Chapter 13 - changing seasons: part 3

32.
The sun had already fallen when, bidden by a soft knock, Niall opened his door to find Annie in the corridor outside, a gleeful grin on her face.

"What is it?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"We've got something to show you," said the girl, her eyes gleaming as she stepped through his doorway.

"Something to show me," repeated Niall, raising one eyebrow; "and what might that be?"

Instead of answering Annie shot her head back out the door.

"Hurry on up and get in here," she called to somebody Niall couldn't see.

Sitting himself back down on his bed Niall's eyes widened as, moments later, Faye stepped nervously through his door. Dressed in a beautiful fairy costume the girl was wearing a ring of flowers in her long, loose, fiery hair. Her back was adorned with a pair of silken, dark green wings, her body squeezed into a dress that Niall recognised only too well. The same flowing green gown she'd worn the night they'd first met.

No longer flowing round her chubby figure the tight dress seemed to be struggling to hold the well-fed girl in. Tightly hugging her generous chest, her fleshy hips, her wobbly buttocks, and her round tummy Niall found every inch of Faye's newly flabby figure put on display. The dress, though beautiful, did not in the least flatter her. It seemed, rather, to go out of its way to show off every last pound that the girl's out of control appetite had put on her figure.

"So, what do you think?" asked Annie, a gleeful grin on her face as she gestured towards the fiery-haired girl.

Shifting nervously under his gaze Faye's expression lit up as after a few moments Niall looked into her eyes and, with a friendly smile on his face, said:

"It looks great on you."

Breathing a sigh of relief the girl tugged at the fabric stretched across her bulging tummy.

"You don't think it's too tight?" she asked. "It feels like it's gotten a little snug. Are you sure it doesn't make me look..." she hesitated; "well, fat?"

At that Niall and Annie found themselves both looking at eachother.

"Of course it doesn't," said Niall, swiftly. "Wherever did you get a silly idea like that? It's beautiful on you."

"Yeah," Annie was quick to agree, "absolutely stunning."

"Thanks," Faye smiled, letting the overtaxed fabric slip out of her hand.

"Don't mention it," said Niall; "it really does look great on you."

"Yeah," added Annie. "Trust me, there's no need to worry about anything like that."

A smile on her face Faye, seeming to have put the thought behind her, sat herself down beside Niall, her tummy pushing even harder against her dress as she settled on his bed.

"So, what's all this for anyway?" asked Niall, swiftly changing the subject.

"A costume party of course," answered Annie. "Lettie's holding one in a couple of days."

"Really," said Niall, his hands behind his head as he leaned back against his pillows. "Well, I hope you have fun."

"You're going too you know," said Annie, a sardonic smile on her face.

"Am I," said Niall, raising one eyebrow.

"You'll come, won't you?" asked Faye, a hopeful smile on her face.

Looking at the girl Niall let out a sigh.

"Yeah," he said; "I suppose I will."

33.
Niall couldn't help but wish he'd told Faye the truth about her costume. In the days leading up to Lettie's party the strange green gown seemed somehow to have gotten even smaller on the girl. Showing off in painful detail her every tiny roll and bulge the supple fabric looked almost to be painted on her softening body.

It'd taken, as far as Niall could tell, a real struggle even to get the girl into her dress. After a lot of aggressive pulling and tugging, of frustrated groaning and grunting, Faye'd found herself forced to turn to Maggie Kendrick for help. Even then it'd taken a fair bit of work to squeeze all her excess flesh into the tight, hopelessly constricting garment now adorning her swollen figure.

Walking through the Kincaid's crowded salon Faye was seemingly unaware of the fact that her every step caused her soft paunch to visibly jiggle and bounce. Happily ignorant of the way the fabric of her dress cut into her flesh, making it only too obvious how much her frame had softened in the last few months.

Niall could tell that people were looking at the girl, glancing at her out of the corner of their eyes, studying her pudgy paunch and well-padded hips. He had no doubt that they were talking about her, discussing amongst themselves how swiftly the beautiful girl at the bakery had let herself go, how far in denial she must be to dare wear a dress so tight.

