(Finished) Natalie Kim -- (Author) KaleidoscopeKitty

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Author: KaleidoscopeKitty
Timestamp: Aug 29, 2022 at 12:05 AM
Content: This is the last of the stories I have written and actually finished. Think it was written in about 2007 but I don't think I've posted it anywhere in its finished state before, partly because as I recall I think I ended up writing myself into a corner where I didn't really know how to end it and then didn't like where I ended up taking it, a warning it kind of loses plot about three quarters of the way through and I don't think the ending is particularly satisfying but I don't have any intentions of picking it back up so I'm going to call it finished regardless!

Spoiler: Themes/ Content Warning:

Themes: Nappies/ diapers, bedwetting, humiliation & bullying, desperation/ urgency, messing accident,

Natalie lay nervously in bed. Her hand, hidden under the duvet cover, clutched an unused adult nappy. She knew she had to put it on before she went to sleep, or she would wake up in a wet bed, drenched in her own urine, but she was also very aware of her five peers lying in their own beds around her.

Natalie had been a bed wetter for her entire life, and wearing nappies was something she had always dealt with. In fact she had never spent a night out of nappies, and as she had never once awoken to a dry nappy this was certainly a good thing. She didn’t really mind having to wear nappies at night, it was a part of her that, now aged eighteen, she had accepted long ago. She even thought that, were she suddenly to crack her bedwetting problem, she would miss the comfort of them.

However, she had never been quite comfortable enough with her nappies to tell anybody that she needed them. When she had first started going to sleepovers her mother had always rung the mothers of her friends before she stayed over, and her friends’ mothers had always discreetly helped her into her nappy before bedtime and ensured that none of her friends found out. As she had grown older and capable of managing the nappies herself she had always been able to sneak off into the bathroom with her wash bag, the nappy hidden deep inside it, and slip it on under her pyjamas. Nobody had ever found or suspected her nappies.

Nevertheless, it was different now. Natalie was on a trip with her sixth form English class, and she had been unable to sneak off to the bathroom alone. There were six girls to a bedroom, sharing a small bathroom between them. The bathroom consisted of two sinks, two showers and two toilet cubicles. Natalie had taken her nappy to the bathroom with her, but, as is the case with teenage girls, her friends had spent a long time in front of the large bathroom mirror, plucking eye-brows, removing make-up, applying anti-spot creams and, it seemed to Natalie, making sure she was not given the opportunity to slip into a cubicle and change into her nappy without the risk of everybody hearing the loud rustling of the soft plastic. And as comfortable as Natalie was with needing to wear the nappies she was also acutely aware that it was unlikely any of her friends would accept them, would accept her, if they knew of her secret. In fact the thought of anybody finding out filled her with a deep shame she couldn’t explain, as if the part of her that could accept her bedwetting could only do so if it remained entirely private.

And so now Natalie was lying awake, waiting until she was sure her peers fell asleep, so that she could sneak off to the bathroom, nappy in hand, and quickly put it on. She was desperately trying to fight her drooping eyes, she couldn’t fall asleep, not yet, not until she had the nappy on. She knew if she fell asleep she would wet the bed, and surely be found out by morning.

Natalie listened to the breathing of her friends. Someone was softly snoring, and the others seemed to be breathing heavily. They were surely all asleep. Natalie slowly sat up in bed, and glanced around the room. It was dark and she could just make out the shapes of her five friends in their beds, they all lay still and as Natalie crept out of bed slowly she was pleased that none of them moved or otherwise suggested they were awake.

Tiptoeing into the bathroom, Natalie turned on the light and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. The light from the open bathroom door illuminated the bedroom, but none of her friends stirred. Confident that nobody was about to wake and burst in on her she shut the door to one of the cubicles but she was awfully cramped in there, with no room to lie down. Natalie went back into the bathroom, and looked into the bedroom. Everyone was still in bed, soundly sleeping, if she shut the door could she risk putting her nappy on outside of the cubicles? There was no lock on the main bathroom door, but what were the chances of anyone coming in?

Natalie shut the bathroom door, and lay on the floor next to the sinks. She spread her nappy out, pulling her pyjama bottoms down and her pyjama top up slightly. Her heart was pounding as she slid the nappy under her bottom, pulling up the front and quickly taping it up so that it fit snugly. Natalie breathed a sigh of relief as she went back into the bedroom, climbing into bed. She was now safe in her nappy, and none of her friends were any the wiser.

*

Kim leaned over the toilet bowl, and threw up for the third time that morning. She felt awful, her head was throbbing and she was fluctuating between hot flushes and cold shivers. All she wanted was to be at home, in bed, with her Mum bringing her cups of tea and slices of toast. Instead she was in a grotty youth hostel, surrounded by her teachers and peers, all asking her the stupid question “Are you okay?” Wasn’t it obvious that no, she was not okay? Wasn’t it obvious that she felt like shit and couldn’t stop throwing up?

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to make it to the museum today,” Mrs Hughes, Kim’s English teacher, said sadly, “You’re going to have to stay in bed and sleep off this bug. Will you be all right here on your own? If a member of staff stays here we’ll be understaffed at the museum.”

Kim nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. All I want to do is sleep anyway.”

“Okay then, well I’ll give you my mobile phone number, if you need anything or start to feel a lot worse phone me and we’ll come straight back.”

The teacher left, as did everyone else, and Kim was able to get some sleep. She slept for several hours, and when she next awoke it was past noon. Kim had taken some paracetamol and was feeling much better already. She sat up in bed and fished a book out of her suitcase; she stayed reading it for about an hour before she started to get bored.

Putting down her book Kim wondered what she could do to pass the time; her classmates wouldn’t be home for several hours yet. Kim was a bit of a loner, and a naturally nosy person, although personally she preferred the term curious, and there was nothing she liked more than going off on her own and exploring a new place. However, although she was feeling much better than she had felt earlier Kim still felt somewhat unwell, she certainly didn’t think she was yet up to getting properly dressed and exploring the hostel and surrounding area.

Kim looked at the suitcases each of her five roommates had left next to their beds. Kim did not know any of her roommates that well, although they were all in her English class Kim rarely spoke to any of them. She had genuinely come on the trip because she had a love of the English language and the theatre, she didn’t have much time for other girls her age and wasn’t interested in socialising. However, although Kim had little interest in talking to any of her roommates she liked the idea of getting to know them better, and she wondered if any of them had brought along a diary she might be able to busy herself with reading for an hour or so.

Without any consideration for her roommate’s privacy Kim got out of bed, and went over to the suitcase she knew belonged to Sarah. She unzipped it and began to root around inside the large case, careful not to disturb the contents too much and make her nosiness obvious. To her disappointment Kim found nothing of any interest inside it, Sarah had simply packed clothes and make-up, there was no diary in sight. Kim moved on to the next suitcase, Melissa’s, and she smiled when she came across a notebook.

Kim flipped open the notebook to the first page. She was disappointed to see there were only a few lines of curly handwriting inside it,

So I thought I’d write in this notebook instead of taking my whole diary on the trip. Not that I think anyone would stoop so low as to read my diary, but it’s better safe than sorry.

Kim blushed as she read that, and was tempted to put the notebook down and go back to reading her book. However, her curiosity got the better of her and she continued to read it.

I’m sharing a room with Sarah thankfully! Then also with Jo, Natalie and Laura which is cool. But we’re also in with Kim, she hasn’t said two words to us since we got here. She’s really weird, she just sat on her own at dinner time, she didn’t even try and talk to us. Why couldn’t she have been put in someone else’s room? I bet she’ll just complain the whole time that we’re being too loud or childish or something, when I splashed Jo at the sink earlier Natalie and Laura said she gave us a really dirty look. She’s so boring, doesn’t want us to have any fun. I wonder if we could get her to want to change rooms? Mandy said there’s an empty bed in her room. Maybe if we annoy her enough she’ll move.

Feeling somewhat shocked Kim stared at the page of writing her classmate had written. Tears came to her eyes, but she wasn’t going to cry. What did she care if Melissa and her friends thought she was weird, or boring? She wouldn’t want to be like them anyway. Kim shoved the notebook back in Melissa’s suitcase. She supposed if she was going to snoop around reading other people’s private thoughts she had to accept she might read something she didn’t want to know. And now she knew they wanted her out of the room she would make sure she didn’t give in to them.

Kim looked at her watch, it was a quarter to three. She was sure to have at least another hour, perhaps longer, before the others returned from the museum. Plenty of time for her to see if her other roommates had diaries, and to find out what else they really thought of her.

Kim went over to Natalie’s suitcase, the largest of them all. She unzipped it and flung it open. All of Natalie’s clothes were neatly folded, and Kim carefully lifted them out of the suitcase. Kim saw there was a plastic carrier bag in the suitcase, and it seemed to have another small bag of something inside it. Kim pulled the contents out, and audibly gasped when she was realised it was an open package of what looked to be adult nappies. She inspected the package. Tena Slip Active Fit. Surely not. Kim reached her hand into the bag, she felt something soft and plastic and pulled it out. She was surprised to see it was indeed a nappy, it was folded into three and had a smooth plastic shell quite unlike the soft cloth-like nappies she’d seen her baby cousins use, but it was still unmistakably a nappy. Kim counted them, seven. Why did Natalie have nappies with her? Kim searched the suitcase for a diary, which might give an explanation for the nappies, but there wasn’t one. Kim carefully put the contents of Natalie’s suitcase back, and zipped it up.

Sat back on her bed Kim tried to come up with the reason why Natalie should have nappies in her suitcase, and it didn’t take her long to realise that Natalie must be a bedwetter. There weren’t enough for her to be wearing them all of the time but there were just enough for her to wear one a night, plus one spare. As Kim thought of Natalie, and her nappies, she began to hatch a plan. If she took Natalie’s nappies, and hid them, then she bet Natalie would wet the bed. If Kim’s roommates were hatching their own plan to try and drive her out of the room, and Natalie then wet the bed, maybe they would turn their attention away from Kim and onto Natalie. Kim didn’t know what her roommates would do to try and get her to move rooms, but she worried it wouldn’t be pleasant. Melissa and Sarah, especially, were known for their nastiness. Kim smiled to herself, this was the perfect plan, it would get Natalie back for telling Melissa that Kim had been giving her dirty looks, and take any attention away from her.

Kim unzipped Natalie’s suitcase again, this time to take the nappies out, however before she did so she realised that if she took the nappies now then Natalie would know immediately that Kim had taken them. Everyone knew Kim had been left at the hostel on her own, and so it wouldn’t be difficult for Natalie to work out who had had the opportunity to take them. Kim didn’t want to risk being confronted by Natalie. She would have to wait and take them tomorrow.

*

Natalie glanced nervously at Kim. The rest of her roommates were in various other rooms, and Natalie knew this was probably the best opportunity she was going to get to put on her nappy without the risk of others over-hearing. She opened her suitcase and furtively took a nappy from the carrier bag she was hiding them in, she looked up at Kim, who was sipping on hot chocolate with her head in a book and didn’t seem to be paying any attention to Natalie. Natalie wrapped the nappy in her pyjamas, and made her way to the bathroom. She shut the door firmly, and then locked herself in a cubicle. Although putting on a nappy in the small space would be difficult it was preferable to being walked in on by Kim, or one of the others. They were her friends but she also knew that still wetting the bed and wearing nappies at her age was weird and that Melissa and Sarah especially were unlikely to be understanding. This was a secret she couldn’t risk anybody discovering.

After stripping naked inside of the cubicle, Natalie lay the nappy out on the closed toilet seat. She sat on it, and taped the nappy securely with only a small amount of difficulty. She pulled on her underwear and pyjamas over the top and went back into the bedroom. Kim was watching her and Natalie began to feel anxious, could she see the nappy? Was the bulge obvious? The material of her pyjamas was quite thin. Natalie shook the thoughts from her head, she was just being paranoid. She had worn her nappies to many sleepovers and nobody had ever noticed them before.

Quickly Natalie rushed over to her bed and climbed in. Although she was relatively confident in wearing her nappies around her friends when in bed and of and her ability to keep them secret she still didn’t like to risk exposing them by walking around in them. She knew that the crinkle would be audible through her pyjamas if she moved around too much, and that she couldn’t risk the waistband of her nappy being exposed where her pyjama top met the bottoms. The walk from the bathroom to her bed was always enough of a risk for her.

“You’re going to bed early,” Kim mused, and Natalie couldn’t be sure but she seemed to be smirking.

“I’m pretty tired,” Natalie said.

“You don’t want to be out there with the others instead of in here with boring me?”

“What?” Natalie was somewhat confused by Kim’s comment, which seemed out of character. Kim never normally spoke to Natalie. “No, I’m just going to go to sleep now.”

Natalie lay down in bed, and pulled the covers over her head. Natalie knew she wouldn’t sleep yet, Kim had the light on, and she could hear the chatter of her friends and classmates in the next-door rooms through the walls. However, she was too worried about her nappies being exposed to go and join them.

Natalie had lain in bed for about ten minutes before Jo came into the room, “Hey Nat, we were looking for you. You okay? Why are you in bed already?”

“Oh, I just feel kinda sleepy.” Natalie told her friend.

“You can’t go to bed already! Come into Hannah’s bedroom, Dan and the others have got some vodka.”

“I’m pretty tired, I just want to sleep.”

“Don’t be boring, Nat, just come in for ten minutes. Just have a quick drink, what’s the point of coming on a trip with friends just to sleep?”

Natalie supposed Jo was right, and so she somewhat reluctantly followed her into Hannah’s bedroom next-door. The rest of Natalie’s roommates, minus Kim of course, were already in there. The five girls in Hannah’s bedroom, and four boys from Natalie’s English class joined them.

“Sexy pyjamas Natalie!” One of the boys, Adam, joked when she came in. Natalie was wearing navy flannel pyjamas with baby blue and pink sheep jumping over fences printed on them. They were quite childish compared to the pyjamas and nighties some of her friends had brought, and they hung loosely from her small frame, but the last thing Natalie wanted to wear was anything that might accentuate her slim figure, they would only make the bulge of her nappy noticeable. Natalie always bought her pyjamas a size too large.

Smiling, Natalie sat down. Dan handed her a drink, and she sipped it cautiously. She didn’t want to get drunk, she always wet more when she was drunk and had previously had the occasional leak back at home. Plus she didn’t want to become so relaxed that she forgot about her nappy and accidentally exposed it.

The group of teenagers sat laughing, joking and drinking. It wasn’t long before the vodka bottle was empty. “Hey, I know,” said Mandy, “Let’s play spin the bottle.”

The group sat around the bottle in a circle, “I’ll spin it to see who goes first,” Mandy announced. She span the bottle, and it landed pointing at Scott. Scott was in Natalie’s English class, as of course everyone on the trip was, but Natalie didn’t really know him. He was strikingly handsome, and popular amongst the sixth form girls, but, although loud around his male friends, he was quiet and shy around girls.

“Truth, dare or kiss?” Mandy asked, “You have to decide before you spin, and whoever it lands on has to give you the truth, dare or kiss.”

Scott thought for a moment, his face red with embarrassment at being picked first, before saying, “Kiss.”

"If it lands on me you can fuck off mate!” Dan laughed, “No way am I kissing you!”

Scott span the bottle, and was met with whoops, cheers and fake kissing noises when it stopped, pointing proudly towards Natalie. Natalie felt herself turn red as Scott got up from his place and walked towards her. He held out his hand, and when Natalie took it he helped her into a standing position. He tucked her dark hair behind her ears, and leant forward for the kiss. Natalie had expected him to give her a quick peck and then stop, but despite the noise the other people in the room were making he continued to kiss her. He was a wonderful kisser, and Natalie quickly became caught up in the moment, so much so that she didn’t notice his hands on her waist slip, one to her bottom and one under her pyjama shirt, until it was too late. Until she knew he had felt the distinctive plastic at her waistband and the soft padding at her bottom. He pulled his hands away in shock, and Natalie, mortified, turned and ran out of the room.

Natalie got into bed, her face glowing from embarrassment. Was he going to tell everyone he thought she was wearing a nappy? How would she explain this to everyone? Her eyes began to fill with tears.

“Are you okay, Natalie?” Jo asked, coming into the room, “What happened? You two were really going for it!”

“I,” Natalie paused, she didn’t know how to explain this to Jo. She couldn’t tell the truth about why she’d fled, and yet she couldn’t think of a believable lie, “It was just a bit weird, and I’m tired. I need to get some sleep. I don’t feel well. I thought I might be sick. I’ll be fine if I just have some sleep.”

Jo looked concerned, but she seemed to believe Natalie’s excuse and so she left her friend to sleep.

*

Kim gulped down her cereal. She knew she was going to have to be quick if she wanted to hide Natalie’s nappies. All of her roommates, Natalie included, were in the dining hall, and so this was her chance to be in the room alone and hide them. And then she would make sure not to be left in the room alone again, that way Natalie would be far less likely to suspect that it was she who had taken the nappies.

Her heart racing, Kim shut the bedroom door firmly, and placed a suitcase in front of it. It wouldn’t stop anybody from entering, but it might slow them down and give Kim more time to cover up what she was doing. Kim unzipped Natalie’s suitcase and pulled out the plastic bag, quickly zipping the suitcase back up. Kim counted the nappies, six. She smiled as she thought of Natalie wearing one last night, sneaking into the bathroom to put it on. She had tried to be discreet, of course, but Kim had been watching her over the top of her book, she’d seen her sneak the nappy out of her suitcase. And Natalie’s posterior had definitely appeared larger when she’d left the bathroom. And then that morning Kim had peered into the bin in the bathroom, and hidden under a large wad of toilet paper was a used nappy balled up and discarded deep inside it. Kim was confident that without nappies Natalie would soak her bed.

Now Kim was faced with the problem of where to hide the nappies. She couldn’t hide them in her own suitcase, what if Natalie searched for them and found them in there? Or what if someone else found them and assumed they were hers? She would have to hide them somewhere where, if found, they could not be traced back to herself. Kim went into the bathroom, there was a row of cupboards under the sinks, could she hide them in there? She opened the cupboard door, and peered inside. She smiled when she saw that where the pipe from the sink went through the wooden board at the top of the cupboard there was a large hole leading to a cavity. Kim stuffed the nappies into it. Perfect, if someone was to open the cupboard then at first glance they would not notice the nappies, Natalie would not find them there.

Satisfied that the nappies were well hidden, and thus her plan well underway, Kim made her way back to the dining hall with a smile on her face.

*

It was later in the evening and Natalie was close to tears, where were her nappies? She’d just opened her suitcase, and they were gone. She knew they had been there that morning, so where were they now? Someone must have taken them, but who, and why? No-one knew they were there. Natalie was panicking; she couldn’t go to sleep without her nappies, she would wet the bed. How would she hide that from everyone? Why would somebody take her nappies? How did they know they were there.

