Sunlight broke through the window into Ronis bedroom as her phone’s alarm went off, stirring her awake. She sat up, her eyes barely open and with a rats nest of hair, and let out a loud yawn as she stretched overhead.
“Ugh….the only thing worse than early morning,” she muttered groggily before yawning again, “is an early Monday school morning.”
She threw her covers off of her and swung her legs out of bed, her feet touching the soft carpet. Standing up, she grabbed her phone to see if any of her and Joey’s friends had sent any messages. Sure enough, their group chat was filled with a few texts. Mostly about meeting at the front of school, whether or not Sophie did her paper, questions on if anyone would stop and get breakfast, all the usual banter that she and Joey came to expect from their group.
However, there was one notification that stood out from the rest: Roni had received an email.
“Email,” murmured Roni before opening the app, “who would send me an email to my personal address…”
The sending address looked out of place to her, a mix of numbers and letters with a domain that she hadn’t seen before. Weirder still, was the subject: Future Press release for Ms. Veronica Hale.
“The hell…” she said confused, before closing the email app. “I’ll check that for virus’ and spoofed urls later” she said, before putting her phone in her pajama bottoms pocket.
“Joey, get up, we have school—Joey?” she looked and her blood turned to ice, seeing the bed roll empty but the blanket still covering it.
“No, Joey…not today, please…” she said with a whisper, her heart pounding in her chest as she approached the mat, her eyes laser focused on the floor just before her feet, not wanting to miss her best friend and step on him.
When she made it to the side of Joey’s spot, Roni knelt, taking great caution to be both quiet and balanced in case Joey jumped out from the blanket and startled her. With a slow moving hand, Roni reached out to pull the blanket back, gulping fearfully and trying to stop her eyes from watering with anxiety.
Holding her breath, Roni pulled the blanket back slowly to reveal…nothing. Her expression changed from dread to total confusion when suddenly the door swung open, eliciting a yelp of surprise from Roni.
“Hey Roni, I guess I don’t need my alarm after all,” a full-sized, groomed and dressed Joey remarked as he entered, before stopping in his tracks and making eye contact with Roni, who was still crouched by his sleeping mat looking distressed. “Hey…everything okay? You look like–” was all he managed to say when Roni sprung up and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face into his chest with watery eyes.
“I…I thought…you weren’t there! And..” she wheezed out into his chest as Joey held her, rubbing his hand on her back.
“Hey…it’s okay Roni…” Joey said quietly, “I’m still…this size. That’s all that matters…just bre—ow!” Joey cried out before grabbing his arm, “Damn it Roni! You don’t get to freak out like that and then hit me!” he whined, seeing her expression change from distraught to frustrated as she shakes her hand from the sting of her punch.
“Why do you have to be an early riser! Of all things!” she chided, slowly calming down as she saw Joey shrug.
“Why do you have to hit me so often?” he retorted, before Roni snorted with laughter.
“Stop deserving it and I’ll stop hitting you”
The two laughed briefly before Joey cleared his throat. “So uh…I guess we should decide where I should go if…you know”
Pursing her lips, Roni gave it a brief moment of thought before her eyes lit up with an idea. “Your Pillow. If you change and wake up, head towards your pillow. I’ll be able to see you there, or at the very least I can tell where you are in the blanket if you are moving around.”
The Hale household stirred to life as the morning sun peeked through the kitchen windows. Joey was already up, dressed, and nursing a cup of coffee at the table, chatting idly with Mr. Hale about the upcoming baseball season. Across from them, Sandi scrolled through her phone, absentmindedly eating her breakfast while Ciara, still in her pajamas, whined about not wanting to go to school.
Mrs. Hale moved efficiently around the kitchen, packing lunches and making sure everyone had what they needed. “Roni, come on! You’re going to be late!” she called up the stairs.
A groggy groan echoed in response before Roni shuffled into the kitchen, her hair still slightly messy and eyes half-lidded. She grabbed a piece of toast and glared at Joey, who was far too chipper for her liking.
“How do you function like this?” she muttered, slumping into a chair.
Joey smirked. “It’s called being responsible, Roni. You should try it sometime.”
“Shut up,” she grumbled, taking a bite of toast.
Mr. Hale chuckled while Mrs. Hale handed Roni her packed lunch. “Alright, you two, finish up. The bus will be here soon.”
As Roni yawned dramatically, Joey grabbed his bag and nudged her. “Come on, sunshine. Time to face the world.”
“Only if the world lets me go back to bed,” Roni mumbled, trudging toward the door with Joey right behind her.
The two headed down the driveway but, where Roni turned to go to the bus stop, Joey just stood there, looking confused.
Turning to Joey, she shot him a weird look. “Why are you just standing there?”
