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Chapter 23 of The Other-world Universe; Erica finally gets to see Alexis’ world! But at what cost?

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[Welcome to the Real World]

It was almost surreal, having Erica in my own world. I stood stunned for a moment before a pained shriek filled the air. Immediately, I put Erica down on the surface of the basement’s pool table, scared that I must've grabbed her a bit too hard. However, once my hands dropped away, I realized it was something else entirely. Erica fell to the ground, writhing in pain as small electrical currents buzzed around her. I could only sit and watch in concern as she cried out, unsure what was happening. My hands hovered around her — wanting to hold her yet knowing that moving her would make the pain worse.

Shit! Do I bring her back?! It’s.. It’s the same thing that happened to me when I came to her world. I briefly wondered if Erica would get the same abilities I had when I was electrocuted, but as the shock quickly faded away, I realized that this was a shorter version of what I'd experienced. She hadn't been through the powerful lightning storm like I had. She would likely be her normal self, despite the painful way she'd arrived.

Slowly, Erica sat up, taking in a few exhausted breaths. "What- What the fuck was that?" she gasped. "That's the reason I've avoided bringing you here," I answered her, "I really didn’t know what might happen to you while crossing over to my world. All the electrical stuff is similar to what happened to me the first time I came to your world, only a lot shorter."

With shaking legs, Erica stood up and took in the massive room around her, mouth agape and eyes wide. After the initial shock of the sheer scale of everything wore off, she turned back to me, suddenly full of hostility. "I told you I don't want to be here! Take me back! Now!" I shook my head, "Erica please just listen; if I go back there the founders are going to tell me to fight. The portal giants are going to come for the Cavern Town, and they’re going to catch me!”

“But what about me? What if I would rather stay there and face things rather than try to live in this gigantic place that isn’t made to fit me? It’s.. I don’t like it here!” I reached out and stroked her arm, “You’ll be better off here, trust me." Erica reared backwards as if I'd struck her. "Shut up. Shut the fuck up! Don't you dare tell me what you think would be better for me! I know what's best for me, not you! Alexis, you are not making me live a life I don't want to! Not again!" Speechless, I bent over slightly beside the table, trying to read her expression. "I can't go back," I whispered softly, "I just.. I can't." “So you’re gonna keep me here?!”

Erica stood seething for a moment, then turned on her heel and stormed away from me down the length of the pool table. "Where are you going?" "Away from you!" "You can't get off this table, it's too high up." I shuddered as she let out a maniacal chuckle. "Just you watch me."

My face scrunched in concern. She's not actually going to try to climb down from there, right? Instantly, I had about twenty flashbacks of Erica doing various stupid things that could've gotten her killed. Oh my god, she's going to try to climb down from there. "Erica, stop," I insisted, but I could tell she was determined to get away. She certainly wasn't going to listen to reason right then, especially after comparing her current situation to my controlling her. I would never control her, not ever again.

I'm just protecting her, and myself. Why can't she see that? Before Erica could do something dangerous, I grabbed a small decorative birdcage from a pile of discarded things that were meant for the dumpster, and swept her inside. I knew that if I tried to grab her, she would only dodge me again. This way, I could keep her contained without accidentally hurting her or letting her escape. "Have you lost your goddamn mind!?" she yelped as she fell inside, "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Let’s see,” I began sarcastically. “I brought you here so you can be safe from the world, and I put you in there to keep you safe from yourself," I explained matter-of-factly. Erica stared at me, appalled. "This is fucked-up! You're treating me like.. like a pet! Let me the hell out of here right fucking now before I lose my shit!" "I think you've already lost it," I joked. "Alexis, I'm not kidding, let me out!" Her voice switched from infuriated to fearful mid-sentence.

"Nope. I'm going to keep you in there until you can calm down." So saying, I stepped over to the couch with the little cage and carefully sat, avoiding too much pain from the injuries I'd gained in the fight. I placed the birdcage on the ottoman in front of me — Erica grasping at the thin wire bars for support. I watched her wildly look around her enclosure while easing myself down to lay on the cushions like I had before. A few heavy breaths rasped from my lungs as my growing bruises ached.

