The cushion Kelli sat on seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, a soft, pale ocean of fabric. The texture beneath her hands was dense yet plush, made from a material she couldn’t name, but rich enough to know it had been imported. And this was just one cushion on an ordinary couch.
Or rather, ordinary to giants.
To Kelli, it was a landscape, an arena. A subtle, quiet reminder of her new reality. A single piece of furniture that dwarfed her entire body and made it impossible to forget her scale, her powerlessness, her new place in the world.
Her sister was gone. Taken, albeit kindly, by Mallory, the same girl Kelli used to coach in youth soccer camp summers ago. A kid who used to listen wide-eyed when Kelli demonstrated drills, who once asked her how to curve a ball like a pro. And now, that same girl had swooped in with the effortless authority of someone bigger, older, and far more connected, and walked off with Kayla.
A twinge of guilt pressed into Kelli’s chest. She should have been there for her sister. But how could she protect her now?
And here she was, nestled in a secluded wing of the Gracewood estate, one so insulated and serene it could’ve been part of an entirely different world. She wasn’t even sure if this room had a name. It wasn’t quite a sitting room. Not quite a library. It was more of a hideaway. Somewhere between a hearth and a sanctuary.
A fireplace glowed from across the room, casting golden light that danced over the walls in flickers and waves. Logs crackled, sending a faint scent of cedar into the air, mixing with the undertones of lavender and sandalwood from whatever hidden oils perfumed the room. Despite the scale, it was warm in a way few spaces ever were, warm not just in temperature but in tone, in intention.
The décor was elegant yet eclectic. Rich navy blues, honeyed woods, embroidered cushions, brass sconces. A room designed by someone who cared deeply about comfort, but also aesthetics. Chloe’s hand, no doubt. Or perhaps her mother’s.
Across from Kelli, lounging on the oversized couch like it was her personal throne, sat Chloe Gracewood. But not that Chloe. Not the one the world knew. She had shed her curated appearance, the flawless makeup, the strategic angles, the designer couture. Instead, she wore soft lounge pants that clung gently to her legs and a tank top so worn-in it looked like it had seen a hundred quiet mornings. Her hair was loosely pulled back, strands escaping in carefree waves. She looked real.
And it struck Kelli, for the first time, that perhaps Chloe was human after all.
Not an icon. Not a heiress. Just a girl who happened to have the world at her feet.
“You can speak, you know,” Chloe said, her voice easy, almost amused. “I’m not going to bite. Did you enjoy the party?”
“It was great, Chloe,” Jordan chimed in beside Kelli. He seemed far more at ease now, away from the press of towering teens and the strobe-lit chaos of the main ballroom. “Thanks for having us.”
“I’m glad,” Chloe said, folding her hands in her lap. “I wanted it to be a celebration for Littles as much as anyone else. A reminder that you still matter.”
There was a beat of silence. One that stretched long enough for Kelli to realize she might never get another chance to ask the question that had been burning inside her since she’d first seen them together.
“Well, if you don’t mind me asking…” Kelli began, careful but direct. “What do you see in Sara?”
Jordan audibly choked beside her. “Kelli—” he muttered, aghast, clearly uncomfortable.
But Chloe didn’t flinch. If anything, she tilted her head slightly, curiosity dancing behind her eyes. “That’s a bold question,” she said simply.
“I just… don’t get it,” Kelli continued, slowly. “Sara’s not bad. She’s just not what I would’ve expected. She’s loud. Controlling. She’s not… Gracewood material.”
Chloe’s lips twitched into something halfway between a smirk and a sigh.
“She’s real,” Chloe said, eyes drifting toward the fireplace. “Sara never tries to impress me. She doesn’t mold herself into what she thinks I want. She’s not intimidated by me or my family or the company or… this house. She challenges me, yes, but she also sees me. Not Chloe Gracewood, the future CEO of Generitech. She sees me. The girl behind it all. Even when I didn’t see her back.”
Kelli listened, quiet now.
“She never asked me to be anything I wasn’t,” Chloe added. “And when I finally worked up the courage to do something on my own, Echo Riot, the label, she supported me without hesitation. Even not knowing fully what I was doing. She believed in me before I believed in myself.”
Kelli crossed her arms, a hint of skepticism still lingering. “But she is controlling. You can see that, right?”
