Girl Next Door

Calvin tapped his foot against the concrete curb outside the school, clicking his teeth together as he let out an annoyed groan. Everyone else from his class had already been picked up and here he was, still waiting for a ride. 

"I should have known," he grumbled when he saw his sister Lily's car pull up. She rolled down her passenger side window and grinned sarcastically.

"Were you supposed to get here at noon? I thought it was 1," Lily laughed as Calvin threw his bag into her back seat and got in next to her. "So technically, I'm early."

"Ha ha," Calvin said, enunciating each part. "Do you always have to screw around with me like this?"

"Hey," Lily said, giving Calvin a light flick on the nose, "Is that anyway to greet your big sister coming home from college? Come on now." Calvin rolled his eyes and leaned over to hug Lily. "It's good to see you, Cal."

"Yeah yeah, you too," Calvin said, crossing his arms. "Can we go?"

"What's wrong, bad vacation?" Lily snickered again.

"Vacation," Calvin scoffed. At the end of his third year of high school, the whole class was taken on a "bonding" week in a camp ground. "I lost a week of my real vacation with basically more school, except I had to sleep in tiny bunk beds and take showers in a dirty bathroom with a bunch of other guys."

"And you're worried you'd miss her?" Lily smiled, turning to Calvin as she started the car. Calvin's face turned bright red and he looked away, which only made Lily laugh in response as she tussled his hair. "Don't worry. In fact, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise when we get back."

Calvin wasn't sure what that could mean, but he felt his chest start to tingle at the thought. But at least it sounded like he'd still have the rest of the summer to spend more time with Amy.

But when Lily pulled into the driveway of their home, Calvin felt a sudden surge of despair and anger. A moving van was parked outside the Carpenters' house next door, which could only mean one thing: the Carpenters were leaving. Thomas and Helen Carpenter were an elderly couple who seemed nice enough, Calvin thought, but it was less about them than their family. Every summer, their grandchildren would come spend time at the house, which meant Calvin would get to see Amy again.

She was the oldest of the grandkids and she at Calvin hit it off well. Lily was never a great partner for playing with Calvin, always more interested in pulling pranks on him than with him, but Amy had all the same interests as Calvin. They'd go exploring the suburbs, share books, play with toys. But as they got older, Calvin started to...feel things toward Amy. 

And now the Carpenters were moving away and with them went Calvin's chance to see Amy again.

"Hey...hey, Calvin?" Lily said as she saw her brother trembling in the seat next to her. She put one hand on his shoulder and he shrugged it away quickly.

"This is my pleasant surprise?" Calvin snapped, turning to Lily with exasperated eyes. "You can tease me and make jokes at my expense but you've never been...cruel."

Lily sighed and smiled, leaning in toward Calvin. "Who do you think is moving into the house, bro?"

Calvin stopped and turned back to the moving van. A line of kids were running toward the house and he recognized a few of them as some of the Carpenters' grandkids. "So...they're..."

"You don't have to hide it around me, Cal," Lily said. "Around Mom and Dad, sure, I get that. But I can tell how much you liked Amy, and honestly, I think it's adorable." She opened her door and walked back toward the house. Calvin followed suit, taking his bag with him. Lily rang their doorbell and turned to Calvin and said "Amy isn't here yet, though" right before their mother opened the door.

"There you both are," she said, hugging Calvin and Lily tightly.

"You already saw me, Mom," Lily chuckled. "I've been here for a week."

"Still, you've been around long enough at school that I'm making up for lost time," their mom said. "Now Calvin, come inside and unpack. And you must be hungry from your bus ride back."

---

After Calvin ate and got unpacked, he felt a little restless despite his summer vacation just starting. Normally he'd have lots of things on his mind to do, but then again, he usually had Amy to spend time with. He laid back on his bed and tapped his foot up and down, trying to think of something to do. 

But as his mind began to settle, he heard the doorbell ring and bolted out of his room, hoping it would be Amy, finally moved in and ready to see him. He stopped just at the corner, peering around the wall at the front door as his mom answered the doorbell. And for good reason: it wasn't Amy. It was some woman. And as she walked, or rather, waddled into the house, Calvin was even more relieved he'd chosen to hide behind the wall. If he'd been standing there when the door opened, his eyes might have bugged out a little too obviously.

"Hello there," the woman smiled, reaching one hand out while her other hand rested on her large pregnant belly. "I'm Lydia Carpenter."

"Hello, I'm Meredith Williams," Calvin's mom smiled, shaking her hand. "I met your husband a few days ago. He said you'd be coming down soon and, well, here you are."

"Here I am," Lydia laughed, putting her other hand on her belly. "All of me."

"Yes, he said you were expecting but I had no idea," Meredith said, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't mean to be rude."

"No, it's alright. I'm not ashamed of my belly," Lydia laughed. "Quadruplets, if you can believe it. We should actually talk about that later, actually..."

As Calvin gulped, his eyes glued to Lydia's belly and wondering what she meant by that, Lily snuck up behind him and gave him a quick poke in the back. "Surprised?"

Calvin let out a yelp and hopped forward, now exposed to his mother and new neighbor. His face turned beet red when he looked up, clearing his throat, and awkwardly putting his hands in his pockets. "H-hey."

Meredith sighed. "Lily, Calvin, I swear you both still act like you're in elementary school." 

"Sorry, sorry, didn't see we had company," Lily cackled, walking up to Lydia and shaking her hand. "I'm Lily, just here for the summer. May I?"

"Of course," Lydia smiled as Lily moved her hand to their new neighbor's belly and gave it a few careful pats and rubs.

