The Summer of Shelby - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

The start of a new short story series, commissioned by Invada.

"This," Shelby told herself, beaming down into the box she'd just opened, "is what it's all about."

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, though it depended on what 'it' meant. It was, to be honest, most of the reason she'd spent the last few months at her awful fast food job, coming home covered in grease and smelling like french fries every day. She didn't tell her parents that, of course, claiming it was so she'd have more money to take to college... And she would probably use some of it for that, too, even if her family had given her a decent amount at her graduation party.

She'd hoped for that, hadn't wanted to go in expecting it, but had a feeling it would happen. She might have been able to wait, use some of it, except her parents had warned her in advance that she was going to have to be mature and save that money, use it for things she actually needed when she went away to school.

She was an adult now, and freshly out of high school... She didn't have to listen to them if she didn't want to, and wasn't sure how close an eye they'd really keep on her when it came to that, but she also didn't want to risk it. Grown-up or not, she couldn't exactly say she felt like one, in ways both good and bad, and whether it would be fair or not, she didn't want to get in trouble with her mom and dad.

So she'd worked long enough to buy these, and squirrel away a little extra money as well, and then asked her parents if it would be okay for her to quit so she could enjoy her last summer before college. She'd almost thought they were going to say no, had been debating if she was going to listen to them, or just tell them she was still there and hope they never stopped the restaurant to surprise her, but to her shock, they'd been very understanding about it.

Which meant she had the rest of her summer to spend by herself, out in the country in her parents' house, with the contents of the box that UPS had just left on the front porch, that she'd rushed out to collect right away, for fear that her mom or dad would show up from work hours early and find it there, and ask what it was. Her heart had been beating like a drum as she sliced open the tape, certain that they wouldn't be in there, that it would have been a scam of some sort, or that she'd put her order in wrong...

But no. They were nestled there inside the box, wrapped snugly in plastic, waiting for her. She could feel a warmth building up inside of her as she reached in, pulling them out, feeling them give way slightly, crinkling softly already while she turned them over in her hands, staring at the design, somehow even more adorable in real life than all the photos she'd seen online, the cartoon owl beaming up at her with its huge eyes, surrounded by numbers and letters, as if it was there to teach her the alphabet, and how to count, like she was some silly little toddler...

She wasn't, though. She was a high school graduate, soon to be a college student, and, as embarrassing as it was to admit, the most exciting thing she expected to do this summer had just happened - she'd gotten her diapers at last. Her diapers... Not the baby diapers she'd stolen away, one by one, from babysitting clients, and younger siblings of friends when she'd gone over to do homework at their houses, that she could get on, but never really fit well enough to be comfortable, or for her to have the courage to attempt to use. These were hers, designed for big girls like her, despite how utterly infantile they seemed.

She wanted to savor the moment for as long as she could, to perhaps wait for the next morning, so she could wear it as long as possible... She couldn't help herself, however. She ripped open the plastic, pulling one out, giving it a squeeze, head spinning at the scent of it, sure she could detect a hint of baby powder as she unfolded it, laid it out on the floor for herself, stumbling out of her shorts and panties, throwing them to the other side of the room as she plopped herself down, hearing the crackling beneath her, heart pounding as she pulled it up between her thighs, taped it into place.

It definitely hadn't been a scam. There was no denying that this was a diaper, the bulky padding pressing in around her from all angles as she squirmed on the floor. It was everything she'd always imagined it would be, so much bigger and better than the baby diapers, even if it made her feel like those were what she belonged in, like she was a tiny little baby... One who was going to be spending as much of her summer as possible diapered.

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For the first week or so, she was content to wear them inside the house, both under dresses and skirts that she knew would be on the brink of being too short, and with nothing over them at all, just a shirt that wouldn't reach the waistband of them, leaving the owl and its big, blocky letters and numbers on full display as she made herself cookies, and watched TV, sitting on the floor of the living room, and blew bubbles, and played with some of her old dolls, rescued from their box in the attic...

It was great, yet every day, she found herself peering at the door, wondering if she could work up the guts to go out of it like this. She wasn't going to go into town, of course... But the house was out in the middle of nowhere, the nearest neighbor far enough away that it was hard to believe they'd be able to tell what she was wearing, even if they happened to be out in their yard at the same time, and looking over towards her. If nothing else, surely she could go out to get her mail, if she wore the right thing over them.

Instead, she decided to go the other way. It would be safer to start, she told herself, to head into the woods behind the house, down to the creek. She had a secret spot there where she'd loved to hang out as a kid, where she'd made many a mud pie, only to get scolded for making a mess of herself when she got home, no matter how good a job she thought she'd done cleaning up in the creek afterwards. As long as she didn't run into anybody on the way there, it was almost as safe as being in her house.

And probably, she wouldn't run into anyone... Probably. There was always a chance, however slim, she'd see one of her neighbors out for a walk as well... As few of them as there were, they'd almost certainly know her, recognize her, and if they were able to tell she was diapered...

She blushed at the thought, though, in all honesty, it did make it a little more exciting as she slide a pair of shorts on over her diaper, saw how obvious the bulge seemed to her in the mirror. The shorts barely covered them, her t-shirt not quite long enough to make up the difference, and every movement made the shorts slide down a bit over the plastic. If she was very, very careful, she could get through a chance encounter without the other person noticing...

More than likely, she wasn't going to see anyone else anyway, she told herself. She packed up a bag with a couple extra diapers, just in case, a sippy cup filled with juice, some picture books, and a blanket, and headed out into the woods. Sure enough, the trek back to her secret spot was completely private, and she felt secure enough there to get out of her shorts, lounge on her blanket in only her shirt and diaper, even wade out into the creek and splash around a little.

