6 Bubble Bri

Ava paused to collect herself outside the nanotech labs, shifting her backpack and reseating her hands on her crutch handles. The sky was full of glorious sunshine and floral fragrance, perfect for taking her afternoon walk in The Grove. After a long winter, she was sick of the ABDU athletic center, no matter how nice the facilities were. No amount of high end equipment could make up for the trademark goaty smell of Freshmen working out.

The outside had other advantages too, like the campus coffee shop’s walk-up window, where Ava picked up a lychee bubble tea. Swapping her right crutch for the drink, she slowed her pace to properly enjoy her drink as well as the sunshine. The rest of the student body had the same idea, the babble of conversation surrounding Ava sounded carefree and happy. A few sweaty types were trying to entice students to booths for clubs and other causes, only to be mostly ignored by chilled out students.

Not one to ignore the good sense of people around her, Ava took a seat on the steps of the squat brick Theatre building and leaned back to catch her breath. Automatically, she began deep breathing exercises, enjoying the satisfying stretch of her chest muscles. Halfway through a breath that was as much yawn as it was a proper deep breath, she caught sight of a familiar mop of messy brown hair.

“Ollie!” Ava waved, grinning as her friend changed direction and loped over to her. He was stylish as always, in grey chinos and a casual navy blazer. As always, Oliver insisted on adding a “pop” of color to his outfits, today it was the light green button up under his blazer. Along with the pair of badminton rackets in his hand, he could easily have been on the cover of East Coast White Boy Monthly.

“Ava! It’s gorgeous today. I see you’re loving the sun.”

“And I see that prep school just got out.”

Oliver laughed, dusting off the stair next to Ava before taking a seat. “Gotta live my truth – and my truth is that I grew up in New England, the same as you did.”

“Hey, I’m dressed casually.”

“You’re wearing a flannel button up over a t-shirt. Swap your skirt for a pair of jeans and you’d be in uniform.”

Fine, so we’re both terrible gay stereotypes.” Ava laughed, leaning in to Oliver at the same time he did, bumping shoulders and heads.

“If I’m going to be a stereotype anyway, any chance your brother has broken up with his boyfriend?”

“Sorry Ollie, if anything, Rohan is probably getting ready to propose. They’re going to India together this summer.” Ava flicked Oliver’s nose to clear his sour expression. “Don’t hate, they’re super cute together.”

“Rohan is super cute in general! He’s like a combination of Chris Hemsworth and Ayushmann Khurrana.” Oliver sighed, putting his chin in his hands. “He could be cute with me.”

“You could go with them to India. I have a million second and third cousins, I’m sure one of them is gay.”

“With me as the third wheel to Rohan and Neil? I have a celeb-crush on Ayushmann, I don’t want to live his movie plots.” Oliver chuckled. “What about you? Anybody cute in your life, or are you still spending weekends at home – pampering yourself.”

“Keep that talk on the DL.” Ava dug her elbow into Oliver’s ribs. “People are really aggro about it these days.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you dodged the question.” Oliver smirked.

“Ugh, fine, it’s just me and Mango, okay?” Ava blew her bangs out of her face. “I’m even nervous about going to the Green Fairy lately.”

“It doesn’t matter if you do or not, if you don’t flirt with people anyway.”

“Eh, I haven’t met anyone I sparked with. I’m not going to force it.”

“That’s fair. As long as you’re not waiting for some girl to run up to you and…”

“Ava!”

Oliver and Ava looked up to see a tiny redheaded girl break free from a gridlocked walking path and scurry over to them. It took Ava a moment – but only a moment – to remember the ditzy Rasmussen girl she’d met on her last day of housesitting. Not that she hadn’t been a memorable girl, but Briana had swapped her near-Little outfit of overalls for a black skirt and corseted top with a dark blue half-jacket. Her dark makeup managed to look perfectly applied, while out of place on her face at the same time.

“Oh gosh, I finally ran into you on campus! We should have exchanged numbers or something. You look like you’re having a good afternoon.” Breathlessly, but in no danger of stopping, Briana turned to Oliver and waved. “Hi, we haven’t met, I’m Briana.”