With a grin, he pulled something from his pocket and underhand tossed it to her. “Think fast, sis!”
Her eyes widening and arms flailing, Roni just managed to catch the object before it smacked her in her glasses. Glaring at Joey, she opened her hand and she immediately looked up at him.
“Your truck? I..guess that makes more sense than the bus but, why’d you toss these to me?” She asked, her voice a mixture of confusion and excitement.
“It’s gonna be your truck soon, Roni,” Joey said, his nonchalant response trying to mask the deeper sadness of knowing he wouldn’t be able to drive anymore, “You may as well get used to driving it before I can’t really coach you. Don’t worry, it’s not even stick.”
Joey walked to the passenger side door and entered as Roni unlocked the vehicle and hurriedly sat in the driver’s seat. She took a moment to adjust everything to her liking and, with a deep breath, turned the key, the engine roaring to life and sending vibrations through her body.
“I…I’m a little out of practice, Joey,” she admitted, “My–I mean our dad hasn’t let me drive his truck in a while…even with my license. Are you sure you—”
“Roni, it’s okay,” Joey reassured her, “You’ve got your license, you know the rules of the road, we have navigation so you can just focus on actually driving. You’ve got this, I promise. Just…make sure you take the parking brake off and don’t shift into neutral” He added with a smile.
Exhaling, Roni nodded and did as Joey said, feeling more confident in her ability. Checking her mirrors for traffic and signaling, She pulled away from the side of the road and the two were off to school to face the day together.
About 20 minutes later, Roni found a parking space in the student zone. The ride wasn’t too bad, she thought to herself as she got out of the vehicle and locked the door—maybe a few jerky stops, but nothing too bad.
Joey, on the other hand, had a very different perspective. Though he would never outright say it, the way he staggered slightly as he stepped onto solid ground spoke volumes. Her speed isn’t bad, and neither is her awareness, he thought as he forced a smile, walking beside her toward the quad. But God, she needs to learn to brake.
The campus buzzed with early-morning energy, students huddling in clusters, catching up on homework, scrolling through their phones, or sleepily nursing coffee. Their friend group was easy to spot in their usual corner of the quad.
As Roni expected, Sophie was scrambling to finish her homework, her chestnut curls bouncing as she hastily copied answers from another page. She muttered under her breath, occasionally tapping her pencil against her temple in frustration.
Next to her, Cam stood in a hoodie and leggings, glancing at her smartwatch. “You know first period’s starting soon, right?” she remarked, her almond-shaped eyes glinting with amusement.
Sophie waved her off. “I have a free period, I’ll be fine.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Cam smirked, crossing her arms.
Roni and Joey chuckled, used to this last-minute routine.
Leaning against the wall, Zay watched the bickering with an easy grin, his broad shoulders relaxed. When he spotted Roni and Joey, he lifted a hand in greeting, his brown eyes lighting up. “Yo! Look who finally decided to show up.”
He pushed off the wall as they approached, giving Joey a quick once-over before clasping hands with him in a quick, familiar dap.
“Missed you, man,” Zay said, clapping Joey on the shoulder. “I love the girls and all, but I need another guy in this group before I lose my mind.”
Lauren, sitting cross-legged nearby, barely looked up from her book. Her blonde braid draped over one shoulder, and her hazel eyes flicked across the page behind thin-rimmed glasses. But even she couldn’t fully drown out the chaos. Her freckled nose scrunched in irritation before she finally sighed and shut her book.
“Thank goodness…” she muttered. “Can you please get them to quiet down? This chapter is really good, and I’m trying to focus.”
Roni chuckled as she stepped into the fray. Cam and Sophie looked up at her arrival, both grinning as the conversation naturally shifted. Meanwhile, Zay draped an arm around Joey’s shoulders, steering him away from the higher-energy antics of the girls.
“So, Joey,” Cam quipped, tucking a strand of sleek black hair behind her ear. “What’d you do this time to end up crashing at Roni’s?”
Joey stiffened. “What? How did you—”
“I dragged it out of Roni last night.” Sophie shot him a knowing grin. “She’s really easy to get information out of, you know.”
Roni stuck her tongue out at her.
“Yeah, man, I’m curious too,” Zay added, his arm still slung over Joey’s shoulder. “You’re usually too wiped out after a week like that to pick a fight with your folks. What happened?”
Joey swallowed, shifting slightly under the weight of Zay’s arm. His heart kicked up a notch as the attention zeroed in on him. His hands felt clammy. He glanced at the ground. “Well… I, uh…”
Lauren was the first to notice the shift. “Joey? Are you okay?” she asked, adjusting her glasses.
“Come on, Joey,” Sophie said, her voice softer this time. “Just tell us. We’ve heard most of it before—nothing will shock us at this point.”