“Are you okay, Natalie?” Jo asked, “You look like you’re about to cry.”

“I’m fine,” Natalie lied. She opened her suitcase for the third time, upturning the contents to check the nappies weren’t there, even though she knew her efforts were futile. She had looked twice already, and it wasn’t like the package of nappies was small. Natalie checked under her bed, just to make sure she hadn’t left them out of her suitcase by mistake, but of course they weren’t there.

“Have you lost something?” Kim asked, “We could help you look.”

“No!” Natalie replied quickly, the last thing she wanted was to realise she’d somehow left the nappies somewhere else in the room and for her friends to then find them. “I haven’t lost anything, don’t worry.”

Natalie went into the bathroom, she checked the two toilet cubicles even though she was sure she hadn’t left the nappies there, she hadn’t even brought them into the bathroom. She hadn’t taken them out of her suitcase. And no-one knew she wore nappies.

Suddenly Natalie remembered Scott. He had felt her nappy last night. When he hadn’t mentioned it, to Natalie or anyone else, Natalie had stupidly assumed that he hadn’t noticed. But he had noticed, she knew he must have, and now he’d snuck into her room and hidden her nappies. It had to have been him.

Natalie knew she would have to confront Scott. The thought made her cringe, but her only other option was to sleep without a nappy and wet the bed. Either way she would lose. If she wet the bed her roommates would see and soon everyone would know, and Scott would surely tell everyone. If she confronted Scott he would still be sure to tell everyone, but at least if she got her nappies back she wouldn’t have the humiliation of her roommates seeing her in soaked pyjamas.

Trembling Natalie left her room to find Scott. He wasn’t in his own room, nor was he in the other bedrooms. Natalie made her way downstairs where there was a lounge with a pool table and TV. Scott was in there, scribbling furiously in a notebook. Natalie stood in the doorway, Adam and his friend, Simon, were playing pool and Natalie didn’t want to confront Scott in front of an audience. She was about to turn around and go back upstairs; she couldn’t confront Scott, it would be too embarrassing, but Scott looked up and caught her eye.

“Natalie,” he said, standing up, “I wanted to talk to you. Shall we go outside? Have a bit of privacy.”

Did he know what she was going to say? Natalie followed him outside, anger rising inside her.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry about yesterday, I know I took things too far. It was just a game and I over-stepped, that was wrong of me, I shouldn’t have taken it so far straight away. I’m sorry. It’s just, I do like you,” he reached for her hand, but Natalie pulled it away quickly.

“Get off me!” she snapped angrily, “Stop pretending to be so fucking nice. Why are you trying to fuck with my head. I’m not stupid, I know you’ve got this little plan to humiliate me, did you think I wouldn’t notice? That I wouldn’t know it was you? If you wanted to…

“Natalie, stop,” Scott took hold of Natalie’s shoulders to silence her, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Natalie was in tears now, “Stop playing your stupid games, you’re the only one who knows.”

“Knows what?” Scott looked genuinely confused. Natalie wondered if he took drama class, because he was certainly good at acting.

“That I, that, about,” Natalie stammered, “that I wear, that…”

Scott placed his hand on Natalie’s shoulder, “You mean about,” he paused, as embarrassed as Natalie was, “I’m sorry if I seemed shocked yesterday, it’s just, I didn’t know you were, y’know, incontinent.” Scott was clearly uncomfortable talking about it. “It doesn’t bother me, I just didn’t expect it, but it’s okay. Were you in a car accident or something?”

“Shut up, please.” Natalie’s head was swimming, she felt so angry and upset and confused, and none of this conversation was making sense to her. “I just want my nappies back, please.” She said in a small, barely audible, voice.

“What?” Scott asked, “I don’t have them.”

“I don’t care if you tell everyone I wet the bed, I don’t care, but just give them back. I need them.” Natalie cried.

“Natalie, I honestly don’t have them. I swear I don’t, on my little sister’s life. Why would I take them? Why would you think I’d take them?”

“Because it had to be you, no-one else knows.”

Scott wrapped his arms around Natalie, she tried to pull away but he held her close in a hug and, feeling defeated, she let him hold her. “Natalie, I’m feeling really confused right now, I don’t really know what’s going on or what you’re talking about, but I can see you’re upset, and I can see you blame me, but honestly, I haven’t taken anything of yours, and I haven’t done anything to try and upset you. But if you just calm down you can explain to me what’s happened, and I will try and help you.”

Natalie waited a few moments, trying to regain some composure, and when her sobs had largely subsided she spoke again, avoiding Scott’s eyes, “You took my nappies. I know it was you because no one knows I wet the bed, no one else knows I wear nappies to bed. You found out last night, and today my nappies have mysteriously disappeared. It had to be you.”

“But it really wasn’t,” Scott told Natalie, “I promise it wasn’t, I swear on the lives of my entire family. Why would I do that to you? I’ve got no reason to hurt you. It was someone else, I don’t know who, or why they’d take them, but someone else must have noticed. Honestly, Natalie. Look at me in the eyes, look at me,” Through the blur of her tears Natalie looked up at Scott, “I promise you, it was not me. I don’t know what more I can say to make you believe me.”

“But if it wasn’t you who was it?”

Scott shrugged, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell one of the teachers, they could get them back for you?”

“How can they get them back without everyone finding out?”

Scott frowned, “I dunno, maybe they could just say something of yours has gone missing, and that if it isn’t returned within a couple of hours we’ll all get detention or something.”

“People will still ask me what I’ve lost. And what if they give them back in front of everyone? Or what if they don’t give them back and everyone gets in trouble because of me.”

“Well are you sure they’re lost? Maybe you just need to check your stuff again.”

Natalie nodded, “Maybe.” She knew the nappies weren’t in her suitcase, but she wanted this conversation with Scott to be over. If he hadn’t taken them, then someone else must have. But who would have taken them, who would have gotten the chance? The group of students and their teachers had left the youth hostel straight after breakfast, and had only returned an hour ago. And Natalie and her roommates had all gone straight up to their room; who had had the chance to sneak her nappies out of her suitcase? And how had they even known they were there anyway?

When Natalie returned to her room she knew that if she went to sleep now, without her nappies, she would be sure to wake up wet. She only had one option, she was going to have to stay awake all night. She would be exhausted tomorrow, but she didn’t know what else she could do.

*

Kim woke up early, excitement flowing through her. She looked over at Natalie lying in bed, and presumed she was still asleep. Kim smiled as she thought of the wet bed she would ensure was exposed. She sat up in bed, the curtains pulled across the windows were thin and light was streaming in to the room. There was enough light to read by, and so Kim sat up in bed and found a book in her suitcase. She flipped it open and started to read, confident in the knowledge that Natalie would soon wake up, wet of course, and have no way in which to hide it. Kim grinned as she imagined Natalie waking up, horrified that she’d wet the bed amongst her friends. She imagined Natalie looking around the room, desperately hoping all of her friends were asleep so that she could sneak into the bathroom to shower and change her pyjamas. And she imagined Natalie spotting Kim, wide awake. What would she do then? Kim knew Natalie would be over-powered with fear and humiliation, how would she get out of bed without Kim noticing she’d wet it?

Excitement coursing through her, Kim was almost tingling with anticipation, she couldn’t wait for Natalie to be humiliated in front of everyone. And for the attention to be taken off herself, she knew that her roommates, Melissa and Sarah especially, were doing their best to aggravate her. They’d spent all of the night before making silly little comments about her, sarcastic comments about the book she was reading, saying they liked her jeans and that they wished they had hair the colour of hers in their catty, sarcastic manner. Kim knew they were trying to drive her out of the room, and she knew they were being careful not to say anything that they couldn’t insist was meant innocently if Kim complained. Kim knew they were trying to wind her up, but she wasn’t going to let them get to her. Soon all of their attention would be focused on Natalie, and she was almost certain they were not about to accept an eighteen-year-old bedwetter.

Kim had been reading for about forty-five minutes when she saw Natalie begin to stir. Kim couldn’t stop herself from grinning, she watched over the top of her book as Natalie turned over in bed, her eyes open, so that she was facing Kim. Kim was disappointed when Natalie’s face didn’t drop when she saw Kim awake, but she knew Natalie must be feeling nervous about her wet bed.

As Kim had expected Natalie didn’t get out of bed, she was obviously too embarrassed. Kim began to feel more and more excited at the prospect of revealing Natalie’s secret as one by one the rest of her roommates began to wake up. Now it was only a matter of time before Natalie would have to get up, and thus tell her roommates her embarrassing secret.

Laura sighed loudly, “I guess it’s time to get up, breakfast’s in ten minutes, and Mrs Radcliffe said we have to leave at nine o’clock sharp today.”

Melissa groaned, “Yeah, I know, where’s her holiday spirit? Can’t even let us have a lie-in. We may as well be at school.”

Everyone agreed, but one by one they began to get out of bed. How much longer could Natalie stay in bed, Kim wondered. Natalie sat up in bed, and threw the duvet off herself, standing up. To Kim’s complete and utter disappointment her pyjamas were dry, Natalie hadn’t wet the bed. Kim studied Natalie’s face, there were dark rims under her eyes, she looked exhausted. Could she have stayed awake all night in order to avoid wetting the bed?

Kim dressed slowly, ensuring the rest of her roommates left the room before she did. She went over to Natalie’s bed and flung back the duvet, feeling the sheets with her hand. They were dry. Kim went into the bathroom, opening the cupboard she’d hidden the nappies in. She pulled them out of her hiding place and counted them. Six, they were all still there. Natalie hadn’t found them, and she hadn’t wet the bed. Perhaps she had stayed awake all night. Kim smiled, she knew no-one could keep themselves awake every night, sooner or later Natalie would fall asleep, and when she did Kim was convinced she would wet the bed. All she had to do was wait.

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Author: KaleidoscopeKitty
Timestamp: Aug 29, 2022 at 12:14 AM
Content: Natalie lay awake in bed, fighting to keep her eyes open. She hadn’t slept at all the night before, lying awake so that she didn’t wet the bed. Natalie was glad there wasn’t going to be a test at the end of this English trip because she had been half asleep all day, unable to concentrate on anything. Natalie knew she couldn’t stay awake forever, she might be able to stay awake for another night, but she didn’t know how she would manage after that. She was going to have to get her nappies back, somehow.

Natalie jerked awake, had she been asleep? She sat up in bed, something didn’t feel right. It took her several moments to realise what was wrong, holding her breath and praying she was wrong Natalie felt the area around her bottom. Her pyjamas, sheets and mattress were soaked. What was she going to do? She didn’t even have a spare pair of pyjamas with her. Natalie’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness in the room, she could make out the shapes of her friends, all lying in bed. At least whilst they were asleep she might have some chance of hiding her accident.

Quietly, Natalie rose out of bed, her wet pyjamas clinging to her legs. Natalie was not used to waking up wet, her nappies always kept her bedclothes dry, and she had no idea how she could go about hiding this from her friends. She tiptoed into the bathroom, slowly shutting the door behind her before switching on the fluorescent light. Natalie stripped her wet pyjamas off, and stepped into the shower. Keeping the water pressure turned down low, so as not to make too much noise and wake her friends, she washed herself all over, the water mixing with her tears. Natalie had left her towel hanging in the bathroom to dry after her shower earlier that evening, and on stepping out of the shower she wrapped it around herself.

Stood in just her towel Natalie filled a sink with warm water and stuffed her pyjamas into it, and using a bar of soap began to scrub them.

*

Kim waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and looked over at Natalie’s bed. It was empty. She smiled when she noticed the chink of light coming from under the bathroom door, and she got out of bed. She went over to Natalie’s bed, and pulled back the duvet cover. It was too dark for her to tell if there was a wet patch, so she gingerly placed a hand on the sheets – yes, they were definitely damp!

Kim threw the duvet cover back over the damp patch and walked over to the bathroom door, slowly pushing it open. Natalie, stood at the sink and wrapped in just a towel, jumped and turned to face Kim, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Kim pretended to look surprised, “Hey, what are you doing up at this time? What’s wrong?” Kim looked at the wet balled up pyjamas in Natalie’s hands, “Why are you washing your pyjamas?” Kim tried to sound innocent.

“I,I, I was,” Natalie stuttered, failing to come up with an adequate explanation.

“You didn’t wet the bed, did you?”

“What? No! I just, I was just, I…” Natalie trailed off, her words becoming loud sobs.

“Hey, don’t worry, don’t cry,” Kim comforted, awkwardly putting an arm around Natalie’s shoulder as she began to formulate a plan in her mind, “I won’t tell anybody. Does this happen to you a lot?”

Natalie shook her head no, “Not since I was tiny.”

“Well then no-one else needs to find out, I bet it was just a one off,” said Kim to Natalie, not letting on that she knew Natalie was lying, and furthermore couldn’t wait to disclose her secret, “I’ll help you hide it, just put your towel over the wet patch on your bed and you’ll be able to go back to sleep. Hang your pyjamas in the shower by the air vent and they’ll be dry by the morning. I always wake up early so I can make sure I’m first in the shower so that no-one else sees them.”

Natalie smiled, wiping her tears away, “Thanks Kim.”

“That’s okay, it’s not really a big deal. And if it happens again we can just do the same thing.” Kim ushered Natalie back to the bedroom, watching her lay out a towel over the large wet spot on her bed. As she got back into her own dry bed she smiled, now Natalie thought she had Kim on her side perhaps she wouldn’t be so cautious about hiding her bedwetting, thus giving Kim the perfect opportunity to expose her.

*

The next morning Kim had stayed true to her word, Natalie’s pyjamas had been barely damp by morning and Kim had retrieved them from the shower, returning them to Natalie, before anybody else had even awoken. But now night had come back around, and Natalie once again lay awake, and despite the discomfort of lying on the still damp, and now smelly, patch where she had wet the night before Natalie was battling to fight sleep. She felt somewhat more confident knowing she had Kim’s support, sure, Kim thought it had been a one off, but if she had helped her once she would surely help Natalie again. Feeling considerably more relaxed about the entire situation it wasn’t long before Natalie’s eyelashes began to flutter, and she stopped fighting sleep.

*

Natalie awoke slowly, a knot of anxiety already twisting in her stomach, and she fought to recall why. As soon as Natalie shifted her weight she was hit by her problem, as once again she felt the unfamiliar cold wetness of her sheets and pyjamas spread across her legs and back. Outside the day was just breaking, and a soft light crept through the curtains of the room so that Natalie could make out the shapes of her roommates still sleeping softly in their beds. Perhaps she could make it to the bathroom without waking any of them. But then what? It was early morning now, she would not be able to get her pyjamas dry before the others woke up. And her bed was soaked, now suffering two wet nights in a row.

Natalie reached for her phone to look at the time, 6:48am. It was even later in the morning than she had expected, and all Natalie could think to do was quickly strip out of her pyjamas, and leave them stuffed under the duvet, now the only thing hiding Natalie’s secret from everyone. Natalie, now naked, dashed to the bathroom, glad she’d chosen the bed closest to it, and began to shower.

*

Kim felt her phone vibrate under her pillow, the silent alarm warning her that is was 7am. She glanced over at Natalie’s bed, and was disappointed to see that she was already up. Kim had been planning on waking up first, and loudly complaining that the room smelt strongly of pee. Then, once the other girls were awake, she would pull Natalie’s duvet from over her, and expose her in front of her friends. However, by waking up first Natalie had ruined her plan. Kim could hear the hiss of the shower in the bathroom, she got out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom. She stopped at Natalie’s bed, and pulled up the duvet. The waft of urine hit her nose before she saw the visibly wet bed and discarded pyjamas, Kim smiled, Natalie had wet again.

Inside the bathroom Kim stood at the sink, drawing out her early morning routine to ensure that she would still be in the bathroom when Natalie emerged from the shower. The beating of the water on the tiled floor stopped, and a short while later Natalie, with a towel wrapped around her, came out from the shower. Kim could see that she’d been crying, but rather than make her feel in any way guilty the sight merely excited Kim more as she imagined the humiliation she could unleash on Natalie at any given moment.

“Are you okay?” Kim asked, feigning sympathy, “You didn’t wet the bed again, did you?”

“What? No. I told you that was just a one off. I’m fine.” Natalie was not a good liar, her embarrassment giving her away instantly. However, Kim did not want to cause suspicion, and so she nodded as if she bought what Natalie was saying, and returned to her hairbrush, pulling it through her hair until Natalie left the bathroom.

Once Natalie had left the bathroom Kim pulled open the door to the cupboard where she had hidden the nappies, she reached her hand into the cavity, and was pleased to feel they were still there. Perhaps she hadn’t managed to awaken before Natalie today, but there were still two more nights left of this trip.

*

Once dressed Natalie was keen to leave the bedroom as soon as possible, her other roommates were beginning to awaken and she was aware there was a slight smell of urine hanging in the air. She didn’t want to be in the room if it was mentioned, as she knew her flushed cheeks would be sure to give her away.

Natalie made her may downstairs to the breakfast hall, and as it was not yet 7:30am she was surprised that a handful of students were already seated and tucking into breakfast. Natalie made her way to the counter, where she stood deliberating between the healthy option of fruit salad, or nostalgic option of coco pops. Natalie jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she spun around to see Scott standing behind her.

“Hey, how you doing?” Scott asked, “Have you been avoiding me?”

Natalie didn’t answer, she had indeed spent the last two days avoiding him. She was aware that he had tried to speak to her on several occasions, but every time she had seen him try to make eye contact she had looked away, and every time he had tried to approach her she had walked away from him. She didn’t need the additional embarrassment of a boy, and a good-looking, popular boy at that, knowing her deepest secret.

“Are you okay? You haven’t looked okay these last few days. Did you find the, y’know, nappies?”

Natalie flushed red, glancing around to make sure nobody had heard Scott. Everybody still seemed to be concentrating on their breakfast. She shook her head, her eyes now glued to the floor.

“Let’s go talk somewhere else,” Scott said, taking Natalie by the arm and guiding her away from the breakfast counter, “It’s still early, breakfast can wait a bit.”

Natalie allowed Scott to lead her out of the breakfast hall, and into the lounge. At this early hour it was empty, and Scott sat down on the large sofa, gesturing for Natalie to sit beside him.

“I’m worried about you, Nat.” Scott began, “I know we don’t really know each other, but as I said I’ve liked you a while, I’ve noticed what you’re like in class and stuff. And these last few days I’ve been watching you, and you seem different, quiet and withdrawn and unhappy…”

“Yeah, well maybe there’s a reason for that.” Natalie interrupted Scott sharply, “A reason you, and only you, know about.”

Scott frowned, “Natalie, I told you, I promised you in fact, that I didn’t take anything of yours. If you let me I can help you though. My Mum has M.S. and she has bladder problems, I know it’s embarrassing for you, but I’m used to it, I don’t care about it and I just want to help you, okay?”

