Ava had never hated winter as much as she did as a shrinkee.

She'd always hated the season. It was so cold and the nights were so long and dark that it always seemed like winter would never actually end. Even when it did seem like it would finally leave, early spring snow storms would roll over the city out of nowhere and stretch the misery out a little while longer.

At a few inches tall, the chill that would sting her face at normal size sunk deep into her bones no matter where she was. Being inside the vast Park house seemed to do nothing, not merely because Grace's parents had a thing about turning the heat on but because the place was so vast and cavernous in comparison to the tiny girl that the heat just rose far away from her little body.

She hated to admit it but when she was shackled to the necklace, she could actually feel warm. Whether she was laid out atop Grace's chest, with or without a coat layered over her, or she was actually tucked into the giantess's shirt and left sweating between her perky breasts, Ava wasn't shivering from the cold.

Then Grace got that haircut and Rachel had pointed out how much cuter Ava looked draped across the giantess's thigh. Throughout the last few weeks of that miserable season, Ava bounced atop Grace's jeans, leggings, skirts, and sweatpants. The warmth that emanated from the giantess's powerful legs was constantly swept away when Grace's stride sent Ava swinging out through the world. Even indoors, the constant swinging and swaying left her covered in goosebumps.

The only benefit was that when Grace sat down in class, the little girl sometimes landed on the chair beside her rather than swinging out over the edge. As teachers droned on, Ava huddled beside her owner's body, staring out at the other enormous students.

None of them glanced in her direction anymore.

There was nothing strange about Ava Mendoza being owned by Grace Park at this point. She had hung from the girl's neck as she took tests, gave presentations, and made out with Ethan in the parking lot. Grace's new haircut was of more interest to people than the fact that Ava was now battered against passersby between classes.

Especially since the rest of Grace's style seemed to be changing along with her hair.

She had never given Chloe back the dark green lipstick and had bought several other dark shades; a matte wine red, a midnight blue, and a rich purple. Ava painted her nails in similar colors while the giantess scrolled through fashion subreddits looking for inspiration. As the days grew longer and the wind no longer bit into Ava's skin, Grace started to wear pants with more pockets and extraneous buckles. Her Vans slip-ons and white Nikes seemed to move deeper and deeper into her closet, replaced by the giantess's thick-soled Doc Marten oxfords and a pair of black Pumas that also had soles so thick that Ava was certain Grace could crush her flat without feeling a thing.

Then the boots arrived.

Grace had smirked as she took them out of an immense box that promised they were 100% vegan leather. The floor shuddered beneath Ava as the boots were set down on either side of her, the tread was an orange-red blend that reminded the shrunken girl of warning labels. The rest of the boots rose like black towers, the eyelets for the laces a silver that shone in the morning light except for the one at the top that was a brilliant green. Wrapping around the pair were straps covered in what looked like computer code with only one sensible word amid the mess of perfectly printed letters, forward slashes, and colons; unhackable.

They creaked when Grace slid her feet into them and tied them tight, a pair of tall black crew socks with a single green stripe poking out the tops. She looked up to see Grace's wine red lips curled in a smirk before the giantess's hand snatched her up.

A moment later and Ava was bouncing against the dark skirt that hugged Grace's body, its cut and the thick belt she cinched it with creating an illusion of a curve that her narrow hips lacked. A dark t-shirt that referenced one of the weird streams that Grace watched clung to her chest and rode up just enough to show a flash of midriff.

Underclassmen seemed to skitter out of Grace's way when she walked through the halls of the school. Watching from her place hanging off of her owner's belt, Ava couldn't help wonder how many of them were asymptomatic and realizing for the first time that they could wind up beneath the terrifying tread of someone just like Grace Park or one of her friends. The same friends that gushed about the girl's newfound confidence and style, some of whom used to offer similar compliments to Ava less than a year earlier.

One giant didn't approve of it though.

Ethan frowned as he sat beside Grace after school, in one of the courtyards that seemed to exist only so students could make out in them after the last bell rang. Ava was bent low in front of the giant's Osiris high tops, which were more scuffed and beaten up than the tiny girl had ever seen them. Lapping away, she almost shuddered as she caught a whiff of the musk within.

No matter how much had happened, the little girl could never deny just how hot Ethan was.

“I'm not saying I don't like it,” Ethan huffed while his hands smacked the stone bench they were sitting on, “Just you know, it's different.”

“I like it, Ethan, and it doesn't really matter if you do or don't,” Grace replied and Ava looked up to see the giantess fold her arms across her chest.

The giant scoffed, “What do you mean? It doesn't matter? I'm your boyfriend.”

“Yeah and how I wear my hair shouldn't matter because you're my boyfriend,” she glared at him, “And you like me.”

“Your hair is,” the giant shrugged, “I didn't care that you changed your hair but-”

“But what?”

“I'm not into goth chicks or whatever the fuck this is,” he waved his hand in the air to gesture at Grace's entire outfit.

“Well, I always thought I wouldn't date a guy who couldn't make me cum but I've been with you for months,” Grace's dismissive snort rustled the curtain of hair that still fell across the right side of her face.