Before he could respond, Roni’s grip tightened around his hand.
“Guys!” she snapped, stepping between Joey and the others. “Can you just give him some time?! Geez, he’s been gone a week, and the first thing you do is bombard him with questions?”
The group immediately fell silent, exchanging guilty looks.
Roni turned to Joey, her voice lower now, more certain. She squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything right now. Take all the time you need.”
Joey took a deep breath. His pulse was still hammering, but he forced himself to meet her eyes. Then, exhaling slowly, he looked up at the others—his friends, watching him with quiet concern.
“Roni,” he murmured, a wry smile ghosting across his face. “You know what they say about band-aids, right?”
The group leaned in slightly, waiting for whatever he was about to say next.
0) two in one week, nice.
1) “Ugh….the only thing worse than early morning, is an early Monday school morning.” I relate to Roni so much.
2) “Future Press release for Ms. Veronica Hale.” what did Joey do?
3) “her blood turned to ice, seeing the bed roll empty but the blanket still covering it.” oh shit, it’s happened.
4) “a full-sized, groomed and dressed Joey remarked as he entered” you scared me, you dick!
5) ““Hey…it’s okay Roni… I’m still…this size.” Good, I actually really like that we’re taking time with a pre-shrunk and how he handles his situation.
6) “Damn it Roni! You don’t get to freak out like that and then hit me!” this is true, especially after he shrinks.
7) “Why do you have to hit me so often?” – “Stop deserving it and I’ll stop hitting you” Well, that’s a red flag.
8) “So uh…I guess we should decide where I should go if…you know” deciding where his habitat should be located is good.
9) “Ciara, still in her pajamas, whined about not wanting to go to school.” another relatable Hale.
10) “It’s called being responsible, Roni. You should try it sometime.” She’ll need to be to be a good guardian, especially since Joey’s not gonna get a lot of chances to flex his responsibility mastery.
11.1) “It’s gonna be your truck soon, Roni,” that would’ve been hard to say.
11.2) “You may as well get used to driving it before I can’t really coach you. Don’t worry, it’s not even stick.” Great idea, using a little as a driving instructor sounds reckless and foolhardy.
12) “The ride wasn’t too bad, she thought to herself as she got out of the vehicle and locked the door—maybe a few jerky stops, but nothing too bad.” – “Joey, on the other hand, had a very different perspective” Gotta love that classic student/teacher dichotomy.
13) Sophie, Cam and Zay, Lauren, good to meet their other friends. Are any guardian trained/have littles.
14) ““So, Joey What’d you do this time to end up crashing at Roni’s?” It’s good that they’re concerned.
15) “Can you just give him some time?! Geez, he’s been gone a week, and the first thing you do is bombard him with questions?” That’s easy for you to say Roni, you already know. He’s been gone a week, they clearly care about him and want to know what happened, if he’s OK, etc.
16) “You know what they say about band-aids, right?” Joey is a big fan of telling people sooner than later, this would be an important one since they’ll grow more and more concerned without knowing.
0) two in one week, nice.
Yeah, I haven’t been as tired after work this week and been able to do some actual writing lol
1) “Ugh….the only thing worse than early morning, is an early Monday school morning.” I relate to Roni so much.
I don’t think I hated mornings at her age, but it’s hard to remember for certain. I definetly hated waking up before 6:30am
2) “Future Press release for Ms. Veronica Hale.” what did Joey do?
To be revealed lol
3) “her blood turned to ice, seeing the bed roll empty but the blanket still covering it.” oh shit, it’s happened.
4) “a full-sized, groomed and dressed Joey remarked as he entered” you scared me, you dick!
lmao I was pretty proud of myself with that part
5) ““Hey…it’s okay Roni… I’m still…this size.” Good, I actually really like that we’re taking time with a pre-shrunk and how he handles his situation.
Yeah. It’s fun trying to see how others handle it and how he and the other students will react at school
6) “Damn it Roni! You don’t get to freak out like that and then hit me!” this is true, especially after he shrinks.
she knows. Gaurdian Training will really re-enforce it. It’s kind of a relex with her and him.
7) “Why do you have to hit me so often?” – “Stop deserving it and I’ll stop hitting you” Well, that’s a red flag.
True, thought I did try to set it up to show that she does it more playfully when he’s pranking her physically (taking her glasses, stepping on the back of her shoe, wet willies, etc) just because she’s currently smaller than him and doesn’t have much to respond with physcially. This time was she was extremely emotional, which I agree isn’t good, but one the other hand, she kinda knows how she’s going to actually react when the time comes and in theory will be more controlled. at least that’s How I would see it. Kind of like being less afraid of roller coasters the more often you go on them.