Natalie nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt that she’d been pushing him away, even suspecting that he had taken her nappies, when his Mum was ill and he seemed genuine in saying that it wasn’t a big deal to him.

“Okay, so let me get things straight first. You wet the bed, so you wear nappies at night, right?”

All Natalie could do was nod, embarrassment covering her like a thick blanket.

“You don’t need to be so embarrassed, I told you I just want to help you, not upset you. So, these nappies have gone missing, and you don’t know who took them, right?”

Natalie nodded again.

“Did anyone know about them, before they went missing?”

“Only you,” Natalie said, “I’ve never told anyone. Maybe someone saw when we were playing spin the bottle though, I knew I shouldn’t have joined in.”

“Don’t be silly, you don’t have to miss out on stuff because of a medical problem. So, has anything happened since? Has anyone said anything?”

Natalie shook her head, “No, no-one”

“So the nappies have gone missing, but no-one’s said or done anything? And you’re sure you didn’t leave them anywhere?”

“I never took them anywhere to leave them, and I’ve looked everywhere in my room anyway.”

“And I guess you’ve still been wetting the bed since they went missing?”

Natalie had begun to relax a little as she talked to Scott about the situation, but now a wave of embarrassment flowed back over her at the mention of the bed wetting, and her mind went back to the last two mornings she’d woken up to a soaked bed and pyjamas. All she could do was nod as she avoided looking at Scott.

“Have you told one of the teachers or anything?”

Natalie shook her head.

“So have you been able to get hold of clean sheets and stuff?”

Natalie shook her head again.

“So what have you been doing?”

Natalie gave a small shrug, “Nothing,” she looked at the floor as colour crept into her face, “Just hiding it.”

Scott frowned, “Well you can’t do that for another two nights, has anyone in your room noticed?”

Natalie nodded, “Yeah, Kim. I don’t really know her, but she was nice about it. No-one else knows.”

“Okay, well go and have breakfast, and meet me back here in,” Scott paused to look at his watch, “about 45 minutes, okay? I’m gonna try and get some stuff to help you.”

*

45 minutes later Natalie stood awkwardly waiting for Scott. She wasn’t sure what he was planning and whilst part of her wanted to trust him she also couldn’t shake the fear that, if it had been he who took the nappies. this could be the moment he unveiled a great plan to humiliate her. Natalie’s nerves built as she waited but after a couple of minutes he appeared, a wide grin on his face. “Okay, I’ve spoken to the staff here, I’ve sorted out some stuff. Do you think there’ll be anyone in your room right now?”

“I don’t know, they’re probably having breakfast.” Natalie replied, a trace of nerves in her voice.

“Well we’ll go up to your room via the dining hall, just check everyone’s in there.”

Scott started leading the way, and Natalie, still not really sure what was going on, followed. On confirming that all of her roommates were indeed still sitting in the breakfast hall the pair continued to Natalie’s room. Before they reached Natalie’s room Scott stopped at a narrow door, and pulled it open to reveal an airing cupboard laden with clean, folded sheets. Scott took one out of the cupboard and passed it to Natalie, before he reached to the top shelf and pulled out a noisy plastic sheet.

“Do you think your duvet cover needs changing?”

Natalie felt the heat rise to her cheeks, and nodded solemnly. She had wet a lot, and indeed her duvet cover had suffered along with her sheets.

Scott added a duvet cover to their hoard before continuing to Natalie’s room. “I spoke to someone on reception,” he told Natalie, “I didn’t mention you, but I told her I was worried because occasionally I wet the bed, and I didn’t want to ruin the mattress. She told me each floor has airing cupboards where fresh laundry is kept, and that if need be I may help myself to clean sheets and a waterproof mattress cover in them. She said if that laundry is collected each morning from the beds as people leave the hostel anyway, and that I can just add any laundry I need changing to the trolley of sheets to be washed. We’ll go have a look for it in a bit.”

By now they were in Natalie’s room, and Natalie was mortified as Scott whipped the duvet from her bed, revealing the wet patch in all of it’s glory. Natalie tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t stop herself from beginning to sob, the shame washing over her.

Scott turned to Natalie, his eyes full of concern. “Hey, don’t cry.” He came towards her and wrapped her in a hug, “I told you, my mum has continence issues. I’ve changed her bed more times than you’d believe. Stop being so embarrassed, it’s not a big deal, okay?”

Natalie nodded, although the tears had far from subsided. She watched as Scott stripped the wet sheet from the bed, then in an expert move he flipped the mattress over to reveal the dry side. He folded the waterproof sheet over the bed, before smoothing the clean cotton sheet over the top. He slipped the duvet cover from the duvet, and, finally showing a weakness in his bed making skills, began wrestling with the clean duvet cover in his attempt to slide it onto the duvet.

Natalie couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she reached over to help him. When the bed was made Scott moved to Natalie, once again enveloping her in a hug. “There, all clean. And if it happens again tonight, you’ll know what to do tomorrow morning, okay?”

Natalie nodded.

“Okay, well I’m going to go and find the laundry trolley for you, just so you don’t get caught with the sheets or anything. I don’t think they’ll wash your pyjamas though, maybe go and wash them in your sink or something, yeah? You can probably dry them in the airing cupboard, just hang them off a shelf or something.”

“Okay, thank you Scott.” Natalie smiled.

“No problem, anytime.” Scott gave Natalie a peck on the forehead, before scooping up her soiled sheets and bounding out of the room.

Natalie stood dazed and confused for a moment; she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. Why was he so nice? Still feeling somewhat bewildered she picked up her wet pyjamas from the floor where they had fallen as Scott made the bed and made her way to the bathroom to try to wash them.

*

Kim reached for her phone to check the time again, 06:34. She had only been lying awake for half an hour, and already the morning was moving forward so slowly. She smiled though as she began to imagine the events that were to follow. As the sun rose light was beginning to stream in through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room that was slowly illuminating the shapes of her five roommates. Someone was snoring softly, and if she didn’t already have a far juicier secret to disclose Kim wondered if she could have humiliated the culprit. She looked over at Natalie’s bed and determined that she was still fast asleep.

Sighing, Kim let her mind wander whilst she waited, drifting back to the events of the day before. Knowing Natalie’s secret had given Kim a newfound confidence around the girls she was sharing a room with, she enjoyed knowing something they didn’t and the sense of power it gave her. She could, and would, expose Natalie’s secret. And then they would have somebody else to focus their attention on. Sarah and Melissa had continued making snide comments and teasing her, and Kim’s book had gone missing in the morning only to mysteriously appear under her pillow later that evening. Of course everyone had denied taking it, but Kim wasn’t stupid, and where four days ago she might have just sat quietly and ignored them now that, in her mind at least, she was one-up on them she was using her wit and intelligence, a character trait she didn’t deem any of her roommates to possess, to make equally cutting comments back at them.

Of course they still had the advantage in numbers. There were five of them, if you included Natalie, which Kim did. Natalie might have tried to defend Kim on a few of the occasions in which the others had been talking about her, and had stayed out of the others, but Kim was under no illusions that this was for any reason other than personal gain. Kim knew Natalie’s secret, and that made her powerful in Natalie’s eyes. However, in the eyes of the others she was still nothing, but when Natalie woke up Kim would expose her, and reveal how cunning she had been in hiding the nappies in the first place, and then the others would realise that actually they had been trying to drive the wrong girl out of their room.

As Kim continued to imagine the results of her plan her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Natalie begin to stir, and she smiled with anticipation. She enthusiastically began to feign her own waking up, moving so that she was sat up in bed. She reached for her book and opened it, pretending to read whilst keeping her eyes on Natalie. Natalie rolled over, and Kim was thrilled to catch a look of both dread and embarrassment wash over her face as she must have felt her pyjamas clinging wetly to her legs. Natalie quickly turned over again so that she was facing the wall, and Kim wondered whether she was imaging the soft sobbing and sporadic shakes coming from Natalie’s form under the duvet.

Kim didn’t have to wait much longer before the shrill alarms of her roommates told them that it was 7am, and thus time to begin the ordeal involved in leaving their warm dreamlike cocoons and entering the world of the awake. One by one all of the girls, apart from Natalie, left their beds and began their morning rituals under the shower and in front of the mirror.

She’s just waiting until we all go down to breakfast, thought Kim. However, this was not part of Kim’s plan. She moved to the bed where Natalie was still asleep, or rather pretending to sleep. “Natalie, time to wake up,” her sing-song manner shrilled as she shook Natalie a little too vigorously.

Natalie didn’t react, obviously pretending to still be asleep.

“Come on Natalie, wake up! You’ll miss breakfast.” There was an edge of malice in her voice, and she spoke loudly to ensure she had the attention of everybody in the room. They were watching her curiously; it was not like Kim to get involved with her classmates and was quite out of character for her to initiate contact with anybody. Why would she care if Natalie overslept and missed breakfast?

Without warning Kim whipped the duvet from Natalie’s bed. At this Natalie sprung into action, automatically rising in an attempt to grab the duvet from Kim, but she was not quick enough and Kim was already halfway across the room with it. Natalie was in full-view to the room, or rather the large wet spot on her sheets and her soaked pyjamas, which held everybody’s gaze, were. Time seemed to slow down, and as the room was held in a bubble of temporary silence Kim could feel the adrenalin coursing through her veins, she was almost shaking with excitement.

“Oh my God!? You’ve wet the bed!” The silence was broken my Sarah’s shrieks, “Jeez, Natalie that’s gross. The room, like, totally stinks of pee. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Natalie, who until that moment had sat frozen in the silence, leapt from her bed and ran into the bathroom. Kim smiled, perfect. She left the squeals of the others behind in the bedroom and followed Natalie, she could hear her loud sobs coming from a locked shower cubicle. Kim toyed with her options briefly; she could pretend that she hadn’t meant to expose Natalie and play the innocent. No, the energized chatter of her other roommates told her to do otherwise. She didn’t need Natalie’s respect. Their respect, on the other hand, would be worth something.

*

Natalie was shaking, unable to control the long racking sobs from escaping her. Her heart was thudding in her chest, and underneath the sobs her breathing heavy. She felt like she was in a dream, a nightmare even. She wished she was and yet this was real, there was no escaping it. Why had this had to happen? Why had Kim had to pull the duvet from her? She was only trying to be helpful, but why now? Of course Natalie knew it was her fault really, if she wasn’t such a stupid bed wetter then this wouldn’t have happened. If she was like every other eighteen-year-old in the world then she wouldn’t have deserved this, but she was nothing but a bedwetter, she had no right to have friends or think she could go on school trips like everybody else. What had she been thinking?

“Why are you crying Natalie?” Kim asked loudly, interrupting Natalie’s thoughts. Natalie was sobbing too much to detect the sarcasm cruelly written all over Kim’s voice. “Did you forget to wear your nappies?” Kim teased, and Natalie jumped as two nappies rained down on her, having been thrown over the door of the shower cubicle. Natalie couldn’t stop her sobs from escalating. Had Kim had her nappies all along? Had she planned all of this?

“Oh my god!” Natalie heard a shriek from one of the other girls, “Are those nappies?”

“Where did you get them from, Kim? Were they Natalie’s all along?” Natalie could recognise this voice as Jo, a girl who up until that moment Natalie would have regarded as a close friend.

The girls quickly accumulated in the small bathroom, and as they realised that Natalie’s wet bed had not been a one-off, but rather was a nightly occurrence she had to control with nappies the girls reacted in the manner Natalie had always known her peers would. Titillated at their new found information they began to throw their insults over the shower door to Natalie; she was a freak, a baby, a weirdo, disgusting, gross, sick, dirty, filthy, revolting, lazy. The insults continued, and Natalie stayed silent just allowing them to wash over her until the people she’d thought were friends decided they were bored of insulting the door of the shower cubicle and returned to the bedroom.

Natalie’s sobs began to subside, enough that she once more became aware of her senses. From her place in the shower she could hear the broken fragments of conversation as her friends, or she supposed former friends, gushed over the explanation Kim was now relishing in sharing with them. As she listened to her roommates, who were still ignoring the fact that Natalie was still curled up and crying on the wet shower floor, Natalie’s sobs became a violent yet silent gulping. It wasn’t the delight Kim clearly took in relating her plan to the girls that Natalie was finding so difficult to hear; now she listened to the story of how Kim had hidden the nappies and then offered a hand to Natalie when she discovered her secret it made sense. How had she been so stupid as to trust her? Why hadn’t she suspected that Kim had taken her nappies? But no, that didn’t really matter to Natalie now. It didn’t even matter to her that her friends were all just a few metres from the place where she was clearly in great distress, and yet nobody was coming to speak to her or comfort her. She had expected to lose friends were anyone to ever find out about her bedwetting. That was why she had kept it a secret for so many years. What did matter to Natalie was that all of her friends seemed to be enjoying Kim’s story, in fact it sounded like they were praising her for it. Before this event none of them had been able to stand Kim, and now from what Natalie could hear they thought she was some sort of genius. Did none of them care that she was in here bawling her eyes out?

Natalie sighed through her tears, she knew the answer to her own question. Soon everybody would know her secret, and there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was to try and avoid having to face anybody for as long as possible. And in the meantime she could make use of the shower she was cowering in, and so she dejectedly stripped out of the wet pyjamas that still clung under her skin, switching on the shower and adjusting both the water pressure and heat until it delivered a satisfying sting.

When Natalie turned the water off she was met with silence; nobody was talking in the bedroom, no doubt they had all rushed downstairs to share the revelation with the rest of her classmates. Natalie stepped out of the shower, she didn’t even have her towel and she gingerly poked her head around the door of the bathroom. As she’d suspected the bedroom was empty, so she was able to dart to her bed to retrieve and wrap herself in her towel without adding the embarrassment of being seen naked to the morning’s humiliating events.

Whilst Natalie was dressing herself there was a knock at the door. She supposed her secret had been spread and that the first wave of teasing was about to begin. Natalie ignored the knock, hurriedly pulling a T-shirt over her bra so that she was decent. The door opened despite Natalie’s disregard to the knock, and Melissa appeared in the doorway.

“Hey Nat,” Melissa said softly, “I came to see if you were okay?”

Natalie didn’t speak. She would have thought though that it was clear that she most definitely was not okay, her eyes still red-rimmed from her earlier sobbing. Sobbing that was the result not only of Kim’s cruel trick, but also of the perhaps crueller reaction of her friends.

Melissa moved over to Natalie and put a hand on her shoulder, “Look, we’re all sorry about earlier. Y’know, for laughing and not sticking up for you and everything. We’ve all agreed not to tell anybody, we spoke to Kim, and said we thought what she did was out of order and she’s agreed to keep your secret. It’s not your fault you’re a bedwetter, right?”

Natalie nodded.

“Well then, can’t we just forget about it? Come down for breakfast, okay?”

Natalie sighed, feeling completely dejected. She supposed that Melissa’s words should have been comforting; Her friends were willing to forget about her bedwetting, and more importantly they hadn’t told anybody else. But did that make it okay? She didn’t blame them for the way they’d reacted, to the way they’d laughed at her, she’d always expected that her friends would react in that way to her secret. They had said some awful things, but most of them were true anyway. She was a freak, she was disgusting and weird, a baby. Normal eighteen-year-olds did not wet their beds, so she couldn’t blame them for what they’d said. But just because she couldn’t blame what they’d done didn’t mean she was sure she could forgive them. And what about Kim? She hadn’t even had a chance to think of the magnitude of what Kim had done or to consider the deceit, the manipulation, the malice and pure vindictiveness behind Kim’s actions. Could she now just pretend everything was normal, just because everyone had agreed to keep quiet?

“Come on, Natalie. I said we’re all happy to just forget about it, can’t you just come to breakfast now?”

Natalie wanted to explode, she wanted to stand up and shout at Melissa that no, she could not just forget about it. She wanted to really scream, yell and bawl that she couldn’t just pretend it was all okay. She wanted to cry, to really weep, and have Melissa put her arms around her, to comfort and reassure her. She wanted a proper apology, to hear that her friends were truly sorry for what they had said. She wanted more than just pretending everything was okay. But Natalie didn’t do any of this, all she could do was nod and, feeling deflated, follow Melissa to the breakfast hall.

*

Kim smiled as the noise in the dining hall buzzed around her. This was her moment. She was the centre of attention for perhaps the first time in her life. She was receiving respect from her classmates where normally she was lucky to be noticed, and it felt great. This morning she did not have to sit and eat her breakfast sat alone, or worse sit with a group of people who made it no secret that they wished she had chosen to sit somewhere else.

Kim shared a smile with Sarah and the rest of her roommates, who were sat around the table with her. Kim was finding it difficult to sit still, aware that she was fidgeting as she tried to contain her excitement. She looked at her watch, Melissa had been gone a few minutes now.

“Are you ready, Kim?” Sarah asked, offering her a brief distraction from the wait.

Kim nodded, glancing down at the nappy she held, hidden beneath the table, on her lap. She looked to the door and hoped that they would hurry up. None of the teachers supervising the trip were currently in the breakfast hall; They rose much earlier than the students, and so after a much earlier breakfast they chose not to hang around where they might have to overhear the adolescent conversations their students chose to indulge in. They didn’t normally return to the dining hall until it was time to coerce the students into making their way to the coach for the trip ahead. However, the longer Melissa took in persuading Natalie to join them the more chance there was of a teacher foiling her plan.

“Here they are!” Sarah yelped, nudging Kim excitedly.

Kim looked to the doorway; Melissa was walking determinedly towards them, a smirk across her face. Natalie followed, her eyes to the ground and her shoulders down. She was probably waiting to see if her roommates had shared her secret with the rest of the sixth form, but they hadn’t said a word. Kim’s gaze caught Melissa’s eye, and with it the smirk transferred from Melissa’s face to Kim’s.

The group had purposefully sat at the table furthest from the door, and as Melissa and Natalie reached them Kim allowed a smile to creep over her face. She took a deep breath in preparation, rising from her seat. “Hey Natalie, looks like you’ve forgotten to put your nappy on! Don’t want to have another accident do you?” Kim threw the nappy at Natalie, as the other students sat eating all stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at the girls, a silence descending over the hall.

“Yeah, Natalie, put your nappy on like a good baby. We don’t want you to wet the chairs like you did the bed, you disgusting little freak.” Sarah chimed in, her voice cold as stone as she uttered the last four words.

*

Tears stung Natalie’s eyes as she stood, too mortified to move yet aware that every pair of eyes in the dining hall was focused on her. She could feel a rushing in her ears, her whole body was shaking and she thought for a moment she might faint. At least that would be a temporary break from the horror she had slipped into. So her friends weren’t going to forget about it at all, they had just needed her to join them so they could publicly humiliate her. The hot tears were almost burning as they spilled over and ran down her cheeks.

