The Bridezilla - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

"You'd better not have any more accidents," Darcy teased, patting the seat of Helena's bulging shorts, looking like they were ready to split at any moment.

"I didn't have any to begin with," Helena mumbled, though she kept her voice low enough to be sure nobody heard her. It was true, and she knew everyone else was aware of that, too, but it wouldn't matter... Not even Nikki was going to come to her aid now.

She toddled out to her car, glad, at first, for the relative protection of being inside it, of keeping her padded crotch out of easy view. Unfortunately, glancing at the gas gauge, she knew she wasn't going to be able to rely on that the entire time. She wouldn't be able to make a straight shot home this time... Unless she wanted to run out of fuel, and have to call someone for help, she'd have to make at least one stop.

Knowing that was coming up, that she was going to have to get out of the car, stand out there in the open for a couple minutes at a minimum, made her all the more aware of the bulk of her diaper. She squirmed in her seat, the crinkling echoing throughout the small, clunky interior, mocking her. And, after she did this, she still had to get up to her apartment without being spotted, somehow.

She hadn't truly accomplished that, the first time around; she had passed by a couple people on her way there. During her first encounter, she'd frozen completely, not wanting them to hear her, or see the waddle the diaper gave her, and, after a long, awkward moment of doing nothing, she'd thought to dig through her purse, pretend she was looking for her keys. The second time, someone had walked out of their front door right as she passed, and she'd nearly had a heart attack, but she was so close to her apartment by then, she'd forced herself to keep moving.

Now... She blushed, tearing her eyes away from the road to examine her admittedly pretty poor wardrobe choice. This was what she got for giving Darcy the benefit of the doubt, for hoping she would have calmed down a little. The diaper barely fit under her shorts, plastic peeking out from the waistband, the legholes, everywhere it could, and her tank top didn't quite reach low enough to help hide any of it.

She couldn't walk into her apartment building like this, that was for sure. There was no way, this time of day, she wouldn't have to share the elevator, and it was far too hot to take the stairs all the way up, especially when she was already feeling so warm and sweaty under the diaper. She could stop at some gas station she'd never been to before, and make a mental note to never go there in the future, but simply reducing the chances that she would have to see anyone who encountered her like this again wouldn't help her in the moment.

Her initial instinct was to go to a rest stop, to get rid of the diaper there. There were a couple on the trip, but after driving through the parking lot of the first, she saw far more cars than she probably would at any gas station, and got spooked, not even pulling into a parking spot, or stopping. She zoomed right through, back onto the highway.

The only other idea she could come up with was parking on the side of the road and getting out of the diaper there. It would be a lot easier to just toss the wadded up diaper into the trash can by the gas pump when she stopped, after all... As soon as she came up with the plan, however, and had almost convinced herself to do it, one hand reaching toward the turn signal so she could pull over, she looked in the rear view mirror and saw a cop car a little ways back.

Again, she chickened out. She had no way of knowing they would decide to see what was wrong if they saw her on the shoulder; she had no way of knowing they wouldn't, either. She'd been terrified of being caught for speeding last time, and caught in a diaper, but this would be worse, as she sat there, diaper incredibly obvious, stammering as she tried her best to come up with another excuse for why she'd pulled over.

And, as if simply to foil her, the car stayed there until the low fuel light turned on, telling her she couldn't put this off any longer. Groaning, she took the next exit, praying that she'd drive past some little store that didn't have windows - or anyone else parked - on one side, to give her some semblance of privacy, and, if she was really lucky, an open dumpster.

The gas station was right there, nice and convenient, at least for anyone without something to try to hide before they arrived. She nearly drove past, to see if she could find that theoretical perfect spot nearby... She had no idea how long her car was going to keep running, however. She'd let the gauge get down to E plenty of times, but this was the first time the light had come on. Honestly, she was a bit surprised to find it worked, considering how many other things in her car didn't. 