8) “So uh…I guess we should decide where I should go if…you know” deciding where his habitat should be located is good.
This is more related to when he shrinks. if he’s in his bed, he’s going to want to be visible and giving signs, so if he shrinks, trying to find his way to his pillow and sitting on it would be the best place as he’d be right in the open, and at the bare miniumum, the movement under the blanket should get her attention too, though I think now she’s going to be checking every morning.
that being said, deciding where the habitat will go will come up at somepoint
9) “Ciara, still in her pajamas, whined about not wanting to go to school.” another relatable Hale.
yeah. now that age i definitly hate mornings lol
10) “It’s called being responsible, Roni. You should try it sometime.” She’ll need to be to be a good guardian, especially since Joey’s not gonna get a lot of chances to flex his responsibility mastery.
agreed. not that Roni is irresponsible, was more of a quip at her, but Joey’s just had to be more responsible for the last couple of years
11.1) “It’s gonna be your truck soon, Roni,” that would’ve been hard to say.
Yeah. He likes his truck a lot. plus it’s like the one physical thing he really has left. sure he’s got clothes and his laptop, but the truck was something he worked for and managed to buy with his own work.
11.2) “You may as well get used to driving it before I can’t really coach you. Don’t worry, it’s not even stick.” Great idea, using a little as a driving instructor sounds reckless and foolhardy.
It’s a good thing no one would ever do that. Who could ever be so irresponsible to use their little as a legal means of driving? 😀 Plus Roni does have a license, she just doesn’t drive very often, especially a pickup truck
12) “The ride wasn’t too bad, she thought to herself as she got out of the vehicle and locked the door—maybe a few jerky stops, but nothing too bad.” – “Joey, on the other hand, had a very different perspective” Gotta love that classic student/teacher dichotomy.
lol I liked that part too. tbh I liked writing this whole chapter.
13) Sophie, Cam and Zay, Lauren, good to meet their other friends. Are any guardian trained/have littles.
so while I’m still working on this, I did make the decision that of the group, the ones most likely to be guardians and get a little would be Lauren then Cam. They’re going to be the wealthier of the group. For reference, Joey’s the wealthiest and Roni would be in the middle. Sophie and Zay would be good options but idk if their family could afford it outright. they could do a loan i suppose, but they’d need to discuss it a bit. not ruling it out, and I do plan on having students and people that have littles show up in the story.
14) ““So, Joey What’d you do this time to end up crashing at Roni’s?” It’s good that they’re concerned.
It’s good, but the big concern is how’ll they react to his news
15) “Can you just give him some time?! Geez, he’s been gone a week, and the first thing you do is bombard him with questions?” That’s easy for you to say Roni, you already know. He’s been gone a week, they clearly care about him and want to know what happened, if he’s OK, etc.
thats true, but, and it’s probably more my fault for not being as descriptive, he was getting a little uncomfortable about all the questions and Roni needed to get htem all to settle down a bit. that’s why being a little is going to be weird for him, as he may end up being an introvert that is always the center of attention in certain circles.
16) “You know what they say about band-aids, right?” Joey is a big fan of telling people sooner than later, this would be an important one since they’ll grow more and more concerned without knowing.
yeah, plus there’s no point in hiding it. if I’ve learned anything from gavin and jordan, its that hiding it from your friends just makes things worse in the long run. Gavin didn’t get to be with Sarah, and Jordan didn’t have a chance to work with Daniella on the possibility of be her little.
5) in the Prologue, he only had a phone in his small habitat . Why didn’t he while he was still big set up a nice multi level habitat with a entire section with a computer and work area so he can design and maybe make on a 3d printers things he could use being a little and sell for other littles through Roni. Also while he is big makes sure he has laying on her shoulder a normal place for him.
part of the issue with the prologue is when i first wrote it in june last year. I think I was missing more details about littles and guardians that I could refer to from a canonical standpoint. Plus the habitat that I plan on writing for Joey is probably more expensive as a 2 floor than a one floor. It’ll still probably be a decent size in regard to sq. footage (sq inchage i guess?) but idk if it’ll make sense to it be super luxurious with a bunch of stuff in it, on top of licensing fees and guardian training. Roni’s gonna want to budget it out as much as she can even though she’s probably got the most direct savings to work with than any one else at the moment. I think at the end of getting him set up, she’ll be at a third of what she gets from Joey due to the laws of smallara victims assets.
Also, and Lethal would need to confirm this if Asuka can’t, I’m not too certain how common it really is for little walking like that. I know it’s trained, but from what I can tell, Sarah is an outlier for how often it’s used as she’s the #1 guardian. Even Kenzie is in the top 30 and I still don’t think she’d do it with Greg or Cindy. even if they practiced, it’s still probably safer to be hand held vs shoulder saddled.