After a few seconds of silence the hall erupted into the chaos of adolescent laughter, and then the teasing began. Everybody had a quip to fire, or a taunt to throw, at Natalie – all of the words she had imagined her peers would say, and worse, began to rain down on her and, tears blurring her vision, she turned to flee out of the room.

Natalie’s escape was stopped as she bumped into something solid, she turned so that she could get around whatever was stood in front of her, and felt two hands gripping her shoulders. She looked up to see Scott, concern etched across his face. He pulled Natalie into her arms, holding her there so that she couldn’t get past him and to the temporary safety of her bedroom.

“For Christ’s sake everyone, shut the fuck up!” Natalie jumped as Scott’s voice boomed out from the face above her, “I said shut up!” His voice louder again, and slowly a hush began to descend over the room; Although Scott could be a joker amongst his friends it was completely out of character for him to raise his voice, especially in front of everybody. He was somebody who was known for speaking only when necessary, somehow managing to come across as both confident and shy, and it was this elusiveness that made him popular amongst his peers. So now that he demanded attention his classmates were ready to give it to him.

Scott waited until he knew everybody was looking at him, and began again, “Can I just ask what Natalie has ever done, to any one of you, to make you act like this around her? Has she ever said anything malicious or horrible to you? To any of you?” Nobody spoke. It was true that Natalie was not the kind of girl who was ever known to act cruelly towards anybody. She was confident around her schoolmates, in the common room she would strike up conversation with anybody and always joined in with class debates. However, she didn’t use her confidence to try and climb her way up the sixth form hierarchy, pulling others down to gain popularity as others did. It was true that she hadn’t made the wisest choice in friends, Melissa and Sarah in particular being known for their bitchiness, but she never joined in with their catty comments. She was usually bright and cheery with time for anybody, yet underneath there was always a hint of her fragility, which intrigued all that noticed it. It was one of the reasons Scott had first been attracted to her, this suggestion that beneath her sunny exterior there was some sort of turmoil she needed saving from. Scott wondered if this was it.

When still nobody spoke Scott continued, “So why the fuck are you laughing and teasing her?” There was anger in her voice, “It’s not her you should be fucking bullying. You should be sympathising with her – these girls, these people who are supposed to be her friends,” he gestured at Natalie’s roommates, “hid something which she needed, for a medical condition might I add. Then they told…”

At this moment Scott was interrupted by Sarah, who had risen with indignation, “What? It wasn’t us who hid her nappies! We had nothing to do with it. It was Kim!”

“Yeah, it wasn’t us!” Melissa agreed, with Jo and Laura murmuring in agreement, “We only found out this morning when Kim showed us Natalie’s wet bed.”

There was a titter from some of the other students at the mention of nappies and the wet bed, but Scott’s cold stare quickly caused the perpetrators to stifle their giggles. He followed his gaze with a hard look directed at Natalie’s former friends, a look which told them their story didn’t really wash with him, “Even if that’s true, you made no attempts to stick up for your friend or keep her secret for her.” His eyes went back to the rest of the students, “Would you be laughing so much if they’d hidden Charlotte’s insulin? Or someone’s glasses? Would you be teasing Jamal if he was lying here on the floor because someone had taken his wheelchair? It’s not like Natalie chose to wet the bed, but when she brought something on the trip to manage her medical condition it got stolen from her. Seriously guys, think about who you should be hurling your insults at here.” He looked pointedly in the direction of Kim and the other girls, before turning himself and Natalie, who was still sobbing heavily against his chest, around and leaving the other students behind.

*

“Shhh, it’s okay. Cry all you want, but just know it’s okay.” Scott sat with Natalie on her bed, holding her in his arms and letting her sob into his chest.

“It, it, it’s not okay.” Natalie managed to stammer between her sobs, “Everyone hates me.”

“Natalie, look at me,” Scott gently put his hand under Natalie’s chin and tilted her head up so that she was looking at him, “Nobody hates you. They’re only teasing you because they don’t understand, but you haven’t done anything wrong. I bet you right now no-one is laughing at you downstairs, they’re probably just beginning to realise what bitches Kim and the others have been to you. It’s them who need to be worried about what everyone thinks, not you. Okay?”

Natalie nodded, but she wasn’t okay, not really. Scott was trying to reassure her, she knew that, and if she could have believed what he was saying then his words probably would have had the effect he’d intended on her. But she couldn’t believe him. She’d been in the dining hall just fifteen minutes previously, and she’d heard all of the things her classmates had called her. How could Scott say that they weren’t laughing at her, that they didn’t hate her, when they’d just been calling her all of those things?

Scott sat with Natalie for a little longer, until her sobs began to subside and her breathing began to calm. He glanced at his watch and gently pushed her away from his chest, “It’s coming up to eight thirty, Natalie. Soon everyone will be getting ready to get on the coach to whichever glorious place the teachers have chosen for us to visit today.”

Natalie groaned, and couldn’t stop her snivels from ascending back into sobbing. She wasn’t ready to face everybody yet, much less sit on a coach with them and then traipse around another gallery or museum with people constantly making snide comments.

Scott pulled her back into his arms, “I guess you don’t really feel up to the trip today?”

Natalie shook her head against the softness of his T-shirt, which was now damp with a mixture of tears and snot.

“I’ll go and speak to the teachers for you, see if maybe you can stay here today. And I’ll see what everyone’s up to downstairs, do you want to come with me?”

“No!” Natalie exclaimed, she didn’t ever want to leave this bedroom again.

Scott nodded, “Okay, but your so called friends will probably come up whilst I’m gone to get their things together before they leave. If they say anything to you, just ignore them, okay?”

*

Kim stormed up the stairs, she was seething with anger. Sarah and Melissa had really landed her in it, telling Scott and everybody else that the prank was entirely her doing. It was, of course, but she hadn’t expected everybody to take it so seriously. Couldn’t they take a joke? Everybody was supposed to be laughing at Natalie and praising Kim for her cunning trick, just like her roommates had. But Natalie’s stupid boyfriend Scott had put a stop to all of that, and now everyone was acting as if she was in the wrong. As if Natalie’s bedwetting didn’t matter anymore.

And Sarah, Melissa and the others were just acting innocent in it all. Yes, it had been Kim who had hidden Natalie’s nappies and exposed her secret, but it had been Sarah’s idea to announce it in front of the whole class by throwing a nappy at Natalie. Kim probably would have told the secret to everyone in her own way anyway, but that wasn’t the point.

She didn’t notice Scott heading downstairs as she strode past him on her way to the bedroom. She flung open the bedroom door, and was met with Natalie lying face down on the bed, clearly still bawling her eyes out. Well, Kim thought, my fun doesn’t have to end just yet. I may as well drag this out a little longer.

“You can’t hide up here all day,” Kim said to Natalie, “You should hear what everyone’s saying about you downstairs. They can’t get enough of hearing about your bedwetting, and your nappies. Everyone’s calling and texting everybody back at school as well, absolutely everybody will know what a disgusting little baby you are by the time we get back.”

Natalie responded by sobbing even harder into her pillow. Kim smiled.

“What’s wrong? Did you think you could hide this from everyone? What were you thinking, coming on this trip with all of the big girls when you’re just a baby! I mean, it’s pretty gross to lie around in your own piss all day. No wonder you smell, that’s what everyone’s saying. They always thought you smelt kinda disgusting, and now we know why.” Kim was enjoying this; she was intrigued at how her lies had the ability to cause Natalie’s sobs to increase in both volume and vigour. “Yeah, everyone can’t believe they were ever friends with someone like you. And Scott. They cannot believe all the stuff he said, especially about Jamal. Bedwetting is disgusting, lazy and horrible, and poor Jamal has Cerebral Palsy. How could he compare the two?”

Kim’s monologue was interrupted as the bedroom door opened, and Melissa, Sarah, Laura and Jo bustled into the room, chatting busily. They didn’t say anything to Kim, nor to Natalie, but just continued to immerse themselves in idol conversation. Conversation which, at least in Kim’s eyes, was far too idol considering the event that had taken place less than half an hour previously. They were clearly intent on pretending that nothing had happened. As the girls usually made a very conscious effort in their strive for popularity they were probably mortified at the social blow their involvement in Kim’s cruel prank had cost them, and so they were going to try and act like nothing had happened in order to try to save face. Typical, Kim thought. So now she didn’t even have their respect any more.

Sighing, Kim gathered the things she needed for the day ahead together. Checking for the last time that she had her phone and purse safely inside her bag she left the room, without speaking to anybody on her exit.

As Kim made her way down the corridor she once again passed Scott, and this time he noticed her, stepping in front of her path. Kim swallowed hard, he looked angry, furious even, with her. She wondered what he was going to do. Surely, despite his anger, he wasn’t about to hit a girl?

“Where are the rest of the nappies?” he asked, the emotion on his face not transferring to his voice.

“Um, they, I,” Kim stammered, trying to remember what had happened to the rest of the nappies. She’d thrown a couple at Natalie in the shower, and of course she’d taken a couple downstairs, but she wasn’t sure what had happened to the others, “I don’t know. They’re in our room somewhere; I haven’t hidden them or anything. They’re just on the floor or something.”

“Well they’d better be.” Scott said menacingly, before ending the conversation by stepping aside to let Kim pass and continuing his way to the girls’ bedroom.

*

When Scott swung open the door to the bedroom Natalie was still lying face down on the bed, her shoulders visibly shaking from her sobs. On seeing Scott enter the room Natalie’s four former friends quickly gathered their things together and, without a word, made their exit from the room.

Scott moved over to Natalie, lowering himself on the bed and resting a hand on her back to try and calm her, “Hey, I told you, it’s okay. Did they say anything to you?”

Scott couldn’t tell if the jerk of Natalie’s head against the pillow was supposed to be a shake or a nod.

“I went downstairs to speak to the teachers, and everyone was asking whether you were okay. Everyone feels really bad about laughing at you and for the stuff they said. You didn’t deserve it, and they realised it. It’s Kim and the others they’re angry at now.”

Natalie shot up from the bed, turning to face Scott, anger flashed in her eyes, “Why are you lying to me? Do you think I’m stupid?”

Scott, shocked at Natalie’s sudden out-burst, sat too stunned to respond.

“Kim told me what they’re really saying down there. Stop lying to protect me. She told me they think I’m lazy and gross and horrible, and they’re right. I do deserve this. Kim told me everything they’re saying, about how, how,” Natalie began to stammer, struggling to articulate the things Kim had told her, “how this explains why I always smelt bad.” She was speaking in a small voice, and at this last part her face crumpled and she allowed herself to fall back onto the bad, curling up around her sobs.

This time it was Scott’s eyes which flashed with anger, “That fucking bitch!” he exclaimed, jumping up from the bed with rage, “That…” he allowed his words to trail off as his attention went once more to Natalie. He sat back down on the bed, again resting his hand on Natalie’s back. “Natalie, Kim is nothing but a liar. A cruel, horrible, spiteful liar. I just went downstairs, and that’s not true. Nobody is saying anything like that about you! She’s making it up because her plan to humiliate you failed.”

“It didn’t fail.” Natalie uttered between her sobs, “And I know what they’re saying, how could they not be?”

Scott let out a small sigh as he gently nudged Natalie over a little so that there was room for him to lie down beside her on the bed, and he wrapped his arms around her, “Have you always wet the bed, since you were little?”

Natalie nodded, she could feel the blood rising to her cheeks, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“And have you kept it a secret all of this time?”

Again Natalie just nodded.

Scott pulled her closer to him, encasing her in his bear hug. “And I bet all of that time you’ve been thinking that if people found out they’d hate you? Telling yourself that it’s disgusting and horrible, telling yourself that you should be able to control it and just generally convincing yourself that you’re worthless?”

Natalie didn’t respond, but Scott could feel her sobs begin to subside as she listened to him with some interest.

“And so when Kim said all of that stuff I bet it was much easier to believe than the truth? Because the truth is, nobody cares. It was funny for about five minutes, because anything to do with piss is funny for teenagers. But then everyone started to think about what your roommates had done, and about how you must be feeling in all of this, and it instantly wasn’t funny anymore. Seriously, people are angry down there, not with you but with Kim and the others for doing this to you. Everybody likes you Natalie, you’re always nice to everybody and, let me repeat, you did not and do not deserve this. Okay?”

Natalie rolled over so that she was facing Scott and offered him a gentle nod. She had struggled with her own personal stigma with regards to anybody discovering she was a bed-wetter for as long as she could remember, but as Scott explained things to her she felt that actually, maybe she had invented all of those negative connotations herself. Maybe it was true that it didn’t really matter to her peers, that they were old enough to realise that she wasn’t in control of it, and that in realising that they were able to overlook her bedwetting.

“Anyway, I spoke to Mrs Jones, I kind of explained what had happened,”

“What!?” Natalie interrupted Scott, mortified at the idea of her teachers knowing.

“It’s okay, I didn’t go into too much detail. I just said that you weren’t feeling well, that you’d wet the bed and had been on the end of some teasing and didn’t feel up to going on the trip. Mrs Jones said that you could stay here today, and by some miracle she agreed that I could stay and look after you. I didn’t even have to try and convince her that hard, I think the teachers feel sorry for me because of my Mum sometimes, but anyway, it worked to our advantage and so we don’t have to worry about everyone till at least this afternoon.” Scott smiled as he broke the good news to Natalie.

Natalie smiled in response, “Thanks Scott,” she said, snuggling up to him.

“No problem.” Scott glanced at his watch, “I bet everyone’s left on the coach by now anyway. Do you want to go downstairs and get some breakfast before they close the dining hall?”

Natalie shook her head, “I’m not hungry.”

Scott frowned, “Come on, you have to eat. I won’t take no for an answer.” And with that he pulled her up from the bed and escorted her downstairs.

############################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################
Author: KaleidoscopeKitty
Timestamp: Aug 29, 2022 at 12:25 AM
Content: Natalie was thankful that the conversation she and Scott shared over their late breakfast stayed completely clear of anything related to her nappies, her bedwetting or any of the morning’s other events. She was perhaps even more thankful that conversation came easily to them, managing to be relaxed and without any awkwardness, and surprised to find that she and Scott had a lot more in common than she would have realised. She even began to wonder why she’d never really spoken to him before the trip, realising that in the years she had shared classes with him, yet never conversations, she had been missing out on the one person who may have actually been able to help the low self-esteem she had hidden under a mask of self-confidence.

However, as Scott enthusiastically relayed his favourite scene from a cherished movie she had to stifle a yawn. Natalie was interested in what he was saying, but she had not been sleeping well over the course of the week. Her body had still not recovered from her night of missed sleep, and then there had been the hours she had wasted lying awake each night, worrying about the certain consequence sleep would bring with it, when she should have been sleeping. This was coupled with the events of the morning, which had left her emotionally drained, and now she was struggling to keep her exhaustion from showing.

Scott paused from the story he was telling, “Have you finished your breakfast? Should we go back up to your room, chill out there for a bit?”

Natalie looked down at her empty cereal bowl and nodded, “Okay.”

The two of them made their way back to Natalie’s room, “I bet you haven’t been sleeping too well on this trip, huh?”

Natalie shook her head, “Not really.”

“Well, we’ve got all day to ourselves,” Scott said as he pushed open the door to the bedroom, holding it open to let Natalie enter first, “Maybe you should have a little nap.”

Natalie was mortified at the suggestion. She wasn’t about to take a nap in the middle of the day and give her body another chance to deceive her whilst she slept. “No, it’s okay. I’m really not that tired.” She lied.

“Don’t give me that. Look, your nappies are here,” he gestured to three nappies that lay discarded on the floor of the bedroom. He walked over to them, picking them up to give back to Natalie.

Natalie just stood there, completely horrified that Scott had seen, and was now handling, her nappies. She snatched them from him and shoved them in her suitcase without a word.

In another gesture of his unrelenting patience and kindness Scott placed his hand on Natalie’s shoulder, crouching slightly so he could look her in the eye at her level, “You don’t need to be so embarrassed all of the time. This really isn’t a big deal to me. I told you my Mum has bladder issues, there’s always stuff like this in the bathroom. Come here,” gently he pulled Natalie towards him, enveloping her in his arms, and he softly moved his lips towards hers.

Natalie didn’t pull away, instead she let her lips find Scott’s and immersed herself in the kiss, gentle yet passionate. It offered her the temporary opportunity to forget about everything and just enjoy being close to the person who had proved, time and time again, that he cared for her and that she was safe to put her trust in him.

Scott tenderly pulled away from the kiss, his left hand still caressing the back of Natalie’s neck. He was pleased that she had relaxed considerably. “How about that nap then?” he asked.

Natalie could feel herself shrinking inside herself as Scott pulled back the duvet of the bed as if getting ready to get into it. He had of course revealed the morning’s wet bed, which was proudly exhibiting her shame.

Scott, however, just shrugged. “Guess it was too hectic to be dealing with that this morning, huh?” He smiled, and there didn’t seem to be any malice in his voice, “Here, you go and get yourself ready for a nap and I’ll deal with this, okay?”

Natalie nodded and made her way to the bathroom, feeling somewhat in a daze. Scott had kissed her, despite the fact that she wet the bed, despite the fact that she wore nappies at night, despite the fact that everyone knew and would associate him with her if anything more happened between them. She entered the bathroom and her eyes were immediately drawn to one of her nappies, lying there in the middle of the floor. She glanced at the shower cubicle where her wet pyjamas were still balled up on the wet floor next to the other nappy which Kim had thrown at her, now gently expanding as it soaked up shower water. Natalie felt her mood crash back down to reality as she picked them up, she threw the wet nappy angrily into the bin, unsure whether her anger was at Kim for what she’d done or at herself for having this problem in the first place. As she rinsed out her pyjamas she managed to compose herself, the rhythmic act of rubbing soap on cloth calming her and, after hanging them in the shower, she began to feel herself calm.

Natalie picked up the remaining nappy from the floor. It occurred to her if it hadn’t been in here she would have had to go back into the bedroom and get a nappy from her rucksack in front of Scott, and for that small mercy she was grateful. Once she had taped up the nappy, and pulled up her jeans so that they covered it, she looked at herself in the mirror. It wasn’t obvious and she realised she hardly felt awkward about the fact she was now going to wear it around Scott. Smiling, Natalie made her way back to the bedroom where Scott was once again wrestling to get her duvet inside a fresh duvet cover he had taken from the airing cupboard.

“Here, I’ll do that.” Natalie giggled, taking the duvet and cover from Scott, quickly completing the task he had failed at, “See, it’s easy when you know how.”

Scott grinned, “I swear you girls must take some special class or something where they teach you how to do that.” He took the freshly-made duvet from Natalie and spread it onto her bed, “There, all ready to be slept in now.”

Natalie nodded, “Thanks,” she said and, still fully dressed, climbed into bed.

