Tick..tick...tick.....Ugh finally... I've never anticipated that the last day of school would last so long.. I stood up from my seat and started walking around the mass gathering of my 'classmates' as they signed each others yearbooks. I never had a single drip of ink on mine, unsurprisingly.

I was the outcast of the class... no, make that the outcast of the school. That's more like it, and it's how it works anyways. I guess I was anti-social but, it didn't reason why I had to be the loner. Left aside to rot and degrade into trash.

My 'classmates' would always leave me out,whether if it was a project or a discussion. But that wasn't the only thing they did. No it wasn't. They had me under their thumbs, physically and verbally. Everyday was a nightmare for me,reliving the same hell but worst than the last.

I reached my locker, grabbed my rucksack and was ready to leave this prison. Relieved that none of my 'classmates' picked on me. They're probably boasting of where they were going next during the summer breaks, they always were. I turned around and walked towards the exit and pushed the door outwards.. ah.. sweet sweet freedo-"Taoy?"

Hm? I turned around shocked, nobody had called me Taoy in a long time. The voice came from a girl... ok. "What do you want?" I said in a protected tone, because you never know the moment where one of the girls try to trip you up. "C-can I talk to you in private... please?"

Instead of a group of 'classmates', all I saw was the gymnasium... thankfully. "We're probably out of earshot here soo....wait, where's your bag?" She looked at me with determination burning with her eyes... what's with her? "That... d-doesn't matter. But you must listen closely to what I'm about to say!"

"I... I'm going to shrink just about any time now." ...what? "Sorry... could you clarify 'shrink'?" She took in another lungful of air. "I'm going to shrink to the size of your finger.." I looked at her..." D- do you have a fever or somethin-""NO!"

"Okay..." I decided to go along with her. "Soo.. you're gonna shrink to the size of my finger." She nods. "And what to you what me to do when that happens?" She sighs expectedly, as if she had revised my question beforehand . "I want you to... protect me."

"If you needed protection, you could've just asked anyone else but me so this begs the question... why?" she looks away. "You... seemed the kindest of them all." I gave her a carry-on hand gesture. "You like g/t and you live alone." Hold.. the phone.

"Have you been stalking me?" my voice dangerously quiet. "Th-this isn't what you think! Please! You can't let my efforts be in vain! My parents! Brothers and sisters! They did this for me! Please... take me in..." I was about to call the police on the girl when she started to fell sideways.

Thinking quick, I caught her in my arms... it feels traumatizing. I've never gotten physical contact for... who know how long? "Hey... you alright?" She doesn't respond... jeez. Do really I have to 'take her in'? I checked my phone. Half past 4.

Her parents should've been her by now... unless... she doesn't have one. I looked at her earnestly. She did seem kind off familiar... but I can't pinpoint it. Is it just me or is she becoming lighter?...WHAT THE-

She's... shrinking... what the heck man! I must've eaten some magical mushrooms or something. She was getting smaller by every passing second, from around my height, to as tall as my waist and... as small as my hand.......

She... wasn't kidding about it. What should I do damn it?! I looked at her. Even her clothes shrunk with her... magic? She looks so... small. So fragile and weak... I didn't notice her petite form. She was literally the size of my finger... fine then... I'll... 'take you in'.

I walked towards my apartment using the same old route. Everyday. Every week. Every month. Ever year. It's the same old thing, but not today. I had both of my hands clasping onto her as I walked with caution. I did NOT want to kill some..thing today.

I must say, I jumped a little when she started to hug my finger while she was 'unconscious'. I entered my apartment and I set down my bags softly, scared to awake the little... person from her slumber. Who knows? For all I know, she was a witch disguised as a high-school teenager that was supposed to shrink me instead of herself...

~Time skip~

Tick...tick...tick. Ugh... how long did I sleep for... and I don't remember going into a lying position.. I have homework today. Dang it.. algebra again. Wait... I'm forgetting something... oh right... the girl I 'took in'. I slowly got up into an upright position and looked at my hands... she's still sleeping? Jeez, what a heavy sleeper.. I think I'll get dinner first..

I got up at a snail-paced speed and, being the soft-hearted person I was, set her down on a pillow to continue her hibernation of sorts. It truly was a sight, a little tiny sleeping on a pillow, a living and breathing tiny.

I went out to my 'kitchen' and brought out some cup noodles, cuz you can't do much with a life like mine. I set some water down to boil and sat down to think... has it really been 10 years already?

My parents never liked me. They had to keep me until I was thirteen because of law enforcement. But the second the clock struck midnight, and my birthday rolled around, I was kicked out of the house.

I always wondered why they did that. Was it something wrong with me? I've always gotten the food grades. I've always had good physique. I've always had a good projection but no... I don't know what went wrong with me.