"Hey Cal, want to feel?" she said, turning around and wiggling her eyebrows at her brother. "The belly doesn't bite."

Calvin's blush only grew as he glared at his sister. Lily had long ago stumbled across his brother's pregnancy fetish. She was planning on just pranking him when he was looking at porn but stumbled upon something far more interesting. Still, she felt a little bad given Calvin's poor reaction and promised not to tell anyone. But that didn't keep her from subtly bringing it up whenever she could.

"Oh, you're Calvin?" Lydia said, turning her whole body to face him, her belly pointed right at Calvin. "You're Amy's friend!"

Calvin gulped again. "Yes, she's mentioned me?"

"You were most of what she talked about when she got back from spending time at her grandparents' house," Lydia laughed. "There wasn't much for her to do around here so it was nice of you to show her a good time."

"Is she...here?" Calvin asked, feeling his heart begin to race.

"Well...yes," Lydia said slowly, turning over her shoulder. "But you may not want to-"

It was too late for her to finish. Calvin was out the door and heading for the van parked in front of the Carpenters' house. The large back doors began to open and Calvin felt himself reflexively smile, only to have his grin vanish into a mask of shock when the doors opened all the way.

It was Amy alright, just as he'd remembered her last. Long silky brown hair, smooth skin, a witty gleam in her eye. But one thing was new: her belly.

"Okay, here we go," Amy wheezed, gripping the van door with one hand while she tried to steady her enormous round stomach with the other. She had on a shirt that may have been "baggy" at one point but was now incredibly tight against her pregnant gut. He could almost see her pale skin through the threads it was stretched so much. "Aaaaand, that's one foot," she said as one Converse touched the sidewalk.

"Amy?" Calvin said slowly, his eyes starting to get bloodshot they were open so wide.

Amy looked up and had the same expression. "Oh god," she muttered, stumbling to the side. Calvin leapt forward and caught her, though her added weight didn't let him give her much extra support either. "Thanks for that."

"A-anytime," Calvin chuckled. "You caught me falling out of trees all the time over the summer, remember?"

"Hard to forget," Amy said with a little smile. "I got knocked down and landed hard on a rock. The first time I got a cut that didn't make me cry. I felt like a 'big girl.'" She looked down at her belly and ran one hand against it. "Well, I guess I can feel that way again, huh?"

Calvin didn't want to touch that one. "W-what do you think of the neighborhood?"

Amy looked at him a little funny. "Looks the same as all the past summers."

"Right, right," Calvin nodded. "Good car ride?"

Amy's smile began to grow. "Oh, fantastic car ride. I got to visit all the great rest stop bathrooms of the East Coast and the air conditioning worked the whole time."

Calvin laughed nervously. "So...no stories from the trip?"

"Not really," Amy sighed, still staring at Calvin as she pressed her hands into her lower back. "I guess I'm just wondering what's up with your eyes."

"My..." Calvin said, slowly regaining his proprioception. He realized his fists were clenched until his knuckles lost all color and he was still making crazy eye contact with Amy. 

"You're trying to avoid this thing, huh?" Amy said, giving the side of her belly a light rub. "That explains your worse-than-usual small talk."

"R-right, that," Calvin said, clearing his throat. "I guess this is a little...you know..."

"It comes as a surprise I take it," Amy smiled, her cheeks turning a little rosy. "Tell you what: help me to my house and I'll tell you all about it." They struggled a few steps forward before Amy stopped him. "Actually, let's go to your house. I don't feel like having my brothers and sisters crawling all over me just yet."

Calvin led Amy slowly through the back door, not wanting to waste any time with his parents or Lily stopping Amy to stare at her in disbelief. Especially Lily. As they passed through the doorway, Amy looked at the frame and sighed as she slowly moved her mammoth middle inside. 

"Not much longer before I won't be able to make it inside here," she said quietly, looking down at her stomach.

"Maybe," Calvin said, turning to give his friend a sympathetic, if not shaky, smile. "But you're near the end so it'll only be for a few weeks...right?"

Amy bit her lip and gave a reflexive smile. "I'm only 14 weeks pregnant, Calvin. I'm going to get a lot bigger than this."

Calvin bumped into the wall next to his door as he kept his eyes on Amy, even more stunned than before. She gave a little giggle and followed him into his room, where she plopped down on his bed, making a loud "creak" when she did so. "G-good thing my room's on the first floor, huh?"

"Yes, it's very appreciated," Amy laughed, rubbing enormous circles on her belly. "I'm sure they appreciate it too, but they're not big enough to kick in protest anyway."

Calvin hesitated as he moved to sit next to his crush, choosing to pull up a chair from his desk instead and sit facing Amy. "So...how have you been?"

"Fine, considering," Amy said slowly, eyes still on her belly. "I've known we had to move for a while, so finishing a year of school knowing I wouldn't be back was a little weird." She scoffed to herself and looked up at Calvin. "Not that I liked that place all that much. And turning into a blimp didn't help things. Are people here any cooler?"

Calvin shrugged. "Everywhere's kind of the same, especially high school."

Amy laughed and stopped rubbing, letting her hand just rest against her stomach. "Look at us. We've become so 'edgy' over the past year. We should work on correcting that."

"That's a good summer project for us. We can't exactly go on hikes and adventures anymore," Calvin chuckled, stopping as he rethought his words. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it like-"

"It's fine," Amy sighed, leaning back and pressing her hands into Calvin's mattress to support her weight. "I don't want to ignore the elephant in the room. Did you see my mom?"

Calvin felt his skin start to warm up again as he nodded, waiting for Amy to explain the whole situation to him.

