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Chapter One:
Ok, mental recap: I made my way upstairs, I got my computer, I got one my bed, and there was a small person by my pillow threatening me with an action figure's sword. Every time I ran those through my head I couldn't comprehend that last bit. There was a small person by my pillow wielding a toy sword. Trying to think quickly I did the first thing anyone would have done in this situation, I jumped up and grabbed a discarded McDonald's cup on the ground. As soon as I looked back on my bed though, he was gone. I was seriously wondering if I wasn't just hallucinating from the sickness at this point. I stayed where I was in the middle of my room, trying to listen for any movement. I was rewarded by a rustling near my door. I sprang into action as quickly as any sick person could and after a moment of wrestling with the clothes basket I had dive bombed, I got up realizing I had caught something in the cup. I didn't waste time trying to see what it was and slapped my hand on top. I carefully set the cup upside down on the table by my bed and set a book on top to prevent whatever it was from escaping. Then a thought occurred to me, it would already be tough enough to breath in there with no air holes. I'm sure the smell of old soda wasn't all the pleasant either. I picked up a pen from the table.
"Um, I'm gonna poke some air holes in the cup. If you can understand me then move to the side where my voice isn't coming from," I said to the cup. There was nothing for a moment and I thought maybe I had just stuffed a ball in there or something. After a couple seconds though I heard a shuffling from inside and began poking small holes in my side of the cup. I set the pen down by the cup, sat on my bed, and began thinking. What on Earth just happened? Did I really just find a little person, a Borrower? If so, this probably wasn't the best way to make friends. I already knew I wasn't gonna tell anyone about this. As much as I knew I wouldn't do anything to hurt it, I also knew humans can be cruel things to anything different. What do I do with it now though? My train of thought got cut of when I heard him speak.
"I'm probably gonna be stuck here a while, so could I at least get my bag? It's got a few chocolate chips in there and I'm hungry," he said. Oddly enough he didn't sound scared or even worried. He sounded more annoyed than anything.
"Uh, sure," I replied. I started digging through the pile of toppled clothes and pretty soon found what I'm fairly certain was the bag he was talking about. It was actually a pretty clever design. Two decent sized bottle caps held together by a fridge magnet on both sides and two rubber bands to sling over his shoulder. I lifted the cup a little and slid the bag in before sitting back down on my bed.
"Mph, so what now," he asked through a mouth full of chocolate, "Ah, what'll it be: toy, food, other toy?"
It took me a second to figure out what he meant before I thought about this from his angle. Stuck in an old fast food cup by a giant. I realized how awful I must have seemed at this point and decided the obvious course of action. "Actually, I'll let you go right now if you'll just answer a couple questions." I always joked that if I ever saw something unbelievable like Santa Clause or something, I'd probably just be neutral to the situation and not care. Now that it's actually happening though, it was taking everything I had to keep from freaking out.
"What would these questions be then? You want to know if there are others, or what all I've stolen from here, or what? What could I possibly tell you," he snipped at me. I'd be lieing if I said his attitude didn't annoy me a little.
"Just humor me," I said flatly, "We got a deal?" I waited for a response and for a second I thought he was just going to respond with more snark and choose to stay in the cup until I left or something.
"Yeah, sure. I got nothing to lose. Let me go and I'll answer whatever question I can," he said. I kept a simple expression, but inside I was cheering. I grabbed the book and set it on the table by the cup. It took me a second to grab the cup, I was a little afraid of what I would find. Would he look human? Would he have rat features? Would he have a gun? As I realized just how convoluted my imagination was getting I simply stopped thinking and grabbed the cup. What I saw was what I was expecting, and also not. He was essentially just a tiny human, but he didn't have leaf clothes or a cloth cloak or anything like that from TV or fiction. He had on what looked like stolen clothes from a Ken doll. A simple red T-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. However, he also had Bionicle armor strapped to his shins and left shoulder with rubber bands, and a Megaman action figure sword strapped to his back. He had medium length dusty gray hair that fell straight down, and hazel eyes. If he were an anime character I'm sure he'd have legions of fan girls.