Ava puffed up her cheeks and blew out a big breath, trying to ignore the massive amount of side-eye that Oliver was giving her, or the subtle-but-savage smirk on his face. He looked up at Briana and gave her his meet and greet smile.

“Hi, I’m Oliver. Are you a friend of Ava’s?”

“I hope so!” Briana bounced lightly on her toes. “She was housesitting for my family over winter break and we only met the one time.”

“I’ll let you two pick up where you left off, I have a meeting with one of my professors anyway.” Oliver stood, dusted off his pants, and shook Briana’s hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Likewise!” Briana shook Oliver’s hand vigorously.

Though she managed to catch Oliver’s eye, Ava’s best stare didn’t do anything to keep her best friend from abandoning her like a cad. He was grinning like an idiot, in fact, something Ava resolved to make him pay for later. I should invite him and Rohan over for dinner on the same night, that’d show him.

“Ava, do you want a Slush?”

“Huh?” Ava tore her gaze away from Oliver’s traitorous retreat and was confronted with a pair of plastic packets that Briana had pulled out of an insulated sleeve.

“I have raspberry and fruit punch. One of them was going to be for Suzie, but I’m not even sure if she’s in the Theatre building right now – and I’m not sure she likes them that much anyway.”

“Uh… sure. Fruit punch?” Ava took the half-frozen pouch, a naughty thrill running up her fingers. There wasn’t anything wrong with eating a grade-school snack out in public – that alone didn’t say anything about her.

“That’s the best flavor.” Briana grinned and twisted open the top of her raspberry pouch. The way she closed her eyes at the first sip was so pure in its enjoyment that Ava couldn’t help but open her pouch and follow suit. Immediately, the nearly pure sugar of the slush lit up her brain. Combined with the unapologetically artificial flavoring, it was an instant transport back to childhood – or Littlehood.

“I’ve never had one of these before, I wish they’d had them when I was a kid.”

“Back then I’d never have been able to have one.” Briana took another big slurp from her pouch. “I’m glad I can get them now. Oh, do you know what time it is?”

“Uh,” Ava pulled her phone out of her backpack enough to peek at it. “Just after three, why?”

“Perfect, we gotta go!”

“What?”

“Technically I’m here in The Quad at three, but we’ve got to go before Emeline finds me.” Briana grabbed Ava’s hand and tugged with surprising tenacity despite her lack of leverage.

“Who’s Emeline? What’s going on?” Unsure of why she was humoring Briana, other than that she’d sat for longer than she intended anyway, Ava struggled to rise, sling on her small backpack, and collect her crutches all at the same time.

“She’s Kiara’s personal assistant. If she finds me I have to go on another Lady Lesson.” Briana put a hand on the small of Ava’s back, hurrying her toward the small gap between the Theatre building and the crumbling white walls of the campus museum.

“If you don’t want to meet with her, you can just tell her that.”

“No way, I’d get a spanking!”

“You’d what?”

Briana squeezed past Ava, pressing against her without regard for personal space and peeked out at the shaded parking lot behind the two buildings. “It’s clear, quick, get out of sight.”

“Hey, be careful with me.” Ava said, stumbling along with another pull from Briana. She found herself leaning against the museum for support, panting. “I am so confused as to what’s going on.”

“If I blow the meeting with Emeline off, I get a spanking.” Briana was completely sincere and serious, as if what she was saying was in any way normal. More than that, she looked exasperated – somehow expecting Ava to be up to speed with whatever madness Briana got up to in her life. “But if I met a friend – or even better, a new friend and got distracted, that’s not my fault.”

“I don’t understand how – oh shit.” One of Ava’s crutches slipped on a patch of mud. With her hands full of bag and slush pouch, she couldn’t adjust her grip in time. There was nothing to do but close her eyes and brace for impact with the parking lot asphalt.

