The Witch’s Ichor

The quiet din of the boys downstairs rouses Ryker from his slumber. The digital alarm clock beside him reads '9:32'. Ryker sits up with a quiet groan. There's a set of blackout curtains blocking out the sunlight.

How can Jamison sleep like this? It's so dark!

Ryker moves to stand up, finding his body aching all over. He stretches repeatedly after getting out of bed, but the soreness isn't going away.

My hips are killing me!

The disgruntled teen fumbles through his discarded clothing. He pulls up his panties, but the soft black fabric is digging into him in several places.

What's wrong with this stupid thing?

Ryker shimmies out of his panties before trying on his bra. The bra feels far too tight. The cups are just too small now. Ryker pouts while taking it off.

Knock knock knock.

"You awake in there?" Jamison calls out.

"Yeah, but the stupid clothes you got me shrunk!" Ryker shouts.

Ryker grabs the sweater, slipping it on without paying much attention. The leggings are stretchy enough to slip into without any issues. Ryker gives himself a brief once over in the mirror before nodding in satisfaction. He steps over to the door, opening it.

"Jamison? What's up?" Ryker asks.

Jamison is standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face. His eyes flicker down briefly before returning to Ryker's face. He points downstairs with a slightly forced smile.

"Uh... We were making breakfast. You want any bacon or scrambled eggs?" Jamison explains.

"Hell yes I do!" Ryker replies enthusiastically.

Jamison guides Ryker downstairs. The delicious smell of bacon has Ryker salivating.

Derek and Theo are both in the kitchen. Theo is busy flipping bacon with some tongs. Derek is trying to cook the eggs. He keeps burning them. Ryker looks over Derek's shoulder curiously. Derek's focus is broken when he feels Ryker's breast pressing into him, and he looks over.

"Holy..." Derek gasps.

"You're really bad at this..." Ryker comments.

The eggs are starting to burn again. Derek's eyes are looking down at Ryker's chest instead of the skillet.

"The eggs are burning." Ryker comments.

Derek curses while trying to get the fully cooked portion off the skillet.

"Nice. You'd make a great house husband." Ryker mocks.

"Oh shut it. You're the one distracting me." Derek retorts.

Ryker rolls his eyes at Derek's excuses. The smell of burning eggs was here long before Ryker arrived. Ryker takes a seat at the table.

How could I even distract him? Dumbass.

Ryker watches the two boys finish up as Jamison sits down beside him. Jamison is staring off into space. His slender fingers keep tapping away a rhythm on the table. Theo wipes sweat from his brow as he finishes moving the last few strips of bacon off the frying pan. He carries the bacon to the table with an air of pride.

"Finally! I'm starving." Ryker cheers.

Theo sets down the bacon in the center of the table. His bespectacled eyes wander over to Ryker as if to reply, but he stops and his eyes flicker up and down. Ryker is too busy blowing on the hot bacon to notice.

"Incredible." Theo mumbles.

"It's just bacon, dude." Ryker retorts.

Theo looks like he wants to say something, but instead takes his seat at the table.

Derek finally finishes the eggs. The eggs are a mess compared to the bacon, but four teenage boys aren't too picky when it comes to breakfast.

Ryker munches on forkfuls of egg and bacon. The other three quietly pick at their own food.

Why are they acting so weird?

Ryker wipes away the bacon grease from his lips with a napkin before setting down his fork. He gives his friends a narrow eyed stare. First he squints at Jamison, but the tall boy doesn't make eye contact. He's tapping out a rhythm on the table. Theo is on his phone.

What? Theo hates using his phone!

The strangeness of the situation mounts when Ryker moves his gaze to Derek. Derek is slowly munching on a strip of bacon, but his eyes are on Ryker's food!

"Are you like, extra hungry or something?" Ryker questions suspiciously.

Derek doesn't realize he's being addressed for a good few seconds. He blinks when he notices, and swallows his piece of bacon.

"Uh... What?" Derek replies.

"You're staring at my food! At least finish your own first, dude." Ryker points out.

"I wasn't looking at your food..." Derek trails off.

Somehow the awkward silence gets even quieter. Jamison clears his throat in a feeble attempt to make things feel less weird. Ryker's eyebrows knit together as he looks around at all of his friends.

"What the heck is wrong with all of you today?" Ryker asks.

There's a quiet ding as someone's phone goes off. Derek and Jamison pick up their phones in unison. Ryker's eyebrows hike higher as he watches the three of them texting one another in some sort of three-way conspiratorial group chat.

"What?! You can't exclude me! I'm number three! Exclude Theo instead, he's number four!" Ryker protests.

"I thought I was number three?" Theo retorts.

"Doesn't matter! Don't exclude me!" Ryker insists.

"We aren't excluding you, Ryker." Jamison sighs.

"Then what do you call this?" Ryker scoffs.

Ryker spreads his small hands to gesture at the three other boys all looking at their phones. Derek hasn't looked up from his phone despite the argument. Ryker smirks to himself, and lunges at Derek in an effort to snatch his phone. It succeeds.

Theo: Should we say something?

Jamison: Probably..?

Derek: Bro are those fucking real like what

Derek falls back in his chair before Ryker can read the entire chat. Derek's face is flushed as he looks up at Ryker, who's pinning him to the floor. Ryker glares down at Derek.

"Are what real?" Ryker interrogates.

~

Derek's head is pounding when he wakes up. Sunshine illuminates the living room where Jamison and Theo lie sleeping on heaps of bedding. Derek stretches his arms overhead.

Where's Ryker?

The odd absence of their crew's fourth member strikes Derek as strange. He wanders around the kitchen sleepily, and checks the bathroom.