Chloe smiled. “Oh, definitely. Sara likes control. She thrives on it. But you know what else she is? Loyal. Protective. When she cares about someone, she doesn’t do it halfway. She’s all in. She’ll fight for you. She’ll bleed for you. And sometimes, yeah… she’ll bulldoze a bit. But always for your good. The first day she brought Jordan to school she decked Tamara for bullying Jordan.”
Jordan glanced between the two women, one titan, one miniature, and didn’t speak. But for the first time, he understood both of them better. He saw why Chloe needed someone like Sara. And why Kelli didn’t know if she could ever accept someone like Sara.
But maybe that wasn’t the point. Maybe they didn’t need to understand each other completely. Maybe it was enough to know they were all still learning.
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First, great question for Kelli to ask, and I loved that she pointed out the biggest character flaw of Sarah without fear. Kelli still doesn’t know, but that Controlling nature’s more of a insecurity driven thing than anything else. Depression and recovery is like a pendulum, if you swing as far as Sarah had, you’ll swing as far the other way to make sure it never happens again, even if it really isn’t healthy. in this case it’s Sarah making sure she can control everything. it’s safe and prevents the unpredictable stuff, or that’s the idea. However it isn’t a healthy thing to do. Though I’m sure she’s still very much learning how to cope with everything that happened and this is just a stage she’s going to have to work through
second, “That’s a bold question,”, yes, cause Kelli is a bold person lol
She is definately working on it. We do see her going to therapy still regularly each week. So she is still working on herself.
Kelli wouldn’t be aware of that at this point. I mean I’m sure at some point Kayla and/or Kelli will learn it either from Sara or just piecing things together.
Well, Jordan’s reputation is that he can’t keep a secret, and he is there for the sessions, but I’m sure that therapy info would be sacrosanct even for Jordan.
BTW, I just noticed that everyone here leaving comments seems to use “Jordan” and not “Jordy”, so I guess we are more in the Chloe camp than the Sara camp on this 🙂
Im with Jordan and have a hard time keeping a secret at Christmas lol
Jordan is referred to as Jordan in the text, it’s always “Jordan did X” “Jordan looked at Y” or “Z seemed huge to Jordan”, so I think that’s where it comes from, He’s only called Jordy when Characters are talking to him, and not all characters either.
He’s also been Jordan the whole time, he doesn’t start getting called Jordy until 328 (I’m not counting him getting called “Jordy Poo” in 113 because that was intended as bullying/teasing), which is about the 58% point of the Story (so far).
I was referring to how people here refer to him in their comments.
Yeah, I know. I’m explaining why I think they do that.
I humbly disagree having delt with some depression and being a successful husband of a very successful control freak and being a control freak when I need to achieve something its about achieving goals you have set for yourself. I have always been a overachiever because I make sure what I am doing is the best it can be and don’t hope that someone else can do their part. This is common with overly successful people. Musk, Henry Ford, Gates, Bezos and the list goes on.
speaking from my own experience, it had never really made anything easier for me. fighting, arguing, panicking when things don’t go the way they’re meant to, and the just general depressed and stress i dealt with didn’t benefit me outside of hitting some goals. I relate a lot with Sarah in the fact that she and I are both controlling because we have a hard time accepting our own flaws and the best way to avoid that is to make sure we are never in situations to where they come out. I’ve completely stopped competitive anything because i’m insecure with failing, I don’t cook for people at family gatherings ever because I’m insecure with my ability to cook, I’m constantly monitoring what I eat and avoid being shirtless around because I’m insecure about my body etc. and I avoid it all because It lets me stay in control of my life and my mood better while i figure stuff out
Sarah similarly does her absolute best to make sure she is in control of social situations, her body, jordan, her friends, her diet etc because she’s supre insecure. the controlling is a stage of working through depression and anxiety cause it’s something tangible and it helps build confidence while working towards accepting that you can’t control everything but you can control what you do and how you feel.
never meant to imply being controling as a person is a bad thing, just that the extent that she does it is to protect herself from further issues because she doesn’t have a better way to cope.
That is an interesting insight. One I had not considered and it explains Sara very well.
very well said, sometimes I forget I am kind of a freak the way I am relentless. Even after my accident I am now trying to teach my self everything about my condition and how I can help others with my skills repairing gear the wheelchair maintenance and repair people try to make hard so they can get more money. As you can tell my downside is I am over confident, like riding a super elite world travel bike with only 6 months of street bike time lol. That is Asuka’s great writing gets me to feel I am like Kelli, like you feel you are like Sara. Another sign of great writing. I feel Kelli will have a better life when she bonds with her sister and is able relax more and not fight being a little but enjoy life and take help when needed and still do what you enjoy when you can. I had to do this in my condition and giving up control of most of my life to my wife and I took over some house stuff has made my life a lot better.