Ava had hardly tipped when she felt Briana step in to brace with her petite body, turning the potential fall into a hug. Gingerly, Ava opened her eyes, only to be transfixed by Briana’s wide grey eyes, her lightly freckled skin, the scent of baby powder… wait a minute! She’d instinctively grabbed the other girl when Briana caught her, dropping her backpack and putting her hand on a suspiciously squishy rear.

“I’m so sorry! I got carried away and I was pulling you all over the place…”

“Briana, it’s fine, I should have been in charge of myself but – okay, you were a little rough.” Regaining her balance, Ava noted that Briana didn’t seem to have any concept of personal space, the smaller girl hadn’t backed off more than an inch or so. Though she knew she shouldn’t ask – it was invasive and none of her business – Briana’s cavalier attitude and bubbly enthusiasm had broken down Ava’s barriers.

“Question – Briana, are you wearing a diaper?”

“Uh….” Briana blushed – and giggled. Ava felt her jaw drop. The obviously-Little girl looked around conspiratorially and nodded. “Don’t tell other people, but it’s okay if you know. I wear them for medical reasons – but it’s a whole other thing too.”

“A whole ABDL thing?”

“You know about it?!” Briana bounced into the air excitedly, grabbing Ava, before quickly disengaging and apologizing. “I did it again, sorry!”

“It’s fine, I think I’m getting used to your uh – energy.” Ava laughed. “Are you really being Little on campus though? Isn’t that crazy?”

“That’s my secret Ava, I’m always Little.” Briana squealed in delight and clapped her hands. “Oh-my-gosh, you have to tell my big Sib I said that, they’re going to be so proud of my memes.”

“Your what?” Ava giggled and shook her head. “Never mind.”

“Are you Little too?”

“Not at school!” Ava blushed. “Sometimes though. I uh – why am I telling her this? – I brought some diapers with me when I was housesitting.”

“Cool!” Briana’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas. “I wish you’d told me then, we could have played.”

“It would have been kind of awkward to talk about, especially since your family was paying me.”

“I guess so. But that means we can play now!”

“That’s um – kinda fast. I have stuff I have to do this afternoon, and it’s literally the second time we’ve met.”

“Oh – but I thought we were friends now. We shared a secret, and I gave you a slush.” On anyone else, Briana’s sad eyes would have been viciously manipulative – but the Little girl’s sadness seemed completely genuine.

She’s that sad that we’re not friends? Oh – what the hell. “We – can be friends. It’s just really sudden, and I do have responsibilities. I can’t duck out on my whole afternoon like you’re doing with yours.”

Briana ducked her head guiltily. “I know I’m being a pain for Emeline, but her lessons are so BORING. We have to go to City Hall meetings and stuff, it’s horrible.”

“That does sound – yuck.” Ava wrinkled her nose. “Even when I was into activism, I didn’t like going to meetings like those.”

“You won’t tell my Mom or Aunt that I skipped on purpose, will you?” Briana’s mood shot back up when Ava shook her head. “What stuff are you doing this afternoon?”

“Well – I have to finish exercising. I was going to walk around The Grove. Then, you know, homework, processing data, all that fun stuff.”

“We could walk together – uh, only if you want though!” Briana nodded. “I’m not trying to be pushy, but I get excited with new friends.”

“I noticed.” Ava laughed.

“You should have seen me with Melody – before they were my sib – actually I got a spanking then too, when I got too excited.”

“Who spanks you?”

“My Mom – or Dad, or any of my babysitters, um, Grandma, Gary spanked me once. I don’t think Kiara has spanked me yet. I bet she spanks hard.” Briana winced.

“You’re really like – lifestyle with it?” Ava bit her lip. “Kiara’s not that much older than you, right? Is your Mom her sister?”

“She is, but she’s my actual Mom, I’m officially adopted and everything.” The weight behind Briana’s words went beyond Little seriousness, there was adult loss and anxiety in Briana’s face as well.

“Why don’t you tell me all about it while we walk?” Ava took a moment to get her backpack properly seated, took a firm stance on her crutches, and motioned toward The Grove. “I need to get moving or my legs will lock up.”