“What the fuck?” Ethan shot back as he rose to his feet, looming over the entire world with his hands balled into fists, “What the fuck did you just say?”

“I said you can't make me cum, Ethan,” Grace spat back, “Do you really think me shouting 'wait' while you shoot your load is me having an orgasm?”

“You fucking bitch,” Ethan growled and stomped his foot down.

Ava screeched but the giants above paid her no mind as she was thrown across the quaking earth while wind whipped around her. She crab-walked backwards, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight above her.

Ethan's hands shook and his lips curled into a sneer, “Maybe if you weren't such a prude, you'd actually enjoy it.”

Grace leaned back slowly and her face remained impassive as she crossed her legs and swung her booted foot lazily, “I know it's hard for you to believe, Ethan, but girls like sex when it's enjoyable and not you just drilling into them for a minute.”

“Fuck you!” He roared, his face red from both embarrassment and rage.

She lifted her hand and raised her middle finger, “We're done, Ethan.”

“We're done?!” His basso thunder cracked, “You think you're dumping me?!”

“Yeah,” Grace smirked, “I'm pretty sure I am.”

Ava felt weightless as she watched the scene, her head spinning as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Grace Park looked cool and confident, seemingly more concerned with a chip on her nail than the hot giant standing in front of her. A giant who looked like he was on the verge of tears, a mixture of regret and total incomprehension on his face.

“You can't dump me,” Ethan spat back.

Grace shrugged, “I'm pretty sure I just did.”

“I rule this fucking school,” Ethan's voice cracked again and his finger shook as he thrust it into Grace's face, “You don't get to dump me. I'm dumping you, you stupid nerd bitch.”

The giantess laughed, it was an uncomfortable noise but it made Ethan's hand drop in confusion. The momentary flash of discomfort left Grace's face and she grinned up at Ethan, a smile no different from the one she had on her face when she recognized Ava on the sidewalk before snatching her up. “Ethan, you're captain of the hockey team and the season's over. You're graduating in two months,” she scoffed, “We were going to break up anyway so just go and get excited about college or something.”

Ethan's face screwed up and then the ground shook as he took two forceful steps away.

Ava's neck craned back as she watched the tears rolling down his cheeks, and though she cowered when his sneaker flew overhead, the little girl stood up almost instantly, “Ethan!”

The giant paused and Ava could feel Grace's eyes drilling into her as she stood staring up at her enormous ex-boyfriend. Ethan's blue eyes locked onto her as he blinked away tears. She reached out toward him and a plea started to bubble up from her belly.

This was it, Ava realized, this was her last chance.

Then Ethan's face contorted into that haughty smirk and the toe of his sneaker smacked into her.

Air shot from her lungs and the world spun.

“Stupid shrinkee bitch.”

The words rang in her ears for what felt like an eternity. The ground shook beneath her and she knew somewhere deep inside that he was stomping up to kill her. Her eyes shut tight and her whole body tensed as she prepared to feel his sole smash down into her and turn her into nothing more than viscera beneath his tread.

A gunshot-like crack echoed through the air and Ava flinched but no pain erupted in her tiny body even though she was certain that Ethan had just snapped one of her legs clean in half.

“I don't have all day, slave,” Grace's voice boomed in annoyance.

Ava opened her eyes to find that she was still alive.

Ethan was long gone and she turned to see Grace still sitting on the bench, her mascara a little runny but mostly fine. The giantess then snapped her fingers again, “Come here, now.”

The little girl crawled forward slowly at first, toward the looming tower of the girl's black boots, and half-expected Ethan to come running back to turn her into nothing more than a smear. The red tread of the giant boot thumped against the ground and the tremors made Ava speed up. Rather than crane her head back to look up at Grace, the little girl found herself bowing deeply until her forehead was touching the ground in front of her owner.

“What was that?” Grace barked and Ava could just make out the deepening shadows that meant the girl was leaning forward to look down at her.

She didn't lift her head from the ground but she shouted with all of her might, “I'm sorry, mistress!”

“Did you think my ex was going to help you?” Grace asked, and then a giddy laugh escaped her lips as she realized she had just referred to Ethan as her ex.

“No, mistress!” She cried out and her voice cracked as she realized it had been foolish.

“And why wouldn't he help you?”

Ava whimpered and tears rolled down her cheeks, “Because I'm a shrinkee!”

The darkness deepened and Ava looked up to see the tread of Grace's boots looming over her. No command boomed down but the little girl knew exactly what was expected of her. She rose up to her feet and began to drag her tongue along the deep groves. Meanwhile, high above, she heard Grace's thumbs start tapping against the screen of her phone.

Ava's tiny body shook as she licked the bottom of the boot. With every fresh coating of dirt and grit though, she became calmer and calmer. She wasn't about to die, she told herself, Ethan was gone and Grace wasn't going to kill her. The giantess simply wanted to keep her new shoes looking as nice as possible for as long as possible.

And that was why she wasn't going to kill her.

A whimper bubbled past Ava's lips as the reality of her place in the world, Grace's world, suddenly clicked into place. Grace's boot rose into the sky as she crossed her legs and the earth trembled as its partner replaced it. The dirty tread swayed back and forth expectantly and though all she could taste was rubber and dirt, Ava pressed her lips up against it.

