I will not throw up.

Throwing up is lame, and tough girls do not do it.

No matter how sick riding on a giant's shoulder makes them feel.

"Are you okay, Maddison?" Vain asked as we walked towards the bus stop. "You've been quiet since we left the house."

"Are you complaining?" I managed to mutter around the bile threatening to crawl up my throat.

Vain slowed, causing me to clutch at his collar for support. Damn it, please just hurry up so that I can stand on something that doesn't move.

"No, I'm just allowing you to change your mind and sit in my hands. Where, unlike my shoulder, you're safe from falling." Vain murmured bluntly, continuing to walk down the street.

He was moving slowly for my sake, but to me, the world still blurred dizzily. I could still feel the surface beneath me rise and fall with his breathing, feel the warmth of his skin.

"Do me a favour and don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen." I hissed. "Your death would be rather inconvenient at this point."

I haven't even ridden a horse before. Surely this counts as skipping a few steps?

Vain fell silent with a sigh, returning his attention to the book in his hand. I bit back the urge to growl at him, not really liking the idea of him not watching where he was going.

But of course, I didn't want him to know that. To know that I was getting freaked out by just walking. Not I, Maddison Tramph. No way. I'm far too brave...

Vain stepped on a crack, a slight misstep, hardly noticeable. My hands seized in the shirt beneath me and I nearly bit through my lip silencing the swear words that wanted to come out. Not to mention the whimpering.

I resorted to counting sheep. Creating the image of fluffy sheep floating weightlessly into the sky one by one. That's right gravity, you don't scare me, or my sheep.

By the time we reached the bus stop, the bus had already pulled over. A couple of other students were already embarking.

Thank you, god of public transportation, you have officially saved me from insanity.

Barely looking away from his book, Vain joined the back of the line and climbed onto the bus. No one noticed me as Vain found his seat, and I was finally able to breathe a small sigh of relief as the bus started to move. Vain seemed content to continue reading silently, so I was left to entertain myself in my giant surroundings.

Excluding the awkward car ride home with my parents, this was the first time I had been outside the house since I had been shrunk.

That first experience was little more than an overwhelming blur of movement and sound. Now, having had a few days to acclimatise, I was better able to appreciate how dauntingly colossal everything was.

I had been doing my best not to think about it.

Unfortunately, without the pleasantries of motion sickness to distract me, I found myself more inclined to pay attention to how the ceiling was so far up that it seemed more like the roof of a stadium... the seat in front of me was bigger than a building... even Vain's book sitting in his lap far below looked thick enough to weigh a ton...

What had once been a simple, small space had become a vast landscape to me.

All of it, sending out this self superior vibe. Stupid inanimate objects think they're better than me, just because they suddenly get a little bit scary.

Truthfully, there was a part of me that wanted nothing more than to climb into Vain's pocket and hide. At least in there, I could ignore how exposed and vulnerable the world was making me feel.

But the bigger, more stubborn part of me refused to be afraid. And the even bigger part of me that was afraid knew that the pocket wouldn't be an improvement.

So I had no choice but to sit out here, feeling sick and overall horrible.

Wow, Maddison, you're sooo heroic.

Shut up Self-doubt. Brooding through my problems makes me a total bad-ass.

No, it just makes you look constipated.

You want to come out here and say that to my face punk?

Since I was busy picking a fight with myself, I didn't notice her until I was hit by the massive explosion of noise.

I yelped in pain and shock, covering my ears at what felt like a bomb going off right next to me.

So startled, I would have fallen from Vain's shoulder if he hadn't put a hand up in front of me, creating a wall of flesh for me to steady myself against.

Blindly leaning into his fingers for support, it took me a long, painful moment to realise that there was a shouting face right above me.

I blinked, taking in the sight of giant brown eyes and glint of white teeth.

By the time my ears adjusted, and I could focus beyond the pain, I recognised the sneering girl as Rachel Fredem, Vain's number one fan and stalker...

Nice girl. Though I'd really only spoken to her once.

That time I broke her nose, two years ago...

Cause my morning obviously wasn't already bad enough.