"Alright giant, what do you want to know," he asked sitting indian style on the table.
"First off, I'm not a giant. You're just little. You can call me Mason by the way, what's your name?" He almost seemed surprised at how simple my question was. Did he think I didn't care about his name? I wonder how many other people he had met before, if any.
"It's Flint," he said flatly. He pulled apart his pack and pulled out a couple more chocolate chips, "Want one?"
I was a bit shocked he was offering me food. I don't think I would have in his shoes, "Uh, sure. Thanks." I brought my hand by him and he just dropped it in my palm. It wasn't very big obviously, but it was a nice gesture none the less. I popped the chip in my mouth and continued my questions. "So, how did you get... how you are now?" I didn't want to ask how he had gotten small. Even with the right context no guy likes to be called 'small'. No matter the size of the person I'm sure that rang true. He obviously didn't get what I meant though for I was met by a fresh wave of sarcasm.
"How did I get like this? Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much..."
"No, no! I mean why are you... not people sized?" I sounded like a blithering idiot trying to dance around that word.
"Like I was saying, I was born this way. Next question." He was acting kind of on edge, and I understood why. It was making me uncomfortable though so I went to grab something he could relax on. I came back with a pair of mated socks. "Here, you seem a little tense. Why don't you relax on this?"
"Thanks, but no thanks giant. I'm just answering whatever questions you have so I can be on my merry way." This was beginning to bug me. I hate when people know your name and refuse to use it.
"Ok, seriously. Just call me Mason, is that so hard? Maaaa-sooon." I probably made it a little too obvious that I was getting ticked, but I tend to be short when I'm sick.
"Don't talk down to me!" He stood up and pointed at me, "I'm smaller than you, that doesn't mean I'm stupid! Now can we finish the Q and A?" He plopped back down with a huff. I figured I wasn't going to get him relaxed any time soon so I just tossed the socks on the floor and sat on my bed again.
"Alright, others." He rolled his eyes as I said it, like he was waiting for this one. "Are there any others like you?"
"Aside from my parents? I don't think so. At least not around here." I didn't get the same flat reaction from him this time. He seemed more upset than mad. I realized I had probably struck a nerve so I immediately started thinking of my next question. He spoke up first though. "You know I'll be honest, I haven't seen very many giants either. I've only seen a couple and that was years ago. My parents told me though, to always wait and watch, then decide for myself when something was safe." This was good, he was actually conversing with me. I guess this explained why he didn't seem scared of me, he's seen humans so it's not too surprising for him. I was trying to think of more questions now, no matter how trivial. I wasn't lying when I said he could leave when he answered my questions, but this was just so strange I didn't want him to go. No, not like that you gutter mind. I just wanted someone interesting to talk to since social interaction isn't exactly at the top of your to-do list when you've got the flu. "Ok, um... How old are you?"
Again, he looked a little surprised about how simple the question was, "I'm eighteen, just turned about a week ago. How 'bout you giant?" At this point I just didn't care and figured he wouldn't call me by name anytime soon.
"Seventeen, I'll be turning eighteen this year," I took a moment to think about that before laughing a little. He seemed to get the joke too this time a chuckled a bit too.
"Well isn't that backwards. I'm the tiny one, but you're the baby!" Any of my other friends I'd have just told to 'shut up' and I'd flick them on the head or something when they say something that annoys me. I was about to do the same to Flint before the height different occurred to me. I kept trying to think of questions, but was running dry quickly. We sat in silence for a moment before he spoke up again.
"So is that it? Can I go?" As much as I hated it, I had made the deal and I wasn't the kind of person to go back on my word. I wanted him to just stay for the sake of company, but I obviously wouldn't force him into it. I picked my computer back up and pulled up FireFox and media player. "Sure thing, whenever you're ready you can go. Nice meeting you Flint."
"Same goes to you gi- Mason." He was getting ready to jump down from the table before I thought of something else.
"Hold on! One last question. Where do you live?" I realized this seemed a bit too personal, but I was hoping there was some chance I could talk with him again. He seemed to hesitate with this one before answering.