"Look at you in there," I cooed playfully, turning my head to look at Erica. "You look like you are my little pet." I reached over to wiggle my fingers through the cage at her, but froze as I saw her eyes moisten with tears.

"Alexis...?" her voice tapered off in a mixture of uncertainty and fear that sobered me instantly. "Alexis, please; I'm seriously begging you. Don't do this to me. This isn't funny. I- I'm scared." I bit my lip, hand drifting backwards as I realized what I'd done. Capturing her like this was like taking away her free will all over again. Only this time, I was abusing my physical power over her to do it. I had only been messing around, calling her my pet; I didn’t actually intend to keep her locked away. I was tired and in pain and keeping her there was the easiest solution to fix this awful situation, but she didn't know that. For all Erica knew, this would be her life now.

Slowly, I sat back up through the throbbing of my bruises and moved down to kneel in front of the cage so we could be more level with eachother. The way I was kneeling hurt my back immensely, but it was too late to get back up. I slid the cage’s metal door open, unlocking it from the outside. Erica rushed to the opening, edging cautiously past my hand which held the door. Once she was outside, I picked up the cage and gently tossed it at the junk pile. We held each other's gaze for a moment before I tore mine away.

"I'm such an awful person," I whispered, turning so I wouldn’t have to face her. "Erica, I'm so so sorry. I would never take over your life again, I swear. It's just.. I’m scared.” My voice weakened into a sob and I took a shaking breath to quickly recover, slowly turning back to her. "I don't want to live in your world anymore, but I don't want to live without you. And I didn't want to make the same mistake of abandoning you again, so I wanted to take you with me. I didn’t know what to do, I just want you with me. I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. Please forgive me, Erica. Please."

I was practically in tears then. My already horrible voice had dropped to a ragged whisper. The room was so deathly silent for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Erica held out her hands to me — a sign for me to come to her. I delicately rested my chin on top of the ottoman, letting her palms gently fall to my skin.

"It's alright," Erica said in a half whisper, voice wobbly with tears. "Just don't scare me like that again, ok?" She leaned forward on her toes, resting her forehead on the bridge of my nose. "We'll figure out a better way to solve this. I'll help you." “I- I didn’t mean it, I promise,” I whimpered, "I don't want to scare you.” "You usually don't," she replied kindly, "but Alexis…" I looked up at her, "You need to listen to me, alright? The only thing you do that scares me is not listening, because then I feel like I don't have a choice. I have the right to get a say in what we do, or at the very least, what I do. Do you understand?" I pulled away from her to give a full nod. "We need to be together on things from now on if I'm going to live here." "You mean you'll stay?" "I'll think about it."

Everything quieted for a moment as we both calmed down. "You do realize that if we stay here, we'd be leaving everyone in my world to be captured, right? Or.. Or killed?" Of course I knew that. That’s why I’d put off the very idea of abandoning everything until then. I nodded solemnly. “I want to stay and protect people, but you saw what happened out there,” I said, gesturing to the bruises purpling on my arms and throat. There were dozens more beneath my clothing; I could feel them. “I can’t save everyone on my own.”

“You could always make me a weapon. Then you won’t have to fight alone.” "Erica, we've talked about this. I'm not putting you in danger." She crossed her arms, looking pointedly up at me. "What did I just say about listening to me?" I sighed, "I am listening, I just don't want you to get hurt." Erica shook her head slightly, "Is that your excuse for everything? I can protect myself, you know."

That is my excuse for everything, isn't it? I thought solemnly. It's the justification behind at least half the things I do for her. I hesitated a moment, "But, Erica.. can you? Whenever I'm not with you it seems like you're in trouble," I explained carefully. "When I didn't stay up to protect you, you were taken by the Cavern Town people, when I left for four years, I found you chained up. Even when I left you with that money the very first time, you fell into debt after you used it all." Erica glanced away from me, holding her arms tighter against herself. "I'm not trying to be rude or arrogant,” I explained, “I'm genuinely asking you because I've seen so much proof that you can't take care of yourself."

The room dropped into dead silence for the longest time. I could tell Erica was struggling with something internally. Her expression was a mixture of pain and sorrow and regret — all shifting around overlapping eachother. She took in a shuddering breath of air and finally turned to me.