I love Kelli so much fearless, bold, and un willing to back down. And this discussion is very informative about what Sarah and Chole see in each other.
………Now that’s out of the way the important question needs an answer
WHERE THE FUCK ARE JORDAN AND KELLI GOING TO SLEEP AND IS IT A SINGLE BED BECAUSE THE JORDAN X KELLI MOVEMENT RISES !!!!!!
also I pay to see it be a awkward moment between the two thinking about sleeping together ( sadly in a non sexual way lol) but well see
Talisa is on her way to pick up Kelli, don’t you worry
NO THE HELL SHE NOT !!!!
lots of possibilities for sleeping. ONly time will tell..
Kelli was bold and daring. It could have gone badly for her quite easily but it seemed tow work out so far.
A) as much as I love Kelli, she is calling out Sara as being controlling and she herself is controlling. It is common knowledge that most successful people are a little controlling because they are trying their best to accomplish their goals and most people unfortunately are slackers lol.
B) If I was Jordan I would ask Kelli to go over and hop up on Choles super soft i am sure belly and have them both snuggle into the fabric and the warmth of Chole and then she could ask her questions being closer and more comfortable.
C) I know I have said this before but I hope Kelli bonds with one of our girls because she needs to relax and start to try to except her new life and enjoy the good and deal with the bad in a less confrontational mood, that way she will be safer and not try to prove she can do something as a little and get hurt instead of asking help from a big. everyone with a handicap goes through this.
1) “Or rather, ordinary to giants”, no ordinary to ordinary, the two Littles are the abnormal ones.
2.1) “A kid who used to listen wide-eyed when Kelli demonstrated drills, who once asked her how to curve a ball like a pro.” A bit cute hearing how young Mal used to be, I bet that stings just a bit more to Kelli, though.
2.2) “And now, that same girl had swooped in with the effortless authority of someone bigger, older, and far more connected, and walked off with Kayla.” and yet still remembers what Killi did for her.
3) “A twinge of guilt pressed into Kelli’s chest. She should have been there for her sister. But how could she protect her now?” I do feel bad for Kelli, she has no power to help her and just has o hope these popular girls don’t grow bored of and stp protecting her sister.
4) “She looked real.” I like that we see the real version of Chloe more than any masked version.
5) “Not an icon. Not a heiress. Just a girl who happened to have the world at her feet” she can be all three.
6) “You can speak, you know,” So much for not demanding conversation.
7) “It was great, Chloe,” “Thanks for having us.” Compliments and EARNED gratitude are good to see.
8) “I wanted it to be a celebration for Littles as much as anyone else. A reminder that you still matter.” It’s such a pity Chloe doesn’t have a Little of her own, (Not counting the Millions she technically owns but will only maybe interact with) they’d easily be the best of Little in the world.
Do any of her Family have personal Littles?
10) “What do you see in Sara?” I’ve been wondering that myself Kelli.
11) “Sara’s not bad. She’s just not what I would’ve expected. She’s loud. Controlling. She’s not… Gracewood material.” Aside from the first point I don’t disagree with Kelli, THough it’s in no way Kelli (or even my) place to ask these questions, especially not directly of Chloe.
12.1) “She’s real, Sara never tries to impress me. She doesn’t mold herself into what she thinks I want” no the fuck she isn’t Sara’s deeply insecure and masking almost every waking hour.
12.2) “She challenges me, yes, but she also sees me” it’s been established that you have to curb your goodness to avoid offending her and starting a fight, that’s a lot more than a challenge.
13) “Not Chloe Gracewood, the future CEO of Generitech. She sees me” why is Chloe the future CEO? What about Carter or Avery?
14) “She never asked me to be anything I wasn’t,” again you need to lessen your kindness around her on certain subjects, subjects important to you, to avoid an argument.
15) “But she is controlling. You can see that, right?” Very, it wouldn’t seem so bad to Chloe, seeing as how Sara’s the low one in the friend group, but when Sara interacts with any one she has a little bit of power ofer, it comes out in force.