"I'm not sure now, actually. I wound up here by accident." He sat back down, looking at the floor at the edge of the table. "I was living in a kind of makeshift house underground just a couple days ago. I was comfortable, but I noticed something very unsettling while I was out on a walk around my place (I assumed he lived in a basement crawlspace somewhere). Droppings. Rat droppings. Another thing my parents told me was that if there was one thing that could finish me in an instant, it was rats. Also women, as Dad always added." He chuckled a bit before regaining his solemn look. "I decided then and there that it was time to find a new place to live. I gathered a couple things I liked the most and some food, and left to find a new place. That was just a couple of days ago. Somewhere along the way I think I wound up in the vents here, and found myself in your room. Guess I'll be finding somewhere else now." He just sat there for a moment, looking lost. It broke my heart a little, but after a moment of thought it also gave me an idea. "Well, I'll be off Mason. Sorry to bug you." With that he dove off the table into the discarded pile of clothes I would eventually have to refold.
I set my computer aside and hopped off the bed, kneeling down. The action must have surprised him because he immediately reached for the toy sword on his back. "Whoa, whoa! I'm not gonna hurt you or grab you or anything. I just had an idea," I said trying to calm him down. After a second he dropped his guard. "And just what would that be?" He sounded miffed, probably from how easily I startled him.
"Well, I was thinking. You have no home, and the only people in this house are me and my mom. She never comes into my room, and I'm sneaking food up here all the time. At least until you find someplace permanent, you could stay here." After hearing his story, I wanted nothing more than to help this person any way I could. It was just one of those things taught to me from a young age. To always help others whenever possible. As much as I thought it would work, he didn't seem to take to it.
"Are you kidding me? Thanks for the 'hospitality', but I think I can manage on my own. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a home to find." I decided as he walked out of my room to just accept that he didn't want my help. He was probably just prideful. I stood up, hopped back on my bed, and grabbed my computer again. I was just about to pull FaceBook up when I heard what seemed like soft running. I turned my head and saw Flint sprinting back into my room with my cat, Arya, hot on his trail. I got up as fast as I could, setting my computer aside again, to help him. I reached out both hands towards them both. I grabbed Flint in my right hand as carefully but quickly as I could, and grabbed Arya by the scruff of her neck with my left. I put Arya on the other side of the door and shut it as quickly as I could. I walked over by my table and deposited Flint in his previous spot. His tiny chest was heaving from the scare, no doubt needing to catch his breath. I bent down by the table so we were at eye level.
"Are you alright? Arya didn't hurt you did she?" I loved that cat, but I swear I would have been monumentally pissed off if she had done anything to him. He shot his head up, as though surprised I was even there. He just looked at me for a moment before saying anything.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. It never caught me, just chased me. Thanks," he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Uh, thanks for helping me there. Hey, you think I could get those socks? I need to lie down." He motioned to the pair of mated socks I had tossed on the floor earlier. I grabbed them and placed them by Flint who began leaning on them like a big pillow. "I've uh, rethought your offer. At least until I've found someplace permanent, I'm willing to stay here. But keep in mind, you try anything funny while I'm staying here and I will find a way to take you down. Understand?" I was relieved he wasn't hurt, but was even more so now that I knew he was staying. It bugged me a little that after saving his life he still didn't really trust me, but I decided to take whatever victory I could. I hopped back into my bed for the last time hopefully, and began pulling up my usual websites. Before I continued though, a thought occurred to me.
"Hey Flint, you ever played a video game?" I knew he probably didn't even know what one was, but it's still nice to ask. When all I got for a response was a tilted head and a cocked eyebrow, I pulled up an off version of Smash Brothers on my computer. "Come here, this is really cool!"
I spent the next hour teaching him how to play Smash Brothers, Gameboy, DS, and any other emulators I had downloaded. I hadn't checked FaceBook, I hadn't checked my e-mail. I hadn't checked EquestriaDaily, EscapistMagazine, or any of the webcomics I read. And nobody regretted any of there choices.

