Morning light filtered through the curtains, casting soft patterns across Alice's room. Jordan blinked his eyes open, the world around him slowly coming into focus. He felt a surge of warmth as he looked over at Alice, still peacefully asleep beside him. Her face was beautiful, her features relaxed and serene in the soft light of dawn.
Last night felt almost like a dream, an impossible, wonderful dream. He could still feel the pressure of her lips, the gentle way she’d held him in her hand, her touch so full of affection and care. It was a memory he felt he would hold onto forever. But as he looked down at his tiny body, he couldn’t help but feel a powerful sense of arousal bubbling up, a feeling he was trying desperately to suppress. His heart raced, and he wondered if he was starting to enjoy being tiny a bit too much, especially if it meant experiencing certain pleasures from this unique perspective.
Before he could dwell too long on that thought, Alice began to stir. She let out a soft yawn, her eyes fluttering open. Her gaze found his almost immediately, and she smiled sleepily. “Good morning,” she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.
“Good morning,” Jordan replied, feeling his cheeks warm up. “And… thank you for last night.”
Alice chuckled softly, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. “You don’t have to thank me, Jordan,” she said teasingly. “Otherwise, you’d be thanking me a lot for all the fun we’ll have in the future.”
Jordan’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red. “I… I guess I’m looking forward to that,” he stammered, his heart fluttering at the thought.
Suddenly, a small voice piped up from the top of the bed. “Well, well, good morning, lovebirds!” Leila chirped, grinning at the two of them. They were too distracted by their conversation to have noticed Leila climbing up the bed. Both Alice and Jordan turned a shade of crimson, flustered by her cheeky greeting.
Jordan, eager to steer the conversation away from his and Alice's budding romance, quickly asked, “G-Good morning Leila, so hey uh... what’s the plan for today?”
Leila, always ready with a response, hopped down onto the bed with a thoughtful expression. “I was thinking,” she began, “Alice could take both of us back to the park, so we can head back to the village. We’ll wait out the time I need to recover and use the reversal spell. Since I used a bit of magic during the rescue mission, it’s going to take just a little bit longer.”
Alice’s expression immediately turned to a frown. “And then I’m supposed to just drop you both off and head to school?” she asked, clearly displeased with the suggestion. “Absolutely not. I just got Jordan back after two days of being worried sick, and I’m not leaving him again.” She shook her head firmly. “I know it’s risky, but I want to take Jordan to school with me. At least then, I can keep an eye on him.”
Leila looked incredulous. “You can’t be serious, Alice,” she retorted. “Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong in a place like that? A bunch of giant students walking around, any one of them could accidentally trample Jordan if he gets separated from you. It’s too dangerous.”
Jordan stepped in before Alice could argue further. “Leila,” he said calmly, “I get what you mean but... sometimes feelings are stronger than reason. I don’t really want to leave Alice’s side again, either. We both know there's some risk to it, but I trust her to keep me safe.”
Leila huffed, crossing her arms. “Hmph. You humans are so difficult to understand, always doing reckless things” she muttered. Jordan smiled and explained, “It’s like you being separated from Elsie. You wouldn't want to be away from her for too long, right?”
Leila softened at that, nodding in reluctant agreement. “... alright fair enough. I can understand that much, at least. But you two better be careful if you're going through with this.”
Jordan nodded, as he looked back up at Alice, seeing the determination in her eyes, and added, “And besides, now would be a good time to confront Emily. Things might be kind of awkward after what happened last night, but I think we should talk things over with her. I need to be there too, I can't just let you deal with her by yourself” Jordan said, thinking to himself that things might go pretty badly if he wasn't around to keep the peace.
Alice's expression shifted, her mouth pulling into a reluctant frown. She clearly wasn’t looking forward to facing Emily again, and there was still a flicker of resentment in her eyes. “I don’t want to deal with her right now,” she admitted, crossing her arms. “Not after what she tried to do to you, Jordan.”
Jordan reached out and touched her hand, as much as he could with his small form. “I understand, Alice. I really do. But we need to work this out together. Emily is lonely… she needs someone to listen and to care right now. I think we can help her get out of her funk.”
Alice sighed, still looking annoyed but slowly nodding. “Alright, fine...” she conceded. “I guess we’ll find a way to sort things out.”
Inside, Jordan felt a knot of anxiety himself. He was nervous about facing Emily again after everything that had happened, especially after her tearful apology the previous night. But he couldn’t just leave things as they were. Emily needed closure, and maybe… just maybe… they could help her find some peace.
With their decision made, Alice carefully lifted Leila and Jordan in her hands and made her way out of the apartment. She walked briskly through the quiet morning streets, the city slowly waking up around them. Once they reached the forest part of the park, she crouched down and set Leila gently on the ground. “Be safe,” Alice told her, giving her a small, grateful smile.
Leila nodded, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” she replied. “Just take care of your little lover for me and I'll see you guys soon.” She winked at Jordan before turning to head back toward the hidden village.
Alice turned back toward the street, ready to make her way to school. She carefully placed Jordan into her breast pocket, making sure he was secure and snug. Jordan looked up at her from his tiny vantage point, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. But he trusted Alice completely.
“Alright, off we go,” Alice murmured softly, smiling down at him. She took a deep breath and started walking toward the school, feeling the comforting weight of Jordan against her chest, knowing that no matter what happened today, they were in it it together this time.