"I guess.. I guess you would think that, wouldn't you? You've only known me so long; you've only seen what's happened to me after John and I... broke up. He made me into this — twisted my mind. I wasn't always like this. I wasn't always this desperate and needy, and I don't want to be." Her downcast expression slowly shifted into a small smile as she gazed up at me, "You're helping me fix that, though. I just needed someone to help shield the blows for a little while so I could get back on my own two feet. And you've done that for me, both figuratively and literally, and for that I can never thank you enough. That's part of the reason I fell for you."

I started tearing up again, this time with happiness rather than guilt. Reaching an upturned hand over the ottoman, I watched as Erica effortlessly stepped onto it. I gently held her in front of me, taking in her tiny form like it was the very first time I was seeing her. It was beyond belief to have Erica standing there, in my own world. It felt like a dream.

"I think I'm ready to stand on my own again," Erica said after a while. "Now, that doesn't mean I don't want you around. And it certainly doesn't mean that I don't love you, because I do. But no one wants to feel like they can't protect themself, including me. I can still be on my own and depend on you. The same way you're on your own, but sometimes depend on me. That's what friends, and girlfriends, are for." Nodding slightly, I carefully held Erica between a few of my fingers as I moved one hand to wipe the tears from my eyes. After she was settled safely in the palm of my hand again, I cleared my throat. "Alright, I'll draw up some weapon plans for you tomorrow, but right now I need some rest. My bruises are killing me; I don't know how I'm going to hide them from my family."

Erica's eyes widened at the mention of my relatives. "You- I mean- They don't know about me, right? They don't know about my world?" I shook my head, slowly sitting up to stand with the least amount of pain. Still, I had to take several large breaths to combat it. Erica flinched and gave me a sympathetic look as I winced. I could tell she was going to say something about my injuries, but I quickly moved on.

"I'll have to hide you as well. Though, I think that'll actually be easier than hiding my battle wounds." Erica chuckled breathily, "Do you have a pocket for me to hide in?" "Of course I do. It's just my pants pocket though." "Ugh," Erica grumbled, "I guess I can deal with it for now."

I opened one of my pockets with a free hand, and held up the one Erica sat on like a platform, aligned with the opening. Carefully, she slid down inside. "Boy, does this bring back memories," she muttered as she situated herself at the bottom of her hiding place. "It's just until we get to my room, then I'll lock the door and bring you out, ok?" Erica nodded and I let the pocket fall over her.

As nonchalantly as I could, I ascended the stairs to the main floor. Thankfully, the only person there was my grandfather. He was already fast asleep on the couch with the TV still depicting the night's baseball game. Tiptoeing into my room down the hall, I triple-checked that my door was locked before scooping Erica out of my pocket. I really did not want my brother or my father accidently walking in on me and Erica. Then, I'd have a lot of explaining to do. Fortunately, my room is separate from the others' — far down a hallway past one of the ‘guest’ bedrooms that was really used for storage.

Gazing down at my pants pocket, I hesitated just inches away from its opening. The last time I'd moved her from one, Erica had panicked in my grasp. I slowly lifted it open, uncertainly wondering how to get her out without scaring her. Before I could think of a solution, Erica reached up for my fingers. However, they were out of her reach and she disappointedly lowered herself back down. "It's alright," she reassured me, "Pick me up. I trust you." Nodding slightly, I slid a few fingers down next to her and hoisted her out. I tried to be a bit more gentle with the way I held her, but there just wasn't enough room for both Erica and my hand inside the pocket. I ended up lifting her out in a very similar fashion to the first time I'd done it at the lake — her tiny torso pinched lightly between my fingers.

As quickly as I could without disorenting her, I shifted my hand so she could sit comfortably again. I watched nervously as she quietly gazed around my room. "Wow, so this is where you used to live," Erica said absentmindedly, "This is your old bedroom, right? I think I remember you saying something about your own apartment somewhere?" I nodded, briefly wondering when I'd even told her that. I'd probably mentioned it some late night when we'd both stayed up due to Erica's awful nightmares.