Scott hovered at her bedside for a few moment, apparently feeling awkward with regards what he should do next. “Do you want me to go?”

Natalie shrugged, “If you want to.”

Scott paused, as if he was contemplating what he should say next, “I don’t really want to.” He said finally, “I’d kind of like to join you, maybe have a nap too. But what do you want me to do?”

Natalie looked unsure, “I don’t know, I mean…” she trailed off, allowing Scott to infer the rest of her sentence.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I’m pushing things too much aren’t I. I’ll go back to my room.” He turned to leave.

“No! It’s not that. It would be nice to sleep next to you, but it’s just, y’know…” Again she let her words trail off; did she need to spell it out to him? There was every chance she’d wet in her sleep. She didn’t really want him to be there when that happened.

“The bedwetting?” Scott looked confused, “But you’re covered, right? Even if you pee, you’re not going to wet the bed?”

Natalie shook her head. Technically he was right, the nappy would keep the bed dry. But could she really sleep next to him wearing a nappy? What would he think off her? He was looking at her expectantly, but he didn’t say anything. He was clearly leaving her to make the decision, so maybe she should. Up until that point she had always let her bedwetting make the decisions when it came to overnight trips, always declining invitations if she thought the risk of exposing her nappies, and her secret, was too high. But now her secret was out, so did she really need to keep letting it hold her back? If she turned Scott away now, after everything he had done, maybe she would miss her chance. Maybe he would decide that she was never going to see herself as anything but a bed wetter, even if nobody else did, and give up. Natalie could feel herself trembling a little as she spoke, “Yeah, you’re right. Okay, get in.” She pulled back the duvet for Scott to join her.

Scott grinned at her, “Do you mind if I take off my jeans? They’re kind of uncomfortable to sleep in.”

Natalie shook her head.

“Cool,” Scott slipped out of his jeans, and pulled off his T-shirt so he stood in just his boxers. He slid into bed next to Natalie, wrapping his arms around her so that they lay as spoons, “Nat, if you want to take your jeans off you can. You don’t have to, but they can’t be comfortable to sleep in. And I think my legs would rather feel your legs.”

Natalie didn’t respond for a while as she contemplated her options. It was true that her jeans weren’t comfortable, the added bulk of the nappy making them tighter than they usually were, but she didn’t know if she was ready to sleep in just a nappy next to Scott. Maybe when he actually saw the nappy, with the thick plastic that, without the thick fabric of the jeans pressing against it, would crinkle as she moved, the reality of the situation would hit him.. And if she wet that would be obvious too, there was a wetness indicator on it which would give away what she’d done even if the warm swell of the wet nappy didn’t. But then Natalie thought of everything that Scott had done for her over the duration of the trip. The way he had stood up for her in front of everyone. The way he had told the receptionist that he was a bed-wetter in order to get clean sheets for her. The way he’d talked to the teachers so that she could stay at the hostel for the day. The way he’d changed her wet sheets, twice, without complaining. Natalie wouldn’t have been brave enough to do those things herself. Would he have done all of those things if he wasn’t genuine? Without another word Natalie slid her jeans off, so that she lay next to Scott in just her nappy and T-shirt. Scott sighed happily next to her, squeezing her closer to him, and with both perfectly content it wasn’t long before they both drifted off to sleep.

*

Kim sat in the over-priced café of the art gallery eating her over-priced sandwich. She was sat alone, of course. She had sat alone during lunch for every day during the trip and it had never bothered her before, but today it stung. She had had a small taster of being popular, or at least, not un-popular, over breakfast, and already she had just gone back to being the person nobody spoke to. In fact it was worse this time, people were making a conscious effort to avoid her. Snide comments were being thrown around, both behind her back and right in front of her face.

Nobody could believe what she’d done. But they weren’t in awe of her as she had expected, as her roommates had originally been. No, everybody seemed disgusted that she had played such a trick. They seemed to have completely overlooked the fact that Natalie, eighteen-year-old Natalie, still wore nappies. They seemed to have completely missed her reason behind taking Natalie’s nappies, which wasn’t supposed to be an act of cruelty so much as an act that would expose Natalie’s secret as something that, surely, was worthy of more than just five minutes teasing?

Kim sighed. Melissa, Sarah, Laura and Jo were nowhere to be seen, obviously choosing to eat somewhere else. They were receiving similar treatment to Kim, their peers seemingly equally disgusted at the way they treated their friend in a plan to humiliate her in front of everybody. But they were popular to begin with; they would probably find a way to bounce back from this. And even if they didn’t, at least they had each other. They could take comfort in the fact that they were all in the same position. But they were ignoring Kim. In fact that was not strictly true, they were very pointedly blaming Kim and had made sure their peers had seen them throwing their own brutal remarks at Kim. They were certainly working very hard to express their disgust, or rather feigned disgust, in front of everybody.

Kim’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cold wetness in her lap.

“Sorry, I didn’t see where I was going!” It was Adam, one of the boys on the trip. He held a coke can, the contents of which she presumed were now on her lap. Behind him stood several of the other boys. Adam sneered, “Looks like you wet yourself!”

“Where are those nappies now?” Another boy, Martin, laughed before they all walked away, leaving her to deal with the sticky coke that was spreading its wetness across her trousers.

Kim sat too stunned to speak. This wasn’t right. It was supposed to be Natalie who was being teased for needing nappies, after all she was the one who wet the bed. How had they managed to turn it around so that the joke was on her? Kim wished she could feel angry, but all she felt as she stood up, leaving the rest of her sandwich to be cleared away by the café’s underpaid staff, was defeated. Her joke had backfired, and she had the feeling the consequences were only going to get worse.

*

Scott ran his fingers through Natalie’s hair, enjoying the way it softly fell through his fingers. She was beginning to stir now, the soft snuffles and sighs one makes on awakening escaping her lips as she roused. As sleep slowly slipped away from her she was suddenly filled with an aching awareness that there was somebody else in bed with her. She froze for a moment, fear flooding through her and leaving her temporarily paralysed. Had she wet the bed? She slowly moved a hand down to her crotch, and the warm swell told her that indeed she had wet, but the nappy had not leaked. With the fear of a wet bed gone Natalie relaxed, exhaling the breath she hadn’t even realised she was holding. Natalie was now aware of the strong arms wrapped around her, of the warm touch of bare skin on skin where her leg met another, and of the gentle caress of fingertips against the back of her neck. As the fog of sleep lifted, lucidity taking it’s place, the morning’s events hit Natalie. However, with Scott entangled under the covers with her, she was not about to be defeated by the memory. The moment of waking up in another’s arms was too perfect.

After lying for a little longer in her state of absolute contentment, Natalie rolled over to face Scott, smiling as his gaze caught her eye.

“Hey sleepyhead,” he crooned, “Did you have sweet dreams?”

Natalie’s brow furrowed slightly as she tried to recall whether she had dreamt, “I don’t think I dreamt about anything,” she shrugged, “My sleep was too perfect even for dreams!”

“That good hey?” Scott pulled Natalie closer to him, her head resting on his chest. “So, you’re feeling better after your sleep then?”

Natalie nodded, although she felt the familiar heaviness begin to crawl in the pit of her stomach. Was she feeling better? Their nap had allowed her to escape her worries for a few hours, but it had also brought her closer to having to face her classmates when they returned from their day out. Were they really going to be as accepting as Scott had tried to convince her they would?

Anger flashed in Scott’s eyes as he saw the uncertainty showing on Natalie’s face, “You’re still worried about people coming back, aren’t you?”

Natalie hesitated, shrinking away from the irritation in Scott’s voice. Was he frustrated that she couldn’t relax over the matter? She wanted to, but still the anxiety was creeping over her.

Scott frowned, and he turned away from Natalie, “That fucking girl!” He spat the words out, short and sharp. His right hand was balled into a fist, and he clenched so hard that Natalie could see his knuckles turning white as bone. She didn’t speak.

“Right, that’s it!” Scott exclaimed, and he threw back the duvet and leapt to his feet. He began to pace the room, “She’s not fucking getting away with it.” His face was still as stone, his features etched with rage.

Natalie swallowed, tears pricking her eyes. She didn’t know what Scott was talking about, but to Natalie it seemed he was teetering on the edge of aggression, and she didn’t like it. She couldn’t stop the tears from over-flowing.

“If she thinks this is forgotten then…” Scott turned to Natalie, and on seeing the way she was looking at him his face melted. He moved back to the bed, his hand resting gently on her shoulder before he pulled her close to him, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I, I’m sorry.” Natalie managed to choke between her sobs, “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why are you sorry? You don’t have to be sorry. What do you mean, sorry?”

“I didn’t mean to annoy you.”

“Annoy me?” Scott frowned in confusion, “You haven’t annoyed me.”

“But, you got really angry.”

Scott exhaled, and Natalie felt him slump down beside her, moving his head to his hands. He practiced breathing in and out, three times, long and deep, before speaking, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have got angry like that, but it wasn’t at you. It’s her, Kim. What she did to you. What it’s doing to you. The whole thing has ruined this trip for you, and for what? What did you do to deserve this? She needs to be punished for what she did.”

Natalie didn’t speak for a few moments, before she shook her head, “No. I don’t want revenge or anything like that. I just want to forget about it.”

“Do you think you can?”

Natalie shrugged. She thought of her classmates, who would be back from their trip later that day. She would have to face them, all of them. Even if they didn’t hate her for her bedwetting, even if they accepted it, they would still be so aware of it. They would still look at her and think there goes Natalie, the girl who wets the bed. Even if they weren’t teasing her for it, they would still be feeling pity, or sympathy, or… something. They would still be feeling something; it would still be tagged onto her identity for the rest of her time at school. She would be Natalie, the bed-wetter. That would now be her distinguishing feature, and the thought sent tears to her eyes and red to her cheeks. No, she wasn’t going to be able to forget about this for a long while.

Scott stood up again, “See. Even thinking about it is bringing you to tears. It still bothers you, I know it does. The only way to stop this is to turn the attention onto her. Plus don’t you want her to know how you feel? To be publicly humiliated like you were?”

“No! Why would I want to make someone else feel like that?”

“Because she’s not just someone else, she’s the person who made you feel like this! I mean, she doesn’t really even know you and you’ve never done anything to her yet she singled you out, made you anxious and unhappy for days before she embarrassed you in front of everybody. She totally deserves to feel what you felt.”

Natalie hesitated, was Scott right? Did Kim deserve this? “But… she must have had her reasons. Maybe I did do something to make her do it?”

“Don’t say stuff like that!” Scott exclaimed, “You didn’t do anything to deserve what she did to you. Even if you did say or do something, which you didn’t, torturing you by making you stay up all night and sleep in a wet bed and then embarrassing you in front of everyone is completely out of order. Her only reasons for doing this are that she’s obviously either a complete bitch or a complete nutcase. Or both. She deserves to get a taste of her own medicine. I’m not saying we torch her house or anything mental, our revenge will be fair. We’ll just do something that will make her realise how she’s made you feel.”

Natalie sighed, she guessed what Scott was saying made sense. Maybe Kim did deserve to find out how she’d made Natalie feel, and if Scott was able to think of something that would turn everybody’s attention away from Natalie and onto Kim maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. So long as it was fair.

“So, are you in?” Scott asked.

Natalie nodded, “Okay, maybe. But nothing horrible. I don’t want to upset her.”

Scott shook his head with disbelief, “Natalie, you are way too nice. The whole point of revenge is to upset her! Listen, if you don’t want to do this I’ll do it on my own, but there is no way I’m letting her get away with what she did to you. Okay?”

Natalie sighed in defeat, “Okay. I’m in. But, what are we going to do?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

*

Kim sat with her head rested against the window of the coach. The noise of her classmates buzzed around her, a mixture of whoops of laughter, squeals of gossip and the gentle hum of chatter. Of course none of it was directed at her, which she supposed was an improvement on the coach trip from the hostel during which everybody had had far too much to say to her, none of it nice.

Perhaps when they got back to the hostel it could all be forgotten. She could slip back to her original position as the quiet, or perhaps boring, girl that nobody took any notice of. She could easily slide back to spending each day in solitude; she still had half of her book left to read back at the hostel. She had been stupid to ever try and argue with the hierarchy that had been so firmly cemented in the minds of her classmates, of course they were never going to reject Natalie, even if she was a bed-wetter. And of course they were never going to accept Kim. Now she wasn’t even sure she’d have wanted to be accepted. Their conversations were inane and nothing about them was genuine. In another six months she wouldn’t even know them anymore, she’d be starting anew at university, where her social status wouldn’t be pre-determined and where perhaps it wouldn’t matter so much anyway.

At least tomorrow she would be sat, no doubt alone, on the coach for the last time. The trip was coming to an end, and maybe she would have to suffer a little more cruelty from the hands, or rather the tongues, of her peers, but perhaps that was deserved. She guessed maybe she had taken things too far, targeted the wrong person. Natalie was too nice, everybody liked her and so of course they had over-looked the fact she wet the bed. Instead of focusing on the fact that it was gross and childish they were allowing it to add a vulnerability to her, so now Kim had not only humiliated somebody nice, but somebody fragile.

Somewhere further back on the coach the unnecessarily loud screeches of Melissa and her cronies were wafting down to where Kim sat. They were still being shunned by the rest of their classmates, and therefore the masquerade was in full swing, with every giggle, every gasp, every squeal, shriek and snigger designed to portray to their peers just how much gossip and gloss they were made of. It was see-through and obvious, but Kim knew it would work. She knew how fickle teenagers could be.

If only Melissa had been the bed wetter. Or Sarah. Everyone knew they were bitches. If she had humiliated them then perhaps she really would have been admired and respected by her peers. Instead she had gone for the easy target, and even though she had originally been the victim in all of this, the unpopular girl being teased and ostracised by her roommates for just that reason, she had somehow come out as the bully.

Kim sighed. The coach was pulling into the car park of the youth hostel now, and she again reconciled herself with the knowledge that at least in 24 hours she would be back to familiarity, and to a place where she only had to spend the compulsory 6 hours with her peers each day and could slip back into the background, and away from this spot in the limelight she had so foolishly placed herself in.

*

“Are you okay?” Scott gently rested his hand on Natalie’s arm, stroking it softly.

Natalie nodded. Their classmates had returned from the trip, and so of course Natalie’s roommates had returned to the bedroom. The two of them had made a hasty retreat to Scott’s room, and enticed by the pool table and television downstairs his roommates hadn’t hesitated in offering them some privacy.

“Are you sure?” Natalie had been distant all evening, and it had not gone unnoticed by Scott.

“It’s just,” Natalie paused, “I don’t know if this is right.”

“Our plan?”

Natalie nodded. “I think it’s too much. I mean, what if she’s allergic…”

“Shhh.” Scott interrupted Natalie, placing a finger on her lips. “Don’t be silly. It’ll be fine, it’s not like we’re poisoning her. And it’s not too much; it’s exactly what she deserves. The punishment fits the crime. Okay?”

Natalie still looked uncertain. “I guess, but…”

Scott interrupted her again, “Stop with the buts and the what ifs! Do you think she gave a second thought when she took your nappies? Do you think she considered how it might make you feel? She obviously never thought that it might be too much, all she thought about was herself. She didn’t give a fuck about you, and so why should you give a fuck about her? She’s scum, Natalie. Don’t you dare start feeling sorry for her. Do you think she even feels bad about what she did? Has she even bothered to come and find you and apologise? No. She doesn’t give a shit about you. She deserves everything that’s coming to her. Everything. What we’re doing doesn’t even compare to what she did. What she did was cold and calculated. Conniving in every sense of the word. We’re just giving her a taste of her own medicine.”

His voice softened and he took Natalie’s face in his hands, “Don’t you agree? Think of how she’s made you feel these last few days. Do you really want her to just get away with that? Because I don’t, to be honest she’s lucky she’s getting off this lightly. She made you feel sick with worry and fear and shame and embarrassment for days, she’s turned your friends against you, and she’s humiliated you in front of everyone. She’s reduced you to tears countless times. Stop feeling sorry for her and start feeling angry towards her!”

A single tear slid down Natalie’s cheek. It was true. Everything she had been feeling over the course of this trip was Kim’s fault. Natalie had even been stupid enough to confide in Kim that night, to believe that she was trying to be kind when in truth she must have just been laughing at Natalie’s stupidity. Maybe Scott was right, she was too nice. But she didn’t owe anything to Kim; Kim had lost her right to be treated with compassion or consideration. She hadn’t even tried to apologise to Natalie, she probably didn’t even feel bad for what she’d done. And so why should Natalie even contemplate anything other than doing something to ensure Kim felt as bad for the last part of the trip as she did?

Scott’s arms enveloped Natalie in a hug, “We don’t have to if it’s going to upset you.”

Natalie shook her head, “No. It’s not that, it’s… You’re right. She’s made these last few days horrible for me, and she hasn’t even said sorry. You’re right, she deserves it.” Natalie allowed a small smile to creep onto her face, and she moved closer to Scott, joining him in the hug.

*

As she had done every night on this trip Kim sat alone in the bedroom, in one hand she held her book and in the other a cup of the watery hot chocolate from the hostel’s vending machine. She didn’t know where her roommates were. After the students had eaten dinner in the dining hall Kim had returned straight away, desperate to be out of there. Nobody had mentioned the morning’s incident, but Kim knew that was for Natalie’s benefit rather than hers. Her peers were limited in what they could say by the fact that any references to what Kim had done ran the risk of offending Natalie. But just because nobody felt in a position to verbally torment Kim didn’t mean that they weren’t happy to make the disdain they felt for her clear. As such Kim had been in receipt of more ‘accidental’ knocks with elbows than she cared to count, and her toes had been stepped on an equal number of times. She supposed she was getting off lightly, but even so as soon as she had finished picking at her lasagne, which came with a side of both chips and garlic bread and would have been surprisingly tasty compared to the expected standards of the hostel’s catering if she hadn’t completely lost her appetite, she had retreated back to the bedroom.

Kim brought the hot chocolate up to her lips, blowing on it slightly and sipping it cautiously. She quickly recoiled her mouth from the plastic cup, which Kim was surprised the molten liquid hadn’t melted straight through. The tip of her tongue stung to inform her that it was burnt, and sighing Kim put the hot chocolate on the floor next to her bed to cool and turned back to her book.

Kim was only a couple of pages further into the book when the door swung open. It was Scott. Kim looked up, a jitter of nerves running their way through her. Was this it? She knew she had gotten away with too easily. What was he going to do with her? Was he going to hit her? She didn’t think he would risk his reputation by hitting a girl, but you never could tell. He was pretty angry. She could see that on his face. And they were alone. He could do what he wanted whilst they were alone. Where was Natalie? Why wasn’t she with him.

“You know Natalie’s still very upset,” Scott said, his voice hard and clear. “Just because no-one cares doesn’t mean she’s forgotten what happened this morning.”