She could feel something struggling in the back of her mind, a voice that was telling her to run into the bushes nearby and to wait until someone could save her; a friend, a teacher, anyone who wasn't Grace. Yet, Ava knew that there wasn't anyone who would save her and there never had been. The moment she had felt the strange discomfort in her stomach months ago, there had been no escape.

The ground shook beneath her feet and she immediately huddled close to the arch of Grace's foot. A pair of black Vans, their white rubber soles dirtied, smacked down nearby and Ava could see rich ebony skin rising up from the low-top sneakers before disappearing into pale denim jeans.

“H-hey, Grace,” the voice was feminine with the faintest trace of a Southern accent, “Uh, Chloe said we were all meeting here?”

A faint sniffle echoed above before Grace cleared her throat, “Yeah, she just texted me and said she and Rach would be a few minutes.” Flesh slapped against stone, “Have a seat.”

The girl sat down but she continued to bounce on the balls of her feet, “I'm just so excited to play D&D. I always wanted to but no one at my old school was into this kind of stuff and when I moved here at the start of the year I didn't know anybody and...” She took a deep breath, “Sorry, am I rambling?”

Grace chuckled, “It's cool, don't worry about it.”

Ava peered out from around the edge of Grace's boot to look up at the new giantess beside her. Her jeans rose up to a blue-and-yellow striped shirt and a gray hoodie that looked a size too big, and her naked nails drummed across her knees as she sat there. Her cheeks were a little plump but they went well with the large circular glasses that she wore and the mass of curly hair that swayed with every nervous twitter of the slightly younger girl. As the giantess pushed her glasses back up her nose, her dark eyes settled on Ava far below and the little girl stiffened.

“Oh,” her thick lips hung open for a moment before she cooed, “Who's that?”

“That's Ava Mendoza,” Grace replied with a smirk and the slightest flip of her hair.

The black girl's brow furrowed and her cheeks flushed slightly,“Is... is that... am I supposed to know her or...”

Ava's legs felt like they turned to jelly while Grace laughed above. The new girl smiled awkwardly but her eyes continued to bounce between Grace and the shrunken girl at her feet. The complete lack of comprehension on the giantess's big friendly face sent Ava crashing to her knees.

“It's not important,” Grace said with a dismissive wave.

Her tiny heart skipped a beat.

“She's just my shrinkee,” the ground shook as Grace dragged her foot back and then brushed her toe against Ava's shoulder, knocking her over completely, “You're Immune, right, Penny?”

“Mhm,” the giantess's cheeks still burned slightly, “I've never really seen a shrinkee up close before. The only person who had one at my old school was this girl named Madison and-”

Ava yelped as Grace's boot sent her sprawling across the ground.

“Do you want her to clean up your shoes?” The question was as casual as if Grace had asked if Penny wanted to borrow a pen.

The giantess laughed but her feet stopped bouncing nervously. Both thick-soled sneakers smashed down in front of Ava and she looked up to see the girl grinning above, “I mean, if you don't mind, they've been getting kinda... dirty.”

Grace simply shrugged, “It's what she's for.”

Ava crawled the last few inches to Penny's foot and dragged her tongue across the first scuff that she saw.

“So what class are you thinking about playing?”

Grace's question pulled Penny's attention away from the shrunken girl at her feet, and as they talked about their game, Ava was simply ignored. She was less important than whether Penny would pretend to be an Elf or a Dwarf and Ava couldn't produce any argument to the contrary. Lapping away at this new girl's shoes, she couldn't help but think of the fact that Penny had never even heard of her.

In a few months, Ava had essentially disappeared from her school even though she was still appearing in the Instagram feeds of other students and still in its hallways almost every day. It didn't matter. Ava didn't really exist, not in the way that she once had, now she was just an extension of Grace Park with little to differentiate her from the clothes the girl was wearing or the phone in her hand.

As she used to joke when she thought she was Immune, asymptomatics were just shrinkees who hadn't shrunk yet. Her whole life before that moment was meaningless, she had never been anything but a shrinkee waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The earth shook and shadows rolled over Ava's world as Rachel and Chloe walked up. She had barley registered that Rachel was wearing her gold checkered Vans before the blonde's hand was wrapped around her, “Ah, man, you do outside-in, too?”

Penny laughed nervously as she and Grace rose to their feet, “Uh, I don't know, I've-”

Ava went limp in Rachel's hand, thinking about the fact that this girl who she had once made fun of had always been her better.

“You should really let her massage your feet,” Rachel explained with a smirk as the world turned into a blur, “Trust me, when we get to Chloe's, you should have her do it.”

“A-alright,” Penny nodded enthusiastically.

Ava's vision stabilized as Rachel slid her into the enormous pocket of her University of Minnesota hoodie and she watched Chloe wrap a consoling arm around Grace, the pair whispering about Ethan and the break-up several feet ahead of Rachel and Penny. As maroon fabric cut Ava off from the world, she reminded herself that her owner's love life wasn't really her concern and it never had been.

She was a shrinkee and her place in the world was whatever Grace Park said it was.