"I knew you had a place in your own world, but I never imagined… I mean, everything's so massive. I feel like I'm looking at an optical illusion; like none of this is actually real." She chuckled, looking back at me as I let her down on my old desk. "Is it weird that I think you look out of place with everything being your size? Suddenly, you just.. I don't know…" Erica's voice tapered off, thinking hard. "You look normal for once. I'm the outlier here." I watched intently as Erica took in everything around her. This was another reason I hadn't previously brought her to my world. It would take her a while to get used to the scale. All her talk about optical illusions and being the outlier reminded me of my first week in the other-world.

When Erica's gaze finally landed on me again, it was filled with wonder. "In my world I would sometimes call you a giant, but seeing you in your own world it's so weird. I guess I've known for years that you're a normal person and not some crazy otherworldly being, but I don't think it ever really clicked until just now."

I gently reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. It had gotten ruffled up when she hid in my pocket. I could see her blush slightly as she reached up and held my single finger in her hands. “I’m sorry I haven’t been listening to you, Erica," I apologized earnestly. "I’ll try to be better. Any time you feel like I’m ignoring you, just tell me and I’ll listen. I promise.” Her small smile brightened, instantly melting my heart. “Thank you,” Erica whispered, slightly choked up. We held each other's gazes briefly before I cleared my throat and turned away, bringing my finger away from her side. It hurt my back to stay leaning close to her like that.

“Alright, if you’re going to live here for a bit, then we’ll have to set up somewhere for you to stay.” "Don't plan on anything too extended," Erica said, "Remember, we still have one last shot at saving my world." I nodded, getting up, "You need something, though. What are you going to sleep on?" While we spoke, I gathered a washcloth or two from my bathroom for her to use as covers. Erica watched me set things up with a confused expression. "Why am I sleeping on rags?" she asked me, sounding almost offended. "There's a perfectly good bed right there."

Following her gesture, I realized she was talking about my full-sized bed. "Umm, that one's taken. It's mine." Erica rolled her eyes, "Haven't you heard of sharing?" I blinked, "You- But- You could easily get lost in all that! Or I could crush you, or-" "Alexis," she said in a sing-song voice, "I don't feel like I'm being listened to." Sighing, I gave Erica a tired look. "I just gave you a free pass to let you do whatever you want, didn't I?" She shrugged, "Hey, you're the one who offered it to me." "Fine," I relented, "You can sleep in my bed with me."

"Yes!" Erica cheered, pumping her fist in the air. I smiled softly. I adore when she's happy. I don't get to see it nearly as often as I should. Once I got ready for bed, I offered Erica my outstretched hand. She hopped in giddily and I made my way to the bed. Laying on it was so comforting that I felt my eyes tear up. Finally the throbbing pain from my cuts and bruises subsided.

Tilting my hand, I let Erica slide off it and onto a pillow I drew to my side. Immediately, she sank onto its surface and snuggled into it, sighing comfortably. "Wow! I need a bed like this in my world!" "This would probably fit in a football stadium," I laughed. She grumbled, "I ment a smaller one." "Isn't that just a larger beanbag chair?" Erica cast me an annoyed glance between the fabric of my pillow. "No," she countered, “My thing is different. And better."

I smiled and slid closer, enveloping her in a giant-sized kiss. As my lips grazed over her whole face, Erica sat up slowly and pulled herself into them. She held out for as long as she could, but eventually, she had to pull away to take a breath of air.

Even after our kiss ended, I kept my face next to hers. Erica snuggled closer to me, spooning the bridge of my nose as she stared lovingly into my eyes. Our gazes whispered 'I love you' in a thousand silent ways — too much to say, but just enough to mean everything we wanted. Carefully, I brought my hand up behind her. My thumb stroked her arm gently, lulling her into sleep. Butterflies and dopamine filled me up inside as I watched Erica's eyelids droop lower and lower.

Just before she fell unconscious, Erica reached up sleepily and pulled my thumb in closer. She cuddled it to her chest as the rest of my fingers fell into place around her. I cautiously slid my nose away from her, instead bringing my hand up against her back. With a small sigh, Erica scooted into my grasp, adjusting herself so that she fit perfectly against the palm of my hand. At last, her breathing slowed and her body fell slack, drifting into a deep sleep. She was absolutely and awe-inspiringly adorable. I held her for a while, watching her tiny chest rise and fall with each breath.