Kim didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. What was he going to do to her?

“You know that what you did was one of the meanest and cruellest things I can remember anybody doing at this school?”

Kim nodded, “I know,” she said meekly, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Why are you telling me you’re sorry?” Scott was shouting now, the anger raising his voice and quickening its pace, “It’s Natalie you should be saying fucking sorry to! If you are sorry, that is? If you’re not still proud of what you did?”

Shaking her head vigorously Kim disagreed, “I’m not proud. I am sorry, really I am.” Tears were starting to prick in her eyes.

“Don’t you dare start crying! You are not the victim in all of this and don’t try and make you are! If you’re sorry, then you need to go and apologise to Natalie.”

Kim nodded, “I know. I know I need to.”

“Good. She’s in my room. Number nine. No-one else is in there.”

“What, now?”

“What’s wrong with now?” Scott snapped, “You should have apologised hours ago if you wanted anybody to credit you with any humanity at all. I can’t even understand what you did, how you could stand to see her so unhappy and know you were in control of it. It’s fucked up, it’s really fucked up. The least you can do is say sorry.”

Putting her book down on the bed Kim nodded and started to get up, “You’re right. Okay. I’ll go now.”

Kim hurried out of the room, leaving Scott alone in there. She was glad to get away from him. Natalie felt far less threatening. She made her way down the corridor to bedroom number nine, and as she stood at the door a wave of panic rushed over her. What if Natalie wasn’t in the room? What if Scott’s roommates were in there, waiting for her? What would they do to her? What if they were waiting to beat her up? Or worse. She stood at the door, her hand gingerly poised above the handle, listening for any noises coming from inside. Nothing. Nothing to suggest that there was anybody in there, least of all a group of teenage boys. She knocked nervously, almost willing for there to be no answer.

“Come in.” It was Natalie’s voice.

Kim pushed the door open, stepping into the room that was almost identical to the one she was sharing with Natalie and the others, but considerably messier. Natalie was sat alone on one of the beds, and Kim felt herself relax. Her eyes quickly darted to the bathroom door, she supposed they could be hiding in there. But no, the door was open and it looked vacant.

“Oh, it’s you.” Kim couldn’t tell whether Natalie sounded surprised to see her or not. She certainly didn’t sound pleased. “What are you doing here?”

“I, umm, I. Well, I. Umm. I came to apologise. Y’know, for this morning. And before that. For everything. I’m sorry. It got out of hand, I didn’t mean to upset you that much.” Even as Kim spoke the words she wondered if that was true. Was she sorry for how much she’d upset Natalie? She was sorry that she’d ever tried to play the stupid trick, that much was certainly true. She was sorry, although no longer surprised, that it had back-fired and that everybody had taken Natalie’s side. She was sorry that she hadn’t found a way to humiliate Natalie that hadn’t incriminated herself so much. But was she sorry that Natalie had been upset by what she’d done? Did she care? Didn’t Natalie at least deserve some of it? Kim wasn’t sure. She still felt a small tremble of excitement, of power even, as she took in Natalie’s red-rimmed eyes. Even after her plan had back-fired her actions were still affecting Natalie. Wasn’t that something to be proud, rather than sorry, about? It felt to Kim like it should be, but she could hardly say that now. “So yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Natalie nodded, “That’s okay. Thanks for coming to apologise.”

Was that it? No angry spiel to inform her that sorry wasn’t good enough? No guilt trip to let her know quite how much she had hurt Natalie? Nothing but a thank you? Was that a good thing? Did it mean Natalie had forgotten about it already? Kim didn’t suppose she should stick around to find out, and she put her hand on the door handle, ready to leave. “Okay. Well, like I said, I’m sorry.” She paused for a few seconds to see if there was anything else coming, but Natalie just nodded and so Kim vacated the room and, heart pounding, made her way back to her room.

As Kim entered the room she jumped to see Scott standing almost directly in front of her. Why was he still in here?

“Okay?” he asked.

Kim nodded, too stunned to say anything more. What was he going to do?

“You apologised?”

Again Kim just nodded.

“Good.” And with that he exited the room.

Kim got into her bed, she was panting slightly and her heart was thumping in her chest. She breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly to help calm herself. Was that it then? Maybe it was done. Maybe Natalie was happy to just leave it to their peers to sort in their tactless way, with elbow-nudges and snide comments, until it was forgotten about.

Sighing Kim opened her book and began to read again. Her mouth was dry, no doubt from the fear of revenge which clearly wasn’t coming, and so she reached for her hot chocolate. It was cool enough to drink now and she gulped it down quickly, it was cheap and tasted so, the chocolate flavouring synthetic, but Kim didn’t care. A warm drink before bed each night helped her to relax, and tonight was no different. She instantly felt happier, calmer. This was the last night on this trip, it was getting late and people would be retiring to bed soon, and Kim had managed to escape any further repercussions for what she’d done. She placed the empty hot chocolate cup back down on the floor and, a slight smile on her face, returned to her book.

*

“Owww.” Kim let out a low groan like an animal trapped in a snare. Another cramp shot across her abdomen, the pain rising fast. “Owwww.” She was whimpering now. What was wrong with her? Was it something she’d eaten? She needed to get up. Maybe if she walked around the cramping would subside.

As soon as she rose out of bed Kim knew that she needed to use the toilet. Fast. Still clutching her side she rushed her way to the bathroom, the light stinging her eyes when she pressed the switch to illuminate the small room. She knew she didn’t have time to let her eyes adjust to the brightness and rushed into a stall, sliding the lock across the door and tearing her pyjama trousers down before sitting heavily on the seat.

A wave of relief swept over her as she evacuated her bowels, the pain in her abdomen subsiding. Kim wiped the cold sweat from her brow, her breathing heavy. She stayed sitting on the toilet for a few minutes after she was done, to be sure. But her bowels seemed to have finished emptying, and sighing she wiped herself. That had been close, urgent, but now she felt much better. She pulled the chain, waiting to be sure everything had flushed away. She didn’t want to leave evidence of her mid-night emergency for her roommates, the last thing she needed was to hand them more ammunition.

The lather frothed up in her hands as she washed them, the hostel’s strong smelling soap filling her nostrils. Kim ran her hands under the tap, allowing the soap suds to be washed down the plughole. She dried them on the cheap and rough green paper towels provided, and made her way back to bed. She was feeling much better now, and it didn’t take her long to fall back to sleep.

*

The shrill tone of her phone woke Natalie. It was calling out that it has received a text message. Still half-asleep Natalie reached for it, the message was from Scott.

Hope u slept well. Did it work? Let me no & c u at brekfast. x

Hitting reply Natalie glanced over at Kim, she appeared to be fast asleep.

Shes still in bed. Kinda hoping she’s ok. Could be 2 much. C u soon xxxx

Natalie hit send and rolled back over, the nappy affording her the luxury of being able to stay in bed without the discomfort or embarrassment of wet sheets. However, where yesterday morning a knot of fear had twisted her insides on again awakening in a wet bed, now there was a knot of guilt. Was what they had done to Kim right? It was too late now, of course, to stop it. The damage, if there was to be any, was done.

Furtively sneaking another glance at Kim, who still seemed to be sleeping soundly, Natalie allowed her thoughts to wander back to the previous afternoon. Scott had explained his plan, step-by-step, to Natalie. He had walked to the pharmacy down the road, making it back in plenty of time before the coach had brought the rest of the students back to the hostel.

Super-strength chocolate laxatives. He had been proud as he showed the package to Natalie, excited even; his anticipation like a child’s.

“We’ll put them in her hot chocolate. They’ll melt. She won’t even taste them.”

Natalie had taken the packaging from Scott then, reading the instructions. Two to be taken before bed, for overnight relief. She’d anxiously looked up at Scott, “It says just to take two. We’ll only give her two, right?”

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to give her anything dangerous. Just enough to make her sorry for what she’s done, really sorry.” And with that said he had brushed the packet from Natalie’s hand, temporarily discarded, and had leaned in for a kiss. The conversation had finished.

It occurred to Natalie now that he hadn’t given her an answer. Later, once their peers had returned, once dinner had been consumed and the evening was drawing to a close, he had looked at his watch and announced that it was almost time to put their plan into action. They had moved to the lounge, where they had a view of the hostel’s lone vending machine, and Natalie had tried to focus on the television sitcom, canned laughter and one-liners, to distract herself from the apprehension that had settled firmly in the pit of her stomach.

“Come on then,” Scott had whispered when Kim had stood in front of the machine, depositing a coin into the slot and punching in the code for the hot chocolate she would predictably order. He had lead Natalie by the hand to his room. She could have still changed her mind at that point, but she hadn’t. She had meant to remind him then not to exceed the stated dose, to take the packet and ensure he had just two, but she hadn’t. He had left the room, laxatives in pocket, and left her waiting for Kim. Anxious, wringing her hands, she had thought perhaps Kim would refuse to make the trip to apologise. Perhaps she wouldn’t leave her drink unattended. But she had. A knock on the door and Kim, looking flustered, had appeared. She had made her apology, which Natalie knew was not heartfelt. It sounded forced because, Natalie supposed, it was. Still, she felt a flash of sympathy for Kim.

Afterwards, she and Scott had hardly spoken about it. He asked if Kim had apologised, and she nodded. She did not ask about his side of the plan. She didn’t want to know. They had cuddled for a while, tangled together on the bed, fingers intertwined and curling. Conversation had flowed, open and honest, and Natalie had felt herself draw closer to Scott. He was sensitive, gentle yet passionate. Although neither mentioned their revenge, somehow through the closeness of being and the softness of communication Scott worked to reassure her that what they had done was right, and her anxiety melted away.

Now though, in the reality of morning, her anxieties had returned with a vengeance. Scott’s blunt text a reminder of what they had done, and perhaps in the pleasure he was extracting from doing it. Another text had come through, the tone of her phone harsh.

Dont worry I didn’t giv her 2 much, promise. She deserves it NEway. Will b at breakfast in 20mins ok?

With a sigh Natalie hauled herself up from the comfort of the bed and into the chilled air of a room briefly undisturbed by movement. However, the text message coming through must have disturbed the slumber of her roommates who were now beginning to stir. Kim still lay still, and for a horrifying moment Natalie feared she might be dead. What if she were allergic to laxatives? What if Scott had given her an overdose? Gingerly Natalie moved closer to Kim, and was relieved to see her peer move slightly through her sleep. Natalie exhaled, unaware that she had been holding her breath, and made her way to the bathroom for a shower.

*

When she awoke Kim was surprised to see that her peers were already up, it was unusual for her not to be the first awake. She sat up in bed, a dull ache in her abdomen a reminder of her middle-of-the-night emergency. She looked at the time on her phone and slowly rose out of bed, disappointed that she would not have time to read, as she usually liked to, before breakfast.

It didn’t hit her until she bent down to reach for her suitcase. A wave of pain, similar in both urgency and severity as that which had hit her in the night, rippled across her abdomen; A pressing in her bowels which demanded she take immediate notice. Kim glanced through the open bathroom door. She could hear the shower running and saw that Jo and Sarah stood at the sinks, primping themselves in front of the mirror. They were unlikely to be done anytime soon. Kim couldn’t face using the toilet with them all just a few feet from her, separated only by the thin cubicle wall. She would wait.

Ignoring the message her bowel was sending out Kim opened her suitcase and rooted through it for a clean T-shirt. Her body let out an audible grumble, and with it another flash of pain, a definite cramping. It would not wait. Kim was aware that her heartbeat had quickened, fast and strong it seemed to pound through her ears. The palms of her hands were clammy. This was desperation. She no longer had a choice in the matter. She had to go now.

Kim rushed past her roommates and into an empty cubicle. Even through her urgency she felt relief that there was indeed an empty cubicle, what would have happened if there wasn’t? She sat down and her body heaved as it emptied; the feeling so needed it was almost euphoric. Even so, she felt exhausted from the force with which her body had needed to expel its waste and a weakness crept over her. Ideally at that moment, where she felt both vulnerable and disgusting, she would have been afforded some sanctuary from her peers. But although it was a private act, she was not granted privacy.

Her peers were, of course, outside of the cubicle. Her visit had by no means been subtle, no doubt assaulting their senses as they stood mere metres apart from where she was sat. Kim was sure they had heard, smelt what she was doing. She flushed, but did not get up. She could not face them as they giggled from the other side of the cubicle wall and made exaggerated proclamations of the smell. She could imagine them out there, all holding their noses as they gushed their declarations of disgust; She was gross, horrible, disgusting, vile.

Although she knew it was ridiculous to be embarrassed about a natural bodily function, and although she didn’t care what her peers thought of her, Kim couldn’t stop a tear from rolling down her cheek. She felt humiliated, her body spent. She supposed she must be ill, had she eaten something? Was this the return of the sickness bug from earlier in the week, now making it’s way out of the other end? She stood up and flushed again, just to be sure. She pulled her pyjama trousers up and made to unlock the door. But something was holding her back, she was frozen. She could hear that they were still out there. Still laughing at her.

Almost against her will, Kim put the lid of the toilet bowl down and sat on it. No, she could not face them. They were back in the bathroom now, their comments and jibes now directed at her. Kim’s mind flashed back to the morning before, and she realised with some guilt that yesterday it had been Natalie in almost the exact same position; Crying in the shower as they teased her about the nappies.

Kim frowned and rose from where she sat, she was not like Natalie. She was not vulnerable, she was not a victim. Moreover, everybody shat. Everybody did not wet their bed, but as sure as anything everybody emptied their bowels. She had nothing to be ashamed of. Natalie did, but Kim certainly did not. Kim swung open the cubicle door, and surprise swam over the faces of her peers. Or maybe it was shock.

“What are you looking at?” Kim snarled, “I just had a shit, okay? You’ll all be doing the same later, if you haven’t already today.” It was out of character for Kim to be so blunt, or indeed to speak up around and against her peers at all. But she saw embarrassment flash across the faces of her peers, no doubt shocked that she would be at all crude, and she felt a jolt of pleasure at the power she could hold over them.

There was a silence then, as nobody said anything. Kim noted as she started fiercely into the faces of her peers that Natalie wasn’t with them. When nobody said anything Kim confidently strode past her peers and over to the sinks where she washed her hands before moving into the bedroom. Okay, so that had been a little embarrassing, but she was fine now. Her stomach felt settled, and she was ready for breakfast. She must have eaten something that disagreed with her, but she was confident she had flushed it out of her system.

As Kim dressed and readied herself to go down to the dining hall, her peers did not say anything more to her. Instead they moved sheepishly around her, the room largely silent. A small smile on her face, Kim slipped on her cardigan before slipping out of the room, and down for breakfast.

*

“So it worked?” Scott asked, not for the first time.

Again Natalie nodded, “Yes. I told you. She got up this morning and had to rush for the toilet.”

“And Mel and everyone heard?”

“Yeah, some of them were in the bathroom. They were all laughing at her, then she came out. She looked like she’d been crying.”

A small smile crept across Scott’s face, “So you think she was upset then?”

Natalie shrugged, “I dunno. After she came out she shouted at them, said that we all do it, and nobody said anything else.”

Scott frowned, “So it didn’t work?”

Natalie sighed, “I don’t know, Scott. She woke up, ran to the toilet, the others were laughing and she came out crying, then she came out and shouted and they shut up. What did you think would happen?” He had been holding her hand across the table, and she pulled it away.

Scott shrugged, exhaling deeply, “I don’t know. Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on about it. It’s just, I kind of thought that maybe she’d at least get upset or embarrassed for a bit longer. I mean, it’s not really been a taste of her own medicine, has it?”

“No,” Natalie shook her head, “But she doesn’t care anyway. She doesn’t have any friends, no-one likes her and she doesn’t like anybody. It doesn’t matter to her if they all tease her, it’s not like she’s got any friends that we could turn against her like she did to, did,” Natalie’s voice caught in her throat, “like she did to me.”

Scott stretched his hand back across the table, and took Natalie’s hand. This time she didn’t pull away. “Hey, she hasn’t turned anyone against you. If they were that shallow to begin with they were hardly friends, were they?”

Natalie shook her head.

“Everyone else is cool with you now, right? Everyone’s pretty much forgotten about it. The only reason your so-called friends aren’t is because they’re embarrassed about how they behaved, not ;cause of you. And hey, look on the bright side, if none of this had happened, we might not be sat here talking to each other now.”

“Just another thing to be annoyed at Kim for then.” Natalie teased, grinning.

And with that conversation was once again relaxed and casual between the two again, both so engrossed in their adolescent mixture of excited conversation and coy flirtation that neither noticed when Kim rose from the table she had sat at to eat alone and, with a look of urgency upon her, bolted out of the dining hall door.

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Author: KaleidoscopeKitty
Timestamp: Aug 29, 2022 at 12:33 AM
Content: Kim felt physically drained as she stood at the sink of the small toilet. That had been close, far too close. She was unwell, that much she was sure of. Perhaps it was food poisoning, her immune system down from the bug she’d had earlier in the week. Her skin felt clammy to touch. Cautiously she made her way out into the hallway, thankful that the hostel had had the foresight to locate a public bathroom near the dining hall. Her stomach grumbled, hungry. She had hardly had the chance to taste her dry cereal, chosen because she remembered reading that milk was never a good idea on an upset stomach, before her bowels forced her into the bathroom.

She walked slowly into the dining hall, her gait that of the ill or the elderly. Nobody feigned concern or asked whether she was okay as they had when she had been unwell at the beginning of the trip; in a few short days she had, in the eyes of her peers, shifted even lower down the teenage hierarchy.

There was a couple sat at her table now, guests who weren’t part of the school trip, and her abandoned breakfast had been cleared away. Maybe that was for the best, Kim anxiously looked at her watch, the coach would be leaving to start the long journey home in under an hour’s time. If she ignored her hunger then hopefully her body was now empty and she wasn’t going to have any more trouble.

As if on cue Kim’s bowels let out another low grumble, followed by a sharp cramp. Kim turned back towards the small toilet, but on reaching it found her body jolted against thud of the door as she tried to push it open. She glanced down. Engaged. Overcome with urgency Kim groaned as she made her way to the stairs, taking them two at a time as she headed to the bedrooms. As Kim neared closer she let out an audible gasp as her body simultaneously betrayed her, a small but hot and sticky mess forcing itself into her underwear. Tears pricked her eyes as she squeezed and clenched her buttocks tight. Kim burst into the bedroom and ran straight through into the bathroom. She didn’t even lock the door behind her as in one move she pulled down her heavy underwear and aimed her backside at the toilet, doubling over in pain as her body released the remains from her bowels.

