Steven sat across from Melinda at the campus coffee shop, looking at the rain outside. There was a steaming cup of black coffee in front of him, her treat, and she had a typical sugary sweet latte that was more milkshake than coffee, which she sipped on slowly as she regarded him, causing the whipped cream on top to drift lower in the plastic cup.

“I love when they roll out the pumpkin spice ones,” Melinda sighed, putting her coffee back on the table and flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She looked at his cup and frowned, “you don’t take anything in yours?”

“Just black,” he said with a small smile, “so uh…” he faltered, his attempt to make small talk petering out.

“They say if you like black coffee that means you’re a serial killer or something,” Melinda giggled, “it’s true, there are articles on it and everything.” The remark was followed by an uncomfortable silence, punctuated by the pattering of the rain against the building’s roof.

“I must have missed them,” he said uncomfortably.

“They’re probably full of shit anyways,” she giggled with a shrug, “like you can really tell what someone’s like by their taste in coffee… I’m sure lots of real monsters love sweet drinks,” she scooped up a small dab of whipped cream with her manicured finger, popping the dollop into her mouth and sucking on it briefly.

“Yeah, probably,” he muttered, looking at the rain outside. He glanced around the coffee shop, campus was usually pretty crowded, even on weekends, but today it was a ghost town due to the downpour. He’d only come himself because of this date with Melinda, she was a far prettier girl than he ever expected to be interested in him, and he was shocked when she’d asked him to meet her for coffee. He tried to give her a fun looking smile, “so, how about this weather huh? I was going to say we should take a walk in the park but… well yeah.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, looking at the waves of rain splashing against the window, “the park would have been a fun place to play some games.” She turned to him and smiled, her pearly white teeth seeming almost to glow across the gloomy interior of the shop. Lightning flashed outside suddenly, and the power flickered, causing her grin to almost flash in the brief darkness.

“Looks like it’s getting uglier out there,” he commented, “we should probably just hang out here for a while.”

“I like the idea, it’s kind of intimate, wouldn’t you say?” she glanced around the empty shop. Steven couldn’t help but notice the barista wasn’t behind the counter.

Where did she go? He wondered, probably doing inventory or cleaning the back or something…

“I guess it’s kind of nice to get to know each other in private,” he said with a tight smile, “so uh, Melinda, what kind of stuff do you like to do? We haven’t really talked much in class…” he chuckled nervously, “I was kind of surprised you wanted to go out on a date with me…”

Her eyebrows raised, “Why’s that? You’re a cute guy Steven, just my type really. Dark hair, a little on the geeky side, loves horror movies…”

How does she know I love horror movies? He tried not to betray his expression, “yeah, I do like the scary ones, I’m guessing you do too?”

“Yep,” she said with a giggle, “I was actually reading your blog over your shoulder in class, that’s kind of why I thought it would be fun to get to know you.”

“Oh,” he said, blushing slightly, “you uh, saw me typing that up, huh? Sorry, sometimes the lecture gets a little… slow, so I distract myself by writing up horror reviews.”

“Yeah, I distract myself by sitting behind you and reading while you write them up,” she said with a smile. “I was just thinking of your blog yesterday, when you said that nothing can scare you anymore… That kind of made me sad, so I thought maybe we should get together and I could help you out with that.”

“Oh,” he laughed, “yeah… it just feels like I’ve seen enough of the horror genre that nothing can really get my blood pumping anymore, you know? Rollercoasters don’t do it either. So did you want to talk about film recommendations, or what?”

“Something like that,” she said with a smile, “for now let’s just talk about ones we like, I know it’s not too scary, but did you see Cabin in the Woods? I just watched it and couldn’t get enough!”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile, “I really like how it took the genre apart, that part at the beginning with the warnings was hilarious.”

“I know!” she said, laughing, “it’s like, hello! How do you not realize what kind of a situation you’re in?”

The lightning flashed again, the lights flickered, and Steven jumped as he noticed the barista was back. She was a pale goth looking girl, with silver cross earrings and jet-black hair, bangs hanging around her face from beneath the green hat of her work uniform. She’d somehow approached their table without him noticing.