Chapter One: End

Description
Chapter One:
Ok, mental recap: I made my way upstairs, I got my computer, I got one my bed, and there was a small person by my pillow threatening me with an action figure's sword. Every time I ran those through my head I couldn't comprehend that last bit. There was a small person by my pillow wielding a toy sword. Trying to think quickly I did the first thing anyone would have done in this situation, I jumped up and grabbed a discarded McDonald's cup on the ground. As soon as I looked back on my bed though, he was gone. I was seriously wondering if I wasn't just hallucinating from the sickness at this point. I stayed where I was in the middle of my room, trying to listen for any movement. I was rewarded by a rustling near my door. I sprang into action as quickly as any sick person could and after a moment of wrestling with the clothes basket I had dive bombed, I got up realizing I had caught something in the cup. I didn't waste time trying to see what it was and slapped my hand on top. I carefully set the cup upside down on the table by my bed and set a book on top to prevent whatever it was from escaping. Then a thought occurred to me, it would already be tough enough to breath in there with no air holes. I'm sure the smell of old soda wasn't all the pleasant either. I picked up a pen from the table.
"Um, I'm gonna poke some air holes in the cup. If you can understand me then move to the side where my voice isn't coming from," I said to the cup. There was nothing for a moment and I thought maybe I had just stuffed a ball in there or something. After a couple seconds though I heard a shuffling from inside and began poking small holes in my side of the cup. I set the pen down by the cup, sat on my bed, and began thinking. What on Earth just happened? Did I really just find a little person, a Borrower? If so, this probably wasn't the best way to make friends. I already knew I wasn't gonna tell anyone about this. As much as I knew I wouldn't do anything to hurt it, I also knew humans can be cruel things to anything different. What do I do with it now though? My train of thought got cut of when I heard him speak.
"I'm probably gonna be stuck here a while, so could I at least get my bag? It's got a few chocolate chips in there and I'm hungry," he said. Oddly enough he didn't sound scared or even worried. He sounded more annoyed than anything.
"Uh, sure," I replied. I started digging through the pile of toppled clothes and pretty soon found what I'm fairly certain was the bag he was talking about. It was actually a pretty clever design. Two decent sized bottle caps held together by a fridge magnet on both sides and two rubber bands to sling over his shoulder. I lifted the cup a little and slid the bag in before sitting back down on my bed.
"Mph, so what now," he asked through a mouth full of chocolate, "Ah, what'll it be: toy, food, other toy?"
It took me a second to figure out what he meant before I thought about this from his angle. Stuck in an old fast food cup by a giant. I realized how awful I must have seemed at this point and decided the obvious course of action. "Actually, I'll let you go right now if you'll just answer a couple questions." I always joked that if I ever saw something unbelievable like Santa Clause or something, I'd probably just be neutral to the situation and not care. Now that it's actually happening though, it was taking everything I had to keep from freaking out.
"What would these questions be then? You want to know if there are others, or what all I've stolen from here, or what? What could I possibly tell you," he snipped at me. I'd be lieing if I said his attitude didn't annoy me a little.
"Just humor me," I said flatly, "We got a deal?" I waited for a response and for a second I thought he was just going to respond with more snark and choose to stay in the cup until I left or something.
"Yeah, sure. I got nothing to lose. Let me go and I'll answer whatever question I can," he said. I kept a simple expression, but inside I was cheering. I grabbed the book and set it on the table by the cup. It took me a second to grab the cup, I was a little afraid of what I would find. Would he look human? Would he have rat features? Would he have a gun? As I realized just how convoluted my imagination was getting I simply stopped thinking and grabbed the cup. What I saw was what I was expecting, and also not. He was essentially just a tiny human, but he didn't have leaf clothes or a cloth cloak or anything like that from TV or fiction. He had on what looked like stolen clothes from a Ken doll. A simple red T-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. However, he also had Bionicle armor strapped to his shins and left shoulder with rubber bands, and a Megaman action figure sword strapped to his back. He had medium length dusty gray hair that fell straight down, and hazel eyes. If he were an anime character I'm sure he'd have legions of fan girls.
