Looking her in the eye as she hovers over me, I wonder if this was her plan the whole time. Have her friends snatch me up and then present me to her like I'm some trophy, some gourmet meal to be eaten and then forgotten about the very next day.
But I see hesitation in her eyes, worry. If this is what she wanted, why does she look so uncomfortable? Nervous, even?
She grabs my throat and lifts me up, causing me to freeze up and choke. She pulls me in close, and she whispers so that only the two of us can hear:
And then, it happens. I wish I could say I fought back. Screamed about how we were best friends, how I loved her and she betrayed me. Beat my fists against her chest.
But I didn't. Instead, I froze completely. Uncomfortable heat enveloped me, along with a tight, uncomfortable throat. It happened so fast, too. Glrrk. Glk. Glp.
Somehow, I don't pass out. I'm pushed into a space that stretches to accommodate me. It's hot and it doesn't exactly smell great in here. It's humid, too. I guess this might be it for me.
Stomach walls tense and flex around me like lions waiting to pounce, but they refrain from squeezing me, which is... weird. I know a little bit about the digestive system. Shouldn't I be squished and squeezed like any other piece of food?
There's some muffled chuckling and laughter around me. I'm not sure how much time passes, but eventually, I start swaying, and something slams--presumably a door, I think?
A car engine starts. Soon, I hear the familiar vibrating of a car driving. The stomach walls around me tense excitedly, but still refrain from digging in to me.
Soon, there's more swaying. Another door slam (geez, she ought to go easy on the car) and then, the sound of a door opening and closing. There's more swaying... and then...
The stomach walls around me finally come to life, and I think that this is the end. There's a tight squeeze, but then, I'm being pushed upwards, and then-
The cold air is a shock after stewing in her gut for so long. A little sloppily, I tumble out into a bathtub. I scramble around, sitting upright, and look up at her in disbelief. She's still coughing a little, but then, she looks up at me, meeting my gaze and giving me a super apologetic look.
"Sorry, I had no idea they'd do that... if I'd known, I never would've told them about you," She says softly. I blink, and then give her a hard stare.
"Why didn't you tell me you were a pred? What the hell was that?"
She gives me an almost comically sad expression. "I didn't want you to be scared of me," she replies simply. "I didn't want our friendship to be impacted by that at all. I didn't think it would matter."
"And what will happen if your friends see me again?"
She looks down and shrugs. If she truly didn't know about this, then it's not her fault, I guess... but this puts me in a super odd situation now.
"I guess you'll have to lay low here for a while," she finally says, looking back up at me. I sigh and look down. She's right, and there's definitely much worse things that could've happened, but it still sucks.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of you," she says reassuringly. "I have some fresh clothes. You ought to get cleaned up. I'll leave them outside the bathroom for you."
Yeah... definitely could be worse, I suppose. I guess I'll have to just trust that she isn't saving me for later or something.