset way.

“Soooo…?” she asked, wanting to crack up in laughter as he said that.

“So…she had her mother coming the whole week to…well, so that I…you know…” he said not wanting to literally say it.

“Oh my…is she like…” she let out a couple giggles as she said it, but it was just too funny, “Maddy literally asked her mother to come and…pfff…babysit you?” she asked breaking into laugh.

“No! it´s not that, she´s just going to…to clean and maybe cook, that´s it” he replied feeling embarrassed and pissed at the same time.

“Well, it pretty much sounds like a babysitter to me” she replied.

“Yeah yeah, laugh all you want, but you know what the worst part is? She fucking hates me, and she´s always saying that I´m not the one for her daughter and shit like that…” he really hated Maddy´s mother.

“Then why is she coming?” Ashley asked.

“Because, Maddy just called her and asked her, can you believe it?! She just called her without asking me first, she didn´t give a damn about the fact that I hate her mother.” He replied.

“Well…you could´ve asked me…” Ashley replied. He just blinked at her a couple times. “I mean, I´m not doing much during the day, since I work the night shift. I could´ve stopped by to your place and…*giggle*…and check on you” he couldn´t deny the whole thing was like a joke, a grown man needing a babysitter, but it wasn´t a bad idea.

In a way, it was perfect, it will be like hanging out with a friend. A friend who can´t leave until Maddy´s home, but still a friend; unlike Cynthia who will mostly be talking about how he´s no longer man enough. Nick could already hear her inside his head, speaking shit about his actual state.

He was considering his new options while Ashley kept checking him. It was insane, she wasn´t over with the fact that he was so small. For a second, the idea that he was still normal sized and she was now a giantess crossed her mind, she giggled because of the conception of such idea.

“Come on…” she thought, “look at him, he´s just…tiny, my hand covers his full skull…I shouldn´t mention that tho, he seems too self-conscious about it…” Nick was thinking about the whole “sitter” thing, it will be better if Ashley was the one who will stay with him the whole week.

“what´s up Nick? Oh my, you´re actually considering it, right?” she said with an amused look on her face, part of her wanted to laugh out loud right there, on the other end, she was curious about his “condition”. Something like this has never happened.

It´s true that she promised not to be mean or make fun about it, but maybe a little joke every now and then wouldn´t hurt anyone.

“Uhmmm…actually, yes…I think it´ll be better if you were the one who, you know, who comes and stays on the house…” he didn´t wanted to admit she´ll take care of him, or at least that´s how the whole thing felt, but she knew Maddy meant it.

Ashley knew Maddy as well as she knew Nick. She had the whole overprotective vibe all over. Ashley had met Nick before meeting Maddy, when she came up, she had a “you better not be hitting on my boyfriend” look on her face. She could really tell she was the jealous type, so it was not hard to guess that she wanted her own mother, who hated Nick, to look for him; that way she´ll ensure no one will try to steal his boyfriend from her.

Maddy and her become more acquainted over the last couple months, so she knew she was all love and flowers, but whenever it came to his precious Nick, she could get a little paranoic, or more like vigilant.

“Well, if you want, I can stop by and try to persuade Maddy to allow me to…do it…” she said, but then, she started thinking: “Hold on…she wants someone to look after him…she´s really overprotective and…No! no way, hahaha, oh my…” she took a look at Nick, who headed over to the washing machine, and then she came to a conclusion.

“He´s shrinking, and she´s just like…” she couldn´t help to smile at the whole thing, almost laughing, “Please, please tell me she doesn´t want to play mommy with him…” she couldn´t help it and let out a loud laugh behind Nick.

“What´s the matter?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, n-nothing…I just remembered an old joke, but it´s pretty dumb so don´t worry” he just turned and went back to his laundry, in the meantime, Ashley had come to the conclusion that Maddy wanted to threat his 26-year-old boyfriend as a child who needs to be watched while she´s at work.

It was just hilarious, but she tried to keep it cool. She took a deep breath and tried to act in a more serious way, but not before letting out a small laugh.

“Why didn´t I came up with this idea before, it´s just perfect, I mean, you´re free during the days, you live here, it´s just, so convenient.” Nick said feeling really eager about it, he would´ve loved it if Maddy just allowed him to stay alone, but she had already made up her mind, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

“Yeah, it´s actually easier if I´m the one…you know…” she wanted to say “babysits you”, but she knew he´ll feel kind of offended, so she just pointed at the fact without saying it out loud.

“I know, that way Cynthia won´t have to come all the way over here, god I hate that woman” he half frowned as he said her name.

“Mhmm…so, will Maddy pay me for the whole nanny job?” she asked, she didn´t meant to insult him, or even charge, but she wanted to see Nick´s reaction.

“Well…I…I guess, but I´m not very…” Nick couldn´t give a straight answer, and the fact that she said Maddy will be the one paying just focused all of his attention on how to ask her about it or if she will agree; he obviously had his own money and could pay, but he forgot about it. He seemed rather nervous, as if he would ask Maddy to allow him to do something bad.

“Hahaha, relax, I´m kidding, there´s no need to pay” she said as she was thinking: “Why did he got all nervous? But it was really funny to watch…I guess playing nanny will have some benefits.”

“Ok” he replied, and for some reason he felt relieved. Now he had another option, rather than having Maddy´s mother coming; Ashley could be the one keeping him company. Now the only thing he had to do was convincing Maddy about it, which shouldn´t be hard.