"Alright giant, what do you want to know," he asked sitting indian style on the table.
"First off, I'm not a giant. You're just little. You can call me Mason by the way, what's your name?" He almost seemed surprised at how simple my question was. Did he think I didn't care about his name? I wonder how many other people he had met before, if any.
"It's Flint," he said flatly. He pulled apart his pack and pulled out a couple more chocolate chips, "Want one?"
I was a bit shocked he was offering me food. I don't think I would have in his shoes, "Uh, sure. Thanks." I brought my hand by him and he just dropped it in my palm. It wasn't very big obviously, but it was a nice gesture none the less. I popped the chip in my mouth and continued my questions. "So, how did you get... how you are now?" I didn't want to ask how he had gotten small. Even with the right context no guy likes to be called 'small'. No matter the size of the person I'm sure that rang true. He obviously didn't get what I meant though for I was met by a fresh wave of sarcasm.
"How did I get like this? Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much..."
"No, no! I mean why are you... not people sized?" I sounded like a blithering idiot trying to dance around that word.
"Like I was saying, I was born this way. Next question." He was acting kind of on edge, and I understood why. It was making me uncomfortable though so I went to grab something he could relax on. I came back with a pair of mated socks. "Here, you seem a little tense. Why don't you relax on this?"
"Thanks, but no thanks giant. I'm just answering whatever questions you have so I can be on my merry way." This was beginning to bug me. I hate when people know your name and refuse to use it.
"Ok, seriously. Just call me Mason, is that so hard? Maaaa-sooon." I probably made it a little too obvious that I was getting ticked, but I tend to be short when I'm sick.
"Don't talk down to me!" He stood up and pointed at me, "I'm smaller than you, that doesn't mean I'm stupid! Now can we finish the Q and A?" He plopped back down with a huff. I figured I wasn't going to get him relaxed any time soon so I just tossed the socks on the floor and sat on my bed again.
"Alright, others." He rolled his eyes as I said it, like he was waiting for this one. "Are there any others like you?"
"Aside from my parents? I don't think so. At least not around here." I didn't get the same flat reaction from him this time. He seemed more upset than mad. I realized I had probably struck a nerve so I immediately started thinking of my next question. He spoke up first though. "You know I'll be honest, I haven't seen very many giants either. I've only seen a couple and that was years ago. My parents told me though, to always wait and watch, then decide for myself when something was safe." This was good, he was actually conversing with me. I guess this explained why he didn't seem scared of me, he's seen humans so it's not too surprising for him. I was trying to think of more questions now, no matter how trivial. I wasn't lying when I said he could leave when he answered my questions, but this was just so strange I didn't want him to go. No, not like that you gutter mind. I just wanted someone interesting to talk to since social interaction isn't exactly at the top of your to-do list when you've got the flu. "Ok, um... How old are you?"
Again, he looked a little surprised about how simple the question was, "I'm eighteen, just turned about a week ago. How 'bout you giant?" At this point I just didn't care and figured he wouldn't call me by name anytime soon.
"Seventeen, I'll be turning eighteen this year," I took a moment to think about that before laughing a little. He seemed to get the joke too this time a chuckled a bit too.
"Well isn't that backwards. I'm the tiny one, but you're the baby!" Any of my other friends I'd have just told to 'shut up' and I'd flick them on the head or something when they say something that annoys me. I was about to do the same to Flint before the height different occurred to me. I kept trying to think of questions, but was running dry quickly. We sat in silence for a moment before he spoke up again.
"So is that it? Can I go?" As much as I hated it, I had made the deal and I wasn't the kind of person to go back on my word. I wanted him to just stay for the sake of company, but I obviously wouldn't force him into it. I picked my computer back up and pulled up FireFox and media player. "Sure thing, whenever you're ready you can go. Nice meeting you Flint."
"Same goes to you gi- Mason." He was getting ready to jump down from the table before I thought of something else.
"Hold on! One last question. Where do you live?" I realized this seemed a bit too personal, but I was hoping there was some chance I could talk with him again. He seemed to hesitate with this one before answering.