Every time a moment like that happened, I was always struck by her small size. That night was no different; the feeling was only heightened by the normalcy of the rest of the world around me. How idiotic I was to think Erica might live with me there. She was so small she couldn't even walk the length of my bed without getting tired.

The difference in our heights always leaves us at a dramatic impasse. Erica couldn’t live in a world where everything was twenty or thirty times her size. I couldn’t live in a world where everything was scaled to the size of my hand or smaller. But however screwed up our living situation was, there was no denying our love for eachother.

Today, Erica forgave me so easily. I hadn't made a big deal of it because we'd moved on to bigger issues with the other-world, but I was fascinated by Erica's ability to not let anything faze her. Though, I knew through years of experience that half the time she just bottled everything up to do so. Cautiously, I slid my hand out from behind her, leaned over, and gently kissed her side. “I love you so much,” I whispered softly. Gently stroking her arm one last time, I lay back on my own bed for the first time in a long time. I gave myself about a foot of room between myself and Erica, just so I wouldn't accidentally crush her, and fell asleep.

I found that my distancing hadn't actually helped in the slightest once I woke up the next morning, however. Still partially asleep, I lifted my arms in a lazy stretch when I heard a tiny gasp and froze. Slowly lowering my arms, I felt Erica's body shift as she carefully sat up. I'd been laying on my side with Erica snuggled on my pillow between my shoulder and my chin. She backed up a bit to see my face properly. Nudging her closer with my arm, I delicately kissed her good morning.

"You woke up before me, didn't you?" I asked, mimicking the question she'd asked me once before. "There's no way you just happened to end up that close to me." Erica smiled happily, yawning after her rest. I sat up myself, watching wryly as my weight was lifted from the pillow, causing Erica to slide down it into the divot I made in the mattress. She scoffed in a surprised kind of way and looked vertically up at me from the halfway upside-down position she'd fallen in.

"Well, that's one way to make me get up for the day!" she exclaimed, moving to get herself upright again. I chuckled, grabbing her gently and lifting her up to my face. Expertly, I fiddled with her tiny form until it was cupped rightside-up in the palm of my hand. Gently, I smoothed out her hair so it wasn’t so wild and bedraggled. Erica’s face went red, but she let herself go slack until I’d righted her. She’d never really admitted she liked it aloud, but every time I messed with her in that way, her face would blush furiously.

I wished we could've had more time alone together, but a sudden knock at my bedroom door snapped me out of my sleepy early morning fuzz. "Alexis, did you need me to get you breakfast today? I know you said you were sick. Do you want me to make you anything?" My dad’s muffled voice came through my bedroom door, checking up on me.

"Yeah, if you could make me some microwave waffles or something like that, that'll be great, thanks," I called back. Erica gave me an impressed glance. "Wow, breakfast in bed, huh? Nice." I nodded, "He thinks I'm sick because I used it as an excuse for him to leave me alone yesterday." "Why?" "I didn't want him to see my bruises." Both Erica's voice and expression softened, "How are they today? Any better?" I sighed, "They don't feel much better."

Keeping Erica in a loose fist, I stood up and unlocked my door so my dad could come in when he was done making breakfast. Erica giggled and my heart fluttered in my chest. "What?" I asked, sliding back into bed and opening my hand. "Why'd you get all giggly?" "I donno," Erica replied passively, "It's just fun when you pick me up like that." "You like being carried around like a little trinket I keep in my pocket?" I asked jokingly, setting her down on my bed. She laughed as I threw a blanket over her. "Yeah, I guess I do."

As we waited for the food, I asked her to stay under my covers so my dad wouldn't see her. "I'm not exactly ready to tell him about you yet," I explained, "The fact that I have a girlfriend would be surprising enough as it is. Nevermind the fact that you're three inches tall." "Oh, come on. I have to be taller than that, right?" “Hmm, I don’t actually know, but we could find out.”