Oh wait, he's upstairs.
Maybe we should surprise him?

Derek pushes Theo's sleeping form off the couch. Theo lets out a startled little yelp as he falls onto Jamison's sleeping form.

"What the hell, Derek?!" They both curse in unison.

Derek holds his hands up in surrender. His smile betraying his lack of remorse. Jamison and Theo stand groggily. Theo dons his glasses while Jamison gives Derek a playful push.

"Okay so you know how Ryker has been dealing with a lot lately?" Derek starts.

Jamison slowly nods.

"So what if we made him breakfast? As a nice surprise." Derek explains.

~

The warmth oh Ryker's breasts pressing down on Derek's chest is hard to ignore. Ryker's question hangs over Derek like a guillotine. Derek steels himself.

"I uh... Your... Your boobs." Derek admits.

Derek's dark eyes watch Ryker's pale features for a reaction. The little quiver of his bottom lip precedes the reddening of his cheeks. He stands up hurriedly.

"You guys are jerks!" Ryker snaps.

Ryker's slender arms wrap around his torso. His blush is a bright shade of pink. He quickly scampers over to his backpack. Derek stands up with an outstretched arm, but Jamison gently stops him. He shakes his head while Ryker gathers his things.

"Ryker, wait. I'm sorry!" Derek calls out.

Ryker glances over his bare shoulder at Derek. The embarrassed pain in his eyes feels like a spear through Derek's chest. Ryker slams the door on his way out.

I messed up. Shit.

~

Mason's afternoon nap is interrupted by a soft knocking on the door. He slowly sits up in his chair. Mason isn't sure if the knocking sound was a part of his dream, or if someone is knocking on the front door.

Knock knock knock.

Well that answers that. Mason gets up from his recliner, and turns off the television. His heavy footsteps betray his size. He approaches the door, and checks the peephole.

She looks an awful lot like Miranda.

Mason opens the door with a questioning look. The dark haired girl is about the same height and build as his wife, Miranda. The girl looks both happy to see Mason and simultaneously fearful. Mason wonders why she's wearing such tight clothing. He wouldn't want his daughter to wear that, if he had one.

"Can I help you..?" Mason asks.

The small girl opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. The poor girl is starting to tremble. Mason slowly lowers himself to one knee, and speaks softly to her.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, kiddo." Mason says softly.

Mason watches the dark haired girl calm down, and smile a little. She suddenly steps forward and embraces Mason, so he very politely pats her back.

"I-It's me, Dad." She mumbles.

Something clicks immediately in Mason's head.

"No wonder you remind me so much of your mother." Mason chuckles.

Ryker softly squeezes his father for several minutes there on the front porch. Mason rubs his back gently the entire time. Eventually Mason hears footsteps coming up from behind him. He slowly stands.

"Mason what're you- Oh." Miranda starts.

Miranda's eyes narrow after she looks Ryker up and down. Unlike Mason, she immediately recognizes her child. Ryker shrinks back from her piercing gaze.

"Young lady, what are you wearing?" Miranda scolds.

"Uh- Just what Jamison got me?" Ryker stammers.

Mason catches a dark look in his wife's eyes as she processes Ryker's words. She approaches Ryker and embraces him in a gentle hug. Miranda gently pulls away shortly after, and scans Ryker for anything out of the ordinary. She's just as put off as Mason about how tightly fitting the clothes are on Ryker.

"Those stupid boys..." Miranda mutters darkly.

"Honey..." Mason starts.

"I'm taking her- him- Ryker. I'm taking Ryker to get some proper clothes." Miranda says sternly.

Miranda gently pulls Ryker inside by the hand, and Mason steps aside. Ryker flashes Mason a little smile that he returns. Miranda quickly takes Ryker out to the garage. Mason walks back over to his recliner, and takes a seat.

Guess I have a daughter now?
Not sure. I'll ask later.

~

The car ride to the mall is depressing for Ryker. He's squirming in the passenger seat like a worm on a rainy day. His mother is quietly driving the car, but he can see that telltale twitch in her brow. She's really upset this time.

"Did those boys do anything to you?" She asks coldly.

Ryker blinks at the question. His mouth twists into a grimace before he replies.

"No! Mom, what the heck?" Ryker replies.

"You came home wearing clothes that didn't fit, and have clearly been crying." She says clinically.

Well Derek did say gross things, but he did say sorry.

Ryker nods slowly. He takes a deep breath before speaking.

"Jamison bought me this yesterday, but it doesn't fit anymore." Ryker explains.

"And why is it that you're growing and changing so much lately?" His mother asks expectantly.

This question makes Ryker wince. He can't deny his friends had a hand in his mysterious supernatural transformation. Ryker clears his throat before explaining himself.

"Well you see we went looking for the witch-" Ryker starts.

"You did WHAT?!" Ryker's mother shouts.

The car swerves a little before she gets it back under control. She grips the steering wheel a little firmer. Ryker shrinks back into his seat.

"W-We found her, but we didn't stay long." Ryker goes on.

Ryker's mom maneuvers the car into the mall parking lot.

"What did you take?" Ryker's mother presses.

"Just a potion!" Ryker puts his small hands up.

Ryker's mother slows the car to a stop, and puts it in park. She takes a deep breath.

"And did anyone drink this... potion?" She asks dryly.

"Well I sort of drank it-" Ryker says.

His mother facepalms. He goes to speak, but his mother beats him to the punch. 

"Why? Why'd you drink it, honey?" Ryker's mom asks in exasperation.

"Derek and Jamison dared me..." Ryker mumbles.

The silence is palpable.

"Seriously?" She asks flatly.

Ryker swallows hard before putting two fingers up.

"They double dog dared me." Ryker says dramatically.