“Hey,” she said in a low voice, “since you two are the only ones here I’m going to go into the back office and get a little school work done… if you need anything, just ring the little bell.”

“Thanks Trish!” Melinda gushed.

The barista gave a small smile, her black colored lips quirking slightly, “on a date Melinda?”

“Oh yeah,” the blonde beamed, “Steven and I were just talking about movies!”

“Hmm…” the goth mused, “You seem to go through a lot of boys…”

“I’m just looking for one with good taste,” Melinda said, shooting a wink at a confused Steven.

Trish smirked, “good taste… right.” She looked over at Steven, “remember, if you need help, just ring the little bell.” She pointed to the counter at the front of the room again, where the silver bell sat by the register, gleaming slightly. Without another word she walked back behind the counter, disappearing into the store’s back office.

“Do you know her?” Steven asked curiously.

“She was my freshman year roommate,” Melinda said with a grin, “she still comes by every now and then to watch horror flicks with me, you really should join us,” she giggled, “a movie night with all three of us would be… thrilling.” The thunder boomed outside again, crackling through the air like a snapping treebranch.

“Yeah, sounds great,” he said, “what kinds do you guys usually watch? I’m more into creature features myself.”

“Oh those are fun,” she said, “Them, Deep Rising, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman…”

He frowned, “not sure I’d call that last one a horror movie.”

“What?” she asked with a frown, “why not?”

“I guess I just don’t find the idea of a giant woman who’s half naked to be scary,” he said with a smile, “I mean… if anything that’s something most guys probably wouldn’t mind seeing stomping towards them.” He frowned as he took another sip of his coffee, adjusting his sleeve, it suddenly felt a little too loose on his arm.

“Really,” she said, leveling her gaze at him, “you’re telling me there is no way that a giant woman could be scary? Even if she was about to step on you?” She stirred her whipped drink, “swallow you up maybe? I mean sure you could be aroused, but you’re telling me there’s nothing scary about it?”

“No,” he said firmly, “a giant woman just isn’t frightening for me, sorry!”

“I think I’m going to change your mind on that before we leave here today…” she said with a weird smile. “So, let’s talk, what is it about her? Is the Fifty Foot Woman just too sexy to scare you, or what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, thinking it over, “if she was good looking, I still think it would be hard to run away, sure,” he joked.

“What if she looked like me?” Melinda asked.

Steven blinked, straightening himself up. He hadn’t noticed how tall she was before… wait, there was something wrong here, he’d seen Melinda in class plenty of times, she was shorter than he was, like at least a good five or six inches shorter. He looked down at his chair, then at hers, trying to gauge if his was shorter.

“Well?” she asked with a smug smirk, “answer, what if the giant woman looked like me?”

“S-she’d be pretty, I guess I’d have trouble running away from her,” he muttered, trying to clear his head. He blinked, feeling his heart pound faster suddenly as he realized that his chin was just barely over the top of the table. “I… I…” he gulped, looking up at an amused Melinda, “I think something’s wrong…” he muttered.

“Hmm… is it?” she asked casually, setting her coffee down and standing up. She towered over him now, and he looked up fearfully as the top of the table passed his face by, leaving him sitting in a pile of his clothes, trapped on a chair that was probably now taller than he was. “Are you sure?” she said with a playful smile, “I feel fine!”

Steven looked across the shop at the shining silver bell next to the cash register, then back to Melinda. He gulped nervously, and she just giggled, reading his thoughts instantly.

“Yeah, Trish will probably come save you if you can get to it, but… can you even reach the counter now?”

He slid off the chair, his pooled clothes crumpling around him as he struggled to step out of the pile of debris his shirt, pants, and underwear had become. He blushed as he stepped out of them, naked, standing just a little higher than Melinda’s knees.

“Oh shit,” he muttered, looking up at the cliff face of a counter on the far side of the restaurant. He looked nervously at Melinda, who just crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.