They kept talking as they both continued doing their laundry. Naturally, Ashley finished first, but she stayed there until he was done, mostly because she couldn´t take her eyes off of him. He was like four foot tall now; she was still trying to figure out how a man on his twenties can shrink over two feet in a week.

But there was something else, she stayed because of another reason too. Seeing him so small, struggling with the laundry bag just led her to a conclusion, he needed help. Even if he didn´t want to admit it, he couldn´t do everything he used to on his own. From her point of view, leaving him alone there will not only be mean, but it will also mean that she will leave the little guy on his own. And right now, at his current size, he seemed really vulnerable.

This will not be the first or last time someone will do this for Nick, but it will be better if she doesn´t say a word and just stays there pretending she´s just hanging out, when she´s actually looking after him.

Nick´s laundry was done; he took the clothes out of the dryer and fold them. On their way up, she took his bag, which was bigger and heavier, and asked him to grab hers, which only contained a couple blouses and some underwear.

She didn´t want to point out the fact that he was too small to take all those clothes all the way up in one go. And she knew he´ll be stubborn enough and will end up exhausted half way there. So, she insisted on taking his clothes and that he carried hers, it seemed fair that way. He didn´t complaint.

Once in front of Nick´s apartment, she left his bag on the floor, grabbed hers and said: “Ok, I´ll go back to my apartment now, let me know if Maddy accepted your… well my… you know what I mean” she said.

“Sure will, thank you Ash!” he replied smiling as she left him there.

Nick opened the door and entered his apartment, walking backwards pulling the big bag of laundry in. “Let me help you” said a voice from behind him. It was Maddy, she immediately grabbed the bag and pulled it in, then he closed the door.

“Hello honey” he said.

“Hi there, did you have any problem doing the laundry?” she asked.

“Oh no, not at all… actually Ashley was there and she lend me a hand with the bag.” He replied.

“Oh ok, but you know, if you needed help you could´ve come and ask me to, I told you I could do it if you…” he cut her out.

“No no, it was no problem, I…she just helped me carrying the bag up here.” Carrying the bag, reaching the soap and fabric softener, he actually needed more help than he´d like to admit.

“Well, I´m happy for that, you did remember to thank her, right?” she asked, he just nodded, not very sure why she asked it. Maddy knew that he must´ve had a hard time taking the laundry all the way down, needless to say he´ll struggle more bringing it up. She wasn´t sure if he´ll be big enough to do the next laundry load of the week. She must do the laundry from now on.

“Uhmm, so…Maddy…” Nick said feeling shy, “I was talking to Ashley and… you know, it just came up but…do you think that maybe…she…ehem…” he felt really unsure about what he was saying, but he decided to say it now, “could she be the one, uhmm, the one coming here the next week rather than your mother?” he asked.

Maddy looked at him, blinked a couple times and said: “Well, I didn´t consider it…may I know why you suddenly want her to come here?” she asked, she was smiling but he knew she had something else in mind.

“Well, it´s just that, she lives here, and well…we wouldn´t like your mother to drive all the way here all week, I mean, there´s no need to bother, she may be busy…” he was just making things up, he knew Maddy was aware of his not so good relationship with her mother, but he never admitted she was so obnoxious with him, he figured out she was the same way with everyone.

“Ok, stop right there, I know when you´re not telling the truth, and now it´s one of those times” she said, “Just tell me, why her?” she insisted.

It didn´t have to be her, in fact, whoever she wanted could come, except for her mother. On the other hand, Ashley had already seen him like this, and they were friends so, he felt better if it was her.

“Uhmm, well, she lives right here, she could just come here and…stay here until you come back, she works at night so there won´t be any problem with her schedule.” He replied.

“Ok…that´s it?” she asked putting her hands on her hips.

That posture, for some reason, made him swallow nervously. “P-pretty much” he said.

“You sure you´re not letting something else out of the conversation?” she asked.

“N-nop, that´s all” he answered.

“I´ll trust you this time, but like I said, I already called my mother, the only way this could change…” then she remembered their little bet, “is if you reach the cabinet of the kitchen…but I guess we could change some of the conditions, I mean, it´ll be better if you stayed here with someone rather than staying here alone, so here´s the deal…” Nick was listening, but she had a certain type of smile on her face that, rather than reassuring him things could turn better, it just seemed as if it was the complete way around.

“IF you win, Ashley will be the one coming, but if you don´t, then MY mom´s gonna come here all week, and you can´t complaint about it, ok?” Nick just nodded in silence.

“Ok, but…there´s something else…” Maddy continued, “since you decided to change everything in the last minute, now, the rules have changed” His heart began to beat faster, his hands felt sweaty, what could she possibly change?

“Like I said, you only needed to reach the counter, but, that doesn´t necessarily mean you´ll be able to grab something from it, right? So, instead of just reaching, which you can do with the tip of your fingers, I will be placing…let´s say a can, in the middle of the cabinet´s bottom, if you can pull it, without using a chair or any buster step, then you win, else…” and she approached to him as she said it, “I win.”

He wasn´t sure if he was going to be able to do it, but he nodded in response. Then Maddy extended her hand towards him and said: “Deal?” He watched her hand, then looked at her face. A part of him felt this wasn´t fair, but this small chance was better than nothing.

“DEAL!” He said as he extended his hand and grabbed hers.