"My family has a bit of a...curse where the first-born woman each generation gets pregnant. A lot. First we get pregnant when we're, well, my age, then after a few years of rest there's hardly any time when we're not carrying a few little ones inside us."

Calvin could hardly believe what he was hearing, but he had the evidence of Amy's belly right in front of him. "So you're going to be pregnant for the rest of your life?"

"Just about," Amy said, looking back down at her round stomach, her hands tracing her curves once again. "I haven't gotten the chance to ask my mom when Grandma stopped getting pregnant but I think it's safe to say I have another 40 or 50 years of swelling up, giving birth, and repeating the process."

Calvin felt a little guilty getting so aroused while Amy seemed so glum. "H-how do you feel about that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't hate being pregnant so far. And as a kid, I always kind of envied my mom. I thought she looked so nice with a big belly." Calvin shuddered at that last part. "But I didn't realize when I got pregnant I'd be...this big."

Calvin asked the question before his better judgment told him not to. "How many are you...you know...carrying?"

Amy sighed and smiled, looking up from her roundness to look at Calvin. "No idea. The doctors say they are too many for an ultrasound to be reliable this far along. But the biggest Mom ever got was with quintuplets and I surpassed her full-term belly size weeks ago."

Calvin didn't know whether to run out of the room to calm his heart or to jump into Amy's embrace. He hated to get a guilty pleasure out of her awkward situation, but for his pregnancy fetish, this was like a dream come true. His long-time crush and friend was set to become a super pregnant woman for the rest of her life.

"So your family had you move when you and your mom are both pregnant?" Calvin said, trying to act nonchalant.

Amy laughed. "You'd think, right? But it's the tradition in our family. When the newest generation starts swelling up, the one living in the family house retires and the next generations move in. I think my grandparents are going to Florida." She sighed and looked out the window, across Calvin's lawn at her new home. "And moving isn't that hard for my mom. After all, she's used to being pregnant, even with quads."

"Still, it seems like a weird trip to make just to stay in the same house," Calvin said. 

"I agree," Amy said slowly, crossing her arms. "Between you and me, I think there's something my parents aren't telling me."

Amy gripped the edge of the bed to lean in and whisper to Calvin, but clamped her lips shut when there was a knock at the door. "Oh, there you are," Lydia said as she and her belly, its size impressive in its own right, entered Calvin's room. "You're both catching up?"

Amy chuckled. "A lot's changed since last year, after all."

Lydia chuckled back, though with a little more concern in her voice. "Well come back to the house when you have a chance. We still need to get you moved in."

Two pregnant women in my bedroom at once, Calvin thought with a listless smile as Amy groaned and heaved herself from his bed, placing one hand on the front of her belly while the other pressed into the small of her back. "Oof, that never gets any easier."

"You're heading back?" Calvin said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"I probably should," Amy smiled. "Riding down left me pretty tired and I need to savor all the naps I can get before these fellas start kicking." She rubbed her hands around her belly and waddled out his door before turning around slowly, her gut rubbing against the walls. "But...tomorrow, let's really hang out, okay? I didn't get to hear about what you've been doing."

"Deal," Calvin smiled. "Maybe we can go to the pool. They've expanded it since last year."

"That would be fun," Amy nodded. "And it'd probably be a big weight off my hips. But there aren't any one-piece suits that'll fit, and trust me, you wouldn't want to see all this in a bikini."

Don't be so sure Calvin thought, trying to suppress a groan. "We'll think of something else then. H-have a good nap."

Amy laughed and waved before slowly waddling down the hall to follow her expectant mother back to their house. As Calvin collapsed onto his bed and let out a long groan, Lily crept inside and took his desk chair. "Wow, how about Amy, huh?"

"Li-ly," Calvin moaned.

"What? I'm happy for you," Lily said. "I'm not going to pretend like I understand my little brother's thing for pre-MILFs but I know you already liked Amy and I'm guessing you like her a little better now."

"It's just a lot to take in at once," Calvin sighed.

"Yeah I noticed," Lily smiled, resting her chin in her hand. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know...I need some time alone."

"Ew," Lily laughed, getting up and walking out the door. "We can share, Cal, but I don't need to know about that."

---

The next morning, Calvin was deep in sleep when he felt his world being shaken apart. Adjusting his eyes, Calvin could see the lights in his room were being turned on and off slowly. "Oh good, you're up," his father said with a light chuckle. It was clear where Lily got her "wit" from.

"Dad?" Calvin mumbled. "It's summer break and it's a Saturday. What's going on."

"You have a guest," Calvin's dad said.

Calvin knew that could only mean one person and leapt up in bed, holding up his bedsheet to cover himself. "Here?"

"No, not here," his dad said. "In the living room. And I'd hurry if I were you. As someone who spent a total 18 months with a pregnant woman, I can tell you they don't like waiting."

Calvin threw on pants and a t-shirt and headed to the living room, where Amy was pacing slowly around, looking at the pictures and other knick-knacks in the Williams' house. "I'm trying not to knock anything over," Amy smiled, turning over her shoulder to see Calvin. "I had enough accidents back at my old house."

"I-I'll bet everyone does," Calvin smiled, standing next to his friend. "You came here...early."

"My mom recommended I try to get a little bit of exercise while I still can so I was thinking you'd like to go for a walk with me," Amy said. "You know, give us a chance to catch up."

"Sounds like fun," Calvin nodded. Now he'd not only have a chance to hang out with Amy like old times, but they could do it in private. It was a sunny Summer morning without much cloud cover, so they walked toward the nearest trail to have some shade. Calvin, and now Amy, lived in a traditional suburb with trees, plain houses, and lots of interconnected greenways to make the residents think they had something to do.

