Locker Room Talk (Chapter 3) (Patreon)

“Got it!” Max cheered, to his and Heidi’s relief. After reversing course, a task during which the girl had to grasp her squirming classmate by the back of his uniform and pluck him out from between her sky-high legs, Max angled the pencil behind his back and found the latch hole. He fitted it inside, twisted the pencil, and-

“It’s not working,” he growled, defeated.

“Are you sure? Keep trying!”

“Even if it does open the door, you have a portable lock, don’t you?”

“Yes…” Heidi uttered, catching up and just as crestfallen. He was right. She heard the pencil clatter to the base of the locker.

“Oh well. If the big strong swimmer can’t get us out of here, how was the sad little nerd who couldn’t even fight off one normal girl supposed to do it?” Max spat, his ire more self-deprecating than ever now. “I’ve heard what people say.”

“Wait, what do you mean, you heard what people say?”

“You don’t have to pretend. I know I get made fun of a lot for how short I am, how I can’t compete in any sports, that all I’m good for is studying,” Max said at his lowest volume yet. He hung his head, in the process accidentally resting it against the girl’s stomach. Feeling her abdomen tighten in instinctive surprise, he thought of withdrawing, but Heidi didn’t try to push him away. So he stayed there, with little other choice, his cheek nestled right over her belly button. “Especially everyone on the swim team.”

“Oh,” Heidi sighed. He wasn’t exactly wrong; a lot of the swimmers, on both the boys’ and girls’ teams, had their share of snickers over the less athletically-competent students, and Max, being the shortest boy at school, was a prime target. Not that she’d ever joined in, of course. Already the mega-tall yet introverted girl, appreciated for her swimming talents but largely ostracized from social events, avoided interacting much with her bratty teammates. It all made more sense now. Whatever part of Heidi was annoyed with Max earlier had all but melted now, leaving only pity and goodwill. “I’d never say that about you.”

“Well, you might as well say it. It’s true,” Max said.

“I don’t think it is true. But if it was true, wouldn’t it just help make it truer to believe in it yourself?”

“I guess you’re right,” he shrugged, guilty as charged. “I’m sorry I yelled at first. Really, I am. You didn’t deserve that. I just panicked, and then I expected you to be like the rest of them. It wasn’t right of me.”

“Do you still think that about me? That I’m like the rest?”

“No, I don’t. To tell you the truth, I… sorry, never mind.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, tell me,” Heidi plied. Her fingers gently fitted beneath Max’s chin, encouraging him to look up again. From their shuffled position, he could just manage to make eye contact with her, over the horizon of her cleavage. Goose bumps prickled on his skin at the sensation of her huge hand cupping his whole head.

“Well,” he gulped. “I always thought… you were really beautiful. I’ve been to a lot of your swim meets, and you’re amazing. Sorry, that sounded really creepy. I just mean you’re an amazing swimmer, and that you’re… super pretty. And… now I know you’re… really nice, too.”

“Wow,” Heidi murmured. She wasn’t expecting this. If it was possible to have let her cheeks go any rosier, this would’ve been the time. Unfortunately, the two classmates already done enough unintentional wrestling and heavy petting to light up her face like a Christmas tree. Though the shy amazon was unaccustomed to revealing information about herself, especially to people she’d never spoken to until today, something about the bizarre situation, the little metal purgatory they’d found themselves in, not to mention their increasingly-tolerable proximity, allowed her to loosen up just enough. “I… think you’re pretty cute, too.”

“Really?” he gawked, far more shocked than Heidi had been a moment before upon hearing the same thing.

“Well, yes. I’ve seen you around the library, and the science fair every semester. The things you make are always impressive. And… well, I don’t want it to sound like I’m making fun, after what you said before, but… I’ve always found boys who were shorter than me kind of adorable. Especially you.”

“T-Thanks.”

Both girl and boy were sweating profusely now, and only partially owing to the cramped quarters, lack of airflow, and involuntarily snuggling. They maintained locked eyes, blinking and tittering to themselves. He, the miniscule self-defeating loudmouth whose bark was evidently far worse than his bite, and she, the supermodel-tall powerhouse with a tender heart who so frequently couldn’t say what she meant, only marveled at this surreal yet starkly pleasant moment. Abruptly, neither of them terribly minded having to be stuffed in here together, even if they were getting a bit sore from hunching.

“Do you think they…” Heidi questioned, “you know, put us in here because-”

“-they knew?” Max said. “No way, I… they… probably not, but…”

“Maybe they knew, but they also knew that neither of us would ever-”

“-without help, yeah. If that’s true, then they weren’t picking on us, they were…”

“Huh.”

Now each doubly dumbfounded, Heidi and Max stared at one another in shock until goofy smiles crossed their bewildered faces. Each had forgotten that the girl’s hand still rested under the boy’s chin. When they remembered, though, neither one wrenched away as before. Instead, Heidi’s fingers playfully combed through Max’s hair, in time clutching the back of his head with her plush palm and subtly inviting him closer. Now all too happy to accept, the lad silently inched in toward her humongous yet sweet-tempered form. Their legs laced together more tightly now, while Max’s face resumed its initial position just below Heidi’s chest, the bulbous weight of them resting contentedly atop his head. Only now with both parties relaxed and calm, the shared bodily coil of the toned leviathan female athlete and the gangly miniature geek-boy found comfortable embrace. Though their scales were wildly divergent, both of them felt remarkably natural overlaid together like this in a gratifying and mildly hormone-tempting hug.

Both students also discovered at the same time that, when willingly interlocking limbs and sacrificing personal space, with their warm bodies cuddled nice and close, the claustrophobia dissipated and the locker became far more livable. That symbiotic side-effect was rather obvious in retrospect, and when they finally heard the coach returning to the locker room a short time later, Heidi and Max hesitated for a significant period of time before sharing one last mischievous glance and politely calling for assistance.

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THE END