Niall knew very well that he should've told Faye how her dress really looked on her. He knew that he should've warned her before she made a fool of herself. But somehow the sight of her body bulging out of it, the thought of all these people talking about how much weight she'd put on, excited him. Some strange part of him wanted to see her burst out of it. To see its seams split, revealing the treasure trove of soft flesh buried beneath.

"Hey," he said, looking at the drowsy girl with the fiery hair; "why don't we take a spin on the dance floor?"

34.
Though far from bad Faye's dancing was no longer what it'd only so recently been. Her movements, though not much less graceful than before, had gotten slower, more sedate. The artful yet intense flurry of sweeps and twirls that'd once left an entire crowd of partygoers spellbound now replaced with something a little more melancholy, a little less physically taxing.

Faye's performance still earned her a fair few appreciative looks, but nothing near what she'd gotten at Lettie's last party. The shining, shapely girl that'd made such an impression then was now just a chubby nobody, her streamlined limbs turned thick and fleshy, her tiny waist covered with a layer of loose flab.

Watching as the girl moved, slowly and sluggishly, across the dance floor, her extra weight throwing her balance off ever so slightly, Annie couldn't help but smile. Squeezed into her snug fairy costume, which showed off every unfortunate inch of her tubby body, the overfed Faye wasn't nearly as stunning as she had been when last she'd set foot in the Kincaid's crowded salon.

Glancing across the crowd Annie, dressed in a dark robe and a tall pointy hat, saw few of the other partygoers paying any special attention to Faye. Those who, having remembered the strange events at Lettie's last party, had looked on in anticipation as the girl took the floor seemed now mostly to have lost interest. Perhaps glancing in her direction from time to time they'd moved on with their evenings, soon forgetting all about the dancing girl. Having scoured the crowd Annie was pleased to find the icy blonde mane of Harry Miller some way away. Busy talking to his friends he took no interest in the tubby, fiery-haired girl out on the dance floor.

"Is it just me," said Lettie; "or has that girl put on some weight?"

Dressed in a rather revealing mermaid costume the golden-haired girl seemed just like Annie to be studying Faye.

"A little maybe," said Annie, her voice as nonchalant as she could make it. "It wouldn't surprise me. You should see the way she's been stuffing her face lately."

"Really," said Lettie; "that's a shame. Still," she grinned; "I guess life at the bakery's finally gotten to her."

Seeming ready to say something more the golden-haired girl threw a glance in the direction of Annie's midriff. Finding it slightly less well-padded than she remembered she held her tongue, saying nothing further.

35.
After only a few minutes on the dance floor Faye had found her legs feeling heavy, her head all woozy. Her heart was pounding in her chest and try as she might she couldn't seem to catch her breath. Strangely tired and not nearly as in shape as she had been a few months ago the ecstasy of dancing was now swiftly replaced with exhaustion. Her eyes drowsy she looked up at her partner.

"Do you want to rest for a bit?" asked Niall.

Responding with a simple nod Faye followed as the tall, wild-haired man, dressed in a white mask and a dark cloak, led her off the dance floor.

Having found an unoccupied spot on the Kincaid's couch Niall sat the red-faced Faye down upon it.

"You just rest here and I'll get you something to munch on," he grinned.

Faye simply nodded, a dazed smile on her face as Niall returned with a bowl of chocolates.

"Thanks," she breathed, plopping a piece into her mouth.

Watching as the girl spent the rest of her evening filling her belly up with candy Niall couldn't help but smile. Though this evening's dance had not been as extraordinary as the one they'd shared some months ago Niall had found it every bit as enchanting. The sight of the once so fit Faye struggling to catch her breath, her face red with exhaustion as she stumbled, constricted by her hopelessly tight dress, through moves that'd once come to her as naturally as the act of drawing a breath, was somehow one of the most wonderful things he'd ever seen.

If that girl kept stuffing her face with chocolates she might soon have to give up on dancing altogether, Niall thought to himself as Faye, in spite of all the noise and bustle around her, drifted slowly off to sleep.