Amy had on a blue shirt today, still featureless and pulled over her considerable bump, though Calvin could swear the threads looked even more strained today. She also had on some grey sweatpants that hugged her body for dear life. It showed off the full contours of Amy's butt, which Calvin remembered looking good but not this good.

"What are you looking at?" Amy said, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing!" Calvin said, looking up and around randomly before his eyes drifted to her belly. "It's, um, impressive that you have shirts that can fit." It was a bad choice for a conversation distraction but Amy didn't seem to mind.

"When my mom hit the big 'quintuplet' number, she got lots of specialty shirts made so she could cover up and look, you know...normal," Amy said, her voice turning a little sadder. "She never wanted the pregnancies to get in the way of her being a regular mom so she tried not to let her bare belly show in public. Soon, I don't think I'm going to have a choice." Amy put both hands on her belly, letting them rest and feel her size. "I guess you could call this one of her 'hand-me-downs' but soon it isn't going to cut it."

"You wouldn't just get your own special shirts?" Calvin asked.

Amy shrugged. "I don't see the point. My mom started with just me and now she's only carrying multiples. So if I'm starting out looking like a whale, how big will I be next time?"

"You're...it's not that..." Calvin said, trying to find the right words without sounding like he's lying. "You look totally fine."

Amy sighed and smiled, moving one hand to her back again. "Thanks, you're sweet. I think so too. I don't care about people being able to see my belly. In fact..." Amy reached one hand around and lifted her shirt a centimeter. Instantly, it shot all the way up her pregnant slope and was snug against her breasts. "There, that feels much better...Calvin?"

He was speechless as he saw her exposed womb. Amy's belly was everything he could have dreamed of: smooth, radiant, round, and colossal. Her belly button was dimpled just perfectly. Calvin didn't even know what a perfect pregnant popped-out navel should look like before, but he did now. 

"Earth to Calvin," Amy said, snapping her finger in his face. "Should I cover up again?"

"N-no, sorry," Calvin said, shaking his head a little.

"I didn't mean for it to scare you," she laughed, continuing her walk again. "But it was going to be like this sooner or later. I'm getting bigger every day."

"Then it'll be interesting to see how things go when you go back to school," Calvin laughed back. "Are you...still going to go?"

From then on, the conversation moved from Amy's belly to Amy. She revealed how, yes, she was still going to finish high school and planning on going to college to become a teacher. Calvin talked about his own time in school and what he was thinking about studying when he graduated. Then came discussions about music and movies and annoying siblings. By the time they'd made it back to the trail's entrance, Amy's belly was glistening with sweat.

"That was farther than I've ever gone," Amy panted, wiping her forehead dry with the back of her hand.

"Maybe you shouldn't have picked such a skilled conversationalist," Calvin grinned. Amy gave a wheezing laugh and patted him on the back.

"No, I wouldn't have made it half as far if I didn't have you distracting me," Amy smiled, taking a deep breath before leaning back and waddling toward the houses. "My dad just wants to pamper me, my mom just wants to compare pregnancy experiences, and my siblings are just the worst."

"So I was the least bad option," Calvin laughed nervously, picturing Amy and Lydia comparing pregnancies in his mind.

Amy gave a snorting laugh and turned to face Calvin, taking a roundabout path to not hit him with her stomach. "Give yourself a little more credit, dude. Besides...you really are great to talk to. You're the only one that makes me still feel normal."

"Normal, huh?" Calvin said, trying to think of a casual yet slightly funny response when Amy went in to hug him, her belly pressing against his side.

"Thanks, for real," Amy said quietly, giving Calvin one last squeeze before waddling back toward her house. "Things with my parents just haven't been the same since we moved."

"What do you mean?" Calvin asked. "Because you don't know anybody around here?"

Amy laughed and shook her head. "I wasn't close to many people back in Massachusetts. You're the closest friend I really have so living next door to you is a big relief." Calvin smiled at that, hoping it would make their chances of getting closer a little better. "But...I don't know, I feel like there's something my Mom and Dad aren't not telling me."

"About the p-pregnancy?"

"About the house," Amy said, looking in its general direction and sighing, her hands settled on her belly as it rose and fell with her breath. "Like...why did we have to move there? Why now? Mom looks like she could sneeze and she'd go into labor. And I can barely walk around a trail without being winded."

"You said she's been...she's had a lot of kids, so maybe she knows how her body, um, works at this point," Calvin said, his mind going to Lydia once again. It was clear where Amy got her looks from, and not just around her waist.

"Still, it's weird. And Mom won't answer any of my questions about it directly. The most she's really talked to me about the curse is giving me this necklace when I first found out I was pregnant." Amy pulled down her collar, giving Calvin a dangerously close look at her cleavage, and removed the rest of her jewelry. It looked fairly simple except the end piece had a long, strange shape.

"Some kind of heirloom maybe?" Calvin said, touching it gently. "Or maybe this is the curse. If you take it off, does the belly go away?"

Amy stuck her tongue out at Calvin and put the necklace back, its odd design slipping between her pillowy breasts. "I dunno, having my mobility restrained means I have a lot of time to worry and make stuff up. And I feel gross and sweaty so I will see you later." Amy waved and waddled back toward her house, pressing her hands into her lower back and letting out a light moan.

"Want to do this again tomorrow?" Calvin called out.

"What, take me for a walk?" Amy smiled. "Sure, what time?"

"Just text me when you're ready," Calvin said.

"Oh, I don't really...have a phone," Amy said, twiddling her fingers some.

"How about email? You have that, right?" Calvin said, yelling out his address before waving to his overly-maternal friend as she returned to her family home. He let out a sigh and grinned dumbly as he headed to his own house, still feeling the warmth of Amy's hug against him. Or at least the memory of her warmth.