I got up and sauntered back over to my desk where there was a ruler lying in one of the drawers. Taking it over to my bed, I brought it up to Erica’s side. She stepped in front of it, examining it for a moment before taking a surprised gasp. “Oh.. Oh my god, I really am only...” she paused to compare her height to the ruler’s lined face. “Three.. and four. 3.4 inches tall. Huh.” “That’s only my world’s measurements, though,” I reminded her. “For all intents and purposes you’re-” I stopped, realizing I didn’t actually know how tall she was in her own world. “Yeah. We’ll go back to my world today, right?” I nodded and she stepped back under the covers so she wouldn’t be seen, and I put a pillow over my head to cover the bruises I felt there.

After my dad brought me waffles, I slid out of bed behind him and locked my door again. "There, you can come back out now," I announced to Erica. Hearing a squeal of delight, I stepped back over to find Erica lying face-first on one of the waffles, happily pulling off a piece and scarfing it down. "I take it that one's yours, then?" Erica nodded happily, mouth full. I brought the plate and her over to my desk and ate my breakfast, watching her with a wide grin. "Ok, though I don't want to live here, staying in your house on vacation or something might not be all that bad," Erica mused.

After I'd finished my meal and Erica finished her oversized waffle, I readied myself for the day, leaving her on the surface of my desk. I had to stifle a few yelps of pain as I slid on a new outfit — the fabric rubbing up against my bruises. They were scattered on my arms, legs, and throat, but I tried to look at their awfulness as little as possible. I quickly downed some pain meds and moved on. Despite the chilly November weather, I wore shorts and a flowy short-sleeved shirt to least disrupt my injuries. Its kinda cold, but my muscles are killing me. I guess I’ll just sit with a blanket on.

When I returned, I broke off the tip of a pencil and handed it to Erica so we could start planning, but she just stood there, staring at me. “Step back for a second?” she asked. Confusedly, I took a few steps away from the desk. She pressed her hand to her mouth and looked me over with creased brows. “You.. look awful. Are you feeling ok? Alexis, I can wait a bit longer to get a weapon if-” “Those portal people are going to come for the Cavern Town. We can’t wait. Not if we want to go back and try to save everyone again.”

Erica was silent for a moment, “Won’t the barrier stop them?” “It won’t stop them from destroying the mountains around it. It won’t stop them from setting up one of those camps waiting for the food and water to run out so they can grab people when they try to escape. Just a barrier isn’t enough to deter them — not when they can use that place to get to me. It’s only enough to prevent them from immediately taking people. That’s why the founders still want me there to protect everyone. I’m supposed to prevent that from happening.” “I- I know, but.. have you looked in a mirror lately?” I exhaled and glanced guiltily away. “Kind of… I don’t like seeing how awful it looks.”

With a knowing expression, Erica gestured for me to come closer again. She extended a hand and I carefully took it between my fingers. “I know it’s scary. But your injuries aren’t gonna heal up if you don’t take care of them, love.” Lifting one of my fingers, she kissed the top of it softly, then let me go, pointing to the door. “Go. And don’t come back here until you get some bandages and an ice pack or two, ok?” I groaned, but got up anyway.

Erica was definitely understating just how horrid my injuries looked. Almost the whole side of my head where I was struck with the blunt end of that weapon was purpling and bruised. Various cuts and bruises had appeared on me overnight, and my throat was slightly swollen like I’d had an allergic reaction to something. My back was practically one purplish-blue blotch of ugly colors. Of course I felt the pain. I’d taken as big a dose of pain reliever as I could once I’d left to get ready and Erica wasn’t watching. However, it almost looked worse than how it felt. How in the world am I going to keep fighting?

When I returned to Erica, I’d done as she’d asked. I brought the four ice packs I could find in the freezer and placed them over my biggest bruises. “Happy now?” I asked my tiny girlfriend as I settled back into my seat. “Yep. Now thirty minutes of rest with those ice packs.” “But the-” “The Cavern Town is under a barrier. It’ll be fine. We can fight every one of those bastards off when you get there. But you won’t be able to fight if you’re this beaten up.” I relented, scooped her up, and lay on my stomach on my bed to keep my back upright for the ice packs — spread out in a way that minimized the pain. Erica sat in front of my head and I looked upwards to see her.