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Alice walked through the school hallway, feeling lighter and happier than she had in days. Even though to anyone watching she seemed to be walking alone, she knew that wasn’t true. Jordan was right there with her, nestled snugly in her breast pocket, his tiny form a comforting presence against her chest. She felt a mischievous smile tug at her lips, thinking about how cute he was in his current state. Part of her secretly wouldn’t mind keeping him this way for a while longer; he fit so perfectly close to her heart. But she knew that it would get complicated to explain his absence for too long, and more importantly, Jordan deserved to return to his normal life.
As she passed through the bustling hallway, her eyes caught sight of Emily in the distance. Emily’s face went pale the moment she spotted Alice. She quickly turned and began walking the other way, avoiding her gaze.
Jordan peeked out of the pocket, noticing the brief exchange. “Looks like it’s not going to be easy to find an opportunity to talk,” he murmured.
Alice huffed, feeling a twinge of irritation. “I’m starting to wonder if she’s even worth the effort after what she did,” she muttered under her breath. The betrayal of finding out that Emily had kept Jordan imprisoned as a pet still stung. For a moment, Alice had thought Emily was trying to be nicer; she had asked about Jordan's absence during lunch, even showed some concern… But in the end, when she realized the tiny creature her family had brought home was Jordan, she decided to keep him captive anyway.
Jordan sensed the bitterness in her voice. “We have to give it a fair shot,” he said gently. “Emily is… a lot like us, in some ways. I think she just felt lost.”
Alice raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “A lot like us? How could she be? Neither of us would ever keep a person imprisoned in a cage like that...”
Jordan sighed softly, choosing his words carefully. “She was just lonely, Alice. The same way you felt when you thought you’d lost me, or how I felt when I couldn’t find you. I know she did something wrong, but… she wasn’t trying to be cruel. She just didn’t want to be alone again.”
Alice let out a reluctant sigh, mulling over his words. “Maybe,” she conceded, “but it still feels like a betrayal.”
Jordan nodded up at her "I get how you feel, I really do. But let's just try to get through the day, and find an opportunity to speak to Emily privately. We'll sort this whole thing out, I promise."
Alice kept a careful eye on her pocket throughout the day, making sure Jordan was safe. She tried to act naturally, but there was always a little flutter of anxiety in her stomach, knowing how vulnerable he was. Luckily, no one ever caught on to Jordan's presence, and the day went by without any incidents.
Well, almost.
During one of their classes, Alice decided to let Jordan have a breather. She carefully set him on her desk, her hand cupped protectively over him to keep him hidden from prying eyes. For a moment, everything seemed fine. Just then, Brynne, a friendly girl with bright red hair, was assigned to work with Alice on a task. She slid into the seat next to Alice, cheerful as ever.
“Hey, Alice!” Brynne greeted with a smile. “Do you have an eraser I can borrow? I messed up on this section.”
Absentmindedly, and caught up in the monotony of the task, Alice reached down, feeling for what she thought was an eraser. But instead, her fingers closed around a surprised Jordan. Without thinking, she plucked him up and dropped him into Brynne’s waiting palm.
Both Jordan and Alice’s faces turned pale as they realized what had just happened. Jordan landed softly in Brynne’s palm, looking up at her in shock. Brynne blinked down at him, confused for a moment, before a smile spread across her face.
“Wow... this is ..... ..... a really unusual eraser!” Brynne said with a giggle. “But super cute!”
Before Alice could protest, Brynne gently pinched Jordan between her fingers, his tiny body held firmly but gently, as she lowered her head towards the paper and began to rub his head down against the it, using him like a makeshift eraser to remove the words she had messed up in her notebook. Not wanting to reveal Jordan's identity in public, all Alice could do was watch, her face a mixture of shock and cringe, as Jordan’s tiny form was pressed against the page.
To Jordan’s surprise, it wasn’t as bad as he thought. The pressure was light, and while it was certainly unexpected, there was something oddly amusing about the whole situation. Brynne continued to use him to erase her mistakes, all the while finding the texture and squishiness of her “eraser” oddly satisfying.
For the rest of the period, Brynne kept Jordan gently enclosed in her palm, her fingers curled around him in a loose grip. She seemed to find the sensation of holding him relaxing, like a little stress ball. Jordan, though he would never admit it out loud, found the warmth of her hand not entirely unpleasant.
Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Brynne turned to Alice, dropping the ‘eraser’ back into her hands with a grateful smile. “Thanks for letting me borrow your eraser, Alice! That’s the cutest one I’ve ever seen,” she said, before heading off to her next class.
Alice immediately brought Jordan up to her face, her expression full of concern and guilt. “Oh my gosh, Jordan, I am so, so sorry,” she blurted out. “I-I wasn’t thinking, I just grabbed you by mistake! Are you okay?”
Jordan, still catching his breath from the unexpected experience, gave her a small grin. “It’s okay, Alice. Really. It wasn’t that bad… But I think we’ll have to try to... erase that memory from our minds,” he joked.
Alice laughed softly, her tension easing. “You’re impossible, Jordan,” she murmured, bringing him close to her lips for a tiny kiss on his head. “But I’m so glad you’re alright.”
Jordan chuckled, his heart warming at the gesture. “I’m okay as long as I’m with you,” he replied, feeling more at ease. The day wasn’t over yet, and there was still the challenge of confronting Emily up ahead, but as long as he had Alice, he felt ready for whatever came next.