---

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Lydia said, standing in the Carpenters' living room, arms crossed comfortably against her shelf-like quadruplet belly.

"Mo-om," Amy groaned, rolling her eyes as she attempted to straighten out her shirt, pulling it to fit around her pregnant stomach. 

"Sorry, you're all grown now, you can make your own decisions," Lydia said in an exaggerated tone. "I'm just asking you to think about this a little more." Lydia paused when one of her many children put her hands against Lydia's belly. "What is it, Charlotte?"

"Baby?"

"Yes, the babies are in here," Lydia smiled, rubbing her roundness slowly. "We've talked about this, remember?"

"I want a tummy when I'm old," another one of Lydia's daughters said, a few years older than Charlotte.

"You say that now," Amy chuckled, her voice trailing off.

"Mrs. Carpenter, we're just going down to the park," Calvin said, freezing up when Lydia turned her eyes toward him, paralyzing him without really trying. "A-and I'll help her back if she gets too...tired or whatever."

"Right," Lydia said slowly, smacking her tongue against her inner cheek as she thought. "If you think you can move around, dear, then I trust you."

"Thanks Mom," Amy sighed, turning her belly to the side to give her mother an awkward half-hug, the only thing they could muster with both of their wombs as big as they were. "And Calvin has his cellphone in case anything goes bad. Which it won't."

The two left the Carpenters' house — Amy first since it took her longer — and walked down the sidewalk as the streetlights started to come on.

"Why...don't you have a cellphone, by the way?" Calvin asked as they made it a few paces, which for Amy, took a fair amount of time on its own.

Amy shrugged. "Never really had a need. I never had a social life or needed to get in touch with anyone. My family's big enough that the only people I really talk to are my cousins, younger aunts and uncles, and some of my little brothers and sisters now that they're getting into their teens."

"What about if your mom needed an ambulance or something?" Calvin asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Good thing about this 'curse' is everyone's pregnancies seem to be complication-free. And we don't need any midwives or doctors for Mom. I've delivered her babies since I was...12, I think."

Calvin's face turned pale. "You...helped your Mom give birth?"

"She does most of the work, I suppose," Amy chuckled. "But yeah, is that so weird?"

"I guess it's all about perspective," Calvin said to himself, trying not to let himself get caught up on the matter. "But hey, at least we're out again!"

"Yeah, more walking," Amy laughed, running her hand down her belly. "We're a couple of party animals."

Calvin laughed nervously, knowing all too well his lack of imagination when it came to activities for Amy and him. His worries about her pregnancy restricted that limited list even more. "You even covered up your belly again," he said, blushing when he realized what slipped out.

"What, you miss it?" Amy grinned, running her hands around the hem of her top. "I just thought there'd be more people out, but if you insist..."

"N-no, I mean," Calvin's mind was racing. "Just making an observation. Do whatever you feel comfortable with."

Amy narrowed her eyes and lifted her top, letting the colossal bulge show itself in all its smooth, sultry wonder. "It feels better to not have myself so restricted. Besides, I think I'm actually bigger since we went on our walk." She turned to the side slightly and gazed down her waist. "What do you think?"

"What do I..."

"Yeah, am I bigger or what?"

Calvin gulped. "Well you're definitely not smaller."

Amy rolled her eyes and bumped her hips against his. "I knew asking you was a bad idea." They stopped on the curb as a car went past, the driver clearly distracted by Amy's mammoth pregnancy, and Amy took in a deep breath as she returned her hands to rubbing her stomach. "Is it much farther?"

"Not all that far," Calvin said. "Although...that's just from my perspective. Do you want to cut our losses and head back?"

Amy took in another breath and started walking. "No, I think it'll be fun to see the old playground we used to go to. I need some memories to make this all feel a little more...real."

"Right," Calvin nodded, not adding that they stopped going there when they were in their early teens. It never dawned on him then that his best friend was maybe the world's youngest doula. "Let's turn here."

A 10-15 minute walk turned into a 45 minute hike by the time Calvin and Amy made it to the park. Or at least, where it was supposed to be. "It's really been a while, hasn't it?" Amy said.

"I guess so," Calvin sighed. The playground they'd gone to as kids over the summer was now dismantled and paved over to make a parking lot. "It looks like the city put in a meeting center nearby for the Rotary Club or whatever."

"At least they left this bench," Amy said with a grunt as she lowered herself down. As Calvin joined her, she lifted her arms and let out a whine as her back stretched out. "Ah, that feels good."

"I should have checked ahead of time," Calvin sighed. "But...it was nice to talk again and catch up."

"It was a nice idea," Amy smiled, wrapping an arm around Calvin's shoulders and jostling him a bit. "But I don't know if I can make these kinds of treks anymore. This was just about my limit and my belly's only getting bigger from here on out. And at a faster rate too."

Calvin shuddered a bit, picturing an even more fertile Amy and getting aroused at the idea.

"But I guess it goes to show you," Amy sighed, turning back to the parking lot. "Things aren't the same as when we were kids..." She put one hand on her belly and rubbed slowly. "As if I needed another reminder."

Calvin turned to Amy, seeing her sunny expression fading fast. "At least we're neighbors now. A-and if you ever need someone to talk to or whatever, I'll be there. You won't even need a cellphone."

Amy laughed and turned her head to wipe one of her eyes. "Good point. Help me up?" Calvin jumped to his feet as Amy lifted her arms and he gradually helped her stand, feeling her belly and chest pressed against him. If her inflated stomach felt how "excited" he was as it brushed his lap, she didn't show it. "Let's see if we can get me back. Then I might collapse in my bed and sleep for as long as I can."