When the cramping stopped she meekly pushed the door shut, sliding the lock across. Kim looked down at her soiled underwear, the smell assaulting her nostrils. She was at least thankful nobody else was here to witness what had just happened. She couldn’t believe it. This was so humiliating and yet the irony wasn’t lost on her as she again drew the parallels between her situation and the one she’d forced Natalie into. Kim slid off her ruined underwear, wrapping the knickers in toilet roll before stuffing them into the sanitary bin. She grimaced as she then began to clean herself up, the thin tissue paper seemingly just smearing her mess around, and it was at this point, feeling weak and helpless as a baby, that the tears started to fall.

*

“Did you see that?” Scott nudged Natalie, “Kim walked in, and then turned around and ran straight back out. I guess when you gotta go you gotta go!”

Natalie didn’t return his laughter. She had indeed seen, she’d seen how defeated Kim had looked as she’d walked in and then the anxiety in her eyes as she’d turned and fled. Natalie knew how awful it was to feel let down and humiliated by your body and much as she wanted to feel the joy of revenge that Scott was clearly feeling all she felt was guilt.

“I didn’t think she’d be that bad.” Natalie said anxiously, “I thought it would just be once. We’ve got the trip home today. What’ll she do?”

Scott shrugged, “That’s not our problem. She should have thought of that when she did what she did to you.”

“But we did this to her!” Natalie said, “I didn’t think about the coach. What if she can’t make it? Scott, how many did you give her?”

Scott ignored the question but, realising that Natalie was genuinely feeling guilt and concern, softened in his reply. “Okay, I guess there is something we could do to help. Go and see how she is and then come back down, if we need to we can talk to the teachers about helping her”

“Okay.” Natalie nodded, finishing her toast quickly before making her way upstairs back to the dorms. As she pushed open the door to the bedroom the smell wafting through from the bathroom, even with the door firmly closed, assaulted her immediately. It was clear Kim was not having a good time in there. Sarah and Melissa were in the bedroom packing their things, Natalie ignored them but they spoke as she made her way towards the bathroom, where she could hear the shower running.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you!” Melissa stated, “It’s Kim, she’s disgusting, she’s been in there ages.”

“That’s assuming you’re not going to wet your pants. Got you nappy on- owww!” Sarah was interrupted by Melissa jabbing her sharply in the ribs with an elbow.

“Hey, c’mon Sarah leave her alone. We know that wasn’t her fault, that was Kim, we don’t care about that now, do we? We’re sorry about yesterday Nat, we were just joking, we know you can’t help the bedwetting. We didn’t mean anything by it. Sarah is just kidding around but we’re sorry.”

Natalie’s cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. She didn’t believe anything Melissa was saying, it was Melissa after all, and not Kim, who had led her downstairs with a fake apology to be exposed in front of the rest of her peers. It was Sarah who had helped announce her secret to everybody over breakfast. And of course neither had been shy about hauling insults over the door when Natalie had been curled up and crying in the shower. Baby. Freak. Dirty. Disgusting. Lazy. All Melissa and Sarah cared about was ensuring that they were parroting the opinions that would make them popular, but it was Scott who had ensured the rest of their peers took Natalie’s bedwetting for what it was, a medical issue she couldn’t help, and not the girls she had previously thought of as friends.

“Thanks.” Natalie managed to spit out insincerely, before turning back out of the bedroom to find Scott. She at least felt safe with him, she could trust him and whatever his plan was.

She didn’t have to look far as Scott was already making his way along the corridor. “You okay?” he asked as he approached Natalie.

“Fine.” Natalie tried to shake off any sadness she felt over her former friends. “But I don’t think Kim is. I think she’s really unwell. She’s never going to be able to get on the coach.”

“Okay.” Scott paused, “Well I think I’ve got a plan. How you can help Kim, sort of. I’ll have to talk to the teachers I think, tell them she’s unwell, and maybe I can make a suggestion to them. But it’ll need something from you so I need you to hear me out and decide if you can help. Okay?”

“Okay.” Natalie nodded, too caught up in wanting to do something for the guy who had been helping her out to consider that it was Scott’s plan that had caused Kim’s predicament in the first place, “Tell me, I’ll help.”

*

Having had to make another urgent race against her bowels to the toilet cubicle in the midst of dressing herself after her shower Kim was now hesitant to leave it, all too aware that another wave might hit her at any moment. She looked at her watch. 09:23. They were supposed to be leaving in seven minutes. Her stomach winced in panic at the thought. How was she going to deal with this on the coach, motorway service stations weren’t that frequent, what if she needed to go? As Kim was ruminating on how she could possibly make the trip home she heard the bathroom door open and then there was a knock on the cubicle door, “Kim Harris. Are you in there?”

Kim sighed. She recognised the voice as Mrs Jones and she replied meekly, “Yes Miss.”

“One of your friends has had a word. I hear you have a bit of a situation?”

Kim would have laughed at the word friends if she hadn’t felt so awful. She didn’t have any friends! Whoever had informed her teacher that she was stuck on the toilet was no doubt just doing it to humiliate her and her cheeks flushed red as she quietly confirmed the ‘situation’.

“Well you know we’re supposed to be leaving in five minutes and whilst I’m sure we can hold off for another half an hour or so I’m afraid we can’t wait all day. We’ve got a six hour journey ahead of us and you know we’re not going to be able to stop on the motorway once we get going. How bad is it? Are you going to be able to wait in between stops?”

“Um. Pretty bad. I, I don’t know about waiting. It’s been kind of, um, urgent.”

“Right. I see.” Kim could tell Mrs Jones was becoming a bit flustered even with the cubicle door still between them, “Well, Mrs Radcliffe has gone to the chemist get some Imodium for you which will hopefully help slow things down. But listen, we really can’t hold up the coach all morning whilst we wait for it to take effect. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to do something else.”

“What?” Kim asked nervously. Was she going to have to get a train back? Stay here another night?

“Well I’m aware that one of your other peers has some, umm, night-time issues. And that she wears protection for this. She has some left over and…”

“What? No! I’m not wearing a nappy.” Kim proclaimed, interrupting her teacher with horror at the idea she seemed about to suggest. “You can’t make me do that.”

“Well of course I won’t force you,” Mrs Jones replied, “If we can stop the coach when you need it we will do, but you know that might not be an option if we’re on the motorway. It won’t be safe to just pull over and there won’t be services along the whole route. I’m not suggesting you’ll have to use it, but if you’re not sure whether you can wait it will just offer a bit of extra protection. I’m sorry to have to suggest it but the other option is to risk an accident requiring a change of clothes. Nobody will know what you’re wearing apart from you and the student providing the, umm, protection.”

“Natalie.” Kim stated. Was this her idea?

“Well, you know it’s really not my prerogative to say who that is. But I’m sure whoever it is will be very understanding.”

Kim snorted under her breath. Understanding? Natalie was unlikely to afford her any understanding at all, and of course that was all Kim’s fault. No. She wasn’t going to do it. To wear one of those things. She couldn’t. She would rather take the risk. And then Kim immediately thought of the soiled underwear stuffed into the bin next to her. Would she? What may have seemed an unlikely risk a few hours ago suddenly seemed all too real.

“Can’t I get a train home, or stay another night?” Kim asked, desperate for there to be another solution.

“I’m afraid that’s really not an option, Kim. The hostel is booked out to other guests tonight, they’ve already been very understanding that we’re going to need to check out later than planned and you know there are no direct routes home on the train, never mind the cost of tickets. I’m sorry but you really are going to need to get on that coach and I can’t delay it leaving much later, the driver has another trip planned for tomorrow and needs to get the bus back before the cleaners finish for the day. We’ll stop where we can if you need it but I really do think you would be sensible to take up the offer of this extra protection, just as a precaution.”

Kim sighed, feeling utterly humiliated at her teacher’s suggestion but also knowing there probably wasn’t a better option for her right now, and so reluctantly she agreed.

*

With cases packed ready to be loaded onto the coach Natalie and Scott were sat idly in the lounge along with all of their peers as they waited for their teachers to give an update on when they would be leaving. All of their peers, that was, except for Kim. Of course word had gotten around that she was stuck on the toilet, there was even a false rumour that she hadn’t made it and had an accident on the stairs, and Natalie was at least glad that the attention had been firmly redirected away from her. If anybody was drawing a parallel between Kim’s predicament and Natalie’s exposed secret they were at least kind enough not to mention it in front of her.

Mrs Jones walked into the room, she approached Mrs Hughes and Mr Catterall and whispered something quietly to them. The three of them glanced over at Natalie before Mr Catterall rose and started to speak, “Right. Good news everybody. We should be able to set off in the next fifteen minutes or so. So I want everybody to grab your cases and start taking them out to put on the coach.”

There was a flurry of movement as the teens started to collect their belongings and wheel or carry them out of the hostel and it was in the midst of the hustle and bustle that Mrs Jones came over to approach Natalie and Scott, speaking quietly “Right, so I’ve spoken to Kim about your, umm, offer, and we’ve agreed that it’s probably a wise idea. Do you have the, err, items.”

Natalie nodded, too mortified to speak properly. She wasn’t sure exactly how Scott had made the suggestion to her teacher that Kim use one of her remaining nappies, having been far too embarrassed to be part of the conversation herself, but he had pointed out he’d already had to tell her teacher about the bedwetting to let them stay alone at the hostel the day previously and so when he’d suggested it as a solution to her problem and assured she didn’t have to be embarrassed she had, somewhat reluctantly, agreed. She hadn’t thought Kim would actually say yes though.

“Good. Well then, I suggest you go up and give her, umm, what she needs.”

Natalie’s stomach dropped. Did her teacher really expect her to hand it over to Kim herself? That would be beyond humiliating for both of them.

“Right, hurry up.” Mrs Jones looked at her watch, “We really do need to be setting off as soon as possible. The driver’s on a tight schedule.”

Natalie felt in no position to argue and so she picked up her rucksack and hurriedly made her way up the stairs.

*

Mrs Radcliffe passed Kim the two Imodium pills and a glass of water. “There now, take them and I’m sure you’ll be fine before long. Are you all packed and ready to go?”

Kim nodded as she hungrily gulped down the pills and the water, desperate for some relief from the hell she had found herself in.

“Good. Well I’ll leave you here to wait for, umm, anything else you might need.”

As if on cue the door swung open and Natalie stood awkwardly in the doorway.

“Right girls, I’ll leave you two to it. Make sure you’re both downstairs in,” the teacher looked at her watch, “Ten minutes, okay?”

They both nodded and with that Mrs Radcliffe left, leaving the pair in an uncomfortable stand off as neither was quite sure who should break the silence first. In fact, Natalie looked so embarrassed Kim wondered if she might cry. It was surprising to Kim that even in this situation where it was she who now needed the nappy Natalie still managed to carry her shame like a weight, her humiliation almost palpable, and Kim felt a pang of guilt over what she’d done. “Look Natalie, I-“

“I’ll just give you this and then I’ll go.” The silence now broken Natalie quickly interrupted Kim, she walked towards her and quickly pulled a nappy from the front pocket of her bag, thrusting it in Kim’s direction.

Kim took the nappy gingerly, not quite believing that this was really happening or that she was going to do this. She turned it over in her hands, it was thick and soft but she shuddered at the idea of putting it on. Instinctively her hands moved to unfold it, and she was surprised as she did at the size of it, it appeared so alien and yet so familiar at the same time. She glanced up at Natalie who was still stood next to the bed, her eyes seemingly transfixed on the unfolded nappy in Kim’s hands. Kim wondered what she was feeling. When Kim had gotten her revenge on Natalie for the content in Mellissa’s diary she had felt powerful, at least at first, but surprisingly there wasn’t a trace of enjoyment on Natalie’s face.

“Do you, umm, know how to put it on?” Natalie asked.

Kim’s face flushed, the reality of the situation suddenly hitting her. She needed to wear this. She was actually going to put on a nappy, at eighteen-years-old, to wear on the bus around her entire English class and teachers. She felt too overcome in horror at that moment to say anything in reply. Even worse, it suddenly occurred to Kim that she might not just be wearing it. She might have to use it too. And then what? What if she used it? Would she just be expected to sit in her own mess until the next toilet break? She felt as if her blood was running cold as she realised she didn’t even have another nappy to change into…

Kim’s thoughts were interrupted by Natalie who, having not had any reply from Kim, had gone straight into trying to awkwardly explain how to put on an adult nappy to her peer. “It’s easier if you lie down. The tapes go at the back, like on a, a baby one I guess but umm, there are four tapes instead of two. And um, they’re sticky. But you can refasten them, if you, y’know, if you need to take it off and then put it back on. Then you just need to pull it up between your legs and, umm, then you can do up the tapes. Do the bottom ones first, point up. Then the tops, pointing down. Make sense?”

Kim nodded although she wasn’t really sure she had taken any of that in, her mind was still panicking about what would happen should her body betray her again whilst on the coach. Natalie turned to make her way out of the room, “Wait,” Kim couldn’t believe she was about to ask this, “Do you, umm, do you have a spare?”

Although it was Kim who was humiliating herself still Natalie flushed red, “Oh, umm, I don’t know. Yeah. Maybe. I’ll look for you.” She set her backpack down on the floor.

“Thanks.” Kim said before rising where she was sat on the bed, nappy in hand. She supposed whilst Natalie searched her bag she may as well get this awful thing on.

Kim first sat herself on the toilet and she didn’t know whether it was a good sign or a bad one that her body didn’t seem to have anything left to expel. Did that mean it was over, or did it simply mean there would be more to come later? With a sigh Kim stood up, she didn’t even bother to pull her jeans and underwear up to move awkwardly to the bathroom floor. She unfolded the nappy and was struck by how noisy it was, the plastic crinkling, and yet the inside was soft as cotton wool. She turned it over in her hands a few times before she was able to identify the tapes, and then she laid it out on the floor and lowered her bottom onto it. Natalie had said it wasn’t too hard but it didn’t feel that way to Kim as she pulled the front up between her legs and then tried to wrestle with the tapes. She was trying to unfasten them but it was no use. How was she meant to do this lying down? She couldn’t see anything she was doing. Frustrated she sat up so that she could see the tapes, she managed to undo the left tape but then as she tried to pull the back of the nappy up from the floor to her back she wasn’t able to position it properly. The tape was stuck to her fingers now and when she used her other hand to unstick it the right hand side of the nappy fell back to the floor. She let out a cry of frustration. This was ridiculous.

“Umm, are you ok?” It was Natalie.

“I’m fine.” Kim snapped back.

“Okay. Umm. Do you need any help?”

Kim was mortified at the idea! Absolutely no way! However, before she could actually find the words to protest Natalie had stuck her head around the door. Kim instinctively looked down, the nappy was at least covering anything private but even so she wanted the ground to swallow her up right now.

“Here.” Natalie had a spare nappy in her hand but Kim could only look at it, afraid if she let go of the nappy it would fall away and leave her even more exposed. Natalie dropped it next to Kim, she turned around but then hesitated and with what sounded almost like a sigh turned back to Kim, “Lie back. I’ll just tape it and then it’ll be done for both of us. Okay?”

Kim wanted to say no. She wanted to say no to all of this, to turn back the clock half an hour and refuse to do any of this. To throw the nappy at Natalie and remind her that it was Natalie who needed it, Natalie who should be lying exposed and embarrassed with a nappy around her waist, none of this was supposed to be happening to her. But she didn’t. She was exhausted from the morning’s events, and of course she was still all too acutely aware of that which she’d had to stuff into the toilet bin just an hour or so before. So she said nothing and, holding the front of her nappy firmly to her belly button to ensure that Natalie wasn’t going to see anything even more humiliating, she lay down.

Having been wrestling with the tapes for so long Kim was surprised that Natalie was able to have the nappy taped securely around her waist within thirty seconds, “Thanks,” she managed to mumble, “You made it look easy.”

“Lots of practise I guess.” No sooner had she said it than Kim noticed Natalie’s face flush red, as if she’d realised what she was admitting, and Kim wondered just how much practice she’d had. Had she always had this problem? Maybe in a different world, in a different scenario, they would have discussed it now. Maybe in different circumstances they would have bonded over this, if Kim had kept up the pretence of sympathy earlier in the week instead of taking on the role of villain. She metaphorically kicked herself for being so open about exposing Natalie’s secret, she could have made herself look innocent in all of this, could have played the friend, could have maybe even made a friend.

Kim opened her mouth to respond, but before she could Natalie had turned and left, leaving Kim lying there on the bathroom floor. Kim shook the thoughts of kinship from her mind and stood up. She was surprised, when she stood, at how thick and bulky this nappy felt between her legs, forcing them to stand slightly apart. The nappy was noisy, every movement caused it to crinkle. She pulled her underwear and the jeans over the nappy and, to her horror whilst she was just about able to fasten the button of her jeans the zip was refusing to close. She glanced in the mirror and was acutely aware of the bulge, as if wearing this thing wasn’t uncomfortable enough in itself now she had to contend with the fact that she needed to go and face all of her peers who, no doubt, Natalie was gleefully updating on the fact she was about to appear wearing a nappy under her clothes.

*

“You helped her put it on?”

Natalie nodded. Scott was full of disbelief and Natalie couldn’t tell whether it was accompanied by admiration or disgust.

“And you didn’t say anything else to her?”

Natalie shook her head. Scott was desperate for a narrative in which Natalie had taken her power back and kicked Kim when she was down, but of course she hadn’t. “I couldn’t. I felt almost sorry for her.”

Scott snorted. “Sorry for her? Are you serious?”

“I guess I felt bad. At least what she did to me was kind of my fault. We did this to her.”

Scott frowned. “Your fault? How was it your fault? You did nothing to her!”

“I just mean it’s my fault I, y’know, need the nappies. It’s not her fault she’s ill. This is worse.”

“What, so because you have a medical condition you deserved to have her bully and humiliate you like that? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No. I just,” Natalie shrugged, “I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I just felt sorry for her.”

“And you mean it that you’re not even gonna tell anyone she’s in a nappy?”

Natalie nodded. “It was revenge enough to see her lying there like that, helpless. And I mean everyone knows why the coach is being delayed, I don’t need to keep adding to it. And I don’t want to remind everyone about the nappies and why I’ve got them in the first place.”

“Honestly, I don’t get how you can still be so nice.” Scott shook his head, but there was affection in his voice and he pulled Natalie close to him for a hug.

While Scott held her close Natalie watched as Kim walked out of the youth hostel’s front door, making her way to the carpark where her peers were all stood, waiting to get on the coach. Kim’s cardigan was tied around her waist, her head was down but Kim could see she was anxiously glancing around to see who was looking at her. Natalie understood how she was feeling as she thought to all of the times she had walked out of a bathroom in her night-time nappy into a bedroom filled with her peers and been overwhelmed with the feeling that all eyes were on her. Of course she doubted any of their peers would even consider that Kim was in a nappy, just as nobody had ever suspected Natalie before, but she knew logic wasn’t usually enough to stop the worries and the paranoia.