It was busier than she would have preferred - which, to be real, would have been true if there was anyone there at all - and it was also new enough that the bathrooms were inside the building, not on the outside wall, guaranteeing that there would be a chance someone would see her when she went there. There were only a few pumps, and they were all occupied, to her dismay. She hadn't decided for sure if it would be better to go get changed, then get her gas, and hope nobody who'd seen her inside, before she took the diaper off, spotted her by her car, or if she should get her gas, trying to hide behind her car the whole time, then go in and get out of the diaper, then get back onto the highway, and away from here, immediately.

Just when she'd thought the choice had been made for her, and she had decided that was the worst option, someone pulled away from the pump, and on the right side for her tank. Automatically, to keep her from having to wait around for another spot to open, she took it, turned her car off... And sat there, hands gripping the steering wheel, wiggling in her seat.

No, she realized, THIS was worse... There were so many people standing out there, by their cars, either pumping gas, or stretching their legs... How was she going to stay hidden from all of them?! "What am I doing?" she squeaked, looking down at herself, tugging at her tank top uselessly. She was here now, though... She could pull forward into a regular parking space, get out of the diaper, wait around for another pump to become available.... 

"Ugh!" she rolled her eyes. Neither was good, neither was going to get her out of this mess without a little potential humiliation... She opened up her door and stepped out, pulling self-consciously at her clothes as she toddled to the pump, quickly putting in her card, tapping in her pin, getting everything ready so she could stand behind the gas pump, trying not to attract any attention to herself.

"Is Toby still in his car seat?" she heard a voice yell from the other side of the pump. 

After a moment, she heard another voice answer, "Yeah, why?"

"I just thought I heard him running around," the first replied.

Helena blushed, positive she'd been heard, that the sound of her diaper had been mistaken for someone still small enough to ride in a car seat. She quietly groaned, hoping the couple, and their child, weren't going inside for any reason, knowing they, of all people, would be able to recognize a diaper under clothes... Not that hers was particularly well camouflaged.

Her head snapped around, hearing the sound of giggling from the other direction, spotting a pair of what looked like teenaged girls at another pump. As soon as it looked like they were about to turn towards her, she glanced away, down at her feet. They'd probably not even noticed her there, had been laughing at some inside joke... But what if they weren't? What if they'd seen her, a young woman, older than them, standing there in a diaper? They could be taking pictures of her now to post all over social media, because they found it so funny...

Finally, she heard a click, and, without thinking, turned, giving them a perfect view of her padded butt, if they were so inclined to look, as she told the machine she didn't want a receipt, fidgeting anxiously while she waited for the screen to say 'Thank you', to tell her she was safe to pull away without anyone else being able to use her card. That probably wouldn't have happened anyway, but it was habit by now, and she couldn't help it, even when she was certain she could hear the girls' laughter growing louder.

She hopped into her car, feeling sweatier than ever, moving it to a normal parking spot and turning it off... Then wondering why she'd done that. She had gas now... She could go anywhere else she wanted. She didn't have to stay here... She hadn't seen any other gas stations listed for this exit, but maybe, if she drove around enough, she'd find that perfect, secluded spot she'd wanted... Or she could get back on the highway, try at another exit...

Or she'd keep wussing out, and then, before she knew it, she'd be almost home, where the chances of someone she knew seeing her would rise exponentially. That, if she was being honest, was more likely. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she shook her head, taking her keys out of the ignition, slipping them into her purse, and getting back out of the car.

There was a nice, big sign for the bathroom, thankfully, telling her exactly where to go, keeping her from having to hesitate, to wander around aimlessly trying to spot it. She kept moving, marching forward, the muffled music from the speakers hopefully hiding most of the rustling of her diaper. There was enough of a line at the register that she didn't even get a half-hearted greeting when she walked in, but that was fine with her... It helped her pretend nobody had noticed her, that the cashier, and by extension, the whole line of people in front of them, had overlooked her and her bulky diaper.

She waddled forward, zig-zagging through aisles to avoid shoppers, making her way through the store, back to that blessed door... Only to find it was locked. "No," she whimpered, heart pounding as she turned, looking back the way she'd came. Was she going to have to go ask for the key?! That seemed almost as antiquated as gas stations with the bathrooms outside, and, for her, would be a million times more inconvenient. Was she seriously going to have to get in that line and wait?!