“When’d you get so damn smart?” I asked her lightheartedly. Erica laughed, “I think Ivan’s actually managed to rub his smartness off on me a little.” “And here you are using it to take care of me.” She nodded, looking me in the eye — her expression a blend of devotion and gratitude. “It’s about time I returned the favor.” We shared a soft look for a moment, then Erica stood and stepped over to the side of my head. There was a very gentle tug on the ice pack I held there, and I lifted it slightly. Her touch flitted over my bruise for a few moments. I could hear her wince — her breathing getting harsher as if she could also feel the pain. “Next time I’m going to keep you safe,” I heard her whisper, “I won’t let this happen to you again.”

I nearly started crying, but I held back my tears and lay there until Erica finally cleared me to get up again. Hoisting her up into my hand, I leaned in to kiss her but she yelped suddenly, startling me. “Holy shit, your hands are freezing! Get me over there and put me right back down before I catch a cold!” I chuckled and released her to the surface of my desk. As I sat down, she picked up the piece of lead I’d given her before and stared up at me eagerly.

"Alright, if I'm going to make you a weapon, I'm going to need to visualize how it'll look when it's done. Did you have something in mind?" I asked, smoothing out a piece of paper in front of us. Erica nodded, "Kind of. But I'm not really sure if a weapon my size would even hurt a giant." "Leave that part to me," I assured her, "I can make some weird things happen if I really want." "Like a gun that shoots force fields?" "Exactly."

As the day went on, Erica and I brainstormed ideas and went through multiple different sketches before we finally had a finished design. We were in the middle of fleshing out some smaller details when my dad suddenly walked right into the room. I must've forgotten to lock my door when I snuck out to grab a quick snack. Immediately, I swept Erica up and hid her on my lap, keeping my legs hidden beneath my desk. She yelped in surprise, but I hid it behind a fake cough. In a panic, I tugged the blanket further up on myself and turned my head away so he wouldn’t see the bruising skin.

"What are you working on?" he asked curiously, stepping over to me. "I thought you were sick?" "I am," I lied, "but I have to get this stuff done for school." "Oh, alright. Just don’t work yourself too hard while you’re not feeling well." Thankfully he turned away from my desk, uninterested. "If you need anything, let me know." "I will, thanks! Close the door behind you, please." I hurried him out of my room.

His footsteps faded down the hall, and I eased my chair backwards, hoping I hadn't startled Erica too badly. She was perfectly fine, only a bit shaken up. Erica clung to one of my thighs, looking up at me wide-eyed. "That was way too close. I thought he saw me for sure!" I picked her up off my lap and held her in my cupped hands.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to grab you that forcefully." She shook her head lightly, "It's fine, I'd rather have that than be caught by someone from your world. It's kinda scary here." Smiling down at her, I shifted Erica to one hand and took the piece of paper with her weapon's final design in the other. "How about we head back to your world, then?" She nodded enthusiastically and I slipped her into my pocket. That morning I’d chosen a shirt with a chest pocket, so she got to sit up front that time.

Sneaking out of my room and down the hall, I managed to get partially across the family room before my dad spotted me. "Hey! You're out of your room!" Thinking fast, I made up an excuse for me to go downstairs, yanking my blanket above my head like a hood. "Yeah! I- I wanted to take a nap but it's too bright in my room, so I'm going down to the basement. It's darker down there. I can rest on the couch." Thankfully, he bought my story and I continued downstairs.

Erica peered cautiously out of my pocket as I made my way down one and a half flights of stairs. Stopping at the side of the strange energy, I carefully placed her on the floor in front of me. “So, how do you make all your objects?” she asked, eagerly awaiting the weapon we'd created on the paper. “First I need some supplies,” I told her, dragging out the mess of cardboard before remembering why I’d thrown it in the corner in the first place. “Wait.. do you want a gemstone like mine?” She nodded eagerly.

“In that case, I’ll build a rudimentary version of it out of bricks like these,” I explained, bringing over a plastic bin of them. I briefly hesitated before bringing it over, suddenly feeling backwards for showing her the very things I thought her entire world was created of. “I.. I thought your old city was connected to these,” I said quietly, gazing in at the bricks. There were still half-taken-apart structures from the model city stuffed inside the bin.