The comments started as whispers which rose to murmurs as everybody started to look in Kim’s direction and Natalie thought it was at least in her favour that Mrs Jones interrupted the teens and began ushering them onto the coach before Kim was close enough to overhear.

*

“Hey Nat, wake up.”

Natalie was jerked awake by Scott’s voice and the accompanying shake to her shoulder, a wave of fear ran down through her body. Had she fallen asleep on the bus? Her hand instinctively went to her crotch and she breathed an audible sigh of relief to find it dry.

“It’s okay, you were only asleep for a couple of minutes.” Scott said, “I didn’t know if, y’know, it was okay for you to sleep?”

Natalie’s face flushed red. She thought back to all of the car journeys she’d had to endure whilst in nappies over the years. No, it would definitely not be okay for her to sleep and she shook her head sadly.

“I guess a week of bad sleep’s catching up with you, huh?” Scott said kindly and he gently directed Natalie’s head to rest on his shoulder, “We’ll be stopping at the services for a toilet stop soon, you know you could put on a nappy and then you can sleep the rest of the journey.”

“I can’t.” Natalie sat up.

“You can, no one will notice. No one’s noticed Kim have they?”

“I mean I can’t, I don’t have any.”

“You gave Kim your last one?”

“Yeah, well I gave her a spare as well. In case.”

“Right.” Scott seemed lost in thought for a moment, “Okay, wait here.”

Natalie was confused as he leapt up from his seat, grabbing his backpack, and made his way towards the front of the bus. What was he possibly doing now and how did he always have an answer for everything?

*

Kim’s head rested against the window. She felt exhausted from the events of the last twenty four hours, anxiety nestled deep in her empty stomach. She looked at her watch. They hadn’t even been on the coach two hours yet, and it felt like they’d been stuck in traffic for at least half of that. She was willing for this journey to be over and for her to be at home where she could get into bed and hide under the covers and pretend to herself that this trip had been some kind of bad dream.

Kim was surprised to feel somebody sit heavily beside her, and even more surprised when she turned to face Scott.

“You okay?” He asked.

Kim nodded anxiously. What did he want? Surely he wasn’t about to do anything here, on the bus, with her sat directly behind their teachers?

“Natalie’s told me what you’re wearing.” He said quietly, his voice was flat and monotone and Kim could not detect any emotion in it.

Was that why he was here? To inform her that he was about to announce to the entire coach what she was wearing? She had been surprised when she’d made her way outside to the coach to find that Natalie didn’t seem to have told anybody. Of course there had been comments about her desperate trips to the toilet, Sarah and Melissa had made sure of that, but nobody seemed to know the worst part of it apart from Natalie. Natalie and, it now transpired, Scott. And even if Natalie didn’t have it in her to be awful she felt like Scott definitely did. Was he was going to try and expose the nappy in front of everybody right here on the bus?

“Well, have you needed it? We haven’t stopped yet.”

Kim mas mortified at his line of questioning. Who was he to try and discuss this with her? And yet, if she didn’t, what would the consequences be. She swallowed and managed to force out the word no, thankful that the imodium seemed to have at least done its job and that she hadn’t had any repeats of the morning’s emergencies whilst trapped on the coach. The nappy, whilst hot and uncomfortable between her legs, was at least clean.

“Natalie said she gave you a spare.”

What was this? Was this some sort of twisted ploy to humiliate her? As if her morning hadn’t been bad enough? And with this line of thought Kim felt that twinge of guilt that was becoming more and more familiar to her as the day played on, unable to ignore how she’d played out her own twisted ploy to humiliate Natalie. Was this how Natalie had felt as events had spiralled as far from her control as her body’s ability to stay dry at night? Spiralled, of course, solely because of Kim’s actions.

“I want it back.”

“What?” Kim’s thoughts were replaced with confusion. “Why? I mean, what if… No. She gave it to me.”

Scott spoke with his voice lowered almost to a growl, “Well now she needs it. Funnily enough she hasn’t managed to sleep very well on this trip,” his words were pointed, accusatory, “I’d like her to be able to get some sleep on this bus.”

Kim wasn’t sure she could believe what she was hearing. Scott wanted the spare nappy back, for Natalie, to wear here, on the coach? So that she could fall asleep and, what? Wet it? It was a gift, one she was sure he didn’t mean to be giving. If Natalie was wearing a nappy as well then Kim could stop worrying that either she or Scott was about to expose her to the rest of the group. “Okay,” Kim nodded, although no sooner was the word past her lips than the hunger pangs in her stomach reminded her of the morning’s events. She felt okay now, but could she really trust her body? Another thought then hit her, what if this was a trick? What if Scott was taking the spare nappy in the hope that she would be left soiled and without anything to change into. No. He wouldn’t do that. Would he? People were cruel, Kim knew that. She was cruel. She thought of herself stuffing Natalie’s nappies behind the sink, she thought of herself reassuring a crying Natalie in the bathroom that it wasn’t a big deal, she thought of herself purposefully pulling Natalie’s duvet from her to expose the wet patch, she thought of herself throwing the nappies at Natalie whilst she sobbed in the shower and then again in front of everybody at breakfast. Where these images had brought her pleasure and satisfaction just a short time ago now they just made her feel uncomfortable. How had she gotten so carried away? Kim knew she wasn’t a particularly friendly girl, she wasn’t particularly funny or caring or sociable either, but she wasn’t mean. She was quiet and intelligent and studious, a bit of a loner who kept herself to herself but she wasn’t a bully. Except now she was. She sighed. Why couldn’t it have been Melissa or Sarah who had needed the nappies. Getting her revenge on them would have actually been satisfying, understandable, respectable. How had she never really noticed that Natalie wasn’t actually that much like her awful friends?

“Well come on then,” Scott interrupted Kim’s thoughts impatiently, outstretching his hand and eye pointing to her rucksack.

Kim nodded. She supposed she didn’t have much choice in the matter now anyway. She wasn’t about to say no to Scott, he wore anger behind his eyes and she wasn’t about to test it.

-

It was all Natalie could do to keep her eyes open as she waited for Scott to return from whatever she was doing. The gentle hum of the idle chatter of her peers bounced around the bus but she didn’t feel able to join in and she felt relief when Scott made his return back to the seat next to hers.

He pulled his backpack open, “Here, I got this back for you.”

Natalie looked inside and immediately recognised the folded plastic shape as one of her nappies. She felt completely shamed at the idea that Scott now had it, that he must have handled it, felt the smooth plastic of it and the crinkle beneath his fingers. Was this whole Scott thing moving too quickly? Why was it now that she suddenly felt so exposed. She thought of Kim. What had he said to her? She must have handed it over, was he trying to give her more ammunition to humiliate her?

“Why have you got that?” Was all Natalie could manage to say.

“So you can sleep.”

“But,” Natalie didn’t know how she could possibly articulate all of the things she was thinking, feeling, and in the end all she could say was, “But what if Kim needs it.”

It was the wrong thing to have said.

“Kim?” Scott practically spat the word out. “Are you serious? What if she needs it? What if she needs the nappies she stole from you, hid from you when you actually needed them? Needs the nappies she threw at you in front of everyone? You know what, I hope she does need it. I hope she shits herself right here on the bus in front of everyone, and I hope when she goes to change she realises she only has her underwear left to put on and I hope it happens again. And again. I hope she is utterly humiliated and has to walk off the bus carrying a plastic bag of soiled clothes in her hands like the shamed primary school child who wet his pants in front of everyone during assembly. But that won’t happen. If I’ve learnt one thing it’s that bad things don’t happen to bad people, they happen to good people like you and my Mum. And you know what? Even if it did happen, even if she shat herself right here in front of everybody, it still wouldn’t make up for what she did to you. She’ll go home and this will just be a bad memory, an embarrassing brief illness that she can forget about. Your condition, that’s a thing you have to deal with and think about and try to hide from people like her all the time. You won’t forget about this next week, you’ll have to take it with you. And look at how exhausted you are from this weekend. She did that. Do you really not get it?”

Natalie didn’t want to cry, but she did. It was frustration and sadness that came through in Scott’s voice rather than any anger and she realised they hadn’t really spoken about his Mum yet. Natalie had been so caught up in how her own personal nightmare was unfolding over the week that she hadn’t stopped to think about what Scott had going on in his own life. She had been so glad to have somebody step in and help take care of her that she hadn’t really stopped to consider why the caring role was coming so naturally to him, or why he seemed angry on an almost personal level about what Kim had done. Had he had to stand up to bullies like Kim on behalf of his Mum in the past?

Scott put an arm around Natalie. “Don’t cry. I’m sorry, but just try and put your own needs first, okay? Stop thinking about her. She’s going to be fine, everything’s worn off now anyway so you don’t need to worry. All you need to do is stay awake until we get to the services, then you can get yourself protected and sleep cuddled up with me the rest of the journey. Sound like a plan?”

Natalie smiled through her tears and nodded, leaning into the comfort of Scott’s broad chest.

*

The coach pulled up into the motorway service station and as it ground to a halt Mr Catterall stood up to address the restless teens who were already starting to rise in anticipation of being able to stretch their legs, fill their stomachs and, of course, empty their bladders. “Okay everybody, I’m afraid we can’t stop for long as we’ve fallen a bit behind schedule. Everybody needs to be back on the coach in half an hour.”

The groans of her peers were audible and Kim felt some guilt for the delay. She kept her head turned to the window as she listened to her peers file out of the coach, willing them to keep ignoring her as they had so far on the trip. She was in luck and, once the coach was clear, she cautiously rose from her seat. She was acutely aware of the nappy, the thick bulk alien between her legs and although the crinkle was faint it was a heavy reminder of what she was wearing. She adjusted the cardigan around her waist and gingerly made her way into the service station, acutely aware of the faint rustling that emitted from the nappy with her every step and the way it ever so slightly pushed her legs apart as she walked and she just hoped nobody would notice.

Kim’s stomach grumbled to remind her of her hunger, but she was not going to risk letting a bite of food pass her lips until she was home. Instead she bought a single bottle of water and then made her way to the toilets.

Kim was disappointed to see that the toilets were busy and that several of her school peers were stood at the sinks. She shut a cubicle door, the thin wooden door offering very little in the way of privacy. Kim pulled down her jeans and underwear and looked down at the strange and foreign sight of the nappy around her waist. She pulled at one of the tapes and, as she ripped it away from the plastic she realised she had now torn a hole in the nappy’s front, the cotton-wool like padding now exposed. She sighed. How was she going to do this? Kim tugged at the nappy wondering if she could pull it down like a pair of knickers but all that did was create an alarming amount of rustling in return for very little movement. Kim sighed and ripped off another tape, to her surprise though this time the tape came off and left a blue rectangle behind in its place. She looked more carefully at the tapes and realised they were double-tabbed. So that was how they could be reusable! With care Kim carefully removed the remaining two tapes. It was a relief to be free of the nappy, even if just for a few minutes.

Whilst Kim sat on the toilet and urinated she let her hands wander over the nappy, she didn’t have much experience with baby nappies but what she did know was that they weren’t plastic backed like this. Kim stroked it and was surprised at how smooth it was, for something that crinkled like a plastic bag it definitely didn’t feel like one. She shook her head. This whole thing was bizarre. Kim wiped and flushed and realised she now had to get the thing back on. It had been bad enough contending with it in the bathroom of the youth hostel, how was she going to manage it in this tiny cubicle? Kim glanced at the sanitary bin located next to her. Did she even need to put it back on? She felt fine now and she didn’t think the risk of accident was very high. She absent-mindedly stroked the inside of the nappy, it was soft, pillowy. She sighed. It was a risk to wear it and possibly have everybody find out, but of course it was a risk not to wear it for the remaining four or five hours should her bowels suddenly decide on a repeat of the morning’s events. Kim wondered which would be the worse humiliation. And then she thought of Natalie and the nappy Kim had handed over to Scott for her. If she wasn’t going to be the only teen on the bus in a nappy she supposed that wasn’t so bad. Apart from that there was still the risk that Scott had lied and that his taking of the spare nappy was part of a wider plan to humiliate her. Kim looked at the nappy again and she knew what she had to do. She awkwardly placed it between her legs but it was seemingly impossible to hold it in place and tape simultaneously. She pushed down the lid of the toilet and sat down and this instantly made the task easier and she was able to at least do a reasonable job of getting the tapes on.

Kim exited the cubicle, and as she did she saw Natalie furtively glance around before entering a cubicle opposite, backpack in hand. She hadn’t seen Kim, who made her way across the room and quickly went into the cubicle next to Natalie, her ears pricked. It wasn’t long before Kim heard the now distinctive rustle of that plastic outer followed by the tell-tale sound of tapes being unpeeled. One. Two. Three. Four. Kim smiled. Natalie was definitely wearing a nappy. After a few more moments she heard the flush followed by the creak of the door as Natalie exited the stall. Kim waited a short while before she pushed open the door of the cubicle she was in.

Kim was in time to watch as Natalie made her way out of the bathroom, Kim’s eyes firmly rested on her bottom. It wasn’t obvious that she had a nappy on, but it wasn’t well hidden either, now that she knew what to look for. A slight bulge between the legs and the barely audible crinkling of plastic. Kim wondered if this was something Natalie did all the time, for travel. The thought intrigued her but she didn’t know why and she shook the thought out of her head before slowly making her own way back to the coach.

*

Natalie awoke with a start as the bus braked in response to traffic, her head jolted lightly against the window. “How long have I been asleep?”

“A couple of hours I guess. Still a way to go I’m afraid, we’ve been moving at a snail’s pace.”

“Do you think we’re going to stop soon?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. We seem to be stuck in traffic. Why, do you need to change?”

Natalie shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I umm, didn’t wet.”

“Hey, that’s great. Well done.”

Natalie’s face smiled, but there was nothing behind it. She shifted in her seat. Her bladder hadn’t emptied whilst she slept but it had certainly filled, and now she was awake she could feel the pressure screaming at her that she would need to release. Soon. She crossed her legs and squirmed slightly in her seat, glancing over at Scott and willing he hadn’t noticed. She was in luck, he was fiddling with his phone and didn’t seem to be paying much attention. She breathed in deeply. She just needed to think of something else. She looked out of the window for a distraction but found nothing but empty fields and hedgerows. Natalie decided to play an internal game of I went to Market, a distraction technique her parents had used with her since she was little. It worked for a while, but it wasn’t long before her bladder sent another wave of pressure through her body, Natalie bounced her knee up and down as she clenched every muscle in her body. Even her toes were curling.

“Are you okay?” Scott’s brow was furrowed with concern?

Natalie nodded, not sure she could speak, but her expression said otherwise.

“Do you need to pee?”

Natalie couldn’t look at him although she supposed it was obvious what she needed.

Scott rested his hand onto Natalie’s arm. “I don’t think we’re going to stop anytime soon. But you’re protected, right? Just go. It’s fine.”

Natalie looked at Scott aghast. Go? Now? On purpose? She couldn’t! “No! I can wait.”

Could she? Another twinge of pain sent its way from her bladder. Natalie was trying not to squirm, to shuffle and shift and squeeze and make it obvious to Scott how desperate she really was. She tried not to let the tears come to her eyes as she realised that even if the bus stopped right now she might not be able to make it. The pain was sharp and almost disorientating now. Natalie let her eyes sneak a look at Scott, he was staring intently at his phone, never before had the game Snake been so enthralling for him and Natalie knew he was just attempting to protect her dignity and pride.

She was going to have to do it. Natalie shamefully turned to look out of the window. She pushed with her bladder, but nothing happened. She tried to relax, but it wasn’t happening. Natalie shifted, but her body was absolutely not about to let go on this bus. Natalie breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, she was desperate but that was okay, she could deal with being desperate. Her body clearly was capable of holding it.

Natalie turned to face Scott, she opened her mouth to speak, and that’s when it happened. Natalie’s bladder let go. Natalie let out an audible gasp and, without consideration for the fact she was in a nappy Natalie’s hand flew to her crotch to try and stop the flow. She stared wide eyes at Scott as red hot shame coursed through her. She squeezed ever muscle in her body but it did nothing to stop the flow. Natalie hung her head in shame, letting the tears fall. Of course she had wet a nappy before, hundreds if not thousands of times. But never awake. It was one thing to wet unconsciously and quite another to do it whilst fully conscious and aware of every moment. And at this moment all she could concentrate was how strange the steady pulse of urine felt. Too warm and too wet. She could literally feel it spreading beneath her, the act of wetting a nappy so different to simply waking up to find it already swollen.

Scott didn’t say anything. He just gently placed his hand over Natalie’s, stroking her fingers. Natalie still sat frozen to the spot even after the wetting had stopped. She had never felt pools of wetness like this before or this intense warmth and Natalie was afraid to move. Had she leaked? She tentatively shifted in her seat, but she couldn’t tell. She ran a hand cautiously underneath her, at this point not even sure if she cared if Scott realised what she was doing. Natalie relaxed as she realised that she was dry and as she did she felt Scott pull her towards him, moving his arm around her and resting her tearstained cheek onto his shoulder.

“Shh, you’re fine. That’s what it’s there for. Now close your eyes and go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up when we’re home.

*

And so it was that when the coach pulled to a stop at the sprawling secondary school there were two teenage girls who stepped off it wearing a nappy. One girl was dry, her nappy taped shoddily and with small clumps of padding beginning to escape out of a hole at the front, desperate to get the uncomfortable nappy off, in the bin and to never wear one again. The other girl was wet, her nappy taped expertly, the nappy snug and secure and with the hand of a boy resting gently against it. She would wear one again, in fact she would wear many, but it didn’t matter to him and for that reason she was starting to think it didn’t matter to her either.

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Author: KaleidoscopeKitty
Timestamp: Aug 29, 2022 at 12:02 PM
Content:

EKDrynites said:

Bravo! So happy to have this story back. Will you post your unfinished ones or do you plan on writing a new one? Either will be awesome!

[End of quote]

I’m not sure on posting the unfinished ones as I think I’m unlikely to go back and add more to them now, when I wrote these 15 odd years ago I was a similar age to the characters and at college/ uni with a lot of time on my hands but I don’t have that so much now I work full time. I assume there is an etiquette against posting an intentionally unfinished story but I might have a look through and see if there are any I think are long enough in their incomplete state to still be readable or I can quickly tie up.

No plans for new stories now, partly due to lack of time and partly because I don’t have any story idea niggling away to get out, but never say never!

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Author: KaleidoscopeKitty
Timestamp: Aug 29, 2022 at 7:07 PM
Content:

EKDrynites said:

ah fair play, for what it's worth I'd still love to see holly and Ella; even in unfinished form, just for old times sakes.

[End of quote]

Oh, well I’m definitely happy to send them to you. I’m impressed you remember the names of them! Am not on my laptop where they’re saved right now but I will dm them over at some point