They did support me financially but, they never talked to me since that day. And here I am. A person that had been forced to learn how to live by doing it the hard way. There are very little things that can bring joy to my pain. But when I discovered the g/t genre I was hooked immediately!

And now there was currently a tiny residing in this apartment, the little thing I have. Is it destiny? Luck? No... it's just life. Maybe she'll disappear once I get back to my room. A hallucination. A sorry excuse for false hope...I don't know what to expect.

..... "Taoy!" Right... she exists alright. I walked gorggily towards the room, as if I wasn't surprised at all. To be honest, I don't really know why I was handling this so well. I guess nothing in life can really surprise me now. Sorrow,loneliness,depression you name it, I've probably experienced it before...

"Th-thank you for saving me.." she said as she pushed held herself steady to adjust to the bouncy surface. " No problem... also, have I met you before?" She looks extremely familiar to me. I couldn't really tell without having confirmation." I don't think I do... I had been a borrower my entire life.. in till recently a year ago."

"Would you mind explaining how your grew? Also, you're doing a first-rate job handling this. Most stories show borrowers being afraid at first.""O-oh believe me when I say i-it... I'm terrified. And... I-i can't seem to remember how I got this size... I just remember the screams of my f-family."

She lost her family? Well... I suppose I could relate..." Well.. now that I've 'taken you in', you have yet to answer me what you want to do." She looks down on her hands and loses to the surface, falling face-first into the pillow.

"I-I don't know..." I sighed mentally. If this were a story, it would've already resulted in a total fluff-over where the 'giant' takes in the borrower and live happily ever after but this was real life .

"I suppose taking you in wouldn't be much of a trouble..." she smiled contently in return. "Well, since you know what g/t is, would you mind if I picked you up?

I laid down my hand right next to her, and for a second she actually looked confident, until it all came crumbling down as she took a closer look upon the real size difference. "Well? Grab on then."

She hesitated and hesitated... this is gonna take forever... "Please, I don't have all day. Yes, I may understand you better than anyone else could but you have to trust someone." She looked up again, straining her neck to look at me; then she finally took the first step and climbed on.

Although it was already an eternity, I took the liberty to take it nice and slow. Because you can't expect some...one to trust you if you don't put your faith in them. She was practically attached onto my finger as I held her close. Yet another cliché from the fan-fics but hey, at least it isn't fake anymore.

I finally sat down on a chair as she collapsed onto my palm... okay. "I know it's not my place to ask but have you been eating lately?" She doesn't answer. "I'll take that as a yes..." By now, the water I've boiled had already turned lukewarm...meh. I've gone for days without food before, I could so it again... but she can't... Sighing again, I set her down on the table to grab get some chocolate from the fridge cuz sure, it may not be your 3-star Michelin snack but it was okay.

I broke off a tiny portion and went back to the table, setting it down in front of her. She looked like she zoned out for a moment, staring into the texture of the brown candy,or she was just plain shocked. She then proceeded to wolf it down... ain't that just cute.

I looked at her, enjoying the flavour to it's fullest, grinning from ear to ear as she 'munched'... It was so entertaining watching her though because nothing really happened to me in my life. Had it no been for her, I wouldn't have actually spoke at all anyways. All the teachers know about me. The quietest person alive in the entire universe. And no one really knew what I sounded like.. But this little miniature girl had the ingenuity to actually speak to me...

"Taoy... you've been staring for a while now..." Oh cripes... what time is it... 11pm?! Man I really zoned out this time! I looked around for the abomination I know as my school bag and throttled it for my textbook. I set it down gently, for the sake of the girl; since borrowers are sensitive to sound.

I took a pen down and started scribbling furiously, this was due tomorrow morning for crying out loud... freaking add-maths...

I was going through it like a breeze, but there was so much questions! A special perk when no one talks to you: you gain the magical power to actually focus and study hard. Yes, the nerd of the school. I have probably been called nerd more than the age of humans... speaking of 'humans'. The girl was leaning against my hand... sleeping.

When did she even get this close?? I guess I was too concentrated in my homework... Well it's done now anyways. I looked at her. The face where fear was replaced by trust. Did she really trust me in doing this? This... 'taking her in' thing?...

I felt a twinge of emotion. Something...unfamiliar. Sighing for possibly the millionth time the day, I closed my textbook single-handedly and cupped it over her sleeping body.

Sure, the stories may have better endings but life doesn't work like that. People don't stay the same age forever as they 'live forever after', people will age and die one day. But to be honest? I liked this feeling. The feeling someone's life was up to me to decide for the better or the worse. Now, I'm not a sadist. But heh... we'll figure it out along the way. For now, just.. enjoy the feeling while it still burns. I chuckled to myself... I haven't even asked for her name... I turned off the table lamp set my head onto the unforgiving hardened table but it didn't matter! For I had a little companion by my side.