“Hey Gav. Hey Mal.” Stephanie’s voice cut through the music as she approached, holding a nearly empty red cup. Her cheeks were flushed, a few strands of her hair stuck to her forehead from dancing. Her eyes sparkled with that signature post-adrenaline glow that only came from fully letting loose on the dance floor. “This band is something else. You and Chloe really left no stone unturned.”
Mallory, seated on one of the outdoor benches with Gavin nestled on her lap, gave a tired but proud grin. Her cheeks were a little pink, her dress slightly askew from all the energy she’d just burned.
“Gotta go big,” Mallory said with a stretch, brushing hair back from her face. “We’ve got a reputation to uphold. The biggest social event of the year has to be the biggest. After this? Good luck to anyone trying to top us. Exclusive invites only next time.”
“No doubt,” Stephanie said with a laugh, taking a deep gulp of beer. “I got so thirsty dancing, I think I left half my bodyweight on that floor.”
Gavin looked up from his comfy perch on Mallory’s lap, his gaze landing on Stephanie. She’d always been more of a satellite in their group orbit, not quite as central as Ellie or Chloe, but solid. Dependable. Kind. Especially toward him. And tonight, she looked… different. Looser. Happier.
She caught his gaze and smiled. “Hey, Gav. Did you and Mal get your dance on yet?”
Mallory gave a small chuckle, but it came with a tinge of something else, resigned amusement, maybe frustration buried under politeness. “Well, Gavin gets a little motion sick when I dance,” she said with a soft pat to his head. Her voice was gentle, but Stephanie could hear it, something unspoken, just under the surface.
“Oh,” Stephanie said, tilting her head. “That sucks. If you want, I could keep Gavin company for a bit. You know, so you can dance. It’s no fun not getting your dancing cut short at your own party.”
Mallory paused, caught off guard by the offer. She turned to Gavin with her usual mix of affection and expectation in her eyes. “You wouldn’t mind, would you babe?”
Gavin opened his mouth, but before he could get the words out, Mallory leaned in and tousled his hair.
“Not at all?” she said, finishing for him with that sweet-but-commanding tone she often used when steering conversations. “You’re too good to me. I love how secure you are about us. I’ll catch up with you and Steph in a bit, okay? You’re the best, babe.”
She kissed her finger and then placed the finger on his forehead, then stood up, adjusting the her dress and making her way back toward the makeshift dance floor where Kayla and Talisa were spinning under the lights.
Gavin exhaled slowly.
Stephanie waited a beat before sitting beside him on the bench. She didn’t speak right away, just leaned back, letting the silence fill the space Mallory had just vacated. Eventually, she glanced down at him.
“You okay?”
Gavin shrugged. “Yeah. I mean… I’m used to it at this point.”
Stephanie didn’t comment at first. Instead, she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, looking out toward the crowd. “She means well, you know.”
“I know,” Gavin replied. “Mallory loves me. She just… she’s used to taking charge of everything. It’s not easy for her to slow down. I’m just trying not to be the thing that holds her back.”
Stephanie looked at him more closely. “You’re not holding her back. You’re just different now. Your needs changed. That doesn’t mean you’re a burden.”
Gavin blinked at that, more affected than he expected to be.
“You always this insightful?” he asked, only half joking.
Stephanie chuckled. “Only when I’ve had just enough beer and just enough dancing to start saying what I actually think.”
They shared a quiet moment, the music softening just enough to hear the muted laughter of guests buzzing about, the clinking of cups from inside, the faint rumble of Liv Dangerously switching songs.
“You ever think about what it’d be like if none of this happened?” Gavin asked. “If we were still… normal?”
“All the time,” Stephanie admitted. “But honestly? Some of the best people I’ve met, the people I really see, are people I never would’ve noticed before Smallara flipped everything upside down.”
She gave Gavin a small nudge with her finger. “People like you. You’re a better person then you were before all this.”
Gavin laughed, but it was a little shaky. “You’re gonna make me cry at a party, Steph.”
“Better than throwing up from motion sickness, right?” she quipped.
Gavin leaned back and grinned. “True.”
They stayed like that a while, two people from different sides of the same storm, finding calm in each other’s company.
~~~~
Just a note. I have a special one shot I’ve been working on for awhile Iwill be posting tomorrow and then I will be moving. It was supposed to be a bit later but a place I’d been eyeing for awhile became available suddenly. So anyway, it be a couple weeks or of no posts while I get moved and get services hooked up at my new place. I will post a update when I get a more definitive date as I’m somewhat at the mercy of the ISP provider’s timeline.
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Good luck with the move.
Thanks excited but not excited at same time as moving, packing, unpacking all sucks.
are you moving into a house you have to do some landscape work to. That was a lot of work when we moved in the hood we are in now lol.
aannnnddd there’s Mallory… lol
good luck on moving. i hate it lol
I hate it too.
Mallory is still mallory. she just also isn’t as bad as some people may think.