---

Calvin's phone buzzed as he received an email. He quickly sat up and forced his eyes to adjust to a waking state as he grabbed his phone to see Amy's message. <Walk in 5?>

<great!> Calvin typed and then deleted a few times before sending <cool> instead. It'd been a day since their last morning walk, with the failed trip to the playground leaving Amy worn out. Instead, they stayed inside, watching movies on Calvin's laptop and chatting.

<And promise you won't laugh> she sent back. Calvin didn't know what to make of that but hopped into his clothes all the same and went to the front door in time to see Amy wobbling toward him.

"Do you promise?" Amy blushed, putting her hands on her hips. In start contrast to her outfit yesterday, Amy had on a small athletic tank top that left essentially all of her pregnant belly exposed and a small pair of red running shorts that Calvin couldn't even see with her womb in the way. Amy's long hair was tied in a long ponytail and she had a lime green sweatband wrapped around her hairline.

Calvin grinned. "I promise."

"It's just...it's hot out and I get uncomfortable with all this extra weight," Amy pouted, her hands tracing up the sides of her belly. "Hopefully this will make things a little easier." 

Whether it helped or not wasn't immediately clear to Calvin. Amy was still covered in sweat and breathing heavily halfway into their walk but she never gave any indication that she wanted to stop.

"It's hot out," Calvin said, trying to make Amy not feel so different. "I'm sweating pretty badly myself. It's a good thing you got me out before I showered."

Amy snickered. "That's not the kind of detail you should share if you want..." Her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"Nothing," Amy said quietly, touching her fingers to her smiling lips. 

Calvin took her at her word. "I guess it's good that you got me up so early. It hasn't gotten really hot yet."

"I don't have a ton of choice," Amy sighed, rubbing her stomach with gusto. "This thing makes sleeping nearly impossible. I'm up most of the night now."

"What do you do to kill the time?"

"Read, listen to music," Amy shrugged. "Just sit and think. I did that a lot even before I got a beach ball for a belly. Not doing anything but thinking about things."

There was a long period of silence before Calvin spoke up. "What do you think about now?"

"What else?" Amy laughed, rolling her eyes. "What it'll be like to raise dozens of babies. Sure, my Mom said she'd help out and we seem to have a natural mothering instinct, but it'll still be tough." She stopped talking for a few moments before turning to Calvin. "You know what the hardest part really is?"

"The...hardest part?"

"Yeah, c'mon, guess," Amy said. "What do you think it'd be?"

Calvin thought about it. "I guess...not having anyone there with you."

Amy's lips curled up slightly. "That's exactly it. Being alone. It was easy for my mom to get married. Things were...different when she was my age and she only had me." Amy sighed and shook her head. "I don't know what'll be harder: trying to get a date while I have all of these kids to raise or trying to get a date when I'm the most pregnant woman on the planet."

"You'll..." Calvin paused, trying to collect his words. "You'll find someone. You're smart, funny, cool, good-looking...everything a guy could ask for." He cleared his throat. "O-or girl, you know. Don't want to make any assumptions."

Amy chuckled. "Guys, to be clear, though I can think of more than a few actresses I wouldn't mind spending the night with." She turned back to Calvin's prying eyes and laughed again. "But thanks Calvin. And thank you for not leading with 'good-looking.' Really surprised me with that one."

Calvin blushed and opened his mouth to try and save himself, only getting out a few filler syllables before a familiar voice called out to him. "Hel-lew, Cal."

"Lily," Calvin said in a low tone as his sister jogged up next to them, wearing essentially the same outfit as Amy, only her's, you know, fit. She took one of her earbuds and paced in place. "Weird running into you here."

"I know! What a coincidence," Lily grinned. "And Amy, nice to see you again. It feels like it's been a while."

"Nice to see you too Lily," Amy said with a genuine smile. "Yeah, not since last year."

"It's been a whole year?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow. "Gosh, I didn't think it was that long. I'd have guessed...hmm...like nine months at most."

"You should probably keep moving," Calvin said. "You don't want your muscles to get cold."

"I guess Calvin hasn't filled you in on the full details of my pregnancy," Amy said, not accustomed to Lily's jabs. "I'm only three and a half months along."

That made Lily stop in place. "Really?" She turned her eyes from Amy to Calvin, who slowly nodded in response. "So you're going to...blow up, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid so," Amy shrugged with a grin.

"Huh," Lily said. "Can I feel?"

"Sure," Amy smiled, pressing her hands into her lower back, pushing her pregnant gut forward. Lily pressed her hands into the sweaty orb of flesh and rubbed them around.

Lily laughed in reply, her eyes lighting up. "This is wild...and it's not even all that tight yet."

"Not yet, no. I figure that'll change soon. Every day I can feel my muscles clenching up just a little more," Amy sighed. "Would you ever want to get pregnant?"

"Me?" Lily blurted out, taking her hands off of Amy's belly and wiping them on her tank top. "God no. Seeing our mom carry Calvin around was all the preventative sex ed I ever needed. I use at least three kinds of birth control each time."

"Not only did my sister embarrass me, she shared details about her sex life," Calvin groaned under his breath. "Terrific."

"Like I wanted to learn about your-" Lily stopped just in time, settling for giving her brother a glaring look and wiggling her nose at him. "I guess you're right. I should go back to my run." 

"Nice to see you again, Lily," Amy smiled, waving as Lily headed back down the trail. "You two are hilarious."

"Thanks," Calvin grumbled. "Not the worst way we've been described. A teacher at our high school actually said we were like an 'old married couple' once." He shuddered and moved back to Amy's side. "Let's continue our walk, huh?"