16) “But you know what else she is? Loyal.” you should tell that to Sara’s ex,the one she cheated on with you.
17) “The first day she brought Jordan to school she decked Tamara for bullying Jordan.” Yes, she did. This was after bullying him herself all weekend and even allowing Dayton and Maisie to do the same, and would allow them to do again later. Her hitting Tamara was too Little too late
18) “He saw why Chloe needed someone like Sara. And why Kelli didn’t know if she could ever accept someone like Sara” I’m still unclear on the first one, but Chloe likes Sara so IDRC, the second one I understand completely
1) That is true as the littles are the only ones that really changed.
2) I wanted to provide some additional backstory to the Kelli x Mallory story.
2.2) Yes, Mallory does remember. It why she made the comment about taking Talisa and did it saying because its you. Mallory would do a lot for Kelli.
3) Kelli doesn’t really know the girls so its understandable she would have that worry towards Kaya’s new friends.
4) The all natural version of Chloe that is normally reserved for just Family, Sara and select few.
5) She can certainly be all three and probably is.
6) Well she wasn’t demanding they speak more letting them know they can speak freely if they desire was the intent.
7) earned compliments are generally better. Chloe worked hard to accommodate Jordan.
8) If she wanted one she could have one. Its jus not a desire to her.
10) that was a very Lethal Legend question.
11) You and Kelli are practically in lockstep.
12) Well you don’t actually know if Sara is masked in her private intimate moments with Chloe or when they are out on dates and such. Just because she masks generally with people doesn’t mean she does so around Chloe.
12.2) They agreed to disagree on the little rights issue. I don’t think choosing not bring up a political point they disagree on is curbing her goodness to avoid offending. I think its more something people would do in relationship over something they disagree on.
13) Chloe is who is chosen to be the CEO of generitech is being groomed for that role.
14) While Chloe does support little rights i don’t think it defines who she is. I think its a point people reading the story gravitate towards but I wouldn’t say it compromises who you are. It would be if you are a animal lover and your dating someone who isn’t. Compromises would have to be made but its not as dire as I think you are making it out to be personally.
15) I dont think that’s completely accurate. I mean she Ellie kind of defers to Sara in a lot of situations yet Ellie is the one with the higher status in the group in theory. I would think being they both have a bit of equality would as compared to a little v person dynamic would be more the reason.
16) To be fair sara’s ex gave the ulmatum of coming out to everyone before Sara wanted too. If she wasn’t given an ultimatum that probably wouldn’t have happened. The ultimatum is what put strain and caused the rift that broke them up. Sara and Chloe getting together was created by that opportunity.
17) Well it happened pretty quick after Sara found out though.
18) Ultimately whether Kelli does or doesn’t isn’t what Sara is going for she wants to be nice to Kelli because of her relationship with Kayla and being friends with Kayla. Its not like Sara is seeking out a friendship with Kelli.
I hope Kelli can relax and let the good things she did for the now giant girls allow her to let them spoil her and show they love her and she can except cuddles and gifts and it doesn’t diminish her but makes her stronger.
1) and they’re also less than 10% of the population.
2.2) Interesting to see how far that goes.
3) For all she knows, this friendship is temporary.
6) Not how it felt, but ok.
7) Much better than the blind praise certain other characters receive.
10) LOL
11) Yeah, I’m glad we finally get a character more critical of Sara, who isn’t a villain.
12.1) True, but we know she isn’t real most of the time.
12.2) But it’s not like they agreed not to discuss the politics about a conflict in a foreign country, or one from centuries ago, it’s about an issue that’s extremely relevant in both their lives, more so now that Sara actually has a Little.
13) Ok, but why, and why not the other two?
14) We do know that Chloe is more than a Little Rights Activist, but we also know it’s important to her, she one of the few characters who’ve corrected Sara in how she’s talked about it.
15) That was exaggerated, I admit. But her treatment of Littles compared to humans is horrible and controlling, people are their truest selves once given power, How Sara is with Jordan is far truer than how she’d be with her friends.
16) You could also argue Mal pushed Gavin into the affair by being controlling, and clingy putting strain on the relationship, but I suppose the situation looks different from the side of the mistress vs the cuck, sort of an Author vs Lancelot situation.
17) At which point it was still too little too late, she didn’t do it out of love for Jordan, she did it out of hate for Tamara.
18) True, but Sara’s definition of “nice” changes drastically between Little or humans.