“Well?” she asked, tapping a sandaled foot, “are you going to go for it?”

“How is this happening?” he said in a hushed tone.

“Ugh,” Melinda rolled her eyes, “Steven, the people in the movie who stop to ask how just distract themselves and end up dead, you don’t say how does Michael Myers survive all those gunshot wounds, you just accept that he does and run away!”

“I-It’s a curse,” Steven muttered, “I think it was explained in Halloween five or six…”

“In some continuities it’s a curse,” Melinda corrected with a small smile, “sometimes he’s just super strong, or doesn’t feel pain, or whatever.” She tapped her chin and thought, “still, I like that you managed the trivia given your situation.”

“Thanks,” he breathed, watching Melinda and the rest of the world grow ever larger, stretching away from him. He gulped and looked at the counter, which had looked as tall as a house before, and now loomed large like some impossible wall of wood and vinyl. The bell waited up there like some faraway ticket to paradise, mocking him.

“You should be just… about… done,” Melinda said with a wide grin as he finished shrinking.

Steven looked around in awe, the floor of the coffee shop was a vast expanse, the towering chairs and tables like mountainous monoliths. His world shook slightly as Melinda slid her feet out of her sandals, gently kicking them behind her as she rested her pedicured toes on the hardwood floor. Her big toe alone easily would come up to his chest, and he felt his heartbeat pick up as she flexed her toes on the smooth, cool surface.

“Now don’t tell Trish I’m walking around the lobby barefoot,” she said in a teasing voice. “Then again, she might have to clean up the floor in here anyway, you know? Can’t have any weird little stains in here.”

She’s talking about ME I’m the stain! He realized in horror, looking up at the giant girl. She giggled one final time, lifting her foot over him in a slow, menacing arc. He just watched, stunned, terrified, and… aroused? Oh god she has nice feet, he thought shamefully as the foot blocked out the fluorescent light.

Outside the storm reached a fever pitch, the rain pounding angrily against the windows, the wind blowing so hard that the glass rattled slightly in its pane. There was a bright flash of lightning and then one final boom of thunder, the brilliant glow illuminating Melinda’s twisted grin one last time as her foot began to descend.

Steven cried out in terror and fell backward as the soft skin of her sole made contact with him, the pressure already increasing as she prepared to pop him like a ripe cherry tomato across the hardwood floor.

The pressure released, and she lifted her foot off of him, stepping back and giggling as she looked at his expression. She sat down slowly, still looming over him as she lay across the café floor, putting her head in her hands as she regarded him.

“Okay, let’s start calming down,” she said with a smile.

“W-What the hell,” he muttered, sitting back up and looking at the titanic beauty. He realized he smelled of something vanilla-y… her foot lotion maybe?

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Uh…” he looked himself over, “yeah.”

“I thought so, I think you guys get harder or something as you get smaller,” she shrugged, “not that I’d really try to squish you anyways…” She sighed, “so, did I give you a scare?”

He blinked, “I… I’m going to change my answer on the fifty-foot woman thing.” He gave her a weak smile. “So… yeah, that fucking did it.” He breathed out slowly, “I haven’t felt anything like that in… years I think.”

“Well, I’m not a scary movie, but I’m glad I managed to give you a fright,” she said with a small smile, “Okay, let’s play Scream and talk about what you did wrong.”

“What I did wrong?” he asked with a frown.

“First off, you let me get away with a ton of creepy foreshadowing,” she explained, “I mean come on, I practically spelled out what I was going to do.”

“Er, yeah,” he muttered, looking up at the amused giant, “I guess in hindsight some of the stuff you said was… odd.”

“Then Trisha showed up, pretty explicitly offering you a way out,” she continued, “I mean, you should have gone for the bell the minute you realized you were getting smaller!”

“And then I froze up,” he moaned, slapping his forehead, “oh my god, I’m not the final girl, I’m the dude who dies in the first twenty minutes to establish how scary you are!”