Once they'd finished, Amy took Calvin back to her house. "I want to sit down but I don't want to stop talking," she groaned as she fell back onto her king-sized bed. "Not yet."

"Thanks," Calvin chuckled as he cautiously sat next to her.

"After a year away, it feels so good to just chat, even if it's about nothing," Amy sighed, turning to him. "You know?"

"You...didn't have anyone back where you lived?" Calvin said. "You always had all these stories and stuff."

"When I was little, that was all imaginary stuff," Amy said quietly, her fingers nervously tapping on her belly. "And as I got older...they were just lies. I never got along with anyone in school or around town. I never felt like I fit."

"O-oh," Calvin said slowly. "I felt kind of the same way whenever you'd come for the summer. I never had a friend like you."

Amy chuckled and rested her head against Calvin's shoulder. "I don't remember you being this sweet." There was a pause — one might say an awkward pause — before Calvin spoke up.

"S-so...can you hang out any time today?"

"Sure, I should be free today," Amy said, lifting her head to look at Calvin. "Any plans?"

"How about we go to a movie?" Calvin said.

Amy gave a little smile and bit her lip. "I can't really ride in your car and the van I took down here was just a rental."

"Oh, okay," Calvin said. "We could...walk to the park."

"I can't really go on any more long walks today," Amy said.

"Well...we could sit in your room and listen to music I guess," Calvin shrugged.

Amy took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I'm not an invalid, Calvin. You don't have to just give up."

"I dunno, I'm trying to come up with something you can do," Calvin said, a little irritated.

"Something I can do? Am I like an inconvenience to you now?" Amy said, her uncomfortable smile now totally gone.

"No, but you have to admit, it's putting a damper on some things," Calvin said, clenching his jaw as soon as he said it.

Amy's mouth hung open in shock. "Excuse me, Calvin, for getting a massive pregnancy I didn't ask for. I'm getting huger and heavier with every hour, in about a week I won't even be able to leave this room, and oh yeah, at the end I have to be a teenage mother."

"Look, Amy, I-"

"I think I'd like to be alone for the day," Amy said, crossing her arms and looking away. "Goodbye, Calvin."

"Bye, Amy," Calvin said slowly, standing up and walking out of Amy's room, closing the door behind her. As he left, he nearly ran into Lydia and her own belly. "Sorry, Mrs. Carpenter."

"Please, just call me Lydia," she grinned. "You went walking with Amy again this morning? That's nice of you." She placed both hands on her own belly. "I would do more exercising now, but it can jump-start labor and I don't feel like taking care of another four babies just yet, if you know what I mean."

"Right," Calvin laughed nervously, trying to pass Amy's mother when she grabbed his arm.

"You know, I could...reimburse you for taking her out like this," Lydia whispered. "It can't be very fun to lose your mornings helping her waddle around like that."

Calvin was trembling as he replied. "No, Lydia, it is. Because Amy and I are friends and she's great to be around, actually." He stormed out of the house, side-stepping lots of kids of various ages, and stood in his own room for a few minutes before heading to the shower.

---

Amy didn't reach out to Calvin about going for a walk the next day, or the day after that. A week went by and instead of enjoying the warm summer, he stayed in his room most of the morning, looking for some potential summer jobs online.

"Everything okay?" Meredith asked, knocking on his door.

"I'm fine, just focusing on finding some work," Calvin replied, grumbling to himself when she left. Minutes later, the door opened and in darted Lily, who pulled up a chair close to her little brother. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Just checking in on you," Lily said with a little smile, leaning forward. "So, still no belly today?"

Calvin cleared his throat. "Things didn't work all that well."

"So that's it?" Lily said. "In a few days, it all fell apart? One of you must have done something really bad."

"We argued and she said she wanted some time alone," Calvin muttered, his eyes going back to his computer.

Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. "Why do I have to be the smart one in the family?" she said to herself. "You've never had a girlfriend before, have you Cal?"

"What do you mean?" Calvin blushed.

"Couples fight! That's...that's so basic. You fight and then you make up."

"But what if it's too much and you can't just 'make up?'" Calvin said.

Lily chuckled running her fingers down her chest. "Not to boast, but I've had my fair share of relationships, and-"

"Not details I want to hear," Calvin said quickly, putting his hands to his head in horror.

"Fine, fine. Point is, I know what I'm talking about and it doesn't sound to me like you ruined things," Lily said. "Do you still like her?"

Calvin hesitated, never actually admitting to Lily that he had a thing for Amy. "Yes."

"Then go over and apologize to her," Lily said, giving her brother a hard elbow to the arm. "Go chase that round stomach you're so crazy about."

Calvin headed next door and rang the bell. The door opened and a small boy with eyes like Amy's greeted him. "Are you the mailman?"

"No, I'm a friend of Amy's," Calvin said. He'd think Amy's siblings would remember him, but then again, Lydia seemed to have so many kids, Calvin figured he'd probably only seen a fraction of them. "Is she here?"

The kid stared at Calvin for a while before walking away, leaving the door opened. Calvin shrugged and entered, following the path that he remembered to Amy's room and prepared to knock on her door. But he stopped when he saw the door had been removed and the doorway extended, with some sawdust still around the rim. An accordian-like curtain was drawn across the doorway instead with a magnet keeping it in place. How much bigger did she get while I was gone? Calvin wondered as he rapped his knuckles against the divider. "What is it now, Mom?"

"N-no, it's Calvin," he said. "Can I come in?"