She could have waited until she got home to change, but it was so nice, she chose to do it there, too, balling up her soggy diaper and stuffing it into her bag, taping herself into a fresh one. She was pulling her shorts back up over her fresh diaper, ready to head back home when she was finished, when she saw it.

Her eyes widened, stomach lurching as she heard the sound, head snapping around, only feeling more panicked both when she got confirmation that somebody was there, and when she saw who it was.

Felicia. She was a few years older than Shelby, had babysat for her at one point. She was nice enough, and Shelby even considered her a friend, which was why she'd shared her secret spot's location with her... But that didn't mean she wanted the girl to see her this way. 

Not knowing what to do, she tried to make a run for it, praying Felicia hadn't gotten a good enough look at her to be able to tell it was her. Almost immediately, however, she tripped over her bag, sending her wet diaper rolling out of it. She also, she realized too late, hadn't finished putting her shorts on, and they slid down her legs, exposing her diaper completely ash she continued to scramble away, more desperate than ever to get away as she reached for her shorts in vain, then let them go, rushing down to the creek to attempt to hide in the water.

It wasn't the best idea, though in the moment, it had been all she could think of. She whimpered, feeling the creek's water rushing into her padding, soaking it immediately, making it that much more mortifying to be seen in...

Especially when she felt Felicia's hand close around her wrist, yanking her back out, practically carrying her out of the water and out to the shore, dripping wet, her diaper now on full display. "What are you doing?!" Felicia demanded. "Are you okay?!"

Shelby felt like she was about to explode from humiliation as her friend set her down on the shore, staring down at her, seeing everything, but she managed a tiny nod anyway, not wanting her to worry. Felicia let out a sigh of relief, and then giggled. "Seriously, Shelby, what are you doing?" she shook her head. "Silly girl... I've always known you were into diapers and baby stuff."

"W-Wait..." Shelby frowned. "Y-You did?"

Felicia rolled her eyes. "Of course! You were always begging me to bring you baby diapers from my other clients for your 'dolls'..."

Shelby squirmed, blushing. She'd forgotten that... Those had been her first diapers, most likely. She could recall looking up to Felicia since she was older, wanting to hear stories about the toddlers she was allowed to look after, fantasizing about being those babies...

"Hey," Felicia told her. "It's okay... I didn't mind."

"R-Really?" Shelby sniffed. Of all the people who could have found her, she was glad it was Felicia, especially if she'd already known... She'd probably even seen her in diapers before, maybe more than once, since Shelby hadn't been nearly as careful about it when she was littler. Still, she had known Felicia for a long time... And the girl was apparently there to swim in the creek, as she was there in a bikini, which made Shelby feel so much younger, like it had seemed when they were kids, even if, as they'd grown older, she'd realized the difference was only a few years, that it wasn't that big of a deal after all. 

Until now, anyway, when the difference should have had less of an impact than ever. Shelby would have been smaller than Felicia, but if they were dressed normally, they would still have seemed like peers... But Felicia was in a skimpy little bathing suit, looking so pretty, so mature, and Shelby was in a drenched owl diaper and t-shirt.

Felicia appeared to notice that, too, glancing down and chuckling. "It looks like its time for a change, Shelbs," she said, offering her hand. 

Shelby gulped, staring at it. Was she seriously saying what Shelby thought she was?! She didn't know what else to do but nod, shyly taking her friend's hand, her heart speeding up as she was led back to her blanket, laid down on it, Felicia digging through her bag and taking out a new diaper. It was about to happen... She was about to get her diaper changed by Felicia, like those babies she'd taken care of when they were younger, that Shelby had been so jealous of, all of which were surely out of diapers themselves now...

"'Licia," Shelby wriggled, nibbling her bottom lip. "Y-You don't have to..." she told her quietly.

"Oh, Shelby," Felicia smiled, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "I know I don't have to, sweetie. I want to."

Shelby thought she had gotten pretty good at diapering herself, but her diapers, much as she loved them, had never felt as snug, as cozy, as babyish, as they did this time, after Felicia wrapped her up in one, taping it expertly into place. She had to look down at herself to confirm that her friend hadn't, somehow, transformed her into an actual toddler with her gentle, loving touch, because that was exactly what she felt like once the girl was done with her, pulling her shorts back up into place and starting to gather Shelby's things and put them back into her bag.

"I-I can do that," Shelby said. "Y-You don't hafta..." 

She froze as Felicia picked up her first wet diaper from that day, smirking. "This isn't from the creek, is it?" she asked, Shelby bashfully shaking her head, knees turning inwards, diaper rustling between her thighs. "I don't think a little girl who still pees her pants can be trusted to clean up after herself."

Shelby nodded her agreement, let Felicia finish up and start to walk her home, getting halfway there before realizing that she was interrupting Felicia's day, making her go all the way to her house when she'd wanted to go swimming. "I-I'm sorry," she started to apologize. "I-I can..."

"So, Shelby," Felicia interrupted her, giving Shelby a look that told her she knew what the younger girl was trying to say, and that there was no need for it, that she was happy to do it, "is wetting all you need your diapers for?"

Shelby's face turned bright red. It was all she'd been able to convince herself to use them for, yes, but the idea of doing something more... She squirmed, the very thought of it making her feel even smaller, younger, than her friend, more like the toddler she knew she appeared to be in comparison to the taller, prettier college student...

"I see," Felicia giggled, reaching down and giving the seat of Shelby's diaper a pat through her shorts. "You know what, Shelbs? I think we're going to have a very interesting summer together, cutie..."