Maybe she'd get lucky, and nobody in it already would turn around when they heard her approach, or whenever she shuffled forward... By the time the single cashier got through all of them, though, there were bound to be plenty more in line behind her, staring right at her padded bottom, and then the cashier would see her as she pitifully begged for the key, looking, for all the world, like she had no reason for it, since she was clearly wearing her own portable bathroom...

She turned the doorknob again, hoping she'd been mistaken, that perhaps it was old, and gotten stuck. It still didn't move, but, after a moment, she heard a shout from inside. "Just hold on! Jeez!"

She jumped, face burning. So that was it... It wasn't necessarily that the gas station kept it locked, there was simply someone in there. That was better... Except, of course, that she'd annoyed whoever it was. She turned, searched for an empty aisle to hide in, to pretend she'd been shopping, and wasn't the person who had tried to get into the bathroom, but, before she could find one, the door opened.

Of course, with her luck, it was the teenagers. She wasn't sure how they'd beaten her there - maybe they'd left their car at the pump, or perhaps they just hadn't been so concerned with not running into anyone as they made their way through the store - but there they were, snickering away as they stared down at her.

"Oh, it's her," one of them smirked at the other.

"No wonder she was in such a hurry," the second replied. "Are you about to leak?"

Helena knew she didn't have to answer them, that she didn't owe them anything, but she heard herself squeak out a defiant, "No!" anyway, shaking her head. She almost wanted to pull down her shorts, show them that her diaper was perfectly dry, that she didn't need it... Of course, she didn't. She scurried inside instead, still hearing their laughter on the other side of the door as she closed and locked it, breathing a sigh of relief.

She wriggled out of the shorts, ripping off the diaper and stuffing it into the trash can. The can was already pretty full, and she wasn't about to go digging around in it to try to hide the diaper, so, in a way, she supposed, she was lucky she'd encountered those girls before she'd gone into the bathroom, and not after. If their positions had been reversed, maybe they would have seen her coming out, thought they'd made a mistake when they'd seen her at the pump... And then, they'd come in and see her diaper, sitting there on top of the other garbage, and know they were right after all. Of course, she wouldn't have had to see them, then, because she'd be back in her car by the time they got out of the bathroom, so maybe it would have been better.

It didn't really matter... What was done was done. She used the bathroom, washed herself up, and pulled up her shorts. She wasn't a fan of going without undies, but, considering the alternative, she could live with it. She marched out to the car, feeling proud of herself, and headed home, positive that, if she'd made it through that, she could make it through anything Darcy could throw at her. After all, everything else wedding-related they were doing involved Caleb, and Darcy would surely behave herself more in front of him... Right?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She wasn't surprised when Darcy had the changing pad waiting for her before the rehearsal. As soon as the woman had texted her, told her to meet at her place before going to the church, she'd known what was happening.

She'd been smart this time, however, braving the hot weather, and her lack of air conditioning, with a dress that had a skirt long and full enough to keep the diaper hidden... Probably. She almost regretted disposing of the diaper at the gas station, since it kept her from being able to experiment, and know for sure, but, from everything she could remember, she was pretty certain it would work. At the very least, it would be better than her shorts and tank top.

Darcy almost looked disappointed when Helena showed up like that. "Don't you look nice," she said flatly, letting her inside, ushering her right to the living room, where everything was waiting. "Getting all dressed up for Caleb?"

"N-No," Helena shook her head, blushing. That was part of it; Caleb was the one she was actually friends with - and Nikki, though they'd never been quite as close, and definitely weren't now that Nikki had helped torment her the past two times they'd been together - so she didn't want to just throw something on, make it look like she wasn't taking his wedding seriously. The groomsmen would be there, too, and everyone else... She wanted to make a good impression on all of them... And keep them from knowing she was diapered.

"Sure," Darcy scoffed, pushing up Helena's skirt and sliding off her panties. "Whatever you say. I know you're jealous... Too bad Caleb is interested in sleeping with girls, not babysitting them."