"I'm not sure now, actually. I wound up here by accident." He sat back down, looking at the floor at the edge of the table. "I was living in a kind of makeshift house underground just a couple days ago. I was comfortable, but I noticed something very unsettling while I was out on a walk around my place (I assumed he lived in a basement crawlspace somewhere). Droppings. Rat droppings. Another thing my parents told me was that if there was one thing that could finish me in an instant, it was rats. Also women, as Dad always added." He chuckled a bit before regaining his solemn look. "I decided then and there that it was time to find a new place to live. I gathered a couple things I liked the most and some food, and left to find a new place. That was just a couple of days ago. Somewhere along the way I think I wound up in the vents here, and found myself in your room. Guess I'll be finding somewhere else now." He just sat there for a moment, looking lost. It broke my heart a little, but after a moment of thought it also gave me an idea. "Well, I'll be off Mason. Sorry to bug you." With that he dove off the table into the discarded pile of clothes I would eventually have to refold.
I set my computer aside and hopped off the bed, kneeling down. The action must have surprised him because he immediately reached for the toy sword on his back. "Whoa, whoa! I'm not gonna hurt you or grab you or anything. I just had an idea," I said trying to calm him down. After a second he dropped his guard. "And just what would that be?" He sounded miffed, probably from how easily I startled him.
"Well, I was thinking. You have no home, and the only people in this house are me and my mom. She never comes into my room, and I'm sneaking food up here all the time. At least until you find someplace permanent, you could stay here." After hearing his story, I wanted nothing more than to help this person any way I could. It was just one of those things taught to me from a young age. To always help others whenever possible. As much as I thought it would work, he didn't seem to take to it.
"Are you kidding me? Thanks for the 'hospitality', but I think I can manage on my own. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a home to find." I decided as he walked out of my room to just accept that he didn't want my help. He was probably just prideful. I stood up, hopped back on my bed, and grabbed my computer again. I was just about to pull FaceBook up when I heard what seemed like soft running. I turned my head and saw Flint sprinting back into my room with my cat, Arya, hot on his trail. I got up as fast as I could, setting my computer aside again, to help him. I reached out both hands towards them both. I grabbed Flint in my right hand as carefully but quickly as I could, and grabbed Arya by the scruff of her neck with my left. I put Arya on the other side of the door and shut it as quickly as I could. I walked over by my table and deposited Flint in his previous spot. His tiny chest was heaving from the scare, no doubt needing to catch his breath. I bent down by the table so we were at eye level.
"Are you alright? Arya didn't hurt you did she?" I loved that cat, but I swear I would have been monumentally pissed off if she had done anything to him. He shot his head up, as though surprised I was even there. He just looked at me for a moment before saying anything.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. It never caught me, just chased me. Thanks," he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Uh, thanks for helping me there. Hey, you think I could get those socks? I need to lie down." He motioned to the pair of mated socks I had tossed on the floor earlier. I grabbed them and placed them by Flint who began leaning on them like a big pillow. "I've uh, rethought your offer. At least until I've found someplace permanent, I'm willing to stay here. But keep in mind, you try anything funny while I'm staying here and I will find a way to take you down. Understand?" I was relieved he wasn't hurt, but was even more so now that I knew he was staying. It bugged me a little that after saving his life he still didn't really trust me, but I decided to take whatever victory I could. I hopped back into my bed for the last time hopefully, and began pulling up my usual websites. Before I continued though, a thought occurred to me.
"Hey Flint, you ever played a video game?" I knew he probably didn't even know what one was, but it's still nice to ask. When all I got for a response was a tilted head and a cocked eyebrow, I pulled up an off version of Smash Brothers on my computer. "Come here, this is really cool!"
I spent the next hour teaching him how to play Smash Brothers, Gameboy, DS, and any other emulators I had downloaded. I hadn't checked FaceBook, I hadn't checked my e-mail. I hadn't checked EquestriaDaily, EscapistMagazine, or any of the webcomics I read. And nobody regretted any of there choices.

Chapter One: End