“Okay!” Briana took a big gulp of her slush and tossed the empty pouch in a nearby trash can. “I grew up as a foster kid, until I was out on my own. College went okay, and grad school was great until I – started having potty issues. Mom was my roommate and landlord at the time, but she really helped me out and eventually – she was Mom.”

Briana kicked a loose rock across the parking lot as they walked. “Now she’s Mom forever, and getting married to Dad, I have a Grandma, a Sibling, an Aunt – a whole family.”

“I love that for you – not being sarcastic. Your family sounds wonderful.”

“They’re so good.” Briana grinned at Ava. “You’ll see when you meet them!”

“Isn’t it a little soon to meet the family?” Ava smirked, bumping against Briana’s shoulder.

“Huh? Why?”

“Um, we haven’t even been on a – oh god, I totally misread the situation, didn’t I?” Ava felt her cheeks burn to the tips of her ears. Oliver is going to make fun of me for this forever and I’ll deserve it.

“Misread what?” Briana stopped abruptly, her jaw dropping. “Oh gosh, was I being flirty? I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing, but it makes sense because I’m excited about you being Little and you’re really pretty.”

“You – think I’m pretty?” Okay, now I have no idea what’s happening.

“Yeah! Really pretty!” Briana grinned. “If you were flirting with me, then does that mean you think I’m pretty too?”

“Y-yeah.” Ava took several quick strides out of the parking lot and down a gravel path, forcing Briana to scamper to catch up.

“I should say – I have a boyfriend.” Briana panted. “Honestly, I don’t know if Gary and I are exclusive. We didn’t start out that way, and we’ve only kinda talked about it.”

Ugh, of course there’s a boyfriend. “That’s okay. We seriously don’t have to date. I haven’t had a good Little friend – at least one that I can see in person – in a while anyway.”

“You know other Littles, though?”

“Yeah, there’s a nightclub in town that has an ABDL scene, I go there sometimes. Plus there’s a ton of people online that I talk to.”

“Can you show me the online place? I’ll have to ask my Mom if it’s okay to go to the club, but I know she’d let me meet people online.”

“Hah, sure. Do you not know any other Littles? You’re really excited about this.”

“I get excited about lots of stuff, you’ll see.” Briana grinned. “My Sib is Little – or Middle I guess? I’m not sure. I have another Little friend too, but he’s not full time like me and Melody.”

“Most people aren’t full time Little.” Ava put as much warning in her tone as she could manage without sounding harsh. “Keep that in mind when you talk to the online people, okay?”

“I’ll try, but it’s always so cool to meet another Little.” Briana skipped around Ava in a circle before returning to walk alongside. “I’m really sorry I was pushy with you, by the way.”

“I thought we were past that.”

“Mom tells me I get too excited and I’m not careful with people,” Briana said with a sigh. “It’s true, and I know I do it, but I can’t always stop myself. I want to be your friend, though. Is it okay if you remind me sometimes? Just say something like, Briana, be careful, and I’ll do my best to remember.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m made of glass.” Ava said automatically, then sighed. “I mean, not that you did. We’ll both try to learn, okay? I don’t want our friendship to be about my legs, or your potty issues.”

“I like that. We can both be friends ‘cause we’re Little, and we’re interested in microbiology, and because we’re attracted to each other.” Briana grinned, scampering to the edge of the mighty oaks that ringed the Grove and turning around with a cheeky twirl of her skirt.

“I thought we said we weren’t going to date.” Ava couldn’t help but smirk – and admire the view.

“Friends can be flirty. Honestly Ava, I’m probably going to be flirty no matter what. It’s part of the Briana package!”

“It seems like there’s a lot that comes in that Briana package, I’m surprised it all fits in that small a space.”

“Nobody expects as much Briana as they get!” Briana giggled, flouncing alongside Ava as they stepped into the great grassy clearing, already dotted with a dozen or more groups of students. “It doesn’t seem like it’s too much for you thought, and that’s why we’re going to be super good friends!”

“Super good friends now, not just friends?” Ava shook her head, grinning and fast-walking along with the irrepressible Little next to her. Oh – this is going to get complicated.