Helena squirmed as Darcy slipped a diaper under her. "I-It's not like that," she said.

Darcy definitely used extra baby powder, and taped the diaper up even more tightly than usual, showing that she wasn't convinced. Helena almost complained, but thought better of it... There were always ways Darcy could make it worse. She could make her wear double diapers, or hike up her dress in front of everyone, or.... Honestly, she wasn't sure what all Darcy was capable of, and she didn't want to find out.

It probably didn't help the bride's mood that, as soon as they pulled into the parking lot of the church, and got out of the car, Caleb spotted them, and spoke to Helena first. "Oh, hey," he waved. "Didn't expect to see you riding with Darcy!"

Helena stared down at her feet, squirming, the diaper feeling thicker than ever. Had he spotted it, despite her careful wardrobe choices? She thought she could see a hint of the bulge under her dress, and suddenly, it was all she could think about. How would anyone NOT notice it, and know right away what it was?!

"We had a little something to take care of at my place," Darcy said, yanking Helena closer to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders, holding her in place. "We've been... getting to know each other."

"That's great!" Caleb grinned. "I knew the two of you would hit it off, once you spent some time together."

"That's one way of putting it," Darcy told him. "Come on, Lena, let's get you inside."

Helena didn't like the way Darcy kept a grip on her, holding her close, as if she was afraid she was going to run away. She might have considered it, if she'd had her car there... She'd thought that was why Darcy had insisted on driving her, to keep her from chickening out at the last minute. She wasn't sure why she refused to let go of her, too, hand clamped around Helena's wrist, as she made the rounds, saying hello to everyone.

At least, not until they stopped to talk to an adorable little toddler boy. "Hi, there, Jackie," Darcy smiled, kneeling down to speak to him. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Good," he blinked up at her.

"I want you to meet a friend of mine," Darcy said. "This is Helena. Can you say that?"

Jackie stared at Helena, who was fidgeting in her grip. She wasn't sure she would have noticed the hint of plastic at the child's waistband, or the slight bulge around his waist, if she hadn't spent so much time in diapers herself lately, but, once she had, she couldn't ignore it, couldn't stop thinking about her own padding, and how much thicker it probably was.

Jackie thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "It's pretty long, isn't it?" Darcy chuckled. "That's okay, you can call her Lena. That's a little easier, isn't it?"

"Lena," Jackie repeated.

"Very good!" Darcy beamed. "Don't be rude, Lena, say hello."

"H-Hi, Jackie," Helena gulped, wishing she didn't feel so much like this toddler's equal, like a playmate, rather than someone who could have easily been his mother.

"Good girl," Darcy patted her on the head. "I wanted the two of you to meet, because he's going to be your partner."

"Wh-What?!" Helena looked back at her, confused. "I-I thought the groomsmen were Caleb's brothers..."

"That was the original plan," Darcy nodded. "But we decided they were all too tall for you, and definitely too mature. So we found someone who's more on your level."

Helena felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at Darcy, everything the girl had done to her coming back to her, making that seem like a real possibility. Was this the real reason she was trying to keep her so close, so she wouldn't storm off when she found out about this? Was she honestly going to pair her up with an actual toddler?!

"What a crybaby!" Darcy snickered. "I bet even Jackie doesn't cry that easily, do you?" The little boy shook his head. "No, and that's why he has the very important job of being my ring-bearer. I couldn't trust some little baby who cries all the time with something like that, could I?" Helena's face was still burning as Darcy, laughing at her own prank, said goodbye and led her away. "No, someone like that is only suited to be a bridesmaid," she hissed at the captive Helena. "A bridesmaid who, if she doesn't behave herself, will end up partnered with Jackie after all, as a flower girl. Is that what you want?"

"N-No, ma'am," Helena gulped.

"Then you're going to do everything I tell you to, without making a fuss, aren't you?"

She would have done that anyway... Everything she'd been through would have been pointless if she gave up now. But she still nodded, and promised, "Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Good girl," Darcy told her again. "Now, let's get this rehearsal started so we can get to dinner... I have some very special surprises for you there..."