“Bingo,” she smirked, “if it makes you feel better, you’re a more memorable part of the movie than the generic teen couple who sneak away from the group to bump uglies and then get offed.”

She reached for him, and a pair of fingers as thick around and longer than his body pinched him, lifting him easily off the ground. His stomach lurched as she stood up, keeping him gripped tightly as she walked towards the counter. She casually whistled the theme from Halloween as she dinged the small bell on the counter.

“You two done?” Trish said, walking out of the back storeroom with her eyes crossed. Her gaze drifted over Steven’s shrunken form, and she smirked, “so tiny, how far did you get?”

“I froze up and she would have had me right away,” he said with a sigh, “guess I didn’t know my horror tropes as well as I thought.”

“It’s cool, most guys she shrinks just turn into a jabbering mess,” Trish said with a sigh.

“Uh, how are you doing this?” he asked finally, “did you slip a VR headset on me? Drugs? Hypnosis?”

“Nope, you’re really tiny!” Melinda said gleefully, holding him up between her eyes, letting those orbs larger than he was take in his squirming form.

“We can shrink people,” Trish explained.

“Oh my god,” Steven breathed, “you’re witches!”

“Pfft, I wish,” Trish muttered, “nope, we can shrink people and grow them back, and that’s it.”

“It’s a funny story,” Melinda explained, “so the army accidentally delivered a barrel of toxic waste from an experiment lab to our dorm-“

“And you opened it?” Steven laughed, “and you said I wasn’t genre savvy? Did you ever see Return of the Living Dead?”

“Yeah, I was hoping it would have a zombie in it, but it just filled our dorm with this green gas and knocked us out,” Melinda said.

“And when we woke up, we could shrink people,” Trish said, shrugging, “it’s… not that exciting really.”

“Wow,” Steven breathed, “I’m… I’m honored you guys are letting me in on the secret!”

“Oh, we’re not hiding,” Melinda laughed, “we called the government right away, some guy in a suit came to ask questions, but we never heard anything else from them.”

“Yeah, really makes you wonder what they’re dealing with if they don’t give a shit about two coeds who can shrink people,” Trish said with a shrug, “oh well, it’s kind of fun sometimes.”

“I love shrinking my dates,” Melinda gushed, “but… it really freaks most guys out, mostly I end up just putting them back to normal right away and breaking up... I’m glad you’re taking it so well!”

“Uh, yeah, I’m a trooper,” he said, smiling weakly. “Most girls find my horror movie obsession a little creepy too, so… I guess I kind of relate?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Melinda laughed, “we love creepy shit, Trish and I were going to watch the It miniseries tonight, the Tim Curry one, you in?”

“Uh, sure!” he said excitedly.

“The only catch,” Trish said, her grin widening, “is you have to be small, and you have to sit in the popcorn bowl while we eat…”

He gulped, but Melinda just scowled, “she’s kidding, I’ll put you back to full size when we get to my place.”

“Oh,” he said, trying to hide his relief, “uh, sounds fun! If you can grab my clothes for me, I’ll pay for pizza!”

“Groovy,” Trish said with a wink, “you two go pick up some popcorn and snacks, I’m going to close this place up, then I’ll meet you over there.”

The thunder outside boomed one last time, and while the rain still came down, it was a drizzle rather than a downpour. The sun was going down, turning the gloomy day into a gloomy evening, the perfect time to watch a horror film…

“Sounds like a fun time,” Melinda said, “let me just put my little date somewhere safe for the ride.”

Steven gulped as he was brought down to the low cut neck of Melinda’s sweater, hovering above the valley of her cleavage as she brought him into contact with her warm skin. She giggled at his stunned and lustful expression as she poked him down between her boobs with a single manicured finger, pulling away from him and leaving him stranded deep in the recesses of her shirt.

Steven was held on all sides by her warm flesh, and the smell of whatever fruity bodywash she used surrounded him as his prison jiggled with her steps. He smiled, letting himself get comfortable, falling deeper into the soft valley until the light above disappeared. It hadn’t been the date he’d expected, but it had been terrifyingly good.