“Me and my brother built a city from them on a kids table that used to be here, and whatever I built with these would transfer over to your world however I imagined it. Though, now I’ve found that I can make the design out of anything.” Erica looked up at me in shock, turned to the empty space, then turned back to me. I shuddered slightly, “Yeah, there was a time when I thought the cities were the same and everything you knew was fake — the buildings, the people, everything.”

I had to take a few seconds to look at Erica after I said that — guilt plaguing my thoughts despite her constant reminders that I had grown since then. She was staring at me as if I'd just told her a massive secret. “What’s wrong...?” “You.. That’s why you didn’t care about killing people when you were younger!?" she exclaimed, "I thought you just didn’t care about my kind because we’re so much smaller than you! Alexis, you didn’t even know we were real?!”

It was so hard to face her. I turned away and dug noisily through the bin of bricks as if I wasn’t bothered by that simple, horrible fact. The obnoxiously loud noise eventually came to a halt as I pulled a brick out to examine it. Erica’s voice suddenly became audible again. “Hey! Don’t ignore me; this is serious!” Erica chided. Glancing tiredly over at her, I grumbled an apology. “I thought you said you didn’t care about what I did four years ago. I- I don’t like bringing this up. Just let it go, alright?” I continued digging through bricks for the perfect one. The forced silence left Erica awkwardly watching me as I worked.

Eventually, I pulled up our notes and slid over to imbue the tiny transparent brick I’d found with both the weapon’s and wearer’s abilities. “Here,” I said, offering it to Erica on one of my fingertips. “It’ll change once we go back to your world.” Instead of taking the glassy plastic, she lifted herself up into my hand instead, gesturing for me to bring her to my shoulder. I hesitated, but carefully did as she asked. When my hand was level with the base of my neck, she reached out and flung her arms around me in a small hug. I sucked in a pained breath of air; the bruises on my neck throbbed angrily.

Noticing this, Erica pulled away into my hand. “What was that for?” I asked quietly, “Testing if my injuries still hurt? I could’ve told you myself that they do.” She gave me a hard look and knelt on my palm, level with my face. “Alexis, why didn’t you tell me about this? Why didn’t you tell me the real reason you used to be so uncaring about my kind?” I sighed, rubbing my face tiredly with a free hand. “I didn’t want to scare you any more than I already did. Because I believed the play table, the bricks, and the city were connected, I thought I could potentially recreate your whole world with new building sets if I wanted. That’s why controlling people seemed so natural to me. If you were all toys, it made perfect sense,” I confessed.

“I thought I had power over every aspect of, not just your life, but your whole world. I had domain over everything in existence, and could easily take it back out of existence if I wanted. Obviously, that’s not true,” I added, gesturing to the empty spot. “But you can see why I didn’t say anything, right?” Erica nodded slowly, deep in thought. “By the time I realized the truth, it didn’t really matter anymore. I’d left.” I watched Erica close her eyes for a moment, taking everything in.

“Do you want to go back to your world now?” I asked after a while. “Yeah...” Erica looked fairly shaken, like she was only half aware of what happened around her. She didn’t even bat an eye as I stood to my full height. Lightly, I brushed a finger over her arm and traced it up to her chin, delicately lifting her head up to look at me. “Erica, you don’t have to worry about the past, ok? I know better now, I won’t do that ever again, I promise." She blinked away her thoughts at my touch and smiled warmly up at me. “I’m not worried about you, silly, I’m worried for you.”

Erica laughed when she saw the confusion in my eyes. “I know you wouldn’t do that kind of thing anymore. I just.. It suddenly makes more sense now. Why you were so traumatized at the lake and not anytime before that, when you’d done worse. That was when I made you realize that we were real," she remembered. "I know I’d be horrified if I found out my mangled childhood toys were actually sentient.” “That’s.. a bit different.” “All I’m saying is that I sympathize with you,” Erica stated, patting my finger as I took it back. “Now let’s head back to my world. I want to try out my weapon!”

#one last try everyone!#We’re not giving up hope for the other-world just yet!#rip to Alexis tho she’s in constant pain after that beating…#hopefully this next fight will go better for her #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t writing #other-world universe

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