There was a pause. "Just a second...sure, come in." Calvin opened the curtain and walked in to see Amy lying on her bed, a shirt stretched to cover as much of her belly as it could. The attempt clearly failed, as Amy's pregnant stomach was on display from her belly button — now as big as a thumb — down the rest of her maternal slope. In another week, Amy looked like she could carry another Amy inside her womb. "Hey."

"H-hey," Calvin said, jerking his head up to stop ogling her middle and hurried to take a seat facing Amy. "I'm...I'm really sorry about...last week. I was a jerk."

"Oh yeah?" Amy said, pursing her lips as she smiled, crossing her arms. "Elaborate."

"I've been trying to treat you like normal and not just reducing you to the b-belly, but in the process, I forgot about why I liked hanging out with you in the first place," Calvin said. "It wasn't really about running around outside or having adventures. It was just talking, you and me. And when it seemed the p-p-pregnancy was getting in the way, I acted really immaturely."

Amy sat in silence, her smile growing slowly as she watched Calvin try to apologize.

"So, what I'm saying is, I'd really like for us to spend more time together. We don't need to even do anything in particular. I just like being with you," Calvin said, feeling himself shake a little. "M-maybe as...boyfriend and girlfriend."

Amy looked away for a moment, her fingers running up her belly before touching her lips. "Even though I'm so...you know..."

Calvin took a deep breath. "I actually like it." Amy turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. "I think pregnancy is kind of...sexy."

Amy began to laugh, holding one hand to her mouth. "I wasn't expecting that."

"N-not that I didn't feel this way before I found out you were pregnant!" Calvin said quickly. "I just, right now you look...wow."

Amy sighed as her laugh died down. "Hold on." She grunted as she tried to roll her heavy body over, flailing as she tried to reach one arm under her bed. After a few seconds, she gave up and looked back up at Calvin. "Actually, would you mind reaching under my bed and pulling out a shoe box?"

"A shoe box?" Calvin said, looking under Amy's bed and finding exactly what she was looking for. He handed it up to his hugely expectant friend and she removed the top, revealing its contents: it was all random junk. "I don't understand."

Amy smiled and pulled out a flower. "You gave this to me when we were 5 and we went to that field. The one that's a grocery store now." She pulled out a ticket stub. "This was from when we saw Avengers together a few years ago. I loved it and you just complained."

"Joss Whedon just can't do visual storytelling," Calvin said, shaking his head.

"And this," she said, holding up a wrapped Band-Aid, "is from when I cut myself catching you and didn't cry."

"But that's not even an opened bandage," Calvin said.

"Well I didn't want to use the actual Band-Aid. That would be gross. I just got this from the pack," Amy said, closing the shoe box and putting it aside. "Point is, spending the summer with you was always the high point of my year. You made me feel like I had a friend in the world...someone to talk to." She took his hand and placed it against her enormous belly. "Someone who wouldn't mind just sitting with me when I got too big to leave my bed."

Calvin's face turned bright red. "S-so is that a yes?"

"Absolutely," Amy grinned, rolling up the rest of her shirt and guiding Calvin's hand around her bare middle. "Do you like this?"

"Y-yes," Calvin groaned, feeling himself get very excited.

"There's...one more thing," Amy said, removing Calvin's hand and turning to heave herself off of the bed. "I need to show you something."

Calvin helped Amy waddle out her room — the sides of her belly still rubbing against her extended doorframe — as they made their way to a large wooden door near the rear of the house, just big enough for someone with Amy's belly size to fit. Amy clutched her necklace and pulled it out of her top, holding up the strange long metal end. "What's all this?"

"You know when I said I was suspicious about why we moved back to the 'family house?'" Amy said. "I've been snooping around, trying to see if this house has anything to do with our curse. Yesterday, my mom finally came clean and said I was ready to discover for myself." She stuck the necklace into a gnarled hole below the door handle and turned it slowly. A low "click" came and went and the door seemed to move forward a few centimeters. Amy opened it slowly and a cool wind came out. "I haven't gone down yet to find out just what's going on and...I'm a little scared."

"You? Scared?" Calvin said.

"Would you come with me?" Amy said, reaching one hand out to take Calvin's. "Besides, if I don't go down soon, it may be too late. The clock's ticking before this belly stops me from going anywhere."

"Absolutely," Calvin nodded.

"Good," Amy smiled. "Because soon, I don't think I could get down here anyway." Calvin took Amy's hand to help her waddle down the stairs into the dark basement.

Once down there, the dark basement filled with a green light. On the other end of the room was a large onyx statue of a pregnant woman, her eyes glowing green.

"What is this?" Calvin said slowly, turning to Amy. To his surprise, there was a tear rolling down her cheek as she smiled.

"She's speaking to me," Amy said slowly, wiping her eye and turning to Calvin. "I understand now."

"That's...that's good," Calvin nodded, not really understanding the situation himself. "It's good, right?"

"It is," Amy smiled, moving her hands down Calvin's sides. "It is."

The two slowly leaned in for a kiss, Amy's belly pressing against Calvin as he felt her soft lips against him. He never wanted the moment to end, but he was interrupted by a large white flash.

"There, perfect!" Lily said, putting down her camera and rushing down the stairs.

"Lily!" Calvin choked.

"Trust me, you'll both thank me down the road," Lily smiled. "You'll want evidence of your first kiss."

"No, you can't come down here!" Amy yelled, her eyes wide with fear. "You'll-"

There was a green flash from the statue, so bright the entire room drowned in nothing but color. When it died down, Lily looked down at herself and saw a belly as big as Amy's sticking out of her, tearing through her shirt and pants.

"Oh," Lily said slowly, touching one hand to her belly. "Cal, I think I went too far with this one."