I don’t think she’s a bad person at all. I just dislike her guardian style. I hate being talked over to begin with, so her talking over someone who physically can’t talk over her in response irks the hell out of me. plus I just worry that Gavin’s getting some extreme form of reprogramming and once she feels he’s done, she’ll move onto someone she can actually date\marry
CM has described my feeling better then me. There is no way for them to get married and dance and stuff like dancing. It still hasn’t been described how they have sex which of course is the #1 thing to keep a couple together at first.
I don’t think they do or will have sex. he’s too small and would probably get injured or killed
I would think there is a way but being in a relationship with someone you cant have sex with is so against all written human nature study’s. I makes a good story less solid in my humble opinion.
I take that as a challenge to come up with a safe way for a human and little to have sex lol.
With Mal, it’s kind of difficult to rate her guardian style, because it’s so mixed in with her being a girlfriend, some behaviours are a mix of the two, along with her personality.
Ss when she does something, it’s hard to know if it’s Mal as a person, Mal as a girlfriend, or Mal as a guardian.
That is the crux of it. You pretty much nailed it in that the reader has to kind of parse more angles with Mallory. As while she is his guardian. There is still Mallory the person and Mallory the girlfriend.
1) “Her cheeks were flushed, a few strands of her hair stuck to her forehead from dancing. Her eyes sparkled with that signature post-adrenaline glow that only came from fully letting loose on the dance floor” Step’s party’s hard.
2.1) “We’ve got a reputation to uphold. The biggest social event of the year has to be the biggest. After this? Good luck to anyone trying to top us” There’s that Mallory Bak ego, lol
2.2) “Exclusive invites only next time.” I guess that means no Bradley next time.
3) “I got so thirsty dancing, I think I left half my bodyweight on that floor.” Beer isn’t going to help with that.
4) “She’d always been more of a satellite in their group orbit, not quite as central as Ellie or Chloe” that’s because she’s barely been in the friend group, one of the central members clearly had disdain for her.
5.1) “Well, Gavin gets a little motion sick when I dance,” That makes sense, Littles get motion sick with regular walking, so dancing would be horrible.
5.2) “Her voice was gentle, but Stephanie could hear it, something unspoken, just under the surface.” Clearly Mal isn’t amused by this.
6) “If you want, I could keep Gavin company for a bit. You know, so you can dance. It’s no fun not getting your dancing cut short at your own party.” is she wanted that she could easily have just left Gavin at the Little Area.
7.1) “Not at all?” she said, finishing for him with that sweet but commanding tone she often used when steering conversations.” There’s the REAL Mal everyone knows.
7.2) “I love how secure you are about us” certainly more secure than Mal is
8) “You okay?” Checking in on him is good.
9) “Yeah. I mean… I’m used to it at this point.” It makes sense that he would be.
10.1) “She means well, you know.” the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
10.2) “Mallory loves me. She just… she’s used to taking charge of everything. It’s not easy for her to slow down. I’m just trying not to be the thing that holds her back.” Mal’s love is very selfish and controlling, I believe she loves him just not in a healthy manner.
11) “You’re just different now. Your needs changed. That doesn’t mean you’re a burden.” That’d be good to hear, he’d need that.
12.1) “You ever think about what it’d be like if none of this happened? If we were still… normal?” It’s sad but probably constantly on most Littles’ minds.
12.2) “All the time, But honestly? Some of the best people I’ve met, the people I really see, are people I never would’ve noticed before Smallara flipped everything upside down.” Well that’s great Steph, I’m sure all the Littles in the world are thrilled that their suffering has helped you meet some good people.
13.1) “People like you. You’re a better person than you were before all this.” Is he? He just seems more broken down and closer to giving up, and a lot more accepting of shitty treatment and abuse.
13.2) “You’re gonna make me cry at a party, Steph.” That was a fair response. I’d be fuming if someone said that to me in his position.
1) She does party hard. Steph leaves nothing behind in her partying. She goes 100 or not at all.
2) Well, it’s a hallmark of who she is. she has a bit of an ego. THats just part of her personality. I like to try to give people traits to give.
2.2) Well Ellie would have a invite. He could ask to be her date. Plus the invite list would probably still be pretty broad.
3) You just have to drink more as your body has to filter out the water. As most beer is 95% water. Especially the beer you would find a high school party.
4) She is Sara’s friend first and then friends with people in the group through Sara. Kind of like Kayla in that regard. In that she is part of Sara’s friend group specifically and then she introduced to the group through Sara. Although Kayla is more officially part of the group then Steph. But that is also because of Kelli and her history with Mal.
5) It seemed like it would be a valid reason and something a little would struggle with. Just to many quick movements.
5.2) She is not. But she also doesn’t want to make Gavin feel bad because of his disability as she views it.
6) The actual thought process was Gavin wouldn’t know anyone but Jordan and Kelli and Mal doesn’t want Gavin getting in the way of their date.
7) I figured people would appreciate seeing the mal they know and love appear.
7.2) lol, well to be fair Gavin did cheat on her. So she has a reason to not be fully secure.
8) Steph is a good person and she knows he’s close with Sara. So shes also doing it for Sara’s benefit.
9) He would know Mallory better than most. that is for sure.
10) Gold bricks i hear.
10.2) Mallory is selfish, controlling, high maintenance, impatient. She does love Gavin though. Despite him cheating she did give him another chance after running off Helen. Gavin’s guilt on that is what she views as his punishment for cheating.
11) It would be comforting as I’m sure some self doubt his crept in. Esepcially when he has limited access to Sara now.
12) that would be expected.
12.2) well shes just offering her perspective on the matter as they talk though. Its not really meant to be a negative or a positive towards Gavin. Its just a sharing of her experience.
13) Well the pre-gavin was cheater, and instead of having a real conversation with Mallory led her on and ignored her. Then had his best friend lie to his girlfriend then sold out his best friend when he got caught up in it. Mallory may have been mean towards Helen but Helen also knew what she was doing. Its not like the entire school doesn’t know who Mallory is dating. So there would be growth as a person Gavin has had to go through.
1) good for her.
2.1) It’s very her.
2.2) So, who would be excluded then?
3) Well, no, beer is alcoholic and it dehydrates the body, similar to drinking sea water, so “just drink more” wouldn’t help.
4) It’s suck seeing a newcomer get the open arms while she’s been kept at arms length, though that is consequence for her actions.
5.2) I’m sure he does feel bad.
6) I could see that, but I could also see Mal just not wanting Gavin to meet new people his own species.
7.1) She wasn’t missed but was expected.
7.2) Did he actually cheat? I thought you said he made plans but didn’t actually do it (still bad, but slightly less).
8) She’s great, I’m liking her more and more.
10.2) I believe that.
11) I imagine all Littles need to hear that from time to time.
12.2) That’s true, it gets kind of nice if I assume she means Lisa.
13) Gavin wasn’t perfect, and I don’t endorse any of those things you mentioned, But I’m not liking the double standard of “Sara cheats on her controlling girlfriend = for the best, But Gavin maybe cheats on his controlling girlfriend = partially justifies the shit he’s being put through now.” I get that Sara and Chloe’s affair isn’t public knowledge. Which of course leads to “Kaitlyn gets cheated on = Kicked out of the group. But Mal possibly gets = Helen is bullied until she has to flee.” Gavin wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t any worse than the rest of them.
Another point that I hadn’t thought of earlier that I wish I had connected the dots. Gavin may have gotten better from Steph’s perspective, but a lot of people would have gotten worse from Gavin’s perspective. Mal’s already possessive and controlling nature would have been amplified, Sara looks down on him and considers him “Mal’s pet,” Mal’s mother doesn’t acknowledge the relationship he and Mal have (though that may have been true prior to infection), his own mother wrote him of and let Mal take custody of him, without even consulting Gavin first, and there’d be countless of his friends and peers who wouldn’t even bother to address him anymore who used to.
3) Beer doesn’t hydrate you but it is mostly water. It’s the alcohol that acts as a diuretic that causes you urniate which then removes the water from your body. so its a counter productive to use it as a source of hydration. But it is mostly water.
2.2) They would probably list out people or groups of people they wanted to come. Probably people not very popular. LIke Kayla before befreinding Sara would not get an invite most likely.
7.2) He did make plans to which to most people is still cheating as the intent is to do regardless of if you actually carried it out. Planning to harm or kill someone is also illegal. Mallory’s POV is the intent was to cheat, the intent was to steal her boyfriend. Regardless of if it was successful or not or the actual cheating had happened. The intent was to cheat and there is no difference to her. So the people were punished accordingly.
13) It has never been said that Mallory agreed with Sara and Chloe did but it also doesn’t effect her. She can not like the action her friends took but without it actually harming her she has little reason to be all that upset. Kaitlyn was split off from the group because ultimately because she made it an ultimatum. Which caused a fight between them and people chose sides.
So whether cheating occurred depends on how you view things. When Sara declined the ultimatum of going public, telling her family, school, etc. or were through. You could view Sara’s decline as her breaking up.
As she chose not to give in to the demand. They obviously had talks after and ultimately broke up. However, you could view that as a reconciliation or confirmation of events. The exchanging of stuff, etc. after a breakup. So its a bit less cut and dry.
I wouldn’t say Sara specifically looks down on him she’s more upset he sold her out when she was only lying to mal to help him because he asked. Because she is mad and hurt over what he did. So she more tells him your Mallorys because he has already screwed her over once and hurt her once when she tried to help. So Sara’s view of Gavin is moreso Gavin’s fault. While Sara could forgive him and be more understanding she also views it as just because you got infected and became a little doesn’t excuse how she was treated and are you even sorry or just sorry because you’re a little now.
Steph means well and maybe is a landing spot for Gavin when mal moves on?
Steph would never.
who do you think Gavin might land with when Mal gets